Stories about International Relations from May, 2011
Russia: “My Perestroika”
Dina Fainberg of The Dustbin of History writes about My Perestroika – “a lovely documentary by an American film-maker [Robin Hessman] about how four classmates were affected by the changes in Russia from Brezhnev to Putin” – and the Q&A that followed the film's screening in London.
Abkhazia: Sergei Bagapsh Dies
In Moscow's Shadows and Foreign Policy Association's Russia blog write about the implications of the death of Sergei Bagapsh, the president of the Republic of Abkhazia, on May 29.
Africa, France: Who is Nafissatou Diallo? Victim or Conspirator?
In the debate over the alleged sexual assault by French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn of a Guinean hotel chambermaid in New York, attentions from France to Africa have now shifted to the identity of the alleged victim, Nafisatou Diallo.
Serbia: Mladic Arrest Update
Bill Kralovec of Bill's Blog and Kirk Johnson of Americans for Bosnia share thoughts on the arrest of Ratko Mladic; YakimaGulagLiteraryGazett is posting links to English-language media stories on the issue.
Russia: OBEY Giant Poster Wonders ‘Who Set Up Strauss-Kahn?’
LJ-user groupper posts [ru] pictures of an illegal poster with OBEY Giant and a question in French and Russian: “Who set up Strauss-Kahn?” The poster hanging in front of the French diplomatic mission building in Saint-Petersburg, raises a conspiracy theory question, wherever the #DSK scandal was a deliberate removal of...
Africa: African Diplomas and French Schools
Néo, on his blog Immigré choisi, answers questions often asked by his African readers [fr] about academic qualifications and African diplomas recognition in France, based on his personal experience.
Azerbaijan: Twitter as a tool for activism
Global Voices co-founder Ethan Zuckerman comments on the use of Twitter in last week's campaign by Amnesty International to call for the release of prisoner of conscience Eynulla Fatullayev. Although the imprisoned journalist was released, argues Zuckerman, several questions have been raised by the online action and not least in...
Egypt: Opening of Rafah Crossing with Gaza
Egypt opened its Rafah order crossing with the Gaza Strip today, allowing people to cross freely into Egypt for the first time in four years. The border, which is Gaza's main gateway to the outside world, was opened sporadically during the reign of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Following are some reactions from Twitter on this latest development.
Germany, Ukraine: Implications of the Demjanjuk Ruling
Alexander J. Motyl writes at Ukraine's Orange Blues/World Affairs about the implications of the May 12 sentencing of John Demjanjuk “for being an accessory to the murder of 28,060 Jews in the Nazi concentration camp in Sobibor, in occupied Poland.”
Mexico: Gun Trafficking in the Southern Border
In Vivir México [es], Ximena Vega blogs about gun trafficking in Mexico's southern border, an issue that has been shadowed by the problems in the northern border with the United states.
France : The “Civilized” Internet According to President Sarkozy
As a prelude to the G8 summit in Deauville, chaired by France, the e-G8 forum of the Internet was held in Paris on 23 and 24 May 2011. To the dismay of supporters of civil society, the interventions on the forum were limited to government agencies and large companies.
Venezuela, the USA and their ‘Oily’ Co-Dependence
“The current flap between the United States and Venezuela, where the U.S. is imposing sanctions on PDVSA, almost immediately brought up the elephant in the room: co-dependency,” Greg Weeks argues in Two Weeks Notice.
Ukraine: Proposal to Declare Crimean Tatar Deportation “Genocide”
Window on Eurasia reports on the Ukrainian Peoples Party's proposal to declare the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars by Stalin “an act of genocide and a crime against humanity.”
Belarus: Economic Crisis
Nils van der Vegte of RussiaWatchers reports on the economic crisis in Belarus.
Azerbaijan: Eynulla Fatullayev Pardoned Following Twitter Action
Just two days after the UK branch of Amnesty International launched its Twitter campaign to call for the release of Eynulla Fatullayev comes news that the imprisoned journalist and prisoner of conscience has been included in a list of prisoners to be pardoned ahead of the 93rd anniversary of the founding of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.
Serbia: Arrest of Ratko Mladic
Ratko Mladic, former Bosnian Serb military leader was arrested today by police in Serbia, the country's president, Boris Tadic, confirmed on national television. General Mladic has been on the run since 1995 facing charges of genocide for his role as Bosnian Serb military commander during the 1992-95 civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
El Salvador Gets its Share of WikiLeaks Cables
Tim from Tim's El Salvador Blog reports that online news site El Faro has started releasing WikiLeaks US diplomatic cables related to El Salvador. Follow Tim's blog for future posts on individual cables.
Estonia: Between East and West
Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa reflects upon Estonia's changing politico-cultural identity against the backdrop of the 2011 Lennart Meri conference.
North Korea: Kim Jong Il in China
Adam Cathcart from Sinologistical Violoncellist blogs about various economic and political implications of Kim Jong Il's visit in China that might have been missed by western media.
Brazil/Palestine: Football Player Removed from Facebook and National Team
The blog Palestinian Field Negro denounces that the Facebook account of the Brazilian football player from Real Madrid (Spain), Marcelo Vieira, has been deleted due to his support of the Palestinian cause. Later on Marcelo was also cut from the Brazilian national team [pt].
Hungary: Orbán Government and Romania's Hungarian Minority
Hungarian Spectrum writes about the relationship between the Orbán government and the Hungarian minority in Romania.
