Sinds 25 april protesteren duizenden studenten in Oromia tegen de landroof van de Ethiopische regering. Ondanks dat vreedzame protesten grondwettelijk zijn toegestaan, reageert de regering met harde hand. Tientallen jongeren en andere demonstranten vonden al de dood. Het precieze aantal is onduidelijk omdat er weinig informatie over naar buiten mag komen. En ook al trokken ngo’s als Amnesty International en Human Rights Watch aan de bel, berichtten internationale media maar mondjesmaat over het politiek geweld.
On 3 June the Election Commission announced the results of the presidential elections: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi won 96.91% of the votes. On 26 and 27 May Egyptian voters could cast their ballots for the presidential elections. Because the turnout was low on the 26th, the government declared a national holiday on the 27th, which they hope leads to a higher turnout. In the end, 47% of the country’s 54 million people, voted. This percentage is lower than expected.
On 8 June general elections took place in Kosovo, due to an early dissolution of parliament on 7 May. Normally, elections would take place half a year later. Ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo (DPK) got the most votes: 30;72%. Despite this fact, three opposition parties announced an plan to topple a DPK government, which could succeed.
This week Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a new seven-year term with nearly 90 percent of the vote. The elections were only held in the areas that are controlled by the government which are mostly in the north-west of the country, centred around the city of Hama and Damascus. Tens of thousands took to the streets in government-held areas even before the results were announced on 4 June, waving portraits of Assad and the official Syrian flag. The EU has condemned the elections saying that they are “illegitimate and undermine the political efforts to find a solution to this horrific conflict.” They noted people in rebel-held areas could not vote and that state media promoted the incumbent Bashar al-Assad.
In de mijnen bij Marikana wordt nu al meer dan vier maanden gestaakt. Het is tot nu toe de langstlopende staking in de Zuid-Afrikaanse geschiedenis. De mijnenvakbond AMCU en de bazen van mijnbedrijven Lonmin, Amplats en Impala zijn deze week in gesprek over de hoogte van de lonen. De stakers eisen een loonsverhoging tot 12.500 Rand. Twee jaar geleden eisten ze hetzelfde, maar toen liepen de demonstraties uit op een bloedbad. De “Marikana Massacre” lijkt voor sommigen nog als de dag van gisteren.
On Sunday 8 June general elections will be held in Kosovo, following an early dissolution of parliament on 7 May. Parliament fell after interethnic bickering let to a legislative stalemate. The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) of ruling Prime Minister Hashim Thaci is expected to win. The new government faces many challenges; foremost are a haltering economy, the strengthening of the fledgling government and judiciary and the integration of the ethnic Serbs.
Maar wat betekent dit voor het Fair Politics programma van de FMS? Met de FairKiezingswijzer hebben we duidelijk laten zien welke partijen zich zullen inzetten voor eerlijke politiek ten opzichte van ontwikkelingslanden. Hoe hebben de partijen gescoord in de verkiezingen? En wat voor effect zal dit hebben op de Europese politiek van de komende vijf jaar?
Op 4 juni heeft de regering van de Centraal Afrikaanse Republiek (CAR) verboden om tekstberichten via mobiele telefoons te sturen. Deze actie moet tot het “herstel van veiligheid” leiden en een einde maken aan de protesten en stakingen die inwoners organiseren.
In order to reclaim control over the country’s eastern regions, Ukrainian security forces have started a new offensive against pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas and Luhansk region. The offensive started on Sunday 1 June as government forces marched on the strategic town of Slavyansk, breaking through several roadside barricades. Separatist forces reacted by besieging a government-controlled border camp near the town of Luhansk on Monday 2 June. Thousands of civilians are on the run to escape the violence
On 2 June a Palestinian unity government, containing Fatah and Hamas, has been sworn in. According to media this event marks a “key step towards ending a major rift between factions in the West Bank and Gaza.”
