Good morning/evening, here is my
World Roundup for
November 24, 2003
This Diary entry is reposted from this morning by request for those in other time zones
Legend:
fr = French language
it = Italian language
ro = Romanian/Moldovan language
es = Spanish language
de = German language
pt = Portuguese language
is = Icelandic language
su = Suomi language (Finnish)
nl = Dutch language
Everything else in English language
Note: That which you can see on your evening news will not be covered here.
Freedom!
Well, it's on everyone's TV finally, so I'll lead off with updates from the peaceful revolution in Republic of Georgia:
If you weren't in Tblisi (the capital) last night, you missed a huge street party.
Fireworks, dancing, screaming and plenty of drinking greeted the news that President Eduard Shevardnadze had resigned in the face of mass demonstrations organized by his political opposition.
"I feel like I have been born again," said Gela Papunashvili in the Georgian capital's parliament square as he hugged and kissed the strangers around him that he now counts as comrades in a "people's revolution."
Tens of thousands who have been gathering in the square for days to protest what they said was a rigged election earlier this month to sustain Shevardnadze in power, now laughed, sang, danced and roared with delight over the news that the decade-old rule of a former Soviet boss had been swept away.
"We got rid of him. We did it. Us. Here. We have a future," Papunashvili said.
The interim president, Ms. Nino Burdzhanadze, gave an address to the nation, calling for order throughout all regions of the country. She also called for both Presidential and parliamentary elections to be held within 45 days time.
The United States officially had this to say, primarily "forget about what we said last week about Shevardnadze, we now support Burdzhanadze". Ok, I'm paraphrasing. The US right now is quaking in its boots because major oil companies are in the process of signing contracts to establish an oil pipeline through Georgia.
The Chinese, on the other hand, said that Georgia's affairs are internal and they support whoever is in charge (again, paraphrasing).
In Russia, Sergei Mironov, chairman of the Russian Federation Council, called President Burdzhanadze to confirm his support. He stated that "Russia has always supported the territorial integrity of Georgia", which is a bit of political doublespeak, since thousands of Russian troops are currently in Georgia.
Not to be outdone, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan stated that Armenia-Georgia relations would remain unchanged.
In slightly more ominous news, Teimuraz Shashiashvili, a Georgian politician, has thrown his hat in the ring for the upcoming elections. Additionally, many pro-Shevardnadze mayors across Georgia have resigned in protest.
Meanwhile, in Vladikavkaz, the Russian border town between Georgia's "South Ossetia" region and Russia's "North Ossetia" region, has placed its troops on high alert. So far no incidents have been reported but the ethnic Ossetians have been fighting for independence since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Will they make a grab while the political situation is still uncertain?
Wrap-up of the situation in Le Monde(fr), Corriere(it), Evenimentul Zilei(ro) and a good biography piece on Ms. Burdzhanadze in El Mundo(es).
Ok, onto other news:
There was a national election in Croatia on Sunday, with the nationalistic HDZ party winning the most votes. This is the same party which led Croatia when it became independent in 1991. It has previously upset its European neighbors because of its hardline stance but now swears it is no longer "anti-Serb" or hardline. Mainly, I believe this rhetoric is to try an angle membership into the EU, but we'll see if they walk the walk. Good coverage of the elections here(es) and here(de). The Economist magazine has an article on politics in the Balkans in general, although I'm inclined to disagree with their viewpoint, especially such elitist lines as "In all, the progress of the former Yugoslavs towards becoming normal Europeans has been halting"
In Uganda, the Lord's Resistance Army continues its rampage, burning down dozens of houses and snatching more children to become soldiers in its "army". More coverage here(fr).
Some good news in Burundi as a new government is formed including both Hutus and Tutsis. About 300,000 people have died since the war broke out in 1993. Let's hope the peace is everlasting this time.
Even better news from Pakistan, where the government has offered to observe a unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir. India responds by saying "sounds good" (paraphrase again). We'll see how this develops. Talks between the two nations seem to be developing after this initiative by Pakistan.
Russian media Itar-Tass reports an increase of Muslim terrorist organizations in Kyrgyzstan. More detail on these organizations here.
Meanwhile, in Libya, Qaddafi apparently is getting ready to privatize most of the country's assets, including heavy industry, textile and shoe factories and even state-owned farms. They also are trying to privatize their oil and banking as well. Why? I have no idea. Why would Libya need so much cash? I'll do my best to try and find out.
The president of Mozambique, Joaquim Chissano, is in Libya to meet with Qaddafi in advance of the African Union summit in February.
Mr. Saakashvili, the Georgian Elvis? Could be!
Peace!
(updates on my blog)