Political uprisings

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]

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]

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]

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]

Kenya: Political Crisis, Violence Continue

Date: January 30th, 2008 |

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Violence stemming from Kenya’s disputed presidential election continued to plague the country, especially in the Rift Valley. Naivasha, a town popular with tourists and expatriates just 55 miles northwest of Nairobi, was overrun by murderous gangs over the weekend and tourists had to be escorted to Nairobi from nearby lodges. The killing of an opposition [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]

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]

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]

Kenya: Violence Prompts Peace Corps to Suspend Operations

Date: February 7th, 2008 |

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Ongoing post-election violence that has often become ethnic prompted the U.S. Peace Corps to suspend its operations in Kenya. The Peace Corps announced the decision Feb. 5 to withdraw its remaining 58 volunteers after sending home 86 in January. Tourism has dropped to a trickle and foreign companies are considering pulling out, which would deal [read more]

Kenya: Post-Election Crisis Continues

Date: January 10th, 2008 |

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The post-election violence that raged for several days diminished and a reconciliation appeared to be developing between the incumbent president and opposition leader, both of whom feel they are the duly elected president of Kenya. Everything unraveled again, however, Jan. 8 when incumbent President Mwai Kibaki unilaterally named several cabinet ministers to the government. Riots [read more]