Diplomacy & Politics Archive

DILI, East Timor — Australian and New Zealand troops and U.N. cops were on the streets in strength on April 9 when East Timorese voters hit the polls in their capital city to pick their next president. By evening, observers were predicting a win for interim Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, a moderate, and expected clashes between rival political gangs had failed to materialize. Though allegations of polling irregularities have surfaced in the days following the election, the lack of violence was a welcome sign of progress in this troubled little country. On April 4, young thugs apparently in the pay […]

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria — Nigeria’s militants will keep a close eye on the upcoming presidential election but have no plans to disrupt them, according to a commander of one of the armed groups that in recent months have stepped up attacks on foreign oil installations in the petroleum-rich Niger Delta. The leader, known as “Commander Akoko,” said in a recent interview with World Politics Review that his gunmen, who number in the thousands, are “prepared to die” in their effort to force the Nigerian government to make good on promises to use oil wealth to improve infrastructure in the impoverished […]

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe — President Robert Mugabe and his nation’s churches are set for a fresh confrontation this weekend following an activist group’s announcement that it will go ahead with a planned prayer meeting in the city of Bulawayo, little more than a month after police violently crushed a similar meeting in Harare, leaving one person dead and arresting scores. The meeting, planned by the Save Zimbabwe Campaign, is scheduled for Saturday here in Zimbabwe’s second-largest city. The Save Zimbabwe Campaign is a coalition of churches, students, labor groups and political parties fighting for democracy in Zimbabwe. Gift Tandare, a member […]

On the whole, Chinese President Hu Jintao’s March 26-28 meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin was uneventful. As during past summits, the two leaders signed various commercial deals, issued joint declarations affirming Sino-Russian cooperation on diverse global issues, and attended high-profile cultural events. Much more noteworthy was Hu’s subsequent side trip to the Russian republic of Tatarstan on his way back to Beijing. During his March 28 sojourn, Hu met the republic’s leading industrial officials, visited a trade exhibition in the capital city of Kazan, and engaged in discussions with representatives from the republic’s major oil producer, Tatneft, […]

Editor’s Note: Corridor’s of Power is written by veteran foreign correspondent RolandFlamini and appears in World Politics Review every Sunday. Click here tobrowse past installments of the column. TONY’S BOY SAVES DAY — The fact that Prime Minister Tony Blair’s foreign policy adviser, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, emerged as the key figure in resolving the standoff with Iran over the 15 captured British sailors and Marines sends the message that it was Downing Street and not the Foreign Office that succeeded in resolving the crisis. The British government has kept mum about how its diplomatic offensive developed but, according to British […]

This week, a Chinese leader will address the Japanese Diet for the first time in over two decades. The speech is to be the highlight of Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka starting April 11. His visit is expected to lead to closer relations between China and Japan, which had soured under Japan’s previous prime minister. Relations across the East China Sea have steadily improved since the anti-Japanese riots in China in 2005. Following the election of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last fall, Sino-Japanese relations have rapidly improved, and appear to be on their best terms since […]

PARIS — “The question that needs to be asked is — do we want to be vassals of the United States, do we want to be a 51st state?” observed Gilles Savary, a French Socialist member of the European parliament, to the London Daily Telegraph recently. Savary was referring to U.S.-European relations in tones the Telegraph described as “searingly anti-American.” But Savary is not just another left-wing French politician singing the familiar anti-American chanson. He is a foreign policy spokesman for Ségolène Royal, the Socialist presidential candidate. Savary’s comment carries added weight because the conventional wisdom about Ségolène Royal is […]

DENPASAR, Indonesia — On April 9, East Timor will choose who will replace ex-guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao as president. The vote is the first since the country restored independence on May 20, 2002. But there is little to celebrate, as poverty, social and political upheaval, and widespread violence plague Asia’s newest nation. Among the eight candidates, Nobel Peace Prize winner and current Prime Minister Jose Ramon-Horta is the overwhelming favorite. While the directly elected presidency is a largely symbolic post, Gusmao played a central part in running the country and the next president could have a significant effect on the […]

KATMANDU, Nepal — With a mumbled oath and a round of handshakes in front of a writhing bank of cameras, it was done: The Maoists joined Nepal’s interim government, snaring five ministries. It was a moment of triumph for the former rebels and another step towards the mainstream for the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). The Maoist chairman, who is still known by his wartime alias “Prachanda” (“the fierce one”), stayed out of the government to lead the party, but was positively beaming as he made an appearance at the swearing in ceremony on April 1. “Today is the historical […]

Elections in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, loom large on the country’s political calendar. Indeed, with a population of 170 million, Uttar Pradesh would, if it were its own country, be the fifth most populous in the world, and it also sends the most members to India’s federal parliament. The importance of the state’s assembly elections, which start April 7 and are to be completed in early May, are therefore clear. Yet despite the seemingly endless amount of ink spilt on the rising India, and despite near double-digit economic growth for the last two years, the country’s ruling Congress […]

Whatever the fate of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, the strained relations between the United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) over this and other security issues make clear the need for both countries to take action to reinvigorate their bilateral defense alliance. During the past decade, relations between South Korea and the United States have deteriorated considerably. South Koreans appreciate having an American defense guarantee, both for helping them deter a possible North Korean attack and for enhancing their leverage vis-à-vis China and Japan. Yet, they oppose American military threats against North Korea and U.S. efforts to isolate […]

There are two men named Viktor vying for control in Ukraine. The first, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, came to power in January 2005, riding high on a wave of orange-clad supporters during the aptly named Orange Revolution. The second, Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, drowned in that sea of orange. Or at least many thought he did. Today, Yanukovych has consolidated his power and has once again become a relevant challenger to Yushchenko. Ironically, it was Yushchenko who approved Yanukovych as prime minister in August 2006 — but not without leaving a trail of political landmines that are exploding today. […]

While the eyes of the world are on Darfur, another crisis in Sudan looms. On Jan. 9, 2005, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between North and South Sudan ended a 23-year civil war and initiated a six-year interim period of peace. With less than four years remaining in that period, the prospect of a sustainable peace is fading. True leadership is urgently needed to build the trust required to create a shared political future for the country. It is positive that the word “peaceful” can still be used to describe North-South relations. Their battles have moved from the fields to […]

Editor’s note: The United Nations has declared April 4 as International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. BOGOTÁ, Colombia — As Colombia enters its fifth decade of civil war, landmines are causing what Colombia’s top military commander describes as the “greatest damage” to his nation’s armed forces, accounting for 50 percent of military casualties. In recent years, as Colombian troops have intensified their campaign against the country’s Marxist guerrillas, landmines have become the guerillas’ most effective and destructive weapon. Landmines, together with unexploded ordnance like hand grenades, mortars and bombs, claimed three victims a day last year […]

LAGOS, Nigeria — Will Nigerians experience their first democratic transition of power since the end of colonial rule, or will corruption and disarray prevent the country’s fragile democracy from continuing another four years? It’s the question on everybody’s mind in the weeks ahead of the April 14 vote for president in the oil-rich, but troubled, West African nation. A week after the vote for president, legislative and local elections are scheduled to take place. After gaining independence from Britain in 1960, leader after leader in Nigeria has had his authority usurped by military coups. Though there have been fleeting periods […]

Editor’s note: Click here to listen to our podcast featuring audio excerpts of the Hudson Institute’s March 16 conference on Pakistan. When lawyers in the United States are dissatisfied with government actions, they launch lawsuits and lobby for changes in procedures, policy, and legislation. In Pakistan, they stage street protests. The decision by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to dismiss Chief Supreme Court justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on March 9 has created the most serious domestic political crisis in the history of Musharraf’s government. The president claimed he acted after learning of unspecified misconduct on Chaudhry’s behalf. Most observers view the move […]

CHOICE PARIS ADDRESSES — Whoever chose the location of French presidential front-runner Nicolas Sarkozy’s campaign headquarters has a sense of humor. The large, glass-fronted but somewhat rundown Sarkozy center of operations is in the rue d’Enghien, a predominantly immigrant neighborhood in the city’s 10th arrondissement. Travel agencies advertise cheap flights to Conakry, Abidjan and Tunis, and the smell of sizzling kebabs fills the air: A strange backdrop for a candidate who has made tightening up on immigration the heart of his conservative campaign. A large portrait of former interior minister Sarko (to the French) in the entrance hall is visible […]