March 2 – South Asia: INDIA
During his first visit to India, U.S. President George W. Bush concludes a controversial nuclear agreement with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which will end international isolation of India over its nuclear policy. Under the deal, India, which never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), will be allowed to purchase nuclear fuel and reactor components from other countries, and will have access to the U.S. civil nuclear technology. In exchange, India agrees to classify more than half of its nuclear power reactors as civilian facilities and open them to international inspections. The critics of the deal argue that military and fast-breeder reactors, without inspections, will allow India to develop and produce nuclear weapons faster than before. The agreement has to be ratified by the U.S. Congress.
March 2 – East Asia: NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA
North and South Korea resume military talks after an almost two-year hiatus. The talks are the highest-level military meeting held since the Korean War in the 1950s. The two countries hope to ease the military tension as well as to encourage trade.
March 3 – East Asia: PHILIPPINES
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo lifts a state of emergency one week after an alleged coup plot. Since the accusations of rigging the presidential elections in 2004, Arroyo has faced growing protests calling for her resignation. Although she introduced some reforms to improve the government finances, tackle corruption, and cut the country’s debt, she has failed to strengthen the fractious political system, bring unity to the military, and deal with the poverty.
March 4 – North America: UNITED STATES
The Pentagon releases for the first time the names and nationalities of prisoners held at a controversial detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The names are imbedded in 6,000 pages of documents, which are posted on the Pentagon Web site. The information has been made available in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. Human rights advocates consider the release a victory against the secrecy of the U.S. government.
March 4 – Europe: RUSSIA
The Chechen regional assembly approves Ramzan Kadyrov as Chechnya’s new prime minister. The pro-Moscow militia leader is the son of former President Akhmad Kadyrov, who was assassinated in 2004. Russian and Western rights groups charge Kadyrov’s forces with human rights abuses, including kidnappings and torture.
March 6 – Former Soviet Republics: TAJIKISTAN
Authorities begin the demolition of the last remaining synagogue in Tajikistan to make way for a presidential compound. The country has a Jewish population of 1,000, who belong to an ancient central Asian community of Persian-speaking Bukharan Jews that is 2,000 years old. Thousands of Jews left Tajikistan after the fall of the Soviet Union and the country’s civil war.
March 6 – Former Soviet Republics: UZBEKISTAN
A court in Uzbekistan sentences opposition leader Sanjar Umarov to ten years in prison and fines him $8 million for alleged financial crimes. Umarov heads the Sunshine Uzbekistan Opposition Alliance, which gained attention in 2005 after the government’s violent suppression of protests in the city of Andijan. Umarov is the second Sunshine Uzbekistan leader to be sentenced in recent weeks. The Uzbek government is known for its intolerance of opposition and dissent.
March 7 – Europe: FRANCE
More than 100,000 people take part in demonstrations across France, protesting new legislation on youth employment contracts. The government’s plan would permit small companies to offer two-year trial contracts to people under the age of twenty-six. The government argues that this would enable more young workers to find permanent employment. The plan would also allow companies to fire workers on short notice.
March 11 – Europe: FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
Slobodan Milosevic, the ex-president of the former Yugoslavia, is found dead in his cell at The Hague International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Although his supporters claim he was poisoned, Dutch officials find that Milosevic died of natural causes. The ex-president had been held at The Hague since 2001, charged with genocide and other war crimes during the wars in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo during the 1990s. His death follows last week’s suicide of Croatian Serb leader Milan Babic, who was also being held at The Hague.
March 11 – Latin America: COLOMBIA
Another 2,000 Colombian paramilitary members disarm as part of the peace process in exchange for reduced criminal punishment. Overall, at least 26,000 members of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) have disarmed so far. The United Nations and other organizations have condemned the plan, which offers immunity for serious crimes, but President Alvaro Uribe maintains that is the best way to bring peace.
March 11 – International Organizations: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL
Slobodan Milosevic, the ex-president of the former Yugoslavia, is found dead in his cell at The Hague International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Although his supporters claim he was poisoned, Dutch officials find that Milosevic died of natural causes. The ex-president had been held at The Hague since 2001, charged with genocide and other war crimes during the wars in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo during the 1990s. His death follows last week’s suicide of Croatian Serb leader Milan Babic, who was also being held at The Hague.
March 14 – Middle East: ISRAEL/PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
An Israeli attempt to seize a militant from a Palestinian prison leads to violence across the Palestinian territories. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas blames the Israeli raid on the United States and Great Britain, who withdrew their prison monitors ahead of the attack. Protesters set fire to the British Council office in Gaza and attack Western targets. In addition, several international aid workers are kidnapped, and militants warn American and British citizens to leave the territories.
March 14 – East Asia: THAILAND
In Bangkok, Thailand, about 50,000 demonstrators march on Government House, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The peaceful demonstration is one of many in recent weeks, in which protesters accuse Shinawatra of corruption and abuse of power. To regain legitimacy, the prime minister has called for an early election in April, which the opposition has vowed to boycott.
March 16 – Africa: LIBERIA
Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf addresses the full U.S. Congress, one of only a few women to ever do so. She lists rebuilding and reconciliation after a fourteen-year civil war as her main priorities, and thanks the United States for its support. Congress promises an additional $50 million in aid for Liberia.
March 20 – Middle East: IRAQ
Deadly violence occurs throughout Iraq in the weeks leading up to the third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion, which overthrew Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Earlier this month, gunmen kidnapped 50 men from a security firm in Baghdad. Also in Baghdad, authorities found over 80 bodies in a 24-hour period that had been killed in sectarian violence. The fighting has led Prime Minister Iyad Allawi to declare that Iraq was in the midst of a civil war.
March 20 – Europe/Former Soviet Republics: BELARUS
President Alexander Lukashenko wins reelection in Belarus with 82 percent of the vote, sparking protests by opposition groups. European election monitors describe the election as deeply flawed and falling short of international standards. In contrast, Russian-led election observers call the elections open and transparent. Russia customarily supports the Belarusian authorities, whereas the U.S. has called Lukashenko Europe’s last dictator.
March 21 – Latin America: PUERTO RICO
The U.S. Supreme Court rejects an appeal that called for granting Puerto Rico the right to vote in presidential elections. The U.S. territory has a representative in the U.S. Congress who does not vote, except in committees. The appeal is part of ongoing debate on the island’s status. While polls show little Puerto Rican support for independence, there exists the question of remaining a territory or becoming the fifty-first state.
March 21 – North America: UNITED STATES
The U.S. Supreme Court rejects an appeal that called for granting Puerto Rico the right to vote in presidential elections. The U.S. territory has a representative in the U.S. Congress who does not vote, except in committees. The appeal is part of ongoing debate on the island’s status. While polls show little Puerto Rican support for independence, there exists the question of remaining a territory or becoming the fifty-first state.
March 21 – South Asia: NEPAL
Nepalese authorities say that thirty-six policemen and Maoist rebels have been killed in clashes throughout the country. The clashes come two days after rebels lift a six-day old nationwide blockade of major cities. The blockade was aimed at forcing King Gyanendra to cede the direct powers he seized in February 2005. Maoist rebels took up arms ten years ago with the aim of replacing the monarchy with a communist republic. The violence has claimed more than 13,000 lives thus far.
March 22 – Europe: SPAIN
The Basque separatist group ETA declares a permanent cease-fire. The group claims that it has turned towards a democratic and peaceful means of gaining independence for the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France. ETA has been blamed for over eight hundred deaths since the 1970s. The group previously declared a cease-fire in 1998, but rescinded it after one year.
March 23 – South Asia: INDIA
Sonia Gandhi, India’s governing Congress Party leader, announces her resignation from parliament amid claims that she holds another salaried public position with the National Advisory Council. The Indian constitution forbids all members of parliament from receiving money from another public post. Main opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) disagrees with Congress about whether membership on the National Advisory Council violates this stipulation. Gandhi led Congress to a great victory in the 2004 elections.
March 27 – East Asia: PHILIPPINES
A bomb explosion kills nine people and injures twenty on the island of Jolo in the Philippines. Police officials suspect the Islamic militant group Abu Sayyaf. A similar attack by insurgents occurred in Jolo last month. The most violent Islamic separatist group in the country, Abu Sayyaf has been the focus of U.S.-supported military offensives, which are thought to have seriously weakened the group.
March 27 – Europe/Former Soviet Republics/Europe: UKRAINE
Ukrainian voters choose former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych’s party over that of President Viktor Yushchenko in the country’s parliamentary elections. Yushchenko swept to power in 2004’s Orange Revolution, which overturned Yanukovych’s presidential election victory. The party of Yushchenko’s former ally, Yulia Tymoshenko, places second, with Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine coming in third. Public support for Yushchenko has fallen after a year of political infighting and poor economic performance.
March 28 – Europe/Former Soviet Republics: BELARUS
Belarusian authorities jail more than 150 opposition protesters after street demonstrations against President Alexander Lukashenko’s victory in elections described by the international monitors as deeply fraudulent. Among the imprisoned are a runner-up in the election, Alexander Kozulin and a former Polish ambassador to Belarus, Mariusz Maszkiewicz. The United States and the European Union agree to impose a travel ban on President Lukashenko.
March 28 – South Asia: AFGHANISTAN
An Afghan man jailed for converting to Christianity is freed upon being declared unfit for trial. Abdul Rahman could have faced the death penalty for rejecting Islam under the country’s Islamic Sharia law. The Afghan government came under considerable international pressure to protect Rahman’s human rights, while domestic religious hard-liners are protesting against his release. The United Nations is working with the Afghan government to find a country that will grant Rahman asylum.
March 29 – Africa: LIBERIA
Former Liberian president Charles Taylor is transferred to the United Nations–backed war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone. He faces seventeen charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his alleged role in the country’s brutal civil war. The transfer follows Taylor’s unsuccessful attempt to escape from custody in Nigeria, where he had been exiled for three years.