vips

LETTER N° 31

From 29 July to 04 August

29
Japan

Japanese elect Upper House of Parliament. Results :

Japan's ruling coalition has declared victory in elections for the upper house of Parliament. The three-party coalition, led by Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party, said the victory was a triumph for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reform proposals. The coalition won at least 63 of the 121 seats up for election in the 247-member upper house, the weaker of Parliament's two chambers.

29
Poland

Former secretary-general of the Polish United Workers' Party (1970-80) Edward Gierek dies.

Gierek was born in Porabka, near Katowice. His family immigrated to France, where he was raised. He joined the French Communist party in 1931 and was later deported to Poland for organizing a strike. He went to Belgium, joining the Communist party there. He returned to Poland in 1948 and rose through the party ranks to become by 1957 a deputy to the Polish parliament. In 1959 he regained the politburo seat that he had occupied briefly in 1956. As first secretary of the Katowice city party organization (1957-70), Gierek created a personal power base and became the recognized leader of the young technocrat faction of the party. When rioting over economic conditions broke out in late 1970, Gierek replaced Wladyslaw Gomulka as party first secretary. Gierek promised economic reform and, with the aid of foreign loans, instituted a program to modernize industry and increase the availability of consumer goods. The economy, however, began to falter during the 1973 oil crisis, and by 1976 price increases became necessary. New riots broke out, and although they were forcibly suppressed, the increases were rescinded. High foreign debts, food shortages, and an outmoded industrial base compelled a new round of economic reforms in 1980. Once again, price increases set off protests across the country, and Gierek was forced to grant legal status to Solidarity and to concede the right to strike. Shortly thereafter, he was replaced as party leader by Stanislaw Kania.

29
Sao Tome and Principe

Presidential elections. Results :

Fradique Bandeira Melo de Menezes, a businessman, as the winner of presidential elections held on the tiny African islands. In the election results announced, De Menezes won more than 56 per cent of the vote to beat former Marxist ruler Mannuel Pinto da Costa who ruled the former Portuguese colony as a socialist one party state from independence in 1975 until 1991.

Fradique Bandeira Melo de Menezes profil : Fez estudos superiores no Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada em Lisboa e depois na Bélgica, na Faculade de Ciências Humanas da Universidade de Bruxelas. Ocupou vários cargos durante a primeira República, entre os quais, o do Ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros e embaixador na Bélgica e Países Baixos. É deputado independente pela bancada da ADI. Tem 59 anos de idade e é viúvo.

30
Zimbabwe

Election in the northeastern rural constituency of Bindura. Results

Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party, led by President Robert Mugabe, has won a by-election which is seen a key test of political opinion in the country. Elliot Manyika of the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) won the election with 15,864 ballots, beating Elliot Pfebve of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), who won 9,456 votes.

30
Portugal

Marshal Francisco da Costa Gomes dies.

Marshal Francisco da Costa Gomes, the former president of Portugal who has died aged 87, restored calm to his country after the bloodless coup of 1974. A stocky cavalry officer with a penchant for dark sunglasses, Costa Gomes proved a master of manoeuvre and conciliation as various factions vied for power after the fall of the dictatorship. His moderate political stance and ability to act behind the scenes while controversy swirled around more flamboyant figures enabled him to survive a series of subsequent coups and counter-coups. He earned the soubriquet "the Cork" for staying afloat through the revolutionary storms. In 1975, he presided over the first free elections in Portugal for 50 years, and then worked effectively to reduce the Communist and extreme Left-wing influence in the government. After putting down a Left-wing coup in November 1975, he continued to crack down on extremists in a bid to achieve political stability, military discipline and economic recovery. He retained the presidency until the middle of 1976, when General Antonio Ramalho Eanes was elected to succeed him in the nation's first free presidential election in half a century. Eanes named Mario Soares as his prime minister.

Francisco da Costa Gomes was born at Chaves, northern Portugal, on June 30 1914. After the Escola de Guerra, the national military academy, he took a cavalry course and was commissioned as an alferes, or second lieutenant. He completed his education with a degree in Mathematics at the University of Oporto, graduating in 1944 with distinction. Costa Gomes was admitted to the General Staff Corps in 1948 and the next year became chief of the General Staff of the military command in the Portuguese colony of Macao. After several further promotions, he was appointed under-secretary of state for the Army in 1959. The Portuguese army was then being used to prop up the Fascist dictatorship of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar. But wars against pro-independence guerrillas in Portugal's African colonies were rapidly undermining the military's support for the dictator. In 1961, Costa Gomes was dismissed from his post after being implicated in a plot to overthrow Salazar. With characteristic diplomacy, however, Costa Gomes soon repaired the rift with the dictator, and in 1964 he was promoted brigadier general. The next year, as the wars of independence grew fiercer, he was posted to Mozambique as second commander. He was transferred to Angola in 1970, where he served as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. In 1972, Marcelo Caetano, who had replaced the ailing Salazar in 1968, appointed Costa Gomez as head of the Portuguese armed forces. The forthright General Antonio de Spinola returned from Portuguese Guinea to become his deputy. Spinola had grown profoundly disillusioned with the wars in Africa, and wrote a book, Portugal e o Futuro, criticising Portugal's colonial policy. In 1974 Costa Gomes and Caetano gave him the go-ahead to publish it. The book provoked a storm of protest among Right-wing members of Caetano's regime, who leant on the premier to demand that Spinola and Costa Gomes reaffirm their allegiance to the government. The two generals refused, and were promptly dismissed from their posts on March 13. The next month, on April 25, a group of junior officers, who came to be known as the Armed Forces Movement, carried out a coup that destroyed the dicatorship. Costa Gomes immediately joined the revolutionary junta; as chief of General Staff, he was second-in-command behind Spinola. In the weeks that followed, the junta issued decrees restoring freedoms of the press, speech and assembly. The hated secret police was abolished, political parties were legalised and political prisoners released. Exiles were permitted to return home and free elections were promised within a year. A wave of euphoria swept the country, with tens of thousands of people demonstrating in celebration of their liberty. In the interim government headed by Spinola, Costa Gomes acted as a law unto himself, keeping the defence establishment completely apart from the government. The 14-member cabinet included two communists, three socialists - led by Mario Soares, the future President, who had returned from exile to become foreign minister - and just one military officer. Without a clear and cohesive direction, however, the government soon began to founder. In the midst of bitter conflict over the fate of the African colonies, Costa Gomes travelled to Angola and Mozambique. There he threatened to step up the wars if the liberation leaders did not begin negotiations. These, he hoped, would produce a settlement based on Spinola's plan for a referendum, leading either to independence or to federation with Portugal. In the meantime, the revolutionary fervour gripping Portugal was beginning to express itself in strikes and demonstrations. As the government lurched towards the Left, the radical Armed Forces Movement demanded the resignation of the more conservative Spinola. Costa Gomes was then named President on September 30 1974, but he inherited a country torn between Communists wishing to drive Portugal down a fast track to a Soviet-style state and moderate Left-wingers who wanted a constituent assembly and elections. The moderate socialists received a powerful boost after winning elections in 1975 that put the country on course for democracy. But Costa Gomes had to fend off an attempted counter-coup by Spinola and a coup by extreme Left-wing officers. In November, he imposed martial law and began a purge of radicals in the military. In the meantime, he presided over the granting of independence to all Portugal's African colonies and the Portuguese withdrawal from East Timor.

Francisco da Costa Gomes, known to his friends as "Chico", enjoyed horseriding and swimming. He married, in 1952, Maris Estela Furtado de Antas Varejao; they had a son.

30
EU

Hans Dahlgren given EU assignement Belgium, the country currently holding the EU presidency, has appointed Hans Dahlgren, the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs to serve as EU Special Envoy in the Mano River region in West Africa. The six-month assignment formally confirms a decision taken at the last meeting of EU foreign ministers. Among other tasks, Mr Dahlgren will be responsible for framing a coordinated EU policy on the countries in the region, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Such a policy will include measures aimed at alleviating the serious humanitarian and political situation in the area. In addition to maintaining close contact with the leaders of the three countries, Mr Dahlgren will be instrumental in promoting cooperation and exchange of information with the UN and the West African organisation for cooperation ECOWAS. Support for peace and reconciliation initiatives, conflict prevention, the development of democracy and reconstruction will also be provided.

04-07
United States

US state governors hold 93th annual meeting

Initially founded in 1908 to deal with interstate water issues, the National Governors' Association has evolved into a much broader mandate, allowing the 50 state governors to collectively influence national policy. At the Jul 2000 annual meeting, newly elected chair Parris Glendening of Maryland launched a year-long initiative aimed at issues related to growth, urban sprawl, and quality of life. The governors are concerned about the cost of servicing new suburban "greenfelds" in rural areas, at the expense of older suburbs and urban cores. While they do not advocate a complete halt to suburbanization, the governors want to ensure that local growth strategies safeguard quality of life in existing urban areas. In addition to the 50 U.S. states, the group also includes governors from the territories of Guam, the US Virgin Islands, and American Samoa, as well as the commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands.

The newest concern for the governors is President George W. Bush's US $1.35 trillion tax cut bill, which cuts the states' share of revenues from the estate tax at a time when most state revenue pictures are filled with budget cuts. According to the National Governors Association (NGA), the provision would cost states between US $50 and $100 billion in revenue over the next 10 years. Most significant is the fact that the state share would be cut 50 percent in 2002.

VIPS VISITS

2-3
Blair Visits Argentina

Prime Minister Tony Blair 's Latin American tour included the first visit to Argentina by a serving British head of government, almost two decades after the nations battled a swift, bloody war over the Falkland Islands. Blair focused steadfastly on the present, addressing Argentina's financial woes in talks with President Fernando De la Rua. South America's second-largest economy is in the throes of a grinding, three-year recession marked by unemployment of more than 16 percent.

3-5
Maronite Patriarch on peace mission

Maronite Christian patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir visits the stronghold of the Druze sect in the Chiouf Mountains as another step in normalizing relations with historic foes. Druze leader Walid Jumblatt is treating the Patriarch's visit as a grand occasion, according to regional reports, and the two leaders are expected to tackle issues left over from Lebanon's civil war. The return of refugees to pre-war homes is high on the list. It's the Patriarch's first visit to the region since the 1975- 1990 war, when the Druze and Maronites were antagonists.

4-8
North Korean leader visits Russia

The visit that was expected in late 2000 is about to happen: Kim Jong-Il arrives in Moscow, copying the 1983 train journey of his father Kim Il-Sung. A Russian television report says he crossed into eastern Russia on Jul 26, and ends his 5,758 rail journey on either Aug 4 or 8 for two days of meetings with President Vladimir Putin. United States President George W. Bush's plans to develop a missile defense shield is one reason the long delayed trip is finally under way. Kim Jong-Il and Putin are likeminded in their objections, and the North Korean leader will be looking to weigh-in with his objections ahead of the US-Russian summits on the issue in October and November.

THIS WEEK'S STORY

31 July 1556

IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA DIES

Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order of Roman Catholic missionaries and educators, dies in Rome. The Society of Jesus, as the Jesuit order is formally known, played an important role in the Counter-Reformation and eventually succeeded in converting millions around the world to Catholicism.

Ignatius, the son of a noble and wealthy Spanish family called the Loyolas, was born in his family's ancestral castle in 1491. Little interested in church matters, he trained as a knight and in 1517 went in the service of a relative, Antonio Manrique de Lara, the duke of Nájera and viceroy of Navarre. In May 1521, during the siege of Pamplona by the French, his legs were shattered by a cannonball. Seriously wounded, he was transported to his family's castle, where he was forced to lie in convalescence for many weeks. During this time, he was given the Bible and a book on the saints to read. He came to see the service of God as a kind of holy chivalry and resolved to live an austere life in imitation of the saints. In February 1522 he made a pilgrimage to Montserrat, where a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary and Child, supposedly carved by St. Luke, resides. Ignatius hung his sword and dagger near the statue as symbols of his conversion to a holy life. For the next year, he lived as a beggar and prayed for seven hours a day, often in a cave near Manresa in northeastern Spain. During this time, he composed an early draft of The Spiritual Exercises, his manual for spiritual meditation and conversion. In 1523, he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. After his return to Spain in 1524, Ignatius resolved to gain an extensive education to prepare himself for his spiritual mission. He studied in Barcelona and at the University of Alcalá, where he began to acquire followers. Suspected of heresy, he was tried in Alcalá, and later in Salamanca but both times was acquitted. He was forbidden to teach until he reached the priesthood, and he went to the University of Paris to continue his studies. In August 1534, the Jesuit movement was born when Ignatius led six of his followers to Montmartre near Paris, where the group took vows of poverty and chastity and made plans to work for the conversion of Muslims. If travel to the Holy Land was not possible, they vowed to offer themselves to the pope for apostolic work. In 1537, Ignatius and most of his companions were ordained. Unable to travel to Jerusalem because of the Turkish wars, they went to Rome instead to meet with the pope and request permission to form a new religious order. In September 1540, Pope Paul III approved Ignatius' outline of the Society of Jesus, as the Jesuit order is formally known. Under Ignatius' charismatic leadership, the Society of Jesus grew quickly. Jesuit missionaries played a leading role in the Counter-Reformation and won back many of the European faithful who had been lost to Protestantism. In Ignatius' lifetime, Jesuits were also dispatched to India, Brazil, the Congo region, and Ethiopia. Education was of utmost importance to the Jesuits, and in Rome Ignatius founded the Roman College (later called the Gregorian University) and the Germanicum, a school for German priests. The Jesuits also ran several charitable organizations, such as one for former prostitutes and one for converted Jews. When Ignatius de Loyola died on July 31, 1556, there were more than 1,000 Jesuit priests. During the next century, the Jesuits set up ministries around the globe. The "Black-Robes," as they were known in Native America, often preceded European countries in their infiltration of foreign lands and societies. The life of a Jesuit was one of immense risk, and thousands of priests were persecuted or killed by foreign authorities hostile to their mission of conversion. However, in some nations, such as India and China, the Jesuits were revered as men of wisdom and science. With the rise of nationalism in the 18th century, most European countries suppressed the Jesuits, and in 1773 Pope Clement XIV dissolved the order under pressure from the Bourbon monarchs. However, in 1814, Pope Pius VII gave in to popular demand and reestablished the Jesuits as an order, and they continue their missionary work to this day. Ignatius de Loyola was canonized as a Catholic saint in 1622. His feast day is July 31.

ALSO SEE

Chiefs of State and Heads of Government Foreign Affairs World Parliaments Federated States and Provinces World Governments International Organizations

29 Japan		Japanese elect Upper House of Parliament. Results : Japan's ruling coalition has declared victory in elections for the upper house of Parliament. The three-party coalition, led by Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party, said the victory was a triumph for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reform proposals. The coalition won at least 63 of the 121 seats up for election in the 247-member upper house, the weaker of Parliament's two chambers.
29 Poland		Former secretary-general of the Polish United Workers' Party (1970-80) Edward Gierek dies. Gierek was born in Porabka, near Katowice. His family immigrated to France, where he was raised. He joined the French Communist party in 1931 and was later deported to Poland for organizing a strike. He went to Belgium, joining the Communist party there. He returned to Poland in 1948 and rose through the party ranks to become by 1957 a deputy to the Polish parliament. In 1959 he regained the politburo seat that he had occupied briefly in 1956. As first secretary of the Katowice city party organization (1957-70), Gierek created a personal power base and became the recognized leader of the young technocrat faction of the party. When rioting over economic conditions broke out in late 1970, Gierek replaced Wladyslaw Gomulka as party first secretary. Gierek promised economic reform and, with the aid of foreign loans, instituted a program to modernize industry and increase the availability of consumer goods. The economy, however, began to falter during the 1973 oil crisis, and by 1976 price increases became necessary. New riots broke out, and although they were forcibly suppressed, the increases were rescinded. High foreign debts, food shortages, and an outmoded industrial base compelled a new round of economic reforms in 1980. Once again, price increases set off protests across the country, and Gierek was forced to grant legal status to Solidarity and to concede the right to strike. Shortly thereafter, he was replaced as party leader by Stanislaw Kania.
29 Sao Tome and Principe		Presidential elections. Results : Fradique Bandeira Melo de Menezes, a businessman, as the winner of presidential elections held on the tiny African islands. In the election results announced, De Menezes won more than 56 per cent of the vote to beat former Marxist ruler Mannuel Pinto da Costa who ruled the former Portuguese colony as a socialist one party state from independence in 1975 until 1991. Fradique Bandeira Melo de Menezes profil : Fez estudos superiores no Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada em Lisboa e depois na Bélgica, na Faculade de Ciências Humanas da Universidade de Bruxelas. Ocupou vários cargos durante a primeira República, entre os quais, o do Ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros e embaixador na Bélgica e Países Baixos. É deputado independente pela bancada da ADI. Tem 59 anos de idade e é viúvo.
30 Zimbabwe		Election in the northeastern rural constituency of Bindura. Results Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party, led by President Robert Mugabe, has won a by-election which is seen a key test of political opinion in the country. Elliot Manyika of the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) won the election with 15,864 ballots, beating Elliot Pfebve of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), who won 9,456 votes.
30 Portugal		Marshal Francisco da Costa Gomes dies. Marshal Francisco da Costa Gomes, the former president of Portugal who has died aged 87, restored calm to his country after the bloodless coup of 1974. A stocky cavalry officer with a penchant for dark sunglasses, Costa Gomes proved a master of manoeuvre and conciliation as various factions vied for power after the fall of the dictatorship. His moderate political stance and ability to act behind the scenes while controversy swirled around more flamboyant figures enabled him to survive a series of subsequent coups and counter-coups. He earned the soubriquet "the Cork" for staying afloat through the revolutionary storms. In 1975, he presided over the first free elections in Portugal for 50 years, and then worked effectively to reduce the Communist and extreme Left-wing influence in the government. After putting down a Left-wing coup in November 1975, he continued to crack down on extremists in a bid to achieve political stability, military discipline and economic recovery. He retained the presidency until the middle of 1976, when General Antonio Ramalho Eanes was elected to succeed him in the nation's first free presidential election in half a century. Eanes named Mario Soares as his prime minister. Francisco da Costa Gomes was born at Chaves, northern Portugal, on June 30 1914. After the Escola de Guerra, the national military academy, he took a cavalry course and was commissioned as an alferes, or second lieutenant. He completed his education with a degree in Mathematics at the University of Oporto, graduating in 1944 with distinction. Costa Gomes was admitted to the General Staff Corps in 1948 and the next year became chief of the General Staff of the military command in the Portuguese colony of Macao. After several further promotions, he was appointed under-secretary of state for the Army in 1959. The Portuguese army was then being used to prop up the Fascist dictatorship of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar. But wars against pro-independence guerrillas in Portugal's African colonies were rapidly undermining the military's support for the dictator. In 1961, Costa Gomes was dismissed from his post after being implicated in a plot to overthrow Salazar. With characteristic diplomacy, however, Costa Gomes soon repaired the rift with the dictator, and in 1964 he was promoted brigadier general. The next year, as the wars of independence grew fiercer, he was posted to Mozambique as second commander. He was transferred to Angola in 1970, where he served as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. In 1972, Marcelo Caetano, who had replaced the ailing Salazar in 1968, appointed Costa Gomez as head of the Portuguese armed forces. The forthright General Antonio de Spinola returned from Portuguese Guinea to become his deputy. Spinola had grown profoundly disillusioned with the wars in Africa, and wrote a book, Portugal e o Futuro, criticising Portugal's colonial policy. In 1974 Costa Gomes and Caetano gave him the go-ahead to publish it. The book provoked a storm of protest among Right-wing members of Caetano's regime, who leant on the premier to demand that Spinola and Costa Gomes reaffirm their allegiance to the government. The two generals refused, and were promptly dismissed from their posts on March 13. The next month, on April 25, a group of junior officers, who came to be known as the Armed Forces Movement, carried out a coup that destroyed the dicatorship. Costa Gomes immediately joined the revolutionary junta; as chief of General Staff, he was second-in-command behind Spinola. In the weeks that followed, the junta issued decrees restoring freedoms of the press, speech and assembly. The hated secret police was abolished, political parties were legalised and political prisoners released. Exiles were permitted to return home and free elections were promised within a year. A wave of euphoria swept the country, with tens of thousands of people demonstrating in celebration of their liberty. In the interim government headed by Spinola, Costa Gomes acted as a law unto himself, keeping the defence establishment completely apart from the government. The 14-member cabinet included two communists, three socialists - led by Mario Soares, the future President, who had returned from exile to become foreign minister - and just one military officer. Without a clear and cohesive direction, however, the government soon began to founder. In the midst of bitter conflict over the fate of the African colonies, Costa Gomes travelled to Angola and Mozambique. There he threatened to step up the wars if the liberation leaders did not begin negotiations. These, he hoped, would produce a settlement based on Spinola's plan for a referendum, leading either to independence or to federation with Portugal. In the meantime, the revolutionary fervour gripping Portugal was beginning to express itself in strikes and demonstrations. As the government lurched towards the Left, the radical Armed Forces Movement demanded the resignation of the more conservative Spinola. Costa Gomes was then named President on September 30 1974, but he inherited a country torn between Communists wishing to drive Portugal down a fast track to a Soviet-style state and moderate Left-wingers who wanted a constituent assembly and elections. The moderate socialists received a powerful boost after winning elections in 1975 that put the country on course for democracy. But Costa Gomes had to fend off an attempted counter-coup by Spinola and a coup by extreme Left-wing officers. In November, he imposed martial law and began a purge of radicals in the military. In the meantime, he presided over the granting of independence to all Portugal's African colonies and the Portuguese withdrawal from East Timor. Francisco da Costa Gomes, known to his friends as "Chico", enjoyed horseriding and swimming. He married, in 1952, Maris Estela Furtado de Antas Varejao; they had a son.
30 EU		Hans Dahlgren given EU assignement Belgium, the country currently holding the EU presidency, has appointed Hans Dahlgren, the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs to serve as EU Special Envoy in the Mano River region in West Africa. The six-month assignment formally confirms a decision taken at the last meeting of EU foreign ministers. Among other tasks, Mr Dahlgren will be responsible for framing a coordinated EU policy on the countries in the region, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Such a policy will include measures aimed at alleviating the serious humanitarian and political situation in the area. In addition to maintaining close contact with the leaders of the three countries, Mr Dahlgren will be instrumental in promoting cooperation and exchange of information with the UN and the West African organisation for cooperation ECOWAS. Support for peace and reconciliation initiatives, conflict prevention, the development of democracy and reconstruction will also be provided.
04-07 United States		US state governors hold 93th annual meeting Initially founded in 1908 to deal with interstate water issues, the National Governors' Association has evolved into a much broader mandate, allowing the 50 state governors to collectively influence national policy. At the Jul 2000 annual meeting, newly elected chair Parris Glendening of Maryland launched a year-long initiative aimed at issues related to growth, urban sprawl, and quality of life. The governors are concerned about the cost of servicing new suburban "greenfelds" in rural areas, at the expense of older suburbs and urban cores. While they do not advocate a complete halt to suburbanization, the governors want to ensure that local growth strategies safeguard quality of life in existing urban areas. In addition to the 50 U.S. states, the group also includes governors from the territories of Guam, the US Virgin Islands, and American Samoa, as well as the commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. The newest concern for the governors is President George W. Bush's US $1.35 trillion tax cut bill, which cuts the states' share of revenues from the estate tax at a time when most state revenue pictures are filled with budget cuts. According to the National Governors Association (NGA), the provision would cost states between US $50 and $100 billion in revenue over the next 10 years. Most significant is the fact that the state share would be cut 50 percent in 2002.