March-2011-International

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Canadian Parliament Dissolved
On March 26, 2011, Canada's Governor-General dissolved the Parliament after a vote of no-confidence in Tory Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government, setting up a May 2 election, the fourth in seven years.

From the steps of the official residence of Queen Elizabeth II's representative in Canada, Harper announced the official launch of the campaign, contrasting his Conservatives' economic recovery plan with the prospects of opposition parties forming a leftist coalition.

The snap poll was forced following the passage of the no-confidence vote against the minority government engineered by the opposition Liberal Party and backed by two other opposition parties, on the heels of a historic contempt of Parliament charge.

Junta rule ends in Myanmar
On March 30, 2011, Myanmar’s military handed power to a nominally civilian government after almost half a century of army rule, as the junta was disbanded and a new President appointed.

But the army hierarchy retains a firm grip on power in the resource-rich Southeast Asian country, and many analysts believe Senior General Than Shwe will attempt to retain some sort of control behind the scenes.

The handover came after controversial elections in November 2010, the country’s first in 20 years, which were marred by the absence of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and claims of cheating and intimidation.

Former PM Thein Sein, a key Than Shwe ally, was sworn in as President. He is among a slew of generals who shed their army uniforms to contest the elections and are now civilian members of Parliament, which also has a quarter of its seats kept aside for the military.

Dalai Lama announces his retirement as political head
On March 10, 2011, the Dalai Lama announced his retirement plan on the 52nd anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising Day. Announcing that he would step down as political head of the Tibetan government-in-exile, the Dalai Lama in his speech said he would hand over his “formal authority” to a “freely-elected” leader.

“As early as the 1960s, I have repeatedly stressed that Tibetans need a leader, elected freely by the Tibetan people, to whom I can devolve power. Now, we have clearly reached the time to put this into effect,” the 75-year-old Nobel Peace Laureate, who has been at the forefront of a six-decade-long struggle for freedom of Tibetans, said.

The Dalai Lama further said he was committed to playing his part for the "just cause" of Tibet. “The decision to devolve authority has not been taken because I feel disheartened. It is to benefit the Tibetans in the longer run. I feel gradually people will come to understand my intention and will support my decision and let it take effect,” said the spiritual leader.

He has formally proposed to the Tibetan Parliament in-exile to make necessary amendments to the Charter for Tibetans-in-Exile reflecting his decision to devolve his authority. As per the Tibetan Charter, according to which the Tibetan government-in-exile runs, the Dalai Lama is the head of state and also the political and administrative head of Tibetans.

By devolving his powers, the Dalai Lama hopes to give the Prime Minister greater clout as the region seeks autonomy from China.

The aging Dalai is concerned about the future of Tibetan struggle after him. He wants that a Tibetan leadership should evolve during his lifetime that has the acceptance of all members of the community and can take the freedom struggle further after him. However, most Tibetans, especially those living in Tibet, are still spiritual and believe in the institutions of lamas. There is also an apprehension that the political leadership elected by around 80,000 Tibetans living in exile might not have legitimacy of the people in Tibet in the absence of the Dalai Lama. They believe only a spiritual leader could take place of Dalai Lama rather than the political leadership.

Japan faces its worst disaster since World War II
After a cataclysm so powerful that it moved the Earth 10 inches off its axis, Japan woke to find itself a country that had, literally, been shunted two meters from where it was on March 11, 2011 morning.

Neighbourhood after neighbourhood was submerged under a grotesque soup of water and debris. Homes were flattened. Tens of thousands of once orderly acres became a jumble of broken homes, cars, boats, and concrete, with shipping containers cluttering the landscape.

Only 300 km from Tokyo, radiation leak from a nuclear plant crippled by an explosion threatens to convert into a major nuclear disaster. Officials were swift to assert that any meltdown, if it came, would not be on anything like the scale or severity of Chernobyl.

The 8.9 Richter scale earthquake was the most monstrous that Japan, the world's most tremor-prone country, has ever recorded. This was strong enough to leave a 300 km rupture on the ocean floor. The subsequent tsunami—sending 30ft-high waves lashing into Japan's north-east coast—turned a disaster into a cataclysm. The wall of water, moving at an estimated 50 kmph, swallowed boats, homes, cars, trees and even small planes, and used these as battering rams as it charged up to 15 kms inland, demolishing all that stood in its way.

The first estimates of the total insured loss caused by the quake and tsunami were put at USD 12 billion—an unwelcome burden on an economy that had just starting to show signs of revival.

US and European planes hit Libya
Starting March 19, 2011, Western forces launched a series of air and missile strikes against forces of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to force him to stop war on opposition forces in Libya.

Earlier, on March 18, a UNSC resolution had imposed a no-fly zone over Libya. India stayed away from voting. India, along with four other countries, wanted the UNSC to wait for the report of the special envoy of the Secretary-General. India also made it clear that it was very important to fully respect sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Libya.

Away from principles of democracy, the need to secure oil supplies and tackle a history of appeasement toward Muammar Gaddafi are some of the less-publicised reasons for Europe taking on a leadership role in prodding the world to act over Libya, analysts say. Days into the enforcement of a no-fly zone and with the US continuing to take a backseat, there is much speculation over the surprising swiftness with which France and Britain have galvanised European military action on Libya.

While the UN resolution authorizing the enforcement of a no fly zone is aimed at protecting civilians and backed by the Arabs, it is also pushed by a mix of unstated personal and political factors rooted in Europe. In Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron defended committing British forces by declaring the action "necessary, legal and right".

Even more than Cameron, it is French President Nicolas Sarkozy who has led calls for military intervention. His reasons could be far more personal than Cameron's: in 2007, Sarkozy became the first western leader in decades to welcome Gaddafi on an official State visit. With his approval ratings sinking to record lows and a presidential election due in summer 2012, Sarkozy has strong domestic political reasons to be seen to be acting swiftly and decisively.

Italy has more reasons to be wary of events in Libya than Britain or France. Libya's most important European economic partner, Italy sources some 25 percent of its oil imports and 10 percent of its gas from Libya and billions of Euros are tied up in infrastructure and security projects in the country.

Some strategic analysts, however, disagree that domestic political reasons characterize European action. "This is a European, American and Canadian action supported by a UN resolution aimed at protecting civilians—they will deny that it is about Gaddafi," said Christian Le Miere of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.