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. 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.

  

 

The 2013 Hague Symposium comes to a successful close today. Over the past four weeks, we tried to make it easy for people around the world to experience the Hague Symposium along with the 50 amazing emerging leaders in attendance.  You can catch up here:

• This week's Participant Blog entries on the intensive 3-day simulation:
• A Reflection: Getting Real >>
• A Tale of Many Interests >>
• In the Midst of Chaos >>  
• Live Tweeting at @ipsinstitute #ipsihague2013 
• Facebook updates.  Like Us [here]
• Flickr photo album from weeks 1-3: Hague 2013

CHILE: Chilean workers strike at world's largest copper mine

Workers for Chile's Escondida copper mine went on strike Wednesday as a result of poor working conditions and pay grievances. Union leader Marcelo Tapia reportedly stated that the 4,800 workers at the largest copper mine in the world planned to strike for 24 hours but have considered extending the protest if their demands are not met. The Escondida mine produces 20 percent of all Chilean copper, the world's leading producer of the metal. Comment: This is not the first time that workers at the Escondida mine have gone on strike demanding for better work conditions. In 2011, workers refused to work for two weeks, which resulted in severe reductions in both production and profits for the Chilean government and private investors. The recent strikes have come as somewhat of a surprise to government officials and BHP Billiton, the majority owners of the mine, as union leaders and workers agreed to a labor agreement this past January easing fears of future labor disputes. Some experts believe that the strikes may be a result of powerful unions, which represent much of the labor force in Chile, attempting to publicize their issues before the presidential election this upcoming November to ensure that their voices are heard. (BBC, NY Times, Reuters)

 

COLOMBIA: Peace talks between government and FARC convene twelfth session

The twelfth round of peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) concluded this past Saturday in Havana, Cuba as the two sides attempted to come closer to a plan that would potentially end the 50-year civil war. The topic of discussion was future political participation for the rebel group. FARC is asking for a new constitutional assembly, political and judicial reform, and a postponement of next year's presidential elections; all of which the government currently rejects. A joint statement issued by both groups stated that agreements and proposals have been discussed by both sides, marking a point that has thus far never been reached in the past attempts at a peaceful negotiation. Negotiations are scheduled to resume on August 19. Comment: Despite the optimism felt by both sides, negotiations have continued to progress slowly. In a radio interview on Monday, President Juan Manuel Santos explained that the negotiations would likely need more time until a final agreement is met. This is a stark difference from a year ago when Santos proclaimed that peace would be reached in months not years and set a deadline for November. Analysts still believe that peace can be reached as many positives have come forth from the most recent negotiations, such as an agreement on agrarian reform this past June, which marks the first accord of any kind between FARC and the government since 1964. (BBC, Huffington Post, LA Times)

 

REGIONAL: Kerry meets with Colombia and Brazil on trip to South America

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Colombian officials on Monday followed by a meeting on Tuesday with Brazilian leaders during his two-day trip to South America in an effort to bolster diplomatic ties with the United States' strongest allies in the region. Secretary Kerry was tasked with repairing any damage done to the relationship between the U.S. and its two allies caused by reports of alleged spying by the National Security Agency (NSA) in Latin America. Comment: Kerry made assurances on behalf of the U.S. that would allow for the nations to continue cooperating on security matters. Apart from the NSA spying allegations, Kerry was able to offer the United State's support to the peace talks that are currently underway between the Colombian government and FARC. Kerry's visit to Brazil proved more controversial, as he was greeted by protestors outside of Foreign Ministry in Brazilia shouting, "go away, spies!" Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota explained that the issue of illegal spying "will run a risk of casting a shadow of distrust" on the bilateral relationship between the two nations unless the matter is resolved. Kerry responded by assuring that the NSA surveillance programs were both legal and necessary to preventing acts of terror. Kerry also stated that his discussion with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff would lead to a "complete understanding" of global U.S. security efforts in hopes of moving past the controversy. (LA Times, NY Times, Reuters, Washington Post)     

 

PHILIPPINES: Assistance provided for citizens to repatriate from Egypt

On Thursday, the Philippine government released a travel warning due to the escalating civil unrest in Egypt. According to Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario, the government raised the alert level for Egypt to three, which asks for the voluntary repatriation of Filipinos in Egypt, suspends any programs that send new workers to the country, and provides return flight tickets for Egypt-based Filipino citizens, including the spouses of Egyptians nationals, as well as Islamic University students and their dependents. Comment: According to the Philippine government, there are an estimated 6,000 Filipinos living in Egypt. Del Rosario has also asked the assistance of the Philippine Embassy in Cairo to help with the repatriation efforts. Alert level three is just one level under the highest level of the emergency advisory system for overseas Filipino workers, which requires evacuation from foreign countries. In addition to the Philippines, many other countries have also issued a travel warning for Egypt. (Globalpost, Philstar, Inquirer, PIA)

 

THAILAND: Government asks Myanmar Rohingya migrants to leave

On Wednesday, Thai Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul asked his counterpart in Myanmar Wunna Maung Lwin to repatriate the approximately 1,700 Muslim-minority Rohingya migrants who had entered Thailand illegally over the last several months due to the ongoing conflict in western Myanmar's Rakhine state. Surapong added that the Thai Interior Ministry would provide temporary shelter for the Rohingyas until the Myanmar government provides a solution. Comment: The sectarian conflict in Myanmar between the Muslim-minority and the Buddhist-majority has brought attention to the illegal immigration issues in Southeast Asia. According to the Thai foreign minister, Thailand has no policy to give permanent shelter to migrants who have entered the country illegally due to sectarian violence. The Thai government only allows those migrants to stay in the territory temporarily for humanitarian reasons. (Asia News Network, Bangkok Post, EuroAsia Review)

 

REGIONAL: Eighth ASEAN meeting to be held in Cambodia next month

On Thursday, Cambodia's Ministry of Social Affairs announced that they would hold the eighth Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial Meeting for Social Welfare and Development in Siem Reap City from September 3-7, 2013. The fourth ASEAN+3 Social Welfare Ministers meeting will take place simultaneously. According to the statement, the meetings are held once every three years with the goal of promoting collaboration in social affairs among member states of ASEAN, as well as strengthening strategic partnership between ASEAN and countries including China, Japan and South Korea. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will chair the opening ceremony. Comment: Members of ASEAN include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. In addition, the 45th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting (AEM) will be held in Brunei from August 18-21 to review ASEAN's progress in executing economic integration commitments drafted in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint, which was signed by leaders at the ASEAN Summit in Singapore. (ASEAN.org, Xinhuanet, Global Times)

 

RUSSIA: IOC confused over Anti-Gay laws

The International Olympics Committee (IOC) requested on Friday that Russia clarify the nature of their so-called Anti-Gay legislations and the expected effect on the 2014 Winter Games to be held in Sochi next year. One of the recent laws punishes any effort to disseminate "non-traditional sexual relations" propaganda to minors with fines or prison sentences. There are fears that foreign athletes and guest spectators who identify as, or sympathize with, LGBTQ individuals may run afoul of the new legislation. Comment: The confusion has mostly arisen from a lack of definition for "propagating." Even after providing translated documents dealing with the nature of the law, messages from Moscow remain mixed. They have promised there will be no danger to visitors while also committing to uphold all federal laws regardless of who commits the crime. The 2014 Sochi winter has been the center of political debate, as public figures enter the fray calling for boycotts to the event. Last week, Stephen Fry, renowned English actor, broadcaster and LGBTQ activist, posted an open letter to Prime Minister Cameron and to the IOC calling on them to refuse holding the event in Russia. In his reply, the Prime Minister refrained from endorsing the request despite sharing Fry's concern. (BBC News, Radio Free Europe, Ria Novosti, The Moscow Times, The New Adventures of Mr Stephen Fry)

 

SWEDEN/RUSSIA: Leftist Russian activist seeks asylum in Sweden

Aleksei Sakhnin, a senior activist of the Left Front, a Russian opposition umbrella group, was reported on Wednesday to have arrived in Sweden seeking asylum. Mr Sakhnin justifies his asylum claim due to fear of arrest for inciting violence during the Bolotnaya square demonstrations last May in Moscow. Comment: Approximately thirty similar activists have fled Russia since last May for fear of arrests, but their efforts at seeking asylum have thus far produced mixed results. Two leaders of the demonstration have already been convicted while twelve similar cases are on going. It is unclear whether Sweden will approve of Mr Sakhnin's application. The so-called "Bolotnaya case" was an anti-Putin demonstration held on May 6 last year, a day before his inauguration as Russia's President. Official government investigations found Georgian officials to have instigated the violence, while the Left Front has accused police provocateurs. (Radio Free Europe, Ria Novosti, The Moscow Times)

 

REGIONAL: Eurozone Recession "Ends"

In the second quarter this year, the top two economies of the Eurozone witnessed earlier-than-forecast growth, with Germany at 0.7 percent and France at 0.5 percent, pulling the Eurozone rate up to 0.3 percent; the first positive growth in 18 months. This news has resulted in a declaration, particularly from German and French sources, that the Eurozone recession has "ended." Portugal, Austria, and Finland also saw improvements. The Netherlands and several periphery states witnessed continued contractions, most notable being Cyprus, Greece, Italy, and Spain. Comment: Both Germany's and France's growth is credited to increased domestic/public consumption. Even Portugal's GDP, which fared particularly poorly, has expanded by 1.1 percent. While few believe the Eurozone is safely past the so-called Eurozone "crisis" just yet, the news is welcome nonetheless. The challenge for the afflicted periphery states still contracting will be to convert austerity drives to entice growth without overburdening their fiscal deficits. (BBC News, France 24, Reuters)

 

Researched/Written by Takumi Imagawa

BAHRAIN: Government clamps down on nonviolent protests

On Wednesday, a few hundred anti-government protesters took to the streets throughout Bahrain to demonstrate for democratic reforms within the Kingdom, which has been run by the Al Khalifah family since the 18th century. No one was seriously injured during the protests, even though police forces deployed tear gas and birdshot to disperse the crowds, arresting at least 13 activists. For weeks, opposition groups had been calling for mass rallies to take place on August 14, the 42nd anniversary of Bahrain's independence from British rule, prompting the government to ban protests in the capital and erect checkpoints and barbed wire fences in Shiite villages outside Manama on Tuesday. Comment: Demonstrations by the Shiite majority against the Sunni royal family have continued since the military crackdown on protesters in March 2011, demanding democratic reforms and an end to perceived economic marginalization and political exclusion by the government. Earlier this month, the country's National Assembly had stepped up Bahrain's anti-terror legislation by introducing 22 new recommendations, giving authorities the power to revoke the citizenship of anyone convicted of inciting violence and allowing them to take action against anyone "disturbing civic peace." Human rights organizations have sharply criticized these new measures, with Amnesty International denouncing them as "draconian" and intended "to sanction the repression of peaceful protests." (Amnesty International, Gulf Daily News, Al Jazeera, Al-bab)

 

EGYPT: Clearance of protest camps makes Wednesday deadliest day since outbreak of Arab Spring

At least 630 people, including approximately 40 policemen, were killed and more than 4,200 injured as a result of violent clashes between security forces and Morsi supporters throughout Egypt on Wednesday. Nationwide protests erupted when police forces used bulldozers and armored vehicles to raid two sit-in camps in Cairo where backers of the ousted president had been demonstrating for his reinstatement. The interim government imposed a month-long state of emergency and an overnight curfew for Cairo and other provinces in reaction to the clashes, justifying the move as a needed "extraordinary measure." Comment: Prime Minister el-Beblawi commended the police for their "self-restraint," stating the decision to dismantle the protests "was not easy," but was necessary given "the spread of anarchy and attacks on hospitals and police stations." Several attacks on Coptic Christian churches were also reported. Interim Vice President ElBaradei announced his resignation on Wednesday, saying that peaceful alternatives had been left unexplored. According to the Muslim Brotherhood, at least 2,000 Morsi supporters were killed in what they denounce as a "massacre" by the government. A statement issued Thursday announced more anti-government marches to peacefully protest against the killings. The violence was unanimously condemned by the international community, with the Obama administration canceling a joint military exercise with Egypt in reaction to the crackdown. (Al Jazeera, Daily News Egypt, Al Arabiya)

 

TUNISIA: Anti-government protesters demand dissolution of National Constituent Assembly

Tens of thousands of opponents of the ruling Islamist Ennahda party rallied in Tunis on Tuesday to demand the dissolution of the National Constituent Assembly and to mark the country's National Women's Day that commemorates the establishment of extensive legal protection for women's rights in 1956. Supporters of the government staged counter-demonstrations, but no clashes between the rival rallies have been reported. Hamadi Jebali, Ennahda's secretary general, announced his support of a non-partisan cabinet on Wednesday to allow for the holding of elections within six months, but the proposition was immediately rejected by the party's chairman. Comment: Tunisia's political divisions have deepened since the assassination of opposition figure Mohamed Brahmi on July 25, with secular parties fearing a growing influence of radical Islamist elements and a rolling back of political rights and civil liberties. The Tunisian army has reinforced its fight against radical "jihadists" in reaction to increasing pressure from the opposition, carrying out air strikes near the Algerian border on Monday where eight Tunisian soldiers had been killed by militants last month. According to army sources, several fighters have been killed and at least four have been captured since the launch of the operation on August 1. The previous week, Algeria and Tunisia agreed to enhance their intelligence and security cooperation to effectively fight terrorist activities in the border region. (Magharebia, Al Arabiya, AllAfrica.com, Al Jazeera)

 

Researched/Written by Anke Rehfeld