Health hazard / CHRONICLE

.WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON THE MAJORITY WORLD

JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC
Click a month above to read an alternative view of the key events of that month.

EAST TIMOR General Wiranto, Indonesia’s former military commander, is accused of ‘crimes against humanity’ by Indonesia’s human-rights commission. Accusations include his passive attitude towards mass killings, rape, torturing, and kidnapping which took place in East Timor last year.

CHINA In an unprecedented attack on Internet democracy, China imposes tough controls over what is published online by its citizens, banning them from publishing ‘state secrets’.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s talk of independence during the run-up to the election prompts Chinese threats to invade. The US expresses its concern by proposing that China be barred from joining the World Trade Organization.

SIERRA LEONE After being advised by Kofi Annan of the increasing violence and tension in the country, the UN Security Council agrees to increase its peace-keepers from 6,000 to 11,000 (see box page 37).

COLOMBIA Fifty more civilians are killed by right-wing paramilitaries. FARC guerrillas and the Colombian Government try to speed up the peace process that would see the US give Colombia $1.6 billion in military aid.

NIGERIA More than 100 people are killed in Kaduna, northern Nigeria, after Christians oppose the adoption of shari’a, or Islamic law, already accepted in three Nigerian states. In the east, 400 more are killed as a consequence of clashes between Christians and Muslims.

MOZAMBIQUE Hundreds die and millions are left homeless after a flood of unprecedented scale. It is predicted that this will set back economic development by ten years.

EASTERN EUROPE A spill at a Romanian gold plant involving an Australian mining company, Esmerelda Exploration, pollutes the Tisza river with lethal doses of cyanide, destroying animals and river plant life in Eastern Europe. Esmerelda goes into voluntary receivership.

ETHIOPIA About 200 Ethiopian soldiers are killed or wounded in the first clashes with Eritrean soldiers after months of relative peace.

MEXICO A controversial project to build the world’s largest salt mine in a precious ecological reserve is cancelled after five years of heated debate. The mine, a joint venture between the Mexican Government and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation, would have been built in the last spawning site for the endangered California gray whale.

ANGOLA After being repeatedly accused of funding the civil war, De Beers – the world’s largest diamond producer – finally issues a written guarantee that its diamonds do not help rebels or ethnic divisions in any way.

IRAN In polls 80 per cent of the electorate votes for reformist candidates promising improved citizens’ rights, reduction of special interest influence and to establish political parties. Women and young people stand to benefit most.

SENEGAL Hissene Habre, who governed Chad in the 1980s, is brought to trial in Senegal for torture. Human-rights campaigner Alione Tine says the case sets an example for all of Africa: ‘The time when brutal despots could just take their bank accounts and move next door is coming to an end.’

TURKEY The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) abandons its 15-year old armed struggle in southeast Turkey and adopts the democratic political programme urged by imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan. In the following months however, the Turkish authorities will intensify their crackdown on PKK activists.