World Affairs
This issue's World Affairs section is steaming with some rather significant articles, something you won't want to miss. First we've got an article discussing the ongoing restlessness in the African nation of Chad, written by Arianna. Next is almost certainly something you've all heard about, Fidel Castro has finally resigned. Say Topdog has given you the latest in his article regarding this event. Finally, R Anderson covers a recent controversy about Kosovo's Independence from Serbia. These in depth articles are sure to inform you in great detail, so be sure to pay close attention!
-Kyle
Chad Unrest - By: Arianna
Over the last weeks there has been considerable media coverage on an anti-government rebellion in Chad, a country in sub-Saharan Africa.
What most people don't know is that Chad has a long history of rebellions, coups and other 'questionable' political practices: let's have an in-depth look at the Chadian crisis.
Chad was a French colony until 1960, as most of Western Africa. In that year, it obtained independence and it wasn't long before its first elected President, François Tombalbaye, established a dictatorship. Rebel movements started soon after (the first news of rebels in Chad are dated 1965), and Tombalbaye was overthrown, and killed, in 1975, but unrest was still rampaging. In 1979 the rebels conquered the capital and all central authority collapsed, leaving the country in shambles: Libya saw the opportunity and moved its army into Chad to gain control of it (which borders Libya on the northern side), only to find itself swamped in the Chadian civil war. Hissène Habré, who had nominated himself President in 1982 after yet another coup, rallied all Chadian forces against the invader, who was driven out in 1987. Habré's general, Idriss Déby, in turn overthrew him in 1990.
Déby is also the current President, and has tried to reconcile Chadian ethnicities by reintroducing multiparty elections again. He won elections in 1996 and in 2001. In 2003, everything was to change. Déby unilaterally modified the Constitution to remove the limit of two re-elections for the President (himself) and also started oil exploitation of the country.
Allegedly, he kept most of the oil riches for himself and his ethnic group, and his change of the Constitution was not welcome by Chadians and its army, which started suffering lots of desertions.
18 months ago, one of Déby's ambassadors joined sides with the rebels of the UFDD and started leading them. They attacked the capital N'Djamena soon after, but they were heavily outnumbered and overpowered, so they had to back off.
In December 2007, the UFDD joined sides with two other rebel factions, and, on February 1, attacked N'Djamena again by surprise since the governmental forces expected an attack in the Eastern part of the country.
They managed to occupy a fair bit of the capital before being repelled by the governmental forces, which, though, have suffered heavy losses and, as agencies report, the army chief of the Chadian army was killed in combat.
Now it seems that the rebels have retreated outside N'Djamena to give civilians a chance to retreat before "the final assault".
Libya and France started peace talks with the rebels and the government, and one of the three heads of the rebellion, Mahamat Nouri, seemed in favor of such a ceasefire, but only if the other two heads agree.
Meanwhile, the African Union strongly condemned the attack, and civilians are fleeing towards Libya and Cameroon, giving those two countries heavy problems in managing refugees.
In the weeks following the initial attack the situation has not changed much: now military efforts are of significantly lower concern than humanitarian aids. It must not be forgotten that Chad borders with Darfur, and hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees.
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Fidel Castro Resigns- By: Say Topdog
Fidel Castro, age 81, resigns from being one of the longest serving leaders in the history of the world. Castro announced his plans to resign and step down from the top of Cuba on an online version of a Cuban newspaper, the Granma. Castro, a fiery military and political figure throughout the world, is one of the most feared men in Cuba. However, during his resignation there was not much activity from citizens of Cuba -- No rallies, protests, etc. It was not until the late morning that radios began announcing that Fidel Castro had resigned.
Fidel Castro is most famous for being a Socialist leader. Early in his life, Castro was made famous by participating in an unsuccessful coupe that left him exiled in the United States of America. Shortly, Castro organized a group of fighters to get rid of and annihilate the government Cuba had at the time. Castro seized power and ever since, the United States has been trying to overthrow Castro and restore a democracy. Two weeks after seizing power, Castro declared Cuba a Socialist power. Before the break-up of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Fidel Castro mainly relied on them for economic support and political support. Since the break-up of the USSR in 1991, the economy of Cuba was in ruins and Fidel Castro was scrimmaging to make ends meet; however, Castro met luck as the tourism industry in Cuba soared.
Fidel Castro was one of the greatest (and most hated) leaders of the world. It was Castro who sent many Cubans fleeing into the United States for political freedom and civil rights. It was Castro, who left Cuba under socialist remains for nearly 50 years.
Fidel Castro has not been seen most of the time by the public eye, ever since he had surgery in July of 2006. Raul Castro, who has commanded Cuba ever since Fidel fell ill, is the successor of the ex-dictator. Raul Castro is Fidel Castro's younger brother who is now at the age of 76 years old; however, politicans believe that Raul Castro may have his own successor, the strongest projection being Carlos Lage, the prime minister of Cuba.
In the United States, Cuban immigrants living in Little Havana (AKA Miami, Florida) were in liberty when they first heard the news. Cubans sold flags, and even went around the streets of Miami yelling out "Free Cuba!" However, the United States government has little intention on lifting the trade embargo that was applied on Cuba. Although the government has no comment on lifting the trade embargo, the government recognizes and (somewhat) sympathizes for Cuba and the Cubans as a great communist leader has finally stepped down.
This mark leaves a major impact on all of society. This could mean that Cuba can be left in civil unrest, or Cuba can become a democratic (otherwise Socialist) power in the world. George Bush quotes, "This is a transition from Dictator to Dictator light." The new dictator of Cuba, one who was temporarily in charge, now has full control and may act according to his own pleasure. Raul Castro has the power to choose the future of Cuba, the island nation just 90 miles away from Miami Beach.
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Kosovo Independance - By: R Anderson
Kosovo was a province of Serbia which is located in Eastern Europe. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008. There was a similar attempt in 1990 but it ended up not having enough support from the people in Kosovo.
History of Serbia/Kosovo
Kosovo has been a province of Serbia ever since Serbia’s founding in 812. However it became part of the Ottoman Empire after the Ottomans invaded and conquered Serbia in 1521 after almost 70 years of attacks. Serbia was under control of the Ottomans until 1835 when Serbia declared independence. In 1914, Austria-Hungarian archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a group of Serbian terrorists. This was one of the events that led up to World War I between the Allies (Primarily United States, Russia, France, Great Britain) against the Central powers (Primarily Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey).. At the start of the war Serbia won several battles but eventually fell to Austria-Hungary and Germany in 1915. It was freed in 1918 two months before the end of World War 1. Shortly after the war Serbia merged with Montenegro, and the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs to become Yugoslavia. During World War 2 Yugoslavia’s ruler signed a treaty with Germany during World War 2 in 1941 but was overthrown 2 days later. This caused Germany to invade Yugoslavia. Germany controlled until Yugoslavia 1945. Then in 1992 Serbia declared independence from Yugoslavia and again became its own country. In 1999 the Kosovo war started between Serbian forces and the Albanian Liberation Forces (ALF). The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) joined the ALF and started a 78 day long bombing campaign against Serbia. In the end Serbia came to terms with NATO and agreed to pull their troops out of Kosovo under the condition that Kosovo would remain part of Serbia. The Serbian government in Kosovo was replaced with a U.N. administration/government. Serbia joined Montenegro and became Serbia-Montenegro from 2003 to 2006. It broke away from Montenegro in 2006 to again become the Republic of Serbia.
World Reaction to Kosovo’s Independence
This has created an international debate over whether or not Kosovo should be recognized as an independent nation. The countries that are in favor of Kosovo becoming a nation independent are Britain, France, Germany, and the U.S. There are many other nations which may support Kosovo but as of now these countries are the ones most people are certain of.
However Kosovo’s succession from Serbia is by no means universally popular. Russia, Cyprus, Romania, Spain, Slovakia, and obviously Serbia are all opposed to an independent Kosovo. Russia has called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to try to convince the U.N., who has basically controlled Kosovo for the last 9 years, to assert its authority and stop or at least delay the independence of Kosovo. If Kosovo does become an independent nation it most likely will be unable to join the United Nations because Russia holds veto power over any country attempting to join. Then 3 days after Kosovo declared independence and the U.S. announced they would support Kosovo.
3 days after Kosovo announced their independence the U.S. embassy in Serbia was burned. No U.S. personnel were killed, but the charred body of one Serbian rioter was found. It took police and firefighters 45 minutes to arrive on the scene. Shortly after they arrived the fire was put out and the block was secured. This was the first severely damaging riot but ever since Kosovo declared independence, groups of Serbians have been vandalizing U.N. and NATO property by setting of small bombs and holding large rallies.
What Kosovo’s Independence Could Mean
If Kosovo’s independence effort is successful it could set an example for several other provinces that are looking to break away. Some of the provinces/regions that might attempt to break if Kosovo is successful are Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Trans-Dniester in Georgia and Molodova. The Serbs that live in Bosnia-Herzegovina may also try to break away from their country.
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