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Turkey's Military Operation in Syria
Merin Susan Suresh
The Kurds, West Asia’s fourth-largest ethnic group spread across Iran, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Armenia continue to be the center of ongoing conflicts in Syria. On October 9, 2019, Turkish forces began a cross border assault against the Syrian Democratic Forces, a militia led by the Kurds in Northern Syria and also includes what is called the YGF or People’s Protection Units. The root of the issue was the USA’s decision to withdraw its troops from the Syrian border causing Turkey to make its move fearing terrorist activity along its southern borders. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims that the invasion was to restore peace and safety along the southern borders of Turkey, a region where Kurdish presence is fairly high.
The operation has caused about 64,000 people who have fled the Northeastern Syrian borders and according to UN reports, 700,000 people in northeast Syria require humanitarian assistance. Turkey confirmed the death of one of its soldiers in the operation and also reported the injury of three other soldiers. The country’s defense ministry also announced the killing of around 277 Kurdish fighters.
The history between Turkey and the Kurds goes back to the First World War following the fall of the Ottoman Empire when the Kurds began pushing for an independent state but all attempts in this regard were repeatedly destroyed.
The military operation conducted by Turkey has elicited negative reactions from around the world while reports say that thousands of people can be displaced if the operation continues.
Nepal-China Ink Road Connectivity
Salma Basheer
On October 13, 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Nepalese Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli met in Kathmandu to sign 20 agreements, according to the reports. The agreements signed by the leaders also included infrastructure-building projects like the rail connectivity between Nepal’s capital Kathmandu and Tibetan capital Lhasa.
This project to develop an all-weather road connection is of significance for Nepal since the current condition of roads and railways are of poor condition, making it unsafe for travel and are prone to disasters like landslides. The network would also reduce the distance between China and Nepal, giving easy access to the commercial centers of both countries.
The visit of a Chinese President to Nepal in over 20 years has plans to improve relations between the two countries. The Nepalese government reciprocates China’s gesture to assist Nepal’s development program by agreeing to Chinese banks to open more branches in the country. The Nepalese government also openly supported the ‘One-China’ policy during the meeting.
China used the disadvantageous location of Nepal, a landlocked country, to develop new relations and have better cooperation with the country. The Chinese President conveyed that the country is assisting Nepal to help it to become a land-locked country to become a land-linked country. The move of China in Nepal by increasing economic interdependency with other countries could also be understood as a strategy to curb India’s dominance over the South Asian region. The meeting and the joint statement of the countries prove that the meeting ended in a successful note.
Modi-Xi Jinping Summit: Bringing a Fresh Wave of Optimism in India-China Relations
Sayali Phanse
The second informal summit between Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi and Chinese President Xi Jinping took place at the coastal town of Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu on 11-12th October 2019, a year after an informal summit in Wuhan, China, the first of its kind.
The two-day summit witnessed long free-flowing sessions, bringing sagacity and fresh momentum to strained Sino-Indian ties. The first day of the summit showcased the ancient town of Mamallapuram, which served as a gateway for the trade-in seventh century between the Pallava dynasty and the Chinese empire, a reminiscence of the historical linkages between the erstwhile civilizations. The second day unfolded with a one-on-one meet between PM Modi and President Jinping, followed by delegation talks, in all six hours of dialogues among the two leaders.
Few of the notable developments of the summit:
China has assured to take concrete measures to reduce the massive trade deficit between the two nations, which currently stands at a whopping $ 57 billion. The leaders have agreed on a new High-Level Economic and Trade mechanism to be chaired by Finance Minister NirmalaSitharam and Chinese vice premier Hu Chunhua. China appreciated India’s concerns regarding the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and agreed to discuss the issues regarding the regional free trade pact. Xi Jinping talked about the need for enhancing defense cooperation and vowed to work together in facing challenges of radicalization and terrorism which continues to pose a common threat at the international level.
The ‘Chennai connect’ sets tone for future informal summits and strategic communications between these neighboring nations.
The summit eschewed any discussion on Jammu and Kashmir, a bone of contention between these Asian nations, demonstrating that astute diplomacy and conciliatory approach can succeed in stabilizing the Sino-Indian ties.
Rebellion of Ecuador’s Indegenous People
Omkar Mane
The Andean country of Ecuador witnessed severe protests and demonstrations since the beginning of October when President Lenin Moreno announced the cutting of government subsidies on fuel prices which were in force from the 1970s. The decision did not go down well with the indigenous population of Ecuador, who took to the streets to show their displeasure and anger at this decision. Though initially, the protests were peaceful, they gradually materialized into violent protests and demonstrations.
The economy of the oil-dependent country had been struggling for some years when there was a drop in prices of oil. To overcome this, in March 2019, Ecuador secured a $10.2 billion bailout package from the IMF and other institutions, of which $4.2 billion were to come as a loan from the IMF. To meet these austerity measures, Lenin Moreno had decided to cut the fuel subsidies, which led to an increase in the prices of petrol and diesel in the country.
The protests were led by the Indigenous community of Ecuador. The protesters took to demonstrations, protests and took control of the Ecuadoran oil fields. Sensing the rising discontent, the government was shifted from capital Quito to Guayaquil, where little disturbances were recorded. The protests also showed the animosity between current president Lenin Moreno and his predecessor Rafael Correa as the former blamed the latter for the violence and crime that was taking place in the country. Rafael Correa denied his involvement in this.
The protests were against austerity measures, an exorbitant hike in fuel prices, included shrinking government spending, laying off 23,000 state employees, privatization of social services and infrastructure– and more – all linked to the IMF loan of US$ 4.2 billion. To curb the growing discontent, the police along with the army resorted to counter the protests. The violence which ensued was the worst in the history of Ecuador, leading to the death of 7 people, arrests of many people and injuring countless people.
The protests forced President Lenin Moreno to cancel the Decree 883 i.e. the high fuel prices were cancelled, the state of emergency and curfew was lifted and there was an end to 11 days of violence. This decision marked a major victory for the indigenous people of the country, though the economic future of the country remains a burning issue.
Abhijit Bhanerjee – One among the 2019 Economic Nobel Prize Winners
S Divya Kiran
On the 14th of October, Abhijit Banerjee, 58, and Esther Duflo, 46, stalwarts in the field of Development Economics for the past twenty-odd years, were awarded the SverigesRiksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2019. They shared the award with fellow economist Michael Kremer for "their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty".
They received a total of 9 million Swedish Crown ($915,300), from The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The Nobel for Economics was a later addition to the five that were created in the will of the industrialist and dynamite inventor. The prizes were established by the Swedish central bank and first awarded in 1969.
Professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the couple began work on the world's poorest, researching how markets and institutions work for them. They founded the Abdul LatifJameel Poverty Action Lab (J-Pal) at MIT to study poverty in the year 2003, working together for years before getting married in 2015. Coming from as different backgrounds as possible, they were brought together by their mutual commitment to dismantling the systemic processes that reduce "the poor" to a cliché, worthy of either admiration or pity but nothing more.
"This year's Laureates have introduced a new approach to obtaining reliable answers about the best ways to fight global poverty," the academy said in a statement, referring to their extensive work on a novel approach to understanding and alleviating global poverty by dividing the concept into its smaller contributing factors. They have, over the years, conducted 70-80 randomized trials in India as well as several countries in Africa. The research, consolidated in the seminal work they coauthored 'Poor Economics', has helped transform the scope of anti-poverty policy.