Nieuws over politieke trainingen en ontwikkelingen in Oost- en Zuidoost Europa, de Kaukasus, Afrika en het Midden Oosten
Yesterday 27 April, dual elections were held in Macedonia. The country went to the ballot boxes for the second round of the presidential elections and early parliamentary elections. The ruling conservative coalition, ‘For better Macedonia’ (VMRO-DPMNE and DUI), claims victory as the opposition refuses to accept the results due to irregularities. The preliminary results suggest the ruling coalition retains a government majority.
A criminal court in the south of Egypt has sentenced 37 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to death and recommended the death sentence for 682 others. Amongst the convicted is Muslim Brotherhood supreme guide, Mohamed Badie. Critics claim the mass sentencing is part of a crackdown on the movement that could trigger protests and political violence ahead of the presidential elections next month.
Since 15 April the Ukrainian government forces have attempted to clear out pro-Russian separatist strongholds in eastern Ukraine. Ten days later, the anti-terror operations are still continuing and the crisis is yet to deescalate. Today, seven people got injured near Odessa when an explosion occurred at a roadblock. On Thursday 24 April at least two separatists died when Ukrainian commandos raided pro-Russian checkpoints around the town of Sloviansk.
De Europese verkiezingen staan voor de deur en partijen en media lopen zich warm. Vijf jaar geleden werd een simpele tegenstelling: ‘wil je meer of minder EU’ het centrale thema van de verkiezingen en was er een zoektocht gaande naar een nieuw Europees verhaal. Daar hadden vooral de genuanceerde middenpartijen het moeilijk mee en de flankpartijen profiteerden. Dit keer zal het anders gaan, omdat onze relatie tot de EU veel complexer is geworden en omdat Vladimir Poetin onze aloude motivatie om samen te werken nieuw leven heeft ingeblazen.
Olie en gas zijn van essentieel belang voor de Russische economie. De Russische petrochemische industrie is een van de grootste ter wereld. In 2009 produceerde Rusland meer olie dan Saoedi-Arabië. Ze vormen een basis van belangen die Poetin vragen om een stevig politiek schaakspel uit te oefenen in de wereldpolitiek gebaseerd op de controle van olie en gas.
De afgelopen dagen bezocht ik met de Foundation Max van der Stoel de Oekraïense hoofdstad Kiev. Een eerste impressie:
On Wednesday 23 April, a meeting of Palestinian leaders resulted in a reconciliation pact between the Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas. Both groups agreed to form a national government under the umbrella of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The US and Israel fear the new-found unity might derail the peace process.
Today, Wednesday 23 April, the Lebanese parliament failed to elect a new president. Lawmakers had to elect a successor for President Michel Suleiman, whose six-year term ends on 25 May. Political turmoil and social unrest have divided the country, making it very difficult to reach agreement on a suitable presidential candidate.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad term ends on 17 July, which means elections need to be held. On 21 April the date has been set: 3 June. Assad is expected to run again to win another seven-year term in office.
On 15 April Ukrainian government forces started clearing out pro-Russian separatist strongholds in eastern Ukraine. Tensions are very high as both government forces and pro-Russia separatists stage rival shows of power. On 14 April acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov ordered Ukrainian armed forces to regain control over the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine after pro-Russia protesters started occupying government buildings starting 6 April.
Meeschrijven voor de FMS? Stuur je inzending (maximaal 400 woorden) naar info@foundationmaxvanderstoel.nl
