Geopolitical Research Institute(GRI)/Εταιρεία Γεωπολιτικών Ερευνών(ΕΓΕ)

Τετάρτη 17 Νοεμβρίου 2010

Τέσσερις Αμερικανοί γερουσιαστές ζητούν την ένταξη της ΠΓΔΜ στο ΝΑΤΟ

Με επιστολή τους προς τον Πρόεδρο των ΗΠΑ Μπαράκ Ομπάμα, τέσσερα μέλη της αμερικανικής Γερουσίας ζητούν να ανοίξει ο ίδιος τη διαδικασία προκειμένου η ΠΓΔΜ να λάβει πρόσκληση για ένταξη στο ΝΑΤΟ στην επικείμενη Σύνοδο Κορυφής της Ατλαντικής Συμμαχίας που θα πραγματοποιηθεί στη Λισαβόνα στις 19 και 20 Νοεμβρίου.



Όπως μεταδίδουν τα ΜΜΕ των Σκοπίων, η επιστολή υπογράφεται από τους γερουσιαστές Mark Begich, Richard Lugar, James Risch και George Voinovic οι οποίοι αναφέρουν στην επιστολή τους ότι η διαφωνία για το ζήτημα του ονόματος δεν θα πρέπει να συνδέεται με την διεύρυνση του ΝΑΤΟ.

Οι τέσσερις γερουσιαστές αναφέρουν ακόμη στην επιστολή τους ότι η ένταξη της ΠΓΔΜ στο ΝΑΤΟ θα συμβάλει στην εμπέδωση της σταθερότητας και ανάπτυξης στην περιοχή και θα είναι προς όφελος για την αμερικανική εθνική ασφάλεια και τις στρατιωτικές αποστολές του ΝΑΤΟ. Οι τέσσερις κοινοποίησαν την επιστολή τους και προς τον Γενικό Γραμματέα του ΝΑΤΟ Άντερς Φογκ Ράσμουσεν.

Ο Γ.Γ. του ΝΑΤΟ, σε επανειλημμένες δηλώσεις του το τελευταίο διάστημα, απέκλεισε κατηγορηματικά το ενδεχόμενο ένταξης της ΠΓΔΜ στο ΝΑΤΟ, στη Σύνοδο Κορυφής, στη Λισαβόνα, χωρίς προηγουμένως να έχει επιλυθεί η εκκρεμότητα της ονομασίας.

Είχε προηγηθεί ανάλογη επιστολή 19 μελών της Αμερικανικής Βουλής των Αντιπροσώπων προς τον πρόεδρο των ΗΠΑ.

Ελεύθερος Αιγύπτιος μπλόγκερ ύστερα από 4 χρόνια φυλάκισης

Ελεύθερος αφέθηκε ο Αιγύπτιος μπλόγκερ Αμπντέλ Καρίμ Ναμπίλ, 26 ετών, αφού εξέτισε ποινή φυλάκισης τεσσάρων ετών με την κατηγορία της προσβολής του Ισλάμ και του προέδρου της χώρας, σύμφωνα με ανακοίνωση οργάνωσης υπεράσπισης ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων.
Το Αραβικό Δίκτυο για Πληροφορίες για τα Ανθρώπινα Δικαιώματα (ANHRI) ανακοίνωσε ότι η κατάσταση της υγείας του μπλόγκερ Καρίμ Ναμπίλ, που είναι γνωστός ως Καρίμ Άμερ, είναι κακή και ότι οι αστυνομικοί τον χτύπησαν προτού τον αφήσουν ελεύθερο χθες. Το υπουργείο Εσωτερικών της Αιγύπτου δεν έχει κάνει κανένα σχόλιο προς το παρόν για το θέμα.

"Ο Καρίμ αφέθηκε ελεύθερος την Τρίτη το πρωί και η κατάσταση της υγείας του δεν είναι καλή, όμως είναι πλέον ασφαλής", δήλωσε ο Γκαμάλ Έιντ, επικεφαλής του ANHRI, που εκπροσώπησε τον Άμερ στο δικαστήριο, στο Ρόιτερ. "Κρατήθηκε για 11 ημέρες πέραν της ποινής του και χτυπήθηκε από τους αστυνομικούς", πρόσθεσε ο Έιντ.

Ο Άμερ, φοιτητής στο πανεπιστήμιο αλ Άζχαρ, είχε συλληφθεί το 2006 με την κατηγορία ότι προσέβαλε το Ισλάμ και τον Αιγύπτιο πρόεδρο Χόσνι Μουμπάρακ στο μπλογκ του. Καταδικάστηκε σε τέσσερα χρόνια φυλάκισης και αποβλήθηκε από το πανεπιστήμιο.

F.B.I. Seeks Wider Wiretap Law for Web

WASHINGTON — Robert S. Mueller III, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, traveled to Silicon Valley on Tuesday to meet with top executives of several technology firms about a proposal to make it easier to wiretap Internet users.

Mr. Mueller and the F.B.I.’s general counsel, Valerie Caproni, were scheduled to meet with senior managers of several major companies, including Google and Facebook, according to several people familiar with the discussions. How Mr. Mueller’s proposal was received was not clear.

“I can confirm that F.B.I. Director Robert Mueller is visiting Facebook during his trip to Silicon Valley,” said Andrew Noyes, Facebook’s public policy manager. Michael Kortan, an F.B.I. spokesman, acknowledged the meetings but did not elaborate.

Mr. Mueller wants to expand a 1994 law, the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, to impose regulations on Internet companies.

The law requires phone and broadband network access providers like Verizon and Comcast to make sure they can immediately comply when presented with a court wiretapping order.

Law enforcement officials want the 1994 law to also cover Internet companies because people increasingly communicate online. An interagency task force of Obama administration officials is trying to develop legislation for the plan, and submit it to Congress early next year.

The Commerce Department and State Department have questioned whether it would inhibit innovation, as well as whether repressive regimes might harness the same capabilities to identify political dissidents, according to officials familiar with the discussions.

Under the proposal, firms would have to design systems to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages. Services based overseas would have to route communications through a server on United States soil where they could be wiretapped.

A Google official declined to comment. Mr. Noyes said it would be premature for Facebook to take a position.

Emerging strategic triangle

Russia, India and China are pursuing common goals in international politics and economic development

In the latest move to enhance trilateral cooperation in a variety of fields, foreign ministers from China, Russia and India opened a two-day meeting in Wuhan, capital of central Hubei province on Sunday.

As the 10th of its kind, the meeting is an indication of the further deepening of trilateral ties among Beijing, Moscow and New Delhi.

Due to the ever-growing influence of the countries in regional and world affairs, trilateral cooperation between the three countries offers opportunities for further development.

As three of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) members, China, Russia and India together account for 40 percent of the global population and their combined gross domestic product takes up more than 15 percent of the world's total. The three countries also enjoy a particularly advantageous geopolitical position, along with an abundance of labor and natural resources, as well as some scientific and technological advantages. The geographical location of the three nations also facilitates further deepening of trilateral cooperation.

All three are emerging economies and have devoted themselves to raising their international status. Sharing the same or similar viewpoints on a series of international issues, all of the three advocate reforms to the current international order and are confronted with the pressing tasks of fighting religious extremism, ethnic separatism and international terrorism. All view economic and trade cooperation as an important platform to push forward the trilateral strategic partnership.

The "strategic triangle" concept was first put forward by former Russian prime minister Evgenii Maksimovich Primakov in 1998 during a visit to India. Although the idea received little enthusiasm at the time, China, Russia and India have begun to recognize the importance of enhancing their trilateral ties to safeguard their interests since the start of the new century, especially following the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The three countries opened discussions and official contacts on trilateral cooperation in September 2001 and the foreign ministers held their first "informal meeting" at the Russian port city of Vladivostok in June 2006, where they issued a joint communiqu that declared that the deepening of trilateral beneficial cooperation in concrete fields would make substantial contributions to peace and stability in Asia and the world. The heads of the three countries met on the sidelines of the G8 summit in July 2006.

China, Russia and India have a common strategic need to deepen their trilateral ties. In today's world, where international relations are undergoing profound changes and multi-polarization is further accelerating, the three nations enjoy similar stances on many international issues: all advocate democratization of international relations and the establishment of a new international order built on universally recognized international laws. It is also their common view that the authority of the United Nations should be maintained. As emerging economies, all hope to play an important role in regional and international affairs.

The global financial crisis, which has dealt a heavy blow to Western countries, has made the China-Russian-Indian trilateral cooperation increasingly prominent. Although the crisis did deal a blow to Russia, which has depended on the export of resources and energy to sustain economic growth, the crisis has offered rare opportunities for the three countries to push forward their economic restructuring and to take the initiative in the post-crisis era.

The sustainable economic development of China and India, the world's two most populous nations, has played a significant role in helping the world economy recover.

However, despite tangible advancements in recent years, China-Russia-Indian trilateral ties also face some difficulties. Mutual political trust among them should be further enhanced. Beijing and New Delhi are still plagued by some thorny issues in bilateral relations, such as border demarcation issues.

The US factor in the triangular ties of China, Russia and India also cannot be ignored. Washington has been worrying that a strong relationship among the three emerging nations will pose a threat to its global dominance and thus has made unremitting efforts to boost its own ties with India in its attempts to contain China.

In his recent visit to India, US President Barack Obama reaffirmed the US' strategic intention of deepening strategic and military cooperation with New Delhi.

The author is a lecturer with the Beijing Technology and Business University.