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We tell
the world about the world
Our mission is to further the promotion of liberal democracy and the safeguarding
of the environment by the actions of accountable governments. To advance this
cause we report, without fear or favour, the affairs of nations that are in
transition, their politics, economics, business, finance and human rights -
and we tell it how it is, consistently, calmly, and objectively.
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| Countries: Zimbabwe |
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Posted on Saturday, January 12, 2008 - 08:18 AM |
The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the South Africa Company in 1923. A 1961 constitution was formulated that favored whites in power. In 1965 the government unilaterally declared its independence, but the UK did not recognize the act and demanded more complete voting rights for the black African majority in the country (then called Rhodesia). UN sanctions and a guerrilla uprising finally led to free elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in 1980. Robert MUGABE, the nation's first prime minister, has been the country's only ruler (as president since 1987) and has dominated the country's political system since independence. His chaotic land redistribution campaign begun in 2000 caused an exodus of white farmers, crippled the economy, and ushered in widespread shortages of basic commodities. Ignoring international condemnation, MUGABE rigged the 2002 presidential election to ensure his reelection. Opposition and labor groups launched general strikes in 2003 to pressure MUGABE to retire early; security forces continued their brutal repression of regime opponents.
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| Countries: Belarus |
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Posted on Friday, December 21, 2007 - 01:48 PM |
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An axis of the future?
Belarus might seem to be the ultimate backwater. An unkind critic could say: “It is downwind of two unpleasant realities, the Chernobyl disaster and Russia; a radioactive marsh in the wrong part of the world.”
This is not the view of Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, downwind of the US. He knows that the disaster at Chernobyl in March 1986 was tragic, certainly, but failed to have the fall-out expected. The winds blew most of it away.
He is convinced that Belarus is an important geopolitical player. It is astride energy routes from Russia to Europe, likely to be of growing importance in the years to come. It has a special relationship to Moscow in more ways than one.
The Russians always knew and still know that the Belarussians are their only true friends in the FSU, White Russians as one. They have consequently confided in them military secrets that they would never divulge elsewhere.
Belarus is the site of immensely sophisticated former Soviet defence capabilties, namely air-defence systems. It is the repository of top-secret secrets, whose value is literally incalculable.
Chavez knows this full well. He spotted an opportunity, the fact that the Belarussians and the Russians have rather fallen out. It is over the price of energy, that is of oil and gas. He could do what might be a brilliant deal – he appears to have done it.
The new Castro
Something new has consequently happened in world politics – and this is
rather rare. The two outcasts have decided to co-align.
Chavez has taken over from Castro the role of being the bete noir of the US in the Western Hemisphere. He does everything possible to vex Washington, including bankrolling Cuba. But he is now extending his reach to the Eastern Hemisphere.
Chavez has formed a close alliance with Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenka, 'the last dictator of Europe,' as Condaleezza Rice called him. They know that they are genuinely popular with (some of) the poor and outcast in their countries, while how did Rice's boss get elected in the first place?
Oil for arms
Chavez has promised to supply the oil needs of Belarus for years to come and dismissed Western accusations that the former Soviet republic's leader is a dictator. Concluding his first visit to Venezuela, Lukashenka promised to help the South American country beef up its military.
Chavez said both he and his counterpart are wrongly labeled "dictators" by their critics. "The international media dictatorship ... calls him 'Europe's last dictator,' and me the last dictator of Latin America.
Here we are, the last dictators," Chavez said, laughing. "They demonize us ... (because) we're leading a process of liberating our nations, uniting our nations."
Venezuela and Belarus share similarly hostile stances toward Washington. The U.S. government calls the leftist Chavez a threat to Latin America's stability and Belarus an "outpost of tyranny," accusing Lukashenka of stifling dissent and free speech, (which is a matter we have often recorded). In fairness to Chavez he has stopped short of stifling free speech and has shown he can abide by the democratic process. He has just lost a nationwide referendum on a number of issues important to him by the narrow margin of 51% to 49% and accepted the result. This was much to the consternation of the US media, who had confidently predicted he would cheat, as George W Bush appeared to do in Florida. Not so. He appeared on Venezuelan TV, ruefully accepted the count and congratulated his opposition, the winners. One cannot under any circumstances, envisage Lukashenka doing likewise.
Chavez presented Lukashenka with a medal for his collection, and they signed an agreement pledging military cooperation. They did not discuss specifics publicly, but Chavez has expressed interest in buying an air-defence system from Belarus equipped with radar and anti-aircraft missiles.
The two governments also signed an accord establishing a joint venture to exploit oil and natural gas in Venezuela.
"The oil your nation needs ... is here, as much as you need for 100 years, 200 years," Chavez said during a ceremony at Guara Este oil field in eastern Venezuela.
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| Countries: Tajikistan |
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Posted on Friday, November 30, 2007 - 01:34 PM |
Bombing kills a security guard near presidential palace
A strong blast shook a conference centre near Tajikistan's presidential palace on November 14, killing a security guard and scattering debris, just as a European Union-run conference was due to start.
The blast, described as a terrorist act by the prosecutor general, occurred at the centre only 350 metres from President Emomali Rakhmon's palace. Observers said it may have been timed to coincide with the 15th anniversary of Rakhmon becoming head of this Central Asian ex-Soviet state. The president had left Dushanbe a few minutes earlier for anniversary ceremonies in the north of the country.
Police said the dead man was a guard who picked up the device concealed in a plastic bag while inspecting the site. Ironically, the conference, which was organised by the European Union, was to be devoted to disaster preparedness!
The EU's ambassador in the region, Adriaan van der Meer, said there was no reason to believe the blast was aimed at the EU. "There is no indication whatsoever that it was against the EU.... We are waiting for exact news, and expect a thorough investigation," he told AFP.
Several hundred people were believed to be in the building as the blast struck, blowing out the building's windows. The dead man's body could be seen lying on the ground under a white sheet. The conference was to be attended by Tajik Prime Minister Akil Akilov; however after the blast the opening was delayed.
This mountainous republic of seven million people lies to the north of turbulent Afghanistan and also borders China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. It was torn apart by a civil war in the 1990s that pitted secular and Islamist factions against each other.
Rakhmon has since pursued an authoritarian secular course, keeping a tight control on Islamic activism and winning praise from the West, which has poured aid money into the impoverished nation. But domestic critics accuse him of increasing interference in family and religious life.
Analysts suggested that the blast was evidence of discontented elements left over from the civil war, which ended with a 1997 peace treaty. Tajikistan still experiences periodic attacks, a previous blast having been aimed at the supreme court on June 16, although no one was killed. "This isn't connected to the EU conference, which wasn't to do with big politics," said independent analyst Abdugani Mamadazimov, explaining that certain forces wanted to disrupt the anniversary of Rakhmon's rise to power.
Another analyst, Khikmatullo Saifullozoda, said the blast could however be seen as a warning to the international community. "The alarming fact is that in Tajikistan there are certain forces that by such methods declare their presence and their opinion. This is their signal to international organisations and embassies," he said. However, the fact is that if no one claims responsibility it is currently mere speculation, blaming "the ogre of choice".
Opposition fears a new crackdown
Tajikistan's opposition expects a further clampdown on civil liberties by the government which is worried by what it regards as growing Islamist militancy.
No one has claimed responsibility for this explosion in a building where the Tajik prime minister had been due to attend a conference, nor for a blast in June at the Supreme Court building. One person died in this most recent November 14 blast.
These attacks at government buildings in Dushanbe were a result of growing popular discontent, the opposition says, as they would. This has been fuelled by little tangible improvement in living standards since a 1997 peace accord between pro-Russian forces and an alliance of Islamists and liberals. A civil war in the 1990s killed more than 100,000 people in Tajikistan.
"I fear that after these explosions, the government will get yet another excuse to step up pressure on the media and political opponents under the guise of a fight for stability," said Rakhmatullo Valiyev from the opposition Democratic party.
The government has singled out Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, both banned across Central Asia, as the main source of instability in Tajikistan.
"The explosion was organised by a small group of people unhappy with the fact that Tajikistan has returned to peace and is moving towards prosperity," was the favoured theory of Jurakhon Buriyev of the main pro-presidential party - but many will wonder about the "prosperity". Stability in the impoverished Muslim state bordering Afghanistan is key to its Central Asian neighbours.
A disturbed economy and society
The Tajik economy remains in tatters and companies are reluctant to invest due to red tape and business climate concerns. President Imomali Rakhmon, in power since 1992, tolerates little dissent and the media never criticise him.
He has vowed to stave off any attempt to destabilise the nation. He has urged clergy to ban all political debate in mosques across Tajikistan. Two opposition newspapers have been closed and the BBC FM radio service was suspended in 2006.
"People are still very poor and expect the government to do something about it," said Shamsiddin Saidov, a senior official from the Islamic Revival party of Tajikistan. "Voices of discontent are rising across society."
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| Countries: Moldova |
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Posted on Friday, November 30, 2007 - 01:31 PM |
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The fall-out from Rome
Moldova cannot but be adversely affected by the rumpus developing between Romania, its alter-ego, and Italy, in which Romanian crooks and worse, rapist murderers, are now loose in Rome, Milan and elsewhere. It all certainly puts back any prospect of Moldova following Romania soon into the EU fold. It is all about subscribing to the Treaty of Rome after all.
This is anyway an unlikely eventuality so long as the territorial integrity of the Moldovan state remains in question, although it remains a reasonable long-term goal.
Moldova in crisis
Accusations of double standards are flying across the Dniester river, as Pridnestrovie (also known informally as Transnistria) blames Moldova for saying one thing but acting in a totally contrary way.
The issue: The first talks to resolve their differences in more than a year and a half, which were supposed to be held in November in Madrid, but which had to be called off after Moldova announced that it wouldn't take part. Pridnestrovie had already confirmed its willingness to attend.
On 13 November 2007, a meeting was supposed to have taken place in Spain, between representatives of the sides, mediators, and observers within (a cumbersome title for a complex affair) the Permanent Conference on Political Issues in the Framework of the "5+2" Moldova-Pridnestrovie Settlement Negotiation Process. The meeting was planned as the first of its kind since the talks were interrupted on 28 February 2006, when the representatives of Moldova unilaterally and abruptly abandoned an ongoing session.
Mediators want talks back on track
Ever since Moldova walked away from the status settlement talks, representatives of the three guarantor countries and mediators - Russia, Ukraine, and the OSCE - as well as the two observers - the European Union and the United States - have tried to kick start a resumption of the dialogue.
Over the past year, they have held numerous meetings without Moldova and Pridnestrovie, and have had talks directly with the sides on a one-on-one basis. But Moldova and Pridnestrovie have not sat down at the same table in the "5+2" format since early 2006, when Moldova walked out.
Hoping to restart formal contacts between Chisinau and Tiraspol in the "5+2" format, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, led an official delegation that visited the two capitals in October. In Tiraspol, the delegation spoke to the PMR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the renegade and unrecognised country's president, Igor Smirnov.
On 31 October 2007, Pridnestrovie received a written invitation from the OSCE Spanish Chairmanship to take part in the meeting of representatives from the sides, mediators, and observers within the Permanent Conference on Political Issues in Madrid. A week later, on 6 November 2007, Pridnestrovie's Foreign Ministry confirmed in writing that it would be glad to participate in the meeting.
Refusal to take part
Initially, just like Pridnestrovie, Moldova had also said that it wanted to resume the 5+2 status settlement talks, that it accepted the OSCE invitation, just as Pridnestrovie had already done, and that it was willing to go to Madrid.
But at the last moment, as the organizational matters of venue and time were being coordinated, the Moldovan delegation, in the person of Moldovan Minister of Reintegration ,Vasile Sova, refused to take part in the Madrid meeting, according to an official statement by Pridnestrovie's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This, says the statement, means that "Chisinau once again demonstrated its adherence to "double standards" in its approaches to settlement of its relations with Tiraspol: in word declaring one thing, but in deed practising quite another."
" - The ultimatum of breaking off the Madrid meeting," says Tiraspol, " demonstrates once again to the international community the real policy of the Moldovan authorities, aimed at exerting pressure on Pridnestrovie, infringing on the rights of Pridnestrovian citizens, and forcing Pridnestrovie to accept Chisinau's terms."
Initiatives on the economy
Moldova is now the poorest economy in Europe. It needs a new idea or two to get out of its predicament.
Moldova is poised to set up special economic zones around airport transportation terminals, the republic's government said adding that the cabinet had approved respective amendments to the law on free enterprise. According to Moldova's Economy and Trade Ministry, the move will help Moldova raise considerable investment and attract cutting-edge technology to new areas.
Furthermore, free zones would be set up in traditional industrial centres and communications hubs making them all the more attractive for investors. It is presumed that the enlarged list of approved activities will enhance the efficiency of Moldova's free economic zones, while transit wholesale services provided globally are fairly profitable.
The major requirement for foreign trade activities that rules out any negative effect domestically is that goods transited via free zones should not be admitted to Moldova's market.
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| Countries: Lithuania |
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Posted on Friday, November 30, 2007 - 01:28 PM |
With winter rapidly approaching, everyone in the Baltic states is concerned with energy. Lithuania is in the same boat as the other Baltic states vis-a vis energy, an over-reliance on one supplier - Russia. It is also the key state to help them to diversify, as we shall see.
Energy issues
A paper on a European Strategy for Sustainable, Competitive and Secure Energy issued by European Union Energy Commissioner Latvian Andris Piebalgs in March 2006 referred to the Baltic states as an "energy island." It was the first time the phrase was used, it caught on and has been going the rounds ever since.
Piebalgs's label for the Baltic states refers to their being cut off from supplies of oil, gas, and electricity. With few natural resources of their own, the Baltic states are increasingly reliant upon external suppliers. More troubling for states that only managed to break free of the Soviet Union 16 years ago, the word "suppliers" can be replaced, for all intents and purposes, with the singular, "supplier": Russia.
Piebalgs revived his catchphrase while speaking in Riga in May, saying: "I would like to see the Baltic states at the heart of [the EU's energy] transformation. This would fit well with the acute need for greater security of energy supply in these states, which have for too long been an energy island dependent upon one major supplier of gas."
Worries about the reliability of Russian oil and gas supplies are at the heart of the energy island question. Russia's vast resources are controlled by the state in a manner that harks back to the days of the command economy, only now it's with a monopolist rather than communist flavour.
The Baltic states watched while Gazprom turned off the taps to Ukraine in 2005 and threatened to do the same with Belarus. Evidence already points to Moscow's willingness to treat the Baltics similarly. In July 2006, delivery of crude oil to Lithuania via the ironically named Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline -- the longest in the world -- abruptly ceased and has never resumed. The Lithuanian government has yet to receive an explanation from Russian oil transport monopoly, Transneft, about the sudden cut off other than a few vague comments about "damage" that's not worth fixing.
Kirkilas expressed his alarms in UK
Not surprisingly, Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas was an early adopter of the energy island concept. He delivered the first major speech clearly expressing Baltic dismay at Russia's use of energy as a political tool when he addressed the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a British defence think tank, on 21 May 2007.
"We are concerned about the energy monopolization in Russia, ranging from extraction and production to transport, sale, and transit," he told RUSI delegates.
Kirkilas' fear is well-founded. Gazprom and Transneft not only have huge assets in Russia, but they also have used their soaring profits to buy big stakes in the Baltics' own energy infrastructure. For example, Gazprom owns big pieces of Latvijas Gaze, Eesti Gaas and Lietuvos Dujos, the national gas storage and distribution companies.
"How can we speak about the single energy market if, for example, the Baltic states are still energy islands?" Kirkilas asked. "We should ask ourselves why energy is being more and more associated with politics, and not with economies."
Since then, the Baltic states' efforts to ensure their future energy supply and energy security have started to look inadequate. Rather than addressing the problem, a series of attempted solutions have seen the Baltics drifting slowly away from each other.
Ignalina II to the fore
At the forefront of the energy island issue is Ignalina in Lithuania. The only existing nuclear power station in the Baltic states, Ignalina is a Soviet-era reactor with a design similar to that of Chernobyl. It is scheduled to be decommissioned by 2009, and an agreement to that effect even was included as a condition of Lithuania's joining the EU in 2004.
Given the huge costs of building a replacement (approximately 6.25 billion euros), a new project was envisaged in which all three Baltic countries would participate. A project of construction of a nuclear power plant with power capacity of 3,200 - 3,400 megawatts by all three Baltic states is being now elaborated in Lithuania. However, according to expert estimations, the new nuclear reactor could appear only in 2015. Then Lithuania invited Poland to the party, much to the surprise of Latvia and Estonia. Poland wasted no time in showing how the addition of one partner can make a project many times more complex.
Poland was a no-show at a signing ceremony designed to officially launch Ignalina II. It caused further embarrassment at another showcase event, the Vilnius Energy Conference earlier this month. Just before it began, Polish economy minister Piotr Wozniak announced that Poland would need at least one-third of Ignalina's output. Poland added further pressure by making it clear that failure to come up with the demanded wattage would result in a go-slow on construction of a "power bridge" to link Lithuania's electricity grid with Western Europe.
Ignalina II was supposed to be operational in 2012. With so little progress made, however, even a revised switch-on date of 2015 is looking optimistic and would leave Lithuania with a six-year energy supply gap that could cripple the economy.
Recently signs have emerged that Lithuania may be thinking about asking the EU for an extension of Ignalina's lifespan. Energy Commissioner Piebalgs has slapped down such suggestions as "vain discussions," but what Lithuania is clearly angling for is an increase in its EU compensation package.
The power bridge ultimatum must have been particularly galling for Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, who has been campaigning for links to both Poland and Sweden for years. "I urge the European Union to show real and more active support for this and other regional energy projects aimed at solving the problem of the so-called energy islands," Adamkus said, employing Piebalgs's catchphrase at the launch of the Vilnius Energy Conference. "New bridges are needed to connect these islands in order to create an effective and viable European energy network."
At the Vilnius conference, which Adamkus had worked so hard to establish, he promised that an agreement on the power bridge would be signed "within days." A month later, nothing had been signed.
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| Countries: Latvia |
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Posted on Friday, November 30, 2007 - 01:24 PM |
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Resignation Of Premier Aigars Kalvitis
The news broke on November 7 that the Latvian Prime Minister, Aigars Kalvitis, will step down on December 5. He has been Prime Minister since December 2004.
Kalvitis announced his decision after a November 7 meeting with President Valdis Zatlers, who has gone on the record saying that the government should resign once it has passed a budget for 2008.
The December 5 deadline should give Kalvitis time to push the budget through as well as ratifying a definitive border treaty with Russia and possibly also completing reorganisation of local government.
However, it seems that Kalvitis intends that the government itself should continue even after his departure. According to a report in November 8's Dienas Bizness, he will appoint new ministers for the Economy, Foreign Affairs and Welfare before his departure, a signal to Zatlers that a dissolution of parliament would be untimely.
Not surprising in the circumstances
Mr Kalvitis' resignation is hardly surprising and comes after a period of intensified political and economic crisis in Latvia. Nonetheless, his resignation clearly intensifies the crisis further and increases uncertainties about the political and economic situation in the country.
It seems clear that Mr Kalvitis' resignation has been masterminded by the power brokers in the three governing coalition parties that undoubtedly will blame him for the country's mounting economic and political problems. The economic situation in Latvia has worsened significantly during Mr Kalvitis' stay in power:- during his period of office inflation has surged, the current account deficit exploded and the Latvian currency, the lat, has been under strong depreciation pressures.
Furthermore, one corruption scandal has followed another, so it is unlikely that he will be greatly missed. However, Danske Bank doesn't expect that the recent rise in public dissent will die out following the resignation of Mr Kalvitis, as the same political parties and power brokers will continue to control the parliament and the government.
Furthermore, Lars Christensen, its chief expert on Latvia, wrote, "The country's economic crisis continues to escalate, and the risk of a devaluation of the lat has clearly increased further on the back of Mr Kalvitis' resignation and the continued surge in inflation. To conclude, Mr Kalvitis' resignation is no major surprise, but it is worsening the already critical political and economic situation in Latvia and we continue to recommend investors to hedge exposure to the Latvian markets."
Kalvitis at first demurred
Kalvitis, back from his trip to the US earlier in November, was reluctant at first to consider resignation. He instead outlined a three-step priority plan for his government.
After watching last November 3's anti-government demonstration from the other side of the Atlantic and hearing about the resignation of Welfare Minister Dagnija Stake while he was heading Stateside, it could have been a depressed figure arriving at Riga airport. Instead Kalvitis seemed keen to get back to business and gave no hint that he might have been considering resignation himself.
Kalvitis immediately identified the finalisation of the state budget, the conclusion of the Latvian-Russian border treaty and reform of Latvia's regional administration, as three works in progress that need to be completed before he could even begin thinking about forming a new cabinet. "There are series of issues to be solved in the country, which are, to a great extent, the responsibility of the present government, and not only the state budget. It is also the issue of the Latvian-Russian border treaty and the final decision on administrative-territorial reform. I have never avoided this responsibility and will never avoid it," said Kalvitis.
"The fate of the government will largely depend on the ability of the government to make decisions and to act, or [its] inability to do so," said the prime minister. "I do not intend to leave these works unfinished," he added.
But he proved to be woefully out of touch with public opinion, rather like British Premier Jim Callaghan returning from a Caribbean summit of world leaders to a country experiencing a 'winter of discontent' in 1979, leading to the triumph of Thatcher shortly afterwards. The insouciance of the political globe-trippers can prove illusory and short-lived.
Asked about hints from President Zatlers that the government should consider resigning after the adoption of the budget by the parliament, Kalvitis replied: "I personally have not heard such words from him." He was to do so soon enough, however.
Kalvitis said that during the planned November. 7 meeting with Zatlers, he would inform the president about his action plan. This turned out to involve his stepping down. The resignation of himself and his government were announced on that very day.
Clearly, President Zatlers made it evident that a change of guard was inevitable in the circumstances.
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| Countries: Kyrgyzstan |
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Posted on Friday, November 30, 2007 - 01:21 PM |
The revolution continues
The 'revolution' carries on, insofar as no one can any more dictate the political course of events. The situation is still volatile in Kyrgystan. After months of wrangling between government and opposition, it is agreed that there should be new elections to parliament in December.
But there is now huge controversy over what form they should take.
Concern is being raised in Kyrgyzstan over a requirement that political parties must pass a certain threshold in each of the country's seven regions in order to win parliamentary seats in elections. Kyrgyzstan's first parliamentary elections based on party lists are set for December 16 after a new constitution and laws were passed in an October referendum.
These are the first parliamentary elections since President Askar Akaev was ousted in the so-called Tulip Revolution in March 2005.
The new dispensation
The Central Election Commission has ruled that according to the new election law, parties must get at least 13,500 votes, or 0.5 percent of the overall total of registered voters nationwide, in each of the country's seven provinces and two biggest cities, Bishkek and Osh - a rule meant to prevent purely regional parties with no other qualification from making it into the national parliament. Very hard for Kyrgyzstan's clan-based politics to come to terms with.
This requirement is in addition to the 5 % of the votes parties must receive nationwide in order to gain representation in parliament. Speaking on November 19, Central Election Commission Chairwoman Klara Kabilova said the "0.5 percent" requirement is needed to "consolidate and strengthen the role of political parties."
But in a joint address to President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, a group of 11 opposition parties have urged him to abolish the regional election threshold, saying it's against the constitution and regional interests. "We appeal [to the president] as the guarantor of the constitution to cancel the illegal decision by the Central Election Commission," Kubatbek Baibolov, a member of the opposition Atameken (Fatherland) party, told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service. "If he does not take any decision by November 21, then we have decided to meet again tomorrow evening in order to consider further actions. The actions might be of any kind. There could be a boycott of [parliamentary elections]. There could be rallies."
Meanwhile, the Civil Committee for Voter Rights Protection called the requirement a "serious obstacle" for parties to enter parliament. The committee was set up on November 14 by several nongovernmental organizations to protect voters' rights.
In a November 20 statement, the group said there was a "real danger" that the requirement may lead to "new conflicts among the population." It said the requirement prevented citizens from having equal access to the process of making governmental decisions and running the country.
A total of 22 parties have applied for registration to participate in the vote. Campaigning is officially due to start on November 26.
Bakiyev in Japan
The Kyrgyz president has proposed himself as a forward-looking statesman, ahead of the elections, by visiting Japan.
He and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda signed a joint statement on friendly relations, partnership and cooperation between the two countries in Tokyo on November 14.
An official of the Kyrgyz Embassy in Tokyo told Itar-Tass the sides expressed readiness to "cooperate in all fields, including in the trade and economic fields." Bakiyev and Fukuda said they supported Japan's assistance to the development of Kyrgyzstan. They also praised Japan's contribution to promoting market reforms and democracy in Kyrgyzstan.
Bakiyev began his three-day visit to Japan on November 14 on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. During the visit, the Kyrgyz president is expected to be received by the imperial family, speaker of the lower house of Japan's parliament Yohei Kono and other officials. On Friday, Bakiyev will take part in an investment seminar with the participation of businessmen.
According to Itar-Tass reports, Japanese businessmen abstain from investments in Kyrgyzstan. At the same time, Japan and the United States rank first and second (in rotation) by providing assistance to Kyrgyzstan. Totally, Japan has provided over 400 million U.S. dollar low-percent credits, subsidies and technical contribution.
In 2006 trade turnover between the two countries reached 1.265 billion yen (about 11.5 million U.S. dollars). Japan imports aluminium, non-ferrous metals and exports cars and auto-tyre casings.
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| Countries: Estonia |
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Posted on Friday, November 30, 2007 - 01:14 PM |
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There is no doubt that there is a Nordic communality of nations. They have a common past and they hope a common future. There is a common constant - fear of Russia.
Nordic and Baltic prime ministers meet in Oslo
The Estonian Prime Minister feels that everyone should be concerned about developments in Russia. "Naturally I am worried about the way things are developing in Russia. Only three years ago the state accounted for 50 per cent of the Russian national economy: now it is 70 per cent." Andrus Ansip said in the Norwegian capital Oslo, where the prime ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania met on November 12, along with their colleagues from the five Nordic countries.
The leaders of the Baltic countries were nevertheless cautious in their statements on how the possible accession of President Putin to the post of Prime Minister after his presidency runs out might affect the situation in the Baltic States. "Let's see what happens in March. Today we can only speculate, and that is not the job of a prime minister", said Lithuania's Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas. Latvia's leader was also cautious. "Nobody can predict what will happen in the elections for the Duma and the Presidency. We are open to cooperation", said Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis. As it so happens, it will not be his job to be so, as he became obliged by a domestic crisis to step down on December 5.
Only Ansip would ponder the implications of Putin staying in power. "Some say that it would bring stability to Russia, but I would prefer democracy", Ansip says. "It is hard to talk about, say, freedom of the press in connection with Russia nowadays." Ansip emphasised Estonia's desire for good relations. "We would want good, pragmatic relations with all of our neighbours, and I hope that some day we will have those kinds of relations with Russia", Ansip said.
The topic of relations with Russia was not the main issue in the official part of the summit meeting of eight countries. Climate change dominated a one-hour discussion involving the prime ministers of the Baltic countries, as well as those of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland. Danish Prime Minister was at home, taking part in his country's ongoing election campaign. A discussion on Russia was scheduled for the dinner hosted later by Norwegian Prime Minister.
In recent years the prime ministers of the Nordic and Baltic countries have held a meeting in connection with the annual meeting of the Nordic Council. Hundreds of Parliamentarians, civil servants, and a number of ministers from the five Nordic Countries convened in Oslo for the annual session.
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| Countries: Slovenia |
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Posted on Friday, November 30, 2007 - 12:55 PM |
The departing president, who remains head of state until just before Christmas, is an unusual man and deserves this tribute:-
Martin Fletcher, Times Online
It is not often that you ask a European head of state whether he has gone loopy, but in the case of Janez Drnovsek, Slovenia's reclusive President, the question seems almost unavoidable.
Bald, monkish and skeletally thin, Drnovsek has abandoned his capital for a mountain retreat. He no longer speaks to his Government. He boycotts state occasions, and disappears for weeks at a time. He has turned vegan, talks like a New Age mystic of his quest for "higher consciousness" and "inner balance", and communicates with the Slovenian people through books on spirituality. He set out to tackle the problems of the world from a country smaller than Wales, and has become a champion of progressive causes.
It is an astonishing transformation for a man who, as Slovenia's Prime Minister from 1992 until he was elected President in 2002, was regarded as a dull, grey technocrat. It was triggered by the prospect of imminent death. In 1999 he found that he had kidney cancer and, in 2001, that the cancer had spread to his liver and lungs. His doctors said his condition was incurable.
Any serious illness comes as a shock, but "the shock can be beneficial because one is caught in patterns of behaviour and somehow you do them mechanically and without really thinking about them. You do like others do," Drnovsek explained in the course of a two-hour interview with The Times- the first he has given in months. "When you are confronted with the perception of the end of your life, it's an opportunity to look at things from a different point of view, to change priorities and establish a distance to this daily existence and all these material developments that you are taught are so important," he said as he sipped black tea in his office.
He accepted that some people thought that he had gone crazy, but was not perturbed. They do not understand, he said in soft, heavily accented English. "Why should I worry what people of this level of consciousness should say or think about me? This is so irrelevant." He used a Chinese philosopher's tale to illustrate his point: "The frog in its well was convinced that this well was the whole world. And then came a turtle from the sea. The turtle told this frog that there was a big ocean and the well was nothing. The frog said: 'OK. This turtle is crazy'."
In fact, most Slovenians have grown very fond of their singular President. Despite - or perhaps because of - his eccentricities he will complete his term of office next month as one of the most popular figures in his country.
Drnovsek is an erstwhile banker who won his nation's respect - if not its affection - by helping to negotiate its peaceful secession from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, and then steering it from communism to democracy and membership of the European Union and Nato. As late as 2000 - one year after he had a cancerous kidney removed - The Economist described him as a "singularly uncharismatic . . . poker-faced trimmer" whose preoccupations were growth and stability. It quoted him saying, glumly: "People demanded vision. I hate vision. The cemetery of history is full of visionaries."
Drnovsek says that his conversion from conventional politician into "Slovenia's Gandhi" - as one commentator has dubbed him - was gradual, and he adopted a low profile as he fought his illness. He abandoned conventional medicine because his doctors told him that they could not cure him. He dabbled with Indian and Chinese healers. He gave up meat, dairy products and alcohol in favour of organic vegetables and home-baked bread. He fasted for days at a time. He also sought to nourish his soul, leaving Ljubljana for a remote home set in beautiful beech forests south of the Slovenian capital. He lives there alone, reading and writing, without so much as a television for company since his dog died. He says modern man has lost contact with nature, but it is "very beneficial for health, for body but also for soul . . . Somehow we can purify ourselves of all negativities that are concentrated in towns and urban centres where there is all this activity and stress."
The new Drnovsek began to reappear on the public stage in late 2005, but more in the guise of national guru than president. He cut his staff. He quit his centre-left political party and launched the Movement for Justice and Development that was open to "all people who wish to change the world for the better". He became a champion of the environment, animal rights and the oppressed, and a fierce critic of a political class that is, he says, concerned only about power and image. "If only we had a candidate like Drnovsek, or even a shadow of him, the world would quickly become less intolerable," gushed Brigitte Bardot in the midst of the French presidential election.
Drnovsek travelled around the country. He was photographed wearing a crown of leaves. He published books entitled Thoughts on Life and Awareness and The Essence of the World that are found in the spirituality - not politics - sections of Slovenia's bookshops. He wrote a monthly advice column in a popular women's magazine, and a blog in the name of "Janez D", whose subjects ranged from diatribes against pesticides to apocalyptic warnings about climate change - he says that humanity has perhaps 20 years left to save itself.
Drnovsek also began to intervene in international affairs in a way that infuriated Slovenia's new conservative Government. He upset nearby Serbia by supporting independence for Kosovo. He visited Jerusalem, where he urged the Israelis to talk to the newly elected militants of Hamas, and Sri Lanka, where he tried to meet Tamil Tiger leaders. In China he defied the authorities by visiting Tibet. He went to India for a conference on spirituality, and to Bolivia for Evo Morales's inauguration as that country's first indigenous president "after 500 years of colonialism and neo-colonialism".
His most ambitious undertaking, however, was a one-man drive to resolve the Darfur conflict that ended with the detention of his envoy and the non-appearance of Sudanese and rebel leaders at a Ljubljana peace conference. It was an embarrassing episode, and he admits that he was probably naive, but says that he felt morally obliged to try to stop the suffering. While international diplomats were living in luxury hotels, earning fat salaries and indulging in endless talks, people were dying, he says. "I thought somebody had to do something to wake up everybody."
By the summer of 2006 Drnovsek had exhausted his official budget, and the Government seized the chance to ground him by refusing further funds for his "exotic activities". He was forced to cancel a state visit to Spain and an appearance at the UN in New York, and grew ever more scathing in his denunciations of the Government.
Drnovsek has described Janez Jansa, the Prime Minister, as the "Prince of Darkness". He disagrees with nearly all of what the Government does, and accuses it of moving towards a "kind of totalitarian system" by curbing the independence of the media. He stops only marginally short of saying that it was unfit to assume the EU's rotating six-month presidency on January 1. "I will say nothing. I'm still President of this country," he replied when pressed.
Drnovsek has now abandoned his conflict-resolution efforts. He tried his best, but was dismissed as "this crazy Slovenian President", he says. "I came to the conclusion that the only way to change the world is to change the consciousness of as many individual people as possible, and then the pressure on politicians will increase to act differently."
He has once again become an absentee President. He spurns official receptions. He boycotted Slovenia's National Day celebrations in June. " At a certain level of spirituality . . . it becomes more difficult to do these things of this material life," he says. "You feel the ephemerality of everything, and if you know your activity will have no real effect, you become more selective about what you do and what not. I still have activities, but practically I stopped all unnecessary political activities - those involved with other politicians."
He vanished entirely from June until mid-September, and failed to greet Romano Prodi, the Prime Minister of Italy, when he visited Slovenia in August. Drnovsek said that he spent some of that time visiting monasteries in France, tapping into the "positive energy" that monks had built up through centuries of prayer.
Drnovsek has infuriated the Government, but his people have warmed to his evident humanity. His books are bestsellers, and while a few of the Slovenes I approached in Ljubljana's central market said that they found his conduct embarrassing, many more expressed support and affection for their unusual President.
"He's a good and wise man," said Katja Berlinc, a 21-year-old theology student. "He's great. He's not afraid to speak his mind. He's not afraid of anything," said Asim Begtasevic, who runs a flower stall. "He stands for basic moral values," said Sasho Adamich, a young TV assistant. When a former lover revealed that Drnovsek had a 19-year-old daughter, it only boosted his popularity.
All this infuriates his critics inside and outside the Government. "Nobody dares to question Drnovsek's conduct or his travels, because of his illness, and because he was some sort of hero of the transition to democracy," says Janez Markes, the editor of the newspaper Delo.
Drnovsek's colourful and controversial presidency is drawing to an end. He is not seeking re-election, and the charming old streets beneath Ljubljana's castle are awash with posters of the more conventional politicians fighting to replace him. He is not planning any great farewell when he steps down. He is not concerned about his legacy or image. He accepts that a certain amount of ridicule is the price to be paid for stepping outside the political system, and he certainly will not mind the anonymity. "I don't have worries. I don't have fears. I don't have wishes. I'm very calm."
Drnovsek also has one incontrovertible riposte to those who say he went loopy. Against all odds, and in defiance of every medical prediction, he has not died in office. Indeed, he now claims to be cancer-free: "I am completely healed. I am cured of everything. I can't prove it beyond being alive. I don't need confirmation from a doctor. I just know."
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| Countries: Slovakia |
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Posted on Friday, November 30, 2007 - 12:54 PM |
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Dispute over a land deal threatens coalition, says Smer
Its former dictator, Vladimir Meciar, continues to haunt Slovakian politics. He had the good grace to accept the verdict of the polls nine years ago in 1998 and stand down and has thus been able to remain in mainstream politics. His party is now causing ructions inside the governing coalition, which would lose its majority in parliament without its support.
The Slovak senior ruling party, Smer-Social Democracy of Prime Minister Robert Fico, said on November 20 that a dispute over a (corrupt) land deal threatens the existence of the coalition government. "The situation in the governing coalition is serious," Silvia Glendova, a spokeswoman for Smer, told Slovak TA3 news television.
She said her party blamed the junior People's Party- Movement for a Democratic Slovakia of Meciar. "Smer is not interested in participating in a coalition which would tolerate such managing of land in the Slovak Land Fund," Glendova said.
At issue is a piece of land near the High Tatras mountain range that was purchased by a company close to Meciar's party for some 13 million koruna (euro392,300; US$580,000) from owners who had received it as restitution in a deal approved by the Slovak Land Fund. The land's real value is reportedly 1.5 billion koruna (euro45.3 million; US$67.0 million). Fico's Smer called the deal "scandalous."
The Slovak agriculture minister, Miroslav Jurena, who is from Meciar's party, is in charge of the fund. That is the key.
It has been revealed that Slovak Land Fund (SPF) vice-chairman Briza signed an agreement in April on the basis of which former owners of land near Michalovce (Kosice region) were given property in Velky Slavkov near the High Tatra Mountains as restitution. The owners then sold the land to a company called GVM, which is said to be close to Meciar, for nearly Sk13 million (€391,000), despite the fact that its real market value was Sk1.5 billion.
The ultra-nationalist Slovak National Party led by Jan Slota is the remaining party in the government, which would lose its parliamentary majority without Meciar's party.
Governing-coalition Smer-SD party said at its extraordinary session on November 20 that the situation in the governing coalition is "serious, as LS-HZDS is opposing further measures aimed at removing the consequences of the scandalous transfer of land at the Slovak Land Fund (SPF) carried out by an LS-HZDS nominee."
Smer makes clear its displeasure
"Smer-SD isn't interested in being part of a governing coalition that turns a blind eye to manipulating SPF land in a manner that was typical of (Mikulas) Dzurinda's government," Prime Minister Robert Fico spokesperson Silvia Glendova told SLOVAKIA.
According to Fico, the contracts signed by SPF vice-chairman Branislav Briza at the time he was in charge instead of the SPF chairman, are scandalous. As a result, Fico insisted that Agriculture Minister Miroslav Jurena (a HZDS nominee) should dismiss Briza over the land deal – otherwise, Jurena might lose Fico's trust.
Fico's initiative was followed by Meciar's ultimatum that if the premier expresses his loss of trust in Jurena, HZDS will express its lack of confidence in Fico. Fico stressed that his party would not be scared by threats and views the assumption of personal, political and legal responsibility for the scandal as a matter of principle, even if it led to a collapse of the governing coalition.
In the end, Briza resigned on November 15. He has kept his position on the SPF board, however.
Fico tops political trustworthiness chart in November; Slota tops untrustworthiness list.
While the politicians are losing trust in each other, it is interesting to see what the general public think of them.
In an unusual opinion poll survey, measuring not just popularity, but lack of it too, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico remains the most trusted politician in Slovakia, while Slota, the leader of the junior partner in the coalition, is the least trusted politician.
A public opinion poll by the MVK agency shows that in November Fico, leader of Smer. had the trust of 39.4 percent of Slovak citizens. President Ivan Gašparovic follows with 26.9 percent. The third most trustworthy politician in Slovakia is Iveta Radicová, deputy-chair of the opposition SDKÚ and former labour minister, with 18.4 percent.
The top five is rounded off by Ján Slota, the chairman of the junior coalition SNS partner, with 16.3 percent; and Smer Interior Minister Robert Kalinák, with 13.3 percent.
Slota is also seen as the most untrustworthy politician, with 37.2 percent, a telling statistic. The chairman of the opposition SDKÚ and former PM Mikuláš Dzurinda follows with 33.7 percent as the second most unpopular, then comes HZDS chairman Vladimír Meciar third, with 32.7 percent. Fico was named as untrustworthy by 21.6 percent of the respondents.
Each respondent was asked to name three trusted politicians, so the results add up to more than 100 percent. The poll was conducted on a sample of 1,114 respondents in early November.
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