TALIBAN LEADER KILLED BY DRONE STRIKE
A US drone strike in North Waziristan has allegedly killed top Taliban leader Wali-ur-Rehman, and six other members of the Pakistani Taliban. Wali-ur-Rehman was widely believed to succeed Hakimullah Mehsud as leader of the Pakistani Taliban. The strike comes just days after the end of a national election in which drone strikes were the topic of much debate, with both sides claiming that US drone strikes challenged national sovereignty. Prime Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif said that he was willing to “sit with our American friends and talk about the issue” – as he is currently coming under legal pressure by the Pakistani court system to cut back the number of US drone strikes taking place in Pakistan. The strike also comes recently after President Obama announced a scaling back of drone-based operations in the region. Imran Kahn, former Pakistani cricketer and Sharif’s opponent in the Prime Minister race denounced Obama’s approval of the strike by stating that Obama went back on his word. (Reuters May 29, 2013; The Wall Street Journal May 22, 2013)
CHINA & INDIA PREMIERS MEET TO DISCUSS RECENT DISPUTE
Prime Ministers of India and China recently met in New Delhi to smooth over the recent border dispute that flared for three weeks in April, when some 50 Chinese soldiers camped several kilometers across the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, Several days after the meeting, Indian Prime Minister Singh flew to Tokyo to strengthen maritime relations between India and Japan, calling the two countries “natural partners” on naval issues. Mr. Keqiang is scheduled to fly to Islamabad before the end of the month in order to announce a Chinese-Pakistani nuclear deal. (New York Times May 20, 2013; Associated Press May 28, 2013)
FIRST BURMESE PRESIDENT VISITS WASHINGTON SINCE 1966
Myanmar President Thein Sein visited Washington in an effort to bolster bilateral relations. In a symbolic move, Barack Obama referred to the country as “Myanmar” rather than Burma for the first time. Many human rights groups, however, chided the president for using the term as either premature or inappropriate – as it is “a name used by the military junta and was not inclusive of all the country's ethnic groupings, unlike Burma.” Several human rights groups also expressed disappointment for Obama for not using the meeting to push Sein to release more political prisoners and speed up the democratic process through the enfranchisement of marginalized ethnic groups, such as the Muslim Rohingya, who have just been faced with a “2-child policy” limit by the Burmese government. (The Guardian May 20, 2013; VOA May 28, 2013)
MAOIST REBELS AMBUSH INDIAN POLITICAL CONVOY
At least 27 are confirmed dead in the central Indian province of Chhattisgarh after heavily armed Moaist rebels triggered a land mine explosion under their convoy then emerged from concealed positions and opened fire. The convoy carried several key Congress Party officials, including Nand Kumar Patel, the head of the party in the state of Chhattisgarh, who along with his son, were among the victims of the attack. Both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi condemned the attack. Mr. Singh stated that the government plans on taking firm action against the rebels. The rebels, known as “Naxalites,” were inspired by the Moaist movement in neighboring China and have been intermittently fighting the Indian government for nearly four decades. Ms. Gandhi called the event a “dastardly attack” on the Indian democratic system, and the country “would never bow down before Naxalism.” (Al-Jazeera May 27, 2013)
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