Karzai Re-Elected Amid Political Disillusion Maria Ekimoglou to Have Paid Off in That Respect
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Volume 3 Issue 3 December 2009 Highlights U.S. begins diplomatic initiative with Burma Karina Kainth REGIONAL NEWS Staff Writer Asia-Pacific: Front Page President Barack Obama directly entreated Burma's Prime Minister to release opposition leader Aung San Suu Americas Pg 2 Kyi from 14 years of detention at a meeting between the High hopes in Copenhagen Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the U.S. The meeting, held in Singapore on Nov. 15, was the first ASEAN meeting at which both the U.S. and the Burmese Europe Pg 3 junta were present. German divisions persist 20 The U.S. decision to meet face-to-face with Burmese years after the Berlin Wall representatives was preceded by a fact-finding mission led by U.S. officials Kurt Campbell (U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia) and his deputy, Scott Marciel, from Nov. Africa Pg 4 3 to Nov. 4. The mission was characterized by increased Courtesy of Burma Digest Hybrid court for Sudan falls openness on the part of the Burmese junta, who were will- U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell meeting Opposition Leader Aung San Suu Kyi. through ing to allow Suu Kyi to meet with officials. Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein, in power for the placed by the EU on Burma, which include an arms embar- last 17 years, also met with Campbell and Marciel. The offi- go, a visa ban, and various trade restrictions. Middle East Pg 5 cials did not, however, meet with Senior General Than Shwe, Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy party, was prevented by the Burmese junta from Watchdog reports sexual who is said to wield a considerable amount of influence within the junta. Ian Kelly, spokesperson for the U.S. State coming to power after the party's victory in the 1990 elec- assault of Iranian protestors Department, told reporters that the junta was "mainly in a tions. Suu Kyi has been detained for 14 years, and it is said listening mode" during the meetings. that the junta plans to extend this detention until after the FOCUS During the mission, Campbell and Marciel met with 2010 elections, a decision that faces strong opposition from the international community. Pakistan Pg 6-7 several ethnic minority groups, including the Shan, Chin, Mon, Arakan, and Kachin, in Rangoon, the former capital of While the junta's recent receptiveness to foreign officials An in-depth look into U.S. Burma. These ethnic minorities make up 40 percent of the may signal positive changes within the Burmese govern- policy in Pakistan country's population. ment, there are some who, having witnessed the junta's For the past two years, the junta has not permitted eth- oppressive ways in the past, remain wary. nic minorities to meet with foreign officials, including UN "With the current regime, change will be difficult," said envoys. The last UN Envoy to do so was Razali Ismail, a Surjit Singh, a former resident of Burma who was compelled Malaysian diplomat. The ethnic groups expressed their to leave the country in 1965 along with thousands of other grievances and their desire for representation in the 2010 Indian nationals. "The way the junta has dealt with domestic elections. In 1990, ethnic minorities won 67 seats in issues in the recent past, such as the forceful way in which Parliament, but their victory was not recognized by the junta. they put down the monk uprisings in 2007, underscores the The U.S. attendance at the ASEAN meeting and the oppressiveness of the regime. The junta has also used many fact-finding mission are part of Obama's plan to move grad- unnecessary excuses to extend Suu Kyi's detention." ually away from a sanction-based isolation policy in dealings While hopeful that negotiations with the junta will be with Burma. The junta's increased willingness to allow diplo- successful, the U.S. is maintaining a cautious stance. OPINIONS Pg 8-9 macy-based meetings with the West has played a key role in Sanctions will not be withdrawn until Burma releases its Changing the discourse sur- this strategy. political prisoners, breaks its military ties with North Korea, roundig Obama’s Last month, the junta permitted Suu Kyi to meet with and releases Suu Kyi. The EU has stated that its sanctions Afghanistan strategy the new British ambassador and representative for the will remain in place until Burma makes advances in uphold- European Union, Andrew Heyn, to discuss the sanctions ing human rights. Karzai re-elected amid political disillusion Maria Ekimoglou to have paid off in that respect. However, the damage to cent of the vote and secured him the presidency. Staff Writer the Karzai Administration's reputation is clear. However, another UN-led election observation organi- President Karzai took office for the second time on The first round of voting for the presidential elec- zation, Democracy International, found that Mr. Karzai Nov. 19 amid swirling allegations of fraud, voter intimi- tions took place on Aug. 20. Over 30 candidates vied for did not secure over 50 percent of the valid votes and dation, and corruption. The Afghan public, in conjunc- the position of President, the two main contenders thus could not be named the winner until a run-off elec- tion with the international community at large, respond- being the incumbent President Karzai and Dr. Abdullah. tion was held. ed negatively to the manner in which President Karzai The first predictions from the elections came out in President Karzai refutes claims of fraud and voter won the election and have called on the president to September following the vote; however, accusations of intimidation and maintains that the election was free and reform his administration during his second term. ballot stuffing and voter fraud delayed the announce- fair. Karzai was announced the winner of the 2009 ment of victory. In response to criticism from the United States, the Afghan presidential election after his main contender, In early October, Karzai announced himself winner European Union, and other members of the interna- former foreign minister Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, with- of the election with 52 percent of the vote. This claim tional community, President Karzai promised during his drew his candidacy just six days before the Nov. 7 runoff was contested by Afghanistan's Electoral Complaints inaugural address to clean up corruption within his election was to take place. Commission, which found that, at most, Mr. Karzai won administration. Upon withdrawing from the race, Dr. Abdullah stat- 48 percent of the vote. This realization, combined with For the Afghan public and international observers ed the impossibility of maintaining a free and fair elec- an inability to separate fraudulent ballots from valid bal- alike, the legacy of Karzai's first term and the current tion as his main reason for conceding. lots, forced a run-off election between Mr. Karzai and allegations surrounding the 2009 presidential election The decision is widely thought to have had two Dr. Abdullah. belies his message of reform and their hope for a more political motivations. First, his allegations would have a The UN-appointed Electoral Complaints democratic future. damaging effect on the new term of President Karzai. Commission (ECC) ordered the recount of thousands As Sana Hussain, an Afghan-Canadian and senior Second, he could negotiate a power sharing deal with of ballets in September from polling stations in several Diplomacy major, explains, “There are many issues to be Karzai after he took office. President Karzai has since provinces. The ECC offered preliminary results of 54.6 resolved. His [Karzai’s] re-election will simply lead to made it clear that power sharing will not be brought into percent for Mr. Karzai and 27.8 percent for Dr. more chaos and instability, fueling divisions rather than effect, and Dr. Abdullah's political gamble does not seem Abdullah. This would have given Mr. Karzai over 50 per- unity amongst the Afghan people.” December 2009 Page 2 AMERICAS on Climate Change, estimate that SOA Watch protests another developed nations will need to collec- tively curb emissions by more than 40 year of WHINSC offenses percent of their 1990 levels by 2020 in Kelly Freeman order to achieve the targeted tempera- Staff Writer "The U.S. Army School ture stabilizations. of the Americas is a Japan, the EU, and other major Every year from Nov. 22 to greenhouse gas producers have already Nov. 24, the School of the school that has run more dictators than publically released their intentional Americas (SOA) Watch organizes emissions pledges, including recent to protest in front of the school’s any other school in Courtesy of COP15 Website announcements by the U.S. and China. meeting place at the main gate of the history of the But while there may be few surprises in Fort Benning in support of its world." High hopes in store in terms of pledged reduction Congressional lobby to close the U.S. Congressman Joseph targets, there is still much to negotiate school. This November proved Kennedy Copenhagen for industrialized and developing coun- no exception as SOA Watch’s tries alike. non-profit movement continued early 1980s, SOA training manuals Jacie Joes Obama is scheduled to appear in in its battle to change the oppres- contained instructions for torture, Section Editor Copenhagen on Dec. 9 to address the sive U.S. foreign policy that SOA execution, kidnapping, fear moti- conference. According to a White represents. vation, imprisonment under false The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference is only days away House statement released in late Thousands of human rights terms, and bounties for dead ene- November, "the President believes it is defenders and torture survivors mies.