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PEACE & SECURITY REPORT
IPSI's Peace & Security Report (PSR) is a concise weekly e-publication intended to brief busy students, academics, advocates, and practitioners in the conflict management community on pertinent global news, events, and trends. Meticulously researched and written by IPSI, the PSR empowers us all to take a step back from our immediate deadlines each Friday and gain a greater understanding of the week's global events.
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Featured Article
Week Four of The Bologna Symposium: "When we leave Bologna, I hope we can continue sharing our stories of peacebuilding all over the world." *click on the photo above for a complete slideshow of Symposium photos. This week, the participants used all they had learned in the previous three weeks for an intensive multi-day simulation based on the Russia-Georgia conflict run by LINC Negotiation Architects. They also has the opportunity to learn trauma healing from the amazing Robi Damelin from the Parents Circle - Families Forum. Today, they graduate from the 2012 Bologna Symposium, ready to take what they have learned into the broader world. Catch-up on this week's events:
As always, you can read all about the Bologna Symposium by visiting the event webpage. |
Africa
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: ICC sentences Congolese warlord to 14 years
On Tuesday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) handed down its' first-ever sentence to Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga for using child soldiers in his rebel army, the Union of Congolese Patriots. Detained in The Hague since March 2006, he will effectively only serve eight years in prison due to time already spent jailed. Lubanga was convicted of recruiting and sending children to kill and be killed during fighting in the eastern Ituri region between 2002 and 2003. Comment: At least 60,000 people are thought to have been killed by Lubanga's rebel militia. Many human rights NGOs questioned the court's decision convicting him to 14 years, compared to the Special Court for Sierra Leone's sentencing of former Liberian president Charles Taylor to 50 years in prison. According to presiding judge Adrian Fulford, Lubanga's sentence was shortened due to good behavior and the prosecution's failure to disclose some evidence while giving misleading statements to the media. (Al Jazeera, France 24, Reuters)
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: M23 rebels advance
The March 23 (M23) rebel militia has been militarily engaged with government troops in the Congo's north Kivu province since last Friday. According to UN estimates, the fighting in eastern Congo has displaced over 200,000 people to the neighboring countries of Uganda and Rwanda since April. The city of Bunagana was the first to fall to the M23 movement, followed by Rubare, Rutshuru, Kalengera, and Kako. A group of mutinous Tutsi soldiers, M23 demands the return of Congolese refugees in Rwanda, the confirmation of their former military ranks, and the establishment of a proper democracy. Comment: By Monday, the rebels had pulled out of all towns except for Bunagana, ceding them to the protection of UN peacekeepers and police. The movement's leaders have stated that their aim was not to capture territory, but to push the government towards serious negotiations. On Tuesday, the DRC accused neighboring Rwanda of "invading" a volatile border region, portraying the M23 rebel advancement as a Rwandan military operation, which Kigali adamantly denies. On July 11, UN peacekeepers were deployed to the border-town of Goma to protect the city from mutineers. (AFP, All Africa, BBC News, Reuters, Reuters, Reuters)
NIGERIA: Official lawmakers gunned down at Maseh village
Nigerian Senator Gyant Dantong, House Majority Leader of the Plateau State Gyant Fulani, and several others were killed on Sunday when gunmen attacked a funeral for 63 victims of ethnic violence the previous day. The gunman reportedly stormed the reception and opened fire on those present, causing more deaths and injuries. The attacks were blamed on the Fulani, a pastoralist Muslim ethnic group with grievances over land rights and resentment towards the state's mostly Christian lawmakers. Comment: The two officials killed belonged to the Christian Birom ethnic group; Biroms and other Christian ethnic groups are viewed as indigenous to the region, while Hausa-Fulani Muslims are seen as more recent "settlers" despite the fact that many have been there for decades. Mob protests and roadblocks erupted after news spread of the officials' killings, prompting Governor Jonah Jang to impose an immediate dusk-to-dawn curfew in four districts. (AFP, All Africa, Reuters)
SUDAN: Student protests continue in Khartoum
On Sunday, Sudanese police tear-gassed students demonstrating at the University of Khartoum, while security forces detained prominent opposition figure Kamel Omar ahead of his participation in a popular debate program. Omar was taken from his home without a warrant, and is being held for alleged links to Darfur rebels as well as the recent protests. About 1,000 students calling for the downfall of President Omar al-Bashir's regime were beaten back after they threw stones at police forces. Comment: Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch both claim that at least 100 people are still detained in Khartoum, and about 2,000 arrested in total since protests began on June 16. Sudan has been battling an economic crisis - budget deficit, inflation, and depreciating currency - since South Sudan shut off the oil pipeline to the North in the beginning of 2012, austerity measures were announced last month. (Al Jazeera, All Africa, BBC News, Egypt Independent, Reuters)
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Americas
COLOMBIA: President Santos visits nation's volatile south
On Wednesday, President Santos visited the Toribio municipality in southern Cauca province to discuss security issues following a call by residents for both military forces and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to withdraw from the area. Santos promised residents more support, but affirmed that the military would not pull out of the region. Comment: Cauca is known for being a volatile region and a FARC stronghold due to its strategic position for the production and trafficking of cocaine. Left-wing guerilla attacks in the area this year are 57 percent higher than the same period last year. (Reuters, UPI, BBC, Colombia Reports)
MEXICO: Protesters march against Enrique Pena Nieta's victory
Tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated in Mexico's capital on Saturday against the victory of president-elect Enrique Pena Nieto. Pena Nieto won the July 1st election by almost seven percentage points, returning the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to power after 12 years. The demonstrators, including students, leftists, anarchists, and union members, accuse the party of buying votes and paying off television networks for support. Second-place candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said he will file a legal challenge of the results. Comment: The PRI previously ruled Mexico for seven decades, during which it was accused of rigging elections and repressing protesters. Pena Nieto is due to replace Felipe Calderon of the conservative National Action Party in December. (Al Jazeera, BBC News, Reuters, The Guardian)
PARAGUAY: OAS Secretary-General speaks against suspending Paraguay
On Tuesday, the Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza advised against temporarily terminating Paraguay's membership to the institution, claiming that such a break would have major economic and political consequences for the Paraguayan people. Talks of suspension followed Paraguay President Fernando Lugo's impeachment by the Paraguayan Congress on June 22, with vice president Frederico Franco immediately sworn in after. Countries such as Venezuela and Bolivia - whose governments were politically allied with Lugo - demanded Paraguay's suspension from the OAS. Comment: Lugo's rapid removal from office raised concerns over violation of democratic commitments, a sensitive issue given the region's history of fragile governments. Paraguay has additionally been suspended from regional groups, the Mercosur trade bloc and the Union of South American Nations, due to a "breach of the democratic order." The new president Franco has yet to be recognized by neighbors as well as regional organizations. (IOL News, UPI, Washington Post)
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East Asia
LAOS: U.S. Secretary of State Clinton visits Laos
On Wednesday, Hillary Clinton became the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit Laos in nearly sixty years as she continued her tour of Southeast Asia. Her visit included a tour of a charity organization which provides prosthetic limbs to victims of unexploded bombs dropped by U.S. aircraft during the Vietnam War, followed by a brief discussion with Laotian government officials concerning the construction of a controversial dam across the Mekong River. The trip is a part of the strategic "pivot" towards Asia announced by President Obama in November of 2011. Comment: Relations between Laos and the United States have remained cool since the Vietnam War, largely due to the legacy of American bombing and alleged human rights abuses against the Laotian Hmong ethnic minority, which sided with the United States during that conflict. (NY Times, Washington Post, Reuters)
MYANMAR: Controversy flares over U.S. decision to ease sanctions
The loosening of U.S. economic sanctions against Myanmar on Wednesday came despite protests from humanitarian organizations and Burmese opposition groups, which cite a lack of transparency in the government's use of investment funds as cause for concern. While President Obama emphasized that "those individuals who continue to engage in abusive, corrupt or destabilizing behavior going forward will not reap the rewards of reform," organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Freedom House argue that permitting U.S. firms to invest in Myanmar's state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) provides the authoritarian government with funds that could be used to suppress domestic opposition. Comment: Myanmar is still undergoing a tenuous transition from de facto military rule to democracy, inviting the warming of diplomatic and economic relations with many other nations; however, opposition leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi still assert that the governing regime maintains excessive, unchecked authority and continues to hold political prisoners. (NY Times, Wall Street Journal, China Daily, Human Rights Watch)
PHILIPPINES: Six killed, 22 wounded in clash with insurgents
Muslim insurgent forces aligned with the Abu Sayyaf militant organization ambushed a truckload of laborers on Basilan Island this Wednesday, killing five civilians and one government militiaman as they drove to a local rubber plantation. The assault comes on the heels of the bombing of a military convoy by an improvised explosive device on Tuesday, which resulted in the wounding of eight soldiers allegedly sent to provide security for upcoming elections in the region. Basilan Island military commander Col. Arthur Ang said in a statement that the attack was motivated by a refusal to submit to extortion demands, which Abu Sayyaf routinely employs to raise funds. Comment: The Philippines is a majority Christian nation, though the southern Basilan and Jolo Islands feature a Muslim majority. Both the governments of the Philippines and the United States regard Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist organization, and have conducted joint training and counterterrorism exercises in support of a military campaign against it. (Irrawaddy, New Zealand Herald, Washington Post)
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| Europe & Central Asia
IRELAND: Riots after rival parades
Violence erupted on Thursday after rival Protestant and Catholic parades were held on the same day in Belfast. The first parade was organized by the Orangemen, the second by a nationalist group opposed to the first parade. 20 police officers were treated for injuries as a result of thrown petrol and pipe bombs; cars were set on fire and clashes ensued between rioters and officers. Police used water cannons and non-lethal baton rounds to disperse the crowds. Violence also broke out in other major cities of Northern Ireland, such as Londonderry and Craigavon. Comment: The Northern Ireland Parades Commission is shouldering the blame for the violence because they allowed a nationalist protest to take place in north Belfast. The commission cannot ban marches outright, but it can place restrictions in cases of contentious parades. Chairman Peter Osborne of the commission stated, "It is complete and utter nonsense to blame the Parades Commission for the violence last night. There has been violence in this location for many, many years now...it is time for politicians to take ownership of contentious parades...that's the way forward." (Belfast Telegraph, BBC, CNN)
RUSSIA: NGOs labeled "foreign agents" in controversial bill
On Friday, the lower house of parliament, State Duma, overwhelming passed a new bill that imposes new restrictions on non-governmental organizations receiving funding from abroad. 374 legislators voted in favor, three against, and one abstained. Human rights groups, citizens' lobbies and other NGOs are now labeled as "foreign agents," which critics state exploits suspicions of the West. Some NGOs complained that the Russian state does not provide enough funding, and this restriction may further exacerbate their financial struggles, as well as restrict independent election monitoring. Politically involved NGOs with foreign-funding will undergo financial audits and issue biannual reports of activities. Large fines of up to five million rubles for libel or slander were also voted in, which sparked demonstrations by journalists from some of Russia's leading news outlets. 238 deputies voted in favor and 91 against the slander a criminal offense bill. Comment: The bills need to be passed in the upper house and signed by the president to become law. Organizational operations are not prohibited by the bill, but are expected to effectively be slowed down. It is expected that the upper house and the President Putin will approve of both bills. (France 24, Al Jazeera, BBC)
SPAIN: Anti-austerity protests by miners
On Wednesday, 43 protesters and 33 police officers were injured in Madrid during a protest against cuts to government subsidies for the coal mining sector. The 65 percent cuts to subsidies to the mining sector are a move by the government to curb the country's debt crisis. This is a reduction of 301 million euros to 111 million euros. Miners began the protest in northern Spain with a 450 kilometer march nicknamed the "Black March" to Madrid that began almost three weeks ago. Protesters were welcomed by jubilant crowds upon arrival to Madrid who see the reduced subsidies levied by the government as representing the unfair burden of middle and working class Spaniards. Comment: Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced that Spain's general sales tax will be increased from 18 percent to 21 percent, and spending on employment benefits is also being cut. These measures will slash the budge from 65 billion euros over two and a half years. (Guardian, CNN, Washington Post)
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Middle East & North Africa
EGYPT: Morsi issues a decree to reinstate parliament
On Sunday, President Morsi issued a decree to reinstate the People's Assembly in defiance of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) move to dissolve the parliament's lower house last month. Members of the dissolved parliament met on Tuesday to review the legal procedure of the implementation of the High Constitutional Court's (HCC) ruling and agreed to seek further judicial counsel regarding the alleged voting irregularities during the parliament's election. After parliament reconvened, the HCC quickly overruled Morsi's decree, which ignited mass protests in Cairo. On Wednesday, Morsi declared that he respects the HCC's ruling and will pursue dialogue between political institutions and judicial authorities to resolve the issue. Comment: The recent events highlight the political struggle between the Muslim Brotherhood and the long ruling state institutions and military, which, according to Al Jazeera analysts, have attempted to limit the power of the Islamist party since they won nearly half of the seats in the parliament. Critics of Morsi's call to reestablish parliament are concerned that the Islamist party is trying to consolidate power by overriding the tenets of the constitution and Egyptian law. (Al Jazeera, Reuters, Ahram, BBC, Al Jazeera)
SAUDI ARABIA: Protests ensue after the arrest of Shia Cleric, two killed
On Sunday, hundreds of protestors flooded the streets of the city in Qatif to protest the shooting and arrest of the prominent Shia cleric and outspoken anti-government activist, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Another protest broke out on Monday in the Shia Muslim village of Awamiya, where two men were killed. The Interior Ministry claims that there was no confrontation between security forces and protestors. Sheikh Nimr faces charges of instigating discontent through his advocacy efforts on behalf of the minority Shi'ites in the Sunni dominant country. Comment: Resident of Qatif and member of the Adala Center for Human Rights Hussain al-Alk projects that the arrest stemmed from Sunni pressure on the government to constrain Shia opposition. In January, 23 Shias from the Eastern Province were arrested and accused of stirring up unrest in the country. (Al Jazeera, BBC, Reuters)
YEMEN: Suicide bombing at Yemeni police academy kills 10
On Wednesday, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive outside a police academy in a crowd of Yemeni police cadets in the capital Sanaa, killing an estimated 10 and wounding 15. The suicide bomber, named Mohammed Ali al-Erri, survived the initial attack and told security officers before he died that he was affiliated with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). AQAP has claimed responsibility for the attack, as it likewise did for the military parade rehearsal bombing in May that killed more than 90. Comment: This attack on the military in the center of the capital reveals that the Yemeni government is far from defeating AQAP, even with the U.S.-backed offensive that pushed them out of their strongholds in southern Yemen. (Reuters, Saba News, Al Jazeera)
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South Asia
AFGHANISTAN: Women protest the public execution of a woman by the Taliban
On Wednesday, women's rights activists took to the streets of Kabul to protest the execution of a 22-year -old woman accused of adultery by a member of the Taliban in the village of Parwan. Karzai has condemned the killing, calling it "un-Islamic and unforgiveable." Security forces have begun a manhunt to bring those responsible for the execution to justice. Comment: The woman's execution was caught on tape, which showed men cheering as she was shot to death, inciting international outrage. NATO commander General John Allen has offered to aid the local security forces in their manhunt. (DAWN, Times of India, Gulf Times)
PAKISTAN: Thousands protest the re-opening of NATO supply lines
On Monday, thousands protested against the government for agreeing to reopen NATO supply lines in Islamabad. The protest was led by the founder of militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, who spoke to the crowd inciting further anti-American sentiments. Comment: Mr.Saeed is responsible for the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai in which 170 people were killed. LeT is considered a terrorist organization and the government of United States has issued a 10 million USD reward for the capture of Mr. Saeed who is still free, in part because of Pakistan's intelligence services. (DAWN, New York Times, International Business Times)
REGIONAL: International donors pledge 16 billion USD in aid to Afghanistan
Over 70 countries convened in Tokyo, Japan to decide on a four-year civilian assistance plan for Afghanistan. On Sunday, the major donors pledged 16 billion USD for development aid through 2015 in an attempt to stabilize the country after NATO troops exit. Comment: War fatigue in the international community has led to some hesitancy towards providing aid to Afghanistan, which still has a highly corrupted government. This pledge of 16 billion USD came after U.S. Secretary of State Clinton declared Afghanistan a major ally, giving it special privileges such as access to U.S. military training and supplies, loans, and financing of loans. (South Asian News Agency, Reuters, Al-Jazeera)
Researched/Written by Nishat Jafreen
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IPSI News
The 2012 The Hague Symposium on Post-Conflict Transitions & International Justice begins in one week! ___________________ |
IPSI Leadership
Cameron M. Chisholm Dr. I. William Zartman
Dr. P. Terrence Hopmann
Alexander Little
George Foote
Pamela Aall
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah
Betty Bigombe Dr. Francis Deng
Jan Eliasson
Gareth Evans
Dr. Ted Robert Gurr
Amb. Jacques Paul Klein
Peter Kyle
Dr. Jean Paul Lederach
Jeffrey Mapendere
John Marks
Susan Collin Marks
Dr. Joyce Neu Dr. Valerie Rosoux
William Stuebner
Dr. Ruth Wedgwood Dr. Craig Zelizer About Us >> ___________________ |
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