2015-08-21
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The 20th century witnessed an intensive process of decolonisation of the British Empire(the last Br. colony Hong Kong was reverted to China in 1997). A tendency to decolonise grew into a desire to form a great family, a special union, for economic, cultural & social reasons. The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as the Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, still pay aliigance to the Br.Crown(the exceptions being the United Kingdom itself and Mozambique). The Commonwealth is an international organization through which countries with diverse social, political, and-economic backgrounds cooperate within a framework of common values and goals, outlined in the Singapore Declaration. These include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism. free trade, multilateralism, and world peace.
Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of the Commonwealth, recognized by each state, and as such is the symbol of the free association of the organization’s members. This position, however, does not imply political power over Commonwealth member states. In practice, the Queen heads the Commonwealth in a symbolic capacity, and it is the Commonwealth Secretary-General who is the chief executive of the organization. The Commonwealth is not a political union, and does not allow the United Kingdom to exercise any power over the affairs of the organization’s other members. Elizabeth II is also the Head of State, separately, of sixteen members of the Commonwealth, called Commonwealth realms. As each realm is an independent kingdom, Elizabeth II, as monarch, holds a distinct jjtk for each.
Every four years the Commonwealth's members celebrate the Commonwealth Games, the world's second-largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games. Commonwealth Dayton the 2nd Monday in March. The Commonwealth secretariat provides the central organization for consultation & co-operation among member states. Established in London in 1965, headed by the heads of Government & financed by member Governments, the Secretariat is responsible to Commonwealth Governments collectively. The Secretariat promotes consultation, disseminates info on matters of common concern, & organizes meetings & coferences. Membership criteria: be fully sovereign states; recognise the monarch of the Commonwealth realms as the Head of the commonwealth; accept the English language as the means of Commonwealth communication; respect the wishes of the general population vis-a-vis Commonwealth membership The Commonwealth's objectives were first outlined in the 1971 Singapore Declaration, which committed the Commonwealth to the institution of world peace: promotion of the pursuit of equality and opposition to racism; the fight against poverty, ignorance, and disease; and free trade. To these were added opposition to discrimination on the basis of gender, and environmental attainability. These objectives were reinforced by the Harare Declaration in 1991.
The Comnonwealth is also useful as an international organisation that represents significant cultural and historical links between wealthy first-world countries and poorer nations with diverse social and religious backgrounds.
13 br charachter. The English countryside is many things to many people. Every Englishman is a countryman at heart. Many years he may have lived in the city, but he does not believe he really belongs there.
The village with its church, pub, fishing, cricket, animals, everywhere, especially dogs and horses - all this creates an ideal image of Britain. We should also add to this picture the seaside, a passion for gardening and a love for old customs and traditions. The British people may be conservative about the times they take their holiday, but they have shown themselves very ready to take to new places. Each year more English people go to different parts of continental Europe. Many take their cars, with tents and caravans, others use the travel agents' scheme for group travel and hotel booking. Most people in Britain work a five-day week, from Monday to Friday. Schools, colleges and universities are also closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
On Saturday afternoon the most important sporting events of the week take place - football, rugby, horse-racing and other sports. Some people go and watch, others sit and watch the sports programmes on television. The British are great lovers of competitive sports. Saturday evening is the favourite time for parties, dances, going to the pictures or the theatre, in fact for "going out" generally. If the weather is fine, people may decide to go out for the day. Organized amateur cricket is played between club teams. Rugby is very popular at schools where they have good playing fields for that. Golf & tennis are played by great numbers of people. Another popular game is bingo or lotto, which is usually played in halls or former cinemas. Hunting is a popular sport among the rich.
Sunday is the day when most people are engaged in some activity such as gardening, washing the car, taking the dog for a walk. Another most popular activity on this day consists of a visit to a pub -either a walk to the local pub, or often nowadays a drive to a more pleasant country pub.
14. The causes and consequences of the conflicts and divisions in NI.
The problem of NI is closely connected with religion because the Irish people can be divided into 2 religious groups: Catholic and Protestants. At the same time it was clear that the lighting between these 2 groups is closely connected with the colonial past, in 1169 Henry 2 of England started an invasion of Ireland. Although a large part of Ireland came under the control of the invaders, there wasn't much direct control from England during the middle ages. In the 16th century Henry 6 of England quarreled with Rome and declared himself Head of the Anglican church, which was a protestant church. Ireland remained Catholic, and didn't accept the change. Henry 8 tried to force them to become Anglican. He also punished them by taking most of their land. This policy was continued by Elizabeth I. But the Irish Catholics never gave up their struggle for independence and their rights. At the end of the 18th century there was a mass rising against the English colonizers which was crushed by the English army and in 1801 a forced union was established with Britain. All through the 19th century the "Irish question" remained in the centre of British polities. After a long and bitter struggle the southern part of Ireland finally became a free State in l921. Ulster where the protestants were in majority remained part of the UK. The Irish free State declared itself a Republic in 1949 and is known as the Irish republic of Eire. It is completely independent and its capital is Dublin. Northern Ireland had its own P at Stormont in Belfast and government which was responsible for its province's life. But from the beginning the P was in the hands of Protestants while the Catholics didn't have equal rights with the Protestants. In 1969.conflict started between these 2 groups and so the British government closed the local P and sent in die British army to keep the peace. But there were no peace. On he Catholic side is the Irish Republic Army which wants to achieve a united reland by terrorism and bombings. On the Protestant side there are also secret terrorist organizations.
The NI Assembly of 108 members was restored in 1998. Elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held in November 2003.However many difficulties still exist' to make this local P a workable body because of the confrontation between the parties representing the Protestant and Catholic communities. The Northern Ireland Assembly was established as part of the Belfast Agreement and meets in P Buildings. The Assembly is the prime source of authority for all devolved responsibilities and has full legislative and executive authority. Elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly took place on the 7th March 2007 and the Northern Ireland Assembly was restored on the 8th of May 2007.
15. General assessment of Britain today.
Americans seem strangely oblivious to historic developments in Europe these days that could mean a profound change in this country’s relations with Europe as a whole, and with Britain in particular. The process of European integration is reaching a new stage, with not only Economic and Monetary Union but also the beginning of a common security and defense policy. No one seriously questions the wisdom and enlightened statesmanship of the U.S. policy that has supported European integration over many decades. But the contemporary phase of that process is bringing us into uncharted territory. It raises major questions about the future cohesion of the Atlantic Alliance and about the future of the "special relationship" that the United States has long enjoyed with Britain. The Anglo-American tradition embodies a very special conception of political and economic liberty, as well as a certain seriousness about international security and, indeed, about the moral unity of the West. These Anglo-American values as thoroughly vindicated by history and, therefore, worthy of the most vigorous defense.
Since the Eisenhower era, the United States has been urging Britain into Europe, initially to strengthen the resolve of the Europeans as Cold Warriors and more recently out of habit and to be a force for good government in Europe. Today, all polls in Britain show that about 70% of people in the U.K. do not want to go farther into the EU, although about half believe that the country may ultimately do so anyway. EUROPE helped bring down two of Britain’s recent prime ministers, Margaret Thatcher and John Major. But at least they were casualties of weighty conflicts over their country’s future in the European Union (EU). On June 4th Gordon Brown may be mortally wounded by nothing grander than election results for the European P.
Working with Belarus
The UK is a leading member of the European Union. The 27 current member states of the EU have agreed to work together on issues of common interest, where collective and co-ordinated initiatives can be more effective than individual state action. UK relations with Belarus are conducted within the framework of the EU Common Position towards Belarus. The UK also enjoys bilateral co-operation with Belarus in a range of areas. Following an intense period of negotiations, the two countries concluded an Agreement on conditions for the recuperation of Belarusian minors in the UK. The Agreement, which came into force on May 22, now makes it possible for British charitable organizations to resume their valuable work. The British Embassy will be also deploying its unique mobile biometric project to collect biometric fingerprints from children in the regions, saving them a long journey to Minsk.
