First off, I want to apologize if any of you feel as if I have allowed the crisis in Zimbabwe to hijack the South Africa blog. But all along I have cinceived of this as a blog about Southern Africa, with South Africa at the center. Right now the events in Zimbabwe are arguably the […]
Just a six-month partial review of media and human rights issues in Uzbekistan: March 26, 2007: Ferghana.ru reports that yet another journalist with international ties is being prosecuted in Uzbekistan. Die Deutsche Welle journalist Natalya Bushuyeva has had criminal charges pressed for income tax evasion over the last five years. Ms. Bushuyeva is also being charged […]
Almost 500 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico this year, including more than 50 in the past week. Of the nearly 500 victims this year, 58 have been police officers, according to Mexico City's Police Formation Institute. President Calderon targeted drug trafficking upon taking office in December 2006 and sent troops earlier […]
Last week, President of Tajikistan Ehmomahli Rakhmonov announced that he wanted to return to the traditional (non-Slavic) spelling and pronunciation of his name. Today, President Rakhmon dictated that the entire nation will follow him in this move. New birth certificates, graduation papers, and other official documents will now be issued in non-Slavic spellings, whatever the preference […]
The International Helsinki Federation on Human Rights regularly comments on Central Asia's humanitarian issues. So far I’ve just glanced through the report and the Country Studies for each state look much more specific and useful than the general pages on Central Asia. One reason the general pages are not as good: domestic policies in the different states really […]
Mexican President Felipe Calderon played host to Chilean President Michelle Bachelet last week in an effort to strengthen relations and encourage regional integration. The two agreed to form an advisory council for the Strategic Association Agreement, or AAE, which was signed in January 2006 by their predecessors, Vicente Fox and Ricardo Lagos. In addition to economic […]
Professor Julio Moreno, Coordinator of Latin American Studies at the University of San Francisco, spoke at the World Affairs Council of Northern California on March 6th. His talk, Mexico: Neighbor in Turmoil, can be downloaded here. Moreno is the author of Yankee Don't Go Home!: Mexican Nationalism, American Business Culture, and the Shaping of Modern […]
Members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have broken their silence on Zimbabwe. Regional cooperation all along has presented the greatest hope for promoting change by taking the responsibility away from individual leaders such as Thabo Mbeki. Traditionally regional leaders, with memories of colonialism on the ground and the manifestations of apartheid and similar policies […]
Kazakhstan's medical services have been under fire recently for the deplorable medically-assisted spread of HIV virus among 96 schoolchildren via transfusions. Eight schoolchildren in the region of Shymkent have already died. Kazakhstan's Health Minister, Yerbolat Dosaev, and the Southern Kazakhstan governor Bolat Jylkyshiev, were dismissed. Twenty-one doctors and medical officials are on trial, and other medical staff […]
Mexico's Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) has proposed a bill in the national Senate to legalize abortion within the first three months of pregnancy. Currently, Mexican law only allows for abortion in cases of rape or when the mother's life is in danger. The PRD has also proposed legalizing abortion in Mexico City, which is a […]
The Boston Globe has a powerful story about a soccer field in Rwanda. Here are the first two paragraphs, but read the whole thing: In Kingston on Boston's South Shore, the Jonathan Rizzo Soccer Field with its bright lights and bleachers is a fitting memorial to the young man who loved the game and played […]
I was looking for a Central Asian game that didn't have to do with the “Great Game” in Central Asia. Instead of one, I found many–or really, Amira did. Her blog, The Golden Road to Samarqand (now added to Blogroll at right), has a series on Central Asian bone games. Since her account is part intercultural journey and part — the Hoyle's of […]
A new law took effect in Mexico City on March 16th allowing same-sex couples to unite in civil unions, giving them many of the social benefits such as property, pension and inheritance rights that are enjoyed by heterosexual married couples. The civil union law does not, however, allow the couples to adopt children. The Catholic […]
Bruce Pannier writes about current tensions over Manas Air Force Base near Bishkek for RFE/RL. With the Kharsi-Khanabad AFB closed in Uzbekistan, Manas is more important than before. One thing I did not realize right away: the USAF shares this airport with Kyrgyzstan's private use, which has to add to the tension there. In September 2006, […]
The reason for warmer ties between Pakistan and Uzbekistan were noted by Sanobar Shermatova at Ferghana.ru: Where Tashkent is concerned, the Afghani civil strife and relations with Pakistan are inseparable from the problem of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Advancement of relations with these two countries made for a weakening of Islamic gunmen. Tashkent and Islamabad […]