Moscow Protests

Moscow protests turn violent, opposition leaders arrested

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For background information on Russia click here

To view a map of Russia click here

Article Analysis

• A large protest demonstration on the eve of Vladimir Putin's inauguration as president.
• Protest turned into a battle with police as some protestors wanted to take their anger to the next level.
• Police were forceful in arrests, some even grabbing protestors by the hair.
• Previous protests had set up agreed upon locations to protest and the police remained cooperative and were even thanked
• The break in pattern likely reflected a sense of anger among protesters upset that Mr. Putin was handily elected to a new term in the Kremlin despite their startling defiance.
• Some demonstrators aimed to turn up the pressure by trying to split off and head to the Kremlin by travelling the bridge.
• Riot police blocked the bridge while protestors formed a chain and chanted a saying "this is our city" and "Putin is a thief"
• Police eventually pushed the crowd back towards the square and many were harshly taken under arrest.
• It is believed that these protests will not cause any change

Defining the Issue

Complex

Interelated



Political	Social/Cultural	Economic
·         Putin become president once again for a 6 year term. ·          Many oppositions protest the new government. ·         Putin does not seem all to phased by the protests and continues forward with the inauguration.	·         Many citizens, protest Putin inauguration. ·         Protest became violent. ·         It appears most citizens are for the new government. ·         Protestors want chance. However, it doesn’t appear that anything will happen as a cause.	·         Economically, everything would be fine due to the protest being local to Moscow and in restrained areas, causing little to no effect on the economy.

Controversial



How did this issue start?	How should it be resolved?
·         This issue primarily started with the newly elected president of Russia, Vladimir Putin. ·         Oppositions protested peacefully to start. ·         Protests escalated and became violent and destruction occurred to local areas.	·         This issue has primarily been solved due to the inauguration taking place the following day. ·         Police arrested the most aggressive protestors. 400 in total. ·         If Putin were to decide to step down at the last minute protestors would react positively but that would be a dream solution

My Opinion
With any new government and newly elected representative of a country, there will be people who oppose it. Only in a dream world would everybody vote for the same person and be happy with that decision. In democratic nations, citizens are given the right to protest. Peaceful protest of course. However, many people disregard that for the primary reason that no one listens to a group of people chanting for change. It’s hard to disagree with that.
            It is to no surprise that citizens are protesting Putin after being in government for many years. What surprised me slightly is that it is stated that police were quite ruthless in their efforts to arrest protestors, even pulling hair. The other side of that of course, is that they were all given the chance to leave peacefully without arrest. So who is right and who is wrong? It’s a tough call to make. Overall, people will always protest and Russia is no exception.

El Salvador Mara Salvatrucha, Mara 18 Gangs Reach Truce

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For background information on El Salvador please click here
To view a map of El Salvador please click here

Mara 18, gang members piled in prison

Article Analysis

·         Two of El Salvador’s biggest gangs, Mara Salvatrucha and Mara 18 have signed a truce.

·         The two gangs are huge rivals, with constant turf battles which are the cause of most of the countries violence.

·          Negotiations took place between leaders who are currently imprisoned and whom have ways of contact with outside gang members.

·         El Salvador has one of the world’s highest homicide rates, 66 homicides per every 100,000 inhabitants.

·         Truce was signed with the hope of reducing violence throughout the nation.

·         12 – 15 killings take place on average daily.

·         The head army and police chaplain Monsignor Fabio mediated between gangs however did not have any further involvement with negotiations.

• The truce is less than a month old however at this time, it appears that the homicide rate is down but without statistical data, it is too early to say for a fact that the numbers are down

Defining the Issue

Complex

Interrelated

Political	Social/Cultural	Economic
·         The head army and police chaplain mediated the truce however claim to have no involvement in the negotiations. ·         The government promised nothing in return for the gangs when signing the truce.	·         With the many people getting caught in the middle between turf wars, people can hopefully feel somewhat “safe” walking the streets now that a truce has been signed. ·         Many South American countries are creating anti-gang laws to prevent violence.	·         With a hopeful lowering of violence thus leading to lower crime, the country has the possibility of attracting more tourism due to its location near the equator and being on the ocean.

Controversial

How did this issue start?

How should it be resolved?

·         The main issue here being the high rate of violence and homicides due to two strong rival gangs at war with each other.

·         The issue is in the process of being solved as the article states. ·         With the truce being signed between leaders of the gangs, it is a major step. ·         Now the gang members must stay true to that document and keep their members on the same page however this is difficult when being in prison. ·         The government has already put them in less secure prisons which allow them to have further contact with the outside thus allowing them to hopefully keep the outsiders on the page as mentioned previously.

My Opinion

Living here in Canada, I have not been aware of the violence occurring in El Salvador; it is no one’s fault other than my own. I am quite shocked at the homicide rates there and I am also extremely pleased to hear of this truce being signed between these two top gangs. It is certainly not something you hear of too often. When reading this article I almost had a sense of “this is too good to be true.” With the article saying that the government had no involvement in the negotiations but were aware of the talks occurring between the gangs, you can’t help but also wonder if there was some sort of bribe going on too. Again that would be my opinion, not necessarily true.

              In order for this truce to really make an impact on the country and the world in terms of media coverage, at least a year’s worth of statistical data would have to be shared with the world showing a clear decline in the number of homicides. Without those stats, everybody including me would look the other way and think “what a joke.” It is like they always say, “actions are stronger than words.” In this case that line could not be more true.



Syria's fractured opposition a long way from victory

Syria's Free Army gathered together opposing the Assad Regime

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For background information click here

For map of Syria click here

ARTICLE ANALYSIS

- U.S and Europe are onboard over the removal of Assad from power however Russia and China are allies with Syria and fear their relationship will be jeopardized if a regime change occurs.

- Opposing citizens wish for president Assad and his regime to step down from government.

- It is estimated that more than 5,400 people have been killed since March 2011 against people who are opposing the regime.

- There are many different divisions against each other (i.e. There's the Islamists versus the secularists)

- Syrian national council is the largest opposing group against the regime.

- National Coordination Body for Democratic Change is a less opposing group of the regime and also opposes the views of the Syrian national council.

- Free Syrian Army is comprised of roughly 15,000 soldiers all of whom are defectors of the Syrian army who are opposing the Assad regime, combating anyone in the way.

- It is believed that foreign powers are funding the opposing groups.

COMPLEX

INTERRELATED

 

Political	Social/Cultural
·    Assad regime is not stepping down. ·    Regime fighting and killing opposing groups. ·    Many opposing groups are engaging in combat with Syrian army ·    International countries asking for Assad to step down.	·    Danger filled streets, as fighting continues between opposing groups. ·    5,400 deaths are believed to have occurred

CONTROVERSIAL

How did this issue start?	How should it be resolved
- Citizens wanting Assad and his regime to step down. - Assad ignoring the wishes of the citizens. - Opposing groups are formed and use violence as a means of change.	- Assad must step down to insure the stop of violence. - Foreign military involvement will be necessary unless opposing groups can over through the regime.

My View

  Currently the country of Syria is undergoing some major conflicts between the current regime and it's opposing members. Some say it is a crisis, as I believe. I would compare the current issue going on to the issue that had been going on in Lybia when Muammar Gaddafi refused to step down and violence took to the streets throughout the country. In my opinion if Assad does not step down, he will end up being killed, in the future. It may take time, but if the people are desperate for change and feel strongly about their stance,they will follow through.

     I believe there are few options for ressolving this issue. Due to current nature of violence going on, it will be difficult for peaceful change to occur. The best case scenerio would be that Assad step down. As I mentioned in my previous comment, I think it will take the death of Assad to put the country in the right direction in terms of change in the government. Another option of coarse, is foreign military aid, although that could be risky and isnt neccessary due to the violence being local and no international attacks have been threatened.

Unease hangs in the air on anniversary of Libyan revolution

For this article and video go to http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/17/world/africa/libya-anniversary/index.html?hpt=hp_bn2
For information on Libya go to http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm
For map of Libya http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1280&bih=637&wrapid=tlif132969861324710&q=libya&um=1&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=0x13a892d98ece010d:0xfa076041c7f9c22a,Libya&gl=ca&ei=OJdBT9O6H4a80QHbiv3iBw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=10&ved=0CIoBEPIBMAk

Article Summary

·         One year ago the Libyan revolution began

·         Lawless militias committing crimes and threaten to destabilize the country by hindering efforts to rebuild.

·         Libyans anger began with the arrest of human rights lawyer Fathi Terbil.

·         Protest began against Moammar Gadhafi and called for a "Day of Rage" on February 17.

·         Protest continued for eight months after until the death of Gadhafi.

·         Citizens are still unease as to what the future holds.

·         Celebration is underway, however revolutionary fighter are on high alert against former regime loyalists.

·         The country is in need of a strong government and defences.

·         Voters are going to the polls at the end of June to pick a national assembly that will draft a new constitution.

COMPLEX



INTERRELATED

Political	Social/Cultural	Economic
-Death of leader Gadhafi -Current govn’t struggling -Election for new govn’t -New constitution is needed	-Militia groups causing war crimes -People still uneasy of what the future holds. -Fears of former regime loyalists, causing disruptions to celebrations.	-No real government structure.

CONTROVERSIAL

How did this issue start?	How should it be resolved?
-Arrest of a human’s rights lawyer. -Protests, lead to death of Gadhafi. -Militia groups causing violence throughout the country -Lack of authority	-New, strong government -Rebuild the countries defences -Take down the militia groups.

MY OPINION

     This is an issue in which has been going on for a year now. I remember hearing the stories of it's progress as it unfolded. The country has undergone an incredible revolution however is far from being a paradise. Libya is in a great need of a new government, one who will lead the people for the better. The militia groups must be controlled and taken down otherwise, the future will remain uneasy. The people need some security and should be able to walk the streets without fear of a man with a gun. The country will not have successfully revolutionized until a new government is formed and peace is restored to the people.

     Something must be done to ressolve Libya issue. A start would be a new government, who will protect the rights of the citizens, rebuild its forces and rid the country of militia groups. This is not possible over night however must be done to rebuild the country and instill confidence within the people.