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La diva malienne Oumou Sangaré, légende de la musique africaine, est notre invitée, à l'occasion de la sortie de son nouvel album, "Mogoya". Un disque produit entre Stockholm et Paris, après huit ans de silence discographique.

Comentario Elcano 27/2017 - 5/6/2017
Luis Simón y Elisa Lledó

La UE debe mirar a América Latina como un activo estratégico y plantear su relación con esta región en términos que vayan más allá de lo comercial o lo diplomático, avanzando hacia una cooperación más estrecha en materia de seguridad y defensa.

Les rapports entre George Soros et Viktor Orbán se sont encore envenimés ces derniers jours, le premier accusant le second d'avoir bâti un "état mafieux" en Hongrie . . .

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Women protest against local government corruption, arrest of opposition leader in Al-Hoceima, Morocco on June 3, 2017. (Photo: REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal)

The kingdom of Morocco is not known for political activism or protests. Certainly not when compared to the Arab Spring uprisings that led to regime change in several of its North African neighbors. Yet in the last 2 weeks the traditionally stable Morocco has seen the largest popular protests and government backlash since the 2011 Arab Spring.

At the time of Arab Spring, Morocco’s king ceded some power to the elected government after some protests cropped up demanding an expansion of democracy. However the move has been largely symbolic without any meaningful change—the king retained a large amount of power and influence. King Mohammed VI, in power since 1999, is part of the Muslim world longest-ruling royal family. In addition, since 2011 Moroccan police have cracked down on protests to limit unrest and prevent similar revolutions to those in Egypt and Tunisia.

Tensions between police and activists in the northern city of Al-Hoceima have resurfaced, and spread, in the last several weeks. An opposition group called Hirak had been gathering support in criticizing the Makhzen—the king’s governing authority in the region—since a local fisherman was killed after a dispute with police. On May 26th, after a preacher criticized Hirak leader Nasser Zefzafi, protesters gathered in the streets and clashed with police. Police also issued a warrant for Zefzafi’s arrest, amidst signs from local residents posing the question to them, “Are you a government or a gang?”

Violence ensued as police used force to break up protests. The next day, May 27, authorities arrested 20 people in Al-Hoceima, charging them with “threatening national security.” Zefzafi, a well-known activist aided by large group of supporters, fled the city before he could be arrested.

However Zefzafi was tracked down and detained a few days later. On June 2nd, protests erupted again in Al-Hoceima. This time “several thousand people” gathered in the city’s main square, chanting “we are all Zefzafi” and “the people demand prisoners be freed.” Police quickly surrounded the group in an attempt to limit the number of people with access to the gathering. In the nearby town of Imzouren police fired water cannon to disperse hundreds of protesters who clashed with security forces.

On June 4th, police acted to disperse a women’s protest organized by Hirak. In addition to showing outrage over Zefzafi’s arrest, the group demanded action to address Makhzen (local government) abuse and corruption as well as the need for more jobs and improvements to regional infrastructure. Once again police surrounded the protesters, and pushed the leader of the event away from her supporters. “We go to sleep in fear, and we wake up in fear,” said Fatima Alghloubzari, 54 who tried to join the protest on Saturday. “We never imagined our city would become like this.”

Several articles on these events pointed out how rare political unrest is in Morocco (and how police presence at protests is usually significant). Perhaps this explains why, as Patrick Markey of Reuters points out, “the unrest around Al-Hoceima and the Rif region is testing nerves in a kingdom that presents itself as a model for stability and steady reform, as well as a safe haven for foreign investment in a region widely torn by militant violence.” Even limited protest can be dangerous in a country used to very little.

It certainly makes sense why the regional government (and, by extension, the monarchy) would want to quash the Al-Hoceima protests as quickly as possible. The Arab Spring showed how quickly such shows of displeasure can spread. But cracking down could produce the opposite of the intended effect by drawing even more to the people’s cause. Zefzafi’s arrest likely generated more attention to his cause than a peaceful protest would.

It’s still too early to see where this recent unrest will lead, but in a country relied on to be a stabilizing regional force, the Hirak movement is worth paying attention to.

The post Arab Spring Sequel? Unrest Grows in Morocco appeared first on Foreign Policy Blogs.

VIDÉO - Même si Matignon a affirmé qu'il ne s'agissait que d'une version «de travail de campagne», Jean-Luc Mélenchon ou encore Benoît Hamon ont déjà exprimé vertement leur opposition aux présumées ordonnances sur le droit du Travail publiées par Le Parisien.

(Photo Credit: Mirza Ismail)

Yezidi leader Mirza Ismail describes how the situation is extremely dire for women and children on Mount Sinjar while the international community and global media outlets ignore it.

In recent days, media outlets across the world have been speaking about the ISIS massive car bomb near the German Embassy in Kabul, the ISIS car bomb outside an ice-cream shop in Baghdad, a priest who was kidnapped by ISIS in the Philippines and how Iraqi forces are confronting the ISIS-held neighborhoods in Western Mosul. However, there has been virtual silence regarding the present situation on Mount Sinjar.

According to Yazidi leader Mirza Ismail, the situation on Mount Sinjar has not improved since 2014. In fact, he claimed that the situation has even deteriorated. Nevertheless, he proclaimed: “The international media has not been covering the present situation on Mount Sinjar I think because the Yezidi fighting forces and the Shiite Popular Mobilization Force made the decision to start fighting against ISIS terrorism and to liberate the Yezidi region of Sinjar as well as the rest of Iraq from ISIS.” He claimed that if other groups were doing the fighting, they would have covered it.

New mass grave found on Mount Sinjar (Photo Credit: Mirza Ismail)

“For the last 7 days, the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces and the Yezidi fighters have taken control of all the Yezidi villages on the southern side of Mount Sinjar,” he related. “The Iraqi government has provided many Yezidi fighters with different types of weapons to defend the Yezidi region of Mount Sinjar. The Joint Forces have discovered several new Yezidi mass graves nearby every village on the southern side of the mountain. According to my colleagues, the numbers of mass-graves found in Yezidis’ villages south of Mount Sinjar are 10 so far.”

According to Ismail, the situation for Yezidi civilians on Mount Sinjar is still very dire:

“They lack everything that is needed for daily life, such as food, clean drinking water, doctors, healthcare, hospitals and education for the children. There is a lack of schools and teachers. There are a few tent schools for some children but not enough for all children there. In the villages north of the mountain, the children have difficulty getting to school because of the lack of transportation, as the government has not provided it. The children lack school supplies, good food, clean drinking water, winter clothing, health care, etc. Our organization and many others are trying to help the children the best that we can but the needs are larger than the capacity of NGOs. The conditions in the shelters are very bad as the civilians still cannot go back to their villages because many of the houses were destroyed by ISIS and booby-trapped, a reality that has killed many young Yezidis.”

Yezidi female fighter (Photo Credit: Mirza Ismail)

Ismail stressed that the plight of the Yezidi women is especially difficult for while most of Iraq has been liberated, most of the Yezidi women are still enslaved by ISIS:

“The Yezidis on Mount Sinjar believe most of their women and children were transferred outside of Iraq when ISIS saw they would be defeated. On the other hand, many Yezidi women have picked up arms and defended the region but they lack the proper training and weapons, which the Yezidis have been asking for a long time. Unfortunately, nobody has bothered to help yet. Sadly, the international community finds it very hard to give some arms to an ancient and indigenous Yezidi nation seeking self-defense and they find it much easier to sell high-tech weapons to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Islamic countries, who use them to kill innocents such as the Yezidis.”

Despite all of these recent developments, the United States, Israel, Canada and the international community at large has not responded to what is happening on Mount Sinjar. Ismail claims that this is for political reasons. Nevertheless, Ismail argues that even if it is not politically correct to say so, he believes that “the only solution for the Yezidis and Chaldo-Assyrian Christians to survive as a people with human dignity is to have an autonomous region in Sinjar and Nineveh under international protection” and he hopes that the international community will recognize this sooner rather than later.

The post Yezidi Leader: “The World Ignores the Plight of our People on Mount Sinjar” appeared first on Foreign Policy Blogs.

Le pouvoir des syndicats et du patronat dans la gestion d’organismes de protection sociale et en matière de droit du travail est remis en cause par le programme Macron.   Au cœur du paysage politique et social français, le «paritarisme» – ce pouvoir donné au patronat et aux syndicats de réformer le droit du travail […]

Cet article Social : le paritarisme a-t-il encore un avenir en France ? est apparu en premier sur Fondapol.

The medium-range RSD-10 Pioneer (SS-20) missile system (RIA Novosti / Anton Denisov) / RIA Novosti

The United States recently test fired an Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) system that intercepted and destroyed its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) target successfully.

The capability to destroy ICBMs had been the last major technological challenge since the Cold War. While this system seems successful at this stage, intercepting multiple ICBMs or one with multiple warheads still looks out of reach. Moscow has been surrounded by a ring of ABMs for some time; their effectiveness has never had to be tested since their deployment.

The strategy that prevented the exchange of ICBMs between the United States and the Soviet Union for decades was a slow progression of communications, dialogue and treaties that reduced the stockpile of nuclear arms. This dialogue also enabled the United States and the Soviet Union to humanize each other and tamp down on propaganda intended to solidify and embolden each side to fight to the last person.

This did not mean that a country’s resolve was reduced. Dialogue was taken from a position of strength, but also used the confidence each country’s population had in their resolve to come to a meeting of minds. With confidence came respect, and the Cold War fizzled away within the next generation.

As an ABM system can physically show the willingness of a country to defend itself, the perception of strength must also be present in order for a dialogue to be successful. The perception that a country can be disabled, obstructed or even controlled by a foreign power makes it seem that any actions in relation to their adversary will result in harm or oppression.

When it becomes possible to see adversaries as less human, it creates an environment of reactionary strategy, something the cold warriors were keen to measure, control and completely avoid. The perception of self-weakness and the feral reaction to achieve security can be more dangerous than many of the weapons systems themselves.

The reality is that the United States is able to defend the country from military and cyber threats, and has the capability to retaliate in if it is targeted, and most likely has in many cases.

The United States is not weak in this regard, and news coverage of anything to do with Russia seems to lack the perception of humanity in relating to a relatively strong adversary. The worst case scenario of a lack of introspective reporting on issue surrounding Russia could lead to a hot conflict, or a bias against Russians and Russian speaking people living in Western countries.

While it most likely will not lead to an exchange of ICBMs, the value of having an open dialogue even with an adversary has proven to be of value, and limiting the ability to re-establish a method of deterrence through communication is ignoring past successes for the sake of little gain.

Humanizing an adversary, even those who seek to cause harm is of more value than the best ABM system. A fictional show like The Americans may be more useful than many news reports in understanding how to approach adversaries in different ways, not for the sake of information, but in opening a communication channel and avoiding the kind of mistakes that could have have turned  the Cold War hot. Misunderstandings and actions that promote a feral response to defense are extremely dangerous with any adversary.

The post Actual and Perceived Defense of the Homeland appeared first on Foreign Policy Blogs.

PROSPECTIVES. Avec le concept d’Etat plate-forme, l’administration rêve d’offrir de meilleurs services numériques grâce à des start-up internes et collaboration accrue avec les citoyens. Et si, grâce au numérique, l’Etat devenait agile, transparent, efficace et capable de produire de nouveaux services pour et avec les citoyens ? Une hypothèse séduisante, mais un chantier titanesque. L’enjeu […]

Cet article Que peut-on attendre de l’Etat plate-forme ? est apparu en premier sur Fondapol.

Les salariés de Tesco seraient prêts à se mettre en grève pour réclamer une augmentation de salaires. Rarissimes en Hongrie, les mouvements sociaux pourraient s'intensifier dans le pays. Près de 30 ans après la fin du communisme, les syndicats semblent enfin relever la tête.

Tribune publiée le 2 juin 2017 dans Kettős Mérce sous le titre "Itt az . . .

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https://tvnewsroom.consilium.europa.eu/uploads/council-images/thumbs/uploads/council-images/remote/http_7e18a1c646f5450b9d6d-a75424f262e53e74f9539145894f4378.r8.cf3.rackcdn.com/9296cf1c-4a8f-11e7-90ae-bc764e092fac_10.42_thumb_169_1496736731_1496736721_129_97shar_c1.jpg

Federica MOGHERINI, EU HR for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, attends the 3rd G5 Sahel Ministerial Meeting on 4 and 5 June 2017.

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Brüsszelben megpróbálják vonzóbbá tenni a közös uniós pénzt. Orbán szerint az euró bevezetése lehet a következő évek „irgalmas vitája”.

La Communauté économique des États d'Afrique de l'Ouest (Cédéao) a conclu un sommet chargé en nommant à sa tête le président togolais Faure Gnassingbé. L'organisation a par ailleurs donné son accord de principe à l'adhésion du Maroc.

Au 51e sommet de la Communauté économique des Etats d'Afrique de l'Ouest (CEDEAO) qui s'est tenu dimanche à Monrovia, au Libéria, le Représentant spécial du Secrétaire général pour la région, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, a appelé les Etats membres de l'organisation régionale à rester mobilisés sur les questions de paix et de sécurité, sans négliger le développement et les droits de l'homme.

1. D'après les sondages, les Conservateurs devancent les Travaillistes dans les intentions de vote des Britanniques. Si cela se vérifie, peut-on s'attendre à une recomposition du Parti travailliste, voire à un remplacement de Jeremy Corbyn ? Plusieurs sondages donnent des résultats...

Le Parti travailliste (MLP) du Premier ministre sortant Joseph Muscat est arrivé en tête des élections législatives anticipées qui se sont déroulées le 3 juin à Malte. Avec 55,04% des suffrages, il a devancé son principal adversaire, le Parti nationaliste (PN), emmené par Simon Busuttil, qui a recueilli 43,68% des voix.

Jean-Dominique Giuliani, président de la Fondation, intervient le 9 juin à une conférence organisée par la fondation Konrad-Adenauer à Lisbonne et intitulée "Profiling the European Union in Times of Change".

Le "Rapport Schuman sur l'état de l'Union" 2017, paru aux éditions Lignes de Repères en français et en anglais, permet de mieux comprendre les enjeux et défis européens. Il est disponible en librairie ou sur le site de la Fondation, et au format numérique...

Le Président de la Fondation, Jean-Dominique Giuliani, publie "Pour quelques étoiles de plus... Quelle politique européenne pour la France ?". Lecture éclairante alors que les premières semaines du nouveau chef de l'État français montrent une volonté d'encourager une action résolument européenne.

Le 7 juin, en partenariat avec la Fondation Hanns Seidel, la Fondation Robert Schuman organise un débat sur le résultat des élections en France et les conséquences pour l'Union européenne en présence de Pascale Joannin, directrice générale de la Fondation.