Iran

During much of the month there were small but widespread anti-government protests in Tehran and elsewhere. There was occasional violence as bands of government supporters attacked demonstrators. US President Bush publicly encouraged the protests, and the Iranian government said the US was interfering in Iran's internal affairs (Reuters).

Democratic Republic of Congo

There were reports around the beginning of the month that ethnic-Lendu militia had committed serious atrocities during an attack on Tchomia (Reuters).

1 JUNE 2003

China

Sluice gates were closed on the new Three Gorges dam on the Yangtze River. The dam, begun in 1993, is to generate 18,200 megawatts of electricity and form a 365-mile reservoir by 2009 (Reuters).

Diplomatic affairs

US President Bush and Russian President Putin met in St. Petersburg (Reuters).

1-3 JUNE 2003

Diplomatic affairs

The Group of Eight summit was held in Evian, France. The leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the US discussed WMD proliferation, economic growth prospects, and other issues. There were protests against the summit participants, some of them violent, in nearby Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland (Reuters).

2 JUNE 2003

Philippines

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels began a ten-day ceasefire. They have recently suffered reverses at the hands of government forces (Reuters).

3 JUNE 2003

Diplomatic affairs

US President Bush, Egyptian President Mubarak, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, Jordan's King Abdullah, Bahrain's King Hamad and PA prime minister Abbas met in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Arab leaders said they supported the US-sponsored 'road map' and would try to choke off funding to terrorist groups (Reuters).

4 JUNE 2003

Diplomatic affairs

US President Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Sharon and PA prime minister Abbas met in Aqaba, Jordan. They discussed steps toward an Israeli-Palestinian settlement. Abbas said, "The armed Intifada must end and we must resort to peaceful means to achieve our goals." Sharon said Israel understood "the importance of territorial contiguity in the West Bank for a viable Palestinian state" (Reuters).

Israel

In Jerusalem, about 40,000 Israelis demonstrated against the Aqaba summit and Prime Minister Sharon (Reuters).

Sierra Leone

The UN Security Council decided not to extend the sanctions on diamond exports due to expire on the 6th. Similar sanctions on Liberia were to remain intact (Reuters).

6 JUNE 2003

Western Hemisphere, economic affairs

The US and Chile signed a free trade agreement (Reuters).

Zimbabwe

Police arrested MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai (Reuters).

7 JUNE 2003

Asia and the Pacific, diplomatic affairs

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun met Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Tokyo. In a statement they said, "The two leaders agreed that North Korea's nuclear weapons and any form of development program will not be tolerated and this problem must be solved in a peaceful, diplomatic manner" (Reuters).

7-8 JUNE 2003

Poland, foreign policy

A referendum was held on joining the EU. Seventy-five-point-three percent voted in favor. Turnout was 57.8% (Reuters).

8 JUNE 2003

Mauritania

There was a failed attempt, apparently by elements of the military, to overthrow President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya (Reuters).

11 JUNE 2003

Israel

Hamas claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing of a bus in Jerusalem that killed 16 people (Reuters).

Iraq

US forces launched Operation Peninsula Strike, a sweep against hostile elements northeast of Balad, and involving some 4,000 troops. About 40 US soldiers had been killed in Iraq since the fall of Baghdad by small, apparently uncoordinated groups of guerrillas (Reuters). This month the organized attacks began to increase in frequency. They occurred mostly within the 'Sunni Triangle', bounded by Baghdad, Ramadi and Tikrit.1

12-13 JUNE 2003

Serbia and Montenegro

Police arrested former Yugoslav army colonel Veselin Sljivancanin, indicted in 1995 by the UN war crimes tribunal. The operation was accompanied by violent clashes with Serbian nationalists (Reuters).

13-14 JUNE 2003

Czech Republic, foreign policy

A referendum on EU membership was held. Preliminary results showed 77.3% in favor, with turnout at 55.2% (Reuters).

16 JUNE 2003

Iraq

Umm Qasr reopened to commercial shipping (Reuters).

Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti, a close aide to Saddam Hussein, was captured (Reuters).

Europe, diplomatic affairs

EU foreign ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, adopted a strategy for dealing with WMD proliferation. It said preventive measures such as treaties, dialogue and inspections should be the first line of defense against such proliferation. But "when these measures (including political dialogue and diplomatic pressure) have failed, coercive measures under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter and international law (sanctions, selective or global, interceptions of shipments and, as appropriate, the use of force) could be envisioned", it said (Reuters).

17 JUNE 2003

Asia and the Pacific

The World Health Organization said the SARS epidemic was coming under control and lifted its travel advisory on Taiwan, leaving Beijing as the only place with an advisory still in effect. About 8,500 people have been infected (Reuters).

18 JUNE 2003

United States, foreign policy

President Bush said, "The international community must come together to make it very clear to Iran that we will not tolerate construction of a nuclear weapon" (Reuters). Iran, as a signatory to the NPT, is entitled to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and is subject to IAEA inspections. IAEA director Mohammed ElBaradie had recently reported that Iran "failed to report certain nuclear material and activities" but was making amends.

Iran has admitted seeking to develop the infrastructure, possessed by many advanced industrial countries, for a complete nuclear fuel cycle, but has denied developing nuclear weapons or intending to do so. The US has accused Iran of such an intention.

The US and many other countries have called on Iran to acceed to the IAEA's Additional Protocol which provides for a tougher inspection regime.

Finland, politics

Prime Minister Anneli Jaatteenmaki resigned over an alleged impropriety in her election campaign (Reuters).

19 JUNE 2003

Iraq

A survey by the Iraqi Institute of Strategic Studies was published. The survey, which polled 1,100 people between 8 and 10 June, said 73% felt US forces had not brought security to the capital, 51% wanted them to stay until a permanent government can be elected, and 17% said they should leave forthwith (Reuters).

20 JUNE 2003

Western Hemisphere, diplomatic relations

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met US President Bush in Washington. Afterwards, they released a joint statement reaffirming their aim to conclude negotiations on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) on time. Lula said, "I am convinced that we have the conditions in place to break down all the barriers, if we are patient and perseverant." They also announced joint initiatives on poverty, energy and AIDS (Reuters).

21 JUNE 2003

Greece

Some rioting accompanied a protest by about 25,000 people in Thessaloniki. An EU summit ended that day in nearby Porto Carras (Reuters).

22 JUNE 2003

Russia, civil affairs

Independent television channel TVS was closed (Reuters).

24-27 JUNE 2003

Diplomatic affairs

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Britain (Reuters).

26 JUNE 2003

Saudi Arabia

The government said it had arrested Ali Abdulrachman Saeed al-Faqa'asi Al-Ghamdi, or Abu Bakr al-Azdi, a senior al Qaeda operative (Reuters).

29 JUNE 2003

Israel

Israeli forces withdrew from the northern Gaza Strip, to be replaced by PA security forces.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad announced a three-month conditional suspension of "military operations". Fatah said the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades would also abide by the truce (Reuters).

30 JUNE-8 JULY 2003

Nigeria

There was a general strike over fuel prices. There were clashes between police and demonstrators across the country (Reuters).

Notes

1. Todd S. Purdum, A Time of Our Choosing: America's War in Iraq, New York, Times Books, 2003, p. 251.