One of my Google Alerts is for “secession” and “secessionist.” I get anywhere from 5 to 20 stories a day about dozens of movements all over the world. Just to give Vermont secession a context, I thought I'd excerpt from and comment upon a few recent stories about proposed, threatened or ongoing secession movements in Nigeria, Bosnia, Kosovo, Taiwan, Nepal, Israel and, of course, the United States. Plus a comment about each, within the context of secessionist theory, ethics and practice.

Presented in chronological order:

November 6, 2007: Nigeria: Biafra Separatist Leader Free And Defiant
The jailed leader of a separatist movement in the south-east of Nigeria known formerly as Biafra was released from detention at the end of October in a move analysts hailed as a helpful and diplomatic approach to the region's problems by the government, but the secessionist leader says he will continue his struggle for independence. "Nigeria must be Balkanized," Ralph Uwazuruike, the leader of the secessionist Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), told IRIN. "Nigeria is going to break into six republics. All the geo-political zones of the country will soon become separate countries," he predicted. Uwazuruike and many people in the south east region, who mainly come from the Igbo ethnic group, claim they are being discriminated against by Nigeria's federal government. They say the central government provides less basic infrastructure to the region such as roads, healthcare and potable water. They also say they are underrepresented in government given their population and spread. "There is a lot of tribalism here and we cannot allow our people to be treated like slaves in their own land. All we want is our Biafra. We want to secede," Uwazuruike said.

COMMENT: There are 5000 ethnic/religious/linguistic nations (or tribes, as Mr. Uwazuruike says), most involuntarily included as part of the 190 odd currently recognized nation states. It is amusing to see how "balkanized" has become a term used worldwide for breaking up larger nations, and to see it used in a positive term -- as only secessionists are wont to do.

November 8, 2007: FPIF Strategic Dialogue: Taiwan's Right to a State
Ian Williams writes for a Center-Left “Foreign Policy in Focus”: A thousand PRC missiles pointing across the Straits toward its "compatriots" in Taiwan and the anti-secession Act "legalizing" military action against the island are hardly "superficial" issues. Taiwan has abandoned the revanchist claims to the Mainland of the Republic of China (ROC). In the peculiar looking-glass view of the PRC, this means that the island's government is threatening stability in the region. History is generally more logical: it is the deliverer of ultimata rather than the recipient that threatens stability. In fact Taiwan's renunciation of the nuclear option is highly commendable and restrained in the circumstances. It is not provocative to hold views different from the government of China, where even peaceful "secessionist activities," are treated as active treason. Just consider how unlikely it would be for a British or Canadian government to send troops to prevent a democratically mandated secession by Scotland or Quebec. In fact a British claim to Ireland based on a much longer occupation has more credibility than China's title to Taiwan but London wisely refrains from making it. In the modern world, countries do not annex territories against the will of the inhabitants.

COMMENT: I wonder why the author didn't use as an example American secessionist movements? Could it be these lefties who still dream of taking power in the United States government under some great progressive leader would use military force against even the most non-violent and liberal of American secessionists? Also, I assume Foreign Policy in Focus does NOT support the United States going to war against China should it attempt to invade Taiwan, something China has threatened? China has at least 400-500 nukes and 30 or 40 probably could reach the U.S. West Coast this year. Ten years from now it might be 200. When we support secession for Taiwan, let's only do so in context of breaking up all of China – and all large nation states worldwide, so no one confuses us with those who break up other nations for power and profit, per the below.

November 21, 2007: Bosnian Serbs want secession if Kosovo goes -- poll
The survey by the Banja Luka-based Partner agency, published in Novi Reporter magazine, said 77 percent of a sample of 850 voters believed Serbs should break away from Bosnia if Kosovo Albanians secede from Serbia. The poll coincides with the 12th anniversary of the Dayton peace pact, which created a Bosnia of two parts from the enemies of the 1992-95 war in which over 100,000 were killed. Serbs got half the country and a Muslim-Croat federation the other half. Suspicions still run deep and relations are poor. Diplomats say Serbia, with Bosnian Serb connivance, is now actively stoking fears of the breakup of Bosnia in a bid to make the West think twice about supporting Kosovo's independence.

COMMENT: Let's not forget that NATO - mostly the United States - bombed the hell out of Serbia in the spring of 1999, allegedly to free the Muslim Kosovars from the “heinous Serbs.” An interesting case of the Kosovars greater population growth causing them to buy up more and more of traditionally Christian Serbian lands and, the Serbs claim, and evidence suggests is true, try to drive out Serbians through terrorism. In general, crimes against Serbian communities, including in Bosnia, have been less reported and remembered, as often happens when an imperial power sets out to dissolve a nation state and depose a leader that does not succumb to its will, be it in Yugoslavia and Serbia or Iraq. Therefore it is always important to be aware when there is outside manipulation of any secessionist movement, and when the secessionists themselves have been unjust, even if one does otherwise support the legitimate secessionist aspirations of the people.

November 27, 2007: BOLIVIA: Threat of ‘Secession' from the East
The protests against the draft constitution approved by Bolivian President Evo Morales' supporters in the constituent assembly continued Tuesday in the country's eastern regions with an announcement by a large landowner and local civic leader, Branco Marinkovic, of measures aimed at winning regional autonomy...Meanwhile, Marinkovic, one of the largest landowners in Bolivia's wealthier eastern region, called for greater provincial autonomy. His demands, described by the government as "secessionist," include strict controls to curb the inflow of Bolivians from the poor western highlands, self-determination and greater regional control over revenues from the country's vast natural gas reserves. Bolivia, South America's poorest country, is basically divided between the western altiplano, home to the impoverished indigenous majority, and the richer eastern departments, which account for most of the country's natural gas production, industry and gross domestic product. Much of the population of eastern Bolivia is made up of people of partly or predominantly European (primarily Spanish) descent.

COMMENT: A case where the rich want to secede from the poor, once the poor gain power to take more from the rich. That both areas may be better off engaging in free exchange, than fighting over riches, and perhaps destroying them, does not always occur to the poor areas wanting to resist secession. This might be the case if the wealthier North East and West Coast of the United States secede because they grew tired of financially supporting the retirees, military contractors and welfare recipients (largely white) in the South and West. In fact, this exact complaint was raised in 2000 and 2004 when many Democrats alleged that Republicans, who dominate in the poorer regions, stole the presidential elections.

December 4, 2007: Israel Promotes Secession in Enemy Nations
In an article actually called “The Israeli origins of Bush II's war,” 9/11 Truth advocate Stephen J. Sniegoski notes: Because Israel's neighbors opposed the Zionist project of creating an exclusivist Jewish state, the idea of weakening and dissolving those neighbors was not an idea just of the Israeli Right but a central Zionist goal from a much earlier period, promoted by David Ben-Gurion himself. As Saleh Abdel-Jawwad, a professor at Birzeit University in Ramallah, Palestine, writes: “Israel has supported secessionist movements in Sudan, Iraq, Egypt, and Lebanon and any secessionist movements in the Arab world which Israel considers an enemy. Yet the concern for Iraq and [Israel's] attempts to weaken or prevent it from developing its strengths has always been a central Zionist objective. At times, Israel succeeded in gaining a foothold in Iraq by forging secret yet strong relationships with leaders from the Kurdish movement.” Israel's goal has been not simply to weaken external enemies, but, by so doing, also isolate and weaken the position of the Palestinians — the internal demographic threat that poses the greatest danger to the Jewish-supremacist state. The reason for this is that the Arab states provide spiritual and material aid to the Palestinian cause. Without outside aid the Palestinians would give up hope and be more apt to acquiesce in whatever solution the Israeli government might offer. Abdel-Jawwad writes: "Sequential wars with the Arab world have given Israel opportunities to exhaust the Arab world, as well as tipping the demographic and political situation against Palestinians. Even regional wars which Israel has not participated in have benefited Israel and weakened the Palestinian national movement. The first and second Gulf War are a few examples."

COMMENT: Another example of powers supporting secession movements for their own nefarious reasons. You can bet both the U.S. and Israel would speedily lock up any of their citizens taking money from foreigners for secessionist activity! Anyway, the next article suggests, what goes around comes around...

December 7, 2007: Rabbi threatens secession from Israel
“Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpe told The Jerusalem Post in an article published Friday he is calling on his supporters to make preparations to secede from the State of Israel if withdrawal from Palestinian territories occurs. Wolpe, who founded an umbrella organization of right-wing groups called SOS Israel, believes Judea and Samaria belong to the Jews and should remain in Jewish hands...The Post says Wolpe did not provide any concrete answers to questions about how such a separate Jewish state would be organized or how it would defend itself.”

COMMENT: This, of course, is the worse model of secession - stealing someone's land, as is true in a large part of Israel where lands were conquered and 700,000 Arabs expelled in 1948; and even more so in the West Bank and Gaza, conquered in 1967. Of course, Israel supporters will be in a great quandary as whom to criticize more, secessionists for wanting a separate Israel or the Israeli government if it decided to use violence against them.

December 9, 2007: (Nepal Secessionists) More Dialogue Needed for Terai Issue
A host of the columnists working at this paper belong to Terai and thus they for sure understand the reasons behind the Terai turmoil. However, what we would wish to ventilate here is that let the “demands” be made through non-violent means. Let the crisis be defused through the best means ever found in the history of mankind: dialogue. We have been listening of late that a host of Terai dissatisfied groups have declared that they want a separate state for themselves. This sounds some what awkward. Indeed, we can understand as to why such demands for a separate state comes into existence. It should have been the sheer negligence of the State establishment exhibited towards their issues haunting them all since decades and decades. However, the abrupt demand for the secession of the nation-state from the mainland gives a different message to all and sundry.

COMMENT: The article also goes on to bring in the role of violent Maoists in the mix, though one might need some extra research to figure out what is going on in this complex situation. But then most secessionist movements are fairly complex with negative and positive elements. Our goal should be to help create principles of secession that help create constructive movements for liberty, equality and prosperity.

And now a couple of American perspectives.

October 5, 2007: Let's Give Federalism a Chance by Craig Chamberlain (his spellings).
So all of this makes for a country where the government is not liked and is not trusted, many on the left believe (stupidly and treasonously) that the government was in on 9-11. Every election we all know someone who says "if (inser name here) wins I'm leaving the country." Some actually carry out their threats, but most just stick around for another four to eight years being an annoyance. Then there are those who think secession from the country is a solution. After the 2004 election there were those on the left who felt that the northeastern states, and the west coast states, should have seceded to form a European Socialist country in North America. They probably didn't realize one already exists, it's called Canada. Not that the far right is immune from such idiotic thinking. There are those who believe that the government is secretly controlled by a small handful of people who are moving to world government and surrendering American independence. Seccessionist tedencies exist as well with a few people on the right talking about the inevitability of Hillary and Socialism, they think breaking away from the United States is the only chance of defending the freedoms they cherish.

COMMENT: Written right after the Associate Press article on the Second North American Secessionist Convention came out. Railing against the inevitable? And he doesn't even mention the issue of all those Mexicans who want back those Texan and South Western lands they believe the United States stole from them in 1836 and 1848. Right wingers regularly accuse the Hispanic civil rights group ”LaRaza” of having just that goal.

December 4, 2007: SoPo's new mayor calls for secession from Maine
South Portland Mayor James Soule proposed making it formal by calling for the city and its neighbors to secede from Maine. He described the state as an "oppressive regime" that withholds the communities' rightful amount of state aid. South Portland generates more than $45 million a year in sales taxes, most of it from the Maine Mall area. But the city receives about $4.1 million in state assistance for its schools — about 10 percent of the school budget, Soule said...Republican Henry Joy, a state legislator from Aroostook County, made waves in the past with his proposal for a feasibility study of a secession of northern Maine. He contends forest and land regulations hamper growth in northern Maine. Joy's proposal in 1998 led to a detailed economic study that found that there were not two Maines, but five Maines, in terms of distinct regions.” See video link here.

COMMENT: It's not clear if they want to secede into their own state or another state, but another case of the rich seceding from the poorer areas - even though one gets a feeling that a lot of people from the hinterlands take day trips to spend money at the “Maine Malls”. Hmm, all that Vermont secession talk must be rubbing off on Maine politicians!

December 7, 2007: Ohio Republic
Roberto Carlos Alvarez-galloso writes: Ohio is another state that is talking about secession from the United States. Harold Thomas of Columbus Ohio has been attempting to discuss the issue for almost two decades....In a latest series of articles on states that want to leave the United States, I came across a surprise. Ohio is another state that wants out of the United States by peaceful and legal means. It appears that Ohio or certain people in Ohio have seen enough of the Republicans and Democrats that they want secession. The Ohio Republic Movement is the creation of Harold Thomas and he has been pondering the subject since 1989. The Ohio Republic is a non violent movement, which advocates peaceful independence from the USA. This is protected as free speech under the First Amendment. The Ohio Republic is also non racial with cultural and economic components which is designed to turn the state into a country in its own rights; give more powers to counties, cities, and communities to use their resources as they see fit. The Ohio Republic also wants to develop local industries, which would reduce the dependence of Ohio on goods from other parts of the country and the world....Personally, it is hoped that Ohio could make it on its own. I do not think that at the present time it is feasible. Ohio is not like Florida, New York, California, or even Texas that are endowed with riches. Yet Vermont wants to secede and 13 per cent support independence, so Ohio should be given an opportunity. See Ohio Republic.

COMMENT: It only takes one man or woman to start a movement. However, Howard and many of us really are following more the Buddhist form of leadership - finding the parade and getting out in front of it!