Venezuelan Rights Abuses | A Libyan Election Plan | Hurricane Maria Death Toll
Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. May 30, 2018 Daily News Brief TOP OF THE AGENDA OAS Reports Years of Venezuelan Rights Abuses International experts, in a new report commissioned by the Organization of American States, accused Venezuelan officials of crimes against humanity, including thousands of extrajudicial executions and arbitrary detentions by government forces and allied militant groups. The regional body's secretary-general, Luis Almagro, said the panel's findings will be referred to the International Criminal Court (AP). Fatou Bensouda, chief prosecutor of the Hague-based court, has been leading a preliminary probe (ICC) into human rights abuses in Venezuela, which was opened earlier this year. Venezuelan officials denounced the report, which traced abuses back to 2014 (Reuters), as a "a grotesque media farce." ANALYSIS "Civil insurrections work better than economic pressure in breaking dictatorships, but only if the state is unwilling to repress them. Venezuela is not," Javier Corrales writes for the New York Times. "Western democracies should redouble their diplomatic efforts to try to convince members of the government coalition that there could be a place for them in a future Venezuela, if they take a step aside now," Mariano de Alba said in an interview with the Washington Office on Latin America. "[Venezuela's] middle ground—a sizeable percentage of the population opposed to Maduro—firmly rejects the type of street protests (the guarimba) carried out in 2014 and 2017 by the hard opposition that resulted in widespread disruption and violence," Steve Ellner writes for the North American Congress on Latin America. PACIFIC RIM China, North Korea Spotted in Apparent Oil Transfer A Japanese military surveillance aircraft saw a Chinese vessel appearing to transfer oil (AP) to a North Korea-flagged tanker in the East China Sea earlier this month, Tokyo said. The United Nations bans such transfers (WSJ) with North Korean vessels. This CFR Backgrounder lays out the sanctions on North Korea. JAPAN: The number of foreign workers in Japan doubled over five years (Nikkei) to reach 1.3 million in 2017. The largest numbers come from China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Brazil. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA India, Pakistan to Restore Kashmir Cease-Fire Military leaders from both countries, speaking over a hotline yesterday (Dawn), agreed to comply with a 2003 cease-fire agreement along the Line of Control. Tensions rose after a September 2016 attack in which nineteen Indian soldiers were killed (Al Jazeera); more than 150 civilians and military personnel have since been killed in the disputed region. UZBEKISTAN/TURKMENISTAN: Many farmers are facing damaged or ruined crops after large swaths of the two countries suffered a three-day salt storm (RFE/RL). MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Rival Libyan Factions Agree to Election Timetable At an international conference in Paris yesterday, rival Libyan political leaders agreed to hold parliamentary and presidential elections (NYT) in December, though no envoys from either Libyan side have yet signed the agreement. SYRIA: Georgia officially severed ties with Syria (DW) after Damascus said it will recognize Russia-backed breakaway regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent countries. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Prominent Political Prisoner Freed in Ethiopia A British man who was arrested in Yemen four years ago and transferred to Ethiopia, where in 2009 he was sentenced to death in absentia, was pardoned earlier this month (BBC). He was a leader in the banned Ginbot 7 political movement, which emerged in 2005 after some two hundred people were killed in protests over alleged election fraud. CFR's Michelle D. Gavin looks at Ethiopia's long political transition. ZIMBABWE: President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the country will hold a presidential election on July 30 (Herald). It will be the first such vote after longtime President Robert Mugabe was ousted in a military coup (Reuters) last November. In Foreign Affairs, John Rapley examines Zimbabwe's post-Mugabe era. EUROPE Russian Journalist Killed in Ukraine The journalist, Arkady Babchenko, was shot and killed in his Kiev apartment (NYT) yesterday. Babchenko fled Russia last year after facing what he called a campaign of intimidation for writing about Russia's annexation of Crimea and its military role in Syria. GERMANY: An Iranian man whose request for asylum was denied set himself on fire (AP) in a government office in southwestern Germany yesterday. He suffered severe burns. AMERICAS Rights Group Accuses Nicaragua of Protester Deaths Amnesty International accused President Daniel Ortega's government of using excessive force, carrying out extrajudicial executions, supporting pro-government armed groups, and suppressing the media to tamp down recent anti-government protests. At least eighty-one people have been killed, according to the group's report. UNITED STATES Thousands Died Due to Hurricane Maria, Study Says More than 4,600 people in Puerto Rico are believed to have died due to circumstances related to Hurricane Maria (NPR), which devastated the island last September, according to a new survey by Harvard University researchers. The government death toll is sixty-four people. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet with Kim Yong-chol (Korea Times), a top North Korean official, in New York today to discuss drafting an agreement on denuclearization of the North ahead of a possible summit between the countries' leaders. In Foreign Affairs, CFR President Richard N. Haass discusses President Trump's approach to Korea summitry. 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: May 30, 2018 at 10:04PM
