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Shelter: Cultural & Ecological Designing

Shelter: Cultural & Ecological Designing

"The walls, with the windows and doors attached to them, form the house, but it is the empty space within that creates the essence of the house. This is the rule: the material harbors usefulness, and the immaterial imparts the true essence."
-- Lao Tse

"Any housing solution that involves paying for industrially produced building materials and commercial building contractors is doomed to certain failure. If houses are to be built at all, in sufficient quantity, they must be built without money. We must go right outside the framework of the money system, bypass the factories, and ignore the contractors."
-- Hassan Fathy

Ishmael Jay Taylor made us aware of http://www.eco-living.net/. Thank you! Evelin

Ashraf Salama kindly comments (8th August 2005):
My dear Ishmael; Many thanks for your message and Hassan Fathy's quote. You might be interested in having a look at Nabeel Hamdy, Afghani architect and professor, who wrote a book in the early 1990s named Housing Without Houses; there is another one by Clare Cooper Marcuse Housing as if People Mattered both complements some of the ideas generated by Fathy.

Posted by Evelin at 11:49 AM | Comments (0)
Note Mowaffak Al-Rubaie

Mowaffak Al-Rubaie: Soft-spoken, bespectacled and courtly, this member of the Iraqi Governing Council once served as the international spokesman for a feared terrorist group. Now he's a key player in the New Iraq

By Christian Caryl and Christopher Dickey
Newsweek

Dec. 29/ Jan. 5 issue - He was there, one of only four Iraqi dignitaries present, when President George W. Bush dropped in at Baghdad airport for Thanksgiving turkey with the troops. He was there again, a few weeks later, when Saddam Hussein, freshly dragged from a "spider hole" near Tikrit, was forced to confront a few men who'd fought against him for decades. If you look closely, in fact, he seems to be just about everywhere in the New Iraq. Yet Mowaffak al-Rubaie is often overlooked, like a Mr. Cellophane, on press rosters of Iraq's rising stars.
[...]

American officials in Iraq are well aware of al-Rubaie's ability to navigate in both worlds; when President Bush landed in Baghdad for Thanksgiving dinner, clearly he'd been briefed. As al-Rubaie remembers their encounter, the president pointed at him and said, "Dr. al-Rubaie, I want you to convey this message to Mr. Sistani. Tell him that I pray to the same god he prays to... Tell Sistani I have nothing but praise for your religion. I have many millions of Muslims in my country back home."
[...]

A few days before, he says, he was given a full body search by American soldiers as he tried to enter the building—searched right down to the soles of his shoes. "This is humiliation in the eyes of our people," he says in frustration. Yet even while lobbying for greater Iraqi involvement in security matters, he warns that Washington shouldn't rush Iraqis into accepting full sovereignty: "People are not ready. People have not voted here for more than 50 years." Al-Rubaie speaks of the "Baathist virus" implanted by Saddam Hussein "in the software upstairs." "We need to rewrite the software," he says. "We need to rehabilitate the Iraqi people. This will take a long time."
[...]
And meanwhile al-Rubaie continues building his own personal constituency. Last summer the holy city of Karbala was draped with banners extolling his virtues. His clan, the al-Rubaie, is large and powerful, and he's worked hard to make sure he keeps its support. But politics remains a high-risk occupation. At least one other member of the Council has been shot dead; the driver of another member was killed when American soldiers opened fire on his car. And then there was the October attack on the Baghdad Hotel, when al-Rubaie himself was injured. Does he feel endangered? "I'm not afraid to die," he says, smiling. "Thank goodness I believe in the hereafter. So I am ready to go." If he survives—and that's a big if for any Iraqi politician—he could also be ready to rule.

Please read the entire article here.

Posted by Evelin at 03:27 AM | Comments (0)
Ex-Soldier Wins Stress Damages

Ex-soldier Wins Stress Damages
An ex-soldier has been awarded £620,000 damages from the Ministry of Defence for stress suffered while on duty.

Malcolm New, from Llandudno, claimed at the High Court that the MoD failed to identify and treat his post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
[...]

Responding to the judgment, Mr New, who is described as a virtual recluse, said: "This was never about money, it was about recognition for all who have served Queen and country."

It was over the MoD's failure to refer him for medical treatment that Mr New sought damages.
[...]

He added: "Just because the injury is psychological it doesn't make it any less real or any less deserving of treatment.

Please read the entire article here.

Posted by Evelin at 03:00 AM | Comments (0)
Dignity and Humiliation Studies: An Australian Experience by Hilarie Roseman

DIGNITY AND HUMILIATION STUDIES: HUMILIATION FLOWERING FROM HISTORICAL ROOTS - AN AUSTRLAIAN EXPERIENCE
by Hilarie Roseman

Key words: dignity, humiliation, recognition, respect, fear, politicians, refugees, mandatory detention, sadistic relationships, Australia, convicts, intimidation, Web/Part Whole theory.

ABSTRACT
The withdrawal or denial of recognition and respect, experienced as humiliation, may be the strongest force that creates rifts between people and breaks down relationships. (Lindner 2005) McLuhan envisions the world as a global village, Lindner as a single sphere, which experiences cycles of humiliation. Lack of respect appears when historical roots of fear are awakened. “Some politicians scare, fear or humiliate constituents to vote a certain way, act a certain way, or think a certain way. (Shapiro 2004). In Australia Prime Minister Howard spoke of the boat refugees as queue jumpers and illegals, using fear to build mandatory detention camps. Fear was grown Australia’s roots by the sadistic relationships between bad prison bosses and their prisoners, the convicts. “Norfolk Island held a thousand convicts, but its real use was the intimidation of thousands more. If it was not “demonic” it would have been a useless deterrent.” (Hughes 1986:484) Humiliation and fear in the work place are discussed in a case study where there is deliberate lack of recognition and malice towards an older worker. The theory of Phillips and Scheff, The Web/Part Whole Theory, is used in defining and drawing the threads of dignity and humiliation together. Dignity comes from people, dignified themselves, bringing dignity to others. The whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

Posted by Evelin at 08:25 AM | Comments (0)
Department of Peace Campaign

Dear supporters of the Dept. of Peace Campaign,

Thank you for your recent email to us! We are so grateful for your interest in a United States Department of Peace. Your individual efforts are vital in order to tip the scales towards fostering the vision of a society that honors peace as one of its greatest priorities. This is an exciting time where change is just on the horizon! It is through the actions of each individual citizen that a real cultural shift and transformation of values begins to happen. And it is through joining together in our efforts that we can create a collective national voice that puts Peace on the frontlines of the American political conversation and in public policy.

While we are receiving an ever larger amount of email from citizens around the country (that's good news!), we make every effort to respond personally to email correspondence. In the meantime, please stay in touch with what is happening with the Department of Peace Campaign by visiting our website at: http://www.dopcampaign.org/ Please visit the Take Action webpage: http://dopcampaign.org/action.htm for ideas on how you can take important steps to promote the Department of Peace Campaign today.

To join our email list for Dept. of Peace updates, send a blank email to: subscribe-3536@en.groundspring.org You will be sent an email confirming that it is you who wants to join from "Subscription Manager" and "Dept. of Peace Campaign". Once you respond, you will be on the list!

In Peace,
Matthew Albracht
Managing Director
Department of Peace Campaign

It isn't enough to talk of peace. One must believe it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.
~Eleanor Roosevelt

Posted by Evelin at 03:23 AM | Comments (0)
September Department of Peace Conference

September Department of Peace Conference

"Hi, I'm Joaquin Phoenix [Gladiator, Signs, Ladder 49, Hotel Rawanda].

I'd like talk to you about the grassroots campaign to establish a United States Department of Peace. This is an effort I enthusiastically support, and I hope you will as well.

On September 14th, this landmark legislation will be re-introduced into the House or Representatives. Hundreds of citizens from across the country will gather in Washington from Sept 10th - 12th as a part of The Peace Alliance’s 3rd annual Department of Peace conference, followed by visits to Congress to lobby for the legislation.

Your presence at the conference will send a powerful message to our representatives in Washington that there is a broad and growing movement to to make serious investments in the institutions and structures necessary to engage peaceful alternatives to domestic and international conflict.

The establishment of a Department of Peace is a gift that will improve the lives of generations to come. Please join me in support of this work. We can do this."

To learn more about our conference, visit: http://www.thepeacealliance.org/events/sept_conf_05.htm

Posted by Evelin at 02:34 AM | Comments (0)
Egypt: Child Violence Hotline Inundated with Calls

EGYPT: Child violence hotline inundated with calls

[This report has been sent out by the "Africa-English" Service of the UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit and does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

CAIRO, 28 July (IRIN) - An emergency phone hotline, set up as part of an effort to tackle violence against children, has attracted 25,000 phone calls within its first four weeks of operation, according to child safety workers in Cairo.

"After exactly 24 days of operation, we have received 25,000 phone calls," Dr Manal Shahin, director of the project, told IRIN in the Egyptian capital.

"However, only 1,200 phone calls were real complaints in which we have taken procedures to solve."

The service was established in the wake of a Regional Consultation on Violence Against Children in the Middle East and North Africa, hosted by the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), which was held in Cairo from 27-29 June.

That meeting was part on an in-depth UN Study on Violence Against Children aiming to provide an understanding of the nature, extent, causes and consequences of different forms of violence against children, and to offer solutions and responses.

See full report: http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_27374.html

Most of the phone calls to the hotline were related to street children, legal issues concerning children, and psychological issues, according to Shahin.

"We also had some complaints of violence committed against children," she said.

In one case, a complaint was made against a school teacher hitting pupils. "We immediately informed the Ministry of Education, which in turn did all the necessary procedures to prevent such behaviour," Shahin said.

Another complaint was made by a little girl who was afraid that she would be circumcised. "We immediately sent a social worker to the family to try to convince them not to circumcise the girl," she added.

According to her, the main goal of the project is to address violence against children while sustaining and strengthening family bonds.

"In that way, we have been able to solve 90 percent of the complaints," she said. "But if the family is refusing our intervention, then there is no way we can provide assistance."

The hotline initiative was inspired by the Regional Consultation on Violence Against Children in late June, the first regional meeting to deal exclusively with violence against children.

The most challenging forms of violence against children are those that are linked to the prevailing culture, said Ambassador Moushira Khatab, secretary-general of the NCCM and vice-chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

"The issue of violence starts with the family and ends with the family. The solution lies in raising awareness in the family on how to discipline the child without resorting to violence."

While paying respect to the religions and values of the Middle East and North Africa region, a declaration by delegates at the conference said that some people abuse them as a pretext to committing violence against children.

"There are certain alien practices introduced in our culture that constitute blatant violence against our sons and daughters," the declaration said. "These practices must be banned."

One recommendation from a delegation of children involved setting up school committees to monitor reports of violence, raise awareness and give voice to children's concerns.

"Adults may understand the violence but we feel it," said 15-year-old Bassem Abdel Salam at the consultation meeting. "We can give a clear perspective of reality rather than a theoretical one. We are the victims, not the perpetrators."

Violence against children is not just a matter of physical violence but involves any violation of the natural rights of a child, as stipulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, according to Dr Shahin.

"We came up with this [hotline] initiative to break the silence between the policy makers and society, and to have access to real problems and be able to solve them," Shahin said. That was the best way to ensure community participation.

The emergency children's line covers the governorates of Cairo, Alexandria, Giza, and Qalyubia.

"We have chosen to start with these four governorates because of their population density," Shahin explained. The NCCM hopes to expand the operation to four other governorates by the end of next year.

The council has signed a cooperation agreement on the operation of the helpline with 25 NGOs operating in different sectors in the governorates served. Phone calls are taken and assessed at NCCM headquarters, and - once a given problem is understood - a relevant NGO is contacted to follow up with the caller.

"From our side, we send our own experts to the field to monitor the work done," Shahin said.

"We had to cut cooperation with two NGOs because they did not deal with a matter concerning a child," she added, emphasising that each party had to fulfil its responsibilities for the project to succeed in protecting children.

Four Egyptian ministries are also involved in the project: the ministries of education, justice, social affairs, and of the interior are informed when a matter concerning their area of expertise is reported to the communication centre.

So far the project appears to be meeting a need, according to Manal Shahin, but no real indicators of success will be apparent until at least the end of the year.

[ENDS]

Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2005

Posted by Evelin at 11:12 AM | Comments (0)
AMARC Sets up WSIS Page On-Line

AMARC sets up WSIS page on-line

Montreal, July 27, 2005. Starting today, all AMARC members and the general public are able to access updated information on the processes leading to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) by visiting http://wsis.amarc.org/EN.php.

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is a two-phase United Nations intergovernmental conference that aims at the creation of a framework for an all-inclusive and equitable Information Society. In order to achieve this goal, WSIS incorporates a global vision and a global dialogue, bringing together a variety of world stakeholders.

The WSIS Summit in Geneva, December 2003, was the outcome of the first phase of WSIS, which started in 2000. The Summit established the foundations of the Information Society, leading to a Declaration of Principles and a Plan of Action. Participating governments, however, did not fulfill all the expectations from the civil society organisations present, those this organisations issued a separate statement calling for an Information Society clearly based on Human Rights. The second phase deals with the issues of Internet governance, of financing “to bridge the digital divide”, as well as on defining the implementation and follow-up process. This phase will end with a Summit in Tunis from 16 to 18 November 2005. Furthermore, civil society organisations have expressed deep concerns regarding the situation of freedom of expression in Tunis. Please see the Tunis monitoring Group report in http://ifex.org .

Community media recognition is an important factor in the development of a truly inclusive Information Society. AMARC is closely following WSIS and taking an active part in advocating for recognition of community media as new tiers of communication. Furthermore, AMARC is working with civil society partners, as well as those organized in the CRIS Campaign ­ Communications Rights in the Information Society -- for inclusion of the civil society agenda in the WSIS process. This agenda calls for a human rights approach to the Information Society and urges recognition of the existence of communication rights as the founding base of a truly democratic Information Society. Through participation in this global process, AMARC has been representing the interests of more than 3,000 community radio stations in over 110 countries.

For more information on AMARC, visit http://amarc.org .

Find the news about the worlwide community radio movement in the ObsMedia Web site at http://www.obsmedia.amarc.org

Posted by Evelin at 05:44 AM | Comments (0)
The Common Ground News Service, July 26, 2005

Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
July 26, 2005

The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) is distributing the enclosed articles to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If publishing, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org.

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ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION:

1. "Battling the cancer within" by Prince Turki Al Faisal and Lord George Carey
Prince Turki Al Faisal and Lord George Carey, co-chair of the Council of One Hundred at the World Economic Forum, condemn the recent bombings in London and reject the politicization of religion, urging the West not to generalize about Islam but to recognize the many Muslim clerics and individuals who believe that terrorism runs counter to their religion.
(Source: The Telegraph, UK, July 24, 2005)

2. "The War of the Worlds" by Fawaz Turki
Fawaz Turki, Arab News senior columnist, seeks a "psychologically, spiritually and culturally informed response" to the root causes of terror and warns that preventing Muslims from living and participating in European or American life only dilutes the values of tolerance and independence that are the cornerstone of Western thought.
(Source Arab News, July 20, 2005)

3. "Reconciling Kurds and Shias" by Eric Hilmo and Samuel Blatteis
Eric Hilmo, M.A. Security Studies, Georgetown University, and Samuel Blatteis, a Fulbright recipient to the Persian Gulf, 2005-2006, believe that Shias and Kurds can be reconciled over specific issues where they have common ground, but warn that this will require that the United States enact financially costly measures to improve the local economy and reduce political inequalities.
(Source: Middle East Times, July 19, 2005)

4. "Lessons from a journey across the Arab world" by Rami G. Khouri
Rami G. Khouri, editor-at-large for the Daily Star, argues that "Based on visits to Jordan, Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine and Morocco, along with meetings with colleagues from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Kuwait, I sense a common mood across the Arab world: the prevailing status quo is neither satisfying to the majority of citizens, nor sustainable for the rulers in its current state; but neither is it on the verge of revolutionary or violent change."
(Source: The Daily Star, July 20, 2005)

5." International Terror: Why?" by The Rev'd Canon Andrew White
The Rev'd Canon Andrew White, an Anglican priest, is CEO of the Foundation for Reconciliation in the Middle East. He provides concrete suggestions to fight the "war" we are all facing, Muslims and Christians alike.
(Source: Canon Andrew White's Email Update, July 20, 2005)

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ARTICLE 1
Battling the cancer within
Prince Turki Al Faisal and Lord George Carey

What makes a man take his own life and the lives of dozens of innocent people: mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters the heroes and heroines of everyday life?

We should be clear upon one thing, which is that it has nothing to do with any faith. Good people of all faiths, or of none, are united in seeing the London bombings as a terrible act against humanity.

Not to see this is to be inhuman. There is no faith that condones the taking of innocent life and that celebrates suicide. The killing of innocent people is prohibited by all faiths.

"Thou shalt not kill" is one of the 10 commandments passed down to us all from the Prophet Moses in the Bible. "Whoever kills a person has killed the whole of humanity," says one of the best known Quranic verses.

Suicide is a sign of an individual's alienation from God and their alienation from the human family to which we all belong. This shared human bond, on which we are all so widely and clearly agreed is a bond that can transcend other divisions.

Our deeply shared humanity unites us. We serve as co-chair of the Council of One Hundred of the World Economic Forum. In this we are committed to building bridges and to overcoming divides.

One of us has served as a Christian leader in the Britain and the other as a Muslim diplomat, but we share a common goal, which is to build a vehicle and a dialogue that can address this great challenge of our time.

We do this in the belief that it is possible to construct a world built upon cooperation and harmony sustained by meaningful dialogue. We reject the inevitability of a "Clash of Civilisations".

We do not accept the concept of "Islam versus Christianity," or of "the West versus Islam". Differences are real and need to be acknowledged, but the bonds of common humanity and of our being citizens together of one world are stronger.

Islam, Christianity and Judaism are all Abrahamic faiths with the same core values. Yet facts must be faced.

Twisted vision

There are those among our human family who are committing these deeds of horror and devastation and who do not see how evil and terrible they are. They claim to be faithful to Islam and faithful to God but they are not.

This is not Islam and these acts are absolutely not the will of God. Their twisted vision is alien to the healthy body of the faith that holds the world's Muslim community together. It is a wicked perversion of the common values of faith.

The misappropriation of religious labels for violent ends is not a new problem, as past conflicts and experiences in Northern Ireland have made clear, but it is a very urgent one. Politicisation of any faith can be extremely dangerous.

In the Middle East, the separation between politics and religion has, by some, been confused, and it is a highly volatile and dangerous confusion that must end.

The fact that the laws of Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, are Islamic laws and that their governance is guided by Islam, does not mean and never has meant that Islam can legitimately be used as a political tool.

Perverting traditional texts

Imams and teachers who have used Islam to bolster and preach their political beliefs have done so by perverting traditional Islamic texts.

Declaring fatwas permitting suicide bombings goes against everything at the heart of Islam. These so-called Muslim scholars must be and are condemned. They are violating the most dearly held principles of Islam.

The terrorists who have been led to kill themselves are the victims of bad teaching, resulting from this twisted ideology subjecting religion to political ends. Al Qaida is not and never has been an Islamic force.

Majority of imams in the Muslim world both since and well before 9/11 have consistently and widely condemned suicide bombings in particular and terrorism in general.

The West does need to understand that while some Islamic scholars may seek to follow a path that goes back to a fundamental view of Islam, they do not accept suicide bombings or the taking of innocent human life.

No one can do this and be a true Muslim.

What then must be done? The Islamic world needs to acknowledge the cancer within its own community and to root it out. Muslim scholars must come out loudly and strongly against suicide bombing regardless of where, when and why they have happened.

We must undertake a global act of collective self-examination. In Islamic terms this is a project of muhasaba, a quest for the authentic Muslim voice that can dissolve the dark forces of destruction and point towards our true human values that cherish life and can bring about true human flourishing.

In the words of the Quran: "God does not change the condition of a people until they change the condition of their own selves" (13:11).

This is happening: there is a deep significance in three declarations made immediately before and after the London (7/7) bombings.

First, more than 170 Muslim religious leaders met in Amman, both Shiite and Sunni leaders as well as Ebadis and Esmailis. They all agreed that only those trained within the traditional eight schools of Islamic jurisprudence have the authority to issue fatwas.

This might seem an academic point, but it is fundamental to undermining the legitimacy of so called Islamist (rather than Islamic) terrorism.

This declaration makes clear that none of these supposed fatwas is legitimate or Islamic: Islam has united and declared the terrorists to be in breach of the Islamic faith.

Peace-loving citizens

Second, immediately after the bombing, the Grand Mufti Shaikh Abdul Aziz Al Shaikh issued a statement condemning the terrorists. He has consistently condemned suicide bombings which have no basis in Sharia.

Last week, 500 British imams put out a fatwa prohibiting suicide bombings and the killing of innocent people. For its part, the West needs to be supportive of the vast majority of Muslims who are peace-loving citizens.

The West also needs to understand the dangers encompassed in the liberal society which it advocates. That liberalism is the very tool used by extremists to foster and spread their twisted ideology.

We appeal to the West and world of Islam not to generalise but to differentiate the minority from the majority. It is time for us all to realise that true freedom is the freedom to live a moral life in fellowship with all mankind as citizens of one precious world. In the name of God we invite everyone to help build it.
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* Prince Turki Al Faisal is the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Britain. Lord George Carey is the former Archbishop of Canterbury. The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2005
Source: The Telegraph, July 24, 2005.
Visit the Telegraph at www.telegraph.co.uk.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained from the authors for publication.

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ARTICLE 2
The War of the Worlds
Fawaz Turki

As commentators, we can deal with evil by simply repudiating it and demonizing those who enact it, then move on. That is not only the easy way out, but is a cop out.

To write meaningfully about evil - and the London bombings are clearly a manifestation of that - we have to comprehend it, to comprehend why its perpetrators do not see the senselessness, the horror, the futility of their acts.

Alas, in these bad-tempered times, an attempt to dispassionately distance ourselves from these people in order to understand them - to transcend our emotions to make room for our intellects - can be construed as an attempt to explain away "evil doers," even to sympathize with them.

Ignorance of the motives, the social forces, the psychology of a terrorist, is the worst possible posture to have here.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair hit the nail on the head, two days after the London bombings, when he described the world, with its diverse communities as subsystems of the same global system. "Where there are appalling forms of poverty in one continent," he said, "the consequences no longer stay fixed in that continent, they spread to the rest of the world."

Add to that appalling form of alienation, the subjugation of one people by another, emotional suffering at the loss of one's sense of worth and sense of place in one's world, and the inability to determine one's personal and national destiny, and you have a deadly brew.

It is infantile, not to mention egregious and fallacious, to say that there is something in the religion of the Other - in this case, Islam - that propels an individual to commit acts of terror. On the contrary, a man of faith, any faith, is a man whose life is inspired by the desire to help the poor, by contemplation of the wondrous nature of creation, by generosity, by love for those less endowed, by strong moral values, by a sense of direction in one's life and, above all, by respect for those People of the Book other than one's own.

I am a Muslim who grew up in the Palestinian refugee camps, those putative "enclaves of hatred." An uncle would often visit and would recite and interpret passages from the Holy Book.

How come, we the children sitting around him would ask, you want us to love the Jews, to respect them as a People of the Book, when they have dismembered our homeland and expelled us?

His answer was always the same: They have gone astray, they have departed from the Book, and it has not always been like that between us and them.

Moreover, he would add, our struggle against the Jews of Palestine does not derive from their being Jews, but from the injustice they have perpetrated against us. We are all God's creatures, he would say over and over again. We have our Book, and they have theirs, reminding us of how in the Hadith we are enjoined by the Prophet (pbuh) against hurting those of another faith.

Uncle Omar, a true Muslim, instilled in us, at an impressionable time in our lives, a benign, as opposed to a sinister or racialist, view of the Other, and an intellectual inquisitiveness about the Other's faith and view of the world.

I have studied the Bible, not because I'm becoming an apostate, and I have explored and continue to enjoy African-American Gospel music and Gregorian chants by the Trappist Monks of the Abbey of Gethsemani, not because I prefer them to the Mowashahat, but because I enjoy them and because nowhere in Islam does it say that the artistic, or for that matter theological, effusions of other faiths should be avoided or denigrated.

In like manner, nowhere in Islam does it say that a Muslim's grievance, no matter how compelling, justifies killing innocent people.

Evil is universal; men of all races and creeds have been seduced - and reduced - by it.

In the Holy Books, Cain murdered his brother out of envy. In literature, Macbeth killed the king for naked power, and Marquis de Sade's characters inflicted pain on their victims in pursuit of pleasure. In Germany, Nazis committed unspeakable crimes in the name of a venomous ideology of racial purity.

In the US, fanatics have committed murder in synagogues and churches (Kerry Noble, leader of a violent cult in the 1980s, comes to mind) to facilitate the advent of the Apocalypse and the return of the Messiah. The Belgians worked millions of Congolese to death in the mines - literally worked them to death for the inferior species of men they were considered. And closer to home, Al-Qaeda sent terrorists to New York and Washington allegedly to destroy the instruments of American domination in the Muslim world.

So if you can pull rank on anyone here, my friend, throw the first stone.

We need a psychologically, spiritually, and culturally informed response to understand the kind of violence - senseless and banal - that is pursued by Muslims wrapping themselves in the mantle of their faith, in reality a nihilistic form of unfaith.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of prominent, albeit clueless, voices being raised about how to deal with the issue: Deal with them harshly, limit their entry into the country, deport the bums, whatever, unless you want the US and with it the rest of the "free world" to get rolled over by Islam.

Take the recent book, "The Cube and the Cathedral," by George Weigel, who argues that Europe cannot remain Europe if it allows itself to become "full of Muslims," just as Samuel P. Huntington (of the "Clash of Civilizations" fame) argues in his new book, "Who Are We," that America cannot remain America if it is full of Hispanics.

That, said Anne-Marie Slaughter, who reviewed both tomes in the Washington Post, "betrays the deepest values of the Enlightenment and the tolerance and individualism that are the West's greatest strengths." And, heck, that includes a betrayal of the American way as well.

Where's Uncle Omar when you need him to put in his two cents worth of thoughtful and compassionate observations about what the issue is really all about.

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* Fawaz Turki is an Arab News senior columnist.
Source: Arab News, July 20, 2005.
Visit the Arab News at www.arabnews.com.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
This article has been edited for length. Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

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ARTICLE 3
Reconciling Kurds and Shias
Eric Hilmo and Samuel Blatteis

Despite the new Iraqi government's democratic founding, the governing coalition is still held together largely by the self-interest of the two dominant parties, the Kurds and the Shias.

While they presently cooperate to quell the domestic Sunni insurgency and develop the legal framework for Iraq's permanent constitution, these parties still cannot agree on what form the future government will take. Their conflicting interests stem directly from social, political, and economic inequalities, many of which existed before the US invasion two years ago. To date, attempts to address these inequalities have been the main sticking points for these groups.

If the United States wants to preserve Iraqi stability, it must give the Sunnis more specific financial stakes in the process and political incentives among the Kurdish and Shia leaders to make concessions to develop more common ground between all the main factions to what form the future government will take.

US policymakers often overlook two core elements of formulating a strategy toward Iraq: (1) the difficult political questions the future Iraqi government must contend with to establish itself as the country's central governing agent and (2) they underestimate the real threat to future stability these issues entail.

The inequalities found among the Shias, Kurds, and Sunnis could erode tenuously stable relationship between Iraq's leading political parties. The United States should distribute more economic resources to reduce these inequalities and minimize the prospects of future violence.

The deteriorating security situation bleeds into all facets of daily economic life and magnifies local inequalities. Security took hold slower in central and southern Iraq, and health care workers and financial investors could not do their job while in the northern region humanitarian organizations were already established and security began to take root.

Moreover, due to the ongoing insurgency within Sunni-run regions, reconstruction in central Iraq has lagged behind southern and northern efforts. International aid organizations report there has been almost no rise in diseases in northern Iraq, and the World Health Organization has developed a track record of restocking local clinics with medical supplies.

On the whole, the northern provinces controlled by the Kurds are financially better off than southern (Shia) and central (Sunni majority) Iraq. Baghdad itself is predominantly Shia, especially the slums of East Baghdad. These economic inequalities heighten the tension between Kurds, Sunnis, and Shias that manifests itself in targeted violence. These attacks, particularly sensational Sunni attacks on Shia mosques and ongoing fighting in Kirkuk, contribute to a sense of continued Kurdish and Shia victimization.

Consequently, the Kurds and the Shias, the two most powerful communities in the new Iraqi government, still feel victimized by Sunni aggression. It is unclear to what extent they may utilize this perception of victimization to justify punitive action against Sunnis.

Economically, the Sunnis will have to contend with the reality that the financial prospects in the country are against them because the bulk of the country's oil reserves are in the Shia South or the Kurdish-dominated region of Kirkuk in the North, much less so with the Sunnis.

Militarily, the inequalities are far worse. The Peshmerga (Kurdish militias) forces are estimated to be around 80,000 strong and battle-hardened after a decade of resisting the Saddam regime. By contrast, the US-trained forces in Iraq are newly trained and of questionable reliability. Most of these troops are trained for policing action with only few able to perform conventional military operations. The entire force is also expected to undergo significant restructuring under the new assembly government with the removal of former Baathists and Sunnis currently serving in senior officer positions.

Given these factors, the Kurds have political levers to push for the acceptance of semi or full autonomy and will likely be able to extend that autonomy to the disputed region of Kirkuk as well. Shia efforts to oppose these moves could lead Iraq to civil war.

The Shias and Kurds have some common ground. They both were betrayed by the White House and both have track records of coordinating and cooperating with Iran. The problem is a fundamental disagreement between leading Shias and Kurds on core political issues: Kurdish authority over the Peshmerga, the extent of Kurdish control over Kirkuk, and the role that Islam will play in Iraqi law formation.

In order to ease the resolution of these issues, the United States must undertake actionable measures to improve local economic and political inequalities that will be financially costly. The high financial costs that Washington must expend will be more palatable than the long term threat of ethnic and religious violence that can be avoided in the future.

###
* Eric Hilmo has a Masters in security studies from Georgetown University. Samuel Blatteis is a Fulbright recipient to the Persian Gulf, 2005-2006. Acknowledgement to United Press International.
Source: Middle East Times, July 19, 2005.
Visit Middle East Times, www.metimes.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 4
Lessons from a journey across the Arab world
Rami G. Khouri


In the last seven weeks I have had the opportunity to make working visits to seven Arab countries and to engage in political and other discussions with local officials, academics, journalists and opposition activists. The experience has been instructive, and simultaneously
heartening and depressing, suggesting obvious opportunities and dangers in the dual quest to respond to the rights of Arab citizens and defeat the global terror plague.

Based on my visits and discussions in Jordan, Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine and Morocco, along with meetings with colleagues from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Kuwait, I sense a common mood across the Arab world: the prevailing status quo is neither satisfying to the majority of citizens, nor sustainable for the rulers in its current state; but neither is it on the verge of revolutionary or violent change.

The obvious overarching trend throughout the Arab world is that of citizenries and ruling elites that are both worried by the status quo, but unsure of how to change it. In every Arab society, demons from the past - a harrowing litany of excesses and errors - now haunt the rulers and the ruled alike: Tens of millions of educated but underemployed, unemployed, restive and frustrated young men and women have given unnatural birth to thousands of active terrorists and anarchists, targeting our own and foreign lands. A deep distortion of traditional Islamic and Arab values is manifested in a desperate, violent, criminal search for revenge against the domestic and foreign forces that have degraded the last three generations of Arabs. Urban environments are exploding in uncontrollable spontaneous growth, with increasingly negative impacts on water, arable land and other vital natural resource bases. Drug- and corruption-based criminality is our new pan-Arab growth industry, expanding on a regional and global scale. Tens of millions of armed men and women in official military, police and
security establishments have brought neither palatable security nor even the more modest goal of honorable national self-respect to the Arab region as a whole. Some desperate lands in our midst are ruled like private fiefs by thugs, killers, former cops and men of very limited abilities, in some absurd cases men who have remained in power for three or four decades without interruption - and in all cases without any formal, credible ratification by their own citizens.

Everywhere in the Arab world the calm on the surface is tenuous and vulnerable. Pressures for change emanate from within the Arab countries, and equally from external pressures. This is driven by economic stress and a deeper sense of the average citizen's indignity at living in societies where power is neither accountable nor contestable, and where citizen rights are neither codified nor respected.

But these are visceral not constitutional societies, and verbal not digital or parliamentary societies. Body language rules here more than the eloquence or principles of national founding fathers. So do not look for signs of stress or change in polling data, legislative votes or political party activity. Those superficial imports from retreating colonial European powers three generations ago have little anchorage or meaning in most Arab societies. Here, power relationships are negotiated over coffee, meals, chance encounters and leisurely chats - and they are constantly, perpetually renegotiated and reaffirmed, day after day, year after year, generation after generation.

This is what is going on now in every Arab country. Arab rulers and ruled alike fervently but quietly search for the mechanisms of orderly change, aware that the traditional social contract and power equation that have defined this region since the 1920s are on their last legs. The common phenomenon I have witnessed around the Arab world is that growing majorities of ordinary citizens seek peaceful but effective ways to challenge, and change, state structures and the use of power - because these state structures mostly do not offer their people sustainable security, expressions of their real identity, freedom of choice and speech, relevant education, or minimally attractive job prospects.

A very small minority of violent Arab men and women have turned to terror as an instrument that expresses their demented frustrations and desperation; more significantly, the vast mass of Arabs has learned the lessons of the mistakes of the secular and religious political movements that challenged the modern Arab security state using violent means starting in the late 1970. Citizens throughout this region now challenge their ruling elites and foreign interference more peacefully, but also more directly and vocally.

They demand more equitable treatment by their own ruling authorities, less corruption and abuse of power, and a more clear sense of equal opportunities for all citizens, rather than privileged access to power and wealth by a small, often family-, tribe-, ethnic-, or sect-based elite that often includes a criminalized component.

Citizens nonviolently but explicitly challenge the legitimacy of their rulers in some cases, and the conduct of their own security services in others. The first wave of responses from the befuddled Arab security state - a thin sliver of reforms dressed up in limited media liberalization - has been unconvincing to savvy Arab citizenries that expect a much more significant acknowledgement of their humanity, and of their human and civil rights.

The opportunity and the danger for the Arab world both seem rather clear.

The opportunity is to engage and empower the vast majority of Arab citizens who actively and peacefully seek a better, more humane and accountable, political order, through orderly and incremental change. Several hundred million upright, wholesome, ordinary men and women throughout the Arab world cry out for decency in their political order, inspired by the deep righteousness of their faiths and the strong moral values of their cultural and national traditions.

The parallel danger is that Arab and foreign officials will allow themselves to be so mesmerized and distracted by the criminal antics of a few terrorists out there that we end up perpetuating the four basic mistakes that have plagued Arab, American, British and other anti-terror policies in recent years: misdiagnosing the root causes of terror; exaggerating the religious and minimizing the political dimensions of terror; and responding mainly with heavy-handed political and military policies that, astoundingly, only fuel the criminal hormones of the terrorists themselves and also further alienate the hundreds of millions of already fearful ordinary Arabs whose demand to live as dignified, respected citizens of humane and responsive modern states is, in the end, the only sure way to defeat terrorism.

This is the simple but profound lesson that I have learned in my travels and conversations across the Arab world in the past seven weeks. If you seek stability and an end to terror, mobilize the Arab masses through democratic transformations that respect their rights as citizens, rather than alienate them through American, British and other military fantasies in foreign lands that only degrade the Arab people's already thin sense of self-respect in the face of their own bitter modern legacy of homegrown autocrats and Western armies.

###
* Rami G. Khouri writes a regular commentary for The Daily Star
Source: The Daily Star, July 20, 2005.
Visit the Daily Star, www.dailystar.com.lb
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 5
International Terror: Why?
The Rev'd Canon Andrew White

The 7th July will remain in our minds for many years as the day that international terror came to London. British Muslim suicide bombers targeting the heart of London. I first learned of the incident when I was phoned from Gaza by two former Hamas leaders. They, having now taken the difficult road to peace (people can change), were terrified that one of their partners in peace may have been caught up in such terrorist activity at home. Yet almost daily in Iraq I view the clouds of ascending black smoke as the latest suicide bomber commits his final act of violence. In Baghdad and the rest of Iraq this is a daily occurrence. In the last few days alone there have been over thirty-five suicide bombers and nearly 300 people killed by them, since the war ended over 25,000 people have been killed. It was only a matter of months ago that I witnessed the regular bombing of Israel and, as if to remind us of the continuing terror there, another suicide bomber exploded himself last week in the Northern Israeli city of Netanya. This time five people were killed.

Such devastation in a region holy to all three monotheistic faiths. Yet there have been constant pronouncements that what happens in this area has nothing to do with the atrocity on the streets of London. Sadly this is not the truth and to deny the linkage is to prevent the possibility of dealing with this highly complex issue. It is fine to identify the fact that the atrocities of 9/11 happened before the war on Iraq but even before the war the effects of sanctions on Iraq were a major issue to much of the Islamic community. Even our own Prime Minister, speaking to the House of Commons on 13th February 2003, stated that the people of Iraq had suffered enough as a result of sanctions and the previous regime.

Those who deny the linkage have clearly not spoken with the terrorists themselves. Sadly too often I have. I have met them in Israel/Palestine, Iraq and even London. They were all young men, all Muslims and all of them were certain that the "immoral West" was waging a war on the "Islamic East". When asked why, the answer was always the same; it was the atrocities that the Palestinians and Iraqis were suffering, a few mentioned Afghanistan and Chechnya. These atrocities were always seen as being caused by the West and Western imperialism. This imperialism was signified by the attitude of the USA and the UK. The UK was seen as simply being the "lap dog of America" and as such complicit in most of its decisions. Often the further one moves from the region the greater the blame against the US and UK. Within Palestine the attitude is often different. Amongst the Hamas and Islamic Jihad their problem is purely with Israel thus that is who they target in their attacks.

In Iraq the situation is very different, there the target is the "occupying Multi National Forces" and those who are seen as collaborating with them. Who are the supposed collaborators? They are the normal Iraqi people in search of stability and work. It is these people who join the police or new Iraqi army; it is these people who daily are killed as they stand in line for selection. Another group of supposed collaborators are those involved in the Government of the emerging nation. This includes not just the Government ministers and the Transitional National Assembly (including Sunni members) but also those who work for them. The final group targeted is the Shia majority; they are seen as being complicit in supporting the takeover of the nation and the following oppression of the Sunni minority. In essence the so called war on terrorism is being fought right in the heart of the Middle East. In Iraq, the cradle of civilization has become the cradle of terrorism. Here dozens are killed each day by the now all familiar suicide bombers. Here young disillusioned men are drawn, to vent their anger and be trained in a most terrible and absolute manner. Here they are learning not just how to kill others but also themselves. Here they are entreated to make the final sacrifice.

So what can be done to confront this war we are facing?

- We must not give in
- We must not think that only the moderate Muslims can win this war, they are the majority but are not the problem.
- We need to realize that the two issues of Iraq and Palestine are paramount in the minds of young potential suicide bombers. All effort must be made to resolve these issues.
- We need to engage not just with the nice people but also the radicals who have the respect of the instigators of terrorism.
- The Islamic leaders from the Middle East need to be involved in the education of young Muslims in the West and engage with Western Governments.
- We need to establish relationships with these people so that they will be a positive influence for peace amongst young Muslims.
- For this to happen we need to listen to the leaders respected by the terrorists. The majority moderate Islamic leaders need to listen to the demands of the young in their communities, and have a proper channel to the government to allow these voices to be heard.

Only if all of these issues are taken seriously is there a chance of us winning this battle against an abstract noun called terrorism.

###
* The Rev'd Canon Andrew White is CEO of the Foundation for Reconciliation in the Middle East & Anglican Priest in Iraq.
Source: Canon Andrew White's Email Update, July 20, 2005
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

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Posted by Evelin at 01:01 AM | Comments (0)
Language World Conference and Exhibition 2006

Dear colleagues,

The UK Language World conference and exhibition 2006 will take place from 7-9 April at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom. The theme of the 2006 conference is ‘working together’. We would welcome contributions which are appropriate to the overall theme. Contributions which include examples from current innovative practice in all sectors, and the principles that underpin them, are especially welcome. Within the theme of ‘working together’ will be the following strands:

-Collaboration between subjects (cross-curricular approaches), between educational sectors or with and between different agencies
-Community languages
-Teaching content through the medium of a foreign language
-Vocational – language learning integrated into vocational contexts
-Primary (in a range of languages), in particular, links between languages and the wider primary curriculum
-Secondary, including transition from primary
-Inclusion: getting every learner switched on to languages – practical solutions that engage learners of all abilities, from those with special needs to the very gifted
-International dimension
-Further education – vocational and business languages
-Creativity
-Motivation
-Adult learning
-Higher Education
-E-learning
-Promoting languages
-Assessment for learning
-School-based research

We would particularly welcome contributions which encompass learners working together on creative projects; teachers, departments, schools and other sectors working together; languages working with other areas of the curriculum; and working with wider partners such as businesses, parents, artists, other countries and other groups within the community.

Contributions are also welcome from initial teacher trainers and their students, overseas speakers (expenses will be covered from the UK port of entry), group presentations from practising teachers and examples of collaborative work between teachers.

To contribute a session at Language World, please provide a title and 100-word description, which makes clear the objectives for the session and the learning outcomes for delegates, along with a 100-word biographical description, by Friday 2 September. Please email your contribution to SharonC@ALL-languages.org.uk or fax to Sharon Curry on 01788 544149. If you’ve already sent a suggestion to us, we will contact you in October if your contribution has been accepted into the conference programme.

Please note that contributions to the conference programme should not promote a commercial product or service; promotional presentations are available for individuals and companies wishing to promote a particular product.

Linda Parker
Director
Association for Language Learning (ALL)
150 Railway Terrace
Rugby
CV21 3HN
United Kingdom
+44 1788 546443
lindap @ all-languages.org.uk
http://www.ALL-languages.org.uk
ALL is the national subject association for teachers of all languages in all sectors.

Posted by Evelin at 05:33 AM | Comments (0)
New Book: Out of Evil by Stephen Chan

Chan, Stephen (2005). Out of Evil: New International Politics and Old Doctrines of War. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan University Press.
See http://www.press.umich.edu/

George Bush's "Axis of Evil" was the expression of a new rhetoric of morality in world affairs, mirroring the ideology of the president and his neoconservative policy advisors. In its fight against evil, the U.S. has economically and politically broken the Soviet Union, waged war against Afghanistan, toppled the Taliban regime, confronted Al-Qaeda, and threatened Syria, Iran, and Northern Korea. But what is this notion of "evil," which has become part of the language of international politics? What are its historical origins and its moral, political, and legal foundations? Is the fight against evil merely a new form of imperialism?
In this powerful new book, Stephen Chan tackles the notion of evil in international relations and warns against its potency as a tool for policy makers. The war of ideas is closely examined and its practical and political implications -- from Francis Fukuyama's The End of History and the Last Man to Samuel Huntington's The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order to Robert Kagan's Of Paradise and Power -- are given close critical attention.
The greatest danger in combating what is broadly defined as evil, Chan concludes, lies in a failure to grasp its nuanced nature in favor of attempts to vanquish it with unprecedented might.
Stephen Chan is Professor of International Relations and Dean of Law and Social Sciences at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He is the author of several books, including the acclaimed Robert Mugabe: A Life of Power and Violence.

Posted by Evelin at 05:20 AM | Comments (0)
Reflections on War, Terror and Human Interaction by Dennis Rivers

Hall of Mirrors: Reflections on War, Terror and Human Interaction
by Dennis Rivers
July 2005 -- Journal of Cooperative Communication Skills

The URL of this document is
http://www.newconversations.net/library/mirrors.htm

For everyone working in the field of communication skills and conflict resolution, the past few years of war and terror attacks have been a time of special catastrophe. Like the buildings of Falluja, so many of our hopes and dreams for a better world lie in ruins. The recent bombings of the London subway remind me of how much we need, along with firefighters and paramedics, some deeper understanding of the struggles going on in our world today. We need a some sort of intellectual compass to guide us through the storm of claims and counterclaims, alarms and calls to arms.

In the following essay I want to explore some of the limits of coercion, in everyday life and on the stage of the world. For I believe what we are witnessing today could well be described as a giant contest of coercive force, a contest which I imagine all the participants will lose. I also want to explore some possible openings toward hope in this time of great suffering.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our everyday language suggests that every war has a winner and a loser. One of the purposes of this essay is to explore the dangerous unreliability of this common idea. The idea that every war or contest has a winner and loser obscures at least two other significant possibilities: that the two sides might mutually destroy one another, a kind of tie of mutual doom, and also that whoever allegedly wins may have to pay costs far beyond what the victory was worth. If these third and fourth options were included in our everyday understanding and discussions of war, people might think more carefully before deciding to take up arms. They might try harder to negotiate. The same thing is true in everyday arguments. We imagine that each argument has a winner and a loser. What that thinking obscures is how often arguments destroy the relationship of the two participants. Our common pattern of using games such as chess or football as models for conflict in life can be deeply misleading.

Let me give one brief historical example to illustrate my point, one safely in the past. The Allied nations in World War I, suffered casualties of 5 million soldiers dead and 13 million wounded. The Allied powers are alleged to have `won` World War I, and we repeat this fanciful interpretation of historical events to this very day. I call this a fanciful interpretation because no one can explain to me what the Allied powers actually `won` that was worth the loss of 5 million lives and the wounding of another 13 million. In my view, all talk about victory in World War I is a way of avoiding the unnerving fact that World War I was a catastrophic blunder all around, a blunder of such epic proportions that it raises the question of how much anyone should ever trust government officials who advocate going to war. We simply do not want to believe that reasonable-looking and -sounding government officials can make mistakes of that magnitude. But, unfortunately, World War I shows just that. (I leave it to you to fill in more recent examples.)

As a student of conflict, I'm deeply interested in the way that conflicts spiral out of the control of the participants, whether we are talking about wars or kitchen arguments. Gandhi summarized the problem this way: "an eye for an eye" leaves everyone blind. One contemporary application of Gandhi's principle would be that "a bomb for a bomb" turns everyone into a bomb-maker.

I see the root of this problem in the fact that there is an enormous amount of imitation in human interaction. Without even realizing it we start to echo the other person's tone of voice, body posture, gestures and even logic. One of the scariest things my study of communication has taught me is how vulnerable we are to becoming exactly like our opponents in conflict.

One of the most disturbing examples of this out-of-control imitation unfolded in World War II. At the beginning of World War II, Hitler was bombing entire cities. This made him truly evil in the eyes of the Allies and most of the world. By the end of the war, the Allied air forces were burning to the ground entire cities in Germany and Japan without regard to their civilian populations. What account shall we give of ourselves in regard to this practice of mass murder? That "they did it first?" Given the amount of death and suffering involved, and the months and years it took to plan it and carry it out, that sounds to me like a very pale excuse. It seems to me that mass murder is always evil, and does not cease to be evil simply because someone else "does it first."

I am reminded at this point of the commandment Jesus gave to his disciples, that they be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. After thinking about that teaching for a long time, it now seems clear to me that the two parts are related: in order to be as harmless as a dove, you really must be as wise as a serpent. And that serpent wisdom includes all the weird kinks and loops in human communication that can cause people in conflict to come to resemble one another.

My work on these kinds of problems has led me to one overarching principle: All behavior is instruction and encouragement. Whatever we do, we teach other people how to do. Whatever other people do to us, they teach and encourage us to do back to them. They show us just how it is done, in great detail! The consequences of this principle can be either beautiful and horrible. It allows for the most uplifting parenting and leadership, and the worst sort of degeneration. In conflict, things can go horribly wrong. For example, Osama bin Laden and his gang bombed the World Trade Center with airplanes full of jet fuel. The United States and its allies proceeded to drop 14,000 tons of bombs on Afghanistan. Bombs of every shape and description, some bombs so large that a giant cargo plane can carry only one, and this monster bomb has to be rolled out of the cargo bay on some sort of wheeled pallet. Sober voices in Washington now press for the manufacture of an entire new generation of nuclear weapons, that will allow us to obliterate the hidden bunkers of our enemies. We clearly believe that bombs and bombing will keep us a safe or otherwise help us reach our objectives in the world. What worries me is that this is exactly what Osama bin Laden and the suicide bombers in Iraq believe. Everyone in the current world conflicts seems to deepening their commitment to bombing as the way to get rid of your opponents, or at least coerce your opponents into submission. Meanwhile, just as landmines from the Vietnam war era continue to kill and maim people today in Southeast Asia, unexploded cluster bomb munitions now litter the Afghan countryside and will continue to kill unsuspecting civilians for many years, even decades. Many of those who will be killed will have been born after 9/11, and so could not possibly be held responsible for 9/11 attacks by the wildest stretch of anybody's imagination.

All behavior is instruction, even when we wish it were not. In everyday conversation, every sarcastic put-down is an invitation for the victim to come up with a topper. Neither wars nor arguments can be resolved at the tit-for-tat level at which we experience them, because at the tit-for-tat level we labor under the illusion that we know just what to do: give the other person an even bigger serving of whatever they just give us. We don't realize at the time that we have become entrained in, and perhaps even hypnotized by, the other person's behavior. We can become so obsessed with what they did that we cannot focus our minds on what we really need or the mistakes we may have made. Thinkers like William Ury and Robert Kegan would argue here that we absolutely need to go up at least one level, "go to the balcony," in Ury's terms, and develop an overview of the conflict we are in. That is radically different from just planning your next move.

The idea that all behavior is instruction opens up amazing positive possibilities, even if they are harder to realize than the negative ones. It is possible to initiate new behaviors of a de-escalating sort, with the intention of drawing your opponents into a spiral of de-escalation. One of the most famous examples of this comes from the life of Gandhi. In 1947, when communal violence threatened to engulf Calcutta, Gandhi publicly confessed the transgressions of his side in the conflict (the Hindus), and began a penitential fast. This inspired many on the other side of the conflict (the Muslims) to repent of their violent acts, and the riots ended. If the riots had continued, tens of thousands of additional lives might have been lost. Initiating this kind de-escalation involves enormous faith and courage because it means going against your natural impulse to strike back. As unrealistic as this approach may seem, I think we have to press on in this direction anyway, because the stakes today are so high and the alternatives are so grim.

Just as a thought experiment, let's think about some of the possibilities. We could build hospitals and universities around the world instead of military bases. We could make sure that every child on planet Earth had enough food to eat, and could go to school. Every year the United States spends $500 billion on preparations for war, a significant chunk of which is spent on bombs and the machines to deliver them. That works out to about $80 for each man woman and child on planet Earth. How seriously has anyone thought about alternative uses for that money? One has to ask, are all those expenditures on machines of death actually keeping us safe from harm? I am afraid that to some degree our bombs and the planes to deliver them have become like objects of worship. (Think of the movie, Top Gun.) We dare not question them even when they're not performing the functions for which we bought them, they're not keeping us safe. If you bought a toaster and it didn't make toast, you would take it back to the store. Unfortunately it's not so easy to take a B-1 bomber back to the store, but we could stop buying them. And buy something else that serves our interests better.

This is not simply a matter of doing works of goodness and kindness, as wonderful as that would be. It is centrally a matter of inviting a different behavior fro others. When the United States, with 5% of the world's population, spends as much money on preparations for war as all the other countries on planet Earth put together, we are sending a powerful lesson out to the world that bombs are the answer, bombs will keep you safe, bombs will help you get your way. If we spend $500 billion on preparations for war and, say, $40 or $50 million on hospitals and universities around the world, then we are teaching the world that coercion is 10,000 times more important than cooperation. Gandhi once said, “My life is my sermon.” In truth, everyone's actions, whether a person or a nation, is their sermon. It seems to me that, in placing our faith in military hardware and the philosophy that “it is better to be feared than to be loved,” we are inviting the entire world to emulate us, and to embrace coercion as the only principle by which to guide their actions. I don't think that is a good lesson for us to teach the world.

Another radical practice of de-escalation would be to listen to the grievances of our opponents. At this stage it seems that no one in the world's current conflicts is interested in listening to the grievances of "the other side." Each side is busy describing the other side as totally evil, and doing things the other side finds totally evil. Listening to the grievances of "the other" seems inconceivable under these circumstances, and is a move that belongs to an entirely different game than the game we are playing. That is why I feel it would be such a valuable move, because it might startle the players out of their appointed roles. We have settled in to the roles established by a thousand war movies, and therefore will be hard-pressed to think of some creative resolution of our difficulties. Peru and Ecuador recently resolved hundreds of years of armed border conflict by declaring a disputed patch of borderland to be a bi-national park. I am convinced that if you read all the manuals of all the armies on planet Earth, you would probably not find a single reference to bi-national parks. That was a genuinely new idea. And we need more genuinely new ideas. Listening to the grievances of the other would be an unprecedented step.

Given what I've said about behavior as instruction, compassionate listening would also set the stage for the other side to listen to our grievances. As one explores the practice of compassionate listening more deeply, one comes to realize that people conduct their conflicts within a given set of social skills, often within an impoverished set of skills. If the skill set changed, I feel certain that the conduct of the conflict would change. That is what the global movement for conflict resolution is trying to achieve in our time, it is trying to change the set of emotional and conceptual skills that international opponents bring to their conflicts. Robert McNamara, some forty years after leading the United States to defeat in Vietnam, admitted with regret that the war in Vietnam dragged on a lot longer than it needed to because no one on our side tried hard enough to understand what the Vietnamese were thinking. How would we apply that lesson today and save ourselves who knows how many years of grief?

One of the great paradoxes of political life and human behavior, is that we imagine that we can bend other people to our will by force of arms. At the same time we hold that no one will ever bend us to their will by force of arms. This implies some sort of belief that we are strong-willed while "they" are weak-willed. And of course, "they" think the same of us, thinking that they will be able to coerce us, but will never allow themselves to be coerced. This is a lethal fantasy, on all sides, in which grownup folks engage in childlike wishful thinking. It doesn't occur to people that the folks on the other side may be just like themselves. We are all strong-willed, we all resist coercion in whatever way we can. Unless someone becomes more conscious, every proud swagger from one side will elicit an even prouder swagger from the other side. Unless someone becomes more conscious, every taunt and humiliation from one side, will elicit an even bloodier taunt and humiliation from the other. "Bring 'em on, we're plenty tough," sneered President Bush to the insurgents. The Iraqi insurgents taunted back with videos of executions. We responded by torturing captured insurgents, setting off global shock waves. And so it goes, up to the most recent bombings. While this contest of coercion goes on, people are dying with no end in sight. Truly, if ever there were a situation that called for "thinking outside the box," we are in it now.

One possible answer, perhaps the greatest possible answer, to this downward spiral, would be a turning toward the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The fact that the Golden Rule has been around for several thousand years, and appears in all the great religions, does not mean that we have fully understood it or mastered the art of living by it. If we don't want people to try to coerce us, we can begin by lowering our reliance on coercion in all our relationships, both personal and international. If we want people to listen to our concerns, we can begin by listening to their concerns. If we don't want people to point guns at us, we can stop pointing guns at them. If all behavior is instruction, we can take the initiative and model the positive behavior we want to evoke. This won't be easy, but our current slide toward perpetual war is far from easy. Gandhi must have been thinking about the Golden Rule when he said "be the change you want to see."

Which brings us back to NewConversations.NET and the hopes embodied in the work of all the communication teachers featured on the web site. In searching for ways to bring more cooperation and reconciliation into our personal and work lives, we are each trying to do in a small way what we want the world to do in a large way. I thank each of you for keeping alive a single candle flame of hope and new possibilities. Each such flame can light many other candles.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dennis Rivers lives, writes and teaches communication skills in Santa Barbara, California. He can be reached at rivers@newconversations.net.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2005 by Dennis Rivers. May be reproduced for educational purposes

Posted by Evelin at 05:08 AM | Comments (0)
Democracy News - July 25, 2005

The WMD's DemocracyNews
Electronic Newsletter of the World Movement for Democracy - www.wmd.org

CALL FOR ITEMS

POSTING NEWS:
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Dear World Movement Participants:

The next issue of DemocracyNews will go out on August 9, 2005. In order to make DemocracyNews as useful as possible, we ask you to send us any items related to democracy work that you think would be of interest to others.

The next deadline for submitting items is ** August 1** Please send items to: world@ned.org.

You are encouraged to submit items under any area of democracy work. We welcome items announcing publications, upcoming events, reports on research, new Web sites, and other information, and we are most interested in posting requests for partnerships between organizations on collaborative projects, brief descriptions of collaborative projects already underway or completed, and ideas for new initiatives in which others may be interested. We hope DemocracyNews will be a source not only for information about participants' activities, but also for new ideas about strategies to advance democracy.

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Posted by Evelin at 02:49 PM | Comments (0)
Analysis of Humiliation in Connection with Hitler and Mussolini by Ralph Summy

Analysis of Humiliation in Connection with Hitler and Mussolini by Ralph Summy:

It wasn't that NOBODY cared; many people (e.g., Lord Cecil and the League of Nations Union) pointed out that Hitler's plan and the humiliation behind it were clearly set out in Mein Kampf and elsewhere. The problem was the allied policymakers, many of whom were themselves the initial problem, having brought about Germany's humiliation at Versailles and in their subsequent actions. The Nazis could mine the deeply-felt humiliation of the proud German people. Mussolini is another example of a tyrant whose extreme nationalism was riddled with humiliation. He rallied the support of his nation to militarise and invade Abyssinia on the basis of betrayal and humiliation. This could be traced to the broken promises of Britain and France as they failed to honour their pledges of the 1915 London Treaty to divide up North Africa in a way also favouring Italy. It was on the basis of these promises that Italy came into the war against Germany. When the Treaty was ignored at Versailles and the former North African colonies of Germany divided so as to benefit mainly France and Britain, the Italians felt cheated and humiliated and became fair game for Mussolini's aggressive actions. I guess the examples from which the West never seems to learn are endless, despite the fact that not humiliating your opponent is a basic principle of conflict resolution.

Ralph adds in another email (24th July 2005):

Your research [on humiliation] is very much needed in today's violence-prone world where a failure to empathise with THE OTHER, looking at a situation from the other's perspective without necessarily condoning it or the response, lies at the root of much of the violence problem.

Posted by Evelin at 07:06 AM | Comments (0)
The Social Science Research Network Announces New Institutional Economics Abstracts

The Social Science Research Network is pleased to announce the
creation of a new Economics Research Network journal, NEW
INSTITUTIONAL ECONOMICS ABSTRACTS.

NEW INSTITUTIONAL ECONOMICS is edited by Michael Sykuta, Associate
Professor, Agribusiness Research Institute, Department of
Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri - Columbia.

NEW INSTITUTIONAL ECONOMICS is sponsored by The International Society
for New Institutional Economics (ISNIE, http://isnie.org). ISNIE was
founded to stimulate and disseminate interdisciplinary research on
economic, political and social institutions and their effects on
economic activity. ISNIE encourages rigorous theoretical and
empirical investigation of these topics using approaches drawn from
economics, organization theory, law, political science, and other
social sciences.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE
Subscriptions to this journal are free. You can subscribe to the
journal by clicking on the following link: http://hq.ssrn.com/jourInvite.cfm?link=new-institutional-economics

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have any questions please call 877-SSRNHelp (877.777.6435).

The URL below will let you browse all abstracts and papers in this journal. http://www.ssrn.com/link/new-institutional-economics.html

The New Institutional Economics (NIE) Abstracting Journal is intended
to facilitate dialogue and interest in NIE research both within the
NIE community and among the broader community of scholars. The NIE
studies contract and organization and how institutions interact with
organizational arrangements. The NIE holds that institutions both
matter and are susceptible to economic analysis. Transaction costs -
sources, ramifications, and economizing - are a recurrent theme.

Topics of interest in the NIE Abstracting Journal include the
organization and boundaries of the firm, structure and performance of
contractual arrangements, the determinants and effects of property
rights and transactions costs on resource allocation and governance
institutions, the causes and effects of government regulatory and
competition policies, the structure and effects of legal, social and
political institutions on economic performance, the role and response
of organizations to innovation and technological change, and the
nature of economic development and transition economies. The NIE
advances a predictive theory of economic organization that invites
empirical testing and yields numerous public policy ramifications,
many of which differ from orthodoxy. The NIE Abstracting Journal is
an appropriate outlet for authors from a wide range of social science
disciplines, including political science, sociology, law,
anthropology, cognitive science, evolutionary biology, and any other
discipline that that sheds light on the rules, norms and beliefs that
govern human interactions in the process of production and exchange.

SUBMISSION OF WORKING PAPERS
ERN welcomes submissions in all substantive areas of research that is
part of the worldwide scientific discourse within the NIE community
and from within the overall community of economic scholars.

We invite you to submit relevant working papers or accepted paper
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Sincerely,
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Director, Economics Research Network

Posted by Evelin at 02:35 AM | Comments (0)
UNESCO Conference: Higher Education for Sustainable Development

Dear Sir/Madam,

The German Commission for UNESCO and the University of Lüneburg’s Institute for Environmental Communication cordially invite you to the inauguration of the UNESCO Chair in “Higher Education for Sustainable Development”, which is to take place as part of an international academic conference, running from
25th – 27th September at the University of Lüneburg. The Conference is an important part of Germany’s contribution to the United Nations’ World Decade of “Education for Sustainable Development” (2005-2014). The aim of the Decade is to make sustainability a key element in educational processes – including higher education.

The Institute for Environmental Communication at the University of Lüneburg will this year be awarded the UNESCO Chair in “Higher Education for Sustainable Development”. The UNESCO Chair Programme was initiated in 1991, in order to promote international cooperation in higher education and to integrate UNESCO’s objectives into research and teaching. A major part of this programme has been an emphasis on bringing higher education institutions from the South into an international network. At the Conference, the University of Lüneburg’s Institute for Environmental Communication aims to focus on this idea of an international network, and strengthen cooperation between higher education institutions on issues involving higher education and sustainability.
Within the scope of the Conference “Higher Education for Sustainable Development: New Challenges from a Global Perspective”, current problems and experiences arising in the context of academic discourse on education for sustainable development are to be discussed and developed. The central focus of the Conference is to include issues surrounding teaching in higher education, the production of knowledge and intercultural teaching and learning. We would be delighted if you would be able to make a contribution to the Conference on your area of expertise.

All institutions which follow principles or programmes aiming to integrate sustainability into higher education teaching are invited to present their experiences and research results on the theme. Presentations should be focused on one of the following areas:

1. Sustainability in Learning and Teaching
Getting the theme of sustainability across brings new challenges for teaching and learning. Promoting key skills is the central issue in this area. New, participatory forms of teaching, such as team teaching with an increased component of project work, are as much in demand as new methods. New Media, in the form of virtual learning environments, E-learning or blended-learning approaches, have taken on a particular importance.

2. Production and Transfer of New Knowledge
In a constantly changing world, higher education institutions are taking on an important role in the production and transfer of new knowledge. This requires inter- and transdisciplinary teaching and research methods, alongside a search for new strategies and alliances with non-academic cooperation partners.

3. Intercultural and Global Learning
Higher Education for Sustainable Development does not only require new methods and forms of learning, but the content itself also requires reorientation and a comprehensive change of perspective. Sustainable solutions for the ever more complex problems of today’s world call for cooperation and exchange between industrial countries and the countries of the Southern Hemisphere. Intercultural and global approaches play a central role in this respect, as do aspects of “Managing Diversity”.

Workshops taking place in parallel are to bring out as many examples of education for sustainable development as possible, in short presentations, in order to provide a forum allowing participants to learn intensively from each other and with each other. Experiencing ‘best practice’ and learning ‘best practice’ is to be the motto of this Conference. The results of the Conference shall be documented and go towards an English-language publication. On the basis of the Conference, an international network is to be set up, under the name HES – Higher Education for Sustainability.

We therefore invite you to make a contribution on one of the three workshop themes, thus playing a part in the success of the Conference and participating in the planned Network. We would be grateful if you would be able to respond by the 20th July 2005, stating whether you are to take part in the Conference, and send us a short abstract (max. 150 words) of your contribution to one of the Workshops (michelsen@uni-lueneburg.de). If you make a presentation to the conference, we shall reimburse your travel costs (a cheap flight) and take care of your accommodation and board during the Conference.
We would be delighted to receive a positive response to our invitation.
Yours faithfully,

Dr. Roland Bernecker
General Secretary of the German UNESCO Commission

Prof. Dr. Gerd Michelsen
Head of the Institute for Environmental Communication at the University of Lüneburg

Posted by Evelin at 02:09 AM | Comments (0)
New Praeger Securities International Imprint
Homegrown Hatred, Washington Post, by Colbert King

Homegrown Hatred
Washington Post.com
Please read the entire article at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/15/AR2005071501555.html

By Colbert I. King
Saturday, July 16, 2005; Page A17

Two days after the terrorist attacks in London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair pointed to what he called terrorism's root causes: poverty, lack of democracy and the Middle East conflict. Blair said, "Where there is extremism, fanaticism or acute and appalling forms of poverty in one continent, the consequences no longer stay fixed in that continent, they spread to the rest of the world."

All of which may be true. President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have said pretty much the same thing. What any of that means as far as the London explosions are concerned is, however, another question.

Blair now knows, but apparently didn't suspect when he spoke last week, that three of the four alleged bombers were born and raised in an economically thriving democracy called Great Britain. The three men of Pakistani descent did not, by all accounts, lead lives steeped in economic desperation. The fourth bomber also did not hail from the turbulent Middle East. He was, according to U.S. law enforcement officials, a Jamaica-born British citizen.

...

The ranks of terrorist groups, however, also include young men and women from the middle class. The feelings they seem to share across the board, she said, had to do with humiliation, a desire for a clear identity, and a belief that they can control more through their deaths than through their lives. They have come to see murder-suicide and martyrdom as just rewards for avenging the harm done to their religion and to Muslims in other countries.

....

Please read the entire article at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/15/AR2005071501555.html

Posted by Evelin at 09:54 AM | Comments (0)
Lettre de la MiRe, 6ème numéro

Madame, Monsieur, Cher(e)s collègues,

Sandrine Dauphin et moi-même avons le plaisir de vous transmettre le 6ème numéro de la Lettre de la MiRe, qui rend notamment compte de nos programmes dans le champ de la santé mentale. Nous attirons aussi votre attention sur deux appels à projets de recherche :

Le premier, lancé le 22 juin dernier, en partenariat avec l'Inserm, l'InVS, la DGS, la CANAM et l'INCa, porte sur les "inégalités sociales de santé" : http://www.sante.gouv.fr/drees/appeldoffre/appeldoffre200505.pdf (réponses attendues au plus tard le 22 septembre).

Le second sera lancé début septembre et portera sur "la production et le traitement des discriminations". Il sera téléchargeable sur le site http://www.sante.gouv.fr/ , rubrique Recherche, études et statistiques puis Recherche / Les appels d'offres en cours.

Meilleurs sentiments,
Pierre Strobel
DREES - MiRe
(33) 1 40 56 80 82
11, place des cinq Martyrs du lycée Buffon, Paris 14ème
Adresse courrier : 14, Avenue Duquesne, 75350 Paris 07 SP

Anne Laurent
Direction scientifique

- Projet Prison militaire du cherche-Midi
- Laboratoire européen de psychologie sociale (LEPS)
http://www.leps.msh-paris.fr

FONDATION MAISON DES SCIENCES DE L'HOMME
54 Boulevard Raspail, 75006 Paris

Posted by Evelin at 07:59 AM | Comments (0)
The Answer Is Still Peace by Deepak Chopra

The Answer Is Still Peace
Posted by Deepak Chopra on July 08, 2005 at 01:01 AM, the day after the London bombings

The terrorist attack in London today has once again created deep anguish in our collective soul...

Around the world people yearn to find peace and give solace to the suffering and bereaved. Once again the clash of polarized enemies clamors for attention. Al-Qaeda takes pride in this heinous and sordid crime, while Western nations seek to bring the terrorists to justice. Yet it would be naive to take the simple way out and call this an example of pure evil and depravity.

In a very real way we are all part of the London tragedy. Everyone is caught in the tangled web of social injustice, economic disparities, ecological disaster, war, and terrorism. Unless we accept this fact, we will continue with our madness of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Mahatma Gandhi declared that if we continue on this path the whole world would go blind. Will we ever see through our blindness and create a global community of connected humanity? To promote peace today means promoting a critical mass of consciousness where violence is never an option.

London, like the attacks in Madrid, Bali, and Indonesia before it, should make us want to live for peace above all. I understand how it's possible to respond to terrorism with deep anger; I cannot understand responding to it with anger that goes on and on forever. There are causes behind every terrorist act and therefore hope that these causes can be changed, even as we continue to pursue justice. We still ignore the source of global instability: religious fundamentalism which has its roots in extreme poverty, where 50% of the world lives on $2 per day, 20% of it on less than $1 per day, a world where 8 million people die each year because they are too poor to survive.

Terrorism also festers because of a lack of education, toxic nationalism, ignorance about the outside world, and deep economic disparities. Twenty thousand children died yesterday of hunger-related causes around the world, twenty thousand will die today, and twenty thousand tomorrow. That is not part of the evening news. Why not?

Nature abhors a deep imbalance. The human species has become the most dangerous predator on our planet. Nature might be saying to herself, "Human beings were an interesting experiment that didn't work, so let's move on." Or, perhaps, our self awareness has reached a turning point. as Inside ourselves we've always carried the seeds of creativity. The next creative leap isn't a mystery. Millions of people are ready to join in harmonious interaction with Nature--and with our own complex inner nature--to create a world of peace, harmony, laughter and love. Let us strengthen our intention to create that critical mass of peace consciousness. Every tear can be a drop of nourishment for the new world that wants to be born and is making itself known little by little, every day. Each one of us can help create this critical mass by becoming the embodiment of peace consciousness through peace practices:

Being Peace

Thinking Peace

Feeling Peace

Speaking Peace

Acting Peace

Creating Peace

Sharing Peace

Celebrating Peace.

The Alliance for the New Humanity is committed to connecting and strengthening the synaptic network of the emerging planetary mind.

Love,
Deepak

Posted by Evelin at 07:32 AM | Comments (0)
ART Summer Update

ART Summer Update July 18, 2005

Dear Friends,

I hope this finds you well and enjoying your summer.

This has been a busy summer for ART.
In June, I was in Bogotá interviewing students from the University de los Andes. We selected five wonderful students who will be working with ART to implement the first Colombian program.

Juy 18th through July 21st ART will be exhibiting the photographs of James Rexroad from its programs in Thailand and Colombia at the United Nations as part of the conference From Reaction to Prevention: Civil Society Forging Partnerships to Prevent Violent Conflict and Build Peace organized by the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC).

July 21st, as a representative of ART, I will be moderating a panel on Art as a bridge to Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention as part of the same UN conference.

August 8th, ART will begin implementation of its first program in Colombia in el barrio Tintal,

Have a wonderful summer; updates from Colombia will follow.

All the best,
Sara

Sara Green
ART
Art for Refugees in Transition
www.artforrefugees.org
info@artforrefugees.org

Posted by Evelin at 06:21 AM | Comments (0)
Mission statement: International Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression Mission to Nepal

Mission Statement by International Organisations
International Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression Mission to Nepal
July 2005

From 10 to 16 July 2005, twelve international organisations, including UN agencies, global media associations, freedom of expression advocates and media development organisations, undertook a mission to Nepal concerning freedom of expression and press freedom.

These twelve organisations met with persons and institutions with a broad spectrum of opinion on the current media and freedom of expression situation in the country. In specific, these meetings included Government Ministers, senior officers of the Royal Nepal Army, civil society representatives and a cross-section of the media community in the Kathmandu Valley. In addition, the mission team visited Butwal, Biratnagar, Nepalgunj and Mahendranagar and met with local media and civil authorities from these regions. The organisations also participated in a conference with national media practitioners on press freedom and freedom of expression in Kathmandu on 15 July.

During the mission, the international organisations strengthened dialogue and relations with the media and freedom of expression community in Nepal, and highlighted grave concerns with national authorities over the situation for media and freedom of expression in the country. The mission stressed the crucial importance of press freedom, freedom of expression, freedom of association, and the right to be free of persecution in any situation as fundamental components of democratic society and a driver of development and poverty eradication. In that spirit, the mission acknowledged the importance of accuracy in media reporting.

Based on the findings of the mission, the international organisations wish to make the following observations and recommendations in relation to guaranteeing and promoting press freedom and freedom of expression:

General Observations and Recommendations

We, the international organisations, wish to:

1. Highlight the invaluable contribution that the media in Nepal has made during the past decade and a half as an integral part in upholding and promoting democracy, peace, development and good governance, as well as contributing to the eradication of poverty;

2. Express grave concern that since 1 February the press freedom and freedom of expression situation in the country has significantly deteriorated, despite the lifting of the State of Emergency in April;

3. Praise the national media community for its dynamism in defending press freedom and freedom of expression and note that the national media community are taking active steps in an attempt to address a number of the press freedom and freedom of expression concerns outlined in this statement;

4. State our awareness that all combatants in the conflict have been responsible for abusing and contravening press freedom and freedom of expression;

5. Recognise that the district media, including both broadcast and print media, work under particularly difficult conditions as described in the observations and recommendations below;

Observations and Recommendations addressed to the Royal Palace and National Government

We, the international organisations, wish to:

Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression

6. Request assurances that freedom of expression and press freedom are respected throughout Nepal with particular emphasis on the district media and correspondents of national media in the districts;

7. Welcome the assurances given to the international organisations by the Vice-Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Mr. Kirti Nidhi Bista, and the Minister of Information, Mr. Tanka Dhakal, that all articles of the Constitution are in force, and request that a formal public statement be made that clearly and unambiguously reaffirms this;

Harassment, Detentions and Disappearances

8. Express grave concerns about killings, attacks, disappearances, intimidation, harassment, detention and displacement of media practitioners and freedom of expression advocates, and demand that all such incidents cease immediately;

9. Clearly reiterate that media practitioners are protected under national and international law and agreements and that those who violate these must be held accountable and prosecuted;

10. Demand that all detained media practitioners and others imprisoned for the free expression of their opinions be released and that anti-terrorism legislation not be used or abused to curb freedom of expression and press freedom;

11. Demand that substantive steps be undertaken to discover the whereabouts of all 'disappeared' media practitioners and freedom of expression advocates;

12. Welcome the assurances given to the international organisations by the Minister of Information, Mr. Tanka Dhakal, that the cases of three detained media practitioners (namely Binod Dahal and Bhaikaji Ghimire held in Nakku prison and Maheshwor Pahari held in Kaski prison) would be looked into, with the strong request that this be done with the serious intention of securing their release;

Media and Legislative Environment

13. Highlight the importance of preserving and respecting a media environment based on international norms and standards as enshrined in the 1990 Constitution and other legislation, with particular reference to the restoration of civil liberties and fundamental rights after the lifting of the State of Emergency in April 2005;

14. Strongly urge the national authorities to refrain from introducing any new media ordinance, decision or ruling which would alter or override existing media-related legislation, including Supreme Court decisions, with a particular reference to civil and criminal defamation and licensing regulations;

15. Express grave concern over the lack of transparency by the national authorities in dealing with media and freedom of expression and request that all media-related issues be dealt with in a transparent and accountable manner;

FM and Community Radio

16. Recognize that FM and community radio in Nepal is a respected leader in the global radio community, and that it can significantly contribute to promote development, awareness, peace and stability;

17. Clearly note the fact that FM and community radio stations in many countries around the world do indeed broadcast news and that radio stations in Nepal should not be prevented from broadcasting news in compliance with the Constitution, Supreme Court decisions and national legislation guaranteeing press freedom and freedom of expression;

18. Express concern that in banning and inhibiting news, the authorities are depriving the population of free access to information, threatening the financial viability of media as well as causing large-scale unemployment and declining incomes for media practitioners, particularly amongst the district media and FM and community radio stations;

Direct and Indirect Censorship

19. Clearly state that all direct and indirect forms of censorship on the media must cease, with particular reference to interference in editorial independence, the prejudiced allocation of state advertising, pressure on commercial entities not to advertise with particular media, increases in postage costs for print media, disruption of print media distribution and the threat of non-renewal of broadcast licenses. In addition, the national authorities should not impose 'coercive measures', such as firing particular editors and journalists, on media institutions as a condition to continue to operate;

Observations and Recommendations addressed to the Royal Nepal Army and Police

We, the international organisations, wish to:

Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression

20. Express concern over the lack of transparency of the security forces in their role, intentions and dealings with the media and media-related issues;

21. Request assurances that the security forces respect freedom of expression and press freedom across the entire country, with a particular emphasis on the media in the districts outside of Kathmandu;

Harassment, Detentions and Disappearances

22. Express grave concerns about killings, attacks, disappearances, intimidation, harassment, detention and displacement of media practitioners and freedom of expression advocates, and demand that all such incidents cease immediately;

23. Highlight particular concerns about the treatment of female media practitioners, with an emphasis on molestation, verbal and physical humiliation, and all other forms of intimidation and harassment;

24. Demand independent investigations are carried out into armed 'vigilante groups' that perpetrate attacks against freedom of expression advocates, media practitioners and media facilities, as well as all human rights violations and criminal acts, and that such individuals and groups be held accountable and prosecuted for any such actions;

Direct and Indirect Censorship

25. Clearly state that all direct and indirect forms of censorship on the media should cease, with particular reference to interference in editorial independence and 'coercive measures' being imposed on media institutions as a condition to continue to operate;

26. Strongly state that independence of media must e respected and that media must not be forced or coerced to carry any specific messages or content, and that media facilities and infrastructure must not be shut down, damaged or removed;

Observations and Recommendations addressed to the Communist Party of Nepal (the Maoists)

We, the international organisations, wish to:

Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression

27. Demand that freedom of expression and press freedom and pluralism are respected;

Harassment, Detentions and Disappearances

28. Clearly state that media practitioners and freedom of expression advocates are protected under international law and agreements, and that those who violate these laws and agreements must be held accountable;

29. Express grave concerns about killings, attacks, abductions, disappearances, intimidation, harassment, detention and displacement of media practitioners and freedom of expression advocates, and demand that all such incidents cease immediately;

Direct and Indirect Censorship

30. Strongly state that all media, with particular reference to district broadcast and print media, should not be obstructed or prevented in any way to disseminate news and information, and that media should not be forced or coerced to carry any specific messages or content;

31. Strongly state that media facilities and infrastructure must not be damaged, shut down or removed;

Observations and Recommendations addressed to the National Media Community

We, the international organisations, wish to:

32. Encourage the media community to continue to work with the dedication and solidarity shown to date in defending press freedom and freedom of expression;

33. Encourage all editors and media owners to support and protect media practitioners in undertaking their work, and remain mindful of the impact amendments to original copy can have on the safety of district reporters;

Observations and Recommendations addressed to the International Community

We, the international organisations, wish to:

34. Reaffirm the importance that the international community continue to address press freedom and freedom of expression in Nepal and seek to further such rights with the national authorities at all given opportunities and through supporting substantive activities on the ground;

35. Welcome moves by foreign governments to make the provision of lethal military assistance contingent on adherence to human rights, including press freedom and freedom of expression;

The international organisations will soon produce a mission report providing further substance and detail relating to the observations and recommendations outlined above.

The international organisations will continue to work with the national partners to monitor, document and make known internationally all violations of press freedom and freedom of expression, as well as work with and assist monitoring mechanisms covering press freedom and freedom of expression established in the country.

The twelve international organisations participating in the mission included:

UNESCO, World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters - AMARC, ARTICLE 19, Committee to Protect Journalists, International Federation of Journalists, International Media Support, International Press Institute, Press Institute of India, Reporters sans Frontières, South Asian Free Media Association, World Association of Newspapers, and the World Press Freedom Committee

For further information about the mission and this statement, please contact:

Jesper Højberg or Thomas Hughes
Internastional Media Support
Tel: +45 3269 8989
i-m-s@i-m-s.dk

Posted by Evelin at 05:50 AM | Comments (0)
AMARC Calls for Solidarity with Community and Independent Radios in Nepal

Press Release:
AMARC Calls for Solidarity with Community and Independent Radios in Nepal

Kathmandu, Nepal, July 17, 2005. The World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC), called today for a global solidarity campaign in favour of freedom of expression and communication rights of the Community and independent Radio Stations of Nepal.

"The international solidarity campaign calls for letters demanding the Government of Nepal, including the Royal Palace and the offices of Royal Nepal Army, to lift the ban on news and public affairs programs in radio. The campaign also calls for increased exchanges between the Nepalese radios and the world-wide community radio network," declared Marcelo Solervicens, Secretary General of AMARC.

Until the Royal takeover of February 2005, the Nepalese Community radio stations served as an example in the struggle of radio practitioners against state monopoly of radio in South-Asia. The ban on news and public affairs programs also affects community radio in their contribution to community empowerment, sustainable development, inclusiveness and poverty reduction. The ban on news and public affairs programs leaves Nepalese listeners with the state radio as the only source of radio information as even the popular BBC news, an integral part of the radio spectrum in Nepal, is being blocked.

The campaign is part of the international support activities to media organisations in Nepal that followed the International Advocacy Mission for Press Freedom in Nepal held between 10 and 16 of July 2005. This International Mission was carried out by twelve leading international organisations including UNESCO, the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC), ARTICLE 19, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), International Media Support (IMS), International Press Institute (IPI), South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA), Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF), World Association of Newspapers (WAN), World Press Freedom (WPF), and Press Institute of India (PII).

In the final statement (http://www.amarc.org) the International Organisations "Clearly note the fact that FM and community radio stations in many countries around the world do indeed broadcast news and that radio stations in Nepal should not be prevented from broadcasting news in compliance with the constitution, Supreme Court decision and national legislation". The International mission also reported harassment and intimidation of printed media and of community and independent radios and expressed awareness that all combatants in the conflict have been responsible for abusing and contravening press freedom and freedom of expression.

For further information, please contact:

AMARC, International Secretariat
705 Bourget Street, Suite 100
Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H4C 2M6
Tel : +1-514-982-0351
Fax : +1-514 849-7129
email: amarc@amarc.org

Posted by Evelin at 05:47 AM | Comments (0)
Stephanie Heuer and Her New Book on Tour: "Dignity Across America"

At 19.07.2005, Stephanie Heuer writes:

Dearest Evelin,

I hope this letter finds you well and you are still enjoying your stay in Japan.

Attached is my book cover. It is fabulous!!! I am very very happy. I will be presenting it in new york and the work I am doing with it.

BIG NEWS

I am heading out for the month of may 2006 on a cross country tour with the book called,

"Dignity Across America". I will be driving to cities from California to New York and back, and delivering FREE books to elementary schools I have contacted to promote a more understanding and human school environment. I will be taking my daughter , Katrine, along with me to do readings. I am sooo excited I just can't stand it.

At last, this dream is coming to fruition. just think Evelin, from the Paris seed a book was born. This is a good thing I think.

I have begun to contact educators across the nation and libraries, website etc. I will be very busy with this project to help eliminate humiliating practices in our classrooms. If I can be of help to you though in the UN projects, let me know.

Many hugs, warmth, trives bra!!!
lv.
safa

Posted by Evelin at 05:06 AM | Comments (0)
The Common Ground News Service, July 19, 2005

Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
July 19, 2005

The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) is distributing the enclosed articles to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations.

Partners in Humanity also regularly publishes the work of student leaders and journalists whose articles strengthen intercultural understanding and promote constructive perspectives and dialogue in their own communities through its Youth Views column.

Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If publishing, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org.

**********

ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION:

1. "Kurdish expectations will test Assad" by Bashdar Ismaeel
Bashdar Ismaeel, a freelance writer on Middle Eastern politics, who lives in the United Kingdom, looks at the Kurdish question in Syria in light of the relative success of Iraqi Kurds in the recent elections and the possibility that the Kurds would collaborate with the United States. Ismaeel feels that Syria's mishandling of this issue could affect "domestic stability and the country's long-term prosperity" and highlights the U.S. role in this situation.
(Source: Daily Star, July 11, 2005)

2. "In unity of purpose" Jordan Times Editorial
This editorial in the Jordan Times publicizes "King Abdullah's challenge to reclaim Islam from the misguided forces that have used it with malicious intent." Perhaps belying popular opinion, imams, grand ayatollahs, clerics and Muslim scholars from various schools of Islam have signed this challenge, which, the author claims, aims primarily to "call to order the issuance of arbitrary 'fatwas' by religious or militant groups against Muslims and non-Muslims alike."
Source: Jordan Times, July 7, 2005

3. "A Statement Regarding Muslim-Christian Perspectives on the Nuclear Weapons Danger" from the Pocantico Conference Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund
This statement denouncing nuclear weapons from a recent conference of Muslim, Christian and other religious leaders and scholars demonstrates the common respect they have for the sanctity of human life by arguing for a ban on nuclear weapons and respect for the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
(Source: Pocantico Conference Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, May 23-25, 2005)

4. "Bin Ladenism Removes Turkey from Europe and Prevents a Meeting of Cultures" by Khaled el-Hroub
Khaled el-Hroub, Visiting Fellow-Centre for Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies
University of Cambridge, returns to the topic of Turkey and integration into the EU, this time considering the subject in the light of Islamic extremism and the "clash of civilizations."
(Source: Al-Hayat, July 4, 2005)

5. "When the sound of dialogue is louder than the explosion of bombs" by Joanna Cattanach
Joanna Cattanach, a graduate student at Baylor University in USA studying International Journalism with a focus on Middle East and Latin America, finds something in common with a Lebanese immigrant - deep frustration with the irrationality of extremist politics and violence.
(Source: CGNews-PiH Youth Views, July 19, 2005)

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ARTICLE 1
Kurdish expectations will test Assad
Bashdar Ismaeel

More than ever, the Syrian regime is feeling the heat of U.S. foreign policy choices and of the changing strategic situation in the Middle East. Domestically, the matter of Syria's disenfranchised Kurds has risen to the top of the agenda, with the community showing growing confidence. The importance of the Kurdish question was particularly evident at the recent Baath Party conference, when participants agreed to address the demands of the discriminated-against Kurds. The regime of President Bashar Assad knows that the Kurds, if they choose to collaborate with the policies of the United States, can seriously threaten the regime's authority.

Under Assad, Syria has seen the introduction of some economic reforms and a modest, though sporadic, loosening of political controls, even as genuine and broad liberalization has yet to materialize. While the Baath conference promised to resolve the issue of the stateless Kurds, estimated at 150,000-200,000 from a total Syrian Kurdish population of some 1.5 million, there remains a possibility that little real change will occur, at least not enough to fend off Syrian Kurdish pressures against the Baath regime, or those of the hawks in the Bush administration.

The matter of Syria's Kurds has long been overshadowed by the fate of their brethren in Turkey and Iraq. However, in a constantly shifting Middle Eastern political landscape, this is now beginning to change; Syrian Kurds are in the spotlight largely because of the example of the Kurds in Iraq. Free from the grip of Saddam Hussein and thanks to years of self-rule and prosperity, Iraq's Kurds have gained a new prominence. They became virtual kingmakers after the Iraqi elections in January - which also allowed for the election of a Kurdish regional Parliament - before seeing one of their own, Jalal Talabani, named as Iraq's president.

Meanwhile, Syrian Kurds continue to face decades-long restrictions, including on the use of their language. Since the advent of Law 93 of 1962, the Syrian government has classified some 160,000 Kurds as ajanib, or foreigners. They cannot vote, own property or work in government jobs. Another 75,000 or so are simply unregistered, and are known as maktoumeen, or "concealed," having almost no civil rights. Syria had for some time sought to form an "Arab belt" between its Kurds and those in Iraq and Turkey, mindful of the cross-border influence between the communities. However, this desire was considerably undermined by the influence of Kurds from Iraq, so the Syrian Kurds are today increasingly feeling encouraged to demand more rights.

Since Kurdish rioting broke out in Qamishli in March 2004 at a football match, the atmosphere in north-eastern Syria has been tense. The mood was little improved after rioting again broke out in Aleppo last month, following the news that an outspoken Kurdish cleric, Maashouq al-Haznawi, had been killed. The Kurds blamed the Syrian government, which denied any involvement. Following the forced Syrian troop withdrawal from Lebanon after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and amid intense international pressure, this was hardly a welcome addition to Assad's agenda.

The United States sees Syria today as an obstacle to its vision of democracy and change in the Middle East. Damascus has come to realize the potential seriousness of the new situation across the border in Iraq and has tried to act quickly by responding to Kurdish demands for change. The Baath conference did promise to redress the Kurds' situation, but was not specific about a time frame and numbers. The question is whether, on the back of this, the Kurds, who are no longer fearful of the Syrian state and who can plainly see Syria's current isolation, will not demand more, perhaps using both political and military means in doing so.

It has come as no surprise, then, that Massoud Barzani, the head of the Kurdish Democratic Party in Iraq and the new president of the Iraqi Kurdish entity, within days of taking power, voiced concerns and support for the Syrian Kurds. Yet he also demanded that their rights be granted peacefully and through dialogue.

The Syrian regime is slowly realizing that successfully tackling the Kurdish problem is crucial for domestic stability and the country's long-term prosperity. If unchecked, the developing situation regarding the Kurds has the potential to provoke a severe backlash. Will Bashar Assad's regime be able to lower Kurdish expectations and dodge another bullet?
###
* Bashdar Ismaeel is a freelance writer on Middle Eastern politics, who lives in the United Kingdom. He wrote this commentary for the Daily Star.
Source: The Daily Star, July 11, 2005
Visit the Daily Star, www.dailystar.com.lb
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********
ARTICLE 2
In unity of purpose
Jordan Times Editorial


The statement issued yesterday by the International Islamic conference (IIC) at the conclusion of its Amman meeting is an endorsement from the Muslim world's major religious figures of His Majesty King Abdullah's challenge to reclaim Islam from the misguided forces that have used it with malicious intent.

The statement aimed first and foremost to call to order the issuance of arbitrary "fatwas" by religious or militant groups against Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Guided by the fatwas of the attending imams, grand ayatollahs, clerics and Muslim scholars, and inspired by King Abdullah's challenges to the conference participants, the IIC's statement addressed some of the most poignant issues facing Muslims today.

In reaffirming the unity of belief and purpose among all the Islamic schools of jurisprudence and rejecting outright any attempt to declare any of the true and faithful adherents of these schools apostates, the statement's signatories make clear that Islam is not to be held hostage by the slate of maledictions of derelict groups and organisations.

The signatories also concur that what unites the eight Islamic schools of jurisprudence, and their schools of thought and sects, is much more profound than what divides them. By institutionalising the method of issuing religious fatwas and offering an ijtihad, the Muslim world would be able once again to open up "Bab Al ijtihad" ushering in once again enlightened and progressive interpretation and thought.

King Abdullah's challenge to the conference serves as a force that mobilises and gives a voice to the silent majority of Muslims who are weary of the damage being inflicted on their faith.

That the religious leaders and scholars have taken up the King's challenge lends tremendous support to the majority of Islam's adherents - a moderate and pious community that has been so wrongly offended.

As the signatories to the statement return home, their communities will be looking for more deliberations on the other complex issues discussed during the conference, including the rights of women, terrorism and various socio-economic ills.

The conference is the beginning of a process that must continue in order to bring the silent majority to the fore in today's Muslim world.

###
* This article was written as the editorial piece for the Jordan Times.
Source: Jordan Times, July 7, 2005.
Visit the Jordan Times, www.jordantimes.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********
ARTICLE 3
A Statement Regarding Muslim-Christian Perspectives on the Nuclear Weapons Danger
Pocantico Conference Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund

A group of religious leaders and scholars, Muslims, Christians and others, was convened by the Islamic Society of North America, the Managing the Atom Project of the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Churches Cnter for Theology and Public Policy. The group met at the Pocantico Conference Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in Tarrytown, New York on May 23-25, 2005, to discuss what their traditions had to contribute to the question of the nuclear weapons danger at this time in history. The consultation produced the following statement, which religious leaders of all faiths are urged to endorse:

We affirm our belief in the One God, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.

We agree that the Christian and Muslim traditions are unambiguous on the sanctity of human life and on the protection of all forms of creation, including the environment. We believe in the dignity of all human beings and their roles as trustees and humble custodians of the earth and their responsibility for the needs of future generations.

We believe that chemical, biological and particularly nuclear weapons do not discriminate between combatants and non-combatants and inevitably destroy innocent human life, even as they destroy other forms of life such as animals and vegetation, cause irrevocable damage to the environment for many generations to come and cause human suffering and disease. Therefore, we hold that these weapons are contrary to our religious and ethical principles.

We agree that the ideal response to the nuclear threat is a total and universal ban on all such weapons, including low yield tactical nuclear weapons, their development, production, possession, acquisition, deployment, use, and the threat of use. We hold further that any weakening of the nuclear "Non-Proliferation Treaty" is a setback for world peace.

We agree that all nations, without exception, must abide by international treaties, agreements and other international covenants of which they are signatories.

We further agree that the possession of nuclear weapons is an unacceptable risk for the human community in these times and is a continuing threat to the entire planet and its fragile ecosystem. The risk of theft of nuclear weapons or materials by non-state actors for nuclear terrorism as well as the continuing risk of accidental use of nuclear weapons by nation states themselves makes even the possession of nuclear weapons a danger to God's creation.

We agree that the enormous resources spent on nuclear weapons can be put to much better use to deal with the problems of poverty, disease and ignorance and to promote a peaceful pluralistic civil society, free of hate and prejudice.

We encourage engagement on the part of civil society in the debate and policy making decisions relating to nuclear weapons.

We therefore believe that the common position held by both of our traditions, expressed as the sanctity of human life, leads us inexorably to say that the only real security for the world and the most responsible position for people of faith in our two traditions is to call upon the United States and other countries of the world to, gradually and in a verifiable manner, finally eliminate these weapons from the face of the earth.

Endorsed by these participants:

Asma Afsaruddin, Muslim
Associate Professor, Dept. of Arabic & Islamic Studies, University of
Notre Dame & Chair of the CSID Board of Directors

Sadida Athaullah, Muslim
Woodbridge, Virginia

Dr. Jamal Badawi, Muslim
Islamic Society of North America

Mohamed Elsanousi, Muslim
Director of Communications and Community Outreach, Islamic Society of
North America

Muneer Fareed, Muslim
Associate Professor, Dept. of Near Eastern & Asian Studies, Wayne State
University

Rev. Barbara Green, Presbyterian
Executive Director, Churches' Center for Theology and Public Policy

Rabia Terri Harris, Muslim
Coordinator, Muslim Peace Fellowship

Sherman Jackson, Muslim
Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Dept. of Near Eastern Studies
University of Michigan

Rev. Richard Killmer, Presbyterian
Program Director, Churches' Center for Theology and Public Policy

Ibrahim M. Abdil-Mu'id Ramey
Director of the Disarmament Program, Fellowship of Reconciliation

Anna Rhee, United Methodist
Board of Directors, Churches' Center for Theology and Public Policy

Dr. Louay Safi
Executive Director, Islamic Society of North America

Muhammad Shafiq, PhD
Imam/Executive Director, Islamic Center of Rochester, NY and Executive Director, Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue, Nazareth College, Rochester

Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi
Chairman, Fiqh Council of North America

Bishop Walter F. Sullivan, Roman Catholic
President of the Board of the Churches' Center for Theology and Public Policy

Rev. Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, United Church of Christ
President and Professor of Theology, Chicago Theological Seminary

Joe Volk, Religious Society of Friends
Executive Secretary, Friends Committee on National Legislation

Dr. Jim Walsh
Executive Director, Managing the Atom, John F. Kennedy School of
Government, Harvard University

Peter Weiderud, Church of Sweden
Director, Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, World
Council of Churches

Dr. Christine Wing, Presbyterian
Member of South Presbyterian Church, Dobbs Ferry, NY

This statement reflects the views of the signatories and not necessarily those of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Organizations are listed for identification purposes only.

Religious leaders of all faiths are encouraged to endorse this statement. Those of other faiths have joined with their Muslim and
Christian brothers and sisters in affirming the sanctity of human life and the need to eliminate nuclear weapons. Religious leaders may endorse by sending an email to info@nrdi.org
###
* This statement resulted from the recent conference at the Pocanticio Conference Center.
Source: Pocantico Conference Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, May 23-25, 2005.
Visit Nuclear Reduction Disarmament Initiative for People of Faith, www.nrdi.org
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********
ARTICLE 4
Bin Ladenism Removes Turkey from Europe and Prevents a Meeting of Cultures
Khaled el-Hroub

The rich western debate in recent years about the idea of Turkey joining the European Union has theoretically swung toward cautious acceptance, or at least risking the move. The opinions of opponents to this step are well known. Turkey still has a way to go before it meets the conditions of membership, such as economic growth, per capita income, and the human rights situation, particularly regarding the Kurds and prison conditions. The most important of these topics, the "ghost" that is hidden at times and discussed openly at others, is Islam in Turkey. The conservative trend in Europe, represented by extremist right-wing parties, whether Christian or quasi-fascist, is staunchly opposed to "polluting" the Christian-ness, European-ness, or "whiteness" of Europe. Meanwhile, the rational European trend, a mix of liberals, leftists, socialists and cosmopolitans, has taken a progressive, humanitarian position, based on Europe's interest in seeing Turkey join and the interest of the future relationship between the West and Islam and Muslims in general. If Muslim Turkey joins Christian Europe as a full member, it would be the most important historical act taken during the last few centuries against the logic of the class of civilizations. It would break down and dissolve the bloodiest borders, to use Samuel Huntington's phrase and create common interests in belonging to a single space.

The Europeanization of Muslim Turkey would also bring about a deeper reconciliation between the concepts of social and political modernization and constitute the most important experience in terms of the relationship between modern Islam and the weight of western modernization.

The negotiations between the EU and Turkey have been led by the Latter's modernist, Islamist trend, and Islamic critics on the right and left have had a field day in criticizing Turkey's move to join at the expense of its "Islamic identity." This promising development now appears to have collapsed or been delayed until further notice, after the French and the Dutch recently rejected the proposed EU Constitution.
###
* Khaled el-Hroub is a visiting fellow at the Centre for Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies University of Cambridge.
Source: Al Hayat, July 4, 2005.
Visit Al Hayat, english.daralhayat.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********
ARTICLE 5 - Youth Views
When the sound of dialogue is louder than the explosion of bombs
Joanna Cattanach

A StoryCorps sound booth opened this week at the site of the World Trade Center in New York City. The booth is part of the planned memorial complex at the World Trade Center site. The booth allows victims, survivors, and rescuers of Sept. 11 to record their thoughts in hour-long testimonials that recall that day of horror and shock.

After Sept. 11, Americans asked themselves: why do they hate us?

At the time we didn't know who they were.

Even now I doubt many do. Some Americans still believe the Sept. 11 terrorists were Iraqi. And the Bush administration has done little to dissuade Americans of this notion.

The violence committed in London and Madrid was as much a message to the US as it was to Britain and Spain. And it's the same message that's been passed along in every assassination of newly elected leaders in Iraq, in kidnappings and beheadings, suicide blasts and videotaped messages from Al-Qaeda.

President Bush told the world, "You're either with us or against us..." Al-Qaeda has declared the same.

I tried to explain my frustration to a Lebanese immigrant working in the US.

He was shocked. Frustrated being an American? Laughable. Try being a Muslim, dealing with the INS, and working in an office full of flag-waving Republicans. Worse, try being a faithful Muslim forced to watch fanatics take your religion and use it to justify killing people; "On many occasions, they made me question my faith but sometimes I say, I want to be stronger than them."

So do I. I do not feel guilty for being an American. I have education, opportunity, and social freedoms that would not be granted to me in most of the countries in the Middle East. But I am tired of living in a country that is the target of every terrorist with a cause and access to explosives.

Nothing will make terrorism against the US stop, not even the withdrawal of troops from Iraq tomorrow.

True, he argued, but the US has supported Israel for years. It was the US, he said, that vetoed condemnation against Israeli actions in Lebanon. He said, "I still remember to this day the Qana massacre of 1996, and in the face of the whole world's outrage, [Sec. of State Madeleine] Albright was the only one to say no." The United States was the only country, besides Israel, which voted against a formal condemnation by the UN General Assembly, although, as often happens when controversial resolutions are voted on, many countries abstained from the vote.

The Qana massacre in southern Lebanon took the lives of over 200 Muslim refugees in a ten-day offensive led by Israelis. The slaughter of innocent men, women, and children shocked the Middle East. But as Robert Frisk reported, the blame was once again laid not only on Israel but on the US as well. Americans were "dogs."

I told him the US is not out to "get" the Middle East.

No, he said, only re-shape it. The attacks against the US were wrong but some in the Middle East believe they were justified to counter the neo-colonialist efforts.

And thus is born the tautology of self-sustaining violence.

This same rationalization is used by Israel, the US, and other allies. Attacks against one country will be met with proportionate, or even disproportionate, responses. Thousands of Americans died on Sept. 11. What did the world expect the US to do? Accept its "punishment"? Everything that ails the Middle East is laid at the feet of the US. Where does our responsibility end? In this world of global superpowers where nuclear weapons exist and global terrorism threatens every country, might makes right, and mighty countries will act regardless of world public opinion.

The Bush Administration decided to democratize Iraq. The US ousted Saddam Hussein and the decision to do so has been met with harsh criticism abroad and at home. It is difficult to ask for greater dialogue and increased understanding from the Middle East when the government that represents me, even without my vote, enacts a foreign policy abroad that is, I believe, flawed.

The Bush Administration severely underestimated the impact of involvement in Iraq, inadequately armored equipment, underestimated the number of troops needed in Iraq and Afghanistan, isolated allies, lied about WMDs in Iraq, and convinced the American people this would be a low-impact war for "freedom." Freedom from what though? Terrorism exists because of actions committed in the past and the present. In as much as the US seeks to destroy terrorism, in many ways the US created it. And there is no freedom from that.

It is frustrating to see the US government act in a way that will ensure increased violence against the US and its allies for years to come and maddening to live in a country that is held responsible for everything that ails the Middle East.

My Lebanese counterpart agreed, "I am being hijacked by fanatics. You are being hijacked by politicians." If we better understand one another one day we may stop this infuriating cycle of violence and discontent. He continued, "[There] should be a mutual understanding. Drop the labels Terrorist Evil Doers on one end and Great Satan Infidels on the other."

As families and survivors record their sad stories of disbelief and painful memory in a sound booth in New York City, I wonder what the world sound booth would record. Where would we put it? London? Madrid? Baghdad? Tehran? Beirut? Would we listen to what others said? Could an American and an Iraqi insurgent talk with one another? Could we learn from each other? Accept responsibility? Exact forgiveness? Change? Or would our shared frustration, hate, and ignorance be recorded worldwide?
###
* Joanna Cattanach is a graduate student at Baylor University in USA studying International Journalism with a focus on Middle East and Latin America, who has been writing about the Middle East for the last six years.
Source: CGNews-PiH Youth Views, July 19, 2005
Visit Search for Common Ground and CGNews at www.sfcg.org
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********
The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity, brought to you by Search for Common Ground, seeks to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. This service is one outcome of a set of working meetings held in partnership with His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal in June 2003.

Every two weeks, CGNews-PiH will distribute 2-5 news articles, op-eds, features, and analyses that aid in developing and analyzing the current and future relationship of the West and Arab/Muslim world. Articles will be chosen based on accuracy, balance, and their ability to improve understanding and communication across borders and regions. They will also reflect the need for constructive dialogue around issues of global importance. Selections will be authored by local and international experts and leaders who will analyze and discuss a broad range of relevant issues. We invite you to submit any articles you feel are compatible with the goals of this news service.

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Posted by Evelin at 03:47 AM | Comments (0)
Search for Common Ground Update

Search for Common Ground Update, July 19, 2005

The Shape of the Future Documentary TV Series
First Ever Simulcast on Israeli, Palestinian, and Arab Satellite TV
July 2nd - 23rd Broadcasts

This month, our The Shape of the Future became the first TV series ever simultaneously broadcast on Israeli, Palestinian, and Arab Satellite TV. The series explores - on a very human level - how Israelis and Palestinians might make peace. The emphasis is on building the future, not on reliving the past.

These unprecedented simulcasts are being aired on Israel's Channel 8, the Palestinian Ma'an Network, the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), and on Abu Dhabi satellite TV. The four 30-minute programs are being broadcast on consecutive Saturday nights throughout July.

The series explores the background, the various positions and the options for resolution of the most challenging final status issues: Israeli Settlements, Palestinian Refugees, Jerusalem, and Security.

David Broza and Said Murad, two popular Israeli and Palestinian performers, wrote background music for the series. The theme song, In My Heart, was released as a music video and has been widely played on Israeli and Palestinian radio.

John Marks, who wrote and produced the series, said on NPR's Weekend Edition (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4727953), "I really want people to see that it is possible to reach agreement and that it is possible to end this conflict."

SFCG is working with Palestinian and Israeli organizations to produce viewer's guides and to maximize the use of the programs in schools and civic and religious organizations.

Here is what former President Jimmy Carter has to say about the programs:
This documentary series examines the fears and aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians in an even-handed way. It shows how a negotiated agreement could address those fears and do so without threatening the national existence of either side. Israel and Egypt were able to accomplish this task at Camp David more than 25 years ago and this series supports the belief that Israelis and Palestinians can do the same.
The series has received wide media attention:

It peels away the human layers of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, without using stereotypes and without showing even a drop of blood. - Akiva Eldar, Ha'aretz
Unlike most films on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the documentary does not stop at analyzing the problem. It tries to give suggestions as to what the solution could look like. - Daoud Kuttab, The Daily Star (Beirut)

An objective and substantive documentary series that will inspire people to think positively about the importance and possibility of finding a solution to the conflict. - Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation

Groundbreaking - Associated Press
Unprecedented - Jerusalem Post

DVDs and videotape copies of the series are available in English, Arabic, and Hebrew (in NTSC or PAL format), with a discussion guide, through the series website, www.theshapeofthefuture.tv.

Posted by Evelin at 03:31 AM | Comments (0)
Democracy News - July 19, 2005

The WMD's DemocracyNews
Electronic Newsletter of the World Movement for Democracy - www.wmd.org

July 2005

POSTING NEWS:
We welcome items to include in DemocracyNews. Please send an email message to world@ned.org with the item you would like to post in the body of the message.

******************************************************************

CONTENTS


SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARIAT OF THE WORLD MOVEMENT
FOR DEMOCRACY

DEMOCRACY ALERTS/APPEALS
1. 68 Burmese Refugees Detained in Malaysia
2. Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition Calls for Investigation of Reported Torture and
Mistreatment in the Federal Prisons in Nigeria
3. Venezuelan Court Orders Trial of Civil Society Leaders

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS
4. New Publication on the Role of Nonviolence in Singaporean Political Struggle
5. Master of Arts Program in Sustainable Development with Intensive Year-long
Practicum in Sri Lanka
6. Call for Applications: Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowships
7. Serbian and Montenegrin NGOs Commemorate Anniversary of Bosnian Deportations
8. Grant Opportunity for Scholars in the Study of Democracy in Latin America
9. Internship Opportunity in Baku, Azerbaijan
10. National Endowment for Democracy (NED) Honors Afghan Activists with 2005
Democracy Award
11. New Publication: PROTECTING DEMOCRACY: INTERNATIONAL RESPONSES

CONFLICT RESOLUTION
12. Fellowship Opportunity for South Asian Professionals and Scholars
13. New Publication: "Choosing to Engage: Armed Groups and Peace Processes"

ELECTIONS
14. Electoral System Design: The New IDEA Handbook

HUMAN RIGHTS
15. "Measuring Human Rights" ”Training in Kampala, Uganda, July 18-22, 2005
16. Civil Society Leaders Urge Democracies to Lead UN Human Rights Reform

INTERNET, MEDIA, AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
17. International Symposium on Local E-Democracy, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, July 26-27, 2005
18. The APC Betinho Communication Prize Accepts Applications from Groups in Latin America and the Caribbean
19. Online Publication: MEDIA MONITORING NEWSLETTER February Issue

POLITICAL AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION OF YOUTH
20. Global Youth Action Network (GYAN) Launches Publication on Globalization

RULE OF LAW
21. Bulgarian Center for the Study of Democracy Launches the National Crime
Prevention Commission

TRANSPARENCY AND ANTI-CORRUPTION
22. CIPE Feature Service Article: Practical Approaches to Anti-Corruption Reform in Russia

WOMEN'S ISSUES
23. WLP's Africa Leadership Institute Participants Take on New Leadership Roles in Sierra Leone
24. Proceedings of WLP Symposium on Gender Violence in Muslim Societies Now Available Online
25. 2005 International Women's Rights Prize Honors Work in Burma and Thailand
26. Meeting on "Empowering Women in Public Life and Democratic Development in the Broader Middle East/ North Africa (BMENA) Region"

27. WORLD MOVEMENT PARTICIPATING NETWORKS, ORGANIZATIONS AND
INDIVIDUALS MENTIONED IN THIS ISSUE

******************************************************************

SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARIAT OF THE WORLD MOVEMENT
FOR DEMOCRACY

We wish to inform you about a change here at the Secretariat at NED. Our Project Coordinator, Ms. Rachel Boyle, has left the staff to return to graduate school at the University of Chicago to pursue a degree in Social Service Administration with an emphasis on immigrant refugee issues. Rachel has made many invaluable contributions to the work of the World Movement, not least of which was her tireless work on local preparations for the Third Assembly in Durban in February 2004, and her work as our liaison to participants in the Latin America/Caribbean region. We will greatly miss her dedication to the mission of the World Movement, and, of course, her friendship, collegiality, and positive spirit. It has been a great pleasure to work with her, and we wish her all the best in her studies and future work. Her last day was July 15.

We are pleased to tell you, however, that Mr. Leo Shinohara has joined our staff as Rachel's replacement as Project Coordinator, and we look forward very much to working with him. Leo recently obtained an MA in Law & Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. Originally from Brazil, he has an extensive background in event organization and Latin American issues, a combination of knowledge and skills that we believe will serve us quite well. We welcome him to the staff of the World Movement Secretariat.

DEMOCRACY ALERTS/APPEALS

1. 68 Burmese Refugees Detained in Malaysia
On July 7, 2005, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) issued an alert on the situation of 68 Burmese refugees detained on June 16, 2005 for demonstrating peacefully in front of the Burmese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The protesters had gathered to call for democracy in Burma and show their support for Aung San Suu Kyi, who was to celebrate her 60th birthday on June 19. The detained, including four asylum seekers in possession of "temporary protection" letters from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and two 17-year olds, were charged for illegal assembly, failure to obey orders by the police, and for other offences under the Immigration Act. If convicted, these refugees face imprisonment (up to five years), high fines, and caning with up to six strokes of the rattan. The AHRC considers this case a violation of the rights to assembly and asylum, and calls on its colleagues throughout the world to send letters of appeal demanding an immediate release of all 68 refugees.
For sample letters and more information, go to: http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2005/1162/

2. Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition Calls for Investigation of Reported Torture and Mistreatment in the Federal Prisons in Nigeria
On June 24, 2005, the Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition (NCSC) issued a statement calling for an immediate reaction from the Nigerian Federal Government regarding reports that prisoners at the Federal Government prison in Port Harcourt are being tortured in an attempt to extract information about the recent jail break that occurred on Friday, June 17, 2005. The NCSC, whose membership is drawn from human rights, environment, women, and community-based civil society organizations, urges the government to treat these reports seriously and to ensure that the matter is immediately investigated. It calls for an immediate release of information on the status of prisoners, including those injured and killed, and requests access to the prisons for outside observers so that the allegations can be openly investigated.
For further details, contact: anyakwee@yahoo.com

3. Venezuelan Court Orders Trial of Civil Society Leaders
On July 7, 2005, a court in Caracas, Venezuela ordered that
Maria Corina Machado and Alejandro Plaz be tried on treason charges brought by a public prosecutor because their nongovernmental organization, Súmate, accepted foreign funds for a program that encouraged citizen participation in a referendum on President Hugo Chavez's presidency in 2004. Two other Súmate leaders, Luis Enrique Palacios and Ricardo Estévez, will also be tried on charges of complicity with this alleged crime. The Human Rights Watch issued a statement regarding the court decision which stipulates that "in ordering the trial of four civil society leaders on dubious charges of treason, a Venezuelan court has assented to government persecution of political opponents."
For more details, go to www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/07/08/venezu11299.htm
or contact Americas@hrw.org
For more information and background on the case, go to: www.wmd.org/alert/july1504.html


ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS

4. New Publication on the Role of Nonviolence in Singaporean Political Struggle
Dr. Chee Soon Juan, the Secretary General of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party
and the Chairman of the Alliance for Reform and Democracy in Asia (ARDA), has written a new book, entitled THE POWER OF COURAGE: EFFECTING POLITICAL CHANGE IN SINGAPORE THROUGH NONVIOLENCE. The book explains to readers the concept and philosophy of nonviolent action and why it is important in Singapore. The book was launched on July 9, 2005, at a peaceful gathering in Singapore. However, the speakers and organizers of the book launch were harassed by the police.
Go to: www.singaporedemocrat.org/

5. Master of Arts Program in Sustainable Development with Intensive Year-long Practicum in Sri Lanka
The School for International Training (SIT), in collaboration with Sri Lankan development organization, Sarvodaya, provides a 12-month Master of Arts Program in Sustainable Development. This intensive program will combine the SIT curriculum with an intensive practicum experience in Sri Lanka. The program will run from January to December 2006. The prospective students who will benefit and contribute most to this program are working professionals in early- to mid-career in development, government, non-profit, and humanitarian fields; those with sensitivity to working in an intercultural context; and those capable of living and working in difficult conditions. The application deadline for this program is November 15, 2005.
Go to: www.sit.edu/graduate/srilanka/

6. Call for Applications: Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowships
The Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program at the Washington, DC-based National Endowment for Democracy welcomes applications from candidates throughout the world for fellowships in 2006-2007. Established in 2001, the program enables democracy activists, practitioners, scholars, and journalists from around the world to deepen their understanding of democracy and enhance their ability to promote democratic change. The program is intended primarily to support activists, practitioners, and scholars from new and aspiring democracies; distinguished scholars from the United States and other established democracies are also eligible to apply. Projects may focus on the political, social, economic, legal, and cultural aspects of democratic development and may include a range of methodologies and approaches. A working knowledge of English is an important prerequisite for participation in the program. The application deadline for fellowships in 2006-2007 is Tuesday, November 1, 2005.
For more information, including the application, go to: www.ned.org/forum/reagan-fascell.html or email: fellowships@ned.org.

7. Serbian and Montenegrin NGOs Commemorate Anniversary of Bosnian Deportations
The first public commemoration of the 1992 deportation of Bosnian refugees from Montenegro was held in Podgorica, Montenegro, on May 30, 2005. The event was organized by the Belgrade-based Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) and the Group for Changes, Podgorica. The organizers promoted a book by Å eki Radoncic titled KOBNA SLOBODA as a special tribute to the memory of the victims and their dignity. They also asked the Montenegrin Government and Parliament to declare May 30 as a day of remembrance in Montenegro of the 1992 deportation of the Bosnian refugees who were later killed in Republika Srpska.
Go to: www.hlc.org.yu

8. Grant Opportunity for Scholars in the Study of Democracy in Latin America
The Latin American Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Ford Foundation announced a competition for Junior Post-Doctoral Scholars in the Study of Democracy in Latin America. This grant does not anticipate residence in the Woodrow Wilson Center. Grantees may continue residence at their home institutions or in any other location. Eight grants of US$10,000 will be awarded for studies of democracy in Latin America that deal with one or more of the following subjects: citizenship and rights; poverty and inequality; reforms of the state; representation and accountability; local governance; and the international context - the effect it has on Latin American democracies. Citizens of any country in the hemisphere -- Canada, the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean-- are eligible to apply. Applicants must have received their PhD within five years from the date the competition closes. In very exceptional cases, applicants from Latin America who have not completed formal doctoral studies will be considered if they are in an equivalent stage of their academic careers. Application deadline is September 30, 2005.
Go to: www.wilsoncenter.org/lap

9. Internship Opportunity in Baku, Azerbaijan
The Center for Political and Economic Reforms (Reform-Center), based in Baku
(Azerbaijan), is accepting applications for an internship position. The intern is expected to assist the organization in its public relations and fundraising activities. The intern will write and submit proposals, contact various international donor agencies, and assist the center in developing its fundraising strategy. The Reform-Center works to promote democracy and institutional reforms in Azerbaijan. The three-month long internship will start on September 1, 2005. Applications are due by July 29, 2005.
For more information about the internship and to apply, contact reform.center@azeri.com

10. National Endowment for Democracy (NED) Honors Afghan Activists with 2005 Democracy Award
On July 13, 2005, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) honored three democry activists from Afghanistan with its 2005 Democracy Award. The Democracy Award is given annually by the National Endowment for Democracy's Board of Directors to recognize the courageous and creative work of individuals and organizations that have advanced the cause of human rights and democracy around the world. The recipients of the 2005 Democracy Award are: Ms. Sakena Yacoobi, the founder and president of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), a leading Afghan women's organization focused on providing more than 350,000 Afghan women and children with education, health care and human rights training, both inside Afghanistan and in refugee camps in Pakistan; Mr. Mohammad Nasib, the director of the Welfare Association for Development of Afghanistan (WADAN), an NGO working to advance the spread of democratic principles and strengthen local governance by training a network of more than 1000 Maliks (key local power brokers) in the concepts and practices of human rights and democracy; and Mr. Sarwar Hussaini, the chairman and director of the Cooperation Center for Afghanistan (CCA), a well established NGO working to promote citizen participation and democratic institutions in Afghanistan by empowering women and strengthening democratic practices in traditional institutions.
Go to: www.ned.org/

11. New Publication: PROTECTING DEMOCRACY: INTERNATIONAL RESPONSES, edited by Morton H. Halperin (OSI Director of U.S. Advocacy and Executive Director of the Open Society Policy Center), and Mirna Galic (National Security Analyst at the Center for American Progress), is a comprehensive guide to preventing and responding to threats to democracies. The first chapter of the book is available online.
http://www.soros.org/initiatives/washington/articles_publications/publications/protecting_20050613

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

12. Fellowship Opportunity for South Asian Professionals and Scholars
Women in Security, Conflict Management, and Peace (WISCOMP), an initiative of the Foundation for Universal Responsibility established by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, invites applications from South Asian professionals and scholars under the age of 45 for its Scholar of Peace Fellowships awarded for academic research, media projects, and other special projects. WISCOMP seeks to promote an inclusive, gender sensitive discourse on issues related to peace and security in South Asia. This year the fellowship program will focus on the intersection of gender and issues such as human security, multi-track peace initiatives, regional cooperation, and human rights within the fields of peacebuilding and conflict transformation. The fellowships cover a period ranging from three months to one year. The deadline for applications is August 12, 2005.
For more information on the fellowship and the application form, go to: http://www.furhhdl.org/wiscomp/html/Brochure_Summer05-06.pdf
To learn more about the Foundation for Universial Responsibility and the Women in Security, Conflict Management, and Peace (WISCOMP), go to: www.furhhdl.org

13. New Publication: "Choosing to Engage: Armed Groups and Peace Processes"
The latest publication of the Conciliation Resources’ Accord series makes the case for a policy shift towards more committed dialogue with armed groups and other non-state actors to end violent conflicts and strengthen the rule of law. The issue offers lessons and insights emerging from the engagement of armed groups in peace processes. The project has focused on armed groups operating primarily within state borders that use violence to challenge or reform the structures of political and economic power. Criminal organizations and international terrorist networks such as al-Qaeda are outside the primary focus of this issue. The term 'engagement' refers to initiatives by either the warring parties or intermediaries to explore, enable, or sustain opportunities for contact with or between the parties. Conciliation Resources (CR) works to prevent violence, promote justice and transform conflict into opportunities for development. Its 2004 annual report was released in June and is available online.
To access the latest issue of Accord as well as previous issues, go to: www.c-r.org/accord/series.shtml
For the Conciliation Resources 2004 Annual Report, go to: www.c-r.org/

ELECTIONS

14. Electoral System Design: The New IDEA Handbook
The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) recently published the revised English edition of its handbook on "Electoral System Design." The handbook describes the factors to consider when modifying or designing an electoral system. It provides simple explanations and the pros and cons of the electoral systems in use in more than 200 countries. Other topics include a categorization of electoral systems and an analysis of measures to promote the representation of women and minorities. The book draws on 18 case studies from Brazil, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Mexico, New Zealand, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Senegal, South Africa, Thailand, the British Columbia Citizens’ Assembly for Electoral Reform, and the European Parliament.
For more information, visit www.idea.int/esd

HUMAN RIGHTS

15. "Measuring Human Rights" ”Training in Kampala, Uganda, July 18-22, 2005
The Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, based in Kampala, Uganda, is convening a five-day training for human rights NGOs in Uganda on July 18-22, 2005. The training will enhance the capacity of the participating NGOs to collect, verify, organize, and report high quality information in order to make credible claims and effectively advocate for improved respect for human rights in Uganda. Training sessions will include: introduction to human rights information management; qualitative approaches and skills to human rights interviewing and research; strategies on how to collect the and verify sources of information; introduction to accurately quantifying human rights violations; introduction to data security and the Martus Human Rights Bulletin System (www.martus.org) for secure data storage and management; discussions and strategy for advocacy and awareness-raising; and networking and joint work among NGOs.
For information, contact: fhri@starcom.co.ug or fhri@spacenet.co.ug or go to: www.fhri.or.org

16. Civil Society Leaders Urge Democracies to Lead UN Human Rights Reform
A group of leaders of human rights and pro-democracy organizations from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas is calling on the world's democracies to spearhead efforts to fundamentally reform the United Nations, especially its human rights mechanisms. In a letter to the UN Democracy Caucus, the group urged governments to ensure that the UN General Assembly enact UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s proposal for replacing the widely discredited UN Commission on Human Rights with a smaller Human Rights Council composed of rights protectors, not abusers. Such an elevated body would meet
year-round, instead of the current six weeks, and be charged with tackling the most urgent human rights violations by UN member states. Signers of the letter call for universal scrutiny of all UN member states' human rights records, including those who are elected to sit on the Human Rights Council; a transparent voting process; and increased funding for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The letter also urges the Democracy Caucus to support establishment of a new Democracy Fund at the United Nations to assist countries committed to strengthening democratic institutions
around the world.
For full text of the letter, go to: www.democracycaucus.net/html/appea.html

INTERNET, MEDIA, AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

17. International Symposium on Local E-Democracy, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, July 26-27, 2005
The conference will explore leading e-democracy trends around the world and will cover a broad range of issues and perspectives relevant to all levels of governance with an emphasis on local communities. Plenary panel themes include: Informed Elections--From e-voting to voter education online; e-Government and Democracy--Leading e-democracy practices in governance and civic education; Local Citizens and Community Online-- citizen e-activism, local blogging, and media online; and e-Democracy at Home and Abroad-- Researchers Roundtable. Everyone interested in governance and citizen
participation in the information age is welcome to attend.
Go to: www.dowire.org/wiki/International_Symposium_on_Local_E-Democracy

18. The APC Betinho Communication Prize Accepts Applications from Groups in Latin
America and the Caribbean The 2005 Betinho Communication Prize of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) will recognized the community initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean that use the Internet and other Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) to access markets, skills, and opportunities to derive real economic benefits. Civil society organizations, community-based groups, networks, and social movements anywhere in Latin America and the Caribbean are eligible for the prize, which recognizes and documents outstanding examples of how the Internet can make a real difference for the world's communities today. The $7,500 USD prize commemorates the inspirational life and work of Herbet de Souza (Betinho), a visionary Brazilian social activist. The APC works with non-governmental organizations, activists, and social movements to facilitate their work through the use of information and communication technologies. Deadline for nominations and applications for the prize is October 16, 2005.
Go to: www.apc.org/english/betinho or write to betinho@apc.org

19. Online Publication: MEDIA MONITORING NEWSLETTER February Issue
Memo 98, based in Bratislava, Slovakia, has recently issued the latest (June 2005) issue of MEMO-MEDIA MONITORING NEWSLETTER. The newsletter includes information on the deteriorating media situation in Belarus; interview with Olexander Chackmishev, the head of Equal Access Foundation, co-head of Ukranian Monitor, prominent media watchdog, and the deputy-head of Kiev's Institute of Journalism; report on media monitoring in Kazakhstan; recent media developments in Serbia; report on the case of Georgiy Gongadze, Ukrainian journalist who was murdered in 2000. MEMO 98 documents and disseminates information about media violations in Central and Eastern Europe and New Independent States. In Slovakia, MEMO serves as a watchdog and as an advocate for media reform, and it monitors and disseminates information on media's depiction of minorities as it strives to promote tolerance among both media and the public in Slovakia. MEMO also shares its skills and experiences in monitoring with its counterparts in Belarus, Serbia, Montenegro, Ukraine, and other countries in the region.
Go to: http://www.memo98.sk/en/index.php?sm4=on&base=data/newsletter/10

POLITICAL AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION OF YOUTH

20. Global Youth Action Network (GYAN) Launches Publication on Globalization
Global Youth Action Network (GYAN) recently launched a publication on globalization, "Debating Globalization: Youth Perspectives on the International Economic and Social Order." It is a compilation of selected articles from an international competition among youth who have expressed their voices on the global world order.
For more information, go to: http://france.youthlink.org/fr/publication.htm

RULE OF LAW

21. Bulgarian Center for the Study of Democracy Launches the National Crime Prevention Commission
On 17 June, 2005, the Center for the Study of Democracy in Sofia, Bulgaria, launched National Crime Prevention Commission. The Commission, which brings together public institutions and nongovernmental organizations, will meet the need for wider community participation in tackling crime. Its task will be to identify crime trends and find effective remedies to the proliferation of crime in everyday life. The Commission will give priority to improving coordination between all stakeholders, developing new prevention initiatives, raising public awareness about crime and crime prevention, and engaging in advocacy campaigns to alleviate the negative impact of crime on community life.
Go to: www.csd.bg/artShow.php?id=6109

TRANSPARENCY AND ANTI-CORRUPTION

22. CIPE Feature Service Article: "Practical Approaches to Anti-Corruption Reform in Russia"
The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) recently published the latest article in its Economic Reform Feature Service, "Practical Approaches to Anti-Corruption Reform in Russia." In his interview with CIPE, President of the Russian INDEM Foundation, Georgi Satarov, discusses the current state of corruption in Russia and some of the strategies that INDEM has undertaken to combat this important problem. Instead of considering corruption to be solely a criminal problem, INDEM focuses on the underlying institutional causes of corrupt behavior in both the public and private sectors.
For this and other Economic Feature Service articles, go to:
www.cipe.org/publications/fs/index_date.htm

WOMEN'S ISSUES

23. WLP's Africa Leadership Institute Participants Take on New Leadership Roles in Sierra Leone
Three months after the completion of the Women's Learning Partnerships(WLP) Africa Regional Learning Institute for Women's Leadership, two participants from Sierra Leone were appointed to major national leadership positions. Daphne Olu-Williams, Coordinator of African Kind Hearts Organization, was appointed Chairperson for the West African Civil Society Forum - Sierra Leone Chapter. Ms. Williams will incorporate the participatory leadership methodology of the Institute in her future work. Christiana Thorpe, founding member of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) Sierra Leone Chapter, was appointed Commissioner of the National Electoral Commission. Ms. Thorpe is the first woman to hold this position.
For more information on WLP's Africa Institute go to:
http://www.learningpartnership.org/events/2005/05africainst.phtml

24. Proceedings of WLP Symposium on Gender Violence in Muslim Societies Now Available Online
The proceedings of a recent symposium on "Leading to Change: Eliminating Violence against Women in Muslim Societies" are now available online. The symposium, organized by the Women's Learning Partnership (WLP) and held in conjunction with the United Nation's 49th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, provided a forum for women activists from primarily Muslim-majority countries to discuss their experiences in facing challenges and creating effective strategies to eliminate violence against women. It was also an opportunity for sharing and reviewing international governmental and nongovernmental action plans, programs, and campaigns. Among the speakers were Yakin Ertürk, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Noeleen Heyzer, Director of UNIFEM, and Hilary Fisher, Director of the "Stop Violence Against Women" campaign, Amnesty International. WLP serves as the Secretariat of the World Movement's International Women’s Democracy Network.
Go to: www.learningpartnership.org/events/2005/vawsympreport.pdf

25. 2005 International Women's Rights Prize Honors Work in Burma and Thailand
The Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN), which runs community-based programs for refugee women and children who have fled the civil war in Burma’s Shan State, and the Women's League of Burma, an association of eleven women’s groups that SWAN helped to establish, have been selected to receive the 2005 Women's Rights Prize of the Peter Gruber Foundation. The Shan Women's Action Network is a World Movement participating organization.
http://petergruberfoundation.org/Women%27s20Rights/women_frameset.htm

26. Meeting on "Empowering Women in Public Life and Democratic Development in the Broader Middle East/ North Africa (BMENA) Region"
On June 20-21, 2005, the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) held the first issue-focused meeting of the Democracy Assistance Dialogue. The symposium, entitled "Empowering Women in Public Life and Democratic Development in the BMENA region," focused on the role of women in promoting reforms and modernization in the Broader Middle East and North Africa Region. More than 120 civil society representatives and official representatives from 23 countries took part in the meeting. Three panel sessions focused on Women, Political Participation, and Democracy; Women, Violence, and Democracy; and Women, Socio-Economic Life, and Democracy. The plenary session focused on the future of the women's movement in the region. The Democracy Assistance Dialogue is an initiative that brings together
democracy foundations, civil society groups, and governments from the G-8, the Broader Middle East region, and other countries to promote and strengthen democratic institutions, and to initiate, coordinate and share information on democracy programs.
Go to: www.tesev.org.tr/eng/events/Symposium_Report_Final.doc

27. WORLD MOVEMENT PARTICIPATING NETWORKS, ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS MENTIONED IN THIS ISSUE
* Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) www.ahrchk.net/index.php
* Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) www.cipe.org
* Center for the Study of Democracy (Bulgaria) www.csd.bg/
* Chee Soon Juan, Alliance for Reform and Democracy in Asia (ARDA) www.asiademocracy.org/
* Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (Uganda) www.fhri.or.ug/back.htm
* Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) www.hlc.org.yu/english/index.php
* International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) www.idea.int/
* Memo 98 www.memo98.sk/en/
* National Endowment for Democracy www.ned.org
* Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN) www.shanwomen.org/
* Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) www.tesev.org.tr/eng/
* Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace (WLP) - www.learningpartnership.org/

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The WMD's DemocracyNews
Electronic Newsletter of the World Movement for Democracy - www.wmd.org

Posted by Evelin at 02:27 PM | Comments (0)
Metanexus Digest: Volume 5 Issue 8

Metanexus Digest: Volume 5 Issue 8

A Call for Thought and Action
"We urgently need constructive engagements between scientific and religious communities, undertaking diverse and creative projects that promote more integral, holistic understandings of our world and ourselves that also take scientific viewpoints seriously." [More]

Features
Incidence, Essence, and Developmental Systems, by Susan Oyama
"[Developmental Systems Theory]'s explicitly contextual, historical approach restores to organisms all the messy materiality of real life, all the 'stuff' those infophiles seem so eager to be rid of. It is a view in which it is no longer possible to view some innate or 'biological' part of us as more real, basic, essential than some other, 'cultural' or acquired part. It is a view in which organisms' worlds are not just places where development, life, and evolution happen, but integral parts of the developmental and evolutionary processes themselves." [More]

Reductionism and Holism: Two Sides of the Perception of Reality, by Varadaraja V. Raman
"Thus reductionism and holism may be regarded as two modes of apprehending reality, not unlike the two sides of a coin: each meaningful and satisfying in its own way, but neither is a complete description of what obtains in the world. From this perspective reductionism and holism are somewhat like the microscope and the telescope: two powerful instruments to explore the world, one revealing the smallest constituents of what makes up the world, while the other is sweeping the cosmic grandeur and makes us aware of the unity behind the diversity." [More]

Science and Religion: Global Perspectives
International, Interfaith, Interdisciplinary
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
June 4 - 8, 2005

Towards Transdisciplinary Education and Learning,
by Basarab Nicolescu

"Transdisciplinary research is clearly distinct from disciplinary research, even while being entirely complementary. Disciplinary research concerns, at most, one and the same level of Reality; moreover, in most cases, it only concerns fragments of one level of Reality. In contrast, transdisciplinarity concerns the dynamics engendered by the action of several levels of Reality at once. The discovery of these dynamics necessarily passes through disciplinary knowledge. Disciplinarity, multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity, and transdisciplinarity are like four arrows shot from but a single bow: knowledge." [More]

In Search for the Unity of Knowledge: Building Unity inside the Subject, by Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti
"What is the 'nature' of the act, one might wonder, that grants unity to the intellectual experience of the subject, once he or she assents to ask for the 'grand unifying questions,' that is, those ultimate questions on the origin of the whole of reality, the sense of life, the place of human beings in the universe, the ultimate cause of human dignity? I am convinced that such an act has a 'religious' nature. By this I mean the commitment of the person to look for truth and, once found, to apply it with all its intrinsic moral consequences."

Epilogue
"Knowledge, then, is a system of transformations that become progressively adequate."
– Jean Piaget, Genetic Epistemology

"In the world that is emerging, the condition of complexity is as irreducible as it is inescapable. While the moment of complexity inevitably generates confusion and uncertainty, today's social, economic, political, and cultural transformations are also creating possibilities for apprehending ourselves in new ways. To understand our time, we must comprehend complexity, and to comprehend complexity, we must understand what makes this moment different from every other."
– Mark C. Taylor, The Moment of Complexity

"The keystone of transdisciplinarity is the semantic and practical unification of the meanings that traverse and lay beyond different disciplines. It presupposes an open-minded rationality by re-examining the concepts of "definition" and "objectivity." An excess of formalism, rigidity of definitions and a claim to total objectivity, entailing the exclusion of the subject, can only have a life-negating effect."
– The International Center for Transdisciplinary Research (CIRET), Charter

"Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?"
– T. S. Eliot, The Rock

The Metanexus Institute advances research, education and outreach on the constructive engagement of science and religion. Metanexus is part of a growing network of individuals and groups exploring the dynamic interface between cosmos, nature and culture in communities and campuses throughout the world. Metanexus sponsors lectures, workshops, research, courses, grants, and publications. Projects include the Local Societies Initiative, the Templeton Research Lectures, the Spiritual Transformation Scientific Research Project, and other projects. Metanexus hosts an online magazine and discussion forum with over 180,000 monthly page views and 7000 regular subscribers in 57 different countries.

Metanexus Institute
3624 Market Street, Suite 301, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Voice: 215.789.2200 FAX: 215.789.2222
Email: info @ metanexus.net

Posted by Evelin at 12:47 PM | Comments (0)
Disarmament Times

Colleagues:

The NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security would be happy to welcome you to the expanding readership of our quarterly publication of "Disarmament Times." Please feel free to read the most recent issue in .pdf format on our website at http://disarm.igc.org/newdtimes.htm . We do hope that you will also be interested in subscribing by printing the final page of "Disarmament Times", filling out the form, and sending it back to our office. Your interest makes our job worthwhile.

We want to thank you for the work that you do as peace educators around the globe. We hope that you will consider "Disarmament Times" an intriguing and informative addition to your already vast knowlege base.

Sincerely,
Amy Finnegan
NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security
777 United Nations Plaza, Suite 3B
New York, NY 10017
tel: 212.687.5340
fax: 212.687.1643
email: disarmtimes@igc.org
url: http://www.igc.org/disarm

Posted by Evelin at 12:23 PM | Comments (0)
A Poverty of Dignity and a Wealth of Rage by Thomas L. Friedman

A Poverty of Dignity and a Wealth of Rage
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
July 15, 2005 NY Times

A few years ago I was visiting Bahrain and sitting with friends in a fish restaurant when news appeared on an overhead TV about Muslim terrorists, men and women, who had taken hostages in Russia. What struck me, though, was the instinctive reaction of the Bahraini businessman sitting next to me, who muttered under his breath, "Why are we in every story?" The "we" in question was Muslims.

...

Please read the entire article at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/15/opinion/15friedman.html !

Posted by Evelin at 05:52 AM | Comments (0)
Call for Papers for a Special Issue of DISCOURSE & SOCIETY on "Discourse and Poverty

SPECIAL ISSUE OF DISCOURSE & SOCIETY ON "DISCOURSE AND POVERTY"

DISCOURSE & SOCIETY has in the past paid attention to many important social issues, especially those related to power abuse and inequality in the fields of gender, ethnicity, sexuality, politics and ideology.

There is, however, one primary field of social inequality and daily exploitation, suffering and misery that has received much less attention from critical discourse scholars, both in DISCOURSE & SOCIETY as well as in other journals or books: poverty.

True, poverty is first of all a question of a fundamental lack of basic resources and human rights (food, housing, work, health care, safety, education, and so on) due to social and economic domination and less an issue of discursive discrimination. Yet, as is the case for all forms of social inequality, also poverty may be discursively ignored (e.g., in media or political discourse), mitigated or explained away (e.g., in bureaucratic or academic discourse), or directly or indirectly legitimated (e.g., in political, corporate or legal discourse). To understand poverty, one needs to understand the mechanisms of power abuse. Power abuse is engaged in by various dominant groups/classes and their elites. Elites exercise their power mainly through text and talk. Analyzing such talk, or the dissident discourses that oppose it, may contribute to our critical understanding of poverty.

Poverty -- anywhere in the world, also in the rich countries -- should be placed more prominently on the world agenda -- also of discourse analysts. With the vast media and political attention for terrorism, the daily terror of poverty affecting many hundreds of millions of people is usually forgotten.

Critical discourse analysts should not tolerate this, and actively contribute to the study of the discursive foundations of the reproduction of poverty. DISCOURSE & SOCIETY stimulates and publishes such critical studies.

***

ABSTRACTS/PROPOSALS (max 200 words, including Title of paper, Names of Authors, Institutional Address and e-mail as header of the abstract) should be sent before October 1, 2005 to the Editor, Teun A. van Dijk: vandijk@discourse-in-society.org.

First versions of papers whose proposals are accepted are probably due on May 1, 2006.

PAPERS are preferred that systematically and explicitly analyze both the discursive and the social dimensions of a sizable corpus of text and/or talk related to the topic of poverty. For details about what we understand by 'discourse analysis' see the Criteria for Preferred Papers for DISCOURSE & SOCIETY: http://www.discourse-in-society.org/pref-das.htm.

Teun A. van Dijk
Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Dept. de Traducció i Filologia
Rambla 30
08002 Barcelona
España/Spain

E-mail: teun@discourse-in-society.org
Internet: www.discourse-in-society.org

Posted by Evelin at 07:35 AM | Comments (0)
New Book: Peace and Disarmament Education

Dear Friends,

I am thrilled to call your attention to our most recent publication, Peace and Disarmament Education: Changing Mindsets to Reduce Violence and Sustain the Removal of Small Arms. Its cover design appears on our website (www.haguepeace.org) and the entire text can be downloaded. Hard copies can be ordered from our office. Its beautiful design was created by Laurel Marx and is comparable to the design and layout that the Peace Lessons book will bear.

In friendship & peace,
Kathleen

Kathleen Tordini
Program Director
Global Campaign for Peace Education
Hague Appeal for Peace

Posted by Evelin at 07:22 AM | Comments (0)
12 Myths About Hunger

12 Myths About Hunger

© Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy
398 60th Street, Oakland, CA 94618 USA
Tel: 510-654-4400 Fax: 510-654-4551


Why so much hunger?
What can we do about it?

To answer these questions we must unlearn much of what we have been taught.

Only by freeing ourselves from the grip of widely held myths can we grasp the roots of hunger and see what we can do to end it.

*************************************************

Myth 1
Not Enough Food to Go Around

Reality: Abundance, not scarcity, best describes the world's food supply. Enough wheat, rice and other grains are produced to provide every human being with 3,500 calories a day. That doesn't even count many other commonly eaten foods - vegetables, beans, nuts, root crops, fruits, grass-fed meats, and fish. Enough food is available to provide at least 4.3 pounds of food per person a day worldwide: two and half pounds of grain, beans and nuts, about a pound of fruits and vegetables, and nearly another pound of meat, milk and eggs-enough to make most people fat! The problem is that many people are too poor to buy readily available food. Even most "hungry countries" have enough food for all their people right now. Many are net exporters of food and other agricultural products.

Myth 2
Nature's to Blame for Famine

Reality: It's too easy to blame nature. Human-made forces are making people increasingly vulnerable to nature's vagaries. Food is always available for those who can afford it—starvation during hard times hits only the poorest. Millions live on the brink of disaster in south Asia, Africa and elsewhere, because they are deprived of land by a powerful few, trapped in the unremitting grip of debt, or miserably paid. Natural events rarely explain deaths; they are simply the final push over the brink. Human institutions and policies determine who eats and who starves during hard times. Likewise, in America many homeless die from the cold every winter, yet ultimate responsibility doesn't lie with the weather. The real culprits are an economy that fails to offer everyone opportunities, and a society that places economic efficiency over compassion.

Myth 3
Too Many People

Reality: Birth rates are falling rapidly worldwide as remaining regions of the Third World begin the demographic transition—when birth rates drop in response to an earlier decline in death rates. Although rapid population growth remains a serious concern in many countries, nowhere does population density explain hunger. For every Bangladesh, a densely populated and hungry country, we find a Nigeria, Brazil or Bolivia, where abundant food resources coexist with hunger. Costa Rica, with only half of Honduras' cropped acres per person, boasts a life expectancy—one indicator of nutrition —11 years longer than that of Honduras and close to that of developed countries. Rapid population growth is not the root cause of hunger. Like hunger itself, it results from underlying inequities that deprive people, especially poor women, of economic opportunity and security. Rapid population growth and hunger are endemic to societies where land ownership, jobs, education, health care, and old age security are beyond the reach of most people. Those Third World societies with dramatically successful early and rapid reductions of population growth rates-China, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Cuba and the Indian state of Kerala-prove that the lives of the poor, especially poor women, must improve before they can choose to have fewer children.

Myth 4
The Environment vs. More Food?

Reality: We should be alarmed that an environmental crisis is undercutting our food-production resources, but a tradeoff between our environment and the world's need for food is not inevitable. Efforts to feed the hungry are not causing the environmental crisis. Large corporations are mainly responsible for deforestation-creating and profiting from developed-country consumer demand for tropical hardwoods and exotic or out-of-season food items. Most pesticides used in the Third World are applied to export crops, playing little role in feeding the hungry, while in the U.S. they are used to give a blemish-free cosmetic appearance to produce, with no improvement in nutritional value.

Alternatives exist now and many more are possible. The success of organic farmers in the U.S. gives a glimpse of the possibilities. Cuba's recent success in overcoming a food crisis through self-reliance and sustainable, virtually pesticide-free agriculture is another good example. Indeed, environmentally sound agricultural alternatives can be more productive than environmentally destructive ones.

Myth 5
The Green Revolution is the Answer

Reality: The production advances of the Green Revolution are no myth. Thanks to the new seeds, million of tons more grain a year are being harvested. But focusing narrowly on increasing production cannot alleviate hunger because it fails to alter the tightly concentrated distribution of economic power that determines who can buy the additional food. That's why in several of the biggest Green Revolution successes—India, Mexico, and the Philippines—grain production and in some cases, exports, have climbed, while hunger has persisted and the long-term productive capacity of the soil is degraded. Now we must fight the prospect of a 'New Green Revolution' based on biotechnology, which threatens to further accentuate inequality.

Myth 6
We Need Large Farms

Reality: Large landowners who control most of the best land often leave much of it idle. Unjust farming systems leave farmland in the hands of the most inefficient producers. By contrast, small farmers typically achieve at least four to five times greater output per acre, in part because they work their land more intensively and use integrated, and often more sustainable, production systems. Without secure tenure, the many millions of tenant farmers in the Third World have little incentive to invest in land improvements, to rotate crops, or to leave land fallow for the sake of long-term soil fertility. Future food production is undermined. On the other hand, redistribution of land can favor production. Comprehensive land reform has markedly increased production in countries as diverse as Japan, Zimbabwe, and Taiwan. A World Bank study of northeast Brazil estimates that redistributing farmland into smaller holdings would raise output an astonishing 80 percent.

Myth 7
The Free Market Can End Hunger

Reality: Unfortunately, such a "market-is-good, government-is-bad" formula can never help address the causes of hunger. Such a dogmatic stance misleads us that a society can opt for one or the other, when in fact every economy on earth combines the market and government in allocating resources and distributing goods. The market's marvelous efficiencies can only work to eliminate hunger, however, when purchasing power is widely dispersed.

So all those who believe in the usefulness of the market and the necessity of ending hunger must concentrate on promoting not the market, but the consumers! In this task, government has a vital role to play in countering the tendency toward economic concentration, through genuine tax, credit, and land reforms to disperse buying power toward the poor. Recent trends toward privatization and de-regulation are most definitely not the answer.

Myth 8
Free Trade is the Answer

Reality: The trade promotion formula has proven an abject failure at alleviating hunger. In most Third World countries exports have boomed while hunger has continued unabated or actually worsened. While soybean exports boomed in Brazil-to feed Japanese and European livestock-hunger spread from one-third to two-thirds of the population. Where the majority of people have been made too poor to buy the food grown on their own country's soil, those who control productive resources will, not surprisingly, orient their production to more lucrative markets abroad. Export crop production squeezes out basic food production. Pro-trade policies like NAFTA and GATT pit working people in different countries against each other in a 'race to the bottom,' where the basis of competition is who will work for less, without adequate health coverage or minimum environmental standards. Mexico and the U.S. are a case in point: since NAFTA we have had a net loss of 250,000 jobs here, while Mexico has lost 2 million, and hunger is on the rise in both countries.

Myth 9
Too Hungry to Fight for Their Rights

Reality: Bombarded with images of poor people as weak and hungry, we lose sight of the obvious: for those with few resources, mere survival requires tremendous effort. If the poor were truly passive, few of them could even survive. Around the world, from the Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico, to the farmers' movement in India, wherever people are suffering needlessly, movements for change are underway. People will feed themselves, if allowed to do so. It's not our job to 'set things right' for others. Our responsibility is to remove the obstacles in their paths, obstacles often created by large corporations and U.S. government, World Bank and IMF policies.

Myth 10
More U.S. Aid Will Help the Hungry

Reality: Most U.S. aid works directly against the hungry. Foreign aid can only reinforce, not change, the status quo. Where governments answer only to elites, our aid not only fails to reach hungry people, it shores up the very forces working against them. Our aid is used to impose free trade and free market policies, to promote exports at the expense of food production, and to provide the armaments that repressive governments use to stay in power. Even emergency, or humanitarian aid, which makes up only five percent of the total, often ends up enriching American grain companies while failing to reach the hungry, and it can dangerously undercut local food production in the recipient country. It would be better to use our foreign aid budget for unconditional debt relief, as it is the foreign debt burden that forces most Third World countries to cut back on basic health, education and anti-poverty programs.

Myth 11
We Benefit From Their Poverty

Reality: The biggest threat to the well-being of the vast majority of Americans is not the advancement but the continued deprivation of the hungry. Low wages-both abroad and in inner cities at home-may mean cheaper bananas, shirts, computers and fast food for most Americans, but in other ways we pay heavily for hunger and poverty. Enforced poverty in the Third World jeopardizes U.S. jobs, wages and working conditions as corporations seek cheaper labor abroad. In a global economy, what American workers have achieved in employment, wage levels, and working conditions can be protected only when working people in every country are freed from economic desperation.

Here at home, policies like welfare reform throw more people into the job market than can be absorbed-at below minimum wage levels in the case of 'workfare'-which puts downward pressure on the wages of those on higher rungs of the employment ladder. The growing numbers of 'working poor' are those who have part- or full-time low wage jobs yet cannot afford adequate nutrition or housing for their families. Educating ourselves about the common interests most Americans share with the poor in the Third World and at home allows us to be compassionate without sliding into pity. In working to clear the way for the poor to free themselves from economic oppression, we free ourselves as well.

Myth 12
Curtail Freedom to End Hunger?

Reality: There is no theoretical or practical reason why freedom, taken to mean civil liberties, should be incompatible with ending hunger. Surveying the globe, we see no correlation between hunger and civil liberties. However, one narrow definition of freedom-the right to unlimited accumulation of wealth-producing property and the right to use that property however one sees fit-is in fundamental conflict with ending hunger. By contrast, a definition of freedom more consistent with our nation's dominant founding vision holds that economic security for all is the guarantor of our liberty. Such an understanding of freedom is essential to ending hunger.

*************************************************

12 Myths About Hunger based on World Hunger: 12 Myths, 2nd Edition, by Frances Moore Lappé, Joseph Collins and Peter Rosset, with Luis Esparza (fully revised and updated, Grove/Atlantic and Food First Books, Oct. 1998)

Institute for Food and Development Policy Backgrounder
Summer 1998, Vol.5, No. 3
Recent MediaFalse Promises and Real Relief
July 9/10, 2005

© Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy
398 60th Street, Oakland, CA 94618 USA
Tel: 510-654-4400 Fax: 510-654-4551

For people who want to learn more, you can purchase the book 12 Myths at http://www.foodfirst.org/node/384.

Posted by Evelin at 06:44 AM | Comments (0)
HumanDHS Newsletter Number 4

Please read HumanDHS Newsletter Number 4!

Most warmly!

Evelin

Posted by Evelin at 06:29 AM | Comments (0)
AMARC link

Volume 9, number 3, July 2005
AMARC 9 is on the making

Great News!! The 9th World Conference of Community radio is on its way. The International Board of AMARC has selected Jordan as the host country for the Ninth World Assembly of Community Radio Broadcasters to be held in the second half 2006.

AMARC prepares for Tunis

The second phase of the official segment of WSIS will take place in Tunis, Tunisia, on November 16-18. The civil society organizations will organize a roster of accompanying events set for November 14-19 to demand an inclusive and human rights approach.

Pan-African Conference 2005

Nairobi, April, 2005. More than 100 community radio representatives from 27 African countries resolved to create an African community radio fund at the just-ended 3rd Pan African Conference on Community Radio held in Nairobi, Kenya. The Community Radio Fund will support the sector through equipment provision and training.

Strong presence and participation of WIN members at Pan African Conference

Nairobi, April 2005. AMARC WIN members participated at the 2005 Pan African Conference held in Nairobi Kenya from 18-23 April.

AMARC commemorates World Press Freedom Day

Montreal, May 3, 2005. AMARC together with media and freedom of expression organisations worldwide commemorated on May 3rd World Press Freedom Day.

AMARC Africa presents its new Web portals on African community radio

June 2005. AMARC announced it’s setting online of community radios in the African continent: Mecap FM, Niani FM, Radio Baniganse, Radio Khwezi and Radio Pougon.

Seminar on freedom of expression

Uruguay, May 27, 2005. The sub regional office of AMARC in Uruguay together with the offices of UNESCO in Montevideo and Quito, and the AMARC LAC’s Legislations and Communications Rights Program held the international seminar "Freedom of Expression, Media and Democratic Governance", May 26th in Montevideo.

Radio La Luna attacked

Ecuador, April 20, 2005. About an hour after midnight on April 20, unknown assailants fired on Radio La Luna while the Quito radio station was broadcasting minute-by-minute coverage of the street protests in the Ecuadorian capital.

Swaziland Celebrates Draft Media Policy

Swaziland, May 19, 2005. After six years of waiting, Lubombo Community Radio in Swaziland might finally receive a community radio licence.

Ghodaghodi FM Community Radio Station under attack

Nepal, May 20, 2005. AMARC Asia-Pacific has expressed grave concern over the Maoist attack on the Ghodaghodi FM Community Radio Station in the Kailali district in Far Western Nepal.

Community media in Europe

May 2005. On the legislative plan, one of the movement activities of community radio in Europe will be put into effect for the rewrite of "Television Without Borders" (TWB).

Cooperation North-South/Community Media

Jordan, April 2005. After many years on the Internet, Ammannet (Radio production centre based in Amman, Jordan) will finally have a frequency, which will emit an FM signal.

Grassroots Radio Conference and Barnraising

United States, May 2005. Hosted by Valley Free Radio, Free Press, and the Prometheus Radio Project, the Grassroots Radio Conference and the Prometheus Radio Barnraising will take place from August 4 to 7, in Northampton, MA.

Posted by Evelin at 02:23 AM | Comments (0)
Reflections About Classical Adlerian Theory, Practice, and Life by Henry T. Stein

Please see this message from Henry T. Stein:

I invite you to visit my new personal web log, "Reflections About
Classical Adlerian Theory, Practice, and Life," at
http://alfred-adler.blogspot.com. Every few days, I'll be adding
brief quotes, comments about the progress of publishing and research
projects, new training opportuntities, interesting resources, useful
software, and humor. You may leave questions or comments about each
posted message. Please visit often--I think you'll find the web log
informative and entertaining.

==============================================
Henry T. Stein, Ph.D., Director
Alfred Adler Institutes of San Francisco & Northwestern Washington
Distance Training in Classical Adlerian Psychotherapy
Web site: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/hstein/
E-mail: HTStein@att.net
Tel: (360) 647-5670

Posted by Evelin at 02:01 AM | Comments (0)
Economist and Businesswoman Jacqueline Novogratz: We Need to Move Away from "Them and Us" Thinking

Experts in design, technology, and entertainment have gathered in Oxford to share their ideas about our futures.
TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) is already a top US event.
It is the first time the event, TED Global, has been held in Europe.
More than 300 leading scientists, musicians, playwrights, as well as technology pioneers and future thinkers have gathered for the conference which runs from 12 to 15 July.

Please read the entire article at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4676751.stm

...

Developing world economist and businesswoman Jacqueline Novogratz brought Professor Dawkins' thinking into focus, arguing that we need to fully engage with "developing worlds" to move away from "them and us" thinking.

"The world is talking about global poverty and Africa in ways I have never seen in my life," she said.

"At the same time I have a fear that the victories of G8 will see that as our moral absolution. But that is chapter one; celebrate it, close it and recognise we need a chapter two - a 'how to'.

"The only way to end poverty is to build viable systems on the ground that can deliver services to the poor in ways that are sustainable," she said.

Former Afghan finance minister Ashraf Ghani added that globalisation was "on speed" and needed real private investment and opportunities to flourish.

"Events of 7/7 and 9/11 remind us that we do not live in three different worlds; we live in one world."

He criticised the West for being only concerned with design issues that affect them, and solving environmental problems for themselves.

"You are problem solvers but are not engaging in problems of corruption," he told TED Global delegates.

"You stay away from design for developments. Your designs are selfish; it is for your own immediate use.

"We need your imagination to be brought to bear on problems the way meme is supposed to. It is at the intersection of ideas that new ideas and breakthroughs occur."

...

Please read the entire article at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4676751.stm

Posted by Evelin at 03:18 AM | Comments (0)
AfricAvenir News, 10th July 2005

AfricAvenir News are kindly sent out by Eric Van Grasdorff:

Liebe Freunde,

Für viele Kulturveranstalter und NGOs ist die Sommerpause alles andere als eine erholsame Zeit. AfricAvenir seinerseits steckt in den Planungen für die kommenden Monate. Die Weiterführung der Filmreihe, wissenschaftliche und literarische Veranstaltungen und weitere Seminare und Workshops stehen an. Als gemeinsames Projekt von AfricAvenir in Douala und in Berlin ist nun die Anthologie der deutschen Schriften von Prof. Kum' a Ndumbe III. erhältlich, die als theoretische Basis für die Arbeit AfricAvenirs gelten können.

AFRICAVENIR NEWS

Prinz Kum’ a Ndumbe III: Anthologie der deutschen Schriften
AfricAvenir und Exchange & Dialogue präsentieren die Anthologie der deutschen Schriften von Prinz Kum’ a Ndumbe III. Mit der Vorbestellung der 11-bändigen Anthologie unterstützen Sie auch die Etablierung eines neuen und unabhängigen Verlags (Exchange & Dialogue), der besonders afrikanische Autoren fördert. http://www.africavenir.com/exchange/publishing/anthologie.php

Student Paper: Development as Discourse
Paper written by AfricAvenir member Daniel Bendix. It tries to examine development as discourse and to understand the systematic ways in which the Western developed countries have been able to manage and control and, in many ways, even create the Third World. http://www.africavenir.com/publications/student-papers/index.php

Eric Van Grasdorff: African Renaissance and Discourse Ownership in the Information Age - The Internet as a Factor of Domination and Liberation
LIT Verlag, Reihe: Politikwissenschaft

Bd. 116, 120 S., 14.90 EUR, br., ISBN 3-8258-8247-0
The information revolution is transforming the world, especially the industrialised world. But what are its implications for the implementation of an African renaissance? Based on a Foucaultian analytical framework this book argues that the Internet has become a major Western instrument of domination in Africa. By extending the reach of Western hegemonic discourses, the Internet adds another dimension to Western discursive power. However, by allowing for the active participation in the process of naming the world, the Internet also affords unprecedented means of transcending dependency. http://www.lit-verlag.de/isbn/3-8258-8247-0

Ann Kathrin Helfrich: Afrikanische Renaissance und traditionelle Konfliktlösung - Das Beispiel der Duala in Kamerun
LIT Verlag, Reihe: Politikwissenschaft

Bd. 118, 200 S., 19.90 EUR, br., ISBN 3-8258-8352-3
http://www.lit-verlag.de/isbn/3-8258-8352-3

WEITERE VERANSTALTUNGEN UND TIPPS

Vershave: Tod eines unermüdlichen Kritikers des Neokolonialismus
Am 29. Juni 2005 ist François-Xavier Vershave, Spezialist der französisch-afrikanischen Beziehungen und unermüdlicher Ankläger der französischen Machenschaften im „post-Unabhängigkeit Afrika“ gestorben. Dank der von ihm gegründeten Organisationen Agir Ici (Hier handeln!) und Survie (Überleben), hat es Vershave geschafft, in breit angelegten Aktionen und Publikationen die Bevölkerung von den Verbrechen der „Françafrique“ zu informieren. Seine Bücher: La Françafrique – Le plus long scandale de la République (1998), Noir Silence (2000) und Noir Chrirac (2002) sind zu Klassikern der globalisierungskritischen Literatur geworden. http://www.arenes.fr/auteurs/fiche-auteur.php?numero_auteur=8

Afrikanische Kriegsveteranen zwischen öffentlichem Gedenken und schmerzlichen Erinnerungen
Am Donnerstag, 14. Juli, 19.30 Uhr, findet ein Vortrag mit Diskussion (Buchpremiere) Von und mit Prof. Dr. Brigitte Reinwald, Universität Hannover zum Thema Reparationen für erzwungene Kriegseinsätze statt. Die bis heute nicht eingelösten Forderungen afrikanischer Veteranen nach Gleichstellung mit ihren französischen Kameraden in Fragen der Alters- und Invaliditätsrenten machen deutlich, dass dieses Kapitel der französischen Kolonialgeschichte noch nicht abgeschlossen ist. VeranstalterIn: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung und Zentrum Moderner Orient Berlin
Infos: Claudia Schulz, Zentrum Moderner Orient Berlin, Fon 030-80 30 72 21, zmo-pr@rz.hu-berlin.de; Margarete Tanzmann, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, tanzmann@boell.de
Details: http://www.boell.de/calendar/viewevt.aspx?evtid=1228

INISA: "Kollektive Verantwortung für nachhaltige Entwicklung"
Vom 15.-17. Juli 2005 führt die Initiative Südliches Afrika (INISA) zusammen mit dem Arbeitnehmerzentrum Königswinter (AZK) ein Seminar zum Thema "Im Blickpunkt Afrika: Kollektive Verantwortung für nachhaltige Entwicklung" durch.
Im Mittelpunkt steht die Fragestellung, welche Rolle afrikanische Institutionen bei der Konfliktlösung und Entwicklung in Afrika haben, bzw. welche Herausforderungen es für diesen Prozess gibt. www.inisa.de

Initiative in Gedenken an Oury Jalloh, Berlin/Dessau
Vor einem halben Jahr verbrannte Oury Jallow in einer Polizeizelle von Dessau in Sachsen-Anhalt. Sein Tod und die weiteren Ereignisse seit dem 7. Januar geben eine Ahnung davon, was hinter den Mauern der Polizei und denen des Schweigens normal und alltäglich ist. http://www.thevoiceforum.org/oury/junipress

New: Voltaire Network auf Arabisch, English and Spanish
Seit Juni 2005 gibt es Réseau Voltaire, eine der qualitative hochwertigsten unabhängigen Zeitungen Frankreichs auch auf Arabisch, Englisch und Spanisch. Gegründet 1994 als Initiative für die Pressefreiheit hat sich Réseau Voltaire zu einem Observatorium der neuen Rechten in Frankreich entwickelt und hat sich seit 1999 auch internationalen Fragen zugewandt. Réseau Voltaire ist investigativer und kritischer Journalismus auf höchstem Niveau. http://www.voltairenetwork.net/

Gedenkzug zum Maji-Maji Aufstand: Am 27.8. ab 16 Uhr, Gedenkzeremonie 19 Uhr auf dem Schlossplatz
Am 20. Juli 2005 jährt sich zum 100. Mal der Ausbruch des Maji-Maji-Krieges im heutigen Süd-Tansania, des wegen der hohen Opfer unter der Zivilbevölkerung schrecklichsten aller deutschen Kolonialkriege, der aus einem Aufstand gegen zahlreiche Zwangsmaßnahmen des deutschen Kolonialregimes hervorging. Zum Gedenken an dieses Datum, zugleich aber als genereller Aufruf zur Auseinandersetzung mit deutscher Kolonialgeschichte und dem fortdauernden Rassismus gegen schwarze Menschen organisieren der Umoja wa Watanzania Berlin / Brandenburg e.V. und die Werkstatt der Kulturen einen rituellen Gedenkzug von der Wissmannstraße zum Schloßplatz, wo anschließend eine Gedenkzeremonie durchgeführt wird. Dieser rituelle Gedenkzug ist eine inszenierte und geprobte Veranstaltung – keine Demonstration. Regie führt der renommierte Theaterregisseur Carlos Medina. Für diesen Gedenkzug suchen die Veranstalter interessierte Mitwirkende. Kontakt (ab 1. August): Tel. 60 97 70-0; heinz.raether@werkstatt-der-kulturen.de). www.werkstatt-der-kulturen.de

Susan Arndt/Katrin Berndt (Hg.): Kreatives Afrika
SchriftstellerInnen über Literatur, Theater und Gesellschaft, Peter Hammer Verlag, 524 Seiten, broschiert, ISBN 3-7795-0028-0, € 24,90
Was tut sich in Afrika wirklich? Was passiert an den spannenden Orten, im Theater, in der Literatur, in der politischen Diskussion? Es ist schwer, das kulturelle Treiben einzufangen, wenn man von Europa aus schaut. Denn noch immer ist der Blick getrübt von Klischees, die so alt sind wie der transatlantische Sklavenhandel. Susan Arndt und Katrin Berndt lassen darum die Protagonisten zu Wort kommen Afrikanische Autoren und Autorinnen, Theatermenschen – also die Kulturschaffenden selbst – verlassen ihr angestammtes Metier der Fiktion und treten mit der ihnen eigenen Leichtigkeit als Essayisten auf. Sie erzählen von sich und ihrer Arbeit, analysieren die Geschichte, den Zustand und die Zukunft ihres Schreibens, ihres Spiels, ihrer Ideen. Essays von Nurrudin Farah (Somalia), Susan Kiguli (Uganda), Lewis Nkosi (Südafrika), Alain Patrice Nganang (Kamerun) und vielen anderen werden ergänzt durch Beiträge von namhaften deutschen Afrika-Experten wie Ulli und Georgina Beier, Leo Kre utzer und János Riesz.
http://www.peter-hammer-verlag.de/

ISS Website: The Southern African Information Portal on Corruption - ‘IPOC’
IPOC provides Anti-Corruption practitioners (in government and the private sector), researchers, policy makers and civil society activists - concerned with combating corruption in Southern Africa - with 'an entry point’ into anti-corruption activities in the region. Civil society anti-corruption organisations signalled the need for such a portal as far back as 2002 in a meeting in Zimbabwe and the ISS Cape Town Anti-Corruption project is attempting to meet this demand by broadening the scope of the document database previously made available on the ISS website. http://www.ipocafrica.org/

ISS Website: Who Funds Who in South African Politics
Triggered by the glaring absence of a provision for the regulation of private funding of political parties in South African law, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa) initiated this web-based resource, the first of its kind on the African continent. This is envisaged to inform the policy debate into the private funding of political parties in South Africa. http://www.whofundswho.org.za/

South African History Online: The Wankie Campaign: The ANC's First Armed Military Operation: July - September 1967
This mini-thesis tells the story of the African National Congress (ANC's) first armed military operation and its Luthuli Detachment. The latter joined forces with the Zimbabwean African People's Union (ZAPU) and crossed the Zambezi River on 31 July 1967 into Rhodesia. Their mission was twofold: the ANC's military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) would embark on a long march home...
http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/specialprojects/menu.htm

African Intellectuals - Rethinking Politics, Language, Gender and Development
This volume explores the relationship of African intellectuals to nationalism and the Pan African project; the indigenous language question; women intellectuals; and the role of the hugely growing African academic diaspora. It assesses the interface between African intellectuals and society, state and politics in the context of the restoration of multi-party politics, changing economic policies, and renewed Pan African awareness. http://africavenir.com/news/2005/06/142/african-intellectuals-rethinking-politics-language-gender-and-development#more-142

Call for Papers: Transcultural Modernities: Narrating Africa in Europe
International Conference, Frankfurt University, Germany – June 1-3, 2006
Whereas in recent years the creative output of Africans living in Europe has received increasing interest from the media and in academia, little critical attention has been paid to the manner in which the narrative modes in these Euro-African works give expression to or are an expression of their creators’ transcultural realities. This conference responds to this need for reflection by scrutinizing how creative work explores issues such as home, migration, and diaspora, and how these explorations in turn contribute to the emergence of specific modern realities. http://web.uni-frankfurt.de/fb10/ieas/abt/nelk/euro-afric/

www.AfricAvenir.org
Wollen Sie Fördermitglied von AfricAvenir International e.V. werden?
Kontaktieren Sie Ann Kathrin Helfrich, Fon: 030-80906789, a.helfrich at africavenir.org

Redaktion des Newsletters: Eric Van Grasdorff, e.vangrasdorff at africavenir.org
AfricAvenir International e.V. ist nicht für die Inhalte externer Webseiten verantwortlich.

Posted by Evelin at 02:48 AM | Comments (0)
UNESCO Register of Good Practices in Language Preservation

UNESCO Register of Good Practices in Language Preservation

In accordance with its mission to protect and promote cultural diversity, and in particular to encourage the safeguarding of endangered languages as an essential part of the living heritage of humanity, UNESCO calls for submissions to its online 'Register of Good Practices in Language Preservation' under the Endangered Languages Programme. We are interested in collecting reports on both ongoing and past projects.

PURPOSE:
The purpose of this Register is to identify and collect reports concerning efforts in language preservation, as a means to facilitate the dissemination of Good Practice knowledge, expertise and experience in this area, and thus to encourage future application and adaptation worldwide. To this end, we ask speaker communities, governmental and non-governmental organisations, and related experts to share their good experiences in the preservation, revitalisation and promotion of endangered languages with a wider public, via our Good Practices database.

Registry in this database is also meant to ensure the visibility, recognition, and accessibility of the projects entered (the UNESCO portal recording over 10 million hits on average every month).

SUBMISSIONS:
We solicit the submission of case reports on any form of community-based projects concerning language preservation,
- e.g. reports on local/ regional projects in education, revitalisation, standardisation, community development, awareness raising, capacity building, documentation, use of new technologies, etc.
(Note: These can be projects that do not focus on language exclusively but include language as one aspect among their concerns)

For submission, please use the form and the guidelines available on the Register website of the UNESCO Endangered Languages Programme:
http://portal.unesco.org/culture/goodpractice

Submissions will be reviewed by UNESCO experts prior to web publication to ensure consistency.

Your participation is greatly appreciated – it helps establish a valuable service of knowledge transfer in language preservation, for future efforts and projects worldwide that safeguard language diversity as an important aspect of our living heritage.

Best regards,
The Endangered Languages Programme Team
Intangible Heritage Section
UNESCO
1 rue Miollis, F-75015 Paris, France
Fax: +33.1.45.68.57.52
E mail: ling.diversity@unesco.org

Posted by Evelin at 02:37 AM | Comments (0)
The Common Ground News Service, July 12, 2005

Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
July 12, 2005

The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) is distributing the enclosed articles to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If publishing, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org.

**********
ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION:

1. "Why the bombings in London are not the work of 'Islamic' terrorists" - Daily Star Editorial
This editorial from the Daily Star, examines London's metropolitan police commissioner comment on the recent bombs: "the culprits certainly were not Islamic terrorists, because Islam and terrorism simply don't go together."
(Source: The Daily Star, July 8, 2005)

2. "Iraq, post-Nazi Germany, and preventative diplomacy" by Hady Amr
Hady Amr, former National Director for Ethnic Outreach for Al Gore's Presidential Campaign and author of "The Need to Communicate: How to Improve U.S. Public Diplomacy with the Islamic World", raises concrete suggestions that the United States can take to improve the situation in Iraq based on reflections of American involvement in Germany following WWII.
(Source: Search for Common Ground, July 3, 2005)

3. "Why the US and Iran love to hate each other" by Scott Peterson
Scott Peterson, staff writer for the Christian Science Monitor, considers whether the hatred between the United States and Iran actually stems from their similarities.
(Source: The Christian Science Monitor, June 29, 2005)

4. "Film Review: The Arabian Dream by Neal AbuNab" by Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania, an award winning syndicated columnist, filmmaker, and humorist, reviews new film, "The Arabian Dream" in the larger context of Arab filmmaking and its impact on the American public.
(Source: Arab Media Internet Network (AMIN), July 5, 2005)

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ARTICLE 1
Why the bombings in London are not the work of 'Islamic' terrorists
Daily Star Editorial


When asked whether the simultaneous bombings across London yesterday were the work of Islamic terrorists, London's metropolitan police commissioner responded that there was not enough information yet to point fingers, but that the culprits certainly were not Islamic terrorists, because Islam and terrorism simply don't go together. He could not have been more accurate in his response. And such a fair and objective answer was especially welcome after Prime Minister Tony Blair said that the terrorists had acted "in the name of Islam," (although Blair admitted - almost as an afterthought - that most Muslims around the world would "deplore this act of terrorism.")

The truth is that no religion - including Islam - condones the killing of innocent people. Already, Muslim clerics and leaders as well as countless Islamic groups around the world have condemned the London attacks on moral, humanitarian and religious grounds. All agree that there is nothing Islamic about killing ordinary civilians taking the subway or bus to work or school. And there is nothing in the Koran or the Hadiths that could possibly condone such a deplorable and calculated murder. In fact, Islamic texts clearly condemn the killing of innocents. Such acts of terrorism are both morally reprehensible and in direct violation of Islamic teachings.

Some might naively argue that the terrorist attacks in London were a political response to Britain's involvement in the Iraq war. True, London has been fearfully bracing for such a possible backlash ever since the Madrid attacks of March 11, 2004. But there is no political message that can be conveyed or transmitted through brutality and violence. The perpetrators, whether they turn out to be fundamentalists or some other group, will fail to promote whatever political cause they pretend to espouse. The only message that they will successfully convey is that they have a passion for bloodshed and violence. While terrorists may hide their love of violence in political terminology, it is the satisfaction of an unquenchable appetite for mayhem that is their only recognizable and sincere motivation.

Sadly, the victims of their crimes are not only those who were killed or wounded or terrorized in London yesterday, but all Muslims, particularly those in the West, where they have been looked at with increasing discrimination and suspicion ever since September 11, 2001. Muslims will undoubtedly suffer even more discrimination in the wake of these latest attacks. In spite of the fact that all acts of "Islamic" terrorism blatantly contradict Islamic teachings, such acts serve to further distort the image of Muslims and Islam.

The ramifications of the terrorist attacks in London will undoubtedly be far-reaching and will be felt around the globe. They are also likely to further inspire a wave of international counter-terrorist cooperation between governments and security agencies, thus wasting valuable resources - time, money, but most importantly good will - that would have otherwise gone toward more productive endeavors.

###
*This editorial was published in the Daily Star.
Source: The Daily Star, July 8, 2005
Visit the Daily Star, www.dailystar.com.lb.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

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ARTICLE 2
Iraq, post-Nazi Germany, and preventative diplomacy
Hady Amr

Why does America's image continue to suffer in Muslim-majority countries? What are we doing wrong? Why do they still hate us? Polling has given us many answers, among them: "It's the policy, stupid."

But there's more to the story.

To see a new angle, I spent a week crisscrossing Germany, speaking about U.S.-Middle East policy. But often the discussion turned to the U.S. role in Iraq, and then, invariably the U.S. role in post-Nazi Germany.

What I heard did not shock me, but people spoke with such conviction, that I was left wondering if maybe we Americans should import some Germans to help us with our public diplomacy. It appears that the Germans also know a thing or two about post-war democratization - and how Americans did it right in Germany.

Here's the advice they gave, in five cities, five lectures, and plenty of discussions. The elderly members of the audience, the ones who were children during the Nazi era, said it best.

They said: "We came to love America because America was humble, because America wanted to help us grow. We were afraid of Stalinism; America offered an alternative vision and a way of getting there."

They said: "America succeeded because it made efforts to help reintegrate Germany into Europe. We wanted so much to be part of Europe again. America wanted to help us become who we wanted to be."

They said: "America succeeded because there were so many German Americans who wanted to see Germany democratic and because the American government seized on their skills and brought them over."

Iraq is very different from post-War Germany. But, there are parallel lessons from the above stories for today's Iraq and the broader Middle East, some of which the Bush Administration seems to understand, many they don't. First, we must understand that we should offer a practical alternative to terror: that America should support justice and democracy for the Middle East, which means encouraging systems where citizens directly elect their leaders on a regular basis, and finding a solution that makes both Israelis and Palestinians feel like they enjoy justice, security and prosperity.

Second, on Iraq specifically, we need to help reintegrate Iraq into the Arab World and make clear to the Arab World that we want to see it, whole, sovereign and integrated, not divided, subjugated, and weak as they feel now.

Third, we need to build civil society organizations from the ground up: ones that will at once be automatically and visibly associated with America, but also under the stewardship of Iraqis in Iraq, Egyptians in Egypt, Saudis in Saudi Arabia, etc. I'd vote for calling them Martin Luther King Institutes.

But there's more to the story: Mr. Jakob Kollhofer, the Director of the German American Institute in Heidelberg for the past several years put it this way: It's about creating institutions that promote face to face dialogue. After the War, the Americans created several such German American Institutes - then called American Houses - across the country.

Coming up on their 60th anniversaries in 2006, these institutes were first funded and run by the US, but then turned over to Germans in the 1980s when they became local NGOs. That's 40 years under direct American management, and now, 20 successful years, independent.

Here's Kollhofer's premise: "If they are talking, they are not shooting."

Here are his secrets to success. One: Talk about the issues that the people want to discuss and don't shy away from the tough issues. Lesson: If the Iraqis want to talk about democracy, talk about democracy. If the Arabs want to talk about Israel, talk about Israel.

Two: Bring the demonstrators in off the street and put them face to face with the policy makers they often hate. Kollhofer offered two modern examples. In the mid 1980s, at a time when Palestinian radical groups frustrated with America and Israel were hijacking planes in Europe, they invited sympathizers (no, not the radical groups, not even their support network, but their distant sympathizers) inside to talk with Americans about what they hated about America. The result was better acceptance of America. Kollhofer told a similar story about the recent war on Iraq. When the protestors were invited inside to meet with policy-makers, the protests ended. Lesson: Don't just work with the "moderates" in Iraq and the Arab World; work with the conservatives and Islamic groups, too (no, not militants, but perhaps their intellectual supporters).

Three: Invest heavily. After Hitler, America invested millions and millions of dollars in creating American centers in Germany. We need to do the same in Iraq and across the Arab world.

Taken together, this approach isn't just public diplomacy; it's what Kollhofer calls preventative diplomacy preventing misunderstandings from emerging in the first place.

###
* Hady Amr served as National Director for Ethnic Outreach for Al Gore's Presidential Campaign and is the author of "The Need to Communicate: How to Improve U.S. Public Diplomacy with the Islamic World" published by the Brookings Institution. hady@amr-group.com. This article is printed in partnership with Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH).
Source: Search for Common Ground, July 3, 2005.
Visit Search for Common Ground, www.sfcg.org
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

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ARTICLE 3
Why the US and Iran love to hate each other
Scott Peterson

Despite harsh rhetoric, some say Iran may be the most pro-US nation in the region.

TEHRAN, IRAN - The ritual burning of the US flag is not going to stop. Nor will the chants - especially on Iranian revolutionary anniversaries - of "Death to America." Unlike every other presidential candidate who hinted at a thaw in relations, to appeal to the majority of Iranians who say they want better US ties, hard-line president-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran "has no significant need" for the US.

But beneath the anti-US facade is a nation that has much in common with its stated nemesis - from an ambitious self-image and public reliance on the divine, to a habit of often defining itself in terms of its enemies.

In some ways, the duel is between two peoples who hold national pride and their own brand of manifest destiny above all else. The result is a clash over nuclear and national ambitions, which both might better understand if they held up a mirror.

Certain factions within Iran and the US have a "common mind-set," says Javad Vaeidi, editor of the conservative Diplomatic Hamshahri newspaper. "They look at the world in black and white; they think they have a duty from God and are on a mission ... and both people [Iranians and Americans] think they are emperor of the world."

In front of the mosque where Mr. Ahmadinejad prays every Friday, the perspective on the US as "Great Satan" is manifest by a large American flag painted on the street, where it is daily trampled upon.

"I painted it to confront despotism and authoritarianism," says Saleh, the bearded law student who put it there two years ago. "We know the identity of America. We know what is behind the screen."

Iranians do indeed know - and recognize - much about America, analysts here say. "The American people like this crazy man [Bush], because he says, 'I will defend and secure this nation,' " said Mr. Vaeidi in an interview done well before the current election. "Iranians are similar because they are willing to support any mad adventurer to keep their safety and security."

That dynamic alone can put Washington and Tehran at odds. But it is no secret here that the Iranian people may be the most pro-US nation in the Middle East.

A poll secretly commissioned by a parliamentary committee in 2002 found that nearly two-thirds of Iranians supported detente. That led to the jailing of one pollster who was, ironically, a student during the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and who helped plot the US Embassy takeover.

Americans are constantly greeted by Iranians on the streets with handshakes, kisses, and hugs. Declarations of warmth toward the American people are just as common. Still, this election prompted a new round of mutual taunts.

The Bush administration, which includes Iran in the "axis of evil," preemptively dismissed the vote as a sham, saying that power remained in the hands of unelected leaders who "spread terror across the world." Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld decried the "mock election," saying that Ahmadinejad is "no friend of democracy ... no friend of freedom."

Iran's supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, countered that the election - with nearly 60 percent turnout - taught the US a lesson. "Despite its babbling, your enemy is now humiliated deep inside," he said. A hard-line paper referred to "the bloodied face of Uncle Sam."

Some Iranians said Bush's comments prompted them to vote. Several winked when attributing Bush's words to "one hard-line theocracy helping out another."

"There are three ideological capitals, in Tehran, Tel Aviv, and Washington," says Saeed Laylaz, a political analyst. "They are apparently against each other, but they love each other. They need each other. We need a foreign enemy to control the country."

But Iranians draw other comparisons, too. Ayatollah Khamenei and Bush regularly invoke the power of God. "In terms of political discourse, Bush and [Iranian] conservatives are very similar - they try to use religious language for political targets," says Hamid Reza Jalaiepour, a political sociologist at Tehran University.

"In the US, having a system that thinks religiously is not bad.... I prefer people in the US who go to church," says Amir Mohebian, political editor of the conservative newspaper Resalat. "But war between these two peoples - who think they are acting on behalf of God - is not good.... War between believers is too dangerous."

Parallels would not appear to stem from national histories. Persia's proud imperial history stretches back 2,500 years and more; America's proud Puritan heritage dates back only a fraction as far.

"The people of America are great," outgoing President Mohammad Khatami told Newsweek in 2004. "And the essence of American civilization comes from the Puritan culture, which I greatly respect."

But both cultures have cherished independence, and yielded societies in which humble origins can turn to leadership. Iran's president-elect - only the most recent example - is the son of a blacksmith.

"Iran has an absolutist, cruel, dictatorial history, in which the ruler always destroyed the aristocracy," says Reza Alavi, an academic and former managing editor of the Harvard Middle Eastern and Islamic Review. "So you can easily find people who came from nowhere to high levels of power."

"As in the American mind, [there is] the same cultural value of success," says Mr. Alavi. The result is "an extreme individualism. That's why you find so many Iranians adjust so well to America. When they go there, they are like a fish in water."

But differences are pronounced, too. America is a largely law-abiding society, while Iran is not a country of laws. And widespread professions of faith in the US are quite different from those in Iran.

"The Bush crowd comes out of the revivalist movement, but in the West, that is a reaction to modern science, and never really succeeds because modern America and Europe are defined by science," says Alavi. "But in Iran, the traditional idiom has survived into the modern age, and religion is part of that.

"If an American does something wrong, he says, 'I'm sorry.' A Persian would say: 'God wanted it that way,' " he says. "It's so different when Mr. Bush says 'God' - it's a radically different articulation than when Mr. Khamenei says it."

And despite similar rhetoric of the "enemy," analysts say, comparisons have limits. "Here, the hard-liners live in an isolated world - they won't see foreigners, or hear them at all. They kill [dissidents], abuse human rights," says a Western diplomat. "In the US, you have a different class of hard-liner. [T]here is a belief ... in the power of freedom. Hard-liners here have a whole different set of values."

Still, Ahmadinejad has sought to temper his reputation. "In domestic policy, moderation will be the policy of the government," the president-elect said. And, he said, "Those in the US who want to have relations with Iran should state their policies transparently, so that we can examine the possibility."

But first, officials say, Iran expects to be treated as an equal - something the US has ruled out until its charges of terrorism and nuclear-weapons ambitions are cleared up.

Some draw parallels with the pro- Western rule of the shah, touted as an ally before being swept from power in 1979. Ties then were so close that the US helped plan Iran's original nuclear-power program.

"If the Americans have the right to become emperor of the world, Iranians think they have the right to be the emperor at least of their region," says Vaeidi. "If we can find the best way to bring these two hegemons together, it will be good.

"America recognized this role for the Shah's regime, but as an agent [of the US], not an ally," he adds. "If the US can consider Iran an ally, not an agent, it can work. The message to the American government is: You have to accept our existence."

###
*Scott Peterson is a staff writer for the Christian Science Monitor.
Source: Christian Science Monitor, June 29, 2005.
Visit The Christian Science Monitor, www.csmonitor.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright belongs to the Christian Science Monitor. For permission please contact Lawrenced@csps.com.

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ARTICLE 4
Film Review: The Arabian Dream by Neal AbuNab
Ray Hanania

Like many Arab Americans, Neal AbuNab is not satisfied with the quality of the films and documentaries that have been produced claiming to convey the Arab American perspective.

And he's not talking about the technical quality. He is rightly critical of the quality of the content.

"They don't tell a story. They are done very well, but they tend to focus on the message more than on just telling a story which is the essence of good writing, good scripting and good messaging," says AbuNab, a filmmaker based in Detroit who just completed his new film, "The Arabian Dream: A Tale of Arab Americans."

The fact is most documentaries that are produced focus too heavily on a political message. They are filled with irrefutable facts, but are weighed down by one-sided, poorly written scripts that push the political rhetoric more than the compelling tale.

That may work for Arabs actively engaged in the political dissertation and in debates and confrontations, but it doesn't work for Americans. As a consequence, most efforts to tell the Arab American perspective fail the most important test of success: will Americans listen and hear what is being said.

"To reach Americans, you have to tell them the story and focus on the story above everything," says AbuNab, who is also a newspaper columnist. "I think my film tells a story that Americans and Arabs and Muslims can hear and understand."

"We're no different than anyone else," explains AbuNab. "Our experience is their experience."

AbuNab may in fact represent a new kind of Arab American filmmaker, one who matches quality filmmaking with quality writing and content, something missing from most other efforts.

The film is an untraditional documentary combined with Hollywood style filming. It tells his perspective as a Muslim Arab who immigrated with his parents from Palestine to America, and shares the stories that he encounters around him, the Arab American experience. It tells the story of Arab American experiences in the wake of Sept. 11, but it goes way beyond.

In fact, we see that Hamad is very American and is today the Midwest Director of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) based in Detroit.
We also see the world through the eyes of many Arab Americans including Osama Siblani, publisher of the award winning Arab American News Newspaper, firefighter Don Unis, Imam Hisham al-Hussainy, businessman Samir Olabi, Judges Salem Salamey and Billy Shaheen and many others.

Among the many stories in the two-hour film is a consistent message of Arab Americanism, something that will ring solid during the Fourth of July celebrations.
AbuNab's family is from East Jerusalem, refugees of the Israeli occupation of the city. They moved to Ramallah and immigrated to America in 1979 where he immediately launched his businesses and also became active in the growing Arab American community in Dearborn and Detroit.

Says AbuNab in the film, "I'm more American than anything else now."
AbuNab also takes the viewer through the reality of the despondency of Detroit, which is burdened by economic hardships. The challenges facing the region's large African American community are an appropriate backdrop for the Arab American story and you quickly learn that many African Americans identify closely with the experience of Arab Americans.

Both are the victims of discrimination and a society that continues to pull them down rather than to help them stand up. Together, the two groups work together, a secret behind the success of Dearborn's Arab American community that is often not fully explored.

He touches on the inevitable discussion of the Arab Israeli conflict, but also puts it in a proper perspective when the focus is understanding the diversity of Arabs in America. Too often, the heaviness of the pro-Arab rhetoric turns off American sympathy.

In AbuNab's film, Americans will identify with Arab Americans and, in the end, with their just causes, too.

It would have been easy for AbuNab to satisfy the political hunger of the Arab American activists' circle which often dominates all things Arab American.
Instead, AbuNab reaches beyond the top layer that we often see and helps humanize the Arab American story.

Although the cast is set in Dearborn's and Detroit's Arab American experience, "The Arabian Dream" is clearly a microcosm of the experience challenging Arab Americans throughout the United States.

###
* Ray Hanania is an award winning syndicated columnist, filmmaker, and humorist. He can be reached at www.hanania.com.
Source: Arab Media Internet Network (AMIN), July 5, 2005
Visit Arab Media Internet network, www.amin.org
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********
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Editors:
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Amman Editor

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Beirut Editors

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Washington Editor

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Youth Views Editor

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Posted by Evelin at 02:32 AM | Comments (0)
International Forum on the Social Science-Policy Nexus (IFSP), 5-9 September 2005

International Forum on the Social Science-Policy Nexus (IFSP), 5-9 September 2005 - News

Workshops

Over 100 workshops have been organized around the four key themes of the Forum.
The list can be consulted on line at:
www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp/workshops

Participation fees:
Preferential rates have been established for groups (15 persons maximum):
International organizations and institutions: US $750
NGOs and associations: US $150

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Please consult the Forum’s website FAQ’s where you will find new information in response to questions you may have
www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp/faqs
Registration
The deadline for registration is 15 August 2005. The forms can be found on line at:
www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp/form_participants

We look forward to your participation in the Forum.
IFSP Programme Secretariat
E-mail: ifsp@unesco.org
Website: www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp

***************************************************

Foro Internacional sobre el Nexo entre la Ciencia Social y la Política (IFSP), 5-9 de Septiembre de 2005 - Novedades

Talleres
Más de 100 talleres han sido organizados acerca de los 4 temas claves del Foro.
La lista de los talleres puede consultarse en línea en el sitio:
www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp/workshops_es

Derecho de inscripción
Se han establecido tarifas especiales para los grupos (máximo 15 personas por grupo):
Organizaciones e instituciones internacionales: US $750
ONG y asociaciones: US $150

FAQ’s
Sírvase consultar la página “FAQ’s” en el sitio del Foro. Allí encontrará nuevas informaciones, y respuestas a vuestras potenciales preguntas.
www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp/faqs_es

Inscripción
La fecha límite de inscripción es el 15 de agosto de 2005. El formulario de inscripción en línea se encuentra disponible en el sitio:
www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp/form_participants_es

Esperamos contar con su participación.
Atentamente,
El secretariado del Programa MOST / IFSP.
E-mail: ifsp@unesco.org
Sitio web: www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp

***************************************************

Forum International sur les interfaces entre Politiques et Sciences Sociales (IFSP), 5-9 septembre 2005 - Actualités

Ateliers
Plus de 100 ateliers ont été organisés autour des quatre thèmes clés du Forum.
La liste des ateliers peut être consultée en ligne sur le site :
www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp/workshops_fr

Frais de participation
Des tarifs préférentiels ont été établis pour les groupes (15 personnes maximum) :
Organisations et institutions internationales : US $750
ONG et associations : US $150

Questions/Réponses
Veuillez consulter la page « Questions/Réponses » sur le site du Forum. Vous y trouverez de nouvelles informations en réponses à vos éventuelles questions.
www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp/faqs_fr

Inscription
La date limite d’inscription est fixée au 15 août 2005. Vous trouverez le formulaire d’inscription en ligne sur le site :
www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp/form_participants_fr

En espérant pouvoir compter sur votre participation,
Le Secrétariat du Programme MOST / IFSP
Courriel : ifsp@unesco.org
Site web : www.unesco.org/shs/ifsp

Posted by Evelin at 09:07 AM | Comments (0)
A Remedy Required Around the World: Dignity

A Remedy Required Around the World: Dignity
Exploring the Larger World of Suffering and Well-Being

The Boston Sunday Globe

December 6, 1998
Public Health


Editor’s note: Before he died in the Swissair Flight 111 crash off the coast of Nova Scotia in September, AIDS researcher Jonathan Mann penned an essay on dignity. It was designed to commemorate the 50th anniversary Thursday of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. What follows are excerpts from that essay, Mann's last written work which will be published in full in the upcoming edition Health and Human Rights, an international journal

In appreciation of the role of dignity in creating, sustaining and constraining health is currently on the cusp of thinking in both public health and human rights. For it is increasingly evident that violations of dignity are pervasive events with potentially severe and sustained negative effects on physical, mental, and social well-being.

Just as in the microbial world, in which new discoveries - Ebola virus, hantavirus, toxic shock syndrome, Legionnaire's disease, AIDS - have become the norm, so exploration is needed in the larger world of human suffering and well-being.

Injuries to individual and collective dignity may represent a hitherto unrecognized pathogenic force with a destructive capacity toward physical, mental, and social well-being at least equal to that of viruses or bacteria. Clearly, much remains to be discovered in the world of human suffering.

What then is dignity? First, it is clearly of vital individual and societal importance. People and societies spend considerable energy in the daily effort to protect, enhance, and sustain their dignity.

To illustrate: In organizations, minor perceived slights easily escalate into severe interpersonal problems; questions of precedence on lists, in seating arrangements, and in the distribution of material and symbolic rewards are endowed with enormous significance because they are understood as measures of status. Thus, "saving face" is a widely felt concern that gives rise to complex societal patterns of behavior.

In this respect, the verb to "diss," meaning to disrespect, describes a sufficiently recognizable and commonplace phenomenon in American life to warrant its entry into mainstream language.

Lacking a broadly useful or widely accepted definition of dignity, an exercise was developed to explore dignity by focusing on its violation. This exercise was repeated among undergraduate and graduate students, adult participants in health and human rights courses, and in discussions with anthropologists, sociologists, and bioethicists.

Participants were asked to recall a situation in which they felt that their personal dignity had been violated. Without exception, such events were readily remembered. Participants were asked to describe what happened and then to speak about how they felt when the event occurred. The following tentative proposal: distilled from these inductive discussions, are intend to serve as initial explorations into a profoundly important "terra incognita" of dignity and health.

Dignity seems to follow from two components, on internal (how I see myself) and the other external (how others see me). The common denominator is the fact being seen and the perceived nature, or quality, of this interaction.

The sense of personal dignity involves a dynamic process having both internal and external component While the extremes clearly exist - as when someone there sustains dignity, despite powerful external negative forces, or lacks dignity, despite strongly favorable external perceptions - for most people the interplay between internal and external elements seems constant fluid, and susceptible to rapid change.

A provisional taxonomy (or classification system) dignity violations emerges from these discussions of personal experience. These include: "not being seen" being subsumed into a group identity; invasion of personal space; and humiliation.

"Not being seen" occurs when people feel they have not been recognized or sufficiently acknowledged. For example, if a physician or a teacher does not signal awareness of our presence (by ignoring us or, in Western societies, by refusing to make eye contact or shake hands), dignity is threatened. The physician's office is frequently mentioned as a site for such occurrences; people report feeling disregarded and unheard in that setting. At the extreme, guards in prisons and concentration camps have allegedly been instructed to look at inmates only in the center of their forehead and never in their eyes. "Not being seen" seems to be a common form of dignity violation.

A second category of dignity violation involves being seen, but only as a member of a group. For example, many women cite situations in which they were told they should, or should not, do something simply because they are women, irrespective of their individual skills, capacities, or interests. Thus, to be told, "As a woman, you should not enter this or that profession" ignores individuality in favor of a group categorization. This often carries both pejorative overtones and practical implications.

Yet even if the group classification is a source of pride - as an African-American, a Frenchman, a Jew, an Englishwoman - the dignity-injuring element remains because individual character is denied and subsumed entirely into a group identification.

A third class of injuries to dignity results from violations of personal space. Each culture defines an invisible space around the self (and for parts of the body) that, if entered without permission, may injure dignity.

A slap to the face violates dignity, and its impact on well-being may go far beyond the usually trivial physical injury; rape is an extreme example of this violation. With permission, however, personal space can be entered without any loss of dignity, as in loving physical intimacy or in the context of professional medical or psychiatric care.

Humiliation, a fourth type of dignity violation seems to involve being distinguished and separated from the group or from a social norm. To be singled out for criticism (particularly in front of a group), or to have one's singularity emphasized, may evoke humiliation. Trivial examples include a child being told to sit in the corner at school; the recognition that one dressed either too formally or too informally for an occasion or applauding at the "wrong" moment during a concert.

In the context of discussion by participants about dignity during this exercise, the emotional reactions precipitated by the violations were drawn forth. Strong, sometimes overpowering emotional responses were regularly evoked and described. These include shame, anger/rage, powerlessness, frustration, disgust, a feeling of being "unclean," and hopelessness.

Not only were these feelings vividly remembered, but the act of recalling them restimulated the emotions attached to the event. Injuries to dignity that occurred decades earlier continued to evoke powerful emotions. ...Participants in the discussion described above sustained wounds to well-being even though they generally lived in dignity-affirming environments. Occasionally, lapses of dignity were experienced as memorable.

Given this, the impact on health for people living in an environment characterized by severe, sustained, institutionalized, and repetitive violations of individual and collective dignity is likely to be substantial

Future health professionals may look back at the current limited and narrow understanding of health and wonder how we could have missed seeing violations of dignity as sources of injury to well-being. How could we have missed seeing methods of strengthening dignity as therapeutic avenues? Dignity's meaning of human suffering may be as evident in the role of HIV in causing AIDS is today.

The 50th anniversary celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be honored at the Francois-Xavier Banged Center for Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of Public Health, on Huntington Avenue in Boston, on Dec. 14.

Posted by Evelin at 07:41 AM | Comments (0)
London Bombs Need Calm Response by John Simpson

London bombs need calm response
by John Simpson
BBC world affairs editor
at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4671577.stm

Last Monday, when I wrote here that it was going to be quite a week, I didn't know the half of it.

I thought it would all be about the G8 summit at Gleneagles and the announcement of the 2012 Olympics.

Last week the single most-used word on the main search engines of the world was 'London'.

Now that the bombs have exploded, and thousands of newspaper pages and entire days of air time have been devoted to the horror of it all, and to the poor, decent people who are dead and missing, and to the misguided criminals responsible, perhaps we can stand back from it all and catch our breath.

... please read the entire article at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4671577.stm

Posted by Evelin at 06:57 AM | Comments (0)
New UN High Commissioner for Refugees: António Guterres

High Commissioner António Guterres

Mr. António Guterres joined the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on June 15, 2005, succeeding Mr. Ruud Lubbers of the Netherlands. A former Portuguese prime minister, Mr. Guterres was elected by the UN General Assembly to a five-year term and is the UN refugee agency's 10th High Commissioner.

As High Commissioner, he heads one of the world's principal humanitarian agencies, with more than 6,000 staff in over 115 countries providing protection and assistance to some 17 million refugees and others of concern. The UN refugee agency's total budget for 2005 is more than $1 billion.

When Mr. Guterres first arrived at UNHCR, he told staff members he was joining the agency with conviction, humility and enthusiasm. "Conviction because I truly believe in the core values of this office and I want to struggle to make them prevail all over the world. Humility because I have a lot to learn, and will be depending on all of you for that. Enthusiasm because I would not be able to choose a more noble cause to fight for."

Before joining UNHCR, Mr. Guterres spent more than 20 years in government and public service. He served as the Portuguese prime minister from 1996 to 2002, during which he spearheaded the international effort to stop the atrocities in East Timor. As president of the European Council in early 2000, he co-chaired the first EU-Africa summit and led to the adoption of the so-called Lisbon Agenda. He also founded the Portuguese Refugee Council in 1991, and was part of the Council of State of Portugal from 1991 to 2002.

From 1981 to 1983, Mr. Guterres was a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, as well as chairman of the Committee on Demography, Migrations and Refugees. In addition, he has been active in Socialist International, acting as the organisation's vice-president from 1992 to 1999 before taking over as its president till June 2005.

Mr. Guterres was born on April 30, 1949 in Lisbon and educated at the Instituto Superior Técnico, where he is an invited professor.

He is married and has two children.

Posted by Evelin at 02:41 AM | Comments (0)
AfricAvenir News, 10th July 2005

AfricAvenir News are kindly sent out by Eric Van Grasdorff:

Liebe Freunde,

Seit 37 Jahren schreibt Prinz Kum' a Ndumbe III. Essays, Erzählungen, Theaterstücke, wissenschaftliche Analysen und politische Streitschriften in deutscher Sprache. Seit 37 Jahren harren diese Schriften jedoch in Deutschland der Veröffentlichung. Dies obwohl Prinz Kum' a Ndumbe III. einer der gefragtesten Afrikaexperten ist!

AfricAvenir und Exchange & Dialogue haben sich nun entschlossen, diese Bücher in Form einer Anthologie zu publizieren. Mit der Vorbestellung der kompletten Anthologie, bestehend aus 11 nummerierten und signierten Büchern, ermöglichen Sie nicht nur eine spätere größerer Auflage der einzelnen Bücher, sondern unterstützen auch die Gründung des Verlags Exchange & Dialogue, der sich zum Ziel gesetzt hat, afrikanische Autoren in Deutschland zu verlegen.

Anthologie
Die Schriften von Prinz Kum' a Ndumbe III. erlauben uns einen Blick in die Welt eines kulturellen Grenzgängers. Traditioneller König in Kamerun, Politikwissenschaftler, Schriftsteller, in Europa und Afrika gleichermaßen zuhause - Prinz Kum' a Ndumbe III. Analyse aktueller Entwicklungen auf dem afrikanischen Kontinent, aber auch sein Blick auf die europäisch-afrikanischen Beziehungen und die Entwicklungen der deutschen Gesellschaft sind ungewöhnlich und vielschichtig, fordernd und versöhnlich.

Ab sofort kann die Anthologie, bestehend aus 11 signierten und nummerierten Büchern (Titel siehe unten) zum Sonderpreis von 158€ vorbestellt werden.

Mit der Vorbestellung der kompletten Anthologie ermöglichen Sie nicht nur die spätere Herausgabe einer größeren Auflage der einzelnen Bücher, sondern unterstützen die Etablierung des Verlags Exchange & Dialogue. Dieser hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt, Werke afrikanischer Autoren und Afrika-zentrierte Analysen zu publizieren.

Bestellungen an: e.vangrasdorff@africavenir.org
Bankverbindung:
Exchange & Dialogue
Deutsche Bank AG
BLZ: 100 700 24
Konto: 954 512 001
Kennwort: Anthologie + Name

Prinz Kum‘ a Ndumbe III
Prinz Kum’ a Ndumbe III ist traditioneller König in Douala/Kamerun, lehrte als promovierter Historiker und Germanist und habilitierter Politikwissenschaftler an den Universitäten von Lyon II in Frankreich, Yaoundé I in Kamerun und am Otto-Suhr-Institut für Politikwissenschaft der FU Berlin. Er war langjähriger Präsident des Schriftstellerverband Kameruns und Vize-Präsident des Schriftstellerverbands zentralafrikanischer Staaten. Seine Bücher sind in Französisch, Deutsch, Englisch und Duala verfasst. Er gründete im Jahre 1993 und leitet heute noch AfricAvenir, eine Stiftung für Entwicklung, internationale Zusammenarbeit und Frieden in Douala. Unter seinem Impuls gründete eine deutsche Gruppe AfricAvenir International e.V. in Berlin. Er lebt in Berlin und in Douala. [Mehr Informationen]

Titel der Bücher

Theater

* Lumumba II., ein Stück in IX Szenen, Juli 1968
* Ach, Kamerun, unsere alte deutsche Kolonie! Ein Dokumentarstück in X Szenen, Januar 1970
* Kafra-Biatanga, Tragödie Afrikas, Ein Stück in XI Szenen, Februar 1970
* Das Fest der Liebe – Die Chance der Jugend, Ein Stück in XII Szenen, März 1970

Briefe, Gedichte und Erzählungen

* Ich klopfte an deiner Tür, Zeitzeugnisse in Briefen, Gedichten und Erzählungen, 1987-2004

Essays und Reden zu Geschichte, Politik und internationalen Beziehungen

* Wettkampf um die Globalisierung Afrikas - An die Mitbürger der Einen Welt im anbrechenden 21. Jahrhundert – herausfordernde Reden zur Begegnung, Band I, 1988-2003

Essays und Reden zur Kultur und zum Kulturdialog

* Afrika ist im Aufbruch, Afrika ist die Zukunft– An die Mitbürger der Einen Welt im anbrechenden 21. Jahrhundert – herausfordernde Reden zur Begegnung, Band II, 1982-2000

Analysen und Sachbücher zur Geschichte, Politik und zu internationalen Beziehungen

* Krisenprävention. Ein möglicher Weg aus Krieg und Genozid – Alternativen für die Entwicklungszusammenarbeit. Fallbeispiel: Die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit in Ruanda, 1996
* Afrikanische Germanistik und die Entwicklungsfrage in Afrika, 1989
* Kamerun und das II. Reich – Wie Deutschland in Kamerun seine Kolonialmacht aufbauen konnte 1840-1903 , 1970
* Südafrika und Deutschland, Internationale Beziehungen in der Nazizeit und in der Apartheidära 1933-1977, 1978

www.AfricAvenir.org
Wollen Sie Fördermitglied von AfricAvenir International e.V. werden?
Kontaktieren Sie Ann Kathrin Helfrich, Fon: 030-80906789, a.helfrich@africavenir.org

Redaktion des Newsletters: Eric Van Grasdorff, e.vangrasdorff@africavenir.org
AfricAvenir International e.V. ist nicht für die Inhalte externer Webseiten verantwortlich.

Posted by Evelin at 02:14 AM | Comments (0)
Global Gender Gap

Measuring the Gender Gap

The World Economic Forum has developed a benchmarking tool to measure the size of the gender gap in nations (taking into account five critical areas:  economic participation, economic opportunity, political empowerment, educational attainment, and health and well-being).

The ten countries with the highest rankings are (scale of 1 to 7):

1.  Sweden
2.  Norway
3.  Iceland
4.  Denmark
5.  Finland
6.  New Zealand
7.  Canada
8.  United Kingdom
9.  Germany
10.  Australia

The ten countries with the lowest rankings were:
49.  Venezuela
50.  Greece
51.  Brazil
52.  Mexico
53.  India
54.  Korea
55.  Jordan
56.  Pakistan
57.  Turkey
58.  Egypt

To read the full report, Women's Empowerment: Measuring the Global Gender Gap, please see:
www.weforum.org/gendergap

Posted by Evelin at 01:37 AM | Comments (0)
Reflections on the London Bombings from Conciliation Resources and International Alert

Reflections on the London Bombings from Conciliation Resources and International Alert

Dear Colleagues and Friends

As London-based organizations dedicated to conflict transformation and peacebuilding, we wish to add our voice to the condemnations from the city, country and the wider world to yesterday's attacks on the people of London.

We write both as people who, like everybody else in this city, have been affected by yesterday's violence, and as people professionally engaged with finding constructive and principled responses to acts of violence and armed conflict around the world. Our daily work involves supporting people for whom the impacts of inexcusable atrocities are a regular experience. We therefore send our deepest sympathy to those who have lost loved ones in the attacks, and at the same time we want to look beyond the bombings to the problems that they grow from.

There is no justification for indiscriminate attacks on innocent people. At the same time it is essential that the investigation of these crimes is handled in a way that respects the law, human rights and the diversity of London's communities.

An effective response to the atrocities of the 7th of July, one that both upholds human rights and promotes peace, would not only investigate these specific crimes and attempt to guard against them in the future. It would also ask about the causes of the crimes and seek to address these with equal commitment.

Our work in situations of armed conflict around the world reminds us of the human face of violence. However difficult, it is essential to connect with that humanity and to understand the complex reasons behind extreme choices. Only then can we find responses that are capable of breaking the cycles of violence and hatred.

More specifically, we have to understand the connections between the criminal acts of a very few people, and the deep anger and sense of injustice felt by millions of people, not least in the Middle East. To prevent acts of terrorism, we need to understand the ground from which it grows.

In a week that began with international society contemplating the necessity and possibility of making poverty history, we wish to suggest that part of creating a just world is making peace possible.

For this we need to redress deficiencies in basic living conditions, in security and in respect for human rights that mar much of the world. Prosperous western societies are too often actively complicit in perpetuating those injustices or passive and silent.

A new global consensus is growing based on the following principles:

- Respect for people and the rule of law, including human rights and international humanitarian standards;
- Just relationships between our nations, such as are embodied by the demand for fair terms of international trade;
- Constructive and creative political engagement with marginalized and radicalized groups within our global community;
- An improved capacity for peacebuilding and conflict transformation to bring an end to the violent internal conflicts that bedevil the world.

London is a microcosm where people of strikingly different backgrounds, cultures and beliefs live side by side in peace. As we grieve with those who are suffering, let us draw upon the richness of our diverse society to find new ways of dealing with old conflicts.

Yours sincerely

Andy Carl, Director
Conciliation Resources

Dan Smith, Secretary General
International Alert

Posted by Evelin at 12:52 AM | Comments (0)
Au Pérou, les victimes du Sentier lumineux attendent toujours l aide de l Etat

Au Pérou, les victimes du Sentier lumineux attendent toujours l'aide de l'Etat

LE MONDE
20.06.05
LIMA correspondance

Démunis de tout, les Péruviens ayant fui le terrorisme attendent depuis longtemps des réparations. Dans les années 1980, au moins 600 000 Péruviens ont tout abandonné pour fuir la terreur que faisaient régner les guérilleros du Sentier lumineux dans leur campagne.

"Je ne retournerai pas dans ma ferme, avoue Maria dans un sanglot. Jamais..." La seule évocation d'un éventuel retour dans sa communauté d'origine suffit à terroriser cette Péruvienne de 49 ans. Maria a pourtant quitté la région d'Ancash, dans le centre du pays, il y a plus de dix-sept ans, mais les souvenirs de cette époque ne l'ont jamais quittée. "On vivait dans la terreur, murmure la petite dame. Les terroristes du Sentier lumineux tuaient nos vaches, ils nous menaçaient sans cesse."

Des années 1970 à la chute du chef de la guérilla en 1992, les populations des campagnes ont vécu trois décennies d'horreur. Face aux violences du terrorisme et de la répression militaire, entre 600 000 et un million de Péruviens ont alors fui leurs contrées reculées pour rejoindre les villes de Lima, Abancay, Ayacucho ou Junin, selon la Commission pour la vérité et la réconciliation (2001), chargée d'enquêter sur cette période trouble du pays.

Maria et son mari se sont décidés le jour du 17e anniversaire de leur fils. "On a eu peur que les terroristes nous le volent, explique-t-elle. A cette époque, ils enlevaient tous les jeunes hommes et les embrigadaient ou les menaçaient pour qu'ils s'engagent à leur tour dans la lutte armée. En tout cas, ils ne revenaient jamais."

LOI SUR LES DÉPLACÉS

Maria est donc partie un jour de 1988 avec ses enfants et son époux en direction de Lima, laissant derrière elle sa ferme, ses champs, ses bêtes et l'ensemble de ses biens. Leurs seuls vêtements sur le dos, ils sont partis sans rien, comme tous ceux qui ont fui vers la ville. "On ne pouvait pas prendre de bagages pour ne pas éveiller les soupçons des terroristes qui surveillaient le village. Cela aurait été trop dangereux : ils nous auraient tués s'ils avaient su qu'on partait pour de bon" , se souvient Julia, 42 ans, qui a, elle, quitté Canete, dans le sud du Pérou, en 1980.

Une fois en ville, les choses n'étaient pas plus faciles pour les migrants. "Quand on est arrivé, on a beaucoup souffert, se rappelle Ana, qui a rejoint Lima en 1984, alors âgée de 12 ans. A Ancash, mes parents travaillaient la terre mais ici, en ville, on ne pouvait rien faire pousser. On n'avait donc rien pour manger." Les trois femmes et leurs familles ont alors fait comme la plupart des migrants et se sont installées aux marges de la ville, sur des terrains inoccupés.

Vingt ans plus tard, Maria, Julia et Ana vivent toujours sur ces mêmes terrains. San Juan de Lurigancho est devenu un des plus grands bidonvilles de Lima. Aujourd'hui, elles font partie de cette population de "déplacés" qui ont été reconnus victimes du conflit armé par la Commission pour la vérité et la réconciliation. A ce titre, elles devraient avoir droit à des réparations pour les préjudices subis. Réparations qu'elles réclament, comme tous les autres déplacés, en vain.

Un programme destiné à soutenir financièrement ceux qui retournaient dans leur commune a bien été mis en place en 1990, sous le régime autoritaire d'Alberto Fujimori, mais l'effet médiatique fut bien supérieur aux effets sur le terrain : seules 3,5 % des victimes auraient effectivement reçu cette aide de l'Etat.

"La question de la réparation des déplacés est complexe, car il est très difficile de séparer les gens qui ont fui les violences et ceux, nombreux, qui ont migré pour des raisons économiques, reconnaît Jaime Urrutia, à la Commission gouvernementale chargée des victimes du conflit. Aucune donnée n'existe pour l'instant, et il est impossible de savoir qui, combien et où ils sont. Or c'est la base de tout le processus." Pour pallier cette carence, un registre, prévu par la "loi sur les déplacés" de mai 2004, devrait être initié par le gouvernement. "La volonté est là, mais c'est un travail énorme qui ne fait que commencer" , insiste M. Urrutia. D'ici là, les victimes devront attendre.

TERRAINS OCCUPÉS

"Certains se demandent qui nous sommes pour être indemnisés, s'indigne Teofilo Orozco, président de l'Association des familles déplacées de Lima (Asfadel). Nous souffrons au quotidien de discriminations sociales dues à nos origines paysannes et ne trouvons pas de travail." Dès lors, pourquoi ne pas être retourné dans leur communauté après la déroute du Sentier lumineux ? Selon les autorités, 50 % des déplacés seraient rentrés, mais cela ne correspond pas à la réalité.

Beaucoup ont tenté de partir, avant de finir par retrouver leur lieu de refuge, estime M. Orozco. En l'absence de ceux qui ont fui, les terrains ont souvent été pris par d'autres et, là-bas aussi, il faut tout reprendre à zéro. Certains sont encore traumatisés par ce qu'ils ont vécu et refusent de repartir. Julia, elle, admet qu'elle reste à Lima pour ses filles, habituées à la capitale. "La vie serait pourtant plus facile loin de la ville, regrette-t-elle. Grâce aux champs, on pourrait au moins se nourrir.. Or, ici, si tu ne travailles pas, tu ne manges pas."

Aucune statistique officielle permet d'évaluer le niveau de vie des déplacés. Une chose est sûre, les 3 500 familles de l'Asfadel vivent dans le dénuement le plus total. "On souffre de faim, on n'a rien pour vivre, s'insurge Ana. Je veux que l'Etat répare les préjudices qu'on a subis car, en partant, c'est notre vie qu'on a laissée derrière nous."

Chrystelle Barbier

Posted by Evelin at 11:30 PM | Comments (0)
Global Conference: From Reaction to Prevention

Global Conference:
From Reaction to Prevention: Civil Society Forging Partnerships to Prevent Violent Conflict and Build Peace

The Global Conference on 19 – 21 July 2005 at UN Headquarters in New York will be the culmination of the three-year regional processes of global consultation, dialogue and research.

The 15 regional processes which have led to regional conferences and Regional Action Agendas will form the basis of a Global Action Agenda on the role of civil society in conflict prevention and peacebuilding, which will be presented to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The Global Action Agenda will be the basis for three days of working groups, workshops and panel discussions for the Global Conference’s 1000 participants, by invitation only, to determine the way forward in civil society conflict prevention.

Key aims of the Conference

1. To adopt a global and regional policy change agenda aimed at achieving a shift from reaction to prevention of violent conflict and obtain initial commitments from CSOs, the UN, regional bodies, and governments to that effect.

2. To develop a plan for implementing the Global Action Agenda including:

- A functional and effective network of local, regional and international civil society to mobilize action for prevention and peacebuilding
- Promoting improved interaction between CSOs, the UN and governments
- Increasing human, institutional and systematic capacities to prevent violent conflict
- Consolidating recognition amongst publics, policymakers and opinion formers of the legitimate role of CSOs in conflict prevention.

3. To increase awareness of the contributions and highlight the challenges faced by CSOs working on peacebuilding and prevention in their respective regions and local contexts.

Posted by Evelin at 11:17 PM | Comments (0)
Jordan to host AMARC 9

Press release
For immediate distribution

Jordan to host AMARC 9
Montreal, July 6, 2005. AMARC, the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters, is pleased to announce that Jordan will be the host country for the Ninth World Assembly of Community Radio Broadcasters. AMARC 9 will be a weeklong event in the second half of 2006. It is expected to bring together 300-400 community broadcasters from over 100 countries and all regions of the world.

Steve Buckley, President of AMARC, said: "We are delighted to be taking our next world conference to Jordan, a country which has made significant steps in opening up the airwaves to include community radio. Despite the continuing reluctance of some Arab world governments to respect human rights and to allow for real pluralism in the media, we see growing interest in and potential for community media in both North Africa and the Middle East."

AMARC 9 is to be hosted by pioneering Internet and FM broadcaster AmmanNet in partnership with media and journalism groups in Jordan and Palestine and with the support of the local authority in Aqaba and the Jordanian Audio-Visual Commission who recently commenced licensing local and community radio services in Jordan.

Daoud Kuttab, founder of AmmanNet, enthusiastically welcomed the decision: "Holding an AMARC global conference in an Arab country will act as a major catalyst to strengthen the creation of a legal, political and legislative environment that can encourage and support community radio in a region in which governments have monopolised the airwaves for tens of years."

The decision follows an open selection procedure in which proposals were also considered from Ghana and Argentina. The International Board of AMARC expressed appreciation to Ghana Community Radio Network and to AMARC's Latin American and Caribbean section for also submitting proposals to host AMARC 9.

AMARC is an international non-governmental organization serving the community radio movement in over 110 countries, and advocating for the right to communicate at the international, national, local and neighborhood levels.

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Comunicado de prensa

Jordania acogerá la AMARC 9

AMARC, la Asociación Mundial de radios Comunitarias, se complace en anunciar que Jordania será el país anfitrión de la Novena Asamblea Mundial de las Radios Comunitarias. AMARC 9 será un evento de una semana que se realizará en la segunda mitad de 2006. Se espera que reúna de 300 a 400 radiodifusores comunitarios de más de 100 países y de todas las regiones del mundo.

Steve Buckley, Presidente de AMARC, dijo: "Estamos contentos de hacer nuestra próxima conferencia mundial en Jordania, un país que ha dado importantes pasos en abrir las ondas para incluir la radio comunitaria. Pese a la reticencia de algunos gobiernos árabes en respetar los derechos humanos y permitir un real pluralismo en los medios, vemos un creciente interés y potencial para los medios comunitarios en el Norte de África y en el Oriente Medio".

El anfitrión de la AMARC 9 será AmmanNet, radiodifusor pionero del Internet y de la banda FM en Jordania, en asociación con grupos de medios y de periodistas tanto de Jordania como de Palestina. También contará con el apoyo de la autoridad local de Aqaba y de la Comisión Audio visual de Jordania. Esta última ya ha comenzado a otorgar licencias a radios locales y comunitarias en Jordania.

Daoud Kuttab, fundador de AmmanNet, acogió con entusiasmo la decisión: "La realización de la Conferencia Mundial de AMARC en un país árabe será un elemento catalizador para reforzar la creación de un contexto político y legislativo que favorezca y apoye las radios el desarrollo de los medios comunitarios en una región donde los gobiernos han monopolizado las ondas durante decenios".

La decisión culminó un proceso de selección abierto en el que se consideraron también propuestas de Gana y Argentina. El Consejo Internacional de AMARC expresó su apreciación a la Red de Radios Comunitarias de Gana y de la sección latinoamericana y del Caribe de AMARC por sus propuestas de acoger la AMARC 9.

AMARC es una organización internacional que está al servicio del movimiento de las radios comunitarias. AMARC conecta más de 3 000 miembros en más de 110 países. AMARC apoya, defiende y promueve los intereses de las radios comunitarias a través de acciones solidarias y de la cooperación internacional.

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Communiqué de presse
Pour distribution immédiate

La Jordanie sera le pays hôte de l'AMARC 9

Montréal, juillet 6, 2005. L'Association mondiale des radiodiffuseurs communautaires, AMARC, a annoncée aujourd'hui que la Jordanie sera le pays hôte de la neuvième Assemblée mondiale des radiodiffuseurs communautaires. L'AMARC 9 sera un événement d'une semaine qui se tendra dans la deuxième moitié de 2006. On s'attend à recevoir entre 300 et 400 radiodiffuseurs communautaires de plus de 100 pays et de toutes les régions du monde.

Steve Buckley, président de l'AMARC a dit : " Nous sommes contents d'amener notre prochaine conférence mondiale en Jordanie, un pays qui fait des pas significatifs d'ouverture des ondes à la radio communautaire. Malgré les réticences des gouvernements du monde arabe de respecter les droits humains et de permettre un pluralisme réel dans les médias, nous percevons un intérêt grandissant et des potentialités certaines pour les médias communautaires en Afrique du Nord et au Moyen-Orient.

L'organisation jordanienne hôte de l'AMARC 9 est le radiodiffuseur pionnier sur l'Internet et sur la bande FM, AmmanNet en partenariat avec des groupes de médias et de journalistes autant de la Jordanie que de la Palestine. Il comptera sur le soutien de l'autorité locale d'Aqaba et la Commission Audio-visuelle de la Jordanie. Cette dernière vient de commencer à octroyer des licences aux radios communautaires et locales en Jordanie.

Daoud Kuttab, fondateur d'AmmanNet, a accueilli avec enthousiasme la décision " La tenue de la Conférence mondiale dans un pays arabe sera un catalyseur majeur qui encouragera et appuiera la radio communautaire dans une région où les gouvernements ont monopolisé les ondes pendant des décennies ".

La décision a suivi un processus de sélection ouvert qui a également considéré les propositions du Ghana et de l'Argentine. Le Conseil international de l'AMARC a exprimé son appréciation au Réseau des radios communautaires du Ghana et à la section Amérique latine et Caraïbes de l'AMARC pour avoir soumis des propositions en vue d'accueillir l'AMARC 9.

AMARC est une organisation internationale non gouvernementale servant le mouvement de la radio communautaire qui dessert plus de 3000 membres dans plus de 110 pays. AMARC vise à soutenir, défendre et favoriser les intérêts des radiodiffuseurs communautaires par la solidarité et la coopération internationale.

Posted by Evelin at 10:39 PM | Comments (0)
V International Human Rights Colloquium

V International Human Rights Colloquium

Applications for the V International Human Rights Colloquium have started the 1st July! The V Colloquium will be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, from 8 to 15 October 2005. This year’s theme is the “South-South Dialogue to Strengthen Human Rights”. The primary objective of the Colloquium is to strengthen new leadership and to enhance the capacity of human rights activists to improve the performance of their own organizations.

In addition to your potential interest in participating, we hope that you will help in disseminating the announcement to those who may be interested. We are sending you an electronic version of the announcement. Please feel free to forward it to others. Application to the Colloquium can be made directly online on the website www.conectas.org/coloquio or through an offline application. All applications will be reviewed by an independent selection committee. The application period is now open and the deadline for receipt of application is August 1st 2005. The result of the selection process will be publicized on the Conectas site (www.conectas.org) on August 15. For more information, write to: conectas@conectas.org .

The Colloquium is organized by Conectas Human Rights and the Sur-Human Rights University Network. The V Colloquium is co-promoted by the Catholic University of Sao Paulo (PUC-SP) and mainly supported by the Ford Foundation, United Nations Foundation, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), among others.

Thank you very much for your assistance and please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Cordially,
Executive Secretariat,
V International Human Rights Colloquium

Posted by Evelin at 10:32 PM | Comments (0)
Press Release from Ada Aharoni on the 5th IFLAC Conferene

PRESS RELEASE from Ada Aharoni:

ANNOUNCING

5th IFLAC PAVE PEACE CONFERENCE
Ayres Hotel, LA. California Dates: August 3-6, 2005

IFLAC PAVE PEACE, The International Forum for the Culture and Literature of Peace, organizes this interdisciplinary conference. IFLAC is a network of women leaders, peace researchers, writers, poets, educators, journalists and media, working together to foster joint cooperation and understanding in our global village. The conference will bring together experts and participants from a broad range of fields, to discuss the impact of the cultural and literary dimensions for promoting the paving of a global Culture of Peace, which would creatively “pave” and promote a world beyond war.

There will be: Panels, Roundtable, Workshops, Research Papers, Peace Stories and Poems, as well as International Cultural Feasts in the Evenings. The major themes to be examined and discussed at this exciting and innovative conference will include the following: * Women and Peace, * From A War Culture To A Peace Culture, * Conflict Resolution Through Culture and Literature, * Pluralistic Cultural Identity in an Era of Globalization, * The Communications Revolution and its effects on Culture, * Creation of a Peace Culture in the Media, * Peace Education through Literature, * Suicide Bombing and the Possibilities of A Peace Culture As A Means to Combat it. * Can NGO's like IFLAC, and "Gather the Women," and others, Influence World Governments and Institutions to Promote Peace in the World?

MEDIA SPONSORS: WomensRadio, Sister Space Radio, and Global Peace Solution TV.
The Global Peace Network will be chairing a panel on "The Communications Revolution and its Effects on Culture.”

For further information, please visit:
www.iflac.com/ada
www.iflac.com

We are keenly looking forward to welcoming you at the IFLAC Conference.
Congress President: Dr. Ada Aharoni, ada at tx.techion.ac.il

Posted by Evelin at 09:47 AM | Comments (0)
Delphic Games Re-Launch Supported by IIPSGP

Thomas Daffern sends us the following press release:

The International Institute for Peace Studies and Global Philosophy

announces it will be working with others to relaunch a parallel

Delphic Games

focusing on culture, arts, music, dance, poetry, fashion, education, literature, theatre, philosophy, creative pursuits of peace etc.

as an international eisteddfod for peace based on the ancient Delphic Games

further details from Thomas Daffern

www.educationaid.net

Posted by Evelin at 08:57 PM | Comments (0)
Cora Weiss and Betty Reardon Among the 1000 Women Nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize

Dr. Betty A. Reardon, Founding Director of the Peace Education Center and the academic concentration in peace education at Teachers College Columbia University and of the International Institutes on Peace Education, is among the 1000 women recently nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

The group nomination, as noted in the attached press release, calls attention to the significance of the unrecognized daily, on-going work for peace of millions of women throughout the world.

In addition to her nearly fifty years of professional work in peace education, Reardon has for more than thirty years been an activist in the international women's peace movements. Many of her peace education publications such as "Education for a Culture of Peace in a Gender Perspective" have focused on the essential relationship between gender equality and peace. She has as well been active in the disarmament movement and it the development of disarmament education, as well as the human rights movement and in the development and dissemination of human rights education.

Her global peace education work, based on cooperation with peace educators in all world regions is being carried forward by the Peace Education Center through its International Network of Peace Education Centers, its consultancy services and peace education training of educators in various venues around the world. Several other nominees currently have work in cooperation with the Center. Among them are Dr. Loreta Castro of the Philippines, Olena Suslova of Ukraine, Rela Mazali of Israel, Suzuyo Takazato of Japan, Sister Mary Soledad Perpinan of the Philippines, Lalita Ramdas of India, Sakena Yacoobi of Afghanistan and Betty Burkes and Cora Weiss of the United States.

Further information about the Center and its projects is available at www.tc.edu/PeaceEd


Press Release embargoed until June 29, 2005

1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005

Oakland, California, USA, June 29, 2005 – 1000 women from more than 150 countries have been jointly nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005. As of today the names of the 1000 women can be found at www.1000peacewomen.org. The number 1000 is symbolic, as the 1000 nominated women represent innumerable women worldwide who are engaged in the cause of peace and human dignity.

Who are the 1000 peace women?

The nominated women commit themselves daily to the cause of peace and justice, often under the most difficult circumstances. They call for reconciliation and organize peace negotiations, they rebuild what has been destroyed in villages and cities, they fight against poverty and create new sources of income. They struggle for access to clean water, land and other resources. They care for those infected with HIV and give war orphans a home. They denounce violations of human rights and publicly condemn all forms of torture. They silently protest in public places and seek solutions to all forms of aggression.

They work in their own villages and regions, in organizations and universities. Some are members of their governments or are active on the international scene. To be nominated they had to fulfil stringent criteria, such as: sustainability of their work, integrity, the inclusion of all parties to a conflict, or being part of a wide network.

The 1000 women are leaders, they are beacons of hope for their people, they are demanding and do not give up. Their short biographies can be read at www.1000peacewomen.org.

Who are the US nominees?

Forty women were nominated. The states represented include California, Minnesota, Colorado, Massachusetts, Texas, Oregon, Georgia, New York, Hawaii, Vermont, Wisconsin, Michigan, Washington, DC, Connecticut, New Mexico, North Carolina, and New Jersey. Two individuals and one organization from Puerto Rico were nominated as well. The Boston area women are:

Roselle Bailey
Ellen Barry
Cynthia Basinet
Medea Benjamin
Rosalie Bertell
Elise Boulding
Charlotte Bunch
Betty Burkes
Linda Burnham
Mandy Carter
Kate Donnelly
Marta Drury
Terry Greenblatt
Roma Guy
Aileen Hernandez
Noeleen Heyzer
Sharon Hutchinson
Swanee Hunt
Yuri Kochiyama
Congresswoman Barbara Lee
Alice Hyman Lynch
Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney
Hadayai Majeed
Elizabeth “Betita” Martinez
Kate Michelman
Anne Firth Murray
Holly Near
Chris Norwood
Grace Paley
Betty Reardon
Jane Roberts & Lois Abraham
Dorothy Rupert
Andrea Smith
Barbara Smith
Candi Smucker
Susan Sygall
Mary Elizabeth Thunder
Kip Tiernan
Maria Varela
Cora Weiss

Puerto Rico:
Nilda Medina-Diaz
Maria Reinat-Pumarejo
Alianza de Mujeres Viequenses

A challenging idea becomes reality

The project began in 2003 as a Swiss initiative. Convinced that the commitment of women working for peace should be acknowledged and publicly acknowledged worldwide the idea soon became a project. Organized as an Association 1000 women for the Nobel Peace Prize and supported globally by the untiring work of coordinators and many volunteers in 20 different regions of the world. They were responsible for the identification and documentation of the women nominated in their regions. In January of this year the collective nomination of 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005 was sent to the Peace Prize Committee in recognition of the women's daily commitment to improving the lives of present and future generations. And today their names are made public.

The project has the support of the Swiss Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheline Calmy Rey, the support of UNIFEM and UNDP, and is under the patronage of UNESCO Switzerland. Several donor organizations have assisted the Association.

Profiling the 1000 women

The 1000 inspiring biographies will also be published as a book at the end of this year. Hundreds of journalists all over the world documented the women's work, their visions and their life stories. The book will serve as a resource for NGOs, governments, relief organizations, peace networks, women’s networks and agencies.

A travelling exhibit is planned as well. Texts and pictures documenting the 1000 women are assembled in a manner to make the exhibit easily accessible anywhere in the world.

An interactive online platform will enable the women to network and make their biographies readily available.

Academics have initiated research about the specific approaches of women who made peace work their life's work. The results of this research will provide valuable information to civil societies, international organizations, and governments.

The Nobel Peace Prize Committee

The Norwegian Nobel Committee will probably announce on October 14, 2005 who will receive this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Today’s publication of the 1000 women’s names by the Association 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005 is to serve the long-term public awareness of these women’s work and is not intended to influence in any way the decision of the Nobel Committee.

Press conferences worldwide

Press conferences to publicise the names of the 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005 are taking place from Fiji to California, from Germany to Brazil. Contact: Dr. Margo Okazawa-Rey, Director, Women’s Leadership Institute; Visiting Professor, Women’s Studies, Mills College, Oakland, CA 94613, Cell phone: +1 415 637 4263, E-Mail: mokazawa@mills.edu. Further information and media documentation at www.1000peacewomen.org.

The Project – in short

This year 1000 women from more than 150 countries are jointly nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The Association 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005 wants to publicize the wealth of strategies, procedures for conflict resolution and methods of negotiation that women all over the world develop in order to deal with the various socio-political issues and problems in their respective regions. In order to make 1000 inspiring biographies known to the public, a book about the 1000 women will be published and a travelling exhibit will be ready by the end of this year. An interactive online platform will enable the women’s networking and make their biographies readily available. The project needs financial support. Further information can be found at www.1000peacewomen.org.

Posted by Evelin at 08:50 PM | Comments (0)
AMARC 9 Announcement

AMARC 9 announcement

July 4, 2005. The International Board of AMARC is pleased to confirm that Jordan will be the host country for the Ninth World Assembly of Community Radio Broadcasters to be held 2006.

The decision follows an open selection procedure in which proposals were also considered from Ghana and Argentina. The decision took particular account of the geopolitical relevance of the location to the development of community radio; the potential contribution to the development of AMARC; accessibility to the widest possible range of participants; costs and prospects for raising funds; the competence and strength of the local partners; and the recommendations of previous AMARC conferences in Milan and Kathmandu on the need to further support community radio development in north Africa and the middle east.

The International Board also expressed appreciation to the Ghana Community Radio Network and to AMARC's Latin American and Caribbean section (AMARC-ALC), which presented the candidacy of Argentina. Members of the International Board recognised that there were merits in all of the proposals received. The International Board particularly noted the work that has been achieved by AMARC-ALC in strengthening the community radio sector in Latin America.

AMARC 9 is to be hosted by the pioneering Internet and FM broadcaster AmmanNet in partnership with media and journalism groups in both Jordan and Palestine and with the support of the local authority in Aqaba and the Jordanian Audio-Visual Commission which has recently commenced licensing local and community radio services in Jordan.

AMARC 9 will be a weeklong event in the second half of 2006. It is expected to bring together 300-400 community broadcasters from over 100 countries and all regions of the world.

Posted by Evelin at 02:49 AM | Comments (0)
AMARC at G8 Summit

AMARC at G8 Summit

AMARC's Simbani Africa news team are reporting all week from the G8 Summit In Scotland to bring an African perspective on the meeting of the leaders of The world's richest countries. In addition to filing online text and audio Reports at http://simbani.amarc.org there will a daily live 30 minute news bulletin broadcast on the Internet. It will transmit at 07.30 GMT from 5th to 9th July and will be available live and archived at www.amarc.org and www.g8radio.net

The Simbani Africa journalists, Chris Kgadima from South Africa and Fatoumatta Drammeh from The Gamba, arrived in Edinburgh on Friday to take part in Make Poverty History Radio, a one day FM and Internet broadcast live from the G8 protest march and rally that brought 250,000 people to Scotland. They will be filing reports all week for AMARC's international community radio network.

Posted by Evelin at 01:40 AM | Comments (0)
The Common Ground News Service, July 5, 2005

Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
July 5, 2005

The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) is distributing the enclosed articles to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If publishing, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org.

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ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION:

1. "Still being fooled in the Middle East?" by Rami G. Khouri
Rami G. Khouri, editor-at-large for the Daily Star, gives his analysis of Condoleezza Rice's talk in Egypt comparing the situation in the Middle East to the African-American movement in the United States and adds his own dose of rock and roll to the debate.
(Source: The Daily Star, June 29, 2005)

2. "Why the West must engage Islamists" by Aijaz Zaka Syed
Aijaz Zaka Syed, opinion page editor of The Khaleej Times in Dubai, makes an argument for the United States to begin to take Islamist parties in the Middle East more seriously, particularly in the context of free and fair elections.
(Source: International Herald Tribune, June 29, 2005 )

3. "Why the Middle East is turning to Asia" by Michael Vatikiotis
Michael Vatikiotis, a visiting research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore and frequent writer for the International Herald Tribune, considers whether new relationships between the Middle East and the Far East could introduce some desperately need fresh ideas into the peace process.
(Source: International Herald Tribune, June 24, 2005)

4. "A wall of protection" by Rajmohan Gandhi
Rajmohan Gandhi, a former member of the Indian Parliament and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, who teaches at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, looks to history for Muslim heros who can act as examples for the Muslim world, particularly with regards to the Israeli-Palestinian issue and its greater impact on the region.
(Source: Search for Common Ground, June 27, 2005)

YOUTH VIEWS
"Building Trust Across Cultures" by Marc Marrero
Marc Marrero is a student at Tufts University. He participated in the Soliya Arab-American intercultural dialogue program, and reflects on the shared commonalities and the possibilities of building trust between the two cultures.
(Source: Search for Common Ground, July 5, 2005)

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Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.


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ARTICLE 1
Still being fooled in the Middle East?
Rami G. Khouri

In important remarks last week at the American University in Cairo, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a powerful case for the promotion of democracy and liberty in the Middle East. I would like to praise her for what she said, but also urge her to think more deeply and honestly about some of the key issues she raised. The Cairo speech was all the more poignant because Rice alluded to the struggle for equality and freedom by African-Americans, something she speaks of with authority, given her family's experience in Birmingham, Alabama, one of the pivotal battle grounds in the American civil rights movement.

I have long studied and admired the American civil rights movement, and take great inspiration from it for the current struggle by Arabs for freedom, democracy, dignity and equality. I was fortunate to experience firsthand the climactic years of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, when I was a high school and university student in the U.S. I have written before about how the sentiments of Arabs today in the Middle East eerily mirror the sentiments of African-Americans then.

In Birmingham, Memphis, Atlanta, Greensboro and other places, African-Americans challenged an oppressive political, economic and social order, braving arrest, beatings and death by standing up to fire hoses, police dogs and other indignities and dangers. Individually and collectively, African-Americans rejected their dehumanizing subjugation, and peacefully challenged their country to give them their rights as citizens and human beings.

The condition of ordinary Arabs today is not exactly the same, but the sentiments that motivate Arabs to demand their humanity and their civic rights from their own governments closely echo the driving spirit of the American civil rights movement: to brave death in order to affirm life. In many countries, ordinary Arabs are mobilizing to confront their own governments, demanding a more equitable political and economic order. They also face immense dangers in challenging powerful state police systems. Many have died, been imprisoned, been beaten up, but they persist with the struggle, because life under the prevailing inequities and abuse of power is degrading and unacceptable.

Rice spelled out some of the specific criteria for democratic governance that the U.S. wants to promote in the Middle East. She specifically mentioned free and fair elections, and "governments that protect certain basic rights for all their citizens - among these, the right to speak freely, to associate, to worship as you wish, to educate your children, boys and girls. And freedom from the midnight knock of the secret police."

She also was honest enough to admit two important points on American values and policies of the recent past. The first was that "the United States was born half free and half slave. And it was only in my lifetime that my government guaranteed the right to vote for all of its people. There was a time, not long ago, after all, when liberty was threatened by slavery. The moral worth of my ancestors, it was thought, should be valued by the demand of the market, not by the dignity of their souls. This practice was sustained through violence. But the crime of human slavery could not withstand the power of human liberty."

The second point was about America's mistaken policy of supporting Arab autocrats for so many years. She said: "For 60 years, my country, the United States, pursued stability at the expense of democracy in this region here in the Middle East - and we achieved neither. Now, we are taking a different course. We are supporting the democratic aspirations of all people. Today, liberty is threatened by undemocratic governments. Some believe this is a permanent fact of history. But there are others who know better. These impatient patriots can be found in Baghdad and Beirut, in Riyadh and in Ramallah, in Amman and in Tehran and right here in Cairo."

But here is an awkwardness that Rice and her government must confront and resolve. For also in Baghdad, Beirut, Riyadh, Ramallah, Amman, Tehran and Cairo, and many other places throughout the Middle East, there is serious doubt about three aspects of America's new policy of promoting freedom and democracy: its motives, consistency and longevity.

The first doubt is whether Washington is motivated by a genuine appreciation of the Arab quest for human dignity and freedom, or a more expedient need to ring emotional rhetorical bells that camouflage the terrifying sound of trouble, even failure, in Iraq and other traumatized lands that have been visited by American storms, armies, furies and confusions.

The second doubt is whether the U.S. will promote democracy, equality and freedom consistently throughout the Middle East, or only in selected countries, where the process is easier or politically less contentious.

The third doubt is whether the U.S. will persist over the long haul, hand-in-hand with Arab democrats and freedom lovers, or only pursue these values as long as they serve its own current foreign policy interests.

Linked to this is a deeply complex and troubling issue of responsibility for one's actions. I am delighted that the U.S. now admits to its 60-year mistake in feeding Arab autocrats; but it is troubling that Washington feels it can simply admit culpability, and expect us who have suffered the traumas of those 60 years to change our attitudes toward the U.S. as instantaneously as the U.S. says it is changing its attitude to our condition.

Six decades of American-supported Arab autocracy, along with assorted parallel crimes by Israel, the Soviet Union and other culprits, have left deep scars, powerful distortions and a great deal of political deviance and violence in our societies. America may change its policies overnight, but our Arab societies will have a long, hard road to returning to normalcy. Six decades of errant governance have left us today riddled with killers and kidnappers, criminals and corrupt officials, beheading rooms, bomb-makers, child soldiers, massive urban
belts of unemployed men and women, hundreds of billions of dollars spirited abroad, and thousands of active and potential teenage suicide bombers.

We will get out of this mess, though, in the same manner that African-Americans vanquished their two centuries of inhuman suffering - by demanding and agitating for our human and civil rights; by writing and applying laws that promote equality; by challenging oppression, confronting killers and racists, respecting the consent of the governed and the rights of majorities and minorities alike; by speaking the truth as we know it; and by not being afraid to stand up to the police dogs or the police states. Arabs and Americans can gradually erase the debilitating consequences of six decades of mistaken policies by adopting a combination of consistency, perseverance and equal treatment of all countries and peoples.

On a slightly more personal note, when Rice was developing her talents
as an accomplished classical pianist and scholar in the 1960s, I traveled the more pedestrian road of newspaper journalism and enjoyed the great rock music of my generation. As I ponder her words today on promoting Arab democratic freedoms, I tap my feet in anticipation of better days. I and millions of other Arabs look forward eagerly to a possible era where Arabs and Americans work together for a new age of universal liberty, equality and human dignity, inspired by the heroism and triumph of the American civil rights movement. We can look in particular at the events of April 1963 in Birmingham, where African-Americans sang hymns in the face of police dogs, fire hoses, jail wardens and church bombers, giving the world a master lesson about the power of persistence and consistency in the struggle for human decency and universal values. Rice is right to invoke that lesson in addressing the challenge of freedom in Arab lands.

As I listened to Rice's moving rhetoric, I recalled the words that Pete Townshend of the rock band The Who wrote in 1969, in the song "Won't get Fooled Again," reflecting on what he saw as the unfulfilled promise of the youth "revolution" of the 1960s: "I'll tip my hat to the new constitution, Take a bow for the new revolution, Smile and grin at the change all around, Pick up my guitar and play, Just like yesterday, Then I'll get on my knees and pray, We don't get fooled again."

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* Rami G. Khouri writes a regular commentary for The Daily Star of Lebanon.
Source: The Daily Star, June 29, 2005
Visit the Daily Star at www.dailystar.com.lb.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

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ARTICLE 2
Why the West must engage Islamists
Aijaz Zaka Syed

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Three developments in the Middle East test America's claim to be championing democracy in the Muslim world: the elections this month in Lebanon, the postponed parliamentary polls in the Palestinian territories and the upcoming presidential election in Egypt.

How the United States chooses to respond to these democratic processes in the Arab-Muslim heartland may determine the future of America's relationship with the Muslim world.

When President George W. Bush vowed in his second inauguration speech to break with the traditional U.S. policy of backing authoritarian regimes in the Muslim world, he may have heralded a new era. Bush promised to support genuine democratic movements in the Middle East and elsewhere even if it meant dumping America's traditional friends and allies. Since then, Bush has repeatedly argued, rightly, that it is the suppression of democratic urges and rights that is at the heart of Muslim extremism.

Democracy may indeed be the cure-all for most problems confronting the Muslim world. But the question is, can the United States take the bold steps that are needed to give concrete shape to its promises? Can it allow democracy to take its natural course in the Muslim world, given that across the region, from Lebanon to Egypt, Islamists are emerging as a political force the West can no longer ignore?

Promotion of democracy in Muslim countries is likely to see the empowerment of those predominant political players who turn to Islam for inspiration and guidance in public life.

Earlier this month, Hezbollah, the powerful Shiite resistance movement that Washington condemns as a terrorist group, swept the elections in southern Lebanon. In the Palestinian territories, Mahmoud Abbas had to postpone parliamentary elections scheduled for next month when his Fatah party - Palestinians' sole political representative for half a century - realized to its horror that the Islamists of Hamas are set to dislodge it from power.

In Egypt, the corrupt and repressive regime of President Hosni Mubarak, under pressure from Washington to hold free and fair elections, has turned its ire on the Muslim Brotherhood. This powerful Islamist organization, with a massive support base in Egypt and elsewhere in Arab world, has been excluded from the elections in September for fear that it could wrest power from Mubarak.

If Bush were serious in his commitment to democracy, he would tell his "friends" in the Middle East to allow truly free and fair polls, even if that means Islamists coming to power.

As Islamists move to center stage in many parts of the Arab world, it's time that the United States and the rest of the Western world accepted the idea of dealing with them as legitimate representatives of the people.

In the past half century, the West has sided with tyrants as they victimized the Islamists. In Egypt, grave human rights abuses by successive regimes have been ignored by the West. In Algeria, the military prevented the Islamic Salvation Front from taking office after it swept the 1991 parliamentary elections - with the blessing of the West, which saw the rise of Islamists as a threat to its interests. The consequence was a decade-long civil war.

As democracy has been mocked elsewhere in the Islamic world, the West has consistently looked the other way. No wonder many Muslims blame the West for the suffering inflicted by their dictators. Yet Western leaders appear surprised when Al Qaeda extremists attack Western targets.

Washington's stance that Islamist groups like Hezbollah, Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood are terrorist organizations is out of sync with new realities of the region. Terrorists do not take part in elections and political processes, as Hamas and Hezbollah are doing. And the Muslim Brotherhood is the most popular grass-roots organization in the Arab world.

If Bush wants to usher in a new era of democracy and peace in the Muslim world, he should be prepared to deal with Muslims' genuine and legitimate representatives. He would do well to recognize the fact that Islamists are emerging as the leading political players in the Middle East and engage them as such.

###
* Aijaz Zaka Syed is the opinion page editor of The Khaleej Times in Dubai.
Source: International Herald Tribune, June 29, 2005
Visit the International Herald Tribune at www.iht.com.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********
ARTICLE 3
Why the Middle East is turning to Asia
Michael Vatikiotis


SINGAPORE Just as the United States is rethinking its approach to the Middle East, some people in the Middle East are starting to rethink their reliance on the United States - and they are turning to Asia for help.

The day after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a Cairo audience that Washington's pursuit of stability at the expense of democracy for the past 60 years had failed, a senior Egyptian diplomat told an audience in Singapore that a plethora of peace initiatives sponsored by the United States and Europe has left the Middle East "in a state of confusion" and that trying to buy democracy with development assistance was a "cheap, unethical bargain."

Muhammad Shaaban, an adviser to the Egyptian foreign minister, was
speaking at the inaugural meeting of the Asia-Middle East Forum. The meeting, held on Tuesday, was Singapore's brainchild and brought together officials from 21 Asian and 18 Middle Eastern countries to discuss shared political, social and economic concerns.

What began as an innocuous exercise in cultural exchange has assumed potentially significant political overtones. Just before the meeting, Singapore's senior minister and former prime minister, Goh Chok Thong, had traveled to the Middle East for face-to-face meetings with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel and the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas. In his opening speech, Goh said that while relations between the Middle East and the West have been historically difficult, "there are no deep historical, cultural, religious or ideological barriers preventing better relations between the Middle East and Asia."

Promoters of democracy in the Middle East will doubtless shudder at the idea of autocratic Arab states finding solace and refuge in soft-authoritarian Asia. Shaaban's belief that the process of democracy "should take root through evolution and not through revolution" resonates strongly in Asia, where democracy has been slow to evolve.

But there is no doubt that the peace process in the Middle East needs an injection of fresh thinking. Could this come from Asia?

Shaaban thinks the time has come to look east for peace solutions. "Asia is qualified to play a role," he told me. "We are the East, be it the Far East, the Near East or the Middle East. Our common experience with the West was colonialism, so we have more in common than we have with the West." A Saudi delegate said there was a need for genuinely neutral and disinterested parties to join the quest for peace and called Singapore's effort brave and timely.

But an Asian contribution to the single most important conflict confronting the world would require a significant rewiring of the diplomatic grid. China would need to weigh in with its newfound global clout. The United Nations would have to play a bigger role than it currently does, consigned as it is to the weaker corner of the current "quartet" with the United States, Europe and Russia.

Shaaban, a former ambassador in Europe and at the United Nations, says a fresh approach to making peace will need to start dealing with the problem without regarding all the players as security risks - without seeing everything through the lens of counterterrorism.

Yet this is precisely why Singapore, which has two large Muslim neighbors and has uncovered alleged plots to commit terrorism in the name of militant Islam, is so keen on engaging the Middle East. Behind this initiative lies a real desire to engage with the moderate Arab world. "Moderate voices are in danger of being drowned out by extremist voices," said Tommy Koh, a veteran diplomat who chaired the Singapore meeting.

Perhaps there is more. The Middle East has started looking to Asia for trade and expertise. Countries like Saudi Arabia feel mistrusted in the West, and now find the fastest growing markets for its oil are in China and India. Trade between the Middle East and Asia has expanded threefold in the past two years.

And in a small way, the format of the Singapore meeting has helped Middle East governments broach political change. Singapore officials say that initially the Arab states were unhappy about the idea of including business leaders, scholars and other opinion makers in the discussions. That they did so, at the urging of Asian countries, is a positive sign.

This may not amount to overcoming the "fear of free choices" that Rice believes should no longer justify the denial of liberty in the Middle East, but it does demonstrate Asia's ability to coax a modest amount of progress out of a troubled part of the world that has long been stubbornly resistant to change.

###
* Michael Vatikiotis is a visiting research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore and frequent writer for the International Herald Tribune.
Source: International Herald Tribune, June 24, 2005
Visit the International Herald Tribute at www.iht.com.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.


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ARTICLE 4
A wall of protection
Rajmohan Gandhi

On visits to Muslim-majority nations and in interactions with Muslim citizens elsewhere, I am often surprised at a lack of knowledge about real Muslim heroes.

One such was Abdul Ghaffar Khan of Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province, better known as Badshah or Bacha Khan, who died in 1988 in Peshawar, at the age of ninety-eight. This Pashtun opponent of British imperialism and Pakistani authoritarianism spent a total of twenty-seven years in prison, twelve during British rule and fifteen after independence.

One of his greatest achievements was to create the Khudai Khidmatgars, or the Serving Volunteers of God, a nonviolent army that for fifty years delivered the message of autonomy, unity, equality, and self-reliance to the Pashtuns and non-Pashtuns of the NWFP.

A devout Sunni Muslim who also cherished the pre-Islamic past of his land and proudly took guests to the Bamiyan Buddhas, Badshah Khan sent a son and, more significantly, a daughter to study in the West in 1931. Also, he was a close friend and political associate of my grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi. Thrice in the late 1930s he hosted Gandhi in the NWFP, and it is a remark that Gandhi made there in October 1938 that I would like to present in regard to Palestine/Israel today.

Referring, in the town of Tank, to Hindu and Sikh minorities living amidst Muslim majorities in the NWFP, Gandhi asked the Pashtun Muslims to "become a living wall of protection to their [non-Muslim] neighbors." Added Gandhi: "A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history." ( Speech of 31 October 1938 reported in Harijan, 19 November 1938)

A wall of protection was what Badshah Khan also desired for minorities, and what he and Gandhi again and again asked India's majority Hindus to offer to their Muslim neighbors.

The walls that today disfigure the Holy Land, encircling and confining Arabs in their own lands and dividing them from one another, reminded me of the different wall that Gandhi and Ghaffar Khan, whose wife Nambata lies buried in Jerusalem, sought to build.

Let me attempt to describe this different wall that Arabs and Muslims generally may seek to build today around the state and population of Israel.

Firstly, as distinct from the concrete walls that confine many Arabs today, this Muslim wall will be a human wall, consisting of numerous individuals believing in it.

Secondly, it will be a long, crescent-shaped wall, running from Turkey to Morocco, and taking in all the Muslim nations of the Middle East and North Africa.

Thirdly, it will be a confident wall, for the Muslims constituting it will be confident about the justice of the Palestinian demand for a fully independent Palestine with just boundaries with a sovereignty as complete as that of any other state in the region.

Fourthly, it will be a resolute wall, for the Muslims forming it will never yield their determination to secure a fully independent Palestine with just boundaries, or their determination to ensure a nuclear-free Middle East, where neither Israel nor Iran nor any other nation keeps or acquires any nuclear weaponry.

Fifthly, it will be a nonviolent wall, for those forming it will not bear any lethal arms, nor harbor any intent to kill Jews or Israelis.

Finally, it will be a wall of protection, and Muslims forming it will pledge themselves to protect every innocent Jew or Israeli, drawing inspiration from past periods when Muslim rulers and citizens protected Jews, according them rights not then available to Jews in Christian lands.

Many Arabs and other Muslims individually share these characteristics and thus already constitute a slender, fragile, and invisible fence of protection. The question is whether it can become a thick, strong, and visible wall.

There are at least three reasons why the concept of such a wall should not be rejected out of hand. One, since world intervention in respect of Palestine/Israel is not working, solutions will need to grow from the region. Two, since the world is not free from anti-Semitism, Muslims may wish to take the lead in ending it. Three, the concept will remind Muslims of the confidence and tolerance existing in their past.

As Gandhi said, "A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history." The mission today is peace and justice in Palestine/Israel.

###
* The writer, a former member of the Indian Parliament and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, teaches at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This article is published in partnership with the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).
Source: Search for Common Ground, June 27, 2005.
Visit the Search for Common Ground website at www.sfcg.org.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********
YOUTH VIEWS

Marc Marrero
Building Trust Between Cultures

Much of the mainstream media coverage throughout both the Middle East and the United States focuses on differences, whether they are cultural, political or societal between the two regions. Many of these differences have been highlighted during our dialogue, ranging from views regarding terrorism to societal attitudes regarding religion. While there is little doubt in my mind that in many respects, the Middle East and the United States have divergent sets of historical narratives, I would like to focus on areas where I feel the two regions may converge in the hope that this starting point can foster intercultural dialogue and understanding.

To begin with, there are minute yet important cultural convergences between the two regions. Despite a lack of support for US foreign policy, American movies are extremely well received in the Middle East. One Arab student commented during a dialogue session that "we don't like American movies, we love them." Dramatic Hollywood scripts aside, I found this very interesting, as American movies are essentially a reflection of certain core American values and beliefs. Americans believe in happy endings, clearly-defined good and bad guys, and romance. That Middle Easterners turn out in such large numbers for American films suggests at the most identification with these values, and at the very least a desire to see and experience these values through the medium of film.

Continuing along these lines, there is the cultural importance of education. In "Control Room," the documentary on Al Jazeera, the director of Al Jazeera comments that he wants to send his child to an American college to receive the best education possible. He also said he would take a job at Fox News in an instant if it were offered to him. These comments are reflective of the aspirations shared by Middle Easterners and Americans to educate their children to the best of their ability, to improve their quality of life and in essence to live out their dreams.

Yet it might surprise people if I were to say that politically there are continuities as well between the two regions. For as recent events in both Lebanon and Iraq have proven, the overwhelming majority of citizens in these two countries yearn for democracy. Many are even putting their lives on the line simply to vote and join protests. There are clear signals within the Middle East that highlight the desire for a political system based upon representation and equality, which are key facets of the American political system. This was an issue much discussed within our dialogue. Many Arab students felt that imposing democracy on countries would not work and would have little legitimacy among its own people or in the eyes of other nations. This distinction never occurred to me before the Soliya program, and I feel that it is not a distinction most Americans appreciate either. Despite this disconnect, both societies still view democracy as a positive form of government.

A second and yet dismaying point is the level of distrust politically between the United States and the Middle East. During the dialogue sessions, I constantly heard how the possible invasion of Iran and past invasion of Iraq, and indeed much of American foreign policy was based upon the principle of protecting and defending Israel. Such deep-seated distrust and anger shocked me, until I realized that American society experiences this exact same emotion with regard to the Middle East. Lebanon's political revolution may have been engineered to the benefit of Israel is the view of the Middle Easterner, just as Americans think that higher gasoline prices are the result of OPEC countries' greed. Thus, despite the fact that the anger is directed at completely different sources and manifests itself in completely different manners, the fact of the matter is that American and Middle Eastern societies have a great deal of distrust for each other. I am not immune to this distrust nor were the members of our dialogue. It is this distrust that was and still is for me the most distressing. It is this distrust that as individuals and as two distinct societies sharing one world, we must strive to put aside at least temporarily to have an honest discussion. For while much is different between the Middle East and America, one fact is for certain: our futures may very well be inexorably tied together whether we like it or not.

###
* Marc Marrero is a student at Tufts University. He participated in the Soliya program, an intercultural exchange program which brings Arab and American student leaders together on-line to discuss current issues in Western-Islamic relations.
Source: Search for Common Ground Commissioned Article, July 5, 2005
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.


**********
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We look forward to hearing from you, and welcome any questions, concerns, or comments you may have about this service. Please forward this message to colleagues and friends who may also wish to subscribe to the service. To subscribe, send an email to subscribe-cgnewspih@sfcg.org with subscribe in the subject line.

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Posted by Evelin at 05:19 PM | Comments (0)
AfricAvenir News, 3rd July 2005

AfricAvenir News are kindly sent out by Eric Van Grasdorff:

Liebe Freunde,

Bildung und Menschenrechte in Westafrika

Am Montag, 4. Juli 2005, 19.30 Uhr laden der GEW, die Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung und die Initiative Pro Afrika zu einem Informationsgespräch mit Gästen aus Burkina Faso. Die Veranstaltung wird von AfricAvenir unterstützt und findet in den Räumen der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung statt.

Hackesche Höfe, Rosenthaler Str. 40/41, 10178 Berlin (Galerie 5. Stock), eine Veranstaltung des GEW-Hauptvorstandes, der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung und der Initiative „Pro Afrika“.

Von „Meilenstein“ und „Durchbruch“ bei den Nord-Süd-Beziehungen ist die Rede nach dem angekündigten Schuldenerlass für einige der ärmsten Länder. So auch für Burkina Faso. Der Chef der Weltbank, Paul Wolfowitz, besucht in diesen Tagen das Land, das bei UN-Experten wegen guter Regierungsführung als vorbildlich gilt.

Halidou Quédraogo, Vorsitzender der afrikanischen Menschenrechtsorganisation UIDH ist da anderer Meinung: Burkina Faso leide unter einer Mafia-Regierung, so lautete sein Fazit bei seinem Deutschland-Besuch im Jahre 2000. Nun sind wir gespannt auf seinen Kommentar zu neueren Entwicklungen in Burkina Faso, auch zu den bewaffneten Konflikten in der Elfenbeinküste und den Wahlmanipulationen in Togo.

Ebenfalls anwesend ist eine Delegation der burkinischen Bildungsgewerkschaft SYNTER, die gegenwärtig auf Einladung der GEW deutsche Partner besucht. LehrerInnen sind in Burkina Faso das Rückgrat zivilgesellschaftlichen Engagements. In Kampagnen gegen Korruption, Rechtlosigkeit und Bildungsnotstand setzen sie sich oft gemeinsam mit ihren Schülern für eine bessere Zukunft ein. Darüber wird SYNTER-Generalsekretär Mamadou Barro informieren.

Für die GEW ist, wie ihr Vorsitzender Ulrich Thöne erläutern wird, die Kooperation mit KollegInnen aus Burkina Faso und ihrer Gewerkschaft ein Beispiel für einen konkreten Nord-Süd-Dialog, um sich gemeinsam im Rahmen der weltweiten Kampagne „Education For All“ für die Verwirklichung der internationalen Zielsetzungen (Dakar, Millenniumsziele) zu engagieren, die allen Mädchen und Jungen in allen Ländern bis zum Jahre 2015 eine qualitativ gute Bildung ermöglichen soll, ein Thema, das auch auf dem G8 Gipfel vom 6.- 8. Juli von Bedeutung ist.

Nach den drei einführenden Statements ist Gelegenheit für Fragen und Gespräche (für professionelle französisch- Übersetzung ist gesorgt). Über Ihr Interesse und die Teilnahme an dieser Veranstaltung, an der sich auch die Organisationen „AfricAvenir“ und „inwent“/ASA-Programm beteiligen, würden wir uns freuen.

Christoph Heise / Antonie Nord / Werner Kersting GEW-Hauptvorstand / Heinrich Böll-Stiftung / Initiative „Pro Afrika“

www.AfricAvenir.org
Wollen Sie Fördermitglied von AfricAvenir International e.V. werden?
Kontaktieren Sie Ann Kathrin Helfrich, Fon: 030-80906789, a.helfrich at africavenir.org

Redaktion des Newsletters: Eric Van Grasdorff, e.vangrasdorff at africavenir.org
AfricAvenir International e.V. ist nicht für die Inhalte externer Webs

Posted by Evelin at 12:42 PM | Comments (0)
Conscientious Objection and Counter Recruitment Resources

Dear friends,

Since I last wrote to you I have been working for several months gathering together an interfaith directory of documents and web pages about conscientious objection and counter recruitment.

Please share the following web pages with anyone on your mailing list who may be interested, especially parents of teens.

http://www.turntowardlife.org/co_resources.htm
The C.O. Resources page offers a wide range of information about conscientious objection and resistance to war, including my partially-completed workbook+book of readings, A Change of Heart, and also a link to a great talk by the late Susan Sontag on why to protest when it does not seem as though it will make a difference.

http://www.turntowardlife.org/library_of_conscience.htm
The Library of Conscience page focuses on specific individual and organizational declarations of conscientious objection, including a very interesting document from the UN on "the right not to kill."

http://www.turntowardlife.org/library_of_conscience.htm

As always, your comments and suggestions are most welcome.

Thanks,

Dennis Rivers
rivers at newconversations.net

Posted by Evelin at 09:14 PM | Comments (0)
Bullying Times

Bullying Times

Just a reminder to let you know that I still publish a monthly newsletter with items on workplace bullying, school bullying, stress, PTSD and psychiatric injury, media requests, conferences, new books, and more.

Due to the increasing use of firewalls and anti-spam software I've had to stop distributing my newsletter by email. Instead, you can read each monthly edition online at http://www.bullyonline.org/news/index.htm

Search engine visibility of Bully OnLine

For most people, discovering Bully OnLine at www.bullyonline.org is a turning point in their lives. Google ranks web sites by the number of links to that web site, so to ensure people can find Bully OnLine easily in the search engines, I'm asking everyone who owns a web site, or who has influence over a web site, to please include, or ask to have included, the following links to:

Bully OnLine at http://www.bullyonline.org

The Serial Bully at http://www.bullyonline.org/workbully/serial.htm

Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at http://www.bullyonline.org/stress/ptsd.htm

Many thanks,

Tim Field
www.bullyonline.org
www.successunlimited.co.uk

Posted by Evelin at 12:15 PM | Comments (0)
Sixty Years of UNESCO History

On the occasion of its 60th anniversary

UNESCO

In conjunction with:
- University of Paris I, Pantheon-Sorbonne
- Centre d’Histoire de l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris
- Centre for History and Economics, University of Cambridge
- United Nations Intellectual History Project, CUNY Graduate Center

is hosting an international symposium

Sixty years of UNESCO history

November 16th-18th, 2005, UNESCO Headquarters, 7 place de Fontenoy, 75007 Paris

With the participation of:
Lakhdar Brahimi, Bronislaw Geremek, Paul Kennedy, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Emma Rothschild…

And more than sixty researchers from all over the world

Themes:

Birth of an international organization

Ideals challenged by history

Taking action: international cooperation in perspective

What sort of history/histories of UNESCO?

For registration, information and contact: www.unesco.org ; histoire at unesco.org

Posted by Evelin at 01:44 AM | Comments (0)
Centre de Cooperation Franco-Norvegienne, Programme Printemps 2006

CENTRE DE COOPERATION FRANCO-NORVEGIENNE EN SCIENCES SOCIALES ET HUMAINES

MAISON DES SCIENCES DE L’HOMME, 54, Boulevard Raspail, 75270 Paris Cedex 06, France
Tél.: 01 49 54 22 16 Fax: 01 49 54 21 95 Web: http://www.uv.uio.no/paris
__________________________________________________________________

Directrice : Saphinaz-Amal NAGUIB, professeur
Marit MELHUUS, professeur
Responsable administratif : Kirstin B. SKJELSTAD

Programme printemps 2006
(rev. 23.06.2005)

Janvier

24 - 26 janvier: La linguistique de Bernard Pottier: Bilan, critiques, perspectives. Colloque international organisé par Aboubakar Ouattara, maitre de conferences de l’Université de Tromsø.
Responsable au CCFN :

Février

3 - 5 février : Colloque: Phonologie du français contemporain. Organisé par : Chantal Lyche, OFNEC (Caen), Jacques Durand (Toulouse) og Bernard Laks (Paris).
Responsable au CCFN :

Mars

Avril

Mai

9 – 11 mai: Colloque Littérature et art visuel organisé par Knut Ove Eliassen, professeur à l’université de Trondheim.
Responsable au CCFN:

29 – 31 mai: Colloque Syndicat des chercheurs à l’université de Trondheim, organisé par: Annlaug Bjørsnøs, maître de conférences, Departement des langues étrangères modernes, Université de Trondheim.
Responsable au CCFN:

Juin

Posted by Evelin at 01:40 AM | Comments (0)
Centre de Cooperation Franco-Norvegienne, Programme Automne 2005

CENTRE DE COOPERATION FRANCO-NORVEGIENNE EN SCIENCES SOCIALES ET HUMAINES

MAISON DES SCIENCES DE L’HOMME, 54, Boulevard Raspail, 75270 Paris Cedex 06, France
Tél.: 01 49 54 22 16 Fax: 01 49 54 21 95 Web: http://www.uv.uio.no/paris
__________________________________________________________________

Directrice : Saphinaz-Amal NAGUIB, professeur
Marit MELHUUS, professeur
Responsable administratif : Kirstin B. SKJELSTAD

Programme automne 2005
(rev. 23.06.2005)

Septembre

semaine 36 ou 37: Education in a French-Norwegian comparative perspective. Colloque à l’université d’Oslo organisé par : Bente Hagtvet, professeur en sciences de l’éducation, Université d’Oslo et Alain Pierrot, professeur en sciences de l’éducation, Université Paris 5, René Descartes.
Responsable au Centre de Coopération Franco-norvégienne: Saphinaz-Amal Naguib.

22 – 25 septembre: Language between nature and culture. Journées Wittgenstein à Bergen organisées par Arild Utaker, professeur à l’université de Bergen et Antonia Soulez, professeur à l’université de Paris 8.
Responsable au Centre de Coopération Franco-norvégienne: Saphinaz-Amal Naguib

26 – 28 septembre : Relecture de l’histoire culturelle comme métode, seminaire organisé par Anne Eriksen et Arne Bugge Amundsen, professeurs au Département d’études culturelles et langues orientales de l’université d’Oslo.
Responsable au Centre de Coopération Franco-norvégienne: Saphinaz-Amal Naguib

Octobre

3 octobre : Réunion du conseil d’administration du Centre de coopération franco-norvégienne.

4 octobre : Réunion avec le Centre de coopération universitaire franco-norvégienne.

13 – 14 octobre Doing Ethnography in Latin America. Young scholars forum. Colloque international organisé par Marit Melhuus, professeur à l’université d’Oslo/ Centre de Coopération Franco-norvégienne en collaboration avec l’ Institut des Hautes Études de l’Amérique latine, Université Paris III et le Centre de recherches sur le Brésil contemporrain, Maison des Sciences de l’Homme.
Responsable au Centre de Coopération Franco-norvégienne: Marit Melhuus

26 – 27 octobre : Séminaire organisé par l’école doctorale dans les disciplines Art et Culture des universités de Trondheim, Bergen, Tromsø et le collège universitaire d’Agder.
Responsable au Centre de Coopération Franco-norvégienne: Saphinaz-Amal Naguib

Novembre

3 – 4 novembre : Welfare, gender and practice in the Middle East, 1800-2000, Colloque international organisé par Inger Marie Okkenhaug, Departement d’histoire, Université de Bergen.
Responsable au Centre de Coopération Franco-norvégienne: Saphinaz-Amal Naguib.

24 - 25 novembre: Contemporary perspectives on European Kinship. Colloque international organisé par Marit Melhuus, professeur à l’université d’Oslo/ Centre de Coopération Franco-norvégienne et Enric Porqueres, maître de conférences à l’EHESS/ Laboratoire d’Anthropologie des Institutions et des Organisations Sociales (LAIOC)
Responsable au Centre de Coopération Franco-norvégienne: Marit Melhuus.

30 novembre : Langage et violence. Table ronde organisée par Arild Utaker, professeur à l’université de Bergen, Olivier Remaud, EHESS, François Rastier, CNRS.
Responsable au Centre de Coopération Franco-norvégienne: Saphinaz-Amal Naguib.

Décembre

1-3 décembre : Colloque du Syndicat des chercheurs de l’université d’Oslo, organisé par Karin Gundersen, professeur à l’université d’Oslo.

1-3 décembre: Gender and race. Colloque international et interdisciplinaire organisé par Thomas Hylland Eriksen, professeur à l’université d’Oslo et Marit Melhuus, Centre de Coopération Franco-norvégienne/ Centre de Coopération Franco-norvégienne.
Responsable au Centre de Coopération Franco-norvégienne: Marit Melhuus.

8 – 10 décembre : Feminism, Democracy, Freedom, colloque international et interdisciplinaire arrangé par Ellen Mortensen, professeur à l’université de Bergen.
Responsables au Centre de Coopération Franco-norvégienne: Saphinaz-Amal Naguib et Marit Melhuus.

Posted by Evelin at 01:36 AM | Comments (0)
Conciliation Resources Annual Report 2004 Available Online

Dear Colleague,

We are pleased to inform you that Conciliation Resources' Annual Report for 2004 is now available on our website as a downloadable PDF file at: http://www.c-r.org/pubs/annreps/annreps.shtml

Last year marked CR's first decade and another year of hard work and significant achievements. We expanded the scope and impact of our Caucasus programme's dialogue and civil society capacity-building work in Georgia and Abkhazia, and extended our media and public awareness work into Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorny Karabakh. We also moved from having projects and partnerships in Uganda to establishing a coherent programme.

Accord had another productive year, with initiatives and new publications on Colombia and Angola. Our West Africa programme carried out groundbreaking work with partners engaged in community-based mediation, as well as peacebuilding work with media, youth and women's groups in Sierra Leone and the sub-region.

Drawing upon this work with local partners in conflict zones, CR is taking steps into the arena of influencing international policies that affect the resolution and transformation of conflicts. Our latest Accord publication, Choosing to engage: armed groups and peace processes, released this month, is a good example and builds upon our earlier conclusions on the global need for better public participation in peacemaking. It makes the case for a policy shift towards more committed dialogue with armed groups and other non-state actors to end violent conflicts and strengthen the rule of law.

We look forward to future contact and cooperation with you, and wish you all the best in your work.

Yours sincerely
Andy Carl
Director
Conciliation Resources
173 Upper Street, Islington
London N1 1RG UK
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 73597728
Fax: +44 (0) 20 73594081
Email: communications at c-r.org
Website: http://www.c-r.org

Posted by Evelin at 01:24 AM | Comments (0)
Amarc Brings African Voices to G8 Summit

AMARC BRINGS AFRICAN VOICES TO G8 SUMMIT IN EDINBURGH, UK.

Montreal, 28 June 2005. AMARC's Simbani Africa news service will be bringing reports of the G8 summit to community radio stations in Africa and worldwide.
Simbani Africa correspondents, Chris Kgadima of South Africa and Fatoumatta Drammeh of The Gambia, will be among the team producing Make Poverty History
Radio on 2 July. Make Poverty History Radio is an FM and Internet radio station launched to mark the Make Poverty History march in Edinburgh.

The Simbani Africa correspondents will be producing reports throughout the G8 Summit for distribution to the AMARC network of community radio stations. As
part of AMARC's involvement in bringing African voices to the G8, the Simbani Africa team are also gathering African testimonies to broadcast during the G8
Summit events and which will be available online at http://simbani.amarc.org.

Make Poverty History Radio will be available to community radio stations in Europe, Africa and Latin America through the AMARC (World
Association of Community Radio Broadcasters) network. To listen to the broadcast go to: www.amarc.org (click on the Make Poverty History banner).

Make Poverty History Radio is an initiative of the Make Poverty History campaign www.makepovertyhistory.org in partnership with the Community Media Association
and Edinburgh's Telford College community radio station, ETC FM.

*********************

AMARC AMÈNE DES VOIX AFRICAINES AU SOMMET DU G8 À EDIMBOURG, R-U.

Montréal, 28 juin 2005. L'agence de nouvelles Simbani d'AMARC Afrique diffusera des dépêches lors du sommet du G8 aux stations de radio communautaires de l'Afrique et du monde entier. Les correspondantEs de Simbani Afrique, Chris Kgadima de l'Afrique du Sud et Fatoumatta Drammeh de la Gambie, feront partie de l'équipe qui produira la radio Abolissons la pauvreté (Make Poverty History) le 2 juillet. La radio Abolissons la pauvreté est une radio qui diffuse sur une fréquence FM ainsi que sur l'Internet, qui a été lancée pour marquer la marche Abolissons la pauvreté qui se tiendra à Edimbourg.

Les correspondantEs de Simbani Afrique produiront des dépêches durant tout le sommet du G8 pour distribution à l'ensemble du réseau de radios communautaires de l'AMARC. En plus de l'engagement de l'AMARC d'amener des voix africaines au sommet du G8, l'équipe de Simbani Afrique recueillera des témoignages africains et les diffusera lors de l'événement du G8. Ceux-ci seront accessible en ligne à l'adresse suivante http://simbani.amarc.org.

La radio Abolissons la pauvreté sera disponible aux stations de radio communautaires de l'Europe, de l'Afrique et d'Amérique latine par le réseau de l'AMARC (Association mondiale des radiodiffuseurs communautaires). Pour écouter la radio diffusion visitez: www.amarc.org (cliquez sur la bannière Make Poverty History).

La radio Abolissons la pauvreté est une initiative de la campagne Make Poverty History (Abolissons la Pauvreté) www.makepovertyhistory.org en partenariat avec Community Media Association et la station de radio communautaire Edimbourg's Telford College (ETC FM).

Posted by Evelin at 12:54 AM | Comments (0)
Triple Bottom Line Investing (TBLI) Conference 2005 in Frankfurt

Triple Bottom Line Investing (TBLI) 7th Annual Conference, Frankfurt, November 2 - 4, 2005

Dear Friends!

It is the world's largest international learning and networking event dealing with sustainable investment. During this three-day event, the latest developments on screening, auditing, reporting, SRI analysis, corporate citizenship, indexes and research will be covered. Anyone involved in the financial sector should attend.

For deatils of the conference, please visit http://www.tbli.org/index-conference.html

This conference is supported, among others, by the International Center for Corporate Accountability (ICCA)

Posted by Evelin at 12:46 AM | Comments (0)
AfricAvenir News, 29th June 2005

AfricAvenir News are kindly sent out by Eric Van Grasdorff:

Liebe Freunde,

AFRICAVENIR VERANSTALTUNGEN

Tagesseminar: Afrikanisch-Europäische Beziehungen
AfricAvenir International lädt am 02. Juli 2005 ab 10.00 Uhr zu einem Tagesseminar über Afrikanisch-Europäische Beziehungen ein. Das Seminar findet in Kooperation mit der Jungen Europäische Bewegung (JEB), der Initiative Südliches Afrika (INISA), der Europäischen Akademie und der Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung statt. http://africavenir.com/news/2005/06/133/seminar-afrikanisch-europaische-beziehungen

Bildung und Menschenrechte in Westafrika
Am Montag, 4. Juli 2005, 19.30 Uhr laden der GEW, die Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung und die Initiative Pro Afrika zu einem Informationsgespräch mit Gästen aus Burkina Faso. Die Veranstaltung wird von AfricAvenir unterstützt und findet in den Räumen der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung statt. http://africavenir.com/news/2005/06/141/bildung-und-menschenrechte-in-westafrika

VERÖFFENTLICHUNGEN
Folgende Bücher können ab sofort beim LIT-Verlag vorbestellt werden.

Eric Van Grasdorff
African Renaissance and Discourse Ownership in the Information Age - The Internet as a Factor of Domination and Liberation

LIT Verlag, Reihe: Politikwissenschaft
Bd. 116, 120 S., 14.90 EUR, br., ISBN 3-8258-8247-0
The information revolution is transforming the world, especially the industrialised world. But what are its implications for the implementation of an African renaissance? Based on a Foucaultian analytical framework this book argues that the Internet has become a major Western instrument of domination in Africa. By extending the reach of Western hegemonic discourses, the Internet adds another dimension to Western discursive power. However, by allowing for the active participation in the process of naming the world, the Internet also affords unprecedented means of transcending dependency. http://www.lit-verlag.de/isbn/3-8258-8247-0

Ann Kathrin Helfrich
Afrikanische Renaissance und traditionelle Konfliktlösung - Das Beispiel der Duala in Kamerun

LIT Verlag, Reihe: Politikwissenschaft
Bd. 118, 200 S., 19.90 EUR, br., ISBN 3-8258-8352-3
http://www.lit-verlag.de/isbn/3-8258-8352-3
Afrikanische Renaissance steht für die Rückbesinnung der Afrikaner auf ihre eigenen Werte und Denkweisen. Ihr entspricht eine Entwicklung, die überlieferte Errungenschaften zu bewahren und Neues darin zu integrieren sucht. Traditionelle Konfliktlösung ist effizient und zeitgemäß und hat sich über einen langen Zeitraum hinweg etabliert. Die Autorin analysiert Mechanismen traditioneller Konfliktlösung und zeigt am Beispiel der Duala in Kamerun wie sich diese mit den modernen Strukturen eines afrikanischen Staates in Einklang bringen lassen.

BERICHT

L’histoire du Cameroun revisitée
La Fondation AfricAvenir à Bonabéri-Douala a reçu, mercredi 08 Juin 2005, l’Ambassadeur de la République Fédérale d’Allemagne, S. E.Volker Seitz qui a félicité le Prince pour tout ce qu’il fait dans la fondation pour promouvoir la culture africaine et camerounaise et le dialogue entre Européens et Africains. http://africavenir.com/news/2005/06/136/lhistoire-du-cameroun-revisitee

MEDIEN

Mutations: L’ambassadeur d’Allemagne à AfricAvenir
Son Excellence Volker Seitz, ambassadeur de la République fédérale d’Allemagne au Cameroun était mercredi, 08 juin 2005, l’hôte d’Africavenir, une fondation créée en mai 1990 par le Prince Kum’a Ndumbe III. http://www.quotidienmutations.net/cgi-bin/alpha/j/25/2.cgi?category=3&id=1118352371

Cameroon Tribune : L’ambassadeur d’Allemagne à Hickory Town
Volker Seitz, ambassadeur de la République fédérale d’Allemagne avait décidé sur invitation du prince Kum’a Ndumbe III de venir se ressourcer dans le Cameroun profond. Il est donc allé dans la ” ville de Bonabéri, ” ou Hickory town, qui a été le théâtre de la résistance coloniale. http://www.cameroon-tribune.net/article.php?lang=Fr&oled=j22122004&idart=25990&olarch=j14062005&ph=y

WEITERE VERANSTALTUNGEN & TIPPS

Jenseits vom Zoo
Am Sonntag, 3.7.2005, 19 Uhr findet im Thalia-Kino, Am Obstmarkt 5, 86152 Augsburg eine Veranstaltung mit Film und Gespräch über die ‚African Village’-Affaire im Augsburger Zoo statt. Veranstalter sind die Werkstatt Solidarische Welt e.V. und die Augsburger Landtagsabgeordnete Christine Kamm, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen. Gezeigt wird der Film "Recolonize Cologne". Diskutanten sind u.a. Tahir Della, Bundesvorstand der ISD (Initiative Schwarzer Deutscher) und Mitinitiator der Proteste gegen die Zooveranstaltung. www.werkstatt-solidarische-welt.de

www.AfricAvenir.org
Wollen Sie Fördermitglied von AfricAvenir International e.V. werden?
Kontaktieren Sie Ann Kathrin Helfrich, Fon: 030-80906789, a.helfrich at africavenir.org

Redaktion des Newsletters: Eric Van Grasdorff, e.vangrasdorff at africavenir.org
AfricAvenir International e.V. ist nicht für die Inhalte externer Webseiten verantwortlich.

Posted by Evelin at 12:30 AM | Comments (0)