	Generational Dynamics
	Forecasting America's Destiny ... and the World's

\| HOME \| WEB LOG \| COUNTRY WIKI \| COMMENT \| FORUM \| DOWNLOADS \| ABOUT \|

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 24-Nov-2013
24-Nov-13 World View -- In new escalation, China demands to control air space over Japan's Senkaku islands

Web Log - November, 2013

24-Nov-13 World View -- In new escalation, China demands to control air space over Japan's Senkaku islands

Ukraine commemorates the 80th anniversary of Stalin's Holodomor famine

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

Egypt expels Turkey's ambassador, Turkey retaliates
Russia's Putin scores a victory over the EU in Ukraine
Ukraine commemorates the 80th anniversary of Stalin's Holodomor famine
In new escalation, China demands to control air space over Japan's Senkaku islands

Egypt expels Turkey's ambassador, Turkey retaliates

Erdogan on Saturday gives the four-finger salute used by Muslim Brotherhood supporters (AFP)

Erdogan on Saturday gives the four-finger salute used by Muslim Brotherhood supporters (AFP)

Saying that Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is meddling in Egypt's affairs, Egypt announced on Saturday that is expelling Turkey's ambassador. Relations between Turkey and Egypt have been extremely tense since the July 3 ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood government of president Mohamed Morsi, with whom Erdogan had a close, cordial relationship. Egypt has frequently complained about Erdogan's repeated statements harshly criticizing Egypt's current government, and apparently Egypt finally decided it had had enough. According to Egypt's foreign ministry:

"[The Turkish] leadership has persisted in its unacceptable and unjustified positions by trying to turn the international community against Egyptian interests and ... by making statements that can only be described as an offense to the popular will. ...
We decided to withdraw our ambassador from Turkey and summon the Turkish ambassador in Cairo to inform him he is persona non grata and ask him to leave the country. ...
The people and government of Egypt appreciate the people of Turkey. However, they hold the Turkish government responsible for taking ties between the two nations so far [that] such procedures have to be taken."

The expulsion apparently caught Turkey's government by surprise, but Erdogan reacted quickly, giving the "four-finger salute" during a press conference, which he has done often. (See "24-Aug-13 World View -- Turkey's Erdogan adopts Muslim Brotherhood's four-fingered salute".)

According to Erdogan:

"I will never have respect for those who come to power through coups. [Turkey doesn't respect those who] don't respect the sovereignty rights of peoples."

Al-Ahram (Cairo) and Zaman (Ankara)

Russia's Putin scores a victory over the EU in Ukraine

Fresh from major political victories in Syria, resulting in the humiliation of the United States, Russia's president Vladimir Putin has scored a major political victory over the European Union in Ukraine. Just a week before Ukraine was to have signed a major trade agreement with the European Union, Ukraine bowed to enormous pressure, bordering on extortion, from Putin, and ended negotiations. According to Vice Prime Minister Yuri Boiko:

"We were not convinced that the losses in our commercial relations with Russia – which we’ve been suffering over the last four months – would be balanced by the future sales of our products in European markets."

The government's surprise reversal, after months of negotiations and promises, is infuriating the opposition. Relations within Ukraine are bitter, since the population of eastern Ukraine are mostly ethnic Russians, about 17% of the population, while western Ukraine is populated mostly by ethnic Ukrainians, about 78%, and this capitulation to the Russians is provoking protests, though not sufficiently large protests to continue negotiations with the EU. Kyiv Post and Bloomberg

Ukraine commemorates the 80th anniversary of Stalin's Holodomor famine

Ukrainians on Saturday commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Holodomor, the 1932-33 genocidal famine that killed as many as 10 million people. Russia's dictator Josef Stalin, wanting to starve the Ukrainian peasants into submission to the Communist party, send brigades of Communist Party activists swept through the villages and took everything that was edible. Stalin closed the borders in an attempt to keep the genocide secret, but details are known thanks to one journalist, Gareth Jones, who risked his life to report first-hand on what was happening. (See "UK honors the journalist who documented Stalin's man-made 1932-33 famine in Ukraine" from 2009.)

According to one survivor:

"The brigades took all the wheat, barley - everything - so we had nothing left. Even beans that people had set aside just in case. The brigades crawled everywhere and took everything. People had nothing left to do but die."

Russia objects to the "genocide" label, and that the Holodomor was not intentional. BBC and Kyiv Post

In new escalation, China demands to control air space over Japan's Senkaku islands

Map of China's East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (BBC)

Map of China's East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (BBC)

In a major escalation of tensions with Japan, China has announced the creation of an "East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone," which says that China’s Ministry of National Defense will have administrative responsibility for the entire East China Sea region, including the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands that have historically belonged to Japan. According to the announcement:

"[All] aircraft flying in the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone should follow the instructions of the [Ministry of National Defense]. ...
China’s armed forces will adopt defensive emergency measures to respond to aircraft that do not cooperate in the identification or refuse to follow the instructions."

However, the ministry added, "Normal flights by international air liners in the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone will not be affected in any way."

China has repeatedly demanded to take sovereignty over regions of the South China Sea and East China Sea that have historically belonged to other nations, and has threatened to use its vast military power against anyone who disagrees. The reason is that China wants to take control of the vast oil and gas resources in these regions. In particular, a naval confrontation of some kind around the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands between Chinese and Japanese warships has been almost a daily occurrence for over a year. Now, China is escalating its level of confrontation to air power as well. BBC and The Diplomat

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 24-Nov-13 World View -- In new escalation, China demands to control air space over Japan's Senkaku islands thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (24-Nov-2013) Permanent Link
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Donate to Generational Dynamics via PayPal

Web Log Pages

Current Web Log

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 24-Nov-2013 24-Nov-13 World View -- In new escalation, China demands to control air space over Japan's Senkaku islands

Egypt expels Turkey's ambassador, Turkey retaliates

Russia's Putin scores a victory over the EU in Ukraine

Ukraine commemorates the 80th anniversary of Stalin's Holodomor famine

In new escalation, China demands to control air space over Japan's Senkaku islands

Web Log Pages

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 24-Nov-2013
24-Nov-13 World View -- In new escalation, China demands to control air space over Japan's Senkaku islands