French Polynesia
The French annexed various Polynesian island groups
during the 19th century. In September 1995, France stirred up
widespread protests by resuming nuclear testing on the Mururoa atoll
after a three-year moratorium. The tests were suspended in January
1996. In recent years, French Polynesia's autonomy has been
considerably expanded.
French Southern and Antarctic Lands The Southern Lands consist of two archipelagos, Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen, and two volcanic islands, Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul. They contain no permanent inhabitants and are visited only by researchers studying the native fauna. The Antarctic portion consists of "Adelie Land," a thin slice of the Antarctic continent discovered and claimed by the French in 1840.
Gabon
Only two autocratic presidents have ruled Gabon since
independence from France in 1960. The current president of Gabon, El
Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba - one of the longest-serving heads of state
in the world - has dominated the contry's political scene for almost
four decades. President BONGO introduced a nominal multiparty system
and a new constitution in the early 1990s. However, allegations of
electoral fraud during local elections in 2002-03 and the
presidential elections in 2005 have exposed the weaknesses of formal
political structures in Gabon. Gabon's political opposition remains
weak, divided, and financially dependent on the current regime.
Despite political conditions, a small population, abundant natural
resources, and considerable foreign support have helped make Gabon
one of the more prosperous and stable African countries.
Gambia, The
The Gambia gained its independence from the UK in 1965;
it formed a short-lived federation of Senegambia with Senegal
between 1982 and 1989. In 1991 the two nations signed a friendship
and cooperation treaty. A military coup in 1994 overthrew the
president and banned political activity, but a 1996 constitution and
presidential elections, followed by parliamentary balloting in 1997,
completed a nominal return to civilian rule. The country undertook
another round of presidential and legislative elections in late 2001
and early 2002. Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH, the leader of the coup, has
been elected president in all subsequent elections.
Gaza Strip
The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim
Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13
September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding
five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip
and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain
powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority (PA) as
part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza
Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994
Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in
additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28
September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997
Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23
October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm
el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain
responsibility during the transitional period for external and
internal security and for public order of settlements and Israeli
citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of
Gaza and West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year
hiatus, but were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in
September 2000. In April 2003 the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia)
presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005
based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states,
Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent
status agreement has been postponed indefinitely due to violence and
accusations that both sides have not followed through on their
commitments. Longtime Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT died in
November 2004 and Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January
2005, bringing hope of a turning point in the conflict. In February
2005 Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments,
focused on security issues, in an effort to move the peace process
forward. Progress has been slow because of different interpretations
of the verbal agreement by the two sides. In September 2005, Israel
withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military
facilities in the Gaza Strip and four northern West Bank
settlements. Nonetheless, Israel controls maritime, airspace, and
most access to the Gaza Strip. An agreement signed by the PA and
Israel in November 2005 authorized the reopening of the Rafah border
crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and
Egyptian control, with monitoring provided by the EU.
Georgia
The region of present-day Georgia contained the ancient
kingdoms of Colchis and Kartli-Iberia. The area came under Roman
influence in the first centuries A.D. and Christianity became the
state religion in the 330s. Domination by Persians, Arabs, and Turks
was followed by a Georgian golden age (11th-13th centuries) that was
cut short by the Mongol invasion of 1236. Subsequently, the Ottoman
and Persian empires competed for influence in the region. Georgia
was absorbed into the Russian Empire in the 19th century.
Independent for three years (1918-1921) following the Russian
revolution, it was forcibly incorporated into the USSR until the
Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. An attempt by the incumbent Georgian
government to manipulate national legislative elections in November
2003 touched off widespread protests that led to the resignation of
Eduard SHEVARDNADZE, president since 1995. New elections in early
2004 swept Mikheil SAAKASHVILI into power along with his National
Movement Party. Progress on market reforms and democratization has
been made in the years since independence, but this progress has
been complicated by two civil conflicts in the breakaway regions of
Abkhazia and South Ossetia. These two territories remain outside the
control of the central government and are ruled by de facto,
unrecognized governments, supported by Russia. Russian-led
peacekeeping operations continue in both regions. The Georgian
Government put forward a new peace initiative for the peaceful
resolution of the status of South Ossetia in 2005.
Germany
As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation,
Germany remains a key member of the continent's economic, political,
and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany
in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century
and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the
US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the
Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal
Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic
(GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic
and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO,
while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led
Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War
allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has
expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages
up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU
countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.
Ghana
Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast
and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first
sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. A
long series of coups resulted in the suspension of the constitution
in 1981 and a ban on political parties. A new constitution,
restoring multiparty politics, was approved in 1992. Lt. Jerry
RAWLINGS, head of state since 1981, won presidential elections in
1992 and 1996, but was constitutionally prevented from running for a
third term in 2000. John KUFUOR, who defeated former Vice President
Atta MILLS in a free and fair election, succeeded him.
Gibraltar
Strategically important, Gibraltar was reluctantly ceded
to Great Britain by Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht; the British
garrison was formally declared a colony in 1830. In a referendum
held in 1967, Gibraltarians voted overwhelmingly to remain a British
dependency. Although the current 1969 Constitution for Gibraltar
states that the British government will never allow the people of
Gibraltar to pass under the sovereignty of another state against
their freely and democratically expressed wishes, a series of talks
were held by the UK and Spain between 1997 and 2002 on establishing
temporary joint sovereignty over Gibraltar. In response to these
talks, the Gibraltarian Government set up a referendum in late 2002
in which a majority of the citizens voted overwhelmingly against any
sharing of sovereignty with Spain. Since the referendum, tripartite
talks have been held with Spain, the UK, and Gibraltar, and in
September 2006 a three-way agreement was signed. Spain agreed to
allow airlines other than British to serve Gibraltar, to speed up
customs procedures, and to add more telephone lines into Gibraltar.
Britain agreed to pay pensions to Spaniards who had been employed in
Gibraltar before the border closed in 1969. Spain will be allowed to
open a cultural institute from which the Spanish flag will fly.
Glorioso Islands
A French possession since 1892, the Glorioso
Islands are composed of two lushly vegetated coral islands (Ile
Glorieuse and Ile du Lys) and three rock islets. A military garrison
operates a weather and radio station on Ile Glorieuse.