Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Cocoa power play: The internationally recognized president-elect of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, is calling for a halt to cocoa exports in an effort to force his defeated rival, President Laurent Gbagbo, to leave office. Gbagbo refuses to concede that he lost the November election and is squatting in the presidential palace. Ouattara, meanwhile, is trying to run the country from a hotel protected by hundreds of U.N. peacekeepers, and he hopes that a halt to cocoa exports will deprive Gbagbo of the money to pay the military and government. Ivory Coast is the world’s largest producer of cocoa beans, and Ouattara’s call for an export ban sent global prices soaring. In response, Gbagbo’s forces this week seized the Ivorian branches and staff of the Central Bank of West African States in a bid to secure funds.
Tunis, Tunisia
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Protests continue: Protesters massed outside government buildings in Tunis this week demanding the resignation of the interim government, which they say includes too many Cabinet members close to ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, an old-regime carryover who’s been in that office since 1999, has pledged free elections within six months, but demonstrators say they want him out now. Riot police used tear gas to disperse the protesters. Meanwhile, the Tunisian government issued international arrest warrants for Ben Ali; his wife, Leila Trabelsi; and other family members for theft of state assets. Trabelsi reportedly withdrew 1.5 tons of gold bars—worth some $56 million—from the central bank before fleeing abroad two weeks ago.
Ankara, Turkey
Fury at Israel: Turkey reacted angrily this week after an Israeli inquiry cleared Israel’s military of any wrongdoing in the deadly raid last May on a Turkish flotilla bound for Gaza. Nine pro-Palestinian activists—eight Turkish citizens and a Turkish-American—were killed when Israeli commandos boarded one of the ships, which were seeking to break an Israeli blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid. After the Israeli panel investigating the raid ruled that armed defense of the blockade was justified under international law, Turkey released its own report accusing Israel of having used “excessive, indiscriminate, and disproportionate force.” Turkish President Abdullah Gül said Israel’s findings illustrate its “spoiled attitude” and lack of “regard for the world or for international law.” Formerly a close ally of Israel, Turkey recalled its ambassador after the raid.
Beirut
Hezbollah in power: Violent protests erupted in Lebanon this week after the Shiite party Hezbollah named billionaire Najib Mikati the new prime minister. Hezbollah toppled the unity government under Saad Hariri last week, pulling out of the coalition because Hariri continued to support a U.N. tribunal that is expected to charge Hezbollah members in the 2005 murder of Hariri’s father, then–Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. Hariri supporters, mostly Sunnis, blocked roads across the country this week, burning tires and vowing to oppose Mikati’s rule. Hariri’s coalition has called for protests in Martyrs’ Square in downtown Beirut, site of the 2005 Cedar Revolution, which forced Syrian troops to withdraw from Lebanon. Hezbollah is backed by Syria and Iran.
Ramallah, West Bank
The Palestine Papers: Palestinian leaders were willing to make major concessions to Israel as part of a peace deal, according to leaked documents released this week by Al-Jazeera. The documents, purportedly minutes of 2008 negotiations mediated by then–Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, show that Palestinians were willing to cede sections of East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank, as well as compromise on the right of refugees’ descendents to return to Israel. Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei angrily disputed the account, saying some of the documents had been faked. Analysts said the release of the papers could damage Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas if Palestinians see him as willing to abandon core positions with no concessions from Israel. But they could also hurt Israel’s image abroad, as Israelis have long insisted that the Palestinians refuse to engage in meaningful negotiations.
Perth, Australia
Boat people tragedy: Australian police charged three Indonesians with human trafficking this week over a shipwreck that killed nearly 50 people, including children and babies, last month. The boat carrying Iranian, Iraqi, and ethnic Kurdish families crashed into rocks on the shore of Australia’s Christmas Island and splintered into bits. The passengers had paid smugglers thousands of dollars for passage from Indonesia to Australia, where they hoped to claim asylum. The Australian navy rescued 42 people and recovered 30 of the bodies. Australia plans to install a radar surveillance system on Christmas Island to try to prevent similar disasters.
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