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Washington Post
March 22 2014
Crimea has joined the ranks of the world's 'gray areas.' Here are the
others on that list.
By Adam Taylor
Last week National Geographic found itself in a controversial spot
when a report in U.S. News and World Report suggested that the
National Geographic Maps would show Crimea as part of Russia. "We map
de facto, in other words we map the world as it is, not as people
would like it to be," Juan José Valdés, the magazine's geographer and
director of editorial and research, explained.
National Geographic has since clarified its position: In a statement,
it announced that Crimea would be treated "shaded gray" to show that
it was now an "Area of Special Status."
To put it simply, Crimea is now a gray area.
What other gray areas are there in the world? Well, according to
National Geographic's Atlas of the World (ninth edition), quite a few.
Here are the ones we could find (with National Geographic's notes):
Abkhazia: "Separatists defeated Georgian troops to gain control of
this region 1993 -- negotiations continue on resolving the conflict."
Abu Musa: "Claimed by Iran and U.A.E. and jointly administered by them."
Cyprus: "DIVIDED CYPRUS," according to National Geographic. "Cyprus
was partitioned in 1974 following a coup backed by Greece and an
invasion by Turkey. The island is composed of a Greek Cypriot south
with an internationally recognized government and a Turkish Cypriot
north (gray) with a government recognized only by Turkey. The UN
patrols the dividing line and works towards reunification of the
island."
Dokdo: "Administered by South Korea. Claimed by Japan."
Ilemi Triangle: "Administered by Kenya. Conflicting claims by Sudan
and Ethiopia."
Kashmir: "India and Pakistan both claim Kashmir -- a disputed region
with some 10 million people. India administers only the area south of
the line of control. Pakistan controls northwestern Kashmir. China
took eastern Kashmir from India in a 1962 war."
Kosovo: "On February 17, 2008, Kosovo declared its independence, but
Serbia still claims it as a province. Some places show the Albanian
name with the Serbian name in parentheses."
Nagorno-Karabakh: "Since a 1994 cease-fire between Azerbaijani and
Armenian forces, ethnic Armenians have controlled Nagorno Karabakh and
surrounding areas (gray). Azerbaijan continues to claim this disputed
region."
New Moor Island: "Claimed by India and Bangladesh."
Paracel Islands: "Occupied by China in 1974, which calls them Xisha
Qundao; claimed by Vietnam, which calls them Hoang Sa."
Senkaku Shoto: "Administered by Japan. Claimed by China and Taiwan."
Somaliland: "In 1991 the Somali National Movement declared Somaliland
an independent republic (in gray) with Hargeysa as the capital. It is
not internationally recognized."
South Ossetia: "A 1992 cease-fire ended fighting between Ossetians and
Georgians, but with no political settlement."
Spratly Islands: "The scattered islands and reefs called the Spratly
Islands are claimed by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Phillipines,
Taiwan, and Vietnam. The Spratleys possess rich fishing grounds and
potential oil."
Taiwan: "The People's Republic of China claims Taiwan as its 23rd
province. Taiwan's government (Republic of China) maintains that there
are two political entities."
The Falklands Islands: "Administered by United Kingdom (claimed by Argentina)."
The Kiril Islands: "The Southern Kiril Islands of Irurup (Etorofu),
Kunashir (Kunashiri), Shikotan and the Habomai group were lost by
Japan to the Soviet Union in 1945. Japan continues to claim these
Russian-administered islands."
Transdniestria: "Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, Ukrainian and
Russian minorities have been struggling for independence from
Moldova."
Tunb Islands: "Administered by Iran (claimed by U.A.E.)"
West Bank and Gaza Strip: "Captured by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War,
a 1993 peace agreement gave areas of the West Bank and Gaza limited
Palestinian autonomy. The future for these autonomous areas and 3
million Palestinians is subject to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations."
Western Sahara: "Western Sahara (in gray) is in dispute and has been
administered by Morocco since 1979. Fighting between Morocco and a
Western Sahara independence movement called Polisario ended with a
UN-brokered cease-fire in 1991, but no agreement on the area's status
has been reached. Morocco built a 1,500-mile-long sand wall to confine
Polisario to the sparsely populated southeast."
National Geographic's list is far from exhaustive. For example, it
could be argued that Tibet should be included over questions about
China's sovereignty over the land. And the independence referendums
due to be held this year in Scotland and Catalonia could lend
themselves to the "gray area" tag, too. Really, we're only scratching
the surface here: Wikipedia lists hundreds of territorial disputes.
The world is a very gray place.
Looking over these gray areas, how does Crimea fit in? First, these
disputed areas span almost all parts of the world, from the Falkland
Islands at the very tip of the South American continent, to the Kiril
Islands between eastern Russia and Japan. Many date back decades, if
not centuries. Like Crimea's own complicated situation, the fall of
the Soviet Union seems to have played a big role in a number of them,
most notably in the cases of Transdniestria, Abkhazia, and South
Ossetia.
These are also, almost without exception, places of conflict. The gray
status of the West Bank and Gaza strip, Kosovo and Taiwan, is
indicative of those areas' places at the center of the biggest and
bloodiest international issues of the last century. What's more, these
gray areas are remarkably resilient. For example, the dispute between
Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falklands Islands goes back
hundreds of years, and despite a bloody war over the islands in 1983
hasn't settled the situation. Argentina only recently announced it
would not respect the results of the Falklands' own referendum on the
islands' status.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/03/22/crimea-has-joined-the-ranks-of-the-worlds-gray-areas-here-are-the-others-on-that-list/
From: A. Papazian
March 22 2014
Crimea has joined the ranks of the world's 'gray areas.' Here are the
others on that list.
By Adam Taylor
Last week National Geographic found itself in a controversial spot
when a report in U.S. News and World Report suggested that the
National Geographic Maps would show Crimea as part of Russia. "We map
de facto, in other words we map the world as it is, not as people
would like it to be," Juan José Valdés, the magazine's geographer and
director of editorial and research, explained.
National Geographic has since clarified its position: In a statement,
it announced that Crimea would be treated "shaded gray" to show that
it was now an "Area of Special Status."
To put it simply, Crimea is now a gray area.
What other gray areas are there in the world? Well, according to
National Geographic's Atlas of the World (ninth edition), quite a few.
Here are the ones we could find (with National Geographic's notes):
Abkhazia: "Separatists defeated Georgian troops to gain control of
this region 1993 -- negotiations continue on resolving the conflict."
Abu Musa: "Claimed by Iran and U.A.E. and jointly administered by them."
Cyprus: "DIVIDED CYPRUS," according to National Geographic. "Cyprus
was partitioned in 1974 following a coup backed by Greece and an
invasion by Turkey. The island is composed of a Greek Cypriot south
with an internationally recognized government and a Turkish Cypriot
north (gray) with a government recognized only by Turkey. The UN
patrols the dividing line and works towards reunification of the
island."
Dokdo: "Administered by South Korea. Claimed by Japan."
Ilemi Triangle: "Administered by Kenya. Conflicting claims by Sudan
and Ethiopia."
Kashmir: "India and Pakistan both claim Kashmir -- a disputed region
with some 10 million people. India administers only the area south of
the line of control. Pakistan controls northwestern Kashmir. China
took eastern Kashmir from India in a 1962 war."
Kosovo: "On February 17, 2008, Kosovo declared its independence, but
Serbia still claims it as a province. Some places show the Albanian
name with the Serbian name in parentheses."
Nagorno-Karabakh: "Since a 1994 cease-fire between Azerbaijani and
Armenian forces, ethnic Armenians have controlled Nagorno Karabakh and
surrounding areas (gray). Azerbaijan continues to claim this disputed
region."
New Moor Island: "Claimed by India and Bangladesh."
Paracel Islands: "Occupied by China in 1974, which calls them Xisha
Qundao; claimed by Vietnam, which calls them Hoang Sa."
Senkaku Shoto: "Administered by Japan. Claimed by China and Taiwan."
Somaliland: "In 1991 the Somali National Movement declared Somaliland
an independent republic (in gray) with Hargeysa as the capital. It is
not internationally recognized."
South Ossetia: "A 1992 cease-fire ended fighting between Ossetians and
Georgians, but with no political settlement."
Spratly Islands: "The scattered islands and reefs called the Spratly
Islands are claimed by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Phillipines,
Taiwan, and Vietnam. The Spratleys possess rich fishing grounds and
potential oil."
Taiwan: "The People's Republic of China claims Taiwan as its 23rd
province. Taiwan's government (Republic of China) maintains that there
are two political entities."
The Falklands Islands: "Administered by United Kingdom (claimed by Argentina)."
The Kiril Islands: "The Southern Kiril Islands of Irurup (Etorofu),
Kunashir (Kunashiri), Shikotan and the Habomai group were lost by
Japan to the Soviet Union in 1945. Japan continues to claim these
Russian-administered islands."
Transdniestria: "Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, Ukrainian and
Russian minorities have been struggling for independence from
Moldova."
Tunb Islands: "Administered by Iran (claimed by U.A.E.)"
West Bank and Gaza Strip: "Captured by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War,
a 1993 peace agreement gave areas of the West Bank and Gaza limited
Palestinian autonomy. The future for these autonomous areas and 3
million Palestinians is subject to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations."
Western Sahara: "Western Sahara (in gray) is in dispute and has been
administered by Morocco since 1979. Fighting between Morocco and a
Western Sahara independence movement called Polisario ended with a
UN-brokered cease-fire in 1991, but no agreement on the area's status
has been reached. Morocco built a 1,500-mile-long sand wall to confine
Polisario to the sparsely populated southeast."
National Geographic's list is far from exhaustive. For example, it
could be argued that Tibet should be included over questions about
China's sovereignty over the land. And the independence referendums
due to be held this year in Scotland and Catalonia could lend
themselves to the "gray area" tag, too. Really, we're only scratching
the surface here: Wikipedia lists hundreds of territorial disputes.
The world is a very gray place.
Looking over these gray areas, how does Crimea fit in? First, these
disputed areas span almost all parts of the world, from the Falkland
Islands at the very tip of the South American continent, to the Kiril
Islands between eastern Russia and Japan. Many date back decades, if
not centuries. Like Crimea's own complicated situation, the fall of
the Soviet Union seems to have played a big role in a number of them,
most notably in the cases of Transdniestria, Abkhazia, and South
Ossetia.
These are also, almost without exception, places of conflict. The gray
status of the West Bank and Gaza strip, Kosovo and Taiwan, is
indicative of those areas' places at the center of the biggest and
bloodiest international issues of the last century. What's more, these
gray areas are remarkably resilient. For example, the dispute between
Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falklands Islands goes back
hundreds of years, and despite a bloody war over the islands in 1983
hasn't settled the situation. Argentina only recently announced it
would not respect the results of the Falklands' own referendum on the
islands' status.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/03/22/crimea-has-joined-the-ranks-of-the-worlds-gray-areas-here-are-the-others-on-that-list/
From: A. Papazian