International Polity - Current Affairs for October, 2016

This move underlies the depth of the crisis in the country and comes amidst antipathy in Africa towards the court

• President Pierre Nkurunzinza who criticised the court signed the decree paving the departure of the east African nation from the court
• He has been accused of human rights violation
• His decision comes when ICC was investigating the deaths of several hundred in Burundi following politically motivated violence triggered by the President’s decision to seek a third term as against accords in 2005 which ended a 12 year civil war
• Other nations in a campaign for all AU members to leave the court are Zimbabwe, Uganda, South Africa and Kenya
• The Republic of Burundi in east Africa is bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania in the east and south and DRC to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura.

Bangladesh and China on 14th Oct 2016 signed 26 agreements and MoUs during the visit of the Chinese president to Dhaka.
List of MoUs signed includes

• MoU on One Belt One Road- Bangladesh joined China’s One Belt One Road Initiative.
• MoU to establish institutional cooperation in maritime issues and counter-terrorism.
• MoU to get a 1320 MW power plant constructed by China in Bangladesh
• Agreement to commence feasibility studies on the establishment of China-Bangladesh Free Trade Area.
• Agreement through which Beijing will train 500 Chinese-language teachers for Bangladesh, train 100 Bangladeshi cultural professionals and invite 600 Bangladeshi students to visit China from 2016 to 2020.
• China's TBEA inked a power grid deal worth USD 1.6 billion with Dhaka Power.
• Agreement to enhance high-level exchanges, maintain frequent contacts between leaders of the two countries on the sidelines of multilateral foray.
• Framework Agreement for Developing Cooperation on Production Capacity between Bangladesh and China.
• Agreement to continue their cooperation on river management, including dredging with land reclamation.
• The nations also jointly unveiled six projects, including multi-lane tunnel beneath the Karnaphuli River in Chittagong.
• Both the sides also signed various agreements of cooperation in areas of industrial capacity building, power and energy, information technology, investment, disaster management and culture.

Abdelilah Bekirane, leader of the Moroccan Islamic Justice and Development Party was appointed as the new PM of the country on 10th Oct 2016

• This marks his second term as PM of Morocco
• Mohammad VI, king of Morocco made the announcement after his PJD party emerged with the mot number of seats in the 395 seat lower house
• In the election held on 7th Oct 2016, Abdelilah Bekirane leading the PJD party won 125 seats. The PJD party has been in coalition government since 2011
• The opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party came second with 102 seats
• Country’s oldest party Istiqlal stood third with 46 seats
• Abdelilah Bekirane has been serving as PM of the nation since Nov 2011
• PJD will now reach out to other parties to form a coalition government
• This is because the multi-party system in the kingdom makes it difficult for any political party to get an absolute majority
• Of the 395 members of the lower house, 305 were elected in multi-seat constituencies from electoral lists put together by the parties
• 60 of the remaining 90 seats are reserved for national list of women and rest 30 seats are for candidates under 35 years of age

The White House indicated that Obama has signed an executive order lifting sanctions on 7th Oct, 2016. Myanmar’s new civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi also visited the Oval Office.

• Obama’s move marks the culmination of years of rapprochement between the US and Myanmar that Obama has worked to facilitate
• The Southeast Asian nation has pursued political reforms over the past give years following decades of oppressive military rile
• The US has also eased broad economic sanctions on Myanmar including prohibitions on investment and trade.
• The US has also retained more targeted restrictions on military owned companies as well as officials and associates of the former ruling junta

Kersti Kaljulaid on 3rd Oct 2016 was elected as the President of Estonia by the parliament.

• With this, she became the first female president in Estonia and won vote 81-0 with 20 members in absentia or abstaining
• She is the first female president elect and due to take office on 10th Oct 2016 as the fifth president of the country
• She is the first woman to be President of Estonia since the nation declared independence in 1918 and again in 1991
• She will also be the youngest elected President at the age of 46
• She is a biology major with an MBA
• She has also worked as a project manager, an investment banker and economic adviser
• Since May 2011, she was a rep of Estonia in the European Court of Auditors

President Vladimir Putin on 3rd Oct 2016 suspended the deal with the US on the disposal of weapons grade plutonium a symbol of US-Russia rapprochement fallen amidst tensions in Syria, Ukraine and other disputes

• Strain in the ties between former Cold war rivals escalated in recent weeks following the collapse of the Syrian truce
• The US State Dept also said it was suspending bilateral contact with Russia over Syria
• Putin’s decree cited the reason for Moscow’s move to be the US unfriendly action
• Russia will keep the weapons grade plutonium covered under the agreement away from weapons program
• As per this agreement signed in 2000 and expanded in 2006 and 2010, Russia and the US were set to dispose 34 metric tons of plutonium enough material for 17,000 nuclear warheads
• Russia indicated that it started up a plant that mixes side commercial nuclear reactor fuel known as MOX from weapons grade plutonium
• Construction of the similar plant in the US has run into trouble
• Putin argued that the policy change and failure to meet the MOX deal gave the US “Sreturn potential” or the chance to recycle the material into weapons grade plutonium
• While MOX makes sure that weapons-grade plutonium can't be used for any military purposes, the U.S. intention to dilute and stockpile the material means "it could be dug up again,” says Russia
• Moscow was suspending the deal though not annulling it and ready to restore it if the US took Russian concerns into account

China on 1st Oct 2016 placed an extension on the technical hold on India’s move to get Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar designated a terrorist by the United Nations before the exposure of the hold.

• China technical hold was set to lapse on Oct 3, and had the Sino state not raised objections, resolution designating Azhar as a terrorist could have been passed automatically
• Chinese technical hold is set to be extended for another six months
• Technical hold on India’s listing application has been submitted to 1267 committee in March 2016 has been extended as per an official announcement by China
• On March 31 this year, China a veto wielding permanent member of the UNSC has blocked India’s move to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad leader and Pathankot mastermind, terrorist Masood Azhar
• China was the only member in the 15 nation UN organisation to put India’s application on hold; the 14 other nations in the council supported New Delhi’s bid to place Azhar on the 1267 sanctions list subjecting him to an assets freeze and travel ban
• Geng, a Chinese spokesperson sad that "China always maintains that on the listing matter, the 1267 committee should stick to the main principles of objectivity, impartiality and professionalism, base its judgments on solid evidence and decide upon consensus among the members of the Security Council.”
• The hold has been extended in the middle of Indo-Pak tension over the Uri terror attack
• China’s technical hold coupled with the move to block India’s entry into the NSG has created tension in Sino-India ties as well.
• China’s move to extend the technical hold comes ahead of the expected meeting between PM Narendra Modi and China’s president XI Jingping in Goa during the BRICS summit from Oct 15-16
• China has blocked India’s demand for action under the anti-terrorism resolution against Pakistan held by the council for releasing LeT commander Zaki-ur-Lakhvi- the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks
• India is not alone to get Azhar listed as a terrorist; UK and France co-sponsored the resolution seeking the listing of Azhar
• India has criticised the UN Sanctions Committee for the failure to designate terrorists
• Terror groups are proscribed entities under the sanctions regime, but individuals heading them are not listed
• India finds it incomprehensible as to why JeM was listed for terror activities since 2001 and designation of the group’s main leader has been placed on technical hold