Daily Brief: Pope Visits Myanmar Amid Rohingya Crisis

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. November 27, 2017 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Pope Visits Myanmar Amid Rohingya Crisis Pope Francis began a six-day visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh (VOA) on Monday during which he will meet with top Myanmar leaders and groups of Rohingya Muslims in Dhaka. The pontiff faces scrutiny over whether he will use the word Rohingya, a term opposed by Myanmar political and military leaders (Guardian), who refer to the persecuted minority group as Bangladeshi. Pope Francis is set to meet with State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi (BBC) and the commander of the armed forces, who has overseen a crackdown in Rakhine State that has forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. The United Nations, United States, and United Kingdom have said the campaign appears to be ethnic cleansing. ANALYSIS "While the pope has shown a unique ability to thread tough diplomatic needles in his trips abroad—his visit to Colombia in September, for example, was praised for the careful way he backed a widely unpopular peace deal with guerrilla militants—the upcoming Nov. 26–Dec. 2 Asian sojourn may test even his skill set," Joshua J. McElwee writes for the National Catholic Reporter. "The so-called War on Terror—waged primarily against Muslims around the world—has made it easier for Myanmar's elites to label the Rohingya as terrorists and for government officials to defend the violence against them as a legitimate response to extremism," Matthew J. Walton writes for Foreign Affairs. "Evidence of the presence of Rohingya in Rakhine State—and of Muslims generally—stretches back centuries. But Myanmar's other groups regard them instead as a vestige of the colonial era, when the country was incorporated into British India and the British brought non-Buddhists from elsewhere in the colony to work in Burma," Hannah Beech writes for the New Yorker. PACIFIC RIM Cambodia Orders Prominent Rights Group Closed Prime Minister Hun Sen accused the Cambodian Center for Human Rights on Sunday of taking orders from "foreigners" (Phnom Penh Post) and said it must close. The center was founded by opposition politician Kem Sokha (DW), who is now in jail on espionage charges.  CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick says Cambodia is drawing closer to outright authoritarianism.  SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Pakistan Protests End After Minister Resigns At least six people are believed to have died (BBC) in clashes on Saturday following several weeks of demonstrations by religious hard-liners in the capital of Islamabad. The protests were called off after the resignation of Pakistan's law minister (VOA). INDIA: Ivanka Trump, daughter of U.S. President Donald J. Trump and a White House advisor, will begin a three-day trip to India (Quartz) on Tuesday to attend a U.S.-led entrepreneurship summit in the city of Hyderabad. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Saudi Arabia Launches Counterterrorism Coalition Officials from forty nations gathered in Riyadh on Sunday for the launch of a new Islamic counterterrorism coalition, which will be led by a former Pakistani army chief (FT). Syria, Iraq, and Iran are not part of the coalition (Middle East Eye), while Qatar, officially a member, was not invited to the meeting. ISRAEL: Israel's ambassador to the United Nations said the country will do "everything" it can to keep a list of companies that work in Jewish settlements in the West Bank (AP) from being published by the international body. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Zimbabwean Court Rules Military Takeover Was Legal Zimbabwe's High Court ruled on Saturday that a military takeover earlier this month that led to President Robert Mugabe's resignation (VOA) was not a coup. A Jesuit priest involved in negotiations over Mugabe's resignation said the ousted leader will still offer advice as an elder statesman (BBC). CFR's John Campbell discusses Mugabe's resignation. ETHIOPIA: At least twenty people died and more than one hundred were arrested in the country's Oromia and Somali regions (AP) in the past week during what the government said were renewed clashes between ethnic groups.  EUROPE Germany's Merkel to Pursue 'Grand Coalition' An ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her party will pursue a "grand coalition" with the Social Democrats (FT), potentially ending the political gridlock (Reuters) since three-way coalition talks collapsed last week. Sudha David-Wilp writes in Foreign Affairs that failed coalition talks could be Germany's chance for a reset. SPAIN: Just under a quarter of Catalans favor claiming independence from Spain (Reuters) after regional elections next month, according to the pollster Metroscopia, while 71 percent say they prefer Catalonia to remain part of the country. AMERICAS Cubans Vote in Municipal Elections Some twenty-seven thousand candidates ran for more than twelve thousand city council spots (Reuters) in municipal elections on Sunday. Another election, for regional and national deputies in February, is expected to pave the way for choosing a successor to President Raul Castro (VOA). HONDURAS: Both President Juan Orlando Hernandez and his opponent Salvador Nasralla have claimed victory in a Sunday election (BBC) after 57 percent of votes had been tallied. UNITED STATES Pentagon Acknowledges Troops Levels Higher Than Reported The Pentagon has published numbers of U.S. troops deployed in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria that greatly exceed previously acknowledged levels (Military Times). It reported 1,720 troops are in Syria, up from a previously reported 503. CFR's John B. Bellinger III discusses presidential war powers on the President's Inbox podcast. GLOBAL Bitcoin Reaches Record High The cryptocurrency Bitcoin traded at $9,700 (Bloomberg), its highest-ever value, on Monday, just a week after it reached $8,000.         Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. Forward This Email | Subscribe to CFR Newsletters | Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org

Date: November 27, 2017 at 11:04PM