Diplomacy & Crisis News

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Si la coalition entre ultranationalistes laïques et religieux au pouvoir en Israël est inédite, l'imaginaire messianique a commencé à prospérer dans le pays bien avant 2022. / Nationalisme, Religion, Extrême droite, Israël, Judaïsme, État - (...) / Nationalisme, Religion, Extrême droite, Israël, Judaïsme, État - 2024/04

Des combats entre la France et la Russie ? Autrefois inimaginable, l'hypothèse s'est installée après les déclarations de M. Emmanuel Macron évoquant une « guerre existentielle » et l'envoi de « troupes au sol » en Ukraine. Depuis, le ton ne cesse de monter à Paris comme à Moscou. Une escalade qui semble (...) / Relations internationales, France, Information, Médias, Presse, Diplomatie, Audiovisuel, Conflit russo-ukrainien 2022-, Géopolitique - 2024/04

Prolifique, parfois baroque et fabrique à stars, l'industrie indienne de fictions connaît aujourd'hui une vraie mutation. Si les thèmes anciens demeurent, de timides tentatives existent pour traiter de sujets délicats comme la condition des femmes ou l'autoritarisme du pouvoir. Mais la censure (...) / Censure, Femmes, Inde, Audiovisuel - 2024/04

Dans une chanson de Johnny Cash, une mère implore en vain son fils de ne pas emporter ses pistolets en ville. Une sage supplique que près de cinquante millions d'Américains ignorent. Si la majorité d'entre eux sont des conservateurs républicains âpres à défendre le second amendement de la Constitution, (...) / Armement, États-Unis, Société - 2024/04

Après que la tentative de report de la présidentielle par le chef de l'État Macky Sall avait plongé son pays dans la crise, le scrutin, finalement organisé le 24 mars, s'est conclu par la victoire-surprise de l'opposant Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Très secouées, les institutions semblent avoir démontré (...) / Démocratie, État, Société civile, Sénégal, Élections - 2024/04

Depuis huit ans au pouvoir, le Parti socialiste a perdu les élections au Portugal. Si aucune force n'obtient la majorité absolue, la coalition de droite remporte le plus de sièges. Son chef de file, M. Luís Montenegro, prend donc la tête d'un gouvernement minoritaire au Parlement, sans pour (...) / Politique, Extrême droite, Portugal - 2024/04

In recent weeks, after ISIS claimed responsibility for the Crocus City Hall Concert Attack, which killed 145 and injured hundreds more, Moscow has been doing everything in its power to find a way to blame Ukraine for the terror unleashed, rather than address the fact that the murderous terror organization known as ISIS decided to go after the Putin regime. In recent days, Russia’s top law enforcement agency the Investigative Committee alleged that they found photos on the suspects phones depicting “people in camouflage uniforms with the Ukrainian flag against the background of destroyed houses.”   To date, the Russians have not released their alleged evidence and it so far has not been independently verified, which should be a red flag to everyone regarding the accuracy of their claims. The fact that Russia is blaming Ukraine for the recent terror attack rather than understanding that they need to do more to address the ISIS threat within their country is another indignation for how badly the Russian people need to make peace with the Ukraine.   All of the hatred against Ukraine that has come out in this war has blinded the Russian leadership to the fact that there are other threats that they also need to address, such as the threat of radical Islam, and therefore, in light of these threats, it would behoove them to try and solve the Ukraine conflict so that they can better address these threats, instead of trying to falsify a Ukraine connection when there is plausibly none.   Recently, the Greek Parliament hosted a conference on ways to achieve peace in Ukraine titled “Ukraine: the search for a peaceful resolution of the military conflict.” This conference was in line with the Secretary General’s call for peace, as he noted, “Beyond condemnations, we the United Nations must actively work toward a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace in line with the charter of this organization.” It would behoove the Russian leadership to accept the olive branch that was handed out in this conference.      Greek MP Athanasios Papathanassis proclaimed at this event that “Ukraine has been the bridge between Europe and Russia, and the desire for its control and influence has led to geopolitical confrontations with a global impact. I have always supported a diplomatic solution, a diplomatic solution is based on the liberal and Western way of thinking, which goes against the authoritarian. In this disastrous context, collective effort and diplomatic flexibility are necessary for promoting and establishing peace. The global community has to unite so that pressure can be applied to all parties involved to peacefully solve all differences and to respect sovereignty and territorial integrity. The end of hostilities will contribute to the achievement of economic stability on a global scale.”   Athens’ deputy mayor Elli Papageli added: “Peace is something that happens through dialogue and diplomacy, not military conflict. The consequences of the war are huge.” She expressed fear of a nuclear war and spoke of its disastrous economic consequences for Europe.   Renowned political scientist Professor Frederic Encel expressed skepticism about the UN coming up with a solution and suggested instead that both sides of the conflict come together to reach a solution. Former CIA analyst and State Department Counter Terror expert Larry Johnson spoke out against NATO for arming Ukraine and called on the West “not to pour petrol on the fire,” stressing the need to have a peaceful dialogue with Russia.   Women’s rights activist and the president of the European Association for the Defense of Minorities highlighted « The UN secretary general called for peace in Ukraine because there is a big concern regarding children’s mental health and school dropping .Children have stopped attending school since 2 years which has a huge impact on their education and their future »   In light of this conference and in the wake of the horrific terror attack in Russia, Moscow now needs to reassess its priorities. It should not continue the war against the Ukraine at all costs and should it try to negotiate a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict, which will enable it to better focus on the ISIS threat, which is a graver threat to the Russian people right now than whether or not Ukraine will become a member of NATO. By Russia being so focused on the Ukraine, the Russians failed to thwart a major terror attack and many innocent people lost their lives as a result.   —   By Rachel Avraham

A modern economy is usually based on a few industries or economic pillars that keep the economy afloat, resilient and viable in the long term. The loss of these staple pillars to an economy often results in eventual economic and political decline, and in some cases can lead to fairly rapid economic collapse. No political model can sustain itself when a collapse takes place or a series of them takes place. The collapse always has a negative effect on the ability for a population to sustain itself, as it has a direct effect on food, shelter and health and welfare of a population. For this reason, most Governments choose not to engage in external conflicts that can measurably harm its own population, as most Governments in such situations will not survive, saving some significant external help. External help can also work against a country’s best long term interests or be applied in a negative fashion as seen with some aid projects in Haiti currently. Without any form of stability, no aid or assistance will ever rebuild the economic pillars of an economy.

The eventual degradation of the economic pillars of an economy has a noticeable effect. Canada has had three major economic pillars, mostly based on large regional contributions to the larger economy and vast territory of Canada. While the region around Ottawa and north past Montreal is known for technical and engineering development, Southern Ontario was always the industrial base for Canada, while Western Canada and Alberta was Canada’s energy hub. While there are many of these industries across the country as well as a large agricultural sector, a negative impact on any of these three industries would always effect the entire economy and currency. With political divisions in Canada creating regional divisions, there are protests taking place as two of those main sectors have been shunned by the current Federal Government. This is the case because average people in those regions are being made aware daily that the economy and employment are not en bonne forme, and people are subject to several crises in their communities due to these policies.

Cuba, like many countries in Latin America, were naturally wealthy with the traditional economic pillar of agricultural exports being a main source of income. Along with many other countries in the region, Cuba also suffered from not having other sectors of the economy being able to compensate when the price of their primary export goods eventually dropped in value. Cuba did stand out however from the rest of its neighbours, as while this economic cycle is an occurrence for most agro export countries in Latin America, Cuba’s economy was boosted by its close ties to the United States’ economy before the 1950s and close political associations with the United States.

Once the Castro’s took power in Cuba, Cuba was adopted into the Soviet system. As a client state of the Soviets, Cuba’s economy was given low cost imports of oil and gas from Russia and foodstuffs from Ukraine, contributing back into the system by becoming an export partner to the Eastern Bloc and eventually becoming a hub for Soviet power in Latin America and abroad. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, an economic crisis for the Castros encouraged them to open the country up to tourism as well as creating closer ties with political allies in Venezuela, who supplied Cuba with their energy needs to buoy Cuba’s economy. By the 2010s, there was more sympathy for opening relations with Cuba, and some embargo restrictions were taken off, eventually reapplied in some forms, and Cuba was able to sustain itself until the last few years where Covid killed much of their tourism industry and it became difficult to keep the price of food sustainable for its population.

Cuba might be in one of the most precarious positions it has found itself in since the loss of both Castro brothers, as Cubans are making their own economic pillars by making their way to the US and sending back money to support their families in Cuba. Support from Venezuela may not be sustaining Cuba as it once did as Venezuela itself is suffering from its own financial troubles. As their main export of oil and gas fluctuates, so does Venezuela’s entire economic model. Political strife in Venezuela has made Venezuelans one of the largest refugee populations in the world. With their own local crisis, Venezuela cannot be Cuba’s low cost energy pillar, nor help Cuba sustain itself as it once did fifteen years ago.

Cuba’s system, like all others, are having major issues with the cost of food and energy. While the war in Ukraine does greatly affect these issues, the policy responses after Covid and into 2024 contribute greatly to the crisis as well as complicating issues surrounding the distribution of staple goods and services to their population. Relations with the United States need to be addressed, and a stable and productive measure out of the embargo system is needed. Cuba has sought assistance from international agencies due to food shortages, and it is in the best interests of everyone in the region to avoid another situation as now found in Haiti, a situation close to Cuba and the United States.

Protests in places like the US and Canada over inflationary issues came from policy decisions affecting food prices, as higher costs and taxes make their way through the logistical farming and distribution systems in the economy, degrading these pillars of the economy. With the Cuban system, Cubans are protesting the worst case scenario of a collapsed distribution system. With the entirety of the economy dependent on Government run distribution, food, fuel, and medicine is in a state of an absolutist crisis. When a country is suffering from both high costs of food as well as a severe lack of food and medicine, with no help coming from Cuba’s own Government, only those with many resources will be able to sustain themselves. The majority of the population are already suffering greatly, and those at the margins of society will barely survive. The Western Hemisphere likely cannot manage a collapse in both Haiti and Cuba, because the same issues exist in many other places and will spread. No Government survives its own people starving, nor should it.

MP Ramil Hassan, the Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Western Azerbaijani Community, recently addressed the United Nations, proclaiming that the ethnic cleansing of more than one million Azerbaijanis by Armenia, including 300,000 from its territory, make Armenia far from being a peaceful and inclusive country.   MP Hassan said these remarks at the UN Economic Commission for Europe, where he described displacement as being one of the main challenges obstructing the UN’s development goals.

At the UN, MP Hassan called upon the international community to support the right of the West Azerbaijani people to return to their homes.   He proclaimed that creating the conditions that would enable West Azerbaijanis to return to their homes in present-day Armenia is pivotal for the human rights of the peoples of the region.

On the International Day Commemorating the Genocide of West Azerbaijanis, the community declared: “Genocide against the Azerbaijani people was systematically carried out on the basis of racist ideology instilling ethnic hatred and was committed in almost all parts of the historical lands of Azerbaijan. This genocide, which began to intensify and take an open form since 1905, was especially cruel in the western part of Azerbaijan. In 1918-1920, the Armenian army committed mass massacres and ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis in Yerevan, Zangazur, Goycha, Darelayaz, Surmeli, Sharur and other districts.”

They continued: “As a result of the acts of genocide in which hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis were killed, the Azerbaijanis, who once made up more than 80 percent of the population in Iravan province, began to form an ethnic minority in that area in 1921. As a result of the ethnic cleansing carried out in 1948-52 and 1987-91, Azerbaijanis were completely expelled from there. At present, not a single Azerbaijani has remained in the territory now called Armenia, and the cultural heritage belonging to Azerbaijanis has been completely destroyed.”

The West Azerbaijani Community proclaimed: “Despite its international obligations, Armenia continues its racist policy. This country prevents Azerbaijanis from returning to their homes safely and with dignity, glorifies elements such as Garegin Njde, Andranik Ozanyan, Drastamat Kanayan, Monte Melkonyan, who committed crimes against humanity and terrorist acts against Azerbaijanis, and promotes racist ideology such as Njdeism at the state level.”

They concluded: “We demand that Armenia acknowledge its responsibility for the crimes of genocide and take the necessary steps for reconciliation. Armenia should create conditions for the safe and dignified return of the expelled Azerbaijanis and restore the destroyed Azerbaijani cultural heritage.”

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