| International Peace & Security Institute |
|
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.
|
|
Featured Article
The Hague Symposium Week Three! IPSI Participants simulating a brief for the Prosecutor of the ICC on the situation in Libya. Click on the photo above for a complete slideshow of Symposium photos. In the third week of the inaugural The Hague Symposium on Post-Conflict Transitions & International Justice, the participants met with top officials at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, and the International Criminal Court. They also had the opportunity to learn from Dr. Valerie Rosoux about memory and reconciliation, complimented by a simulation on memorialization. On Thursday, the participants spent the day preparing advice to the Prosecutor of the ICC on how she should proceed in Libya, and what her actions would mean for security, development, and governance in the region. Catch-up on this week's events:
As always, you can read all about The Hague Symposium by visiting the event webpage. |
Africa
COTE D'IVOIRE: Fighters accused to be Gbagbo loyalists
On Wednesday, the government of Cote d'Ivoire accused perpetrators of a string of attacks on security forces as fighters loyal to former President Laurent Gbagbo. The attacks have killed 10 soldiers in the capital Abidjan since Sunday. The defense ministry claims that this violence aims to heighten fears of renewed instability in the country as it emerges from years of political turmoil that ended last year in a brief but bloody civil war. Comment: Analysts have praised Ivoirian President Ouattara for improving security and economic prosperity since he took office; however, the violence also exposes his weakness and inability to stabilize the security situation and establish long-lasting peace. UN-backed efforts to remove thousands of weapons left over from the conflict that are still in circulation have faltered, and the army and police remain crippled by internal divisions. (Al Jazeera, All Africa, Reuters)
MALI: Ansar Dine begins engagement with ECOWAS
Islamist rebel group Ansar Dine Secretary General Iyad Ag Ghali met with Burkina Faso's Foreign Affairs Minister Dijbril Bassole in Kidal on Tuesday, opening engagement in mediation efforts to reunite the country. The regional West African economic and security bloc, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) appointed Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré to be the mediator in the Malian crisis, who has called on Ansar Dine and other rebel groups to distance themselves from "terrorist" organizations and join the peace process. Comment: ECOWAS recently extended the July 31st deadline for Mali's interim authority to form a more inclusive government, following the return of President Diancounda Traoré from recovery in Paris for injuries sustained during an attack on the presidential palace in May. (Afrik, All Africa, Washington Post)
SUDAN/SOUTH SUDAN: Oil deal reached
Last Friday, Sudan and South Sudan finally agreed to the financial terms for the export of oil from the south to the north, thus ending a dispute that shut down South Sudan's output of 350,000 barrels of oil per day. South Sudan agreed to a pipeline transit fee between USD 9.10 and USD 11.00 per barrel, a significant drop from Khartoum's initial demands of up to USD 36.00. Juba also agreed to a USD 3.03 billion cover over three and a half years to mitigate the financial gap created by the South's independence last year. Comment: Khartoum and Juba are expecting to restart production around September, as oil comprises a significant portion of both economies. Both countries plan to resume talks in Addis Ababa at the end of August to negotiate a disputed border and improve border security. Nations including U.S., Britain, and China have widely praised and welcomed the deal. (All Africa, Financial Times, France 24, Reuters)
|
Americas
BRAZIL: 10,000 security force personnel deployed to the border
President Rousseff mobilized 9,000 armed forces and roughly 1,000 other governmental agency personnel to the border to fight narcotic, gun and other contraband trafficking on August 6. The initiative, called Operation Agate, is scheduled to last thirty days along the borders with Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia, and is part of a series of operations in areas with limited centralized government presence. Aside from securing areas, Operation Agate is also charged with providing medical attention and vaccinations. Neighboring countries were alerted in advance of the plan and invited to send observers, according to Defense Minister Celso Amorim. Comment: Brazil has almost 17,000 kilometer border with its ten neighbors. This operation covers 4,000 kilometers. Four similar previous operations seized 2.3 tons of drugs, 302 irregular boats, and 59 firearms. They closed four clandestine landing strips, closed eight mines, and five logging operations. (Cronista, La Voz, Semana)
COLOMBIA: Prominent cartel leader captured by authorities
President Santos confirmed on Wednesday that John Ericson Vargas Cardona, alias "Sebastian" and leader of the Oficina de Envigado, is in custody. Oficina de Envigado is a criminal group created by Pablo Escobar and a major drug trafficking empire. It is now a mix of smaller drug trafficking organizations that work with street gangs to control territory and businesses. The arrest, made by an elite group of police in Antioquia, is viewed as a big win against criminal groups in Colombia; Sebastian is accused of more than 20 years of criminal activity. President Santos stated that he intends to see Sebastian extradited the U.S. Comment: In 2011, a U.S. attorney investigating charges against 20 people linked to the cartel stated that the Oficina de Envigado is, "one of the largest and most dangerous drug cartels in Colombia." (El Espectador, CNN, El Pais)
HONDURAS: Jose Chinchilla requests asylum in U.S. embassy
Jose Chinchilla requested political asylum at the Tegucigalpan U.S. embassy on August 4, stating that he, his wife and four children suffer from repeated threats and attacks. Unidentified gunmen shot up the family's home, injuring Chinchilla's son Friday. This is the third violent attack against Chinchilla in three years. Chinchilla works for radio station Radio Cadena Voces in El Progreso and reports on human rights and organized crime, amongst other issues. Local authorities are not relating the crimes to the professions of the victims, but rather blame them on the general violence that plagues the country. Comment: In Honduras, since 2010, 21 journalists (29 if including all communications personnel) were murdered and none of the crimes are solved. Honduras maintained the highest homicide rate in the world in 2012 at 82 for every 100,000 citizens, according to the United Nations. (La Prensa, BBC, La Capital MDP, El Heraldo)
|
East Asia
INDONESIA: Government considers investigation of violence in Myanmar
Marzuki Alie, the Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives, said on Tuesday that the Indonesian government was considering dispatching a delegation to the Rakhine province of Myanmar to investigate claims of state-sponsored violence. The scale of the sectarian conflict in the Rakhine region has displaced an estimated 80,000 people and left scores dead in recent weeks, forcing refugees to flood the countryside and strain the resources of the UN World Food Programme. The poor conditions of the refugee camps and the failure of the Myanmar government to protect Muslim minorities led Alie to call the conflict "genocide" last month. Comment: Both Myanmar President Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung Suu Kyi have denounced the violence and denied any government involvement, though the isolated nature of the region has made it difficult for outside sources to confirm their accounts. Clashes began after the alleged rape of an ethnic Hindu by a gang of three Muslim men in May. (Mizzima, Al Jazeera, Jakarta Globe)
PHILIPPINES: Talks with Muslim insurgents to continue despite recent attacks
Islamic insurgents associated with the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement staged an attack on government troops in the Philippine province of Maguindanao on Sunday, wounding at least five soldiers and three civilians and leaving two of their own fighters dead. The strike was conducted in tandem with several other such attacks across the region which forced villagers to flee their homes and left much of the population without power. Teresita Deles, the Philippine advisor on peace talks in the region, said that the violence was intended to destabilize negotiations currently underway with the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front, but would not hinder their progress in any way. Comment: Islamic separatist groups have waged an insurgent conflict against the Filipino government in the nation's southern provinces for years, seeking either independence or greater autonomy from the predominantly Roman Catholic country. (Jakarta Globe, Washington Post, Irrawaddy, The Australian)
REGIONAL: UN and Vietnam to donate rice to North Korea following devastating floods
Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang pledged on Tuesday to provide 5,000 tons of rice to North Korea, which has seen large-scale destruction of its farmland in the wake of torrential rains late last month. The flooding has left at least 169 people dead, 400 missing, and an estimated 200,000 homeless, and follows a severe drought which had already limited the availability of food in the reclusive state. The United Nations dispatched a delegation on Sunday to assess the damage and develop an effective aid plan. Claudia von Roehl, the UN World Food Programme Representative in North Korea, stated that "we are really quite far away from the situation in mid-1990s. But we should always be aware there is a very chronic and severe problem in the nutrition of the population and in particular the very monotonous diet [of North Koreans]." Comment: Widespread deforestation has contributed to North Korea's susceptibility to flooding, leaving the state a victim of food shortages. In the mid-1990s, a North Korean famine was responsible for the deaths of nearly one million people. (Huffington Post, Asia One, Daily NK, Alert Net, Global Post, Reuters)
|
Europe & Central Asia
BELARUS/SWEDEN: Teddy bear "bombing" causes diplomatic fallout
On August 3, Belarus expelled Swedish Ambassador Stefan Ericsson and the entire staff of Sweden's embassy in retaliation for the teddy bear "bombing" on July 4 in Minsk. Two Swedish citizens flying a private plane dropped 879 teddy bears carrying freedom of speech and pro-democracy messages. Belarusian officials claim that they are denying the extension of the ambassador's accreditation and are not expelling him. In retaliation, Sweden ejected the Belarusian ambassador and two embassy officials from Stockholm. The embassies in both Stockholm and Minsk are closing down due to the incident. President Lukashenko fired Belarus' air force head and the chairman of its State Border Committee, reproaching them for an undetected foreign plane enter their airspace and endangering national security. Two Belarusian men are detained by security forces under suspicion of cooperating with the pilots and face up to seven years of prison if convicted. One man, Anton Suryapin, published photos of the bears online. Comment: On Freedom House's freedom index, Belarus is measured at "not free" for both the internet and the press. (BBC, Inquisitr, Telegraph, Freedom House)
SPAIN: Al-Qaeda suspects accused of targeting Gibraltar
According to recent reports, the three al-Qaeda suspects arrested in Spain last week are accused of planning assaults on the British colony of Gibraltar shopping center. The attack is suspected to have been planned during the Olympics in the United Kingdom's backyard to attract maximum attention. The Turkish suspect, Cengiz Yalcin, asked his paraglide instructor for aerial pictures of the mall. The Russian suspects, Eldar Magomedov and Mohamed Ankari Adamov, were being paid by the Turk to learn how to pilot small planes and paraglide. A video was found of Yalvin flying a remote-controlled airplane capable of dropping a package. Comment: Judge Pablo Ruz ordered the Russians to be indefinitely detained. They were charged with possession of explosives and membership to an unnamed terror organization. The Turk was charged with possession of explosives and devices that may be used for a terrorist attack. He is in preventive detention under Spain's anti-terror law. (Dailymail, El Pais, CNN)
TURKEY: International oil pipeline explosion
The Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline in the Mardin province suffered an attack from the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), halting the flow of a quarter of Iraq's crude exports on August 6. Repairs are expected to take up to ten days, according to Turkish Energy Ministry officials. The pipeline was running about 300,000 barrels per day. Only one of the two pipes in the double link line was damaged by an explosion, and engineers assessed flow possibilities in the remaining pipe. Comment: The attacks came a day after 19 people were killed in southeastern Turkey in a battle between soldiers and PKK fighters. The PKK is known for repeated attacks in the Mardin province during its 28-year campaign against the state of Turkey. More than 40,000 people have died in this conflict. (Aljazeera, Ikners, Reuters)
|
Middle East & North Africa
EGYPT: Gunmen attack Sinai security checkpoint, killing 16 and wounding seven
Unidentified gunmen attacked a security checkpoint along the Sinai border with Israel on Sunday, killing 16 and wounding seven border guards. According to Egyptian armed forces, there were approximately 35-armed fighters in the attack. Israel reported its aircraft killed eight of the gunmen after they rushed the Israeli border. While no group claimed responsibility for the attack, Egyptian military suggested that the assailants were Sinai-based Egyptian Islamist militants who received Palestinian aid from the Gaza Strip. Both Israel and Egypt claim Islamist fighters from the Sinai and their Palestinian allies frequently attack Egyptian security forces and conduct raids along the border. Comment: The Egyptian military pledged to capture the remaining attackers that are still at large. Israel is pressing for tighter security measures to protect the Sinai from more attacks, but does not want a major increase of Egyptian troops along the border. (BBC, Al Jazeera, Reuters)
SYRIA: Prime Minister defects from Assad government, joins opposition
On Monday, Prime Minister Riad Farid Hijab announced through his spokesman Muhammed el-Etri that he defected and joined the "blessed revolution" against the Assad government. Hajib accused President Assad of committing "genocide" against his own people. El-Etri denied that Hijab was fired before announcing his defection, claiming the government lied about his dismissal after they realized Hijab fled the country to Jordan. The spokesman also reported that the defection was planned for months and was coordinated with the Free Syrian Army. Comment: While the former prime minister was not a key member of Assad's inner circle, he is now the highest-ranking official to defect and join the opposition. This triggered Syrian National Council leader Abdel Basset Sayda to say, "This defection showed that the regime is disintegrating. It is the beginning of the end." (Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, BBC, France 24, The Huffington Post)
YEMEN: Suicide bombing in the south kills 45 and wounds more than 40
A suicide bomber attacked a funeral service in the southern city of Jaar in the Abyan province on Saturday, killing an estimated 45 and wounding more than 40. Ansar al-Sharia claimed responsibility for the attack, which was in retaliation against tribesmen who sided with the Yemeni army during its military campaign against the al-Qaeda (AQ) group in the south. Earlier on Saturday, five alleged AQ members were killed by a suspected U.S. drone strike in the Hadramawt province, according to Yemeni officials. Comment: The Yemeni army regained control of the Abyan region in June after Ansar al-Sharia took advantage of the political unrest that removed former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. This attack, along with last week's Wednesday AQ shooting in Jaar left two soldiers and one civilian dead, increased suspicions that the group remains active. A man identifying himself as a spokesperson for Ansar al-Sharia commented to Reuters via telephone about the most recent attack, "That was a preliminary operation. The next one will be bigger." (Reuters, BBC, Al Jazeera)
|
| South Asia
AFGHANISTAN: UN reports drop in casualty rate
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) issued a report on Wednesday stating that the rate of Afghan civilian casualties dropped by 15 percent in the first six months of 2012 compared to previous year. However, the UN warns that the drop is a 'hollow' trend, as violence against civilians increased through targeted assassinations, school attacks, aerial bombardment, and general population displacement. Comment: This drop in the casualty rate is the first within the past five years, reversing the previous trend, which indicated a constant increase in civilian deaths. Nevertheless, UNAMA still stresses in the report that Afghanistan is very unstable and a dangerous place for civilians to live in. (Al-Jazeera, AP, BBC)
PAKISTAN: Taliban threatens to kill opposition leader Imran Khan
The Pakistani Taliban issued a statement on Thursday claiming that they will attempt to kill opposition leader Imran Khan if he continues forward with his planned protest against the U.S. use of drones in Waziristan. Despite the fact that both parties are in agreement over the issue of U.S. drone attacks, the Pakistani Taliban opposes Khan because he calls himself a 'liberal" - a word the group perceives synonymous to infidel. Comment: Imran Khan is a celebrity in Pakistan as he led the country to the Cricket World Cup in 1992. His political group's (the Pakistan Movement for Justice) policies are considered to be moderate, anti-elitist, and anti-corruption. (Al-Jazeera, DAWN, Guardian)
REGIONAL: U.S. urges Bangladesh to not shut down aid to Rohingya refugees
On Tuesday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Patrick Ventrell issued a statement addressing the country's concern over Bangladesh's decision to shut down non-governmental organizations' humanitarian operations targeted towards the Rohingya refugees. Ventrell also stated that the U.S. will continue to monitor the conflict and urged the Myanmar government to pursue a peaceful resolution. Comment: The Rohingya are a minority Muslim group inhabiting the western province of Rakhine, Myanmar. Sectarian violence began in June, 2012 and the subsequent government crack-down forced thousands to flee into Bangladesh looking for security. The Bangladesh government is concerned that the Rohingya refugees will overwhelm its borders and cause instability. By shutting down NGOs in the area, the government seeks to discourage the refugees from entering the country, and push them to find other security alternatives. (VOA, Reuters, Chicago Tribune)
|
|
|
|
|
IPSI News
The 2012 The Hague Symposium on Post-Conflict Transitions & International Justice is currently underway!
Learn more here >> ___________________ |
IPSI News
IPSI Faculty John Prendergast with CNN's 'Amanpour' on the Future of South Sudan ___________________ |
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 >> ___________________ |
|
