CrisisGroup’s CrisisWatch Monthly Report N°83, 1 July 2010

04 Inter-State Conflict, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Terrorism, Civil Society, Corruption, CrisisWatch reports, Government, Military, Non-Governmental

CrisisWatch N°83, 1 July 2010

Four actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and none improved in June 2010, according to the new issue of the International Crisis Group's monthly bulletin CrisisWatch, released today.

In Kyrgyzstan large-scale violence between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks tore through the south of the country. Over 200 people have been officially reported killed and hundreds of thousands displaced by the fighting, the immediate spark for which is not yet clear. The country's provisional government was unable to control the situation and failed in its efforts to secure an international military intervention.

An uneasy calm has now descended over the area and the 27 June constitutional referendum was conducted peacefully. However, there remains significant potential for the violence to reignite unless effective security measures and a reconciliation process are promptly put in place.

Turkey's Kurdish PKK insurgents intensified their attacks in the country after calling off their 14-month unilateral ceasefire in early June. The violence reached its peak in the middle of the month when at least 40 soldiers and militants were killed in clashes in the country's south-east. The Turkish military responded with a land and air offensive against PKK bases in northern Iraq. The renewed clashes highlight the faltering of Prime Minister Erdogan's Kurdish “opening” policy and represent a significant deterioration in the government's relations with the Kurdish population.

In Burundi presidential elections took place amid escalating violence, with several people killed in a series of grenade attacks and shootings over the month. Opposition candidates boycotted the poll and labelled the re-election of President Nkurunziza – with over 90 per cent of the vote – a sham. With the opposition also set to boycott parliamentary polls scheduled for late July, growing tensions risk endangering Burundi's fragile democracy and undermining progress made since the end of the country's brutal civil war.

June also saw rising tensions in neighbouring Rwanda ahead of presidential elections planned for August. The government denies involvement in recent attacks on high-profile critics, including the shooting of a former army chief in South Africa and the murder of a journalist in Kigali. But the events point to an atmosphere of repression that appears to have deepened in recent months.

June 2010 TRENDS

Deteriorated Situations
Burundi, Kyrgyzstan, Rwanda, Turkey

Improved Situations
–

Unchanged Situations
Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Armenia/Turkey, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Basque Country (Spain), Belarus, Bolivia, Bosnia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Chechnya (Russia), Colombia, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, India (non-Kashmir), Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories, Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mauritania, Moldova, Morocco, Myanmar/Burma, Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan), Nepal, Nigeria, North Caucasus (non-Chechnya), Northern Ireland, North Korea, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Serbia, Somalia, Somaliland, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Yemen, Zimbabwe

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2010/06/292010/08/13

U.S. Border & Global Incident Alert Maps (Free & Pay)

03 Environmental Degradation, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 06 Genocide, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Immigration, 09 Terrorism, 10 Security, 10 Transnational Crime, 11 Society, Geospatial, info-graphics/data-visualization, Maps, Technologies

(FREE): Global Alert Map from the National Association of Radio-Distress Signalling and Infocommunications Emergency and Disaster Information Services (EDIS) Budapest Hungary

(FREE): Canadian/Mexican/USA Border Security Incidents Alert Map

Site link (PAY/SUBSCRIPTION for details and no cost for the global overview)

Comment: An interesting idea for an alert map would be for “outbreaks of viral inaccuracies.”

Also see HealthMap

2010/06/272015/04/26

I Ran Drugs for Uncle Sam–William “Tosh” Plumlee (5 hour audio interview) on the “Dark Alliance”

Commerce, Corruption, Government, Military, Research resources, Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy

5 hour interview with Tosh Plumlee on Expert Witness Radio with Mike Levine.

In 1999, Tosh Plumlee came on the airwaves and did five hours of interviews, detailing his history of flying drugs into the United States as part of a drug interdiction program. Part ONE | Part TWO | Part THREE | Part FOUR | Part FIVE

+ Article: “I Ran Drugs for Uncle Sam”
+ ROBERT “TOSH” PLUMLEE DECLARATION 11/21/2004
+ FBI/DEA/CIA files released between the years 1981 and 1999. These United States government files are placed here for review by professional researchers, law enforcement officials and by the general public. A responsible review of these documents should provide the reader with a clear picture of the covert background of Tosh Plumlee.A careful review of these documents will reveal that the United States Department of Justice has been guilty of obstruction of justice since 1963 and before. LINK

Gary Webb's original Dark Alliance web portal (mirror by Narco News)

2010/06/272010/08/16

AU 60 Minutes BP Oil Spill Video Removed by BP Demand

03 Environmental Degradation, 05 Energy, 07 Health, 09 Justice, 12 Water, Corporations, Journalism/Free-Press/Censorship, Videos/Movies/Documentaries

Cryptome.org says: AU 60 Minutes Oil Spill Video Axed by BP

AU 60 Minutes BP Oil Spill Video, 13 June 2010, Removed by BP Demand
Part 1 | Part 2

2010/06/272010/06/27

Reference: Spooking Academia, Militarizing Anthropology

07 Other Atrocities, 10 Security, 11 Society, Articles & Chapters, Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy, Worth A Look

How the CIA is Welcoming Itself Back Onto American University Campuses

Silent Coup

By DAVID PRICE

2010 FULL STORY ONLINE

Exposing the Pat Roberts Intelligence Scholars Program

By DAVE H. PRICE

2005 FULL STORY ONLINE

2001-2010 David Price on the Militarization of Anthropology, Subversion of Indigenous Peoples (38 Contributions)

WORTH A LOOK!

2010/06/26

The “True Cost” of the World Cup

01 Poverty, 02 Infectious Disease, 07 Other Atrocities, Corporations, True Cost, True Cost Meme, Videos/Movies/Documentaries

The costs of hosting the World Cup in South Africa were said to be justified by the economic growth that the event was supposed to generate. Expenses are expected to surpass original estimates by 757 percent. The expected growth in infrastructure and small local businesses has not come close to offsetting the funds that have been diverted from long-term priorities such as healthcare and education. FIFA and international corporate sponsors such as McDonald's and Coca Cola are the biggest beneficiaries of the event with much of the local South African population unable to even attend the matches.

By Liepollo Lebohang PhekoAlterNet June 22, 2010

When South Africa was announced as the host for FIFA's premier event, justifications of the cost were made on the basis that it would grow the local economy, provide opportunities for small and local business, act as a buffer against the economic meltdown, that it would contribute to the urban regeneration programs of the major cities particularly Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town and bring smaller cities closer to the center of economic and social activity. It was vaunted in fact as a great expression of the so called Rainbow Nation to bridge social, economic and political interests.

Here is the reality: The trade unions have been instructed not to strike for the duration of the World Cup even though some of the concerns are from exploited construction workers who helped build the stadiums; the matches are not accessible to most local people due to relative remoteness and prohibitive cost; an unofficial ‘blind eye' has been turned to human trafficking and the victimization of sex workers leading up to World Cup; and while welcoming the world with open arms, South Africa's sometimes shameful behavior towards other Africans is rearing its head with reports of renewed hostility towards Mozambicans, Senegalese, Zimbabwean and Somali refugees, professionals and business people. Frankly the government was asking a lot from a small leather soccer ball to resolve the country's complex social dilemmas.

Soccer is historically the sport of the black working class majority and it is this majority who have greatest need of any benefits derived from this event. Unemployment stands at over 40% and youth unemployment stands at nearly 70%.

The almost R800 billion (US$107 billion) set aside for infrastructure development in roads, airports, highways and stadiums, is many times the amount spent on the World Cups by Korea and Japan (2002) or Germany (2006). Despite a comparatively positive economic environment, return on investment for those countries has been negligible. Today's climate is much less favorable for South Africa. The total cost of South Africa's hosting the World Cup still remains to be seen.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

2010/06/25

ICT4Peace Kyrgyzstan Crisis Wiki

07 Other Atrocities, Civil Society, Corruption, Government, Law Enforcement, Non-Governmental, Technologies

Link to Wiki

Snapshot of the crisis

The 2010 south Kyrgyzstan riots are ongoing clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in southern Kyrgyzstan, primarily in the cities of Osh and Jalal-Abad, in the aftermath of the ouster of former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. It is part of the larger 2010 Kyrgyzstan crisis. Violence broke out on 9 June in Osh. By 12 June the violence had spread to Jalal-Abad, requiring the Russian-endorsed interim government led by Roza Otunbayeva to declare a state of emergency in an attempt to take control of the situation. As of 18 June 2010 it is reported that 2,000 ethnic Uzbeks have been killed, and 400,000–550,000 displaced, of which at least 85,000 have fled into the neighboring Uzbekistan.The eyewitnesses recount horryfying stories of atrocities commited by Kyrgyzs against Uzbeks. Amnesty International, HRW and other human rights and civil society groups have urged for independent investigation. (Excerpt from Wikipedia)

Background information & context (UN, World Bank etc)