Demonstrations/Protests

Argentina: Farmers May Block Roads Again

Date: May 1st, 2008 |

For three weeks in March irate farmers blockaded roads and cut off meat and grain supplies to supermarkets in major cities, including Buenos Aires, but called off their protests when the government agreed to negotiate with them over the tax increase that spawned the protests. Little progress has been made and farmers vowed to set [read more]

Haiti: Riots Erupt across the Country

Date: April 10th, 2008 |

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Demonstrations that started as protests over escalating food costs devolved into widespread rioting and looting in Port-au-Prince, Les Cayes and other cities. The U.S. Embassy suspended operations April 9 and urged Americans in Haiti to remain indoors, follow local press reports and stay in touch with the embassy until the situation s [read more]

Zimbabwe: Election Dispute Has Country on Edge

Date: April 10th, 2008 |

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Zimbabwe has teetered on the brink of political disintegration for months and is now in an acute crisis following national elections in which the opposition appears to have won both the presidency and control of parliament. Long-ruling President Robert Mugabe has refused to release the election results and appears to be calculating how to hold [read more]

China/Tibet: Tensions Remain High in Lhasa

Date: April 2nd, 2008 |

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Facing international censure over its repression of dissent in Tibet and in heavily Tibetan areas of Gansu province, the Chinese government is doing its best to blame the recent protests on the Dalai Lama while showing that the situation is calm in Lhasa. It allowed foreign diplomats in for a tightly-controlled two-day visit but did [read more]

Guatemala: Tensions Near Lake Izabal

Date: March 20th, 2008 |

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Four Belgian tourists and two locals were abducted and held hostage for two days by Mayan farmers on Lake Izabal in a dispute over land use. The Mayans have been pressing the government to recognize their traditional farming rights to land in the area but Guatemalan law prohibits land use permits in nature reserves. The [read more]

China and Tibet: Lockdown in Lhasa; Interpol Worries about Attacks in Beijing

Date: May 1st, 2008 |

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The Chinese government announced a lockdown on the Tibetan capital of Lhasa from May 1 to June 20 to prevent any disruption of the Olympic torch parade through Tibet. Residents of surrounding counties have been ordered not to enter the city, including farmers who would normally come to Lhasa to sell their produce, and all [read more]

Tibet: China Will Reopen Tibet to Foreign Tourists May 1

Date: April 10th, 2008 |

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Chinese officials announced April 4 that Tibet will be reopened to foreign tourists May 1 after a six-week closure because of protests that led to a police crackdown in which between 18 and 14o people died. The government said 18 had been killed in Lhasa but the Dalai Lama’s government in exile said 140 had [read more]

Argentina: Farmers Suspend Road Blockades for 30 Days

Date: April 2nd, 2008 |

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Farmers suspended a three-week-long protest that has created food shortages around the country, keeping meat and grain from reaching supermarkets and prompting demonstrations of support in Buenos Aires and other cities. The original protest began March 11 when the government imposed a 44 percent export tax on their crops. The farmers suspended the protests March [read more]

Armenia: Yerevan State of Emergency Lifted

Date: March 26th, 2008 |

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The government ended the state of emergency it imposed on Yerevan March 1 when it broke up a week of mass protests over a disputed presidential election. More than 100 protesters remain in custody on charges of causing unrest and plotting a coup, and the legislature passed a new law granting authorities the right to [read more]

Tibet: Tight Security in Lhasa

Date: March 20th, 2008 |

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Rioting occurred in Lhasa after several days of peaceful marches to mark the 49th anniversary of the failed uprising against Chinese rule and the Dalai Lama’s exile. Chinese security forces put down the protests in which at least 13 people were killed (an estimate by the Dalai Lama’s officials said 99 people died) and more [read more]