Inner Asia
Next: Free Siberia?
In a little-noted irony, as Vladiimir Putin backs the "People's Republics" in eastern Ukraine, he has cracked down on a separatist movement that has emerged in Siberia.
Tag: autonomy
Central America
Nicaragua: inter-oceanic canal route approved
Nicaragua approved a route for its proposed inter-oceanic canal—sparking demands both by the Rama indigenous people and neighboring Costa Rica to be consulted in the project.
The Andes
Bolivia: ‘dirty war’ fears as Evo seeks third term
Bolivia's President Evo Morales, running for a third term that the opposition calls unconstitutional, appealed to his followers to refrain from launching a "dirty war."
Africa
Deadly Ramadan in Somalia
Militant group al-Shabab has lived up to its promise to step up attacks in Somalia, mainly against government installations and personnel, during the holy month of Ramadan.
Southeast Asia
Mindanao: tribes want autonomy from Moro zone
Indigenous tribes within the proposed Bangsamoro territory in Mindanao, created under a peace deal with Moro rebels, are demanding that their ancestral lands be excluded.
Planet Watch
Canada’s high court upholds aboriginal title
First nations across British Columbia are celebrating a unanimous ruling by Canada's Supreme Court that recognizes aboriginal title to traditional territories outside reserves.
Europe
UN: breakdown of law and order in east Ukraine
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a report citing abductions, detentions, torture and killings in the eastern regions of Ukraine where armed groups hold control.
Southeast Asia
Philippines: indigenous peoples pledge resistance
Datu Guibang Apoga, fugitive leader of the Manobo indigenous people of Mindanao, held a jungle press conference to pledge renewed resistance to militarization of tribal lands.
Southeast Asia
Sharia (in)justice in Aceh (not just Brunei)
A rape victim is sentenced to be flogged for "adultery" in Aceh—more grim evidence that local autonomy in the Indonesian region has been usurped by clerical reactionaries.
Africa
Greater Addis Ababa plan sparks Oromo protests
Several have been killed in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, in protests over plans to expand the city's borders to incorporate outlying Oromo-dominated municipalities.
Europe
Transcarpathia: next Ukrainian flashpoint?
In Ukraine's eastern region of Transcarpathia, ethnic Hungarians and Ruthenians are agitating for autonomy, with the encouragement of Moscow and Budapest.
Europe
Novorossiya resurgent?
With the open encouragement of Putin, separatists in eastern Ukraine are reviving the concept of "Novorossiya" (New Russia)—a dangerous precedent for revanchist claims.