Global Snapshot – December edition

By Rachel Hankey

The December issue of Global Snapshot, which brings current international issues and news from around the world. November saw the economic turmoil in the Euro zone claim two Prime Ministers and a G20 summit sominated by economic concerns, as well as an ASEAN summit that brings Burma's regime out of the wilderness, as well as continued aftershocks of the Arab Spring in Syria and Yemen.

Europe

New Greek and Italian Prime Ministers

The ongoing financial crisis in the eurozone has forced the resignation of two European Prime Ministers. Greece's George Papandreou stepped down at the beginning of November, followinga disastrous proposed referendum on a eurozone bailout. This was shortly followed by the resignation of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Both Papandreou and Berlusconi have faced months on criticism over their handling of their countries' financial crisis,and proposed austerity measures have been met with strong opposition from the public.

The successors of both former leaders are financial experts, reflecting the growing concerns in Europe about the rate of financial recovery and the ability of governments toadequately address the issue. Papandreou was succeeded by Lucas Papademos,former vice-president of the European Central Bank. Although Papademosis not a member of parliament, he will head an interim government until elections take place in February. Berlusconi wasreplaced by Mario Monti, an esteemed economist and academic, and former European Union regulator. Both Papademos and Monti face an uphill struggle to implement measures to improve their countries economies.

Turkey cracks down on Kurdish rebels

Turkey has reportedly arrested over 70 individuals in raids across the country targeting Kurdish rebels.The raids were carried out simultaneously across the country, in 16 different provinces.

Last month a suspected Kurdish militant hijacked a ferry near the northwestern port city of Izmit. Violent confrontations between security forces and banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) are common, but reports highlighted that a hijacking would represent a change in tactics for the PKK. The PKK started their armed campaign in Kurdish-majority southeastern Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflictthat has claimed approximately 45,000 lives.

G20 Summit

The G20 summit took place in Cannes, south of France, early last month. The discussion was dominated by the debate surrounding the ongoing eurozone crisis. The financial situation in Italy was a key topic of talks, as fears emerge that the monetary meltdown in Greece may spread to Italy, which is a much larger economy. Barack Obama lead calls for Italy to accept the surveillance of their austerity measures by the International Monetary Fund.

Another significant outcome of the Cannes summit was the establishment of development as a key issue on the G20 agenda. A number of development-friendly initiatives were announced, including steps to boost global agricultural output and an agreement not to tax or restrict foodpurchased for humanitarian purposes by the UN World Food Program. The development community praised the initiative on agriculture, but remain frustrated about the lack of action on debt.

Asia

ASEAN Summit

The 19th Association of South-East Asian Nations(ASEAN) summit was held in Bali last month. In his closing statement host Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono highlighted the closeness of the ASEAN region, and the important steps towards building a more united ASEAN community by 2015.

In a significant move, Burma was giventhe chair of the 2014 summit, apparently as a "reward" for the hints of reformfrom its new government, following decades of military rule.The US had warned that the move was premature, but the leaders of the ASEAN countries defended their decision. The Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said that "All leaders are in agreement that significantchanges, significant developments, have taken place in Burma and those changeshave made it more conducive for Burma to carry out this responsibility".

Flooding in Thailand

Thailand is slowing beginning a massive cleanup operation, following severe floods across the country. Although the floodwaters have not completed drained away from the country, reconstruction efforts are already underway.

Thailand's economy has been severely damaged bythe floods, as both small local traders and multinational companies were affected. The floodwaters forced businesses to abandon seven huge industrialestates. Thailand is a key producer ofcomputer hardware, manufacturing approximately 45% of the world's supply. It is expected that there will be a shortage of computer parts into 2012, as key manufactures such as Toshiba and Western Digital were forced to close operations in waterlogged plants. In addition to clearing the debris left by the floodwaters, manufactures need to secure electricity and clean water supplies,with some manufactures suggesting that they will not be able to resume production until February or March next year.

US troops in Australia

Last month Barack Obama announced plans to station US troops in the Northern Territory. From next year 250 marines will bestationed in Australia, and over the next few years the force will be increasedto 2,500. The move has strained relations between China and the US, as Beijing has questioned the need for the US to strengthen its military position in the region.

Over the past year the US has increased its military connections in Vietnam,Singapore and the Philippines. This has lead China to fear a policy of encirclement, as well as increasing tensions over the rights to the oil-rich South China Sea. The US has denied that it is attempting to isolate China, but Obama warned thatshould Beijing "not play by the rules", the US will send a "clear message that they need to be on track in accepting the rules and responsibilities that come with being a world power".

---

Middle East

Yemen's President steps down

Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh has resigned from office, following nine months of protest against his rule. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) had sought to bring an end to the ongoing violence by negotiating an agreement which would lead to Saleh's resignation. On three different occasions, Saleh broke a promise to step down.

It is believed that he finally signed the agreement because he has lost the support of key international allies. Saudi Arabia, which has supported Saleh for decades, had become increasingly annoyed by his failure to restore stability to Yemen. Saleh had also lost the support of the US, which had provided millions of dollars in aid to Yemen.

The international community had hoped that Saleh's departure would end the violent protests and severe governmentcrackdowns that have been continuing for many months. However, on the dayfollowing the announcement of Saleh's resignation, tens of thousands of democracy activists took to the streets in cities all over the country to raiseconcerns about the terms of the deal. Under the terms of the agreement, Salehand unspecified others in his circle will be immune from prosecution. There arealso concerns about whether Saleh will honour his promise to step down.

Arab League takes action against Syria

In a significant turning point for effort toend the ongoing violence in Syria, the Arab League has begun to take action against the government of the country. Early in November, the Arab League voted to suspend Syria from the league. Themove prompted attacks on several embassies in Syria and neighbouring countries,by pro-government supporters. Syria strongly objects to the League's proposalto send 500 observers to the country, and argued for the number to be reducedto 40. This proposed amendment was rejected by the 22-member league. The league had imposed a deadline for Syriato end its crackdown on protestors; however this passed late last month, withno improvement in the situation. The Arab League is now threatening to implement economic sanctions against the Syrian government. The exact details of possible sanctions have not been revealed.

According to estimates by the UN, 3500 people have been killed since protests began in March. Syrian authorities continue to blame the violence on armed gangs and militants.

Iraqi prisoner enquiry

Over 100 Iraqi civilians who were taken prisoner by British troops in the years following the invasion of the Iraq in 2003 have won a court judgment, which may pave the way for an independent enquiry into alleged mistreatment. A British court has ruled that the police inquiry established by the Ministryof Defence to investigate the claims was "substantially compromised".It has been revealed that some of the investigators charged with looking intothe allegations had served with a military police unit which was originallyresponsible for detaining the Iraqi men.

There have been numerous allegations of torture and abuse by the British military during their six-year posting insouthern Iraq, which came to an end in 2009. The most notorious case involved the death of 26-year-old hotel receptionist Baha Mousa who diedwhile in custody at a British base after being detained in a raid in Basra in2003. Earlier last month, American solider Calvin Gibbs was convicted of murder, in relation to one of the worst cases of war crimes to emerge from the Afghan war.