Citizens of Puerto Rico are called to vote for the sixth time on the relationship the island should have with the United States. It is unlikely that the referendum will immediately lead to a new status for Puerto Rico, as the vote is not binding and does not have the support of the US government. Keep reading
More than 200 people, including minors, were arrested during the latest demonstration demanding respect for Hong Kong autonomy and the enhancement of the democratic system there. The protests are regaining momentum in May after a forced halt due to restrictions imposed by the fight against coronavirus. Meanwhile, the governments of Hong Kong and China are announcing a firm hand to handle with the issue. Keep reading
Not even under the coronavirus the repression that Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration is carrying out against the Kurdish political and social movement stops. To the dismissal in recent weeks of eight mayors of main Kurdish party HDP, a controversial law to alleviate prison pressure in the face of the advance of the virus that will keep opposition journalists and politicians in prison, and a growing hindrance to the struggle of the social movements, must be now added. Keep reading
They arrived there as refugees from a genocide almost one century ago, and they are about to disappear now from there, again in a violent way. The Assyrian community in the Khabour Valley, in Kurdish-controlled Rojava in northern Syria, is currently unable to recover from the forced flight of most of its members in 2015, when ISIS occupied their territory. A new report warns of the destruction of its tangible and intangible heritage, and says it will be difficult to rebuild the community if conditions are not created for people to be able to return. Keep reading
The Soviet Union left several territorial disputes after its fall. Nagorno-Karabakh or as locals call it Artsakh is one of them. During the rule of the USSR, borders were drawn between the countries, and Armenian-majority Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) was established within Soviet Azerbaijan. ... Keep reading
When Bougainville held its independence referendum in December 2019, one of the unresolved doubts was how it could financially sustain itself if it seceded from Papua New Guinea. With 80% of its annual budget stemming from the PNG government, the Autonomous Bougainville Government has a difficult decision on the table: how to reopen the Panguna mine, which could provide it with significant economical injection, but nothing risk-free. A recently released report by an Australian human human rights group recalls the social, economic, and ecological disaster caused by the exploitation of the mine in the surrounding communities. Keep reading
The Mongolian government is seeking to spread the official use of the traditional Mongolian alphabet by 2025. The Mongolian script is expected to coexist with Cyrillic, which has been used to write the Mongolian language since 1941. An effective introduction of the Mongolian writing system into digital environments will be an immediate challenge. Keep reading