Independence Day Burkina Faso - Aug 05
Burkina Faso also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest. The country's capital is Ouagadougou. Its size is 274,200 square kilometres (105,900 sq mi) with an estimated population of more than 15,757,000. Formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta, it was renamedon 4 August 1984, by President Thomas Sankara, to mean "the land of upright people" in Mòoré and Dioula, the major native languages of the country. Figuratively, "Burkina" may be translated, "men of integrity", from the Mòoré language, and "Faso" means "fatherland" in Dioula. The inhabitants of Burkina Faso are known as Burkinabè. Burkina Faso was populated between 14,000 and 5000 BC by hunter-gatherers in the country's northwestern region. Farm settlements appeared between 3600 and 2600 BC. What is now central Burkina Faso was principally composed of Mossi kingdoms. These Mossi Kingdoms would become a French protectorate in 1896. After gaining independence from France in 1960, the country underwent many governmental changes until arriving at its current form, a semi-presidential republic. The president is Blaise Compaoré. It is a member of the African Union, Community of Sahel-Saharan States, La Francophonie, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and Economic Community of West African States.
History
Independence Day Jamaica - Aug 06
Jamaica officially the Commonwealth of Jamaica, is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 234 kilometres (145 mi) in length, up to 80 kilometres (50 mi) in width, and 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The indigenous Arawakan-speaking Taíno name for the island was Xaymaca, meaning the "Land of Wood and Water" or the "Land of Springs". Once a Spanish possession known as Santiago, it became an English colony in 1655 under the name "Jamaica". It achieved full independence from Britain on August 6, 1962. With 2.8 million people, it is the third most populous Anglophone country in the Americas, after the United States and Canada. It remains a Commonwealth realm in concert with the Monarchy of Jamaica holding ultimate executive power, where Queen Elizabeth II is the current head of state and Queen of Jamaica. The head of government and Prime Minister of Jamaica is currently Portia Simpson-Miller, who holds full legislative power of the country. Kingston is the country's largest city, with a population of 937,700, and its capital. Jamaica has a large diaspora around the world consisting of Jamaican citizens migrating from the country.
History
Prehistory:
Early history:
The territory of today's Burkina Faso was populated very early, between 14,000 and 5000 BC, by hunter-gatherers in the northwestern part of the country, whose tools, such as scrapers, chisels and arrowheads, were discovered in 1973 by Simran Nijjar. Settlements with farmers appeared between 3600 and 2600 BC. On the basis of traces of the farmers' structures, the settlements appear to have been permanent. The use of iron, ceramics and polished stone developed between 1500 and 1000 BC, as well as a preoccupation with spiritual matters, as shown by burial remains. Relics of the Dogon are found in Burkina Faso's north and northwest regions. Sometime between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Dogon left the area to settle in the cliffs of Bandiagara. Elsewhere, the remains of high walls are localized in the southwest of Burkina Faso (as well as in the Côte d'Ivoire), but the people who built them have not yet been identified. Loropeni is a pre-European stone ruin which was linked to the gold trade. It has been declared as Burkina Faso's first World Heritage site. The central part of Burkina Faso included a number of Mossi kingdoms, the most powerful of which were those of Wagadogo (Ouagadougou) and Yatenga. These kingdoms emerged probably in the early sixteenth century from obscure origins veiled by legend featuring a heterogeneous set of warrior figures.
From colony to independence:
After a decade of intense rivalry and competition between the British and the French, waged through treaty-making expeditions under military or civilian explorers, the Mossi kingdom of Ouagadougou was defeated by French colonial forces and became a French protectorate in 1896. The eastern region and the western region, where a standoff against the forces of the powerful ruler Samori Ture complicated the situation, came under French occupation in 1897. By 1898, the majority of the territory corresponding to Burkina Faso today was nominally conquered; however, control of many parts remained uncertain. The French and British convention of 14 June 1898 ended the scramble between the two colonial powers and drew the borders between the countries' colonies. On the French side, a war of conquest against local communities and political powers continued for about five years. In 1904, the largely pacified territories of the Volta basin were integrated into theUpper Senegal and Niger colony of French West Africa as part of the reorganization of the French West African colonial empire. The colony had its capital in Bamako. Draftees from the territory participated in the European fronts of World War I in the battalions of the Senegalese Rifles. Between 1915 and 1916, the districts in the western part of what is now Burkina Faso and the bordering eastern fringe of Mali became the stage of one of the most important armed oppositions to colonial government, known as the Volta-Bani War.The French government finally suppressed the movement, but only after suffering defeats and being forced to gather the largest expeditionary force of its colonial history up to that point. Armed opposition also wracked the Sahelian north when the Tuareg and allied groups of the Dori region ended their truce with the government. French Upper Volta was established on 1 March 1919. This move was a result of French fears of the recurrence of armed uprising along with economic considerations, and to bolster its administration, the colonial government separated the present territory of Burkina Faso from Upper Senegal and Niger. The new colony was named Haute Volta and François Charles Alexis Édouard Hesling became its firstgovernor. Hesling initiated an ambitious road-making program and promoted the growth of cotton for export. The cotton policy – based on coercion – failed, and revenue stagnated. The colony was later dismantled on 5 September 1932, being split up between the Côte d'Ivoire, French Sudan and Niger. Côte d'Ivoire received the largest share, which contained most of the population as well as the cities of Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso. The decision to split the colony was reversed during the intense anti-colonial agitation that followed the end of World War II. On 4 September 1947, the colony was revived as a part of theFrench Union, with its previous boundaries. On 11 December 1958, it achieved self-governmentand became the Republic of Upper Volta and a member of the Franco-African Community. A revision in the organization of French Overseas Territories began with the passage of the Basic Law (Loi Cadre) of 23 July 1956. This act was followed by reorganizational measures approved by the French parliament early in 1957 to ensure a large degree of self-government for individual territories. Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French community on 11 December 1958. Full independence from France was received in 1960.
Upper Volta:
The Republic of Upper Volta (French: République de Haute-Volta) was established on 11 December 1958, as a selfgoverning colony within the French Community. The name Upper Volta indicated that the country is situated on the upper reaches of the Volta River. The river's three tributaries are called the Black Volta, White Volta and Red Volta, and the colors of the national flag corresponded to these parts of the river system. Before attaining autonomy it had been French Upper Volta and part of the French Union. On 5 August 1960, it attained full independence from France. The first president, Maurice Yaméogo, was the leader of the Voltaic Democratic Union (UDV). The 1960 constitution provided for election by universal suffrage of a president and a national assembly for five-year terms. Soon after coming to power, Yaméogo banned all political parties other than the UDV. The government lasted until 1966 when after much unrest—mass demonstrations and strikes by students, labor unions, and civil servants—the military intervened. The military coup deposed Yaméogo, suspended the constitution, dissolved the National Assembly, and placed Lt. Col. Sangoulé Lamizana at the head of a government of senior army officers. The army remained in power for four years, and on 14 June 1970, the Voltans ratified a new constitution that established a four-year transition period toward complete civilian rule. Lamizana remained in power throughout the 1970s as president of military or mixed civil-military governments. After conflict over the 1970 constitution, a new constitution was written and approved in 1977, and Lamizana was reelected by open elections in 1978. Lamizana's government faced problems with the country's traditionally powerful trade unions, and on 25 November 1980, Col. Saye Zerbo overthrew President Lamizana in a bloodless coup. Colonel Zerbo established the Military Committee of Recovery for National Progress as the supreme governmental authority, thus eradicating the 1977 constitution. Colonel Zerbo also encountered resistance from trade unions and was overthrown two years later, on 7 November 1982, by Maj. Dr.Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo and the Council of Popular Salvation (CSP). The CSP continued to ban political parties and organizations, yet promised a transition to civilian rule and a new constitution. Factional infighting developed between moderates in the CSP and the radicals, led by Capt. Thomas Sankara, who was appointed prime minister in January 1983. The internal political struggle and Sankara's leftist rhetoric led to his arrest and subsequent efforts to bring about his release, directed by Capt. Blaise Compaoré. This release effort resulted in yet another military coup d'état on 4 August 1983. After the coup, Sankara formed the National Council for the Revolution (CNR), with himself as president. Sankara also established Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs) to "mobilize the masses" and implement the CNR's revolutionary programs. The CNR, whose exact membership remained secret until the end, contained two small intellectual Marxist-Leninist groups. Sankara, Compaore, Capt. Henri Zongo, and Maj. Jean-Baptiste Lingani— all leftist military officers—dominated the regime. On 4 August 1984, as a final result of President Sankara's zealous activities, the country's name was eventually changed from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, which translates to "land of honest people".
Burkina Faso:
On 15 October 1987 Sankara was killed by an armed gang with twelve other officials in a coup d'état organized by his former colleague and current president, Blaise Compaoré. Deterioration in relations with neighbouring countries was one of the reasons given, with Compaore stating that Sankara jeopardised foreign relations with former colonial power France and neighbouring Ivory Coast. Prince Johnson, a former Liberian warlord allied to Charles Taylor, told Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that it was engineered by Charles Taylor. After the coup and although Sankara was known to be dead, some CDRs mounted an armed resistance to the army for several days. Sankara's body was dismembered and he was quickly buried in an unmarked grave, while his widow and two children fled the nation. Compaoré immediately reversed the nationalizations, overturned nearly all of Sankara's policies, returned the country back under the IMF fold, and ultimately spurned most of Sankara's legacy. As of 2010, Compaoré is entering his 23rd year in power. He "has become immensely wealthy" and purchased a presidential plane to reflect his personal prestige, while landlocked Burkina Faso ranks as the third least developed country in the world. In February–April 2011, the death of a schoolboy provoked an uprising throughout the country, coupled with a military mutiny and a strike of the magistrates, dubbed the 2011 Burkinabè protests.
Homeland Thanksgiving Day Croatia - Aug 05
Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian Defenders(Croatian: Dan pobjede i domovinske zahvalnosti i dan hrvatskih branitelja) is a public holiday in Croatia which is held as a memorial to its War of Independence, celebrated on August 5. On that date in 1995 the Croatian Army took the city of Knin during Operation Storm, which brought an end to the Republic of Serbian Krajina, a self-proclaimed Serb entity in Croatia. The main celebration is centered in Knin where there are festivities commemorating the event, beginning with a Mass and laying of wreaths in honor of those who died in the war, and continuing with parades and concerts. The event is attended by thousands of people and the highest powers in Croatia. The Croatian flag on the Knin fortress is ceremonially lifted as part of the celebrations. In 2008, the Parliament also assigned the name Day of the Croatian Defenders (Croatian:Dan hrvatskih branitelja) to the holiday.
Accession of H.H. Sheikh Zayed U.A.E. - Aug 06
Accession day or the day on which H. H Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan became the president of United Arab Emirates is celebrated in UAE on August 6 of every year. The accession of Sheikh Zayed to the throne happened in the year 1966. This accession marked the start of a new epoch in the history of United Arab Emirates. Sheikh Zayed was a futurist and farsighted thinker who wanted to unite the country and its people. In more than 3 decades of his rule, he made sure that with every step he is moving an inch closer towards his goal.
History H. H Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan is the brain behind what
UAE is today. He implemented many new infrastructure projects, which lead to the development of United Arab Emirates. He took many steps in the direction of uniting his country and as well as maintaining healthy relations with the neighboring countries. He exploited the oil reserves of UAE in well planned and technical ways which lead to prosperity and filling up the treasure of the states. This was the reason why Forbes considered him as one of the wealthiest person in the world.
AND ACTIVITIES TRADITIONS Accession day is celebrated in UAE with great enthusiasm. For almost a week, the whole country is gripped in the
festive atmosphere. Many government and non-government organizations prepare for more than a month so that Accession Day celebrations are colorful and flamboyant than ever. Shining and sparkling fireworks lit up the night sky of Abu Dhabi. Many traditional concerts and dances take place, which attracts many tourists to the country. People flock the roads in their traditional attire and cars and other vehicles are decorated with the national flag. The television channels show many documentaries about the Accession Day throughout the day.
Independence Day Bolivia - Aug 06
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia (Spanish: Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, Quechua: Bulivya Mamallaqta, Aymara: Wuliwya Suyu), is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west. Prior to European colonization, the Andean region of Bolivia was a part of the Inca Empire – the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century. During most of the Spanish colonial period, this territory was called Upper Peru and was under the administration of the Viceroyalty of Peru, which included most of Spain's South American colonies. After declaring independence in 1809, 16 years of war followed before the establishment of the Republic, named for Simón Bolívar, on 6 August 1825. Bolivia has struggled through periods of political instability, dictatorships and economic woes. Bolivia is a democratic republic that is divided into nine departments. Its geography is varied from the peaks of the Andes in the West, to the Eastern Lowlands, situated within the Amazon Basin. It is a developing country, with a Medium Human Development Index score, and a poverty level of 53%. Its main economic activities include agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, and manufacturing goods such as textiles, clothing, refined metals, and refined petroleum. Bolivia is very wealthy in minerals, especially tin. The Bolivian population, estimated at 10 million, is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Mestizos, Europeans, Asians and Africans. The main language spoken is Spanish, although the Guarani, Aymara and Quechua languages are also common and all three, as well as 34 other indigenous languages, are official. The large number of different cultures within Bolivia has contributed greatly to a wide diversity in fields such as art, cuisine, literature, and music.
History
The region that is now known as Bolivia has been occupied for over 2,000 years, when the Aymara arrived in the region. Present-day Aymara associate themselves with an advanced civilization situated at Tiwanaku, in Western Bolivia. The capital city of Tiwanaku dates from as early as 1500 BC when it was a small agriculturally based village. The community grew to urban proportions between AD 600 and AD 800, becoming an important regional power in the southern Andes. According to early estimates, at its maximum extent, the city covered approximately 6.5 square kilometers, and had between 15,000 – 30,000 inhabitants. However, satellite imaging was used recently to map the extent of fossilized suka kollus across the three primary valleys of Tiwanaku, arriving at population-carrying capacity estimates of anywhere between 285,000 and 1,482,000 people. Around AD 400, Tiwanaku went from being a locally dominant force to a predatory state. Tiwanaku expanded its reaches into the Yungas and brought its culture and way of life to many other cultures in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. However, Tiwanaku was not a violent culture in many respects. In order to expand its reach, Tiwanaku exercised great political astuteness, creating colonies, fostering trade agreements (which made the other cultures rather dependent), and instituting state cults. The empire continued to grow with no end in sight. William H. Isbell states that "Tiahuanaco underwent a dramatic transformation between AD 600 and 700 that established new monumental standards for civic The first coat of arms of Bolivia, architecture and greatly increased the resident population." Tiwanaku formerly named as the Republic continued to absorb cultures rather than eradicate them. Archaeologists note a dramatic adoption of Tiwanaku ceramics into the cultures of Bolívar in honor of Simón Bolíwhich became part of the Tiwanaku empire. Tiwanaku's power was var. further solidified through the trade it implemented among the cities within its empire. Tiwanaku's elites gained their status through the surplus food they controlled, collected from outlying regions and then redistributed to the general populace. Further, this elite's control of llama herds became a powerful control mechanism as llamas were essential for carrying goods between the civic centre and the periphery. These herds also came to symbolize class distinctions between the commoners and the elites. Through this control and manipulation of surplus resources, the elite's power continued to grow until about AD 950. At this time a dramatic shift in climate occurred. There occurred a significant drop in precipitation in the Titicaca Basin. Some archaeologists venture to label this a major drought. As the rainfall decreased, many of the cities further away from Lake Titicaca began to tender less foodstuffs to the elites. As the surplus of food decreased, and thus the amount available to underpin their power, the control of the elites began to falter. The capital city became the last place viable place for food production due to the resiliency of the raised field method of agriculture. But, in the end, even this more productive design for food production was no match for the vagaries of the weather. Tiwanaku disappeared around AD 1000 because food production, the main source of the power elite's control, dried up. The area remained uninhabited for centuries thereafter. Between 1438 and 1527, the Inca empire, during its last great expansion, gained control over much of what is now western Bolivia. The Incas would not maintain control of the region for long however, as the rapidly expanding Inca Empire was internally weak. As such, the impending Spanish conquest would be remarkably easy.
Colonial period:
The Spanish conquest of the Inca empire began in 1524, and was mostly completed by 1533. The territory now called Bolivia was known as "Upper Peru", and was under the authority of the Viceroy of Lima. Local government came from the Audiencia de Charcaslocated in Chuquisaca (La Plata—modern Sucre). Founded in 1545 as a mining town, Potosísoon produced fabulous wealth, becoming the largest city in the New World with a population exceeding 150,000 people. By the late 16th century Bolivian silver was an important source of revenue for the Spanish Empire. A steady stream of natives served as labor force (the Spanish employed the pre-Columbian draft system called the mita). Upper Peru was bounded to Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776. Túpac Katari led the indigenous rebellion that laid siege to La Paz in March 1781, during which 20,000 people died. As Spanish royal authority weakened during the Napoleonic wars, sentiment against colonial rule grew.
Independence and subsequent wars:
The struggle for independence started in the city of Sucre the May 25th of 1809, with the first cry of Freedom in Latin America. Chuquisaca Revolution (Chuquisaca was then the name of the city). That revolution, which created a local government Junta, was followed by the La Paz revolution, during which Bolivia actually declared independence. Both revolutions were short-lived, and defeated by the Spanish authorities, but the following year the Spanish American wars of independence raged across the continent. Bolivia was captured and recaptured many times during the war by the royalists and patriots. Buenos Aires sent three military campaigns, all of which were defeated, and eventually limited itself to protecting the national borders at Salta. Bolivia was finally freed of Royalist dominion byAntonio José de Sucre, with a military campaign coming from the North in support of the campaign of Simón Bolívar. After 16 years of war the Republic was proclaimed on 6 August 1825. In 1836, Bolivia, under the rule of Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz, invaded Peru to reinstall the deposed president, General Luis José de Orbegoso. Peru and Bolivia formed the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, with de Santa Cruz as the Supreme Protector. Following tension between the Confederation and Chile, Chile declared war on 28 December 1836. Argentina, Chile's ally, declared war on the Confederation on 9 May 1837. The Peruvian-Bolivian forces achieved several major victories during the War of the Confederation: the defeat of the Argentine expedition and the defeat of the first Chilean expedition on the fields of Paucarpata near the city of Arequipa. On the same field, the Chilean and Peruvian rebel army surrendered unconditionally and signed the Paucarpata Treaty. The treaty stipulated that Chile would withdraw from Peru-Bolivia, Chile would return captured Confederate ships, economic relations would be normalized, and the Confederation would pay Peruvian debt to Chile. In Chile, public outrage over the treaty forced the government to reject it. Chile organized a second attack on the Confederation and defeated it in the Battle of Yungay. After this defeat, Santa Cruz resigned and went to exile in Ecuador and then Paris, and the Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation was dissolved. Following the independence of Peru, Peruvian president General Agustín Gamarra invaded Bolivia. The Peruvian army was decisively defeated at theBattle of Ingavi on 20 November 1841 where Gamarra was killed. The Bolivian army under General José Ballivián then mounted a counter-offensive, capturing the Peruvian port of Arica. Later, both sides signed a peace treaty in 1842, putting a final end to the war.
Economic instability and continued wars:
A period of political and economic instability in the early-to-mid-19th century weakened Bolivia. Then in the War of the Pacific (1879–83) against Chile, it lost its access to the sea and the adjoining rich salitre(saltpeter) fields, together with the port of Antofagasta. Since independence, Bolivia has lost over half of its territory to neighboring countries in wars and as a consequence of internal strife.It also lost the state of Acre, in the Acre War; important because this region was known for its production of rubber. Peasants and the Bolivian army fought briefly but after a few victories, and facing the prospect of a total war against Brazil, it was forced to sign the Treaty of Petrópolis in 1903, in which Bolivia lost this rich territory. Popular myth has it that Bolivian president Mariano Melgarejo (1864–71) traded the land for what he called "a magnificent white horse" and Acre was subsequently flooded by Brazilians which ultimately led to confrontation and fear of war with Brazil. In the late 19th century, an increase in the world price of gold brought Bolivia relative prosperity and political stability. During the early 20th century, tin replaced gold as the country's most important source of wealth. A succession of governments controlled by the economic and social elite followed laissez-faire capitalist policies through the first thirty years of the 20th century. Living conditions of the native people, who constitute most of the population, remained deplorable. With work opportunities limited to primitive conditions in the mines and in large estates having nearly feudal status, they had no access to education, economic opportunity, and political participation. Bolivia's defeat by Paraguay in the Chaco War (1932–35), where Bolivia lost a great part of the Gran Chaco region in dispute, marked a turning-point.
Nationalist Revolutionary Movement:
The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR) The most historic political party, emerged as a broadly based party. Denied its victory in the 1951 presidential elections, the MNR led a successful revolution in 1952. Under President Víctor Paz Estenssoro, the MNR, having strong popular pressure, introduced universal suffrage into his political platform and carried out a sweeping land-reform promoting rural education and nationalization of the country's largest tin mines. 12 years of tumultuous rule left the MNR divided. In 1964, a military junta overthrew President Estenssoro at the outset of his third term. The 1969 death of President René Barrientos Ortuño, a former member of the junta who was elected president in 1966, led to a succession of weak governments. Alarmed by the rising Popular Assembly and the increase in the popularity of President Juan José Torres, the military, the MNR, and others installed Colonel (later General) Hugo Banzer Suárez as president in 1971.
CIA activities and leftist insurgency:
The CIA had been active in providing finances and training to the Bolivian military in 1960s. The revolutionary leader Che Guevara was killed by a team of CIA officers and members of the Bolivian Army on 9 October 1967, in Bolivia. The CIA reported that Guevara was captured on 8 October as a result of the clash with the Cuban-led guerrillas. He had a wound in his leg, but was otherwise in fair condition. At 1150 hours on 9 October the Second Ranger Battalion received direct orders from Bolivian Army Headquarters in La Paz to kill Guevara. These orders were carried out at 1315 hours the same day with a burst of fire from an M-2 automatic rifle. Félix Rodríguez was a CIA officer on the team with the Bolivian Army that captured and shot Guevara. Rodriguez said that after he received a Bolivian presidential execution order, he told "the soldier who pulled the trigger to aim carefully, to remain consistent with the Bolivian government's story that Che had been killed in action during a clash with the Bolivian army." Rodriguez said the US government had wanted Che in Panama, and "I could have tried to falsify the command to the troops, and got Che to Panama as the US government said they had wanted", said Mr Rodriguez, but he chose to "let history run its course" as desired by Bolivia."
Military governments: García Meza and Siles Zuazo:
Elections in 1979 and 1981 were inconclusive and marked by fraud. There were coups d'état, counter-coups, and caretaker governments. In 1980, General Luis García Meza Tejada carried out a ruthless and violent coup d'état that did not have popular support. He pacified the people by promising to remain in power only for one year. (At the end of the year, he staged a televised rally to claim popular support and announced, "Bueno, me quedo", or, "All right; I'll stay [in office]." He was deposed shortly thereafter.) His government was notorious for human-rights-abuses, drug-trafficking, and economic mismanagement; during his presidency, the inflation that later crippled the Bolivian economy could already be felt. Later convicted in absentia for various crimes by attorney Juan del Granado, including murder, García Meza was extradited from Brazil and began serving a 30-year prison sentence in 1995. After a military rebellion forced out Meza in 1981, three other military governments in 14 months struggled with Bolivia's growing problems. Unrest forced the military to convoke the Congress elected in 1980 and allow it to choose a new chief executive. In October 1982, Hernán Siles Zuazo again became president, 22 years after the end of his first term of office (1956–60).
Sánchez de Lozada and Banzer: Liberalizing the economy:
Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada pursued an aggressive economic and social reform agenda. The most dramatic reform was the "capitalization" program, under which investors, typically foreign, acquired 50% ownership and management control of public enterprises, such as the state petroleum corporation, telecommunications system, airlines, railroads, and electric utilities, in return for agreed upon capital investments. The reforms and economic restructuring were strongly opposed by certain segments of society, which instigated frequent and sometimes violent protests, particularly in La Paz and the Chapare coca-growing region, from 1994 through 1996. The de Lozada government pursued a policy of offering monetary compensation for voluntary eradication of illegal coca by its growers in the Chapare region. The policy produced little net reduction in coca, and in the mid-1990s Bolivia accounted for about one-third of the world's coca that was being processed into cocaine. The coca leaf has long been part of the Bolivian culture, as indigenous workers have traditionally used the leaf for its properties as a mild stimulant and appetite suppressant. During this time, the umbrella labor-organization of Bolivia, the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), became increasingly unable to effectively challenge government policy. A teachers' strike in 1995 was defeated because the COB could not marshal the support of many of its members, including construction and factory workers. The state also used selective martial law to keep the disruptions caused by the teachers to a minimum. The teachers were led by Trotskyites, and were considered to be the most militant union in the COB. Their downfall was a major blow to the COB, which also became mired in internal corruption and infighting in 1996. In the 1997 elections, General Hugo Banzer, leader of the Nationalist Democratic Actionparty (ADN) and former dictator (1971–78), won 22% of the vote, while the MNR candidate won 18%. General Banzer formed a coalition of the ADN, MIR, UCS, and CONDEPA parties, which held a majority of seats in the Bolivian Congress. The Congress elected him as president, and he was inaugurated on 6 August 1997. During the election campaign, Banzer had promised to suspend the privatization of the state-owned oil-company, YPFB. But this seemed unlikely to happen, considering Bolivia's weak position globally. The Banzer government basically continued the free-market and privatization-policies of its predecessor. The relatively robust economic growth of the mid-1990s continued until about the third year of its term in office. After that, regional, global and domestic factors contributed to a decline in economic growth. Financial crises in Argentina and Brazil, lower world prices for export commodities, and reduced employment in the coca sector depressed the Bolivian economy. The public also perceived a significant amount of public sector corruption. These factors contributed to increasing social protests during the second half of Banzer's term. At the outset of his government, President Banzer launched a policy of using special police-units to physically eradicate the illegal coca of the Chapare region. The policy produced a sudden and dramatic four-year decline in Bolivia's illegal coca crop, to the point that Bolivia became a relatively small supplier of coca for cocaine. Those left unemployed by coca eradication streamed into the cities, especially El Alto, the slum-neighborhood of La Paz. The MIR of Jaime Paz Zamora remained a coalition-partner throughout the Banzer government, supporting this policy (called the Dignity Plan). Between January 1999 and April 2000, large-scale protests erupted in Cochabamba, Bolivia's third largest city, in response to the privatization of water resources by foreign companies and a subsequent doubling of water prices. On 6 August 2001, Banzer resigned from office after being diagnosed with cancer. He died less than a year later. Vice President Jorge Fernando Quiroga Ramírez completed the final year of his term. In the June 2002 national elections, former President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada (MNR) placed first with 22.5% of the vote, followed by coca-advocate and native peasant-leader Evo Morales (Movement Toward Socialism, MAS) with 20.9%. Morales edged out populist candidate Manfred Reyes Villa of the New Republican Force (NFR) by just 700 votes nationwide, earning a spot in the congressional run-off against Sánchez de Lozada on 4 August 2002. A July agreement between the MNR and the fourth-place MIR, which had again been led in the election by former President Jaime Paz Zamora, virtually ensured the election of Sánchez de Lozada in the congressional run-off, and on 6 August he was sworn in for the second time. The MNR platform featured three overarching objectives: economic reactivation (and job creation), anti-corruption, and social inclusion.In 2003 the Bolivian gas conflict broke out. On 12 October 2003 the government imposed martial law in El Alto after 16 people were shot by the police and several dozen wounded in violent clashes which erupted when a caravan of oil trucks escorted by police and soldiers deploying tanks and heavy-caliber machine guns tried to breach a barricade. On 17 October 2003 Evo Morales' supporters from Cochabamba tried to march into Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the largest city of the eastern lowlands where support was strong for the president. They were turned back. Faced with the option of resigning or more bloodshed, Sanchez de Lozada offered his resignation in a letter to an emergency session of Congress. After his resignation was accepted and his vice president, Carlos Mesa, invested, he left on a commercially scheduled flight for the United States. In March 2004, the new president Carlos Mesa announced that his government would hold a series of rallies around the country, and at its embassies abroad, demanding that Chile return to Bolivia a stretch of seacoast that the country lost in 1884 after the end of the War of the Pacific. Chile has traditionally refused to negotiate on the issue, but Mesa nonetheless made this policy a central point of his administration. However, the country's internal situation became unfavorable for such political action on the international stage. After a resurgence of gas protests in 2005, Carlos Mesa attempted to resign in January 2005, but his offer was refused by Congress. On 22 March 2005, after weeks of new street protests from organizations accusing Mesa of bowing to U.S. corporate interests, Mesa again offered his resignation to Congress, which was accepted on 10 June. The chief justice of the Supreme Court, Eduardo Rodríguez, was sworn as interim president to succeed the outgoing Carlos Mesa.
Plan de Todos:
Mobilizing against neoliberalism as a common enemy of the people, the indigenous population of the Andean region was able to achieve widespread government reform. Bolivia, in particular, was quite successful due to the prominence of an indigenous population and the persistence of reformist policies. In 1993, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada ran for president in alliance with the Tupac Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement, which inspired indigenous-sensitive and multicultural-aware policies. Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada (colloquially known as Goni) was able to shift Bolivian society by selling state firms and constitutionally acknowledging the existence of a multicultural and multiethnic population. Current development has led to a neoliberal citizenship regime in which civil rights are expressed through private property ownership, formal democracy and representation, and an investment in the maintaining of infrastructure. In the 1990s, Bolivia introduced, the Plan de Todos, which led to the decentralization of government, introduction of intercultural bilingual education, implementation of agrarian legislation, and privatization of state owned businesses. The Plan de Todos main incentive was to encourage popular participation among the Bolivian people. The law recognizes the existence of barrios and rural communities asTerritorially Based Organizations (TBOs) and has oversight boards known as rómiles de agilancia, or vigilance committees, that are responsible for overseeing municipal governments and planning projects. The Plan formally acknowledged the existence of 311municipalities, which benefited directly based on the size of their populations. The Plan de Todos inspired the development of a market democracy with minimally regulated capitalist economy. The Plan explicitly stated that Bolivian citizens would own a minimum of 51% of enterprises; under the Plan, most state owned enterprises (SOEs), besides mines, were sold. This privatization of SOEs led to innovative neoliberal structuring that acknowledged a diverse population within Bolivia. The Law of Popular Participation gave municipalities the responsibility of maintaining various infrastructures (and offering services): health, education, systems of irrigation, which stripped the responsibility away from the state. The state provides municipalities with twenty percent of federal tax revenue so that each municipality can adequately maintain these infrastructures. The Law also redistributes political power to the local level.
The Plurinational State of Bolivia:
The main candidates for the 2005 Bolivian presidential election held on 18 December 2005 were Juan Evo Morales Ayma of the MAS Party and Jorge Quiroga, leader of the Social and Democratic Power (PODEMOS) Party and former head of the Acción Democrática Nacionalista (ADN) Party. Morales won the election with 53.7% of the votes, an absolute majority, unusual in Bolivian elections. He was sworn in on 22 January 2006, for a five-year term. Prior to his official inauguration in La Paz, he was inaugurated in an Aymara ritual at the archeological site of Tiwanaku before a crowd of thousands of Aymara people and representatives of leftist movements from across Latin America. Though highly symbolic, this ritual was not historically based and primarily represented native Aymaras — not the main Quechua-speaking population. Since the Spanish conquest in the early 16th century, this region of South America, with a majority native population, has been ruled mostly by descendants of European immigrants. In August 2007, more conflicts arose in Sucre, as the city demanded the discussion of the seat of government inside the assembly, hoping the executive and legislative branches could return to the city, but the assembly and the government said this demand was overwhelmingly impractical and politically undesirable. The conflict turned into violence, and the assembly was moved to a military area in Oruro. Although the main opposition party boycotted the session, a constitutional draft was approved on 24 November. In May 2008, Evo Morales was a signatory to the UNASUR Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations. Bolivia has ratified the treaty. In the 2009 national general elections, Evo Morales was re-elected with 64.22% of the vote. His party, Movement for Socialism, also won a two-thirds majority in both houses of the National Congress.
The Arawak and Taino indigenous people, originating in South America, settled on the island between 4000 and 1000 BC. WhenChristopher Columbus arrived in 1494, there were over 200 villages ruled by caciques (chiefs of villages). The south coast of Jamaica was the most populated, especially around the area now known as Old Harbour. The Tainos were still inhabiting Jamaica when the English took control of the island. The Jamaican National Heritage Trust is attempting to locate and document any evidence of the Taino/Arawaks.
Spanish rule:
Christopher Columbus claimed Jamaica for Spain after landing there in 1494 and his probable landing point was Dry Harbour, now calledDiscovery Bay. There is some debate as to whether he landed in St. Ann's Bay or in Discovery Bay. St. Ann's Bay was the "Saint Gloria" of Columbus who first sighted Jamaica at this point. One mile west of St. Ann's Bay is the site of the first Spanish settlement on the island, Sevilla, which was established in 1509 and abandoned around 1524 because it was deemed unhealthy. The capital was moved to Spanish Town, then called "St. Jago de la Vega", around 1534 and is located in present day St. Catherine.
British rule:
Out of all the British colonies in the Caribbean, Spanish Town has the oldest cathedral. The Spanish were forcibly evicted by the English at Ocho Rios in St. Ann. In 1655 the English, led by William Penn and General Robert Venables, took over the last Spanish fort in Jamaica. The name of Montego Bay, the capital of the parish of St. James, was derived from the Spanish name manteca bahía (or Bay of Lard) for the large quantity of boar used for the lard-making industry. In 1660, the population of Jamaica was about 4,500 whites and 1,500 blacks, but as early as the 1670s, blacks would form a majority of the population. When the English captured Jamaica in 1655 the Spanish colonists fled after freeing their slaves.The slaves fled into the mountains, joining those who had previously escaped from the Spanish to live with the Taínos. These runaway slaves, who became known as the Jamaican Maroons, fought the British during the 18th century. The name is still used today for their modern descendants. During the long years of slavery Maroons established free communities in the mountainous interior of Jamaica, maintaining their freedom and independence for generations. During its first 200 years of British rule, Jamaica became one of the world's leading sugar-exporting, slave-dependent nations, producing more than 77,000 tons of sugar annually between 1820 and 1824. After the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, the British imported Indian and Chinese workers asindentured servants to supplement the labour pool. Descendants of indentured servants of Indian and Chinese origin continue to reside in Jamaica today. By the beginning of the 19th century, Jamaica's heavy reliance on slavery resulted in blacks outnumbering whites by a ratio of almost 20 to 1. Even though England had outlawed the importation of slaves, some were still smuggled into the colonies. The British government drew up laws regimenting the abolition of slavery, but they also included instructions for the improvement of the slaves' way of life. These instructions included a ban of the use of whips in the field, a ban on the flogging of women, notification that slaves were to be allowed religious instruction, a requirement that slaves be given an extra free day during the week when they could sell their produce as well as a ban on Sunday markets. In Jamaica these measures were resisted by the House of Assembly. The Assembly claimed that the slaves were content and objected to Parliament's interference in island affairs, although many slave owners feared possible revolts. Following a series of rebellions and changing attitudes in Great Britain, the nation formally abolished slavery in 1834, with fullemancipation from chattel slavery declared in 1838. The population in 1834 was 371,070 of whom 15,000 were white, 5,000 free black, 40,000 ‘coloured’ or mixed race, and 311,070 slaves. In the 19th century, the British established a number of botanical gardens. These included the Castleton Garden, set up in 1862 to replace the Bath Garden (created in 1779) which was subject to flooding. Bath Garden was the site for planting breadfruit brought to Jamaica from the Pacific by Captain William Bligh. Other gardens were the Cinchona Plantation founded in 1868 and the Hope Garden founded in 1874. In 1872, Kingston became the island's capital. In 1945, Sir Horace Hector Hearne became Chief Justice and Keeper of the Records in Jamaica. He headed the Supreme Court,Kingston between 1945 and 1950/1951. He then moved to Kenya where he was appointed Chief Justice.
Independence:
leaving the federation in 1962. Strong economic growth, averaging approximately 6% per annum, marked the first ten years of independence under conservative governments which were led successively by Prime Ministers Alexander Bustamante, Donald Sangster and Hugh Shearer. The growth was fuelled by strong investments in bauxite/alumina, tourism, manufacturing industry and, to a lesser extent, the agricultural sector. The optimism of the first decade was accompanied by a growing sense of inequality, and a sense that the benefits of growth were not being experienced by the urban poor. This, combined with the effects of a slowdown in the global economy in 1970, prompted the electorate to change government, electing the PNP (People's National Party) in 1972. Despite efforts to create more socially equitable policies in education and health, Jamaica continued to lag economically, with its gross national product having fallen in 1980 to some 25% below the 1972 level. Rising foreign and local debt, accompanied by large fiscal deficits, resulted in the invitation of theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) financing from the United States and others, and the imposition of IMF austerity measures (with a greater than 25% interest rate per year). Economic deterioration continued into the mid-1980s, exacerbated by a number of factors; the first and third largest alumina producers, Alpart and Alcoa closed, and there was a significant reduction in production by the second largest producer, Alcan. In addition, tourism decreased and Reynolds Jamaica Mines, Ltd. left the Jamaican industry.
Battle of Boyaca Colombia - Aug 07
The Battle of Boyacá in Colombia, then known as New Granada, was the battle in which Colombia acquired its definitive independence from Spanish Monarchy, although fighting with royalist forces would continue for years. Brigadier Generals Francisco de Paula Santander and José Antonio Anzoátegui led a combined republican army of Colombians and Venezuelans, complemented by the British Legion, to defeat in two hours a Royalist Colombian-Venezuelan forces led by Spanish Colonels José María Barreiro and Francisco Jiménez. Simón Bolívar credited the victory to the British Legion declaring that "those soldier liberators are the men who deserve these laurels" when offered laurels after the victory. The battle occurred 150 km from Bogotá in the Andes Mountains, in a place known as Casa de Teja, close to a bridge over the Teatinos River and 3 roads heading to Samaca, Motavita and Tunja, an area which is now part of the Boyacá Department.
Tanzania Peasants Day, also known as Saba Saba is the national holiday in Tanzania. It is also known as Workers Day, Industry’s Day or Peasants Day. It is celebrated on August 8 every year. Actually, it is the celebration of the founding of the Tanganyika African National Union before the constitution was changed and after was celebrated as the Peasants Day.
History
Saba Saba or the Peasants Day was celebrated on July 7 every year until 1992. In 1993, 7 July was declared useless as the Saba Saba meaning seven-seven and Nane-Nane or Eight-Eight or August 8 was established as the new Farmers day. This created a lot of confusion as to which day would be celebrated as the national holiday. Some people took off on 7 July while some on 8th August while some refused to work on both days. Ultimately, a solution was reached that Saba-Saba would be celebrated in Dar-es-Salaam and the rest of the country would celebrate the Peasants Day or the Nane-Nane on 8 August. Both the Farmers and the Peasants Day is celebrated on 8 August. This day was actually chosen to give respect and honor to the Peasants and the Farmers. It was a symbol to pay tribute to the Farmers and the Peasants for feeding the country and its people. It marked a special significance and a great role that they play in the country’s existence and well-being. It is celebrated to give them their due respect, without which the country would not have existed and its agriculture would not be alive. After the dispute over whether Saba-Saba or Nane-Nane, the day has lost its importance. Initially in the 1980’s in Mwanza, a city in Tanzania, there used to be farmers trade exhibition and a huge celebration used to take place to mark the light of the Farmer’s day. There used to be huge gathering of farmers from all over the country who used to bring their products together. This day was celebrated to exchange agricultural ideas among farmers.
Traditions and Activities
The celebration of the day goes on very well with drinking, dancing and get-togethers. Lovely dishes are cooked all over. Thousands of people from all over the country used to come. There were traditional dances and celebration all over creating an ambience of joy and happiness. The story today is very different from before. People no longer feel the need to celebrate this auspicious day as they feel the government, from the last decade, has ignored them. They are paid less for their food. Today there are more industrial products in the show than agricultural ones. The celebrations today are very different from the previous ones. The number of people attending the event in last decade has gone down to considerable mark. The economy of the country is no longer for the person i.e. the Peasants and the Farmers. The whole event organization, publishing and the real fun has changed totally and has lost its essence and importance among the general population.
Day of the World's Indigenous People Worldwide - Aug 09
In 1994 the United Nations declared a International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, but concerned about upsetting some member nations chose August 9 instead of the traditional Columbus Day. There has been some annual international celebration on August 9 ever since.
History
The idea of replacing Columbus Day with a day celebrating the indigenous people of North America first arose in 1977 from the International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas, sponsored by the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1990, at the First Continental Conference on 500 Years of Indian Resistance in Quito, Ecuador in July 1990, representatives of Indian groups throughout the Americas agreed that they would mark 1992, the 500th anniversary of the first of the voyages of Christopher Columbus, as a day to promote "continental unity" and "liberation". After the conference, attendees from Northern California organized to plan protests against the "Quincentennial Jubilee" that had been organized by the United States Congress for the San Francisco Bay Area on Columbus Day, 1992 to include, among other things, sailing replicas of Columbus' ships under the Golden Gate Bridge and reenacting their "discovery" of America. The delegates formed the Bay Area Indian Alliance, and in turn, the "Resistance 500" task force, which advocated the notion that Columbus was responsible for genocide of Indian people. In 1992 the group convinced the city council of Berkeley, California to declare October 12, a "Day of Solidarity with Indigenous People", and 1992 the "Year of Indigenous People", and to implement related programs in schools, libraries, and museums. The city symbolically renamed Columbus Day to "Indigenous People's Day" beginning in 1992 to protest the historical conquest of North America by Europeans, and to call attention to the demise of Native American people and culture through disease, warfare, massacre, and forced assimilation. Performances were scheduled that day for Get Lost (Again) Columbus, an opera by a Native-American composer. Berkeley has celebrated Indigenous People's Day ever since. Beginning in 1993, Berkeley has held an annual pow wow and festival on the day. In the years after Berkeley's move, other local governments and institutions have either renamed or canceled Columbus Day, either to celebrate Native Americans, to avoid celebrating actions of Columbus that lead to the colonization of America by Spanish conquistadors, or due to controversy over the legacy of Columbus. Two other California cities, Sebastopol and Santa Cruz, now celebrate Indigenous People's Day. South Dakota renamed the holiday "Native American Day". Various tribal governments in Oklahoma designate the day "Native American Day", or name the day after their own tribe. Virginia celebrates both Columbus Day and Yorktown Victory Day, commemorating a battle in the Revolutionary War. The United States Virgin Islands celebrates "Puerto Rico-Virgin Islands Friendship Day." Hawaii celebrates Discoverer's Day, commemorating the Polynesian discoverers of Hawaii. San Francisco, California and a number of other American cities have either canceled their observances or renamed them "Italian Heritage Day" in honor of Italian Americans, for whom Columbus, believed by many historians to be a native of Italy, was a source of pride. Columbus, Ohio has not sponsored an official Columbus Day parade since the 1990s, in part over controversy over the legacy of Columbus. Other cities and states have canceled celebrations due to lack of interest in the holiday or budget cuts.
National Day Singapore - Aug 09
The National Day of Singapore is celebrated every year on 9 August, in commemoration of Singapore's independence from Malaysia in 1965. This holiday features a National Day Parade, an address by the Prime Minister of Singapore, and fireworks celebrations.
National Day Rally Also on National Day, the Prime Minister of Singapore makes an
annual address to the nation, called the National Day Rally. A yearly event since 1966, the Prime Minister uses this rally to address the nation on its key challenges and its future directions, and can be compared to the State of the Union Address delivered by the President of the United States. Prior to 2005, the rally was a continuous speech from 8 pm (SST). From 2005, the Malay and Chinese versions were delivered at 6.45 pm with a break at 7.30 pm while the English version was delivered at 8 pm. Opposition MPs have been invited to the rally since 2007.
battle The towards Bogotá, which was lightly defended. The capture of the capital in the hands of the Patriot Army would effec-
tively cut off the advance of the republican army and give the strategic initiative to its opponents. At 6:00 a.m., the Spanish forces departed from Motavita towards Casa de Teja, a distance of only 25 km which the Spaniards completed in 7 hours 30 minutes, at an average speed of 18 minutes per kilometer. At 10:00 a.m. General Santander's forces departed from Tunja toward Casa de Piedra and the road to Bogota. The Patriot forces completed the 16 km in 4 hours (at an average rate of 15 minutes per kilometer). The Republican forces split in two: the vanguard reached Casa de Teja at 1:30 p.m., while the rearguard stopped a kilometer and a half behind to get some rest. Shortly before 2:00 p.m., Capitan Andres Ibarra and his forces spotted Casa de Teja and the vanguard of the Republican Army. The Spaniards spotted him too, and Coronel Sebastian Dias, chief of the vanguard of the Spanish army ordered to follow and engage what he believed was only a small observation force. They returned and General Santander ordered Lieutenant Coronel Paris to attack the Republican forces. The Spanish vanguard crossed a strategic bridge over the Teatinos River and took attack positions there. Meanwhile, the full force of the Patriot army under Santander had reached Casa de Piedra. The Spanish rearguard was still several meters behind, so General Anzoátegui ordered to block the way between the vanguard and the rearguard of the Spanish forces. The rearguard, outnumbered, retreated to a small hill close to Casa de Piedra. Simón Bolívar's forces arrived from Paipa, after the Vargas Swamp battle. He ordered a flank attack on the Spanish rearguard: battalions Barcelona and Bravos de Paez were to attack on the right side while the Britanica and Rifles legion attacked on the left. The enemy assumed battle positions: in the center were three artillery pieces surrounded by royal battalions 12 and 22, and on the wings, cavalry units. Outnumbered, the Spanish rear guard began to retreat without any clear direction. Therefore, Bolívar ordered lancers units to attack the center of the Republican infantry, while a full cavalry squadron ran away from the battle via the road towards Samaca. Bareiro attempted to break the blockage of the Patriot forces and rendezvous with the Spanish vanguard but heavy enemy fire forced him and his forces to surrender. Meanwhile, one kilometer and a half behind Casa de Piedra, the Patriot vanguard managed to ford the river and was approaching the rear of the Republican vanguard force. Once it reached them, the vanguard forces engaged in battle, while the rearguard attempted to cross the river by force, using bayonets. The Spanish forces fled, leaving on the bridge their leader, Coronel Juan Taira. As the assembly of enemy prisoners began, the battle was over shortly after 4:00 p.m. At least 1,600 troops and several of the Spanish commanders, including Barreiro himself, were captured at the end of the battle. New Granada's liberation was assured by this victory, which left the road to Bogotá and the city itself practically undefended, as the survivors headed towards other locations. After the battle, Santander and Anzoátegui were promoted to Divisional General. On the orders of Santander, Colonel Barreiro and 38 more were executed in Bogotá on October 11, 1819. The bridge in question, el Puente de Boyacá, is no longer in use but it has been maintained as a symbol of the Independence of South America.
Independence Day Ivory Coast - Aug 07
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire is a country in West Africa. It has an area of 322,462 square kilometres (124,503 sq mi), and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be 20,617,068 in 2009. Côte d'Ivoire's first national census in 1975 counted 6.7 million inhabitants. Prior to its colonization by Europeans, Côte d'Ivoire was home to several states, includingGyaaman, the Kong Empire, and Baoulé. There were two Anyi kingdoms, Indénié andSanwi, which attempted to retain their separate identity through the French colonial period and after Côte d'Ivoire's independence. An 1843–1844 treaty made Côte d'Ivoire a protectorate of France and in 1893, it became a French colony as part of the Europeanscramble for Africa. Côte d'Ivoire became independent on 7 August 1960. From 1960 to 1993, the country was led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny. It maintained close political and economic association with its West African neighbours, while at the same time maintaining close ties to the West, especially to France. Since the end of Houphouët-Boigny's rule, Côte d'Ivoire has experienced one coup d’état, in 1999, and a civil war, which broke out in 2002. A political agreement between the government and the rebels brought a return to peace. Côte d'Ivoire is a republic with a strong executive power invested in the President. Its de jure capital is Yamoussoukro and the biggest city is the port city of Abidjan. The country is divided into 19 regions and 81 departments. It is a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, African Union, La Francophonie, Latin Union, Economic Community of West African States and South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone. The official language is French, although many of the local languages are widely used, including Baoulé, Dioula, Dan, Anyin and Cebaara Senufo. The main religions are Islam, Christianity (primarily Roman Catholic) and various indigenous religions. Through production of coffee and cocoa, the country was an economic powerhouse during the 1960s and 1970s in West Africa. However, Côte d'Ivoire went through an economic crisis in the 1980s, leading to the country's period of political and social turmoil. The 21st century Ivoirian economy is largely market-based and relies heavily on agriculture, with smallholder cash crop production being dominant.
History
Land migration:
The first human presence in Côte d'Ivoire has been difficult to determine because human remains have not been well-preserved in the country's humid climate. However, the presence of newly found weapon and tool fragments (specifically, polished axes cut through shale and remnants of cooking and fishing) has been interpreted as a possible indication of a large human presence during the Upper Paleolithic period (15,000 to 10,000 BC), or at the minimum, the Neolithic period. The earliest known inhabitants of Côte d'Ivoire have left traces scattered throughout the territory. Historians believe that they were all either displaced or absorbed by the ancestors of the present in- Prehistoric polished stone celt from digenous inhabitants, who migrated south into the area before the Boundiali in northern Ivory Coast. 16th century. Such groups included the Ehotilé (Aboisso), Kotrowou Photo taken at the IFAN Museum of (Fresco), Zéhiri (Grand Lahou), Ega and Diès (Divo).
Pre-Islamic and Islamic periods:
Peasants' Day Tanzania - Aug 08
African Arts in Dakar, Senegal.
The first recorded history is found in the chronicles of North African (Berber) traders, who, from early Roman times, conducted a caravantrade across the Sahara in salt, slaves, gold, and other goods. The southern terminals of the trans-Saharan trade routes were located on the edge of the desert, and from there supplemental trade extended as far south as the edge of the rain forest. The more important terminals—Djenné, Gao, and Timbuctu—grew into major commercial centres around which the great Sudanic empires developed. By controlling the trade routes with their powerful military forces, these empires were able to dominate neighbouring states. The Sudanic empires also became centres of Islamic education. Islam had been introduced in the western Sudan (today's Mali) by Muslim Berber traders from North Africa; it spread rapidly after the conversion of many important rulers. From the eleventh century, by which time the rulers of the Sudanic empires had embraced Islam, it spread south into the northern areas of contemporary Côte d'Ivoire. The Ghana empire, the earliest of the Sudanic empires, flourished in present-day eastern Mauritania from the fourth to the thirteenth century. At the peak of its power in the eleventh century, its realms extended from the Atlantic Ocean to Timbuctu. After the decline of Ghana, the Mali Empire grew into a powerful Muslim state, which reached its apogee in the early part of the fourteenth century. The territory of the Mali Empire in Côte d'Ivoire was limited to the northwest corner around Odienné. Its slow decline starting at the end of the fourteenth century followed internal discord and revolts by vassal states, one of which,Songhai, flourished as an empire between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. Songhai was also weakened by internal discord, which led to factional warfare. This discord spurred most of the migrations of peoples southward toward the forest belt. The dense rain forest, covering the southern half of the country, created barriers to the large-scale political organizations that had arisen in the north. Inhabitants lived in villages or clusters of villages; their contacts with the outside world were filtered through long-distance traders. Villagers subsisted on agriculture and hunting.
Pre-European era:
Five important states flourished in Côte d'Ivoire in the pre-European era. The Muslim Kong Empire was established by the Juula in the early eighteenth century in the north-central region inhabited by the Sénoufo, who had fled Islamization under the Mali Empire. Although Kong became a prosperous center of agriculture, trade, and crafts, ethnic diversity and religious discord gradually weakened the kingdom. The city of Kong was destroyed in 1895 by Samori Ture. The Abron kingdom of Gyaaman was established in the seventeenth century by an Akangroup, the Abron, who had fled the developing Ashanti confederation of Asanteman in what is present-day Ghana. From their settlement south of Bondoukou, the Abron gradually extended their hegemony over the Dyula people in Bondoukou, who were recent émigrés from the market city of Begho. Bondoukou developed into a major centre of commerce and Islam. The kingdom's Quranic scholars attracted students from all parts of West Africa. In the mid-seventeenth century in east-central Côte d'Ivoire, other Akan groups' fleeing the Asante established a Baoulé kingdom at Sakasso and two Agni kingdoms, Indénié andSanwi. The Baoulé, like the Ashanti, developed a highly centralized political and administrative structure under three successive rulers. It finally split into smaller chiefdoms. Despite the breakup of their kingdom, the Baoulé strongly resisted French subjugation. The descendants of the rulers of the Agni kingdoms tried to retain their separate identity long after Côte d'Ivoire's independence; as late as 1969, the Sanwi attempted to break away from Côte d'Ivoire and form an independent kingdom. Michael Jackson visited Krinjabo, the capital of Sanwi, in 1992 and met with the king. The current king of Sanwi is Nana Amon Ndoufou V (since 2002).
Establishment of French rule:
Compared to neighbouring Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire suffered little from the slave trade, as European slaving and merchant ships preferred other areas along the coast with better harbours. The earliest recorded European voyage to West Africa was made by the Portuguese and took place in 1482. The first West African French settlement, Saint Louis, was founded in the mid-seventeenth century in Senegal while, at about the same time, the Dutch ceded to the French a settlement at Goree Island off Dakar. A French mission was established in 1637 Assinie near the border with the Gold Coast (now Ghana). Assinie's survival was precarious, however. It was not until the mid-nineteenth century that the French were firmly established in Côte d'Ivoire. In 1843–1844, French admiral Bouët-Willaumez signed treaties with the kings of the Grand Bassam and Assinie regions, placing their territories under a French protectorate. French explorers, missionaries, trading companies, and soldiers gradually extended the area under French control inland from the lagoon region. Pacification was not accomplished until 1915. Activity along the coast stimulated European interest in the interior, especially along the two great rivers, the Senegal and the Niger. Concerted French exploration of West Africa began in the mid-nineteenth century but moved slowly, based more on individual initiative than on government policy. In the 1840s, the French concluded a series of treaties with local West African rulers that enabled the French to build fortified posts along the Gulf of Guinea to serve as permanent trading centres. The first posts in Côte d'Ivoire included one at Assinie and another at Grand Bassam, which became the colony's first capital. The treaties provided for French sovereignty within the posts, and for trading privileges in exchange for fees or coutumes paid annually to the local rulers for the use of the land. The arrangement was not entirely satisfactory to the French, because trade was limited and misunderstandings over treaty obligations often arose. Nevertheless, the French government maintained the treaties, hoping to expand trade. France also wanted to maintain a presence in the region to stem the increasing influence of the British along the Gulf of Guinea coast. The French built naval bases to keep out non-French traders and began a systematic conquest of the interior. (They accomplished this only after a long war in the 1890s against Mandinka forces, mostly from Gambia. Guerrilla warfare by the Baoulé and other eastern groups continued until 1917). The defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and the subsequent annexation by Germany of the French province of Alsace Lorraine caused the French government to abandon its colonial ambitions and withdraw its military garrisons from its French West African trading posts, leaving them in the care of resident merchants. The trading post at Grand Bassam in Côte d'Ivoire was left in the care of a shipper from Marseille, Arthur Verdier, who in 1878 was named Resident of the Establishment of Côte d'Ivoire. In 1886, to support its claims of effective occupation, France again assumed direct control of its West African coastal trading posts and embarked on an accelerated program of exploration in the interior. In 1887 Lieutenant Louis Gustave Binger began a two-year journey that traversed parts of Côte d'Ivoire's interior. By the end of the journey, he had concluded four treaties establishing French protectorates in Côte d'Ivoire. Also in 1887, Verdier's agent, Marcel Treich-Laplène, negotiated five additional agreements that extended French influence from the headwaters of the Niger River Basin through Côte d'Ivoire.
French colonial era:
By the end of the 1880s, France had established what passed for control over the coastal regions of Côte d'Ivoire, and in 1889 Britain recognized French sovereignty in the area. That same year, France named Treich-Laplène titular governor of the territory. In 1893 Côte d'Ivoire was made a French colony, and then Captain Binger was appointed governor. Agreements with Liberia in 1892 and with Britain in 1893 determined the eastern and western boundaries of the colony, but the northern boundary was not fixed until 1947 because of efforts by the French government to attach parts of Upper Volta (present-day Burkina Faso) and French Sudan (present-day Mali) to Côte d'Ivoire for economic and administrative reasons. France's main goal was to stimulate the production of exports. Coffee, cocoa and palm oil crops were soon planted along the coast. Côte d'Ivoire stood out as the only West African country with a sizeable population of settlers; elsewhere in West and Central Africa, the French and British were largely bureaucrats. As a result, French citizens owned one third of the cocoa, coffee and banana plantations and adopted a forced-labour system. Pre-Colonial kingdoms. Throughout the early years of French rule, French military contingents were sent inland to establish new posts. The African population resisted French penetration and settlement. Among those offering greatest resistance was Samori Ture, who in the 1880s and 1890s was establishing the Wassoulou Empire, which extended over large parts of present-day Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Côte d'Ivoire. Samori Ture's large, well-equipped army, which could manufacture and repair its own firearms, attracted strong support throughout the region. The French responded to Samori Ture's expansion of regional control with military pressure. French campaigns against Samori Ture, which were met with fierce resistance, intensified in the mid-1890s until he was captured in 1898. France's imposition of a head tax in 1900 to support the colony in a public works program, provoked a number of revolts. Ivoirians viewed the tax as a violation of the terms of the protectorate treaties, because they thought that France was demanding the equivalent of a coutume from the local kings, rather than the reverse. Much of the population, especially in the interior, considered the tax a humiliating symbol of submission. In 1905, the French abolished slavery in most of French West Africa. From 1904 to 1958, Côte d'Ivoire was a constituent unit of the Federation of French West Africa. It was a colony and an overseas territory under the Third Republic. Until the period following World War II, governmental affairs in French West Africa were administered from Paris. France's policy in West Africa was reflected mainly in its philosophy of "association", meaning that all Africans in Côte d'Ivoire were officially French "subjects", but without rights to representation in Africa or France. French colonial policy incorporated concepts of assimilation and association. Based on an assumption of the superiority of French culture over all others, in practice the assimilation policy meant extension of the French language, institutions, laws, and customs in the colonies. The policy of association also affirmed the superiority of the French in the colonies, but it entailed different institutions and systems of laws for the colonizer and the colonized. Under this policy, the Africans in Côte d'Ivoire were allowed to preserve their own customs insofar as they were compatible with French interests. An indigenous elite trained in French administrative practice formed an intermediary group between the French and the Africans. Assimilation was practiced in Côte d'Ivoire to the extent that after 1930, a small number of Westernized Ivoirians were granted the right to apply for French citizenship. Most Ivoirians, however, were classified as French subjects and were governed under the principle of association. As subjects of France, they had no political rights. They were drafted for work in mines, on plantations, as porters, and on public projects as part of their tax responsibility. They were expected to serve in the military and were subject to the indigénat, a separate system of law. In World War II, the Vichy regime remained in control until 1943, when members of Gen. Charles de Gaulle's provisional government assumed control of all French West Africa. The Brazzaville Conference of 1944, the first Constituent Assembly of the Fourth Republic in 1946, and France's gratitude for African loyalty during World War II led to farreaching governmental reforms in 1946. French citizenship was granted to all African "subjects," the right to organize politically was recognized, and various forms of forced labour were abolished. Until 1958, governors appointed in Paris administered the colony of Côte d'Ivoire, using a system of direct, centralized administration that left little room for Ivoirian participation in policy making. Whereas British colonial administration adopted divide-and-rule policies elsewhere, applying ideas of assimilation only to the educated elite, the French were interested in ensuring that the small but influential elite was sufficiently satisfied with the status quo to refrain from any anti-French sentiment. Although strongly opposed to the practices of association, educated Ivoirians believed that they would achieve equality with their French peers through assimilation rather than through complete independence from France. But, after the assimilation doctrine was implemented entirely through the postwar reforms, Ivoirian leaders realized that even assimilation implied the superiority of the French over the Ivoirians, and that discrimination and political inequality would end only with independence.
Independence:
The son of a Baoulé chief, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, was to become Côte d'Ivoire's father of independence. In 1944 he formed the country's first agricultural trade union for African cocoa farmers like himself. Angered that colonial policy favoured French plantation owners, they united to recruit migrant workers for their own farms. Houphouët-Boigny soon rose to prominence and within a year was elected to the French Parliament in Paris. A year later the French abolished forced labour. Houphouët-Boigny established a strong relationship with the French government, expressing a belief that the country would benefit from it, which it did for many years. France appointed him as the first African to become a minister in a European government. A turning point in relations with France was reached with the 1956 Louis-Gustave Binger of French West Overseas Reform Act (Loi Cadre), which transferred a number of Africa in 1892 treaty signing with powers from Paris to elected territorial governments inFrench West Famienkro leaders, in present day Africa and also removed remaining voting inequalities. In 1958, Côte d'Ivoirebecame an autonomous member of the French Com- N'zi-Comoé Region, Ivory Coast. munity (which replaced the French Union). At the time of Côte d'Ivoire's independence (1960), the country was easily French West Africa's most prosperous, contributing over 40% of the region's total exports. When Houphouët-Boigny became the first president, his government gave farmers good prices for their products to further stimulate production. This was further boosted by a significant immigration of workers from surrounding countries. Coffee production increased significantly, catapulting Côte d'Ivoire into third place in world output (behind Brazil and Colombia). By 1979, the country was the world's leading producer of cocoa. It also became Africa's leading exporter of pineapples and palm oil. French technicians contributed to the 'Ivoirian miracle'. In other African nations, the people drove out the Europeans following independence; but in Côte d'Ivoire, they poured in. The French community grew from only 30,000 prior to independence to 60,000 in 1980, most of them teachers, managers and advisors. For 20 years, the economy maintained an annual growth rate of nearly 10%—the highest of Africa's non-oil-exporting countries.
Houphouët-Boigny administration:
Houphouët-Boigny's one-party rule was not amenable to political competition. Laurent Gbagbo, who would be the president of Côte d'Ivoire in 2000, had to flee as he incurred the ire of Houphouët-Boigny when Gbagbo founded the Front Populair Ivoirien. Houphouët-Boigny banked on his broad appeal to the population who continually elected him. He was also criticized for his emphasis on developing large scale projects. Many felt the millions of dollars spent transforming his home village, Yamoussoukro, into the new capital that it became, were wasted; others support his vision to develop a centre for peace, education and religion in the heart of the country. But in the early 1980s, the world recession and a local drought sent shock waves through the Ivoirian economy. Due to the overcutting of timber and collapsing sugar prices, the country's external debt increased threefold. Crime rose dramatically in Abidjan. In 1990, hundreds of civil servants went on strike, joined by students protesting institutional corruption. The unrest forced the government to support multi-party democracy. Houphouët-Boigny became increasingly feeble and died in 1993. He favoured Henri Konan Bédié as his successor.
Bédié administration:
Unlike Houphouët-Boigny, who was very careful in avoiding any ethnic conflict and left access to administrative positions open to immigrants from neighbouring countries, Bediéemphasized the concept of "Ivority" (French: Ivoirité) to exclude his rival Alassane Ouattara, who had two northern Ivorian parents, from running for future presidential election. As people originating from foreign countries are a large part of the Ivoirian population, this policy excluded many people from Ivoirian nationality, and the relationship between various ethnic groups became strained which will result in two civil wars in the following decades.
1999 coup:
Similarly, Bédié excluded many potential opponents from the army. In late 1999, a group of dissatisfied officers staged a military coup, putting General Robert Guéï in power. Bédié fled into exile in France. The new leadership reduced crime and corruption, and the generals pressed for austerity and openly campaigned in the streets for a less wasteful society.
Gbagbo administration:
A presidential election was held in October 2000 in which Laurent Gbagbo vied with Guéï, but it was peaceful. The lead-up to the election was marked by military and civil unrest. Following a public uprising that resulted in around 180 deaths, Guéï was swiftly replaced by Gbagbo. Alassane Ouattara was disqualified by the country's Supreme Court, due to his alleged Burkinabé nationality. The existing and later reformed constitution [under Guéï] did not allow non-citizens to run for presidency. This sparked violent protests in which his supporters, mainly from the country's north, battled riot police in the capital, Yamoussoukro.
Ivorian Civil War:
In the early hours of 19 September 2002, while the President was in Italy, there was an armed uprising. Troops who were to be demobilised mutinied, launching attacks in several cities. The battle for the main gendarmerie barracks in Abidjan lasted until mid-morning, but by lunchtime the government forces had secured the main city, Abidjan. They had lost control of the north of the country, and the rebel forces made their strong-hold in the northern city of Bouake. The rebels threatened to move on Abidjan again and France deployed troops from its base in the country to stop any rebel advance. The French said they were protecting their own citizens Samori Touré from danger, but their deployment also aided the government forces. It was not established as a fact that the French were helping either side but each side accused them of being on the opposite side. It is disputed as to whether the French actions improved or worsened the situation in the long term. What exactly happened that night is disputed. The government claimed that former president Robert Guéï had led a coup attempt, and state TV showed pictures of his dead body in the street; counter-claims stated that he and fifteen others had been murdered at his home and his body had been moved to the streets to incriminate him. Alassane Ouattara took refuge in the French embassy; his home had burned down. President Gbagbo cut short his trip to Italy and on his return stated, in a television address, that some of the rebels were hiding in the shanty towns where foreign migrant workers lived. Gendarmes and vigilantes bulldozed and burned homes by the thousands, attacking the residents. An early ceasefire with the rebels, which had the backing of much of the northern populace, proved short-lived, and fighting over the prime cocoa-growing areas resumed. France sent in troops to maintain the cease-fire boundaries, and militias, including warlords and fighters from Liberia and Sierra Leone, took advantage of the crisis to seize parts of the west.
International Infinity Day Worldwide - Aug 08
Infinity Day is also known as Universal & International Infinity Day, and is a day held on the 8th of August of each year in order to celebrate and promote Philosophy and Philosophizing, not just for professional academics and published philosophers, but for everyone. The reason why it is called Infinity Day is because it is generally agreed among certain philosophers and other intellectuals that the concept, idea and potential reality of infinity is the ultimate one that the human mind can conceive, in terms of relevance and importance to true philosophical enquiry. History Infinity Day was first conceived and created by Jean-Pierre Ady Fenyo, a Philosopher and Science-Fiction author, who is also known as The Original New York City Free Advice Man (see The New Yorker magazine's August 17, 1987 issue) in 1987. It has been celebrated in the form of peaceful, non-violent and lawful (by official permit) demonstrations for philosophical inquiry, freedom of expression, freedom of speech and ethics in society, throughout the world. The first Infinity Day was held in New York City in 1987. Thereafter the founder took it to Washington (DC, USA), Budapest and London.
Singapore Fireworks Celebrations
National Day celebrations also include fireworks celebrations. They feature several local and foreign teams which launch fireworks displays on different nights. First held in 2004 at Marina Bay, the event was initially known as the Singapore Fireworks Festival and organised by Unusual Productions. The amount of fireworks used has grown in magnitude over the past three years, from 4,000 rounds used in 2004 to over 9,000 in 2006.
Women's Day South Africa - Aug 09
National Women's Day is an annual public holiday in South Africa on 9 August. This commemorates the national march of women on this day in 1956 to petition against legislation that required African persons to carry the "pass", special identification documents which curtailed an African's freedom of movement during the apartheid era.
The event
On 9 August 1956, 20,000 women staged a march on the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest against the proposed amendments to the Urban Areas Act (commonly known as the pass laws) of 1950. They left bundles of petitions containing more than 100 000 signatures at prime ministerJ.G. Strijdom's office doors. Outside they stood silently for 30 minutes, many with their children on their backs. Those who were working for Whites as nannies were carrying their white charges with them. The women sang a protest song that was composed in honour of the occasion: Wathint'Abafazi Wathint'imbokodo!(Now you have touched the women, you have struck a rock.). In the 54 years since, the phrase (or its latest incarnation: "you strike a woman, you strike a rock") has come to represent women's courage and strength in South Africa. The march was led by Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Albertina Sisulu and Sophia Williams-De Bruyn. Other participants included Frances Baard, a statue of whom was unveiled by Northern Cape Premier Hazel Jenkins in Kimberley(Frances Baard District Municipality) on National Women's Day 2009. Since 9 August 1994, the day has been commemorated annually and is known as "Women's Day" in South Africa. In 2006, a reenactment of the march was staged for its 50th anniversary, with many of the 1956 march veterans. national women's day celebrates why women are important.
Independence of Quito Ecuador - Aug 10
The Ecuadorian War of Independence was fought from 1820 to 1822 between several South American armies and Spain over control of the lands of the Royal Audience of Quito, a Spanish colonial administrative jurisdiction from which would eventually emerge the modern Republic of Ecuador. The war ended with the defeat of the Spanish forces at the Battle of Pichincha on May 24, 1822, which brought about the independence of the entire Presidencia de Quito. The Ecuadorian War of Independence is part of the Spanish American wars of independence fought during the first two decades of the 19th century.
The Beginning of the War
The military campaign for the independence of the territory now known as Ecuador from Spanish rule could be said to have begun on after nearly three hundred years of Spanish colonization. Quito was a city of around ten thousand inhabitants. It was there, on August 10, 1809 that the first call for independence from Spain was made in Latin America ("el Primer Grito de la Independencia"), under the leadership of the city's criollos, including Carlos Montúfar, Eugenio Espejo and Bishop Cuero y Caicedo. Then on October 9, 1820, the port-city of Guayaquil proclaimed its independence after a brief and almost bloodless revolt against the local garrison. The leaders of the movement, a combination of Venezuelan, Ecuadorian, and Peruvian pro-independence officers from the colonial Army, along with Ecuadorian intellectuals and patriots, set up a Junta de Gobierno and raised a military force with the purpose of defending the city and carrying the independence movement to the other provinces in the country. By that time, the tide of the wars of independence in South America had turned decisively against Spain: Simón Bolívar's victory at theBattle of Boyacá (August 7, 1819) had sealed the independence of the former Viceroyalty of Nueva Granada, while to the south, José de San Martín, after landing his Army on the Peruvian coast on September 8, 1820, was preparing the campaign for the independence of the Viceroyalty of Perú. The news of the proclamation of independence of Guayaquil spread rapidly to other cities in the Presidencia, and several towns followed the example in quick succession. Portoviejo declared its independence on October 18, 1820, and Cuenca—the economic center of the southern highlands—did the same on November 3, 1820. The stage was set for the campaign of liberation of Quito.
The Junta de Guayaquil moves to the offensive:
The military unit raised and financed in Guayaquil was given the name of Division Protectora de Quito ("Division for the Protection of Quito"). Its immediate purpose was to advance on the cities of Guaranda and Ambato, in the central highlands, hoping to bring these cities to the independentist cause, and cutting all road communications between Quito and the cities of Guayaquil and Cuenca, so as to forestall any Royalist countermove from the north. The Division, under the command of Colonel Luis Urdaneta, one of the ringleaders of the revolt in Guayaquil, began its advance out of the coastal plain towards the highlands, and by November 7, was ready to begin its march up the Andes mountains. The first clash with a Royalist covering force was a success, occurring on November 9, 1820, at Camino Real, a strategic mountain pass along the road from Guayaquil to Guaranda. This victory opened the way into the inter-Andean highlands, and the capture of Guaranda soon followed. News of the presence of the patriot army in Guaranda had the intended effect: most of the towns in the highlands went on to proclaim their independence in quick succession, Latacunga and Riobamba doing it on November 11, and Am- Antonio José de Sucre bato on November 12, 1820. By the middle of November, the Spanish rule over the Presidencia had been reduced to the Quito and its surrounding areas in the northern highlands. It looked as if the liberation of the entire territory would be easier than expected. But the hopes turned out to be premature and short-lived. Field-Marshal Melchor Aymerich, acting President and supreme commander of the military forces in the Presidencia de Quito, took swift action. Soon, an army of around 5,000 troops, under the command of veteran Spanish Colonel Francisco González, was dispatched south to deal with the 2,000-strong patriot army, stationed in Ambato. In the Battle of Huachi, on November 22, 1820, the Royalist army inflicted a severe defeat on Urdaneta's force, which had to fall back, badly mauled, to Babahoyo, on the coastal plains. Disaster struck the patriots. The Spanish army continued its advance south, towards Cuenca, retaking all major towns along the way. On December 20, 1820, after the defenders of the city were defeated at the Battle of Verdeloma, Cuenca was retaken by the Royalist army. The authorities in Guayaquil, who on November 11, 1820, had issued a decree creating the Provincia Libre de Guayaquil (Free Province of Guayaquil), desperately organized a ragtag detachment with the survivors of Huachi plus some reinforcements (300 men altogether, including some 50 cavalry), ordering it to make a final stand at Babahoyo. As the Royalist army did not seem to be particularly inclined to come down to the plains to meet them, the patriots sent some guerrilla bands back into the highlands, which were finally ambushed and massacred on January 4, 1821 at the Battle of Tanizagua. The guerrillas' commanding officer, Spanish-born Colonel Gabriel García Gomez, taken prisoner after the battle, was executed by a firing squad and decapitated, his head sent to Quito to be displayed before the population. Thus, amid total military failure and a number of Royalist reprisals on the civilian population of the highlands cities, the attempt of the Junta de Guayaquil to carry out the independence of the Presidencia de Quito came to an end.
Sucre enters the Scene:
And yet, not all was lost: help was on the way. By February 1821, the foreign aid requested by the Junta de Guayaquil back in October finally materialized in the form of Spanish-born independentist General José Mires, sent by General Simón Bolívar, President of Colombia. Even more welcomed perhaps was what Mires had brought along with him: 1,000 muskets; 50,000 musket rounds; 8,000 bits of flint; 500 sabers, and 100 pairs of pistols. Mires' instructions were clear: "To liberate the capital city of Quito, whose taking will bring about the liberation of the whole Department," as the first step towards later operations aimed at securing the complete independence of Perú. Bolívar also informed Guayaquil that he would begin a simultaneous campaign from the north.
Second Battle of Huachi:
By July 1821, Sucre had almost finished deploying the Army around Babahoyo, ready to advance on the highlands as soon as the weather allowed. Aymerich acted to preemt the patriot plans with a two-pincer movement: he would lead his Army from Guaranda down to Babahoyo, while Colonel González, coming from the southern highlands down to Yaguachi, would attack his flank. Sucre, privy to Aymerich's intentions (thanks to a well-developed espionage network), sent Mires to deal with González. The encounter, which ended up destroying Gonzalez's force, took place near the town of Cone, on August 19, 1821. Upon hearing the news, Aymerich retraced his steps and headed back to the highlands. Sucre advanced on to the highlands, his main force occupying Guaranda on September 2, 1821. Aymerich moved to block any further progress, and in the Second Battle of Huachi, which took place on September 12, 1821, annihilated Sucre's infantry. The patriot forces lost 800 men, mostly killed, plus 50 prisoners, among them General Mires. As Second Huachi had also taken a heavy toll on the Royalists, Aymerich decided against exploiting his victory with an advance on the coastal plains. On November 19, 1821, a 90-day armistice was signed at Babahoyo, putting an end to Sucre's ill-fated first attempt to liberate Quito.
International Biodiesel Day Worldwide - Aug 10
Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl (methyl, propyl or ethyl) esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids (e.g., vegetable oil, animal fat (tallow)) with an alcohol producing fatty acid esters. Biodiesel is meant to be used in standard diesel engines and is thus distinct from the vegetable and waste oils used to fuel converted diesel engines. Biodiesel can be used alone, or blended with petrodiesel. Biodiesel can also be used as a low carbon alternative to heating oil. The National Biodiesel Board (USA) also has a technical definition of "biodiesel" as a mono-alkyl ester.
Historical background
Transesterification of a vegetable oil was conducted as early as 1853 by scientists E. Duffy and J. Patrick, many years before the first diesel engine became functional. Rudolf Diesel's prime model, a single 10 ft (3 m) iron cylinder with a flywheel at its base, ran on its own power for the first time in Augsburg, Germany, on 10 August 1893 running on nothing but peanut oil. In remembrance of this event, 10 August has been declared "International Biodiesel Day". It is often reported that Diesel designed his engine to run on peanut oil, but this is not the case. Diesel stated in his published papers, "at the Paris Exhibition in 1900 (Exposition Universelle) there was shown by the Otto Company a small Diesel engine, which, at the request of the French government ran on arachide (earth-nut or pea-nut) oil (see biodiesel), and worked so smoothly that only a few people were aware of it. The engine was constructed for using mineral oil, and was then worked on vegetable oil without any alterations being made. The French Gov- Rudolf Diesel ernment at the time thought of testing the applicability to power production of the Arachide, or earth-nut, which grows in considerable quantities in their African colonies, and can easily be cultivated there." Diesel himself later conducted related tests and appeared supportive of the idea. In a 1912 speech Diesel said, "the use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today but such oils may become, in the course of time, as important as petroleum and the coal-tar products of the present time." Despite the widespread use of fossil petroleum-derived diesel fuels, interest in vegetable oils as fuels for internal combustion engines was reported in several countries during the 1920s and 1930s and later during World War II. Belgium, France, Italy, the United Kingdom,Portugal, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Japan and China were reported to have tested and used vegetable oils as diesel fuels during this time. Some operational problems were reported due to the high viscosity of vegetable oils compared to petroleum diesel fuel, which results in poor atomization of the fuel in the fuel spray and often leads to deposits and coking of the injectors, combustion chamber and valves. Attempts to overcome these problems included heating of the vegetable oil, blending it with petroleum-derived diesel fuel or ethanol, pyrolysis and cracking of the oils. On 31 August 1937, G. Chavanne of the University of Brussels (Belgium) was granted a patent for a "Procedure for the transformation of vegetable oils for their uses as fuels" (fr. "Procédé de Transformation d’Huiles Végétales en Vue de Leur Utilisation comme Carburants") Belgian Patent 422,877. This patent described the alcoholysis (often referred to as transesterification) of vegetable oils using ethanol (and mentions methanol) in order to separate the fatty acids from the glycerol by replacing the glycerol with short linear alcohols. This appears to be the first account of the production of what is known as "biodiesel" today. More recently, in 1977, Brazilian scientist Expedito Parente invented and submitted for patent, the first industrial process for the production of biodiesel. This process is classified as biodiesel by international norms, conferring a "standardized identity and quality. No other proposed biofuel has been validated by the motor industry." Currently, Parente's company Tecbio is working with Boeingand NASA to certify bioquerosene (bio-kerosene), another product produced and patented by the Brazilian scientist. Research into the use of transesterified sunflower oil, and refining it to diesel fuel standards, was initiated in South Africa in 1979. By 1983, the process for producing fuel-quality, engine-tested biodiesel was completed and published internationally. An Austriancompany, Gaskoks, obtained the technology from the South African Agricultural Engineers; the company erected the first biodiesel pilot plant in November 1987, and the first industrial-scale plant in April 1989 (with a capacity of 30,000 tons of rapeseed per annum). Throughout the 1990s, plants were opened in many European countries, including the Czech Republic, Germany and Sweden. France launched local production of biodiesel fuel (referred to as diester) from rapeseed oil, which is mixed into regular diesel fuel at a level of 5%, and into the diesel fuel used by some captive fleets (e.g. public transportation) at a level of 30%. Renault, Peugeot and other manufacturers have certified truck engines for use with up to that level of partial biodiesel; experiments with 50% biodiesel are underway. During the same period, nations in other parts of the world also saw local production of biodiesel starting up: by 1998, the Austrian Biofuels Institute had identified 21 countries with commercial biodiesel projects. 100% Biodiesel is now available at many normal service stations across Europe.
Heroes' Day Zimbabwe - Aug 11
Heroes Day is the day celebrated to honor the heroes of the nation, who have scarified their life or have done something great for the nation. It is usually the day when these national heroes were born or it may be the day of the great deeds done by a person that made them heroes. Zimbabwe celebrates Heroes Day on August 11 in order to pay homage to the great personality who struggled hard and ultimately sacrificed their life in the country liberation war. So, it is very important to know what made some of them the national heroes.
History
It was on July, 1978 evening that 20 Zanla freedom fighters came at Mapira village in Mhondoro equipped with weapons like AK-47 sub-machine guns and RPD light machine guns. This made the villagers astonished, as it was the first time they had seen such weapons. Arrival of the group marked the beginning of the war in parts of Mhondoro by Zanla the freedom fighters. The struggle for the liberation between Zanla, military wing of Zanu and Zipra, the military wing of Zapu, had rose in some areas like Chiweshe, Chipinge and Hurungwe. These freedom fighters gave their introduction to the villagers at a meeting held by them. These fighters have volunteered themselves to fight against the racist Smith regime. Smith regime was the one, which forced itself upon black native Zimbabweans. They even said about the racial discrimination, which was being down between the white and the Blacks. To fight against the Rhodesian forces or strangers, these fighter made many contact and hired the people, who could send the information to them about Rhodesian forces or strangers. These selected people also provided them with food and helped them to choose the appropriate base. Very soon, there were more freedom fighters added to the group. Due to imperfect coverage by forest, there were attacks on Mhondoro by the freedom fighters. A lot of battles were held between 1978 and 1979 during operation of Mhondoro, from which some of them had victorious results, whereas others have losses. A very fierce firefight battle was held on August 1979, which comprised of Rhodesian ground and air strikes. Many fighters died, some captured, whereas others escaped. The bodies of the dead were placed in front of the people and it was a very painful experience. The people had to undergo seeing some of the recognized faces lying dead and finally their bodied were buried shallow mass grave.
Traditions and Activities
These heroes and other brave fighter or soldier are remembered on the Heroes day that lived for the sake of other people and gave away their life. Heroes Day is a national holiday. After a great struggle, the nation got its independence and people celebrated this great day with full of excitement and joy. These heroes are remembered and paid due respect. All of them are recognized, as they are worldwide famous for their doings. There are few Zimbabweans, who face the challenge of life and stand out of the crowd to be called Heroes.
Independence Day Chad - Aug 11
Chad officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. Chad is divided into multiple regions: a desert zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the centre and a more fertile Sudanese savanna zone in the south. Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the largest wetland in Chad and the second largest in Africa. Chad's highest peak is the Emi Koussi in the Sahara, and N'Djamena, (formerly Fort-Lamy), the capital, is the largest city. Chad is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups. Arabic and French are the official languages. Islam and Christianity are the most widely practiced religions. Beginning in the 7th millennium BC, human populations moved into the Chadian basin in great numbers. By the end of the 1st millennium BC, a series of states and empires rose and fell in Chad's Sahelian strip, each focused on controlling the trans-Saharan traderoutes that passed through the region. France conquered the territory by 1920 and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa. In 1960, Chad obtained independence under the leadership of François Tombalbaye. Resentment towards his policies in the Muslim north culminated in the eruption of a long-lasting civil war in 1965. In 1979, the rebels conquered the capital and put an end to the south's hegemony. However, the rebel commanders fought amongst themselves until Hissène Habré defeated his rivals. He was overthrown in 1990 by his general Idriss Déby. Since 2003, the Darfur crisis in Sudan has spilt over the border and destabilised the nation, with hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees living in and around camps in eastern Chad. While many political parties are active, power lies firmly in the hands of President Déby and his political party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement. Chad remains plagued by political violence and recurrent attempted coups d'état (see Battle of N'Djamena (2006)and Battle of N'Djamena (2008)). Chad is one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world; most inhabitants live in poverty as subsistence herders and farmers. Since 2003, crude oil has become the country's primary source of export earnings, superseding the traditional cotton industry. Chad is considered a failed state by the Fund for Peace.
History
In the 7th millennium BC, ecological conditions in the northern half of Chadian territory favored human settlement, and the region experienced a strong population increase. Some of the most important African archaeological sites are found in Chad, mainly in theBorkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region; some date to earlier than 2000 BC. For more than 2000 years, the Chadian Basin has been inhabited by agricultural andsedentary peoples. The region became a crossroads of civilizations. The earliest of these were the legendary Sao, known from artifacts and oral histories. The Sao fell to theKanem Empire, the first and longest-lasting of the 15,000 Chadian soldiers empires that developed in Chad's Sahelian strip by the end of the 1st millen- fought for Free France durnium AD. The power of Kanem and its successors was based on control of the ing World War II. trans-Saharan trade routes that passed through the region. These states, at least tacitly Muslim, never extended their control to the southern grasslands except to raid for slaves. French colonial expansion led to the creation of theTerritoire Militaire des Pays et Protectorats du Tchad in 1900. By 1920, France had secured full control of the colony and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa. French rule in Chad was characterised by an absence of policies to unify the territory and sluggish modernisation. The French primarily viewed the colony as an unimportant source of untrained labour and raw cotton; France introduced largescale cotton production in 1929. The colonial administration in Chad was critically understaffed and had to rely on the dregs of the French civil service. Only the south was governed effectively; French presence in the north and east was nominal. The educational system suffered from this neglect. After World War II, France granted Chad the status of overseas territory and its inhabitants the right to elect representatives to the French National Assembly and a Chadian assembly. The largest political party was the Chadian Progressive Party (PPT), based in the southern half of the colony. Chad was granted independence on August 11, 1960 with the PPT's leader, François Tombalbaye, as its first president. Two years later, Tombalbaye banned opposition parties and established a one-party system. Tombalbaye's autocratic rule and insensitive mismanagement exacerbated interethnic tensions. In 1965 Muslims began a civil war. Tombalbaye was overthrown and killed in 1975, but the insurgency continued. In 1979 the rebel factions conquered the capital, and all central authority in the country collapsed. Armed factions, many from the north's rebellion, contended for power. The disintegration of Chad caused the collapse of France's position Group of Kanem-Bu warriors. The in the country. Libya moved to fill the power vacuum and became Kanem-Bornu Empire controlled alinvolved in Chad's civil war. Libya's adventure ended in disaster in most all of what is today Chad. 1987; the French-supported president, Hissène Habré, evoked a united response from Chadians of a kind never seen before and forced the Libyan army off Chadian soil. Habré consolidated his dictatorship through a power system that relied on corruption and violence; an estimated 40,000 people were killed under his rule. The president favoured his own Daza ethnic group and discriminated against his former allies, the Zaghawa. His general, Idriss Déby, overthrew him in 1990. Déby attempted to reconcile the rebel groups and reintroduced multiparty politics. Chadians approved a new constitution by referendum, and in 1996, Déby easily won a competitive presidential election. He won a second term five years later. Oil exploitation began in Chad in 2003, bringing with it hopes that Chad would at last have some chances of peace and prosperity. Instead, internal dissent worsened, and a new civil war broke out. Déby unilaterally modified the constitution to remove the two-term limit on the presidency; this caused an uproar among the civil society and opposition parties. In 2006 Déby won a third mandate in elections that the opposition boycotted. Ethnic violence in eastern Chad has increased; the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has warned that agenocide like that in Darfur may yet occur in Chad. In 2006 and in 2008 rebel forces have attempted to take the capital by force, but have on both occasions failed.
Romanian-Hungarian relations should be based upon the Mutual Respect of Human Rights
HUNGARY Pr im e M inis t e r Vik t or Or ba n pr opos e s e le c t or a l c ha nge s (Online 27 Jul) Hung a r y ’ s prime minister Viktor Orban has proposed changes to the way citizens are registered to vote, a move analysts say will bolster h i s chances of re-election in the country’s 2014 polls. Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party, backed by an overwhelming majority in parliament, has already implemented significant changes to Hungary’s electoral system since coming to power in 2010. On Friday, Mr. Orban presented further plans, under which voters would be required to register well in advance of elections to be able to cast their vote. At present, they don’t need to register before voting. Speaking on public radio, Mr. Orban said those who register to vote will get all the necessary information for the elections, while those who don’t “won’t be bothered with electoral campaigns.” “I think, if somebody wants to participate in one of the most important decisions for the country, that person can surely do so much as to indicate this intention,” he added. The plans are subject to parliamentary debate and a
vote when the house reconvenes in September. The latest changes are likely to boost support for center-right Fidesz by keeping undecided voters, who could swing the vote, at home, analysts said. “Fidesz thinks that by keeping undecided, politically inactive voters away from the polling booths it can increase its chances at the next elections,” Political Capital, a think tank said Friday. The opposition Socialist Party has strongly criticized the prime minister’s plans. In a statement, it said the government “only takes into consideration the interests of the governing parties when changing democratic institutions. They are excluding the majority of citizens from shaping their future.” More than 50% of Hungarian voters don’t have a preferred political party and only a quarter has a distinct preference, poll results re-
leased by Tarki polls t e r showed this week. Among decided voters, 38% would vote for Fidesz, while the Socialist Party and radical Jobbik have voter support of 28% and 22% respectively. Mr. Orban’s cabinet hasn’t been shy about taking steps it sees as changing the country, even if they’re considered controversial. It reduced the number of MPs to 199 from 387 as of 2014 in the country of 10 million. New laws also ban mandate-hoarding, or the practice of gaining simultaneous political positions in municipal and state legislatures. These steps have been widely welcomed in a country that considers its political elite corrupt, incompetent, and a waste of taxpayers’ money. Yet parliament has also passed more debatable changes, including a new map of electoral districts. Hungarian governments had been long overdue on twitching electoral districts to better reflect changes in population. The unilateral manner in which new borders were drawn by Fidesz party officials, however, has brought about accusations of gerrymandering.
Fa r e we ll t o t he 7 t h H D F gr oup t o join K FOR (Online 01 Aug) A farewell ceremony was held in Szolnok for the troops of the Hungarian Def e n c e Forces, the seventh group leaving for Kosovo to relieve their KFOR colleagues. The staff composed of 180 m e m b e r s Photo: MTI will carry out peace-keeping mission. activities during its 6-month At the farewell ceremony,
C s a b a Varga, the Chief of Staff representing the HDF Joint F o r c e Command said that the Balkans region, where Hungarian soldiers have s e r v e d since 1999, is a fine example of a successful p e a c e building mission.
H unga r y c ondole s on s udde n de a t h of c uba n oppos it ion le a de r (Online 03 Aug) The Government of Hungary has been saddened by the sudden death of Oswaldo Payá, the principled and influe n t i a l Cuban opposition leader, the father of the Varela Project and a recipient of the Eu- Oswaldo Payá ropean Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. His death is a loss not only for his family and friends but
opposition members peacefully exercising their right to free speech at Mr Payá’s funeral was not only an affront to his memory but a violation of fundamental civil rights. The Hungarian Government hopes that the Cuban authorities for democrats all over the will conduct a fair investigaworld – especially in Cuba. tion into the events surWe extend our condolences rounding his death. to his family. The arrest and beating of
H unga r ia n e c onom ic polic y is s pr e a ding in Eur ope , A ndr á s (Online 03 Aug) "Hungary’s unorthodox economic policy has begun to spread within the European U n i o n . F i r s t , France introduced a financial transactions duty twice as high as in H u n g a r y, after which Slovakia imposed a special sectoral levy", said András GiróSzász on Tuesday morning. Speaking on TV2's Mokka programme, the spokesman said that other countries had also begun to realise that pre-2008 solutions to crisis management were no longer practicable and new ways needed to be identified. “It is always interesting when a banker speaks about democracy” – responded András Giró-Szász to ATV when the channel cited a leading economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development saying that unorthodoxy means demolishing democracy. With regard to the IMF/EU talks, the spokesman said that the IMF intended to re-
duce the burdens of the bank sector while increasing the burdens imposed on the society. Financial institutions would not provide fewer loans because of the new duty, he added, recalling that banks that generated extra profits in 2008-2009 transferred their gains to their foreign parent banks rather than increasing their lending. The spokesman also said that if arguments were convincing enough, the taxation of the central bank (MNB) could be modified. He noted, however, that the income this latter could generate would then be missing from the job protection action plan, designed to assist 1.5 million people. “Let’s wait and see whether the transactions tax will gener-
ate a loss for the central bank”, t h e spokesman said. András Giró-Szász spoke on both programmes about the pension scheme by defending the nationalization of private pension savings. "We cannot talk about private ownership in this case since former fund members were not entitled to dispose of their payments freely. Taking them back was decided by Parliament, as was their privatization in 1997", he said. He stressed that the private pension scheme blew a 400 billion forint hole in the state budget each year. This is why the government has created a sustainable pension scheme in which the allowances of all those entitled to a retirement pension are secure. He also added that the state had taken over "devalued pension elements" from the private pension funds, meaning any loss in value had occurred prior to that.
H unga r y s e nds f ina nc ia l a id for Sy r ia n c hildr e n (Online 02 serious Aug) In the traumas spirit of our and recovcommitery from ment to rethese resolve the quires a serious hulong period manitarian of time, crisis in which interSyria, Hunnational hugary is promanitarian viding Euro organiza25000 in tions wish support toto facilitate wards the by the creUNICEF ation of a m e n t a l peaceful health and living envirehabilitaronment tion proa n d grammes through for injured therapeutic children. treatments. According This latest to the UN donation R e p o r t supplepublished ments the in June of humanitar2012, the ian assisrights of t a n c e children provided so are being far by the systematigoverncally and m e n t , harshly viowhich totals lated in E u r o Syria and 11 5 0 0 0 . violent acts The aid will against reach the them have people in increased need via signifidomestic, c a n t l y local and since the internabeginning tional huprotests. The children afof anti-governmental fected have experienced manitarian organizations.
Hungarian SZEFO Ltd. creates new jobs through strategic cooperation agreements (Online 01 Aug) The 1 0 0 % s t a t e o w n e d S Z E F O Ltd., over 60% of whose employees are disabled, has concluded strategic a g r e e ments with the Italian D A M A S.p.A. and the French Legrand Ltd. This will create 200 new jobs and guarantee the long-term preservation of the existing 825 jobs.
like to foster job creation for the disabled through market creation and the expansion of production. This latter aim is also reflected in its programme "Helpful Shopping", the launching of its own brands (Chance, Mizu, WinThe State Secretariat for ner) and the creation of its Social, Family and Youth Af- new fashion label "Attitude". fairs of the Ministry of Human Resources would
European regulations take priority in the Csatáry case (Online 31 Jul) In response to a statement on Monday by Slovakian Minister of Justice T o m a s Borec, the Hungarian Ministry of Public Administration and Justice has stated that a framework decision on European arrest war- László Csatáry rants exists between Hungary and Slovakia, and that this could be enacted if a Slovak court requests extradition from Hungary of the war crimes suspect László Csatáry. In Hungary also, it is the exclusive right of the judiciary (and not ministries) to decide on the implementation of a European arrest warrant. According to the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, in the spring of 1944 László Csatáry (who is now 97 years old) played a key role as a chief of police in the transportation of approximately 15 700 Jews to Auschwitz from the Hungarian city of Kassa (Košice in present-day Slovakia). In 1941 Csatáry may also have played a key role in the transportation of around 300 Jews from Kassa to Kamyanets-Podilsky in Ukraine, where that summer almost all of them were killed. He was tried in ab-
sentia and sentenced to death by a Czechoslovakian court in 1948. Between 1949 and 1997 Csatáry lived in Canada, returning to Hungary in 1997. In September 2011 the Budapest Investigative Prosecution Agency launched an investigation into László Csatáry’s suspected involvement in war crimes. On 18 July 2012 the Hungarian authorities questioned Csatáry and detained him under suspicion of war crimes; he has been under house arrest since his detention. On Monday the Slovakian Ministry of Justice announced that it had sent documents from the 1948 trial to a court in Košice, requesting the Slovak judiciary to contact the Hungarian judiciary with the aim of putting Mr. Csatáry on trial in Slovakia. This procedure is determined by European regula-
tions, according to which if the Slovakian judiciary issues a European arrest warrant, the Hungarian Ministry of Public Administration and Justice will forward it to the Budapest Municipal Court without taking any other action. The Budapest Municipal Court has the authority to decide on implementation of a European arrest warrant, but the Minister of Public Administration and Justice does not have any such authority in this case. The Municipal Court may refuse to carry out the European arrest warrant and surrender the suspect if criminal proceedings based on the same grounds are also under way in Hungary. The Ministry wishes to make it clear that at present no European arrest warrant has been received, and it has no knowledge of such a warrant having been issued. In relation to this case, on 23 July Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that ‘Hungary abides by European legislative tradition,’ according to which ‘there is no statute of limitations for crimes against humanity.’
(Online 01 Aug) The protection of human rights, including the rights of ethnic Hungarians, is a k e y issue in terms of relations between Hungary and Romania, Parliamentary S t a t e Zsolt Németh (photo: Csaba Pelsőczy) Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Z s o l t Németh told a press conference on July 31. Németh m e n tioned that the good relations h i p photo: Csaba Pelsőczy between manner in which the referViktor Orbán and Romanian endum was conducted met President Traian Băsescu the criteria of the rule of law, and, in accordance with re- he emphasized. cent European trends on The State Secretary developing ties between stressed, good relationships parties belonging to the shall continue between the same political family, the two countries but he also close and solid ties built be- mentioned that Romania tween Fidesz and its sister should further strengthen party in Romania, had political stability within its played an important role in borders and should abdeveloping fruitful relations solutely respect fundamenbetween the two countries. tal rights, including minority He added that Traian rights. He also added that Băsescu’s continuation in mutual solidarity was crucial office after the invalid refer- for the future of the Centralendum would continue to European region. positively impact Hungar- With regard to upcoming ian-Romanian ties. The po- parliamentary elections in litical campaign and the Romania, Zsolt Németh put
forward that if the aforem e n tioned circumstances were to be crea t e d , Hungary was open to cooperation with the Romanian government irrespective of its composition. He also said that it was of fundamental importance for Transylvanian Hungarians to participate in the aut u m n elections since it was crucial for them to strengthen their own political representation, an endeavour the Hungarian government was ready to support. Finally, when asked about fighting in Syria he said that the Hungarian state was committed to an international intervention, this was not an avoidable issue. This regime should end, he said, by adding that he hoped UN Security Council permanent members Russia and China would accept this standpoint and an international intervention would be able to put an end to the brutal massacres in Syria.
Gov t we lc om e s U S r e c ognis ing f r e e dom of r e ligion in H unga r y (Online 31 Jul) T h e Hungarian government w e l comes that the US State Department's 2011 report on freedom of religion recognized that Hungary's "constitution a n d other laws and policies protect religious freedom", the government's international communications office told MTI on Tuesday. The report, however, criticised the church law's rules of registration for religious organisations and noted the increasing popularity of Jobbik, which it labelled as an "openly anti-Semitic" party. The report praised the government's financial support for the historical churches and the restitution of former communal real estate properties confiscated during the communist era. It noted that the state secretariat for education organised study trips for teachers to the Yad
Vashem Institute in Jerusalem, Defence Minister announced that the Defence Ministry was funding the renovation of graves of soldiers of Jewish origin who died in combat during the First World War, and the government hosted a Christian-Jewish-Islamic Dialogue Conference during Hungary's EU presidency in 2011. The communications office reiterated the government's commitment to taking action against anti-Semitism. Hungarian government commissioner Andras Levente Gal informed Hannah Rosenthal, special envoy to monitor and combat antiSemitism, during her recent
visit to Budapest that Hung a r y would set up a monitoring syst e m w h i c h w o u l d provide an authentic picture a b o u t anti-Semitic and anti-minority phenomena as well as the social approach and institutional reactions to them. Rosenthal praised the government's effort and stressed that the government acted in the spirit of tolerance in several programmes, including the Wallenberg Year commemorations The office cited Israeli Ambassador to Hungary Ilan Mor as saying on July 25 that fighting against antiSemitism is highly important for both countries. He also welcomed Prime Minister Viktor Orban's statement on a policy of zero tolerance towards any forms of antiSemitism.
Ministry of Rural Development holds talks with Mekong Commission (Online e s p e 31 Jul) cially coS t a t e operation Secrebetween tary for Hungary Environand Vietmental nam. The Affairs S t a t e D r . Secretary Zoltán for EnviIllés and ronmenDeputy t a l l y S t a t e Affairs Secres e e s tary for long-term Parliaopportumentary, nities for Social cooperaand Intion priternamarily tional within the Ministry of Rural Development Press Office Photo: R e l a fields of t i o n s educaKatalin tion and Tóth rethe exceived change h i g h of profeslevel delsional exegations perts. In from the addition, t h r e e h e countries stressed of the the need Mekong for coopR i v e r eration in Commisrelation s i o n , to waters Vietnam, that are Cambodivided dia and by borLaos, at ders and the Minp r e istry of sented R u r a l his views Developwith relation, experience and suitment. The primary goal of able practices within the tion to the special problems the discussion was to pass field of water management posed by water energy projon experiences with relation at both a state and profes- ects. The Minister from Vietto international water man- sional level. She stressed nam proposed a bilateral agement cooperation. Com- that the countries of the water management agreemuniqué. Danube region and the na- ment, the details of which The visiting delegation was tions that live along the will be discussed in the near headed by Vietnamese Min- banks of the Mekong must future. ister for Natural Resources face similar challenges, and At the discussions, the Hunand the Environment this too serves to strengthen garian party reviewed the Nguyen Minh Quang, and bilateral relations. Katalin operation of the domestic the members of the delega- Tóth also reminded those water management and tion included Laos's Minister present that Hungary kept water conservation systems for Natura Resources and the issue of water on the and the current international the Environment, Cambo- agenda throughout the challenges, with special emdia's State Secretary for Rio+20 Conference in June, phasis on the European Water and Meteorology, as in relation to which we have Union's water policy and cowell as deputy ministers undertaken to organise a operation within the Danube and high-level government world conference on water region. The guests received officials representing the in the autumn of 2013. an insight into the macro-rethree countries and the At the meeting, Zoltán Illés gional strategy of the EU Mekong River Commission. discussed the development Danube region, and espeIn her welcoming speech, of relationships between cially its two highlighted Katalin Tóth emphasised Hungary and the countries areas dealing with water, that Hungary is traditionally of the Mekong region, and which are being coordinated open to passing on informaby Hungary.
Exemplary efforts to facilitate the social inclusion of disadvantaged families in Ózd (Online 31 Jul) Minister o f Human R e sources Zoltán Balog inaugurated the T K K I Csillagp o n t Service House in Ózd on 30 July. The inaugurat i o n marks the conclusion of a successful project to facilitate the social inclusion of families living in extreme poverty within the framework of a comprehensive programme. On this occasion, Pál Andó, the President of the István Türr Education and Research Centre (TKKI) responsible for implementation held the inaugural speech. The project is part of the Trust and Work programme launched last year with a total budget of 410 million forints, with full national financing. At the Velence housing estate in Ózd, 3 rented social flats have been completely renovated and in the newly inaugurated TKKI Csillagpont Service House, new premises suitable for community programmes and consultations have been established with the help of 36 local residents taking part in the construction maintenance training program. As part of the community areas, a new playground was also built. At the Hétes housing estate, 45 rented social flats
have been equipped with electric metering in cooperation with ELMŰ and ÉMÁSZ. This exemplary cooperation between the state and the private sector has ended the area’s longstanding electricity problems. The ’Kiskert’ gardening programme was successful at both estates. Under this programme, experts from TKKI provided seeds and horticultural training to 60 households so that they may produce basic foods themselves. A total of 151 people received certificates having successfully completed the horticulture or construction training programs. The programme element focusing on community development was particularly successful. A number of youth clubs, sports programmes, study rooms and media workshops have been established, thus contributing to the development of individual skills and community life. The Trust and Work programme aimed at the social inclusion of families living in extreme poverty was elabo-
rated by the State Secretary for Social Inclusion, under the leadership of Zoltán Balog in 2011 and has been implemented locally by the Ministry’s professional institute, the TKKI. T h e model programme is part of the National Social Inclusion Strategy adopted at the end of last year. Those involved in the complex programme saw their housing and neighbourhood conditions improve and they were also given the possibility to develop their individual skills. They were provided with vocational training in the framework of which they themselves took part in renewing their own environment. The programme was implemented in various parts of Hungary, including the Huszár housing estate in Nyíregyháza, Komló, Vajszló and its micro environment, Szolnok and Tiszaroff as well as the above-mentioned estates in Ózd. The programme is the result of wide-scale social cooperation involving the private sector, NGOs, municipalities and the church, and provides great impetus to the social inclusion of families living in extreme poverty.
Commemorating the Roma Holocaust (Online 02 Aug) On the occasion of Roma H o l o c a u s t Remembrance Day, a c o m memorat i v e event t a k e s place in B u dapest today organized by the H o l o c a u s t Memorial Centre and the Tom Lantos Institute. During the event among others speeches are delivered by State Secretary György Hölvényi of the Human Resources Ministry, Rita Izsák, the Director of the Budapest based T o m Lantos Institute, as well as by representatives of the Hungarian Socialist P a r t y and the Politics Can Be Different party. A f t e r lighting candles, participants including Roma artists, foreign diplomats, representatives of state and civil organizations lay wreaths at the Roma Holocaust Memorial on the bank of the Danube followed by an ecumenical service. Com-
memorations are also held in other parts of the country including Nyiregyhaza, Miskolc and Békés county. The Roma Holocaust has been commemorated worldwide on August 2 since 1972. It was on the night of August 2 in 1944 when
more than 3,000 Roma, mainly women and children, were murdered in the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps. According to historians' estimates, several tens of thousands of Hungary's Roma people perished in
the Holocaust. L í v i a Járóka, Member of the European People’s P a r t y representing the Hungarian Fidesz p a r t y s u g gested that the R o m a H o l o c a u s t should also be commemorated within the framework of a European Remembrance Day. In August, two other commemorative events are to be held in relation to the Holocaust. One of them is the Day of Humanity 2012 organized by the Holoc a u s t Memorial Centre, where the opening remarks will be delivered by Zoltán Balog, Minister o f Human R e sources. The other is the final conference entitled „Memories are the key to the future” - of a social programme implemented within the framework of the New Széchenyi Plan.
Xinhua photos on China exhibited in Budapest Innov a t iv e e gg c a r t on de s ign int r o(Online 26 Jul) A "Xinhua of Chinese "Hudec was a key figure in duc e d by H unga r ia n gr a d s t ude nt Gallery" photo exhibition, splendors scenery, culture and history our common history," Zhang
(Online 04 Aug) A Hungarian graduate student has developed a new design for an egg carton. The designer, Otília Andrea Erdélyi, wanted to create an egg carton that uses as "little material as possible". According to the Budapest-based developer, with her 'Egg Box' creation, she wanted to develop an "innovative package using a small amount of material" and her design is a one-piece container. The egg carton is constructed of natural microwaved cardboard, and eggs are placed into ellipse-shaped cuts, notes Erdélyi. Consumers can easily see at a glance if any eggs are broken. "The consumer can get the eggs by the turning of topside," Erdélyi said.
Design Milk reported that although the eggs are exposed, they won't break due to the ample protection afforded Erdélyi's design. Additionally, another benefit is the stacking capability afforded by the design. Treehugger notes the environmental benefits. The box uses little material, but is still efficient, and totally recyclable. Since the July 9 posting about the product was shared by Erdélyi, it has received many positive comments, including adjectives such as "great",
"clever" a n d "clean", repeatedly noted. Back in the early 20th century an inventor by the name of Stuart E l l i s changed the standard for mailing eggs with h i s reusable metal egg container, considered to transform egg delivery during that era. One of these old egg cartons was housed at a Northern Virginia museum, Manassas Museum, in a special exhibit. Whether or not Erdélyi's new egg carton goes mainstream remains to be seen since its a new development, however, if its an improvement over current egg carton standards, it could easily take off. Perhaps most appealing would be its environmentally friendly and feasible design.
organized by China's Xinhua News Agency, opened here on Thursday to give Hungarians a closer look at China. A selection of 31 stunning photographs taken by Xinhua photographers brought
to the Hungarian public. "Our two countries have deep historical ties and this Xinhua exhibition can strengthen the bridge of communication between Hungary and China," he said, adding that "modern-
said. Guo Xiaoguang, China's cultural attache in Hungary, lauded the exhibition, saying this "wonderful window will be open to the Hungarian public as well as the local Chinese community,
forth to visitors unique Chinese landscapes as well as natural and architectural wonders. It also covered some of the Chinese sites inscribed on the UNESCO's World Heritage List. In the opening ceremony, Zhang Jin, a senior official of Xinhua News Agency, said that the exhibition was designed to showcase the
day relations are also developing intensively on both economic and cultural fronts." Zhang highlighted two of the exhibited photographs as examples of links between Hungary and China, which showed the landmark buildings in Shanghai designed by Hungarian architect Laszlo Ede Hudec.
and can provide an opportunity for Hungarians and Chinese people to better understand each other." The Xinhua Gallery was supported by the Asia Center, a local commercial center hosting many businesses from China and elsewhere in Asia.
All-time high number of spectators at the Formula 1 ENI Hungarian Grand Prix (Online 30 Jul) Minister of Nat i o n a l Developm e n t Zsuzsanna Németh conducted discussions with Bernie Ecclestone, manager of the commercial rights of the Formula 1 championship, on the site of the Formula 1 ENI Hungarian G r a n d Prix. At the meeting the parties confirmed their mutual intentions to cooperate. This year the race attracted spectators at a higher number than in the past few years: the Photo: László F. Nagy event was selves with all the sights the attended by a record num- country can rightly be proud ber of visitors. of. Formula 1 improves Hun- One of the significant and gary’s international reputa- timely outcome achieved tion as it gives foreigners a this year is the concerted glimpse in Hungarian sport, action of Hungaroring Sport a foretaste of Hungarian Zrt., the railway company culture and gastronomy MÁV-Start Zrt., the Volán and offers them an opportu- coach services, the Bunity to familiarise them- dapesti Transport Centre
and Osterm a n n Forma 1 Kft., which was realised on the initiatives of the Hungarian State Holding Co. Within this framework visitors arriving at the Hungarian Grand Prix were offered the rail and c o a c h services of the stateo w n e d MÁV-Start Zrt. and the various Volán companies free of charge. As a result of the successful cooperation, nearly 10 thousand tickets were sold. Another factor to improve Hungary’s reputation is that similarly to the previous years, millions of viewers and readers were informed of the Formula 1 ENI Hungarian Grand Prix, ranked among the most watched sports events of the world, by television and in the press.
2 3 r d f r e e s um m e r univ e r s it y a nd s t ude nt c a m p in Tus ná df ür dő (Online 30 tions FerJul) The enc Kumin Transylvanalso took ian town of part at the Tusnádfürdő 5 - d a y hosted the event. He 23rd free said, intersummer national University political and Student families camp. In were more keeping with actively intradition, volved in Prime Ministhe repreter Viktor sentation of Orbán also interests of participated their memat the event ber parties Orbán, László Tőkés and Németh Zsolt Németh Viktor and held a and thus lecture at the Forum enti- Prime Minister with respon- greater ground was also sibility for Hungarian Comtled "Central Europe is Reprovided in the Western munities Abroad media for Hungarian opponewing" on Saturday. The prosition pargramme ties to was modervoice their ated by Zsolt opinions Németh, and someParliamentimes used tary State morally Secretary of c o n the Ministry demnable of Foreign means to Affairs. Conportray the trary to preHungarian v i o u s governsummer uniment in a versities, negative this year the light. He Romanian mentioned Head of urban legState, Traian ends acBăsescu cording to was unable Zsolt Semjén (Photo: MTI) which Hunto take part garians in the programme as a day emphasized the need for had written articles on interprior to the referendum on the Transylvanian Hungar- nal politics under the his removal he was obliged ian community to find a names of well-known Westnot to make any public ap- modus vivendi with Ro- ern public figures. manian political players, The summer University pearances. In faith with tradition, the adding that the national in- of Tusványos was estabPrime Minister of Hungary terests of Central-Euro- lished at the same time responded to questions pean countries mostly as communism fell in the from the audience. He said, coincide. Soviet bloc. During its there was no homoge- Parliamentary State Secre23-year history, the event tary of the Ministry of Forneous recipe for crisis management and this allowed a eign Affairs Zsolt Németh has managed to concertain degree of intellec- also underlined the impor- serve its chief aims, tual liberty. With regard to tance of maintaining coop- namely to change views between on the two countries’ sothe upcoming parliamen- eration tary elections in Romania, Central-European coun- cial and political affairs in he said, he hoped the Tran- tries within the European the spirit of openness sylvanian Hungarian popu- Union. He cited former Min- and sincerity. lation would represent ister of State of Hungary The 5-day event also ofunity. The Prime Minister István Bibó when saying, in fered a great number of also held consultations with order to achieve develop- youth programmes, inuniversity leaders on the ment, the issues of liberty cluding concerts, film situation and future of Hun- and community must be screenings and craft garian higher education in our common issue. Deputy State Secretary for workshops. Transylvania. Zsolt Semjén, Deputy International Communica-
Freedom of religion in Hungary (Online 30 The Jul) government welcomes the fact that according to the United States Department of State, Hungarian laws protect the freedom of religion. The Hungarian governm e n t welcomes the fact that the US Department of State's 2011 International Religious Freedom Report estimates that the Hungarian constitution, as well as other laws and measures, protect the freedom of religion – responded the Prime Minister’s Office responsible for International Communications on Tuesday to the report published by the Hungarian news agency MTI. With relation to Hungary, the International Relig i o u s Freedom Report for 2011, issued on 30 July 2012 by the United States Department of State, objects to the registration requirements included in the Act on Churches and to the rise of the "openly anti-Semitic" Jobbik party. However, the document also points out that Hungarian laws and measures protect religious freedom. In response to the document, the Prime Minister’s Office told MTI that the report commends the fact that the state provides significant financial support and further benefits for registered religious groups as well as facilitating the restitution of religious properties confiscated by the state during the communist dictatorship. The report specifically mentions the fact that the State Secretariat for Education supported a seven-day Holocaust education seminar for teachers to the Jad
Vasem institute in Jerusalem, the announcement by Minister of Defence Csaba Hende that the Hungarian Defence Forces would renovate the tombs of those who had died in combat during the
First World War, in the Jewish Cemetery in Kozma utca, and the international conference on ChristianJewish-Muslim interfaith dialogue organised by the government during Hungary's term as President of the EU. With regard to the report's comment that suggests a rise in anti-Semitism, the International Communications Office stresses that the government is committed to combating anti-Semitism and is doing its utmost to quell any such tendency. For precisely this reason, consultations have already begun regarding the possibility of setting up a monitoring system that is capable of providing an internationally credible and authentic picture on whether there are anti-Semitic or anti-minority phenomena in Hungary, and if so of what kind and what the social approach and institutional reactions are in
relation to this – they pointed out. They also stressed the fact that this had already been communicated to Hannah Rosenthal, special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism, by Hungarian government commissioner András Levente Gál during her recent visit to Budapest on July 20. At a press conference held during her visit to Hungary, Hannah Rosenthal praised the governm e n t ' s approach a n d stressed that a great number of governm e n t measures were being realised in 2012 in the spirit of tolerance, such as the Wallenberg Year commemorations, the office wrote. They also mentioned the fact that Ambassador of Israel to Hungary Ilan Mor announced in a declaration on July 25 that the fight against anti-Semitism was important for both countries and he welcomed the fact that Viktor Orbán advocated the principle of zero tolerance against anti-Semitic manifestations. When representatives from the United Hungarian Israelite Community (EMIH) and civilian leaders of the Congregation of Jewish Communities in Hungary (Mazsihisz) held negotiations with US government officials on the suppression of anti-Semitism, EMIH Chief Rabbi Slomó Köves told the US version of the paper Algemeiner that Hungary is not a bad place to live as a Jew and the antiJewish atmosphere experienced here was no worse than anywhere else in Europe - they recalled.
Significant financial support for the education of disadvantaged young people (Online 02 Aug) In the framework of the New Széchenyi Plan, 7.5 billion forints have been earmarked for the financial support of public training school programmes aiming at promoting equal opportu-
dren of Roma origin, and support measures aimed at reducing early school leaving. The government is also committed to provide every talented young person eager to learn with a gener-
are eager to learn but who did not get access to the state-funded positions, while one of the sub-programmes of the scholarship programme ‘Útravaló’ aims at providing students of multiple disadvantages with
nities as well as for the further development of programmes such as ‘Schoolnet’, ‘Tanoda’ and ‘Second Chance’. The advertised tender schemes may help programmes and public training institutions in the most disadvantaged small regions adapt to the educational needs of children and pupils with multiple disadvantages, including chil-
ally accessible, high-standard and sustainable higher education system and has earmarked 80 million forints for the successful economic and social integration of the most disadvantaged young students. The new student loan scheme ‘Diákhitel II’ provides ever greater financial assistance to disadvantaged young people who
equal opportunities in higher education through scholarships and grants. In view of the fact that among students with the worst chances of getting into higher education the proportion of the Roma is particularly high, 50% of grants will be awarded to students of Roma origin, if the number of candidates allows it.
Budapest Airport marks successful first six months of 2012 (Online 03 Aug) Budapest Airport reports that it has made a strong recovery since the unfortunate bankruptcy of Hungary’s national airline, Malev, in February. A period which could have left the airport in turmoil, has in fact seen the airport, its airline customers (new and existing) and its partners, pull together in an impressive show of solidarity and optimism. “The void left by Malev offered numerous business opportunities for carriers both flying into or establishing bases at Budapest,” said Aviation Director Kam Jandu. “As a result, traffic is only 11% down on last summer and some 80% of the point to point traffic delivered by Malev has swiftly recovered. “We remain committed to being the best and leading airport in the Central/Eastern European region and despite the loss of a major airline, it is pleasing that our summer 2012 programme is being operated by 33 airlines (the same number as last year) ), serving 88 destinations across 41 countries. As of
the second quarter 2012, our airlines are enjoying an average load factor of 72.1%, an increase of 3.8% on the same period in 2011.” Six new airlines, 13 destinations added To date this year, Budapest Airport has welcomed six new airlines and 13 new destinations have been added to the Budapest route map. A total 38 of the 58 destinations operated by Malev have been replaced. In February, Ryanair announced its return to Budapest Airport and within months it had positioned five aircraft at the airport, launching a total of 30 new routes to destinations across Europe, including, Birmingham, Lubeck, Malaga, Paphos, Alicante, Venice, Dusseldorf-Weeze and Billund. In a further boost, Budapest Airport has been selected to host Routes Europe
2013. Budapest Airport, in partnership with the Hungarian National Tourist Office (together with the Hungarian Convention Bureau) and Bud a p e s t Tourism will host this key industry event next year, working together to give delegates an occasion to remember. The event will be staged at the SYMA Sport and Event Center in Budapest during 12-14 May 2013. In its successful application to host Routes Europe 2013, Budapest Airport and its partners had to demonstrate the ability to suitably accommodate the event against some strong competition. “We are delighted to have been selected to host Routes Europe 2013,” said Budapest Airport CEO Jost Lammers. “We sincerely believe that Hungary and Budapest is a worthy venue for such a prestigious and recognised industry event. We aim to put on a great conference to guarantee delegates’ satisfaction for both business and leisure purposes.”
President will move to official residence after renovation, press officer Anita Altorjai (Online 30 Jul) Hungary’s former President Pal Schmitt has moved out of his official residence located in a leafy district of Buda, tabloid Blikk reported on Monday. After minor renovation works, incumbent President Janos Ader and his family will move in the resi-
dence within a few weeks, Anita Altorjai, press chief of the President’s Office, told the paper. Ex-president Schmitt waived his right to stateowned accommodation with respect to the country’s economic situation in mid-June. Under Hungarian laws,
presidents of the republic are entitled to the “use of an appropriate flat to be provided and maintained by the President’s Office” for the rest of their lives after they leave office. Schmitt resigned over a plagiarism scandal connected with his university doctoral thesis on April 2.
Olympic swimming: Daniel Gyurta of Hungary wins Olympic gold in men's 200m breaststroke (Online 01 A u g ) D a n i e l Gyurta of Hungary set a world record to win the 200-meter breaststroke at the London Olympics o n Wednesday. G y u r t a clocked 2 minutes, 7.28 seco n d s , shaving 0.03 off the previous mark set by Christian Sprenger of Australia at the 2009 w o r l d championships in a nowbanned bodysuit.
Michael Jamieson of Britain touched in 2:07.43 to take the s i l v e r medal and R y o Tateishi of Japan finished in 2:08.29 f o r bronze. Two-time defending champion Kosuke Kitajima of Japan fini s h e d fourth, ending his bid to become the first man to win the s a m e swimming event at three consecutive Olympics.