Blogging the democratic revolution
The OSCE declared these elections partially free, noting substantial progress in this election compared to previous ones. Normally I wouldn’t be so critical of those filing complaints about irregularities, but RFE/RL makes a solid point against the people doing it in this case. Albania’s Central Election Commission agreed on 19 July to repeat the 3 July ballot in at least one district, but challenges by rival politicians continue to hold up the release of final election results, Reuters reported (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” 1, 7, and 15 July 2005). A commission spokesman said that “the commission agreed in principle to ÄrepeatÅ…
Talk about straightforward. Earlier in the week, Georgian President Saakashvili lashed out at Belarus President Lukashenko for having “no understanding of democracy.” During a visit to Italy, he has made a direct comment, in line with international actions being taken, saying that Belarus will be next to experience a velvet revolution. Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili expressed confidence that Belarus is to become the next country where the revolution against authoritarian government is to burst. This idea was expressed during his visit to Italy in the interview to the local TV channel RAINEWS 24. In his interview which is to be…
After several attempts at presenting various cabinet line ups, President Lahoud has finally approved a package of ministers worked out by Premier-designate Seniora that will form the whole of the new government. Again, can someone say finally? It’s been exactly a month now since parliamentary elections were held. Now, Seniora will begin working with the cabinet toward fixing the country’s problems, especially dealing with Syria and the debt crisis. Prime Minister Fouad Seniora gave a dramatic assurance to the nation that he would not levy new taxes as his newly formed government went through the motions of taking office Wednesday…
The al-Mada newspaper on June 30 published what is apparently a draft version of the equivalent to the Bill Of Rights that is being worked on by a subcommittee in the Iraqi legislature. Omar from Iraq The Model first reported this on that day and provided his commentary on the document, but ultimately it was too large to translate. Nathan J. Brown of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace provides a valuable public service by translating the entire document, so a big hat tip to him. Let’s take a quick look at some of the features of this bill, as…
The OSCE has been monitoring the electoral process and situation in Kyrgyzstan since the Tulip Revolution and has said that the polls have led to “tangible progress” for democracy and have made the country more stable. 18 July 2005 (RFE/RL) — An official from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said today that this month’s presidential election in Kyrgyzstan has helped stabilize the country. Alojz Peterle, special envoy for the OSCE, spoke during a visit to Bishkek. “I see that the ÄKyrgyzÅ government is determined to continue its work and that they are preparing themselves to do what…
The leader of the Christian political party Lebanese Forces, who has been in jail for over eleven years, has been given parole by the new parliament, thus securing one of the major demands of the original anti-Syrian opposition. Church bells rang across Lebanon’s Christian heartland Monday as parliament overwhelmingly passed a parole bill that put Lebanese Forces commander Samir Geagea on the homestretch of his race to freedom, hopefully by the end of the week. Long convoys of cars with honking horns joyously toured the streets of Besharri, Geagea’s hometown in north Lebanon’s cedar mountains and around his house in…
The Russian youth group “Nashi,” created not all that long ago, has been pledged to by the Kremlin to be the heirs of the government. They are among the most energetic of Putin supporters, often reported to have resorted to violence when dealing with those of opposing views. A Kremlin spin doctor has promised to ???????hand over the country??????? to the activists of the recently established Nashi movement, the Gazeta daily wrote Monday. Vladislav Surkov made the statement as he addressed a conference held by Nashi on the picturesque banks of Lake Seliger The event was closed to the press…
Russ Mitchell is hosting this week’s carnival of revolutions, so check that out to catch up on what’s been going on the past week.
It’s disgusting to watch Assad, knowing that he’s going to lose in the end, as he continues to kick and scream all the way to the graveyard. Yet the man just can’t help himself. You have to wonder how some “experts” can still consider this guy a reformist when he is doing every thing he can to make sure that the progress being made in Lebanon. For that, he still has his goon in place, dearest President Lahoud, who continues to veto every single cabinet line up presented to him by the Premier-Designate. President Lahoud and Premier-Designate Fouad Seniora were…
Big Pharaoh posts what he thinks each religion should do in order to make the world a better place. There are many I don’t agree with, but then again, I find some of them both agreeable and hilarious. Allah does not give a dead rat’s ass about a girl’s hair. If you’re sexually excited when you see a girl’s hairs then you’re the sick pervert. Hijab is not a fard (obligation). It does not add or decrease the “good points” that a girl gets when she makes it to heaven. Perceived verses about women’s covering were for the women of…
In the latest people power demonstration in the Philippines, the government was able to organize a rally that seriously dwarfed the opposition rally this past Monday. MANILA — Matching masses against masses, supporters of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo held their own “people power” rally on Saturday to counter suggestions that all Filipinos want her to quit over allegations of vote rigging. Supporters of President Arroyo attended a prayer rally at the Rizal Park in Manila Saturday where they called for peace, unity and resolution of the country’s political turmoil. Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando estimated the crowd that…
An interesting poll was released the other day that shows terrorism has lost its clout among Muslims in the Middle East, while democracy has made solid gains. Ed Morrissey has more thoughts on this, which I agree with. So the question begs: Are we witnessing the beginning of a dramatic shift of opinion against extremism in the Muslim world? Perhaps, as this other recent survey shows, people in the Middle East are worried about the election of Iran’s new president. London, Jul. 15 ???????? A recent survey conducted by a research and studies website run in the United Arab Emirates…
Presidential elections are due in Belarus come September 2006, which may see a popular velvet revolution as a result. In 2004, Lukashenko falsified a referendum to give himself the ability to run for president as many times as he wants, effectively making him president for life since all elections are rigged. The following is a clear example of how a regime systematically squashes all political opposition to make such things possible. In this case, how Lukashenko has liquidated political parties across the country for various reasons. The Mogilevskiye vedomosti, which was founded by Mahilou Regional Executive Committee, published on 12…
The following is a translated letter from Akbar Ganji, courtesy of the Free Ganji blog. It is an interesting read, from a man who is becoming the largest rallying cause for human rights inside Iran.
Now, let’s be all dramatic like most of the headlines which say, “Middle East Ceasefire Shattered.” Because honestly, the truce was a big lie anyway. Now the possibility exists that the Palestinian government will have to succumb to more terrorist leadership or kill it outright. Policeman of the PA and Hamas terrorists are fighting now in Gaza as Abbas has declared a state of emergency. The fighting began when the government confronted Hamas after it attacked Israel. The Palestinian Authority declared a state of emergency in the Gaza Strip last night, hours after an Israeli woman was killed when a…
I seem to have a fetish with separatist conflicts this week, but it’s not coincidence that plans for peaceful settlement are popping up all around the same time. This is because the GUAM alliance countries are working together to reunite their respective countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union left a little fragmented. Today, Moldova is making progress with the plan outlined by President Yushchenko of Ukraine (outlined here, read this first). It seems that the leader of Transdniester, despite political grandstanding by parliamentarians on both sides, has showed interested in moving forward with the plan. Ukrainian President Viktor…
Eurasianet reports on a leaked memo (perhaps deliberately) that shows Russian policy makers worried about the situation in Dagestan, which has seen increased separatis sentiments and terrorist attacks of late. The increasing rebel attacks in Dagestan (see EDM, July 7) have finally forced Russian authorities to focus on the problems of the republic. Officials in Moscow now realize that the region needs special handling. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov recently conceded, “Of course we are worried about explosions in Dagestan, and this difficult problem should be resolved by civil methods as well as by force (yufo.ru, July 6). On July…
Usually this wouldn’t be a story to me as I’m sure this happens at least a hundred million times a day somewhere in the world. But I’ve never heard of someone calling our president the equivalent of Hitler for supporting democracy movements. About 20 youths have gathered in front of the U.S. Consulate in St. Petersburg shouting: ???????We have defeated Hitler, and will defeat Bush???????, Interfax reported. The protestors, members of a local branch of the United Socialistic Party of Russia and Congress of Socialist Youth, accuse the U.S. of supporting the so-called velvet revolutions in former Soviet republics. They…
Besides democratization, and all that it implies, the government of Georgia must deal with separatist governments in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. While the former will likely prove much more difficult in general, Saakashvili’s governmet has just released a comprehensive plan to reconcile with South Ossetia. Most striking about the plan is how it deals two-fold with at once the Ossetian people outside the autonomous region and again with the government there. As the article notes, “Georgia becomes the first country in the region to offer repatriation, restitution, and compensation to refugees in the context of conflict-settlement efforts.” Every effort is…
Kirk let me know about this a couple of days ago. It’s interesting, because you see several groups ranging from the Muslim Brotherhood to Kifaya coming together to put a crack in the current system. This is a trend in all authoritarian countries with emerging oppositions, but nonetheless, these are some unlikely temporary bedfellows. In any case, expect Kirk to have more on this later, but here’s the news anyhow. CAIRO, Egypt ???????? Opposition movements from across Egypt’s political spectrum joined in opposition to President Hosni Mubarak Wednesday with calls for a boycott of September’s presidential vote ???????? heralded by…
Not much time to post on this, but I woke up to a great news roundup by Gateway Pundit with pictures and video. Check it out.
I just wanted to point this out because I laughed out loud when I read it: President Alyaksandr Lukashenka said in an interview with Russia’s TV-Tsentr on 11 July that he has no friends, Belapan reported. Responding to a remark by the interviewer that “the presidency is a colossal solitude,” Lukashenka said this description touches a “sensitive spot” in him. “This is the hardest thing, and…it tends to grow,” Lukashenka went on. “It is getting bigger and bigger over the years. Vladimir Vladimirovich ÄPutinÅ, my good colleague and friend, has friends. I cannot boast the same thing.” Lukashenka added that…
I’m thinking of redesigning the site. You know, making it sleeker, more organized, sexier in general. So I need you all to leave suggestions. General design? Colors? What cool features should it have? Leave your comments!
I’ve heard about this for two weeks and have been awaiting its release. Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ) and Co-chairman of the Helsinki Commission has introduced legislation into the House entitled the Central Asia Democracy and Human Rights Act. Under CADHRA, all non-humanitarian assistance to each government covered under the legislation would be conditioned on the President certifying that the country is making ???????substantial, sustained and demonstrable progress toward democratization and full respect for human rights.??????? U.S. assistance would be reduced by 33% for each year a positive determination cannot be made. In the third year, all aid to that government…
Students at Tehran University launched a protest against the regime to release all political prisoners. Of all people, a Reuters journalist was on the scene and wrote about it with pictures. TEHRAN, July 12 (Reuters) – Iranian police beat dozens of protesters with batons on Tuesday at a demonstration to call for the release of Iran’s most prominent jailed journalist. About 150 people, mostly students, had gathered in front of Tehran University chanting “political prisoners must be freed” when dozens of police moved in to break up the protest. The rally was in support of Akbar Ganji, an outspoken critic…