Demonstrations/Protests

Zimbabwe: Election Dispute Has Country on Edge

Date: April 10th, 2008 |

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]

Armenia: State of Emergency in Yerevan

Date: March 6th, 2008 |

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Authorities declared a 20-day state of emergency in Yerevan March 1 following a violent clash between protesters and police in which eight people died and more than 130 were injured. Major rallies over a disputed presidential election have occurred almost daily since Feb. 19, but now the city is under martial law with numerous checkpoints [read more]

Egypt, Gaza, Israel: Border Crisis Stirs Tensions Between Egypt, Hamas, Palestinian Authority

Date: January 30th, 2008 |

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Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians poured into Egypt after Hamas militants blew open the border partition between Gaza and the Egyptian city of Rafah Jan. 23, relieving tensions in Gaza but creating tensions in Egypt. For the past six months Gaza has been blockaded by Israel because of almost daily rocket attacks on Israeli border [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]

Peru: More Protests Possible in Cuzco

Date: February 14th, 2008 |

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Protesters burned tires and blocked roads around Cuzco in a 24-hour strike Feb. 7 that also shut down rail transport to Machu Picchu. The demonstrators were protesting two laws that would expand private development around Cuzco and the Sacred Valley of the Incas and make it easier to build hotels near archaeological sites. One law [read more]

Bolivia: Unrest Prompts Call for Referendum

Date: December 6th, 2007 |

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Political strife between President Evo Morales’ ruling party and the opposition threatens to tear the country apart as a constitutional assembly tries to draft a new constitution by its deadline of Dec. 14. Violent demonstrations have occurred in Sucre and the Amazonian town of Cobija. Tensions are high and more violence is possible, including blocking [read more]