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LETTER N° 13

From 25 to 31 MARCH

25
Germany

(Baden-Wuertemberg)

Regional parliament elections. Results :

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) wins 44.8% of the vote, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) 33.3%, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) 8.1%, the Greens 7.7%, and the Republicans 4.4%.

25
Germany

(Rheinland-Pfalz)

Regional parliament elections. Results :

The SPD wins 44.7%, the CDU 35.3%, the FDP 7.8%, and the Greens 5.2%.

25
Austria

(Vienna)

Municipal elections in Vienna. Results :

The Social Democratic Party wins 46.8% of the vote (52 of 100 seats), the Freedom Party 20.3% (21), the Austrian People's Party 16.4% (16), the Greens 12.5% (11), and the Liberal Forum 3.5%. Turnout is 66%.

Vienna Mayor Michael Haeupl top candidate of the Social Democrates which is 7,66 percent more than in the last elections in 1996.

25
Ivory Coast

Municipal elections in. Results :

The National Electoral (CNE) publicly announced the official results and turn out in the municipal elections held in 186 communities in the Ivory Coast. According to those results, the turn out was 41% and Mr.Alassane Dramane Ouattara's Republicans'Rally [Rassemblement des Républicains (RDR)] heads in first position with 61 communities, to 56 for the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI), 35 to independent candidates and 33 to the Ivorian Popular Front [Front populaire ivoirien (FPI)]. Pr Francis Vangah Wodié's Ivorian Party of Workers [Parti ivoirien des travailleurs (PIT)] comes last with a lonely community.

25
Russia Federation

(Tatarstan Republic)

Gubernatorial election. Results :

Mintimer Shaimiyev, one of Russia's most powerful regional leaders, won a third term as president of Tatarstan in an election on Sunday, according to results published on Monday. With almost all ballots counted, Shaimiyev, 64, had won 79.59 percent of votes cast in the autonomous republic. Three other main candidates were trailing with less than six percent of the vote each. Voter turnout was 79.39 percent.

25
Russia Federation

(Amur oblast)

Gubernatorial election. Results :

Amur Oblast Governor Anatolii Belonogov was leading in gubernatorial elections held that day. According to Interfax-Eurasia, Belonogov had 46.72 percent of the vote with some 45 percent of the ballots counted. He would need a victory of over 50 percent in order to avoid going into a second election round, according to the agency. State Duma deputy Leonid Korotkov (People's Deputy) was in second place with some 20 percent of the vote. Belonogov has been expected to hold onto his seat.

25
Japan

(Chiba)

Chiba Prefecture, Gubernatorial election. Results :

Elected as governor independent Akiko Domoto, 68, a former Upper House lawmaker backed by grass-roots civic groups. Domoto defeated four other candidates, including one backed by Mori's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and another supported by the main opposition Democratic Party.

26
South Korea

President Kim Dae-jung has replaced nearly half his cabinet in an effort to allay public discontent with his Government's handling of the economy and other policy issues. Nine out of 22 ministers had been replaced.

SEE GOVERNMENT

26
Bangladesh

1971 - People's Republic of Bangladesh Declared.

The history of Bangladesh is related to that of the larger area of Bengal, which became independent of Delhi by 1341. After a succession of Muslim rulers, it was conquered by Akbar, the great Mughal emperor in 1576. By the beginning of the 18th cent., the governor of the province was virtually independent, but he lost control to the British East India Company, which after 1775 was the effective ruler of the vast area, which also included the Indian states of West Bengal, Orissa, and Bihar. The movement for greater autonomy gained momentum when, in the Dec., 1970, general elections, the Awami League under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (generally known as Sheikh Mujib) won practically all of East Pakistan's seats and thus achieved a majority in the Pakistan National Assembly. President Muhammad Agha Yahya Khan, hoping to avert a political confrontation between East and West Pakistan, twice postponed the opening session of the national assembly. The government's attempts to forestall the autonomy bid led to general strikes and nonpayment of taxes in East Pakistan and finally to civil war on Mar. 25, 1971. On the following day the Awami League's leaders proclaimed the independence of Bangladesh. During the months of conflict an estimated one million Bengalis were killed in East Pakistan and another 10 million fled into exile in India.

27
Laos

Finance Minister Boungnang Vorachith is named as prime minister. Gen. Douangchay Phichith becomes defense minister and Soukan Mahalath finance minister in the reshuffle.

27
Malaysa

Datuk Chong Kah Kiat becomes chief minister of Sabah.

Datuk Chong Kah Kiat born in Kudat 2 Jun, 1948. Bachelor of Laws (LL.B), Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Masters in Laws with First Class Honours (LL.M {Hons}), Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand (1975). Barrister and Solicitor, Supreme Court Of New Zealand (1975). Advocate And Solicitor, Mahkamah Tinggi Borneo (1976).

28
St Vincent and the Grenadines

General election. Results :

The Unity Labor Party wins 12 of 15 seats and the New Democratic Party of Prime Minister Arnhim Eustace 3. On March 29 Ralph Gonsalves is sworn in as prime minister.

28
Belarus

Defense Minister Alyaksandr Chumakau is dismissed and replaced with his predecessor, Leanid Maltseu.

28
Russia

Russia's Putin Makes Cabinet Changes

SEE NEW GOVERNMENT

29/30
EALAF

ASEAN

Rio Group of 18

Asian, Latin American countries meet. First time for EALAF foreign ministers.

The two regions linked up in September 1999 as the East Asia and Latin America Forum (EALAF), a marriage of ASEAN and the Rio Group of 18 Latin American and Caribbean countries. The inaugural meeting of ministers from 27 countries in Latin America, Asia and the Pacific studied the ways the two zones could cooperate, especially in the economic and commercial spheres. This meeting in 2001 is the inaugural meeting of EALAF foreign ministers to take up political issues. Until the arrival of EALAF, Asia was linked to North America only through APEC, which has only three South American countries - Chile, Argentina and Peru - as members. EALAF expands the number of Latin American countries interacting with Asia-Pacific countries. Many developing countries stand as a vehicle for United States dominance in Asia, analysts suggest that if EALAF succeeds it will help to reduce that dominance, as well as boost Asia-Latin American ties. Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia, Burma, Japan, China, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand attended the 1999 inaugural meeting, and are expected in Santiago in 2001.

30
Nauru

Parliament ousts President Bernard Dowiyogo in a vote of no confidence and reelects former president Rene Harris.

30
OSCE

The Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe will hold a special meeting in Vienna on the situation in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

31
Yemen

President Ali Abdullah Saleh fires Prime Minister Abdel Karim al-Iriani and asks Foreign Minister Abdel Qadir Bajamal to form a new government.

This week VIPS2000 includes a new presentation of the Chiefs of State and Heads of Government d'État in Europe.

SEE

1409
March 25

Council of Pisa
Unrecognized council of the Roman Catholic Church. It was summoned to end the Great Schism by members of the colleges of cardinals of the two rivals, Gregory XII (in Rome) and Benedict XIII (Pedro de Luna, in Avignon). The plan was to depose both men claiming to be pope and elect a new one. The council had a wide international attendance. It declared both popes to be heretical and schismatic and therefore not popes ; the cardinals proceeded to elect Pietro Cardinal Philarghi as Alexander V. This move served to complicate the schism with a third claimant rather than to dissolve it. The council first gave quasi-official expression to the conciliar theory, i.e., that councils are supreme in the church, a notion that became prominent again at Constance and at Basel. The lack of recognition toward the council rests on several features ; e.g., most of the cardinals involved owed their creation to popes whom they declared to be holding office illegally.
The Great Schism
The Great Schism or Schism of the West,division in the Roman Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417. There was no question of faith or practice involved; the schism was a matter of persons and politics. Shortly after Gregory XI had returned the papacy from Avignon to Rome, he died (Mar. 27, 1378). The Romans feared that the papal court might be returned to Avignon, and there was rioting, with the mob demanding a Roman, or at least an Italian, pope. On Apr. 8 the 16 cardinals present elected Urban VI. The new pope was soon acting very offensively to all in the church. The cardinals met at Agnani and on Aug. 2 declared Urban's election null. At Fondi on Sept. 20 they elected Robert of Geneva pope as Clement VII. Urban VI remained in Rome, refusing to step down, and Clement VII fled to Avignon, where he reigned surrounded by the former Roman court. There were thus two lines of popes. The popes at Rome were Urban VI (1378&endash;89), Boniface IX (1389&endash;1404), Innocent VII (1404&endash;6), and Gregory XII (1406&endash;15). Those of the rival line at Avignon were Clement VII (1378&endash;94) and Benedict XIII. Schism within schism ensued. France withdrew from obedience to Benedict XIII and recognized no pope (1398&endash;1403, 1408&endash;9). Theologians of the Univ. of Paris, led by Pierre d'Ailly and John Gerson, were anxious to end the schism, and they developed the theory that popes are subject to general councils. The Council of Pisa was the result.

Click Europe

25 Germany (Baden-Wuertemberg)		Regional parliament elections. Results : The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) wins 44.8% of the vote, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) 33.3%, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) 8.1%, the Greens 7.7%, and the Republicans 4.4%.
25 Germany (Rheinland-Pfalz)		Regional parliament elections. Results : The SPD wins 44.7%, the CDU 35.3%, the FDP 7.8%, and the Greens 5.2%.
25 Austria (Vienna)		Municipal elections in Vienna. Results : The Social Democratic Party wins 46.8% of the vote (52 of 100 seats), the Freedom Party 20.3% (21), the Austrian People's Party 16.4% (16), the Greens 12.5% (11), and the Liberal Forum 3.5%. Turnout is 66%. Vienna Mayor Michael Haeupl top candidate of the Social Democrates which is 7,66 percent more than in the last elections in 1996.
25 Ivory Coast		Municipal elections in. Results : The National Electoral (CNE) publicly announced the official results and turn out in the municipal elections held in 186 communities in the Ivory Coast. According to those results, the turn out was 41% and Mr.Alassane Dramane Ouattara's Republicans'Rally [Rassemblement des Républicains (RDR)] heads in first position with 61 communities, to 56 for the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI), 35 to independent candidates and 33 to the Ivorian Popular Front [Front populaire ivoirien (FPI)]. Pr Francis Vangah Wodié's Ivorian Party of Workers [Parti ivoirien des travailleurs (PIT)] comes last with a lonely community.
25 Russia Federation (Tatarstan Republic)		Gubernatorial election. Results : Mintimer Shaimiyev, one of Russia's most powerful regional leaders, won a third term as president of Tatarstan in an election on Sunday, according to results published on Monday. With almost all ballots counted, Shaimiyev, 64, had won 79.59 percent of votes cast in the autonomous republic. Three other main candidates were trailing with less than six percent of the vote each. Voter turnout was 79.39 percent.
25 Russia Federation (Amur oblast)		Gubernatorial election. Results : Amur Oblast Governor Anatolii Belonogov was leading in gubernatorial elections held that day. According to Interfax-Eurasia, Belonogov had 46.72 percent of the vote with some 45 percent of the ballots counted. He would need a victory of over 50 percent in order to avoid going into a second election round, according to the agency. State Duma deputy Leonid Korotkov (People's Deputy) was in second place with some 20 percent of the vote. Belonogov has been expected to hold onto his seat.
25 Japan (Chiba)		Chiba Prefecture, Gubernatorial election. Results : Elected as governor independent Akiko Domoto, 68, a former Upper House lawmaker backed by grass-roots civic groups. Domoto defeated four other candidates, including one backed by Mori's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and another supported by the main opposition Democratic Party.
26 South Korea		President Kim Dae-jung has replaced nearly half his cabinet in an effort to allay public discontent with his Government's handling of the economy and other policy issues. Nine out of 22 ministers had been replaced. SEE GOVERNMENT
26 Bangladesh		1971 - People's Republic of Bangladesh Declared. The history of Bangladesh is related to that of the larger area of Bengal, which became independent of Delhi by 1341. After a succession of Muslim rulers, it was conquered by Akbar, the great Mughal emperor in 1576. By the beginning of the 18th cent., the governor of the province was virtually independent, but he lost control to the British East India Company, which after 1775 was the effective ruler of the vast area, which also included the Indian states of West Bengal, Orissa, and Bihar. The movement for greater autonomy gained momentum when, in the Dec., 1970, general elections, the Awami League under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (generally known as Sheikh Mujib) won practically all of East Pakistan's seats and thus achieved a majority in the Pakistan National Assembly. President Muhammad Agha Yahya Khan, hoping to avert a political confrontation between East and West Pakistan, twice postponed the opening session of the national assembly. The government's attempts to forestall the autonomy bid led to general strikes and nonpayment of taxes in East Pakistan and finally to civil war on Mar. 25, 1971. On the following day the Awami League's leaders proclaimed the independence of Bangladesh. During the months of conflict an estimated one million Bengalis were killed in East Pakistan and another 10 million fled into exile in India.
27 Laos		Finance Minister Boungnang Vorachith is named as prime minister. Gen. Douangchay Phichith becomes defense minister and Soukan Mahalath finance minister in the reshuffle.
27 Malaysa		Datuk Chong Kah Kiat becomes chief minister of Sabah. Datuk Chong Kah Kiat born in Kudat 2 Jun, 1948. Bachelor of Laws (LL.B), Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Masters in Laws with First Class Honours (LL.M {Hons}), Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand (1975). Barrister and Solicitor, Supreme Court Of New Zealand (1975). Advocate And Solicitor, Mahkamah Tinggi Borneo (1976).
28 St Vincent and the Grenadines		General election. Results : The Unity Labor Party wins 12 of 15 seats and the New Democratic Party of Prime Minister Arnhim Eustace 3. On March 29 Ralph Gonsalves is sworn in as prime minister.
28 Belarus		Defense Minister Alyaksandr Chumakau is dismissed and replaced with his predecessor, Leanid Maltseu.
28 Russia		Russia's Putin Makes Cabinet Changes SEE NEW GOVERNMENT
29/30 EALAF	ASEAN Rio Group of 18	Asian, Latin American countries meet. First time for EALAF foreign ministers. The two regions linked up in September 1999 as the East Asia and Latin America Forum (EALAF), a marriage of ASEAN and the Rio Group of 18 Latin American and Caribbean countries. The inaugural meeting of ministers from 27 countries in Latin America, Asia and the Pacific studied the ways the two zones could cooperate, especially in the economic and commercial spheres. This meeting in 2001 is the inaugural meeting of EALAF foreign ministers to take up political issues. Until the arrival of EALAF, Asia was linked to North America only through APEC, which has only three South American countries - Chile, Argentina and Peru - as members. EALAF expands the number of Latin American countries interacting with Asia-Pacific countries. Many developing countries stand as a vehicle for United States dominance in Asia, analysts suggest that if EALAF succeeds it will help to reduce that dominance, as well as boost Asia-Latin American ties. Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia, Burma, Japan, China, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand attended the 1999 inaugural meeting, and are expected in Santiago in 2001.
30 Nauru		Parliament ousts President Bernard Dowiyogo in a vote of no confidence and reelects former president Rene Harris.
30 OSCE		The Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe will hold a special meeting in Vienna on the situation in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
31 Yemen		President Ali Abdullah Saleh fires Prime Minister Abdel Karim al-Iriani and asks Foreign Minister Abdel Qadir Bajamal to form a new government.