On 30 January Serbia president Tomislav Nikolic called early parliamentary elections for 16 March. According to the president Serbia “shall certainly get a government with more energy and enthusiasm and released from problems that this government has solved.” The coalition government, in which the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) is the main party, explained its request for early elections by the need to ensure ‘as wide as possible support for accelerated reforms and modernization of Serbia’. However, the fact that SNS is skyrocketing in all polls (above 40%) is considered as crucial factor for SNS to go to the polls and having its leader Aleksandar Vucic as prime minister.
Afgelopen zaterdag vierde de wereld Internationale Vrouwendag. Op deze jaarlijks terugkerende feestdag wordt stilgestaan bij structurele problemen die vrouwen ondervinden. Over de hele wereld worden activiteiten georganiseerd die in het teken staan van internationale solidariteit. Dit jaar was het thema ‘inspiring change,’ gericht op het uitdagen van de patriarchale verhoudingen die ongelijkheid tussen mannen en vrouwen in stand houden en versterken. Deze ‘change’ wordt steeds meer bereikt in Afrika waar feministische bewegingen meer invloed verkrijgen. Op politiek gebied streven ze het Western voorbij. Het internet en de digitale ruimte an sich speelt hierbij een steeds belangrijkere rol.
A Fatah meeting in the town of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, was violently disrupted by Hamas police on Saturday 8 March. Fatah members gathered in remembrance of martyrs who fell during the Intifada. About twenty people got arrested, but were released after a short while.
The law proposed on the 5th of March by the European Commission on responsible sourcing of minerals falls far short of expectations and is too weak to prevent European companies’ mineral purchases from financing conflict or human rights abuses.
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has given a warning that his government will block social media networks YouTube and Facebook, which feature in the growing corruption scandal. “If necessary” he would ban them, suggesting that “he would not sacrifice the Turkish people” to the two websites. Both platforms were used to spread the leaks of alleged phone calls between Erdoğan and his son in which they discuss how to hide vast sums of money. The Prime Minister dismisses those phone calls as being a fake montage by his rivals, which he deems ‘vile’ and ‘immoral’. After the local elections on 30th of March, he warned, new steps will therefore be taken to tighten the government’s grip over the internet.
CAR president Catherine Samba-Panza arriveerde op 4 maart in Angola om de banden tussen deze twee landen te versterken.
The parliament of Ukraine’s southern region, Crimea, has voted unanimously in favor of joining Russia. The vote coincided with an announcement that a referendum on Crimea's status was being brought forward to March 16. The question to be put to voters will be whether their region should enjoy autonomy within Ukraine or join Russia.
Israeli Prime Ministers Benjamin Netanyahu said he was prepared to discuss peace with the Palestinians, but offered no concessions. He demanded that the Palestinians would recognize the state of Israel in return. Netanyahu made the statement at the annual meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the US leading Israel-lobby organization.
On March 1 it was announced that Macedonia is set to call early parliamentary elections in order to end a political deadlock sparked by the two main ruling coalition members. They cannot agree on a candidate for the upcoming presidential vote. Yesterday all parties have given their consent, therefore parliament is expected to dissolve tomorrow.
Afgelopen weekend (28 februari-2 maart) organiseerden wij in samenwerking met de zusterpartij in Marokko de Unified Socialist Party (PSU) een training voor jonge activisten en vrouwen die gelieerd zijn aan de PSU. Zowel jongeren als vrouwen zijn belangrijke doelgroepen voor en binnen de partij en vandaar dat de partner graag een training wilde organiseren waarin allebei de doelgroepen waren vertegenwoordigd.
