June 16, 2009. 3 p.m. – The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Africa Program. “Kenya: Is Political Reform Possible?” Panellists: Kenyan parliamentarians Martha Karua and Paul Muite; and Makau Mutua, University of Buffalo Law School. CSIS, 1800 K Street NW, B-1 Conference Level, Washington, D.C. Further details – Andrew Schwartz, 202-775-3242, aschwartz@csis.org; http://www.csis.org [RSVP to africa@csis.org]
June 16, 2009. “Dagestan: A new flashpoint in Russia’s North Caucasus”
The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and Freedom House have invited leading experts from Russia to share their views and provide insight into the complex socio-political environment in the North Caucasus’ republic of Dagestan. The following panelists are scheduled to speak: Svetlana Gannushkina, Alexei Malashenko, Elena Milashina. 1539 Longworth House Office Building, Capitol Hill, Washington DC. 10 a.m.
June 17, 2009. 9 a.m. – Washington International Trade Association (WITA). “Next Steps for U.S.-Cuba Policy.” Jake Colvin of the National Foreign Trade Council; Amber Cottle, staff member of the Senate Finance Committee; Dan Fisk, staff member of the Office of Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla.; Chris Sabatini of the Council of the Americas; and former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative John Veroneau of Covington and Burling, WITA, Meridian Suites, Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.: 202-312-1600; http://www.wita.org
June 17, 2009. 10 a.m. United States Institute of Peace (USIP). “Online Discourse in the Arab World: Dispelling the Myths.” Bruce Etling of Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society; John Kelly of Morningside Analytics; Daniel Brumberg of Georgetown University; Saad Ibrahim of Voices for a Democratic Egypt; Hisham Melhem, Washington Bureau chief of Al Arabiya; Sheldon Himelfarb, associate vice president of media at the Conflict and Peacebuilding Center of Innovation at USIP; and bloggers from throughout the Arab world, Raed Jarrar of Iraq, Nora Younis of Egypt, Laila El Haddad of Palestine, and Amira Al Hussaini of Bahrain. USIP, 1200 17th Street NW, 2nd Floor Conference Room, Washington, D.C. Details: Lauren Sucher, 202-429-3822, lsucher@usip.org (Media) [RSVP required online: http://www.blogsbullets.eventbrite.com]
June 17. U.S. & Iran: The Iranian Elections. 11:00 AM -12:10 PM. Moderator: Nisid Hajari, Director of Editorial Development, Newsweek; Professor Ali Akbar Mahdi, Ohio Wesleyan University; Hooman Majd, Author of “The Ayatollah Begs to Differ”; Suzanne Maloney, Brookings Institution. RSVP by June 16 to Michelle Moghtader at rsvp@niacouncil.org or (202) 386-6319. Capitol Visitors Center Auditorium, Capitol Hill, Washington, DC.
June 17, 2009. 4:30 p.m. The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) holds a screening of “The Stoning of Soraya M,” about “the fury unleashed by mob rule and corrupt community leaders in a village where fear prevails and the legal system is stacked against Soraya M., simply because she is a woman.” HVC-215, U.S. Capitol Hill, Washington, DC. RSVP: Neil Simon, 202-225-1901, neil.simon@mail.house.gov
June 18, 2009. 3:30 p.m. – Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. ”Speak Out for Freedom in Burma: Support Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on her 64th Birthday.” Aung San Suu Kyi has “spent more than 13 of her past 19 years under house arrest, and is accused of violating her house arrest when providing shelter to a U.S. citizen who swam to her house unannounced and uninvited on May 3.”
B-340 Rayburn House Office Building, Capitol Hill, Washington, DC: Jennifer Quigley, 202-234-8022, jennifer@uscampaignforburma.org [ RSVP to Jennifer Quigley by June 16.]
June 18, 2009. Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission 10:30 a.m. The State of Global Internet Freedom. Daniel Calingaert, deputy director of programs, Freedom House; Lucie Morillon, Washington director, Reporters Without Borders; Harry Wu, founder, Laogai Foundation. Room 2226 , Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill, Washington, DC.
June 18, 2009. How to Bring a Dictator to Justice: The Successful Extraction of Alberto Fujimori. Antonio Maldonado, a Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow, will explain the extradition process and examine the significance of this paradigmatic example of international cooperation in the pursuit of justice. His presentation will be followed by comments by Dr. Cynthia McClintock and Dr. Jo-Marie Burt and will be moderated by Dr. Diego Abente Brun. National Endowment for Democracy, 1025 F Street, N.W., Suite 800, Washington, DC 20004. From 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. RSVP (acceptances only) with name and affiliation by Tuesday, June 16 by email to fellowsrsvp@ned.org.
June 19, 2009. 10 a.m. – Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). “Cuba Outlook 6: Grassroots Politics and Cuba’s Communist Party.” Margaret Crahan, distinguished professor of history at Hunter College and the Graduate Center at the City University of New York; Daniel Erikson, director of the Caribbean Programs at the Inter-American Dialogue and author of “The Cuba Wars”; and Silvia Pedraza, professor of sociology at the University of Michigan. CSIS, 1800 K Street NW, B-1 Conference Level, Washington, D.C. : 202-775-3180 [RSVP required to, 202-775-3180 or rsvp_americas@csis.org]
June 22. Pressing That Re-set Button: Shared Interests, Competing Values, and U.S.-Russian Relations. The Century Foundation is pleased to invite you to a luncheon roundtable to discuss where U.S. policy toward Russia might go, entitled Pressing That Re-set Button: Shared Interests, Competing Values, and U.S.-Russia Relations. As the Obama administration redirects U.S. policy on many fronts, the President’s declaration of a fresh start for relations between the United States and Russia has significant implications for the management of many critical issues. The June 22 roundtable will assess the direction of policy under the new administration in the week ahead of President Obama’s visit to Moscow, and it will explore the challenges and opportunities the two countries face on issues of mutual and global concern. Leading the discussion will be: Jack F. Matlock, Jr., George F. Kennan Professor, Institute for Advanced Study and former U.S. ambassador to the USSR; co-chair, Century Foundation Working Group on U.S. Policy toward Russia; Thomas Graham, Senior Director, Kissinger Associates and former Senior Director for Russia, National Security Council; author of Century Foundation report “Resurgent Russia and U.S. Purposes” ; Sarah E. Mendelson, Director, Human Rights and Security Initiative and Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies; author of Century Foundation report “U.S.-Russian Relations and the Democracy Deficit“. Moderator: Susan Eisenhower, President of the Eisenhower Group. 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. National Press Club, 529 14th Street, NW, 13th Floor, Washington, DC. Kindly RSVP to smyth@tcf.org and feel free to direct any questions to Hummy Song at (212) 452-7704.
June 24, 2009. National Endowment for Democracy’s 2009 Democracy Awards
National Endowment for Democracy’s 2009 Democracy Awards will honor in absentia: José Daniel Ferrer García, Jorge Luis García Pérez (Antúnez), Iván Hernández Carrillo, Librado Linares García, and Iris Tamara Pérez Aguilar. There will be a panel discussion on the prospects for democracy in Cuba after 50 years of a dictatorship, and immediately preceding it will be a reception. Cannon Caucus Room, 345 Cannon House Office Building, Independence and New Jersey Avenues, SE, Washington, DC 20515. The panel discussion goes from 3:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. Reception is from 5:15 p.m. to 7:00p.m. RSVP by June 19 (acceptances only) and please specify panel, reception, or both to rsvp@ned.org or (202) 378-9690.
June 25 2009. Grappling with the Rise of Political Islam: Threats or Opportunities for Indonesian Women? Featuring Ms. Siti Nurjanah, Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow, with comments by Dr. Gadis Arivia, University of Indonesia. 12:00 noon-2:00 p.m. (Lunch served 12:00-12:30 p.m.) The International Forum for Democratic Studies at the National Endowment for Democracy, 1025 F. Street, N.W., Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20004. Telephone: 202-378-9675. RSVP (acceptances only) with name and affiliation by Tuesday, June 23 to fellowsrsvp@ned.org
The collapse of Suharto’s authoritarian government in 1998 opened the door for numerous political voices previously suppressed in Indonesia. With this political opening, women’s groups gained greater opportunity to participate in the political process, pushing for representation and the codification of women’s rights. Simultaneously, Islamist groups came to the fore to advocate for the Islamization of Indonesia’s societal institutions, targeting women as a focal point of Islamic morality and promoting the enactment of repressive reforms. In this dynamic environment, the political sphere has become a battleground between these forces. Despite some positive legislation, Parliament and other judicial or legislative bodies increasingly pass amendments and national laws that restrict women’s rights, including the Anti-Pornography Law and the Election Law Amendment, and rejects progressive measures, such as the Marriage Law Amendment. Prospects for women’s rights and political representation thus appear to be threatened by the consolidation of Islamist power. What effect will the actions of Islamist political parties have on women in the public sphere? In her presentation, Ms. Siti Nurjanah will discuss the challenge of political Islam to pluralism and women’s rights in Indonesia. Dr. Gadis Arivia will provide comments.
Ms. Siti Nurjanah is a leading civil society activist whose career has been dedicated to the promotion of a tolerant pluralistic Islam in Indonesia. Dr. Gadis Arivia is a professor of philosophy and human rights at the University of Indonesia.
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