Nieuws over politieke trainingen en ontwikkelingen in Oost- en Zuidoost Europa, de Kaukasus, Afrika en het Midden Oosten
On Tuesday 20 May a court jury in Moscow convicted five men for the murder of rights activist and investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006. Three of the defendants had previously been acquitted of any involvement in the murder. The defendants all face life imprisonment and announced they will appeal.
On 17 May a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights march took place in Moldovan capital Chisinau. Around one hundred people participated. Next to this group, the same amount of people hold a protest against gay rights. This happened in Georgia as well on the same day, due to a newly adopted anti-discrimination law.
Armed forces stormed the Libyan parliament, the General National Congress (GNC) on 18 May, and demanded its suspension. Officials said the attackers killed two and wounded 55 people, while keeping at least 20 people hostage. The identity of the chaotic attackers was unclear, but loyalists of renegade general Khalifa Hafter claimed responsibility. By attacking the GNC, the gunmen directly challenged the legitimacy of the country’s central government which already struggles to gain authority over the country.
Meer dan 20 jaar na de Koude Oorlog en bijna 70 jaar na de Tweede Wereldoorlog leiden Europeanen een bestaan in vrede en veiligheid. De Europese Unie is een gemeenschap waarin de waarde van democratie en verdraagzaamheid vanzelfsprekend is geworden voor veel mensen. Toch is er de laatste tijd veel gebeurd waardoor de rust is verstoord.
On Tuesday 13 May the Secretary-General of the United Nation, Ban Ki-moon, announced that the Special Envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, will step down by the end of May. Brahimi expressed his regret for his inability to forge an international response to the violence in Syria. The 80-year-old Brahimi threatened to resign almost from the start of his mission in 2012. He succeeded Kofi Annan, who quit after six months and slammed the UN Security Council for failing to unite behind his efforts.
On 27 April dual elections took place in Macedonia. The opposition does not accept the results and refuses to take seat in parliament. These parties further boycotted the inauguration of president Gjorge Ivanov on 12 May and were absent at the ceremonial handing of Members of Parliament certificates on 7 May.
In het weekend van 9 tot 11 mei organiseerde Foundation Max van der Stoel in samenwerking met Centre of Modern Skills (CMV) – NGO verbonden aan de Democratische Partij (DS) – een training gericht op het bevorderen van de positie van etnische minderheden binnen de partij. FMS trainers Samir Španja en Brahim Abid reisden naar Servië af om de training te verzorgen.
In the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhanks separatists organized a referendum on independence on Sunday 11 May. Rebel organizers claim 89 percent of the votes in Donetsk, and 96 percent of votes in Luhanks, favor independence. The self-rule vote was highly controversial and has been called illegal by the EU, NATO and the US.
On 5 May the head of Libya's parliament has confirmed that businessman Ahmed Maiteeq will be the country's new prime minister. Ahmed Maiteeq is Libya's fifth prime minister to be appointed in the past two and a half years. Maiteeq tried hard to win over sceptics by stressing his business credentials and his non-party background.
In a country gripped by political deadlock, politicians of the Bosniak-Croat Federation (FBiH) entity adopted a set of anti-corruption laws, aimed at establishing specific law-enforcement bodies to tackle organized crime. Some critics say the new law shows Bosnia and Herzegovina is starting to overcome its political difficulties, others say the law is a show of decisiveness for the October general elections.
Meeschrijven voor de FMS? Stuur je inzending (maximaal 400 woorden) naar info@foundationmaxvanderstoel.nl
