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Großes Hoffen auf ein Stück weit Frieden - Zum Hintergrund des Plebiszits über das Bangsamoro-Grundgesetz am 21. Januar und 6. Februar 2019
No full textIn Südostasiens ältester Krisenregion – auf den südphilippinischen Inseln Mindanao, Basilan und Jolo – erweist sich die Suche nach einem tragfähigen Frieden als mühseliger Prozess. Noch am 27. Januar 2019 zeigte sich einmal mehr, wie volatil die Sicherheitslage in der Region ist, als in Folge zweier Bombenexplosionen im Zentrum von Jolo City 21 Menschen den Tod fanden und über 110 Verletzte zu beklagen waren. Angriffsziel des höchstwahrscheinlich von dschihadistischen, dem IS nahestehenden Selbstmordattentäter*innen verübten Verbrechens, war diesmal die Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral, die römisch-katholische Kathedrale Unserer Lieben Frau auf dem Berge Karmel
Win-win or Win-lose? China-Kazakhstan Energy Cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative
No full textOver the last ten years, China has become a major trade partner of Kazakhstan, investing heavily in the country’s oil and gas sector. Information about the Sino-Kazakh cooperation has been scarce, raising many questions about the economic, social and environmental risks for the Central Asian country and fuelling anti-Chinese sentiment among the local population. Komila Nabiyeva reviews the energy cooperation of two countries within the Belt and Road Initiative and its implications
Ambivalent remains: China and the Russian cemeteries in Harbin, Dalian and Lüshun
No full textOne of the visible legacies of Russia in China which reflect the ambivalence of the relationship in own ways, are cemeteries. While the most well-known of “foreigners’ cemeteries” in China today is in Shanghai, in its present form with dead mostly from the Western hemisphere, the largest extant “foreigners’ cemetery” in China is Russian and in Manchuria: the so-called “Soviet Martyrs’ Cemetery” in Lüshun (formerly known in the West as “Port Arthur”). Notably, this cemetery is today part of Chinese patriotic education programs to honor the “martyrs” who died for the “liberation of China” from the Japanese in 1945, thus assigning to these foreigners a role in Chinese self-definition. De facto, this cemetery, though, not only covers “Soviet Martyrs” (be it of 1945, be it of the Korean War 1950-1953), but also the remains of people linked to tsarist times, most prominently to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904/05, which in Chinese eyes was a war fought between two foreign imperialists on Chinese (and Korean) soil. Thus, these dead stand for imperial Russia’s “aggression” in China, and their memorialization is anathema to the Chinese. This way, the cemetery, together with two further ones in the Dalian area where the Soviet Union held extraordinary rights after WW II well into the times of the People’s Republic of China, embodies the tension and ambivalence surrounding Russian historical legacy in China.
While Lüshun and Dalian mark the southern end of the railway the Russians once built through Manchuria, at the northern nodal point in Manchuria, Harbin, Chinese perceived ambivalence of Russian legacy is further augmented due to the particularly strong influence of Russian (“White”) émigré culture in the interwar years there. Still, not all “Russians” in the city belonged to this group, which means that in Harbin a mix of different political and religious outlooks existed there. This, too, is reflected in the cemeteries where three are extant today: one Orthodox, one Jewish, and one for the Soviets since 1945, the smallest of the three here. Harbin, too, provides a “superlative” in claiming the “largest Jewish cemetery of East Asia”, most of the dead being, again, Russian. While many Jews were present in China also elsewhere, only Harbin has kept a large cemetery which is nowadays playing an important role in Sino-Israeli relations, while the Orthodox and the Soviet cemetery involve, above all, Sino-Russian relations. Thus, the cases presented reflect the multi-facetted influence of Russia in China: between early Tsarists, later “Whites” and Soviets in terms of politics, and between Russian Orthodox and Jews in terms of religion. Finally, the issues of heritage, preservation and restoration throw into relief Chinese vs. Russian views of the respective histories and their relation to present-day agendas
Widerstand gegen Bergbau in Myanmar: Die Kupferminen von Monywa
No full textFür Myanmars Regierung stellt der Bergbausektor eine wichtige Triebkraft für die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung dar. Mittels Revision des rechtlichen Regelwerks und bürokratischer Erleichterungen wirbt sie gezielt um mehr Investitionen aus dem Ausland. Doch der Sektor ist nach wie vor durch einen lückenhaften rechtlichen Rahmen und enorme menschenrechtliche, soziale und ökologische Risiken charakterisiert. Das größte Bergbauprojekt Myanmars, die Kupferminen von Monywa, ist beispielhaft für den Sektor landesweit: mächtige Konzerne haben großen Einfluss auf die Politik, staatliche Stellen sind teils überfordert, teils ignorant und internationale menschenrechtliche sowie ökologische Standards werden immer wieder mit Füßen getreten. Doch Aktivist*innen und Anwohner*innen leisten seit Jahren Widerstand zum Trotz massiver Risiken und Repression
20 Jahre linker Aktivismus in Indonesien: Vom Lokalen zum Globalen und zurück
No full textNach dem Sturz Suhartos im Jahr 1998 folgte eine Phase der Demokratisierung (»Reformasi«) in Indonesien, die sich zum einen durch Dezentralisierung des politischen Entscheidungssystems auszeichnete. Zum anderen profitierte insbesondere die Zivilgesellschaft von einer politischen Öffnung des Landes. Neben liberalen Kräften haben auch linke Vereinigungen dadurch an Bewegungs- und Organisationsfreiheit gewonnen
The Power of Music in Timor-Leste: Resistance and Poetry
No full textJoviana Guterres, Ego Lemos and Kiera Zen explain in this interview how national identity, fight for liberation, contemporary political concerns and uniquely Timorese ideals are communicated through traditional and new songs. Monika Schlicher and Maria Tschanz spoke with the musicians in September 2019 in Timor-Leste
Philippinen: Klimagerechtigkeit braucht Menschenrechte. Sechs Jahre Wiederaufbau nach Taifun Yolanda und seine Folgen
No full textDie Philippinen sind eines der Länder, die am stärksten von der Klimakrise betroffen sind. Extreme Wettersituationen bedrohen insbesondere die Existenz der ärmsten Bevölkerungsgruppen. Sechs Jahre nachdem Super-Taifun Yolanda die Philippinen erschüttert hat, haben sich viele Betroffene mit, aber auch ohne staatliche oder internationale Hilfe einen neuen Anfang erarbeitet. Gleichzeitig ist der Wiederaufbau durch zahlreiche Unregelmäßigkeiten gekennzeichnet. Große Unternehmen haben aus der Notsituation der Menschen Nutzen geschlagen, auch mit staatlicher Unterstützung. Beispielhaft dafür ist die Situation auf der Insel Sicogon, wo sich ein Immobilien-Riese die ganze Insel anzueignen versucht und Menschenrechte bedroht
A popular strongman gains more power - in the aftermath of the 2019 Philippine elections
No full textThe Philippines concluded a high-stakes midterm elections in May 2019, that many consider a critical turning point in our nation’s history. While the Presidency was not on the line, and Rodrigo Duterte himself was not on the ballot, the polls were seen as a referendum on his presidency
Kashmir and the abrogation of Article 370: Can peace be possible, or stalemate continue to hamper India and Pakistan relations in future?
No full text[...] India’s abrogation of Article 370 and 35A in Kashmir is also a manifest to that end. On 5 August India belligerently took over the disputed and autonomous region of Kashmir, stripping off its autonomy by merging it with the Union Territory. The legal fraternity in India called it extra constitutional, fraudulent and illegal, barring the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly rather making it entirely dysfunctional and abrogating it all together. [...
Fighting terrorism: can Pakistan overcome its negative image?
No full textThe debate on whether Pakistan can be considered a trustworthy actor in the international arena has surfaced again. Recent events have shown that Pakistan is capable of prudence and moderation when dealing with non-aligned South Asian powers, which is a welcome, (if relative), improvement in its international image. The fact that Pakistan remains under continuous global scrutiny regarding terrorist-related activities is well known; however, a true commitment to the fight against terrorism by the current government can go a long way in reshaping Pakistan’s credibility. To what extent can Pakistan’s counter-terrorist initiatives be trusted is thus far unknown. The task is immense, and it remains to be seen whether Pakistan can transform itself from a country that exports terrorism to a country that promotes peace and harmony both regionally and internationally. This article focuses on this bold new Pakistani ambition, which is led by the country’s new government under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan. We have witnessed bans on organisations and networks known to financially support terrorist activities locally, regionally and internationally, and Islamabad has also put forward claims to curb terrorism and militancy. Will we finally witness the rise of Pakistan as a credible and responsible global actor