Armenia Uprising | May Day Protests | Chad's Constitution

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. May 2, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Thousands Join Protests Backing Armenian Opposition Demonstrations swelled in the capital of Yerevan and other cities on Tuesday after opposition figure Nikol Pashinyan called for nationwide civil disobedience (Reuters) as his bid to become prime minister was thwarted by lawmakers. The National Assembly voted 55–45 against Pashinyan, who was the only candidate (RFE/RL). The escalating unrest follows the resignation of his rival Serzh Sargsyan of the Republican Party, which controls a majority of seats in the legislature. Sargsyan had led the country as president for the past decade, exhausting his term limit (NYT) for the office. He was then elected by lawmakers to become prime minister, a move that prompted mass protests. ANALYSIS "[Sargsyan] is a member of a quasi-oligarchic, nationalist party with wide support in the military. While his government refrained from a draconian crackdown, the Republicans have lacked legitimacy among the population for a long time," Viken Berberian writes for the New York Review of Books. "The ruling Republican Party did not run a candidate for the post, and they have not made clear what their strategy will be for maintaining power. But during the public discussion they portrayed Pashinyan as an untested leader too risky to steer Armenia through its many security challenges," Joshua Kucera writes for Eurasianet. "Political demonstrations worked in Armenia for the same reason they worked in Berlin in 1989, and in Kiev, Ukraine, in 2014: because they moved a key person to question the legitimacy of the regime, even his own regime," Anne Applebaum writes for the Washington Post. PACIFIC RIM Moon's Office Signals Confidence in U.S. Alliance President Moon Jae-in views the U.S. troop presence in his country as "a matter of the South Korea-U.S. alliance" that would not change if Seoul and Pyongyang sign a peace treaty (Korea Times), said a presidential spokesperson. The statement came after unification advisor Moon Chung-in wrote that it "will be difficult to justify their continuing presence" after such a treaty. Read Moon Chung-in's op-ed in Foreign Affairs on a path to peace on the Korean Peninsula. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA New Delhi Tops Global Pollution List The Indian capital and the city of Mumbai are among the top five most polluted cities worldwide (Hindustan Times), according to new data from the World Health Organization. Two-thirds of the seven million premature deaths each year due to poor air quality (Nikkei) occur in Asia. AFGHANISTAN: An Afghan air force pilot who sought refuge in the United States (Tolo) after training there was granted asylum. She cited death threats against herself and her family. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA U.S., Allies Renew Fight Against Islamic State in Syria The U.S. State Department announced that the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will begin an offensive to oust militants from the self-proclaimed Islamic State (Hill) from the country's northeast. Operations in the region stalled after SDF fighters left to join Kurdish forces in Afrin fighting Turkish troops earlier this year. IRAN: The International Atomic Energy Agency said it has no credible evidence that Iran worked on a nuclear explosive device after 2009 (RFE/RL), noting it has considered the issue closed since 2015. The statement comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed to possess evidence to the contrary. In the Washington Post, CFR's Max Boot writes that President Trump should strengthen the Iran deal, not abandon it. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Chad's Parliament Backs New Constitution Lawmakers voted in favor of a new constitution that abolishes the office of prime minister and introduces a nonretroactive two-term limit on the office of the presidency. President Idriss Deby, in office since 1990, would be able to serve two more terms (AP) if he signs off on the changes. This CFR Backgrounder looks at Africa's longest-ruling heads of state. ETHIOPIA: A technical fault at the Gilgel Gibe III Dam in southern Ethiopia resulted in a country-wide blackout (BBC) on Tuesday. EUROPE Hundreds Arrested in Paris May Day Protests At least 276 people were arrested in workers' rights demonstrations in Paris (France 24) on Tuesday. More than two dozen businesses suffered damage, including two that were set on fire. AMERICAS Violence Erupts During Honduras May Day Marches Demonstrations took place in at least three Honduran cities and saw police use tear gas and water cannons against protesters throwing rocks. Some protesters decried what they say was a fraudulent election (Reuters) last year, in which incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernandez won. UNITED STATES Pompeo Addresses Diplomatic Staff Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a Tuesday ceremony at the State Department that he would return "swagger" to the office (NYT). Pompeo was sworn in last week, a month and a half after his predecessor Rex Tillerson was fired. GLOBAL Global Military Spending Rose to $1.7 Trillion in 2017 China continued to increase its military spending while Russia, in a first since 1998, decreased expenditures on defense, according to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The United States accounted for $610 billion of the total. The United Nations said it has received more than fifty complaints (DW) of sexual abuse by its peacekeepers, agency staff, and employees of partner organizations since the beginning of 2018.         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 02, 2018 at 10:03PM