Xi Jinping and his government have recently conducted a massive anti-corruption purge of the country’s military. According to an article in Axios, Nine generals and three officials who were connected to China’s development of military technology were fired from a Chinese Communist Party working group called Rocket Force, which focuses on China’s missile program. On top of that, The Washington Post reports that Xi appointed a new defense minister, Dong Jun, the former head of the Chinese Navy. The previous defense minister, Li Shangfu, has not been seen in public for two months, and questions are mounting as to his whereabouts. Many experts on China-related policy believe Xi faces an impossible task in rooting out endemic corruption as there is a chronic lack of transparency and accountability within the Chinese military.
Category: Conflict
EU Approves Membership Talks with Ukraine.
Yesterday, the EU approved membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova. While this is undeniably a big step for Ukraine as a country, it is not certain that Ukraine will be accepted into the bloc. According to a report in The Guardian, Hungarian President Viktor Orban, a well-known ally of Russia and President Putin, is threatening to hold up the process in any way possible. It is entirely possible that Orban’s sole goal was to get the EU to release 10 billion Euros from the EU budget. Ukraine has a lot of work to do before it can be accepted into the bloc. According to an article in Reuters, Ukraine must continue to clean up its judicial system and hire more anti-corruption professionals. It will be a long road, but based on its recent track record, Ukraine is committed to joining the EU despite the ongoing conflict with Russia.
The Hidden Humanitarian Crisis in Sudan.
In recent months, Sudan, in particular the western region of Darfur, has been in the midst of a wide-ranging conflict that has triggered a humanitarian crisis. According to an article in Politico, the UN is concerned about a repeat of the genocide that occurred between 2003 and 2005 in Darfur, where it is estimated that 300,000 people were killed in Darfur. The current conflict, which started earlier this year between the Sudanese government and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Force (RSF), has been largely overlooked by the world’s press. According to a report on ABC News, 800 people were killed in a multi-day attack by the RSF last week. Sadly, no ceasefire is on the horizon, and history will repeat itself.
Old Tensions Between Kosovo and Serbia Flare up.
In recent weeks, long-held tensions between Serbia and Kosovo have simmered to the surface. Kosovo is an ethnically divided country between Albanians and Serbians. Despite independence and vocal support from the West, there is always a fear of Serbia trying to reclaim what it sees as its rightful territory. According to an article in CNBC, there has been violence on Kosovo’s northern border with Serbia, not to mention Serbian military units amassed on the border. In late September, there was a shootout between Kosovar police and heavily armed Serbs. One of the major sticking points is that, according to the AP, The Serbian population in the North of Kosovo, particularly in the city of Mitrovica, feels the government in Pristina is not representing them. Earlier this year, the Serbian population in the north boycotted local elections, allowing ethnic Albanians to claim most of the mayoral positions, further alienating the Serbs. While the rest of Europe focuses on Russia and Ukraine, the situation in Kosovo should warrant closer examination by Western leaders.
Ukraine’s ongoing crusade against Corruption.
This week, the Ukrainian government under President Zelensky has been making further efforts to eradicate societal Corruption in Ukraine. Several outlets, including Reuters, have reported that a delegation of Ukrainian officials has met with Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security advisor, about improving anti-corruption efforts. Along with that is a report from the BBC that Ihor Kolomoisky, a well-known Ukrainian oligarch, is to be held in custody for two months on fraud and money laundering charges. Arguably, the most critical corruption story to come out of Ukraine is that President Zelensky has fired his defense minister, Oleskii Reznikov, because of allegations of Corruption. A report by the Washington Post suggests that Rustem Umerov, the former head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, will take over. While there is a long way to go, it is clear that the Ukrainian government is making strides in stamping out governmental malfeasance.
Bongo Deposed in Gabon.
This week, the president of Gabon, Ali Bongo, was deposed in a military-led coup. According to an article from the BBC, the military stepped in after Bongo had been announced as the recent election winner. Bongo had been in power for nine years after taking over from his father, who had been in power since the 1960s. Gabon has had a long history of corruption primarily due to its numerous natural resources, such as oil, being exploited by the Bongo family. According to the Washington Post, Gabon is the seventh country in Africa that has experienced a military coup in the last two years. Another report by the BBC suggests that Brice Nguema is an unlikely coup leader because he is reported to have close links to the Bongos. I fear Gabon will go the way of Niger and Mali, where the military coups have not led to meaningful change but more political instability.
Ukrainian Military Officers Fired Over Bribery Allegations.
Last Week President Zelenskyy fired officials who led Ukraine’s military recruitment drive over bribery allegations. Under Zelenskyy’s leadership, Ukraine has started to crack down on corruption, partially to improve its prospects of joining the EU and NATO. According to a BBC article, Zelenskyy announced that 30 people would face bribery allegations, including all the regional heads of the military conscription effort. The charges allege that these officials took bribes in cash and cryptocurrency and aided non-disabled men to leave the country. Current Ukrainian law states that all men over 18 able to fight up to 60 can be conscripted. It is admirable to see Zelenskyy clamp down on corruption after years of unchecked greed by other Ukrainian leaders.
Putin vs. Prigozhin: a Struggle For Power In Russia.
This past weekend, the ongoing conflict involving Ukraine and Russia took an unexpected turn. Yevgeny Prigozhin accused President Putin of attacking members of his Wagner paramilitary group. It is well known that relations between the Russian army and Wagner are not cordial. On Friday night, rumors of serious unrest between the two parties emerged. On Saturday morning, numerous reports of Wagner forces streaming toward Moscow, seemingly to confront the high command. Barricades were erected to try and prevent any possibility of a coup. As all of this transpired, the Russian government announced that legal proceedings were being filed against him. Then, suddenly his forces turned back towards Rostov, and it was announced that he would be exiled to Belarus and any charges against him would be dropped.
According to an article from today’s New York Times, Prigozhin stated in a rambling audio message that the motivation for the protest was not to overthrow Putin’s government. It was instead a response to a move by the Russian army to force Wagner fighters to be co-opted into the regular army. Nonetheless, Prigozhin’s actions severely threatened Putin’s legitimacy as president. An article from The Guardian adds that Putin is weaker than he has ever been and that aligning himself with Wagner is proving to be a mistake that could lead to him being deposed as leader. Another critical component is how this impacts the fighting in Ukraine; according to another article by the New York Times, there is hope among the Ukrainian military that the current internal strife within Russia could lead to gains on the battlefield. It is an ongoing and complex story that could go in many directions and lead to many globally significant events.
The Downfall and Imprisonment of Imran Khan.
Last week Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, was arrested on corruption charges. According to a BBC report, Khan’s arrest has sparked widespread protests throughout Pakistan. He was forcibly removed from a courtroom by a heavily armed paramilitary unit while facing trial in a separate investigation involving misconduct during his time in office. In recent months, an unknown assailant has made an attempt on his life. Also, in recent months Khan has spoken out against the military’s influence in politics.
Last Friday, according to Reuters, the supreme court overturned Khan’s arrest, which called the arrest unlawful. According to a report in The Guardian, Khan believes that the military was singlehandedly responsible for his arrest. He also claims that the current Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, is involved in a plot to bring him down because he does not want to face him in a future election. The big question is whether or not Khan is genuinely corrupt, or is this all politically motivated? It is probably a little of both; you don’t get into a high office in a place like Pakistan without greasing a few palms. At the same time, Sharif likely sees Khan as a threat in the future.
Vladlen Tatarsky and the Rise of Pro-Russian Bloggers.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine last year, a new type of blogger has emerged in Russia. According to a report by CNN, a growing group of Russians are acting as war correspondents despite not having a journalistic background. These bloggers have embedded themselves within Russian units on the front lines in Ukraine and have developed close links to the regular army and the Wagner Group paramilitary group. These bloggers have become a vital source for on-the-ground information about the war, as the Russian Government is notoriously unforthcoming about the actual state of the war. It must also be noted that while all these bloggers are ultranationalists and pro-Putin, they are not afraid to voice their opinion on how the war should be fought.
This is the background to the events that occurred in St Petersburg recently. Vladlen Tatarsky was a prominent member of the military blogging community in Russia. Recently, he received a likeness of himself in the form of a figurine that just so happened to be filled with explosives, killing and injuring many others in a crowded restaurant called Street food bar #1 Cafe. According to a report in the New York Times, Tatarsky was handed the statuette by a woman called Nastya, who was a sculptor, while he was giving a talk to about 100 people. Shortly after the explosion, a woman named Daria Trepova, who, according to Sky News, is a supporter of the jailed anti-corruption activist Alexi Navalny. The moral of this tale appears to be that one should always be careful when accepting suspicious-looking statuettes.
Crispin Corruption Report 