Link to the Forum on the State of US Relations with the Muslim World

The forum on The State of US Relations with the Muslim World that took place at the University of Maryland on December 6, 2005, with William Cohen, former Secretary of Defense and US Senator; Anwar Ibrahim, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia; Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development; and moderated by Robin Wright, Diplomatic Correspondent of The Washington Post, can be watched in its entirety on the following link www.bsos.umd.edu/sadat

Dearest HumanDHS Friend!

George Kent has written a book on the human right to adequate food that came out earlier this year. Please see the publisher's promotion for it at http://press.georgetown.edu/detail.html?id=1589010566

He writes to us:
The book takes a human rights perspective, not a biological perspective. It makes the point that the core issue is not nutrients, but dignity. I think that very often the major harm that comes from going hungry is not the disease and death that it produces, but the humiliation. In some contexts, the hungry die not from illness but from suicide.

Thus there is an intersection, an overlap, between your agenda and mine. However, at this stage, I don't see how to develop the thought further. If there are others among your contacts who have similar interests, perhaps a small group could be assembled to explore it. Or do you have some other idea on how the theme of the humiliation of hunger could be pursued?

Aloha, George

Dear HumanDHS Friends,

This letter comes with many wishes for a productive and wonderful New Year to you and our organization (group).

Also, if at all possible, I would appreciate anyone who read my book and would like to put their thoughts into a review to do so on Amazon.com, please log onto

www.amazon.com

And input my name, Stephanie Heuer. There is an area for reviews. The more reviews, the more likely people may order it or be interested. I hope this is OK to ask.

Many hugs,
Stephanie

Dear Friend!

I hope you are well!

Do I have your permission to accept the 2006 Award for Applied Psychology, awarded by the Swiss Association of Applied Psychology, on your behalf and on behalf of our Human Dignity and Humiliation network?

Please see the invitation to you further down.

Most warmly!

Evelin

Here is the invitation to you for the ceremony on 19th October 2006 in Zürich, Switzerland:

Dear Friend!

Dr. Evelin Gerda Lindner is the recipient of the 2006 SBAP. Award for Applied Psychology for her unique research and independent project management skills, as well as for her international presence as a well-known, committed, and multidisciplinary advocate for humanity in a global society. Her work on the effects of humiliation on individuals and communities has made a significant contribution to the study of peace.

You are warmly invited to the ceremony on Thursday, 19th October 2006, 17.00 in the Auditorium Maximum, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETHZ), Main Building, Rämistrasse 101, 8006 Zürich.

Prof. Dr. phil. Ulrike Zöllner will give the Laudatio.

We look forward to having you with us!

Sincerely,

Heidi Aeschlimann
Präsidentin SBAP.

SBAP.
Schweizerischer Berufsverband für Angewandte Psychologie
Association Professionnelle Suisse de Psychologie Appliquée
Associazione Professionale Svizzera della Psicologia Applicata
Merkurstr. 36
CH – 8032 Zürich
www.sbap.ch

THE 6th IFLAC PAVE PEACE INTERNATIONAL MEDITERRANEAN CONGRESS
September 17 - 21, 2006, Meridian Beach Hotel, Haifa, Israel

With great pleasure we invite you to participate in the 6th IFLAC Mediterranean Congress. Its central theme is: Building Bridges of Conflict Resolution, through Communication, Literature and Culture. Writers, Poets, Researchers, Experts in conflict resolution, and Women Leaders, will jointly explore the role of culture, literature, poetry, and other means of artistic expression and communication in guiding society towards a better world beyond war and hunger.

We are looking forward to welcoming you at the Congress.

Congress President
Dr. Ada Aharoni, ada@tx.technion.ac.il

General Manager of the IFLAC Association Mr. Arie Vangerko , arvn01@netvision.net.il

THE IFLAC
PEACE POETRY AND STORIES FESTIVAL
6th IFLAC PAVE PEACE Mediterranean Congress
September 17 – 21, 2006.

INVITATION to: Dr. Manuel Salvador Leyva Martinez
By Ada Aharoni, IFLAC Founder – President
Vice President: Ernesto Kahan, General Manager: Arie Vangerko

Dear Friends,

You are warmly invited to participate in the IFLAC Peace Poetry and Stories Festival, which is a part of the 6th IFLAC Congress. The Congress will take place at the Meridian Beach Hotel in Haifa. Further details about the Congress and IFLAC:The International Forum for the Culture and Literature of Peace - can be found on the follwing website: and www.iflac.com and www.iflac.com/ada

We are looking forward to welcoming you in Haifa, and to your fruitful participation in the IFLAC 6th Congress. The Festival and Congress will include an exciting Congress Tour of cultural and historical highlights in Haifa, the Galilee and Jerusalem.

We would be delighted to have the pleasure of your participation,

Sincerely,
Ada Aharoni

PS. The ”Gather the Women” Mediterranean Congress will precede the 6th Iflac Congress. Information about it can be viewed on: www.iflac.com and www.gatherthewomen.org

GENEVE CAPITALE MONDIALE de la PAIX
le 18 Decembre 2005

Ms Maria Cristina Azcona

We are happy to to announce that you have been
proposed and nominated for the title of :
Ambassador of Peace
in the framework of the Universal Ambassador Peace Circle.

we send our warmest wishes.

Sincerely,
Jean Paul Nouchi
President Founder
Universal Ambassador Peace Circle
& Universal Peace Embassy

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

*All those who work for peace form a same Spirit, a same Body,
a same Soul and a same Heart, a same Universal Peace Family *
( Universal Ambassador Peace Family )

NOMINATED :

Ms Maria Cristina Azcona

INVITATION TO A PEACE SYMPOSIUM
August 4-6, 2007

EUROPEAN-ASIAN PHILOSOPHERS AND POETS FOR PEACE GATHERING
ON
CELEBRATING THE POETRY OF LIFE CREATING PHILOSOPHIES FOR PEACE

And announcing the formation of a
ASIAN-EUROPEAN NETWORK OF POETS AND PHILOSOPHERS FOR PEACE

This gathering is open to all whom have the long term interests of peacemaking in Asia and Europe, and between Asia and Europe. It is being held in Shiraz because this is one of the most ancient cities of Iran, close to the heart of ancient Asia, and was the home of the great poet Hafiz, whose life and works we will be celebrating at this gathering.

Shiraz is also close to the ruined city of Persepolis which was the spiritual capital of the Persian Empire, and was destroyed by Alexander the Great. Gathering visitors will have a chance to visit the ruins, as we reflect on how to ensure that peace thrives throughout this troubled region, and that the conflicts raging across the border in Iran be successfully wound down to zero and peace and normality return. We will also be doing all we can to advance the cause of peace and international understanding between Iran and other countries, including Europe, as well as the USA,

WHO CAN COME ?

* Hafiz scholars and experts
* Contemporary poets working in any language who hold peace dear to their hearts
* Philosophers interested in comparative spirituality and peace
* Thinkers and scholars interested in bridging the cultural gaps between East and West, Europe and Asia
* Sages and Saints from different spiritual traditions who wish to advance interfaith dialogue for peace
* Sufis and Islamic mystics who respect and revere the work of Hafiz and other Islamic spiritual masters
* Islamic scholars and Islamologists who are interested in the legacy of Iranian mysticism
* Policy experts interested in the insights that spirituality can shed on social and international policy
* Both Sunni and Shiia Muslim experts interested in advancing peace thinking
* Scholars of peace studies and all who wish to help the shift beyond terrorism
* Students in all the above areas interested in comparing notes and perspectives

Hosting the meeting is Dr Thomas Daffern, Director of the International Institute of Peace Studies and Global Philosophy and founder of the Global Green University (GGU) along with the support of Iranian friends and IIPSGP members from Shiraz.
A similar meeting is scheduled for Palestine/Israel in 2008 (Bethlehem and Galilee).
If you are able to attend, or send a representative, please contact:
The International Institute Of Peace Studies And Global Philosophy,
Rhos y Gallt, Llanerfyl, Nr. Welshpool, Powys, Wales, SY21 OER, Tel/Fax. 01938 820586 (m) 07951 600959 Email:iipsgp@educationaid.net Website: www.educationaid.net

INTERFAITH PEACE CONFERENCE OF THE HOLY LANDS
(ISRAEL / PALESTINE)

WHERE:
This emerging meeting is being called for faith leaders, far and wide, all who hold a special love and affection for the Holy Lands, in order to bring to bear the world’s spiritual focused energy in that region at this critical time in world history. The gathering will take place partly in Galilee (Israel), and partly in Bethlehem (Palestine).

WHY:
It is a symbolic meeting, a gathering for like-minded souls, from across all religions and none, and will include every person who wishes to attend (space allowing, meaning there will have to be some selection principle of invitation) providing they agree with two basic principles:

A) That non-violence and peace are the number one priority for the settlement of all other problems facing the world at the present time, and that violence can never achieve permanent or lasting solutions to political dilemmas and problems

B) That some kind of spiritual or faith accommodation has to be reached on the planet between the protagonists of the world’s religious and ideological factions – that peace between the religions and the spiritual traditions is a vital necessity, and that without this, it will be hard to achieve the goals of humanity, or even to agree on what those goals could and should be.

HOW:
By bringing the faith traditions of the planet to gather in the places of the holy land, places sacred alike in the major Monotheistic traditions of the Middle East, a well as to the earlier primal faiths which preceded them, and hopefully by the declarations, agreements, harmony and peace reached in the microcosmic scale between seekers of different faith persuasions working cooperatively, we hope to send a signal to all those who hold the holy land dear, or who try to follow some of the world’s many spiritual teachings, that real, lasting and sustainable peace can and will be achieved between the faith traditions of mankind.

WHEN:
This gathering was originally scheduled for 1999 but the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the outbreak of the Intifada led to its postponement until now. We feel however that the time has now created conditions in the Middle East and the global body politic, that necessitates the calling of such a gathering sooner rather than later. The exact timing will depend partly on response and support for the project, both on the ground and internationally. We anticipate however that sufficient support will have materialised for the gathering to take place in the Late Summer / Early Autumn of 2007.

WHO:
All people of good will, who support a non-violent solution to the problems of the Middle East and further afield, who endorse in principle the ideal of a two state solution of the problem of Israel-Palestinian conflict, and who adhere to the principle of inter-religious cooperation, agreement and reconciliation.

WHAT:
The Gathering will hopefully achieve several practical outcomes: firstly, it will be a highly symbolic gathering of faith representatives and spiritual leaders, in places of the utmost spiritual significance for mankind; secondly, it will contribute to the hastening of peace in the whole Middle East region, not just in Israel Palestine; thirdly, it will initiate a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the Middle East (TRCME) and will take evidence and submissions from all interested parties with a relevant story to share, in the belief that sharing or confessing wrongdoings, can lead to forgive and reconciliation. Fourthly, it will bring together scholars and educators, sages and living saints, in the common task of seeking a way out of mankind’s ongoing catastrophe of violence and revenge, terrorism and counter-terrorism. It will hopefully contribute, in a small but powerful way, to the gradual realisation of a more mature planetary civilisation in which the great faith traditions of mankind can begin to reach philosophical reconciliation in the pursuit of the common good of all mankind.

WHICH:
This initiative is being undertaken by an international NGO which has specialised for over 15 years in the advancement of philosophical dialogue for peace and nonviolence, and which has been based largely in the United Kingdom (originally at the University of London) and which ran a series of pioneering interfaith seminars for peace at the House of Lords in London from 1993 onwards, among many other projects, including the establishment in 1996 of the Multifaith and Multicultural Mediation and Education Service.

To register initial interest or to find out more details of the programme, please contact:
International Institute Of Peace Studies And Global Philosophy
via our website www.educationaid.net, or email: iipsgp@educationaid.net.

The project is being undertaken in tandem with the creation of a British-Irish Truth and Reconciliation Commission (also a project of IIPSGP) which is having its inaugural meeting in Anglesey, Wales, on August 6-7, 2006.

Please address all enquiries in the first instance to our International Liaison Secretary, Sheena McDonagh, at sheena.mcdonagh@ntlworld.com

INVITATION TO A PEACE SYMPOSIUM
At Anglesey (Mona) – Holyhead Town Hall
August 5-6, 2006

BRITISH-IRISH PEACE SYMPOSIUM ON
Ending The Wars, Making The Peace

And announcing the formation of an
ECOCOUNCIL OF THE ISLES

This gathering is open to all whom have the long term interests of peacemaking in Britain and Ireland, and particularly the ending of the long conflicts in Ireland at heart. It is being held in Anglesey to make it possible for participants to come both from Ireland as well as through the British Isles.

Mona was sacred to the ancient Druid orders, who formed the educated intelligentsia of both Britain and Ireland in former times, and whose work was specifically involved with mediation, peacemaking and the giving of justice. Among other participants we hope a number of Druids from contemporary Druid orders in both Ireland and Britain will be in attendance.

With the peace process in Ireland having moved so far, it is the hope of this symposium to encourage a healthy debate between both Irish and British peace thinkers, activists and spiritual leaders, so as to vision together a long future for both Britain and Ireland.

We also intend to launch at this gathering a new body, an Eco-Council for the Isles, which will serve as a forum for representation of all those interested in the ecology of the British isles: with seabirds dying off our shores, fishes depleted, and global warming effecting our weather patterns, we have an increasing ecological responsibility to end our conflicts and feuds, and pursue ways of peace, justice and harmony.

All those who have thought for the long term sustainability of our environment, who love and care for this magical part of the world, and who have the protection of our sacred sites at heart, and who have specific news of environmental issues and campaigns in their part of the world, are invited to attend or send representatives.

We are also launching at this meeting a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Britain and Ireland (TRCBI) which will examine testimony concerning all aspects of the conflict in Ireland, and allow persons who have perpetrated acts of cruelty and injustice to come forward and apologise to those whom they have wronged, whether in Britain or in Ireland, and also empower those working for peace and reconciliation to come forward and tell their own stories. The TRCBI might also examine Britain’s role in the wider world of international relations, and its nuclear weapons policies, for example, or its involvement in the Middle East, or the Cold War, especially where they relate to British-Irish affairs. We are keen to hear testimony geared towards reinvigorating Britain and Ireland’s ethical wellbeing.

Hosting the meeting is Dr Thomas Daffern, Peace Officer of the Council of British Druids, and Governor of the Saor Ollscoil na h’Eireann (Free University of Ireland); Director of the International Institute of Peace Studies and Global Philosophy and founder of the Global Green University (GGU).

If you are able to attend, or send a representative, please contact:
The International Institute Of Peace Studies And Global Philosophy,
Rhos y Gallt, Llanerfyl, Nr. Welshpool, Powys, Wales, SY21 OER, Tel/Fax. 01938 820586 (m) 07951 600959 Email:iipsgp@educationaid.net Website:www.educationaid.net

NEWSLETTER FROM THE HUMAN RIGHTS HOUSE NETWORK

1) Uganda found guilty of invading and looting Congo
Yesterday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Uganda violated the sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of Congo, plundered its natural resources and was responsible for human rights abuses when it sent its troops there.
Read HRH's comment: - A long overdue turn of attitudes

2) Protests against the Russian NGO bill
Tomorrow the Russian Duma will have a second hearing on a draft law that will dramatically restrain Russia’s civil society. Activists at the Human Rights Houses of Moscow and Oslo fear that the law is aimed at human rights NGOs that criticize the Chechnya policy.

3) Turkey: Trial against Orhan Pamuk delayed
On Friday, the trial of Turkey's best known writer, Orhan Pamuk, was suspended until next year. Pamuk has been accused of insulting the Turkish nation after his remarks about the mass killings of Armenians in the early years of the 20th Century.

4) Belarus tightens protest laws
On December 8th the Upper House of the Belarusian parliament unanimously approved a new law making it illegal to submit “false information” about Belarus to international organisations. Human rights activists in Belarus ask President Lukashenko to recall the changes in the law.

5) Azerbaijan: Police violence against demonstrators
A number of oppositionals were detained and dozens beaten up during an unsanctioned demonstration in Baku on Sunday. The Azeri Authorities received massive international criticism after the brutal break-up of a peaceful rally in Baku on November 26.

6) Croatia: Human rights situation worsened
For the first time since 1996, the human rights situation in Croatia has deteriorated seriously, said Zarko Puhovski, Chairman of the Croatian Helsinki Committee, on the International Day of Human Rights.

7) Warns against recycling of Colombian paramilitaries
The demobilization of paramilitaries in Colombia should not be supported, the Colombian human rights lawyer Alirio Uribe Muñoz said when he visited the Norwegian Human Rights House recently. He warned that paramilitaries are recycled into the armed conflict, and that the rights of victims are not sufficiently respected.

8) Bosnia: Roma are the most endangered
On the International Day of Human Rights, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina drew attention to the unacceptably poor status of the Roma minority in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

9) Norway: Fakhra Salimi awarded the Ossietzky Prize for 2005
The Ossietzky Prize - Norwegian PEN´s award for outstanding contributions to freedom of expression - was awarded yesterday to Fakhra Salimi. Originally from Pakistan, she has always represented a different voice in Norway´s otherwise rather homogenous and unisone public debate.

******************************************************************
Free of charge news and background service from the Human
Rights House Network, an international forum of cooperation between
independent human rights houses. It works to strengthen cooperation and
improve the security and capacity of the 80 human rights organizations in
the Network. The Human Rights House Foundation in Oslo is the
secretariat.

To subscribe, please send an email to: newsletter-subscribe@humanrightshouse.org

More news and background on www.humanrightshouse.org

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Sent by:
Borghild Tønnessen-Krokan
Editor
Human Rights House Foundation (HRH)
Address: Menneskerettighetshuset,
Tordenskioldsgate 6b, 0160 Oslo, Norway
Tel: (+47) 22 47 92 47, Direct: (+47) 22 47 92 44,
Fax: (+47) 22 47 92 01
Website: http://www.humanrightshouse.org,
http://www.menneskerettigheter.no

CHINAS GRIFF NACH AFRIKA - Schwerpunktthema im neuen "Überblick" (www.der-ueberblick.de)

China überschwemmt die Märkte Afrikas mit billigen Importen. Chinesische Bauunternehmen stampfen dort ganze Städte aus dem Boden. Afrikas heimische Unternehmen werden von der Konkurrenz verdrängt

Weitere Themen aus Marokko, Israel, Indien, Pakistan, Peru, etwa "Opfer wollen keine Wahrheit".

All das finden Sie in der neuen Ausgabe von "der überblick" (Euro 5,50 + Versandkostenm www.der-ueberblick.de, herausgegeben i.A. vom Evangelischen Entwicklungsdienst und von Brot für die Welt).

Vergangene Schwerpunkte: Mediziner für den Norden,AIDS und Gesellschaft, Pfingstkirchen, Entwicklungspolitik, Fisch und Welternährung, Afrika, Umgang mit Tod und Trauer weltweit, Bildung, Migration, Tansania, Sklaverei heute, Energie, NGOs, Exil, Vorsorge, Grenzen, Mexiko, Aids, Gefaengnisse, Maghreb.

NOCH KEIN WEIHNACHTSGESCHENK ? Verschenken Sie ein Jahresabonnement des "Überblick: www.der-ueberblick.de/archiv/200503/200503.091.Geschenkabo/index.html
Die erste Aussendung an den/die Beschenkte(n) erfolgt am Tag des Bestelleingangs.

Mit freundlicher Empfehlung
die Redaktion

AMARC delegation successfully ends the WTO coverage in Hong Kong
Press release
For immediate distribution

December 19th, 2005 - The World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) has ensured a media coverage of the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference which was being held in Hong Kong, China, from the 13-18 December 2005. The delegation was composed of journalists from community radio stations from Bangladesh, Brazil, South Korea, the Philippines and the United States.

This 6th ministerial conference in Hong Kong ended on the 18 of December with a last minute deal that in part, aims at ending all agricultural export subsidies by 2013. The partial agreement was received with disappointment by civil society and the countries from the global South, which were asking to end the subsidies by 2010. For news about the WTO discussions visit our website: http://www.amarc.org/WTO

AMARC journalists also covered global justice activists' demonstrations against the WTO who faced police brutality and mass arrests. The social movements present at the different demonstrations have decried the violence perpetrated by the police. To listen to civil society perspectives, visit AMARC website at http://www.amarc.org/WTO

AMARC is an international non-governmental organization serving community radio. Present in more than 110 countries, this association provides a worldwide network for exchange and solidarity, as well as coordinating and promoting the development of community radio.

For more information visit AMARC's Web site at: http://www.amarc.org.

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

CALL FOR ITEMS

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.

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

Dear World Movement Participants:

The next issue of DemocracyNews will go out on January 11, 2006. 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 ** Januyary 30** 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.

Please share this message with your colleagues.

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

To subscribe send an email to subscribe-democracynews@lyris.ned.org.

If you do not have access to the Web and would like to access the materials mentioned above, please contact us by e-mail (world@ned.org) or fax (202-293-0755).

DemocracyNews is an electronic mailing list moderated by the National Endowment for Democracy as the Secretariat of the World Movement for Democracy. The material presented in DemocracyNews is intended for information purposes only.

22 December 2005
Dear All,
Seasons Greetings!

Zubaan announces the third publication in its Zubaan-Penguin series - a collection of short stories
These Hills Called Home: Stories form a War Zone by Temsula Ao.

(150pp Pb o Rs.195 o ISBN 81 89013 71 8 o All Rights Available.
Published in collaboration with Penguin Books India.)

More than half a century of bloodshed has marked the history of the Naga people who live in the troubled northeastern region of India. Their struggle for an independent Nagaland and their continuing search for identity provide the backdrop for the stories that make up this unusual collection.

Describing how ordinary people cope with violence, how they negotiate power and force, how they seek and find safe spaces and enjoyment in the midst of terror, the author details a way of life under threat from the forces of modernization and war. No one ­ the young, the old, the militant with his gun, the ordinary housewife, the willing partner, the young women who sings even as she is being raped ­ is left untouched by the violence.

Economical and unadorned, these stories bring alive the poignant and bewildering experiences of a people caught in a spiral of violence. In doing so, they speak movingly of home, country, nation, nationality, identity and direct the reader to the urgency of the issues that lie at their heart.

Temsula Ao has contributed a number of articles on oral tradition, folk songs, myths and cultural traditions of the Ao Nagas in various journals. She has published four collections of poetry and is the author of Ao-Naga Oral Tradition (2000). She is a Professor in the Department of English, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong and also Dean, School of Humanities and Education (NEHU).

For further enquiries, please contact:
Satish Sharma / Elsy
Zubaan,
An imprint of Kali for Women,
K-92, First Floor, Hauz Khas Enclave,
New Delhi ­ 110016 INDIA
Tel: +91-11-26521008, 26864497
Email: zubaanwbooks@vsnl.net and zubaan@gmail.com
Website: www.zubaanbooks.com and www.penguinbooksindia.com

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

In other news, Mala Khullar (Ed.) Writing the Women’s Movement: A Reader was interviewed by Shruba Mukherjee in Deccan Herald http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/dec112005/editpage1723320051210.asp

We are still accepting/processing orders for the ZUBAAN Diary 2006. The Zubaan diary features posters from the Women’s Movement since the 1970s. Poster Women, is a Zubaan project that is a visual mapping of the women’s movement in India and will culminate in a travelling exhibition in 2006.

Finally, a link sent by Rada Ivekovic of her recent article "French Suburbia 2005: the return of the political unrecognised", http://www.mondialisations.org/php/public/art.php?id=21678&lan=EN

If any of you would like to share articles, website links, comments/announcements please write to: zubaanwbooks@vsnl.net and zubaan@gmail.com

Cheers,
JAYA BHATTACHARJI

Common Ground News Service – Partners in Humanity
(CGNews-PiH)
December 20, 2005

Common Ground News – 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 significant Muslim populations. Unless otherwise noted, copyright permission has 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 Common Ground News, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org.

**********

~*~*~ We would like to wish all our readers a joyous season and a peaceful New Year. The next issue of CGNews-PiH will be delivered on January 3, 2006. ~*~*~

ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION:

1. “Women setting their own agenda” by Asma Afsaruddin
In this fifth article in a series on the role of women in US-Muslim relations, Asma Afsaruddin, Associate Professor of Arabic & Islamic Studies at University of Notre Dame, worries that “women’s roles and their attire assume a disproportionate importance in Western-Muslim relations.” She argues that “the challenge then for women in Muslim societies and in the US is to rise above these superficial and divisive depictions and pursue better communication with one another,” and gives examples of how this can be done.
(Source: CGNews-PiH, December 20, 2005)

2. “For Copts, a conference that shows how Arabs embrace democracy”by Mona Eltahawy
Mona Eltahawy, an Egyptian writer, reports on a conference she participated in on “discrimination against Christians in Egypt and ways for Muslims and Christians to combat the growing politicization of religion.” Although there are still many challenges to overcome, this conference with its diverse participants demonstrates that Muslims and Christians, together, are ready to start saying "enough."
(Source: Daily Star, December 14, 2005)

3. “Many Muslims 'do' condemn terrorism” by Samar Dahmash Jarrah
Why don’t moderate Muslims condemn terrorism? Samar Dahmash Jarrah, an Arab-American Muslim writer who lives in Florida, thinks that “it seems strange that many Americans keep asking a question originating four years ago from a few conservative talking-heads and so-called experts.” Pointing out several examples of moderate Muslims who do speak out against terrorism, she suggests that her readers ask the American media.
(Source: Middle East Times, December 9, 2005)

4. “Islam and the process of democratization in Southeast Asia” by Hassan Wirajuda
This article is condensed from a speech given by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hassan Wirajuda, in Jakarta on Dec. 6 at the second international roundtable on Islam and Democratization in Southeast Asia: Challenges and Opportunities. He discusses Indonesia’s transformation to democracy, and shows that the debate is no longer on “the merits of democracy and its compatibility with Islam” but instead on “how to make Islam and all other religions an even more effective force for reform and democratization.”
(Source: Jakarta Post, December 7, 2005)

5. “Expulsion doesn't help” by Benjamin Ward
Benjamin Ward, Special Counsel to the Europe and Central Asia division of Human Rights Watch, challenges the growing European tactic of deporting individuals suspected of supporting or inciting terrorist activity. He argues that this mechanism is counterproductive as it “reinforces the view that “Islam is synonymous with terrorism, and sends a signal to Muslim communities that they are not welcome in Europe, risking further alienation among the region's young Muslim citizens.”
(Source: International Herald Tribune, December 2, 2005)

**********

ARTICLE 1
Women setting their own agenda
Asma Afsaruddin

Notre Dame, Indiana - In discussing the role of women in US-Muslim relations, it is important to first broach the topic of how women are often discursively and symbolically used to demarcate cultural parameters and create a sense of “us” versus “them.” In the “culture war” or, more dramatically, the “clash of civilizations” that is supposedly underway between the United States (or the West in general) and the Muslim world, women’s roles and their attire assume a disproportionate importance. From this vantage point, presumed cultural differences tend to be more sharply etched in people’s minds and contribute to acrimonious debates about women’s well-being, whether defined in physical and/or moral terms on both sides of the divide.

Thus, those who wish to accentuate “civilizational” differences in the West speak of a reified Islam uniformly oppressing women and restricting their civil and human rights. They invoke the veil as a ubiquitous symbol of women’s repression. Their counterparts on the other side of the divide point to the moral degradation of Western women as evident, they will say, in their skimpy attire and the breakdown of the American family. All of this is a consequence, this latter group insists, of the typical decadence to be found in Western societies. Furthermore, some maintain that both human and women’s rights discourses emanating from the secular West are intended to erode the dignity of women and destroy the moral core of Muslim societies.

It is remarkable how persistent these unflattering stereotypes can be both in the West and in the Muslim world, even among relatively educated people. The challenge then for women in Muslim societies and in the US is to rise above these superficial and divisive depictions and pursue better communication with one another. Since women are often deployed as cultural icons freighted with all kinds of political associations, it is women themselves who are in a unique position to dismantle these icons. Women in both parts of the world should assert their own agencies, and in direct communication with one another articulate the complexities inherent in their gendered identities within their specific societal circumstances. Even within a given society, there are huge differentials contingent on socio-economic circumstances, levels of education and support systems, which determine a woman’s sense of well-being and accomplishment. There is, after all, a basic commonality of interests and concerns undergirding women’s lives anywhere in the world. Questions of health, child care, education and employment opportunities are constants in most women’s lives.

It may sound trite to suggest that because women remain fundamentally concerned with the well-being of their families, whether they work or not, certain issues find immediate resonance with them regardless of the ideological framework in which these issues may be found. What follows are two suggestions regarding how women may tap into this reservoir of shared concerns and interests across cultural and religious divides in order to emphasize shared common ground and thus effectively circumvent the rhetoric of divisiveness that forms the master narrative of our times.

The first suggestion is that women from the US and the Muslim world reach out to one another directly and set their own agendas for discussion and negotiation. They can do this both individually and collectively. Individual academics and activists can organize lectures, workshops, and symposia to plan effective ways to empower women socially and politically. Women’s non-governmental organizations in the Muslim world and in the US can initiate collaborative projects with one another. American Muslim women are in a unique position to act as facilitators of many of these projects, since they are able to successfully bridge the cultural divide and be comprehensible to both worlds.

Perceptions are as important as realities: interlocutors who are both American and Muslim can successfully negotiate the pitfalls inherent in the cross-cultural encounters between the US and the Muslim world, especially when the power imbalance is so acute between these two entities. American Muslim women would still be perceived as insiders to a certain extent by their counterparts in the Muslim heartland, making communication less politically fraught.

The second suggestion is that when discussing issues of common concern, one should try to find as much common ground as possible without “ideologizing” these issues. In other words, one should avoid as much as possible replicating the master narratives of civilizational discourses that trumpet greatly accentuated differences between cultures and posit the superiority of one set of values over another (assumed to be the binary opposite). Even the most well-intentioned projects may be undermined by such ideological language. Thus, a respected think-tank in Washington DC recently published a book on women’s rights and roles in Middle Eastern societies, the result of an ambitious survey of a selected number of Middle Eastern countries, conducted by academics and trained researchers in most cases.

Yet an undercurrent of Western triumphalist rhetoric marred the study’s overall effectiveness which assumed that only a relentlessly secular and materialistic perspective would lead to positive results in terms of effecting change in the lives of the women interviewed. As one of the commentators on a pre-publication draft of the survey, I had the occasion to point out that although the survey rightly drew attention to job discrimination against women in a number of Muslim societies and difficulty of access at times to higher education, it barely addressed the issues of health care and did not stress at all governmental and employer responsibilities in providing day care facilities and maternity leaves for women, for example. Veiled and unveiled women all over the world continue to find these issues of pressing concern. If women anywhere choose to define their sense of well-being and empowerment solely in familial terms, then these are the concerns that should be given priority and not the pre-set agendas set by policy-makers and pundits in remote places.

Respecting women’s agency means, first and foremost, letting women articulate their wishes and concerns. It also means listening to them. On such a basis we may collaboratively envision programs and policies that demonstrably improve the quality of women’s lives and of all those around them.

###
* Asma Afsaruddin is Associate Professor of Arabic & Islamic Studies at University of Notre Dame.
Source: CGNews-PiH publishes this article, part of a series of views on "The role of women in US-Muslim relations,” in partnership with United Press International (UPI).
Visit our website at www.commongroundnews.org
Distributed by Common Ground News– Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 2
“For Copts, a conference that shows how Arabs embrace democracy”
Mona Eltahawy

With recent Egyptian parliamentary elections as the perfect backdrop, dozens of Egyptian Christians and Muslims met in Washington in November for the Second International Coptic Conference. If you were to believe the wild accusations that filled the Egyptian media in the weeks preceding the conference, many of us who flew from Egypt to attend were convinced we would be arrested as traitors upon our return.

Instead of convening to discuss discrimination against Christians in Egypt and ways for Muslims and Christians to combat the growing politicization of religion, those wild accusations would have had you thinking we were instead preparing for the invasion of Egypt by foreign troops. Such nonsense was to be expected of course. It was much easier for the government and its media to attack the organizers for holding the conference in Washington than to acknowledge and answer the disturbing questions it raised about discrimination against Christians in Egypt.

The government-controlled media conveniently neglected to mention that the organizers wanted to hold the conference in Egypt, but received no response to the request they sent to Egyptian officials. There was nothing new here - we all remember that the Egyptian government prevented Saadeddin Ibrahim from convening a conference in Egypt in 1994 on minorities in the Arab world. He had to take it to Cyprus instead.

Knowing this, I accepted an invitation to attend and to speak at the conference, for several reasons. It was important to attend as an Egyptian. This is a period that is shaping up to be a real turning point in Egyptian history. It was very apt that the conference was entitled "Democracy in Egypt for Muslims and Christians."

Christian rights belong at the heart of the debate over reform and democracy that has risen to the fore in Egypt over the past year or so. For too long now, the government has presented itself as the only alternative to the politicized Islam of the Muslim Brotherhood. As this year's parliamentary elections showed, the state versus mosque scenario is still very much alive in Egypt. We need an alternative to both. The strong electoral showing by the Brotherhood is a worry not just for Christians, but for all of us who want to separate religion from politics. I share more common interests and concerns with a progressive, secular Christian than I do with a Muslim Brotherhood supporter.

It was also important for me to attend the Coptic conference as a Muslim. The majority of invited guests at the gathering were in fact Muslim. We were there to tell our Christian compatriots that we wholeheartedly oppose the discrimination they face in Egypt. After years of ugly anti-Christian hatred that too often emanates in mosques and government-controlled media, it was imperative that Muslims and Christians, together, said "enough." Many of us who attended as Muslims also share with our Christian compatriots the general lack of rights that is the plight of all Egyptians.

While Egypt's parliamentary elections may have been the perfect backdrop to the debate on democracy at the conference, the ugly riots outside an Alexandria church in October were a sad reminder of sectarianism run amok. And as the violence in Iraq shows, unchecked sectarianism all too easily consumes Muslims too. While it was heartening to see Jordanians take to the streets in protest against the terrorism that caused the recent Amman suicide bombings, it was heartbreaking to hear silence when 10 days later two suicide bombings killed Shiites at prayer in Iraqi mosques. Both episodes must be condemned as terrorism, regardless of whether they killed Sunnis or Shiites.

It was also important to attend the Coptic conference as a woman. While Copts are said to comprise 10 percent of Egypt's population, women - who form 51 percent of Egyptian society - are as marginalized, face the same discrimination, and lack of opportunities that Christians do. In Egypt, there are no Christian mayors, no Christian public university presidents or deans, and there are few Christians in the upper ranks of the security services and the armed forces. There are only two or three Christian ministers at any given time, most Egyptians cannot remember the last time they had a Christian prime minister, and Christians are underrepresented in Parliament. Much the same can be said of women.

The National Democratic Party nominated just two Christian candidates for this year's parliamentary elections - one of whom withdrew after the riots outside the Alexandria church. It also nominated just six women. To end this shameful marginalization, Egypt needs positive discrimination - policies that favour women and Christians.

The conference was a reminder that those who think Egyptians or Arabs can't change or embrace democracy and debate are simply wrong. That was perhaps most poignantly symbolized by the invitation to Raphael Luzon, a Libyan Jew, to speak to the conference about his arrest and expulsion from Benghazi during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

For a conference made up mostly of Arabs to acknowledge the discrimination and persecution that Jews in the Arab world faced, it was a clear message that we were ready to move forward with the debate on minority rights in the Arab world. In learning from the pain of the past, we are determined to move towards a happier future.

###
* Mona Eltahawy (www.monaeltahawy.com) is an Egyptian writer.
Source: Daily Star, December 14, 2005
Visit the website at www.dailystar.com.lb
Distributed by Common Ground News– Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 3
Many Muslims 'do' condemn terrorism
Samar Dahmash Jarrah

Florida - It's true. Many Muslims do condemn terrorism - we just don't hear about it in the American news media.

Yet Americans continue to ask: "Why don't Muslims condemn terrorism? We keep waiting for the so-called moderates to speak out against violence and yet no one comes forward." A man in the audience asked me this question recently when I was invited to speak at a Unitarian Fellowship about what Arabs think about the US and Americans. I had just finished saying that many of the Arab people I interviewed for my book a year ago in Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait had condemned fanatics like Osama Bin Laden.

Perhaps the man wasn't listening. And honestly, what if many Muslims condemn terrorism day in and day out? Will this make terrorism go away? I speak to the public several times a month and at half these events the same question is repeated.

I asked the gentleman if he had heard about the Fiqh Council of North America that had recently issued a public fatwa (religious decree) against terrorism. I asked him if he had heard about other prominent Muslim scholars who have taken public stands against terrorism. As always happens with people who ask these questions, he did not know of my examples.

It seems strange that many Americans keep asking a question originating four years ago from a few conservative talking heads and so-called experts. Perhaps this question has been parroted by TV commentators and reporters so much that we have stopped thinking for ourselves. But I believe that we can still think and find the truth on our own. If we try, we might get more answers than questions.

Perhaps we should stop placing blind faith in American news media and look to other sources, perhaps even the Internet for alternative reporting and commentary.

So why does the question persist? The answer is simple. How often do you see Muslims interviewed on American TV? A few here and there. But how many times do you watch TV shows where non-Muslims and non-Arabs talk about Islam and Arabs as if they were experts? Most of the time.

If you really want to know why you're not hearing about Muslims publicly condemning terrorism - ask the US media this question. Ask them why the images of Bin Laden and Zarqawi are better known to the average American than the face and name of Hamza Youssef. Why do such fanatics get more airtime than Youssef and other moderate American-Muslim scholars and thinkers?

Ask why two local newspapers in southwest Florida did not cover a three-lecture series on Islam given by a Muslim, Palestinian-American woman in a Jewish synagogue. Is it because the exchange was civil? Is it because we disagreed amicably? Should we have thrown stones at each other to make the event worthy of coverage?

A year ago I spoke to a group of humanists who complained that the media refused to cover the event. No wonder people still ask me why American Muslims do not participate in interfaith dialogue. We do participate, but we receive little or no news media coverage.

My recent talk was interesting in many ways. A man said, "I agree with only 80 percent of what you said." I replied. "Great! My husband agrees with only 20 percent of what I say."

I was asked if I thought that US troops in Iraq should be withdrawn. "Yes, they should," I replied. "I would especially think so if I were a mother or father of a soldier."

Another man said, "Islam makes people violent because it is like Christianity where followers believe that they must evangelize and convert people into their own faith to be saved. We never hear of Hindu terrorists."

I reminded him of the assassinations of Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and her son Rajeev, and the horrors of Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini. None of them were Muslim. Would it be fair to condemn their faiths because of the actions of a few?

I asked the man where Judaism and Christianity would be today if Muslims were truly required by their faith to convert Jews and Christians. What were Muslims doing over the past 1,400 years? Not converting others to their faith.

The questions were pointed, thoughtful and challenging. "Did the US attack on the Iraqi city of Fallujah cause more terrorism?" "Are the recent bombings in Jordan related to the US Army presence in Iraq?" "What do you think of Ahmed Chalabi's visit to Washington?" "Is it true that Arabs teach hatred of Americans in schools?" One woman asked me what I thought of the statement made by the president of Iran about wiping Israel off the map. Another asked, "If there is an independent Palestinian state, will Gaza survive?"

So you see - there are vibrant, inquisitive American minds wanting to know more and understand better. Unfortunately, such dialogues are not sensational news, so they become missed opportunities. Next time you wonder why you don't hear of Muslims condemning terrorism - ask the American media.

###
* Samar Dahmash Jarrah is an Arab-American Muslim writer who lives in Florida, USA. She is the author of the book Arab Voices Speak to American Hearts, published in May 2005 by Olive Branch books.
Source: Middle East Times, December 9, 2005
Visit the website at www.metimes.com
Distributed by Common Ground News– Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 4
Islam and the process of democratization in Southeast Asia
Hassan Wirajuda

Jakarta - There are two realities that dominate national life in Indonesia today -- realities that also define the positive image Indonesia enjoys in the eyes of the world at large.

The first of these two realities is the fact that Indonesia is home to the world's largest Muslim population -- 90 percent of a total population of 220 million, or some 198 million people. It is a Muslim population that is by and large moderate.

Most of the Muslims of Southeast Asia are, of course, moderate and there are moderate Muslims everywhere else. It just happens that international observers take a special view of this huge concentration of moderate Muslims in Indonesia. Perhaps it reassures them that the largest part of Islam is not a threat but a friend and contributor to civilization. At any rate, we are happy and proud that our country is considered the home of moderate Islam.

The second of the two dominant realities in our national life is the fact that Indonesia today is considered the world's third largest democracy.

It is important to note that following last year's successful direct presidential election, the first in our history, local direct elections have started to take place this year for governors, regents and mayors.

We are acutely aware of the fact that democracy in Indonesia is still very much in need of further consolidation.

In this process of transition, Islam, as a moral force in support of reform, has played a strong and positive role, although it must also be said that there have been times when Muslim militants and extremists loomed as part of the problems we were grappling with.

This is not a new role for Islam. Muslim intellectuals and religious leaders have always participated in the political dynamics of Indonesia since our struggle for freedom and sovereignty. The debate about the relationship between Islam and the state was already taking place before we became an independent country, especially when our Founding Fathers drafted our Constitution. However, when we finally won our independence in August 1945, our Founding Fathers reached a consensus that Indonesia should not be an Islamic state based on sharia, and Islam should not be the religion of the state.

But this is not the secularism that the West is well known for, in the sense of a constitutional separation between the state and religion. Instead, by constitutional mandate, the state has the obligation to promote the religious life of the people.

It is important to note, however, that there has also been a convergence between "Islamist" and "nationalist" political orientations. For example, a good number of significant Muslim leaders have formed political parties with nationalist platforms -- such as the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the National Mandate Party (PAN).

Political Islam by itself did not make any headway in the country's transition to a more fully democratic system. In the 1999 general election, all 40 of the Islamic parties combined got no more than 17.8 percent of the votes cast. Subsequently, the proposal for the adoption of sharia, initially planned to be tabled by two parties, was graciously withdrawn in the legislature.

To be sure, not every Indonesian Muslim is a moderate. There are a small number of extremists in Indonesian society -- and they are not all Muslims -- who have resorted to violence to advance their respective agendas.

In October 2002, Indonesia itself suffered a massive terrorist attack in Bali, which killed 202 people. Since then, terrorists have struck with murderous effect, twice in Jakarta -- at the Marriott Hotel in August 2003 and in the vicinity of the Australian Embassy in September 2004 -- and once again in Bali last October.

In the wake of each of these attacks, Indonesia responded in the way a democracy should: balancing security needs, the democratic process and respect for human rights. Our police authorities brought the perpetrators to justice through patient investigation and without any violation of human rights. We could not have done less than that, our people demanded it. Because of past experiences, the Indonesian people are very sensitive to the way our police and the rest of the security apparatus work.

While the police are bringing terrorists to justice -- or killing them if they resist lawful arrest -- the government and Muslim leaders are working together to kill terrorist ideas through peaceful and democratic debate.

This, then, is the sum of Indonesia's experience with Islam and democracy: true Islam is moderate and enlightened. Not only can it flourish side by side with democracy, it can also work together with a democratic government to defend society from its attackers and to reform society. There is no debate about that any more -- not in Indonesia and not in various other Muslim countries.

The debate on the merits of democracy and its compatibility with Islam is over. The challenge in Indonesia today is how to make Islam and all other religions an even more effective force for reform and democratization. It is a pragmatic challenge that demands a pragmatic response.

Democracy, too, has its pragmatic challenge: How can we make our democracy an effective one? To my mind, the answer to that challenge lies in an earnest effort at capacity building -- such as the capacity for free and fair elections, the capacity to pass just and wise laws, the capacity to mete out justice. In sum, we have to make democracy work for the welfare of our people.

But even after such capacity building, there are no guarantees that a country's attempt at democracy will succeed. The infrastructure of democracy is not unlike physical infrastructure: It is useful and indispensable but it does not work by itself. It takes human beings to make the infrastructure work.

It takes good citizens -- good men and women -- to make democracy work. Decent men and women who are imbued with civic discipline and high values -- such as the discipline and values of Islam.

###
* This article was condensed from a speech given by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hassan Wirajuda, in Jakarta on Dec. 6 at the second international roundtable on Islam and Democratization in Southeast Asia: Challenges and Opportunities.
Source: Jakarta Post, December 7, 2006
Visit the website at www.thejakartapost.com
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Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 5
Expulsion doesn't help
Benjamin Ward

London - Western European governments grappling with terrorism seem to have settled on a swift and convenient method to deal with the radical clerics seen to be inciting Muslim youths into acts of terror: they simply deport them.

Across the European Union, governments are moving to expel troublesome clerics said to preach hate, together with foreign terrorism suspects. The French interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, who advocates the expulsion of foreign residents convicted of participating in the recent rioting, has long endorsed deporting Islamist radicals deemed a threat to national security.

Sarkozy championed a change in French law last year that allows the authorities to expel foreigners who incite "discrimination, hate or violence against a specific person or group of persons," a measure designed to target radical Muslim clerics. France has expelled at least six imams since the law entered into force in July 2004.

France is not alone in its enthusiasm for expulsion. German states such as Bavaria are making use of a Jan. 1, 2005, federal law that allows them to expel legal foreign residents who "endorse or promote terrorist acts," or incite hatred against sections of the population.

In August, the British government broadened the grounds for deportation to enable it to remove persons who "justify or glorify" terrorism. Italy has expelled at least five imams since 2003, and an anti-terrorism law adopted on July 31, 2005, makes it even easier to do so.

Britain is determined to deport undesirables even when it means breaching international law. It has moved to deport terrorism suspects to countries where they face torture, based on "diplomatic assurances" from the receiving government, despite clear evidence that these promises are an ineffective safeguard against such treatment. London has already signed "no-torture" agreements with Jordan and Libya, and negotiations are under way with other governments with poor records on torture.

The danger of these measures is illustrated by the case of two Egyptians returned by Sweden in 2001 after "no-torture" promises from Cairo. There is credible evidence that both men were tortured in detention, despite visits from Swedish diplomats. In May, the UN torture committee found that Sweden had violated international law in the case.

The deadly attacks in Madrid and London underscore that Europe faces a real threat from terrorism. And expressions of hatred and violence, especially by those in positions of influence, are reprehensible. But deportation is not the answer. Terrorism is a criminal activity - far better to prosecute those involved than to export the problem. Where there is insufficient evidence, those who are deemed a threat can be put under surveillance, with appropriate judicial safeguards.

Why don't governments go this route? Building a case is painstaking work. And criminal defendants have rights. By relying on deportation - an immigration measure - governments can bypass the safeguards built into the criminal justice system.

In France and Germany, for example, lodging an appeal with the administrative court does not automatically suspend the expulsion, while the new rules in Italy mean people have the right to appeal only after they have been deported. The absence of an appeal before removal increases the risk that a person will be sent back to face torture. While some high-profile expulsion cases have been overturned on appeal, there is little doubt that deportation is far easier to achieve than conviction in a criminal court.

The ease with which the policy of deportation can be pursued, however, should not blind us to its costs. Deportation is a deeply counterproductive answer to terrorism. Muslim leaders across Europe have signalled concern that expelling Muslim clerics for nonviolent speech reinforces the view that Islam is synonymous with terrorism, and sends a signal to Muslim communities that they are not welcome in Europe, risking further alienation among the region's young Muslim citizens.

That is doubly true where a person is sent back to face torture, a practice that undermines more than half a century of efforts to rid the world of that moral cancer.

European Union leaders will meet in Brussels on Dec. 15 and 16 to discuss the EU action plan on counterterrorism, including ways to prevent the radicalization of young people and how to stop them from being drawn toward terrorism. They are right to do so. But deportation is likely to have the opposite effect. Far better to rely on the measures that helped make Europe a beacon for freedom around the world - a fair criminal justice system, tolerance for an open debate and respect for fundamental rights, including protection from torture.

###
* Benjamin Ward is Special Counsel to the Europe and Central Asia division of Human Rights Watch.
Source: International Herald Tribune, December 2, 2005
Visit the website at www.iht.com
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At our Workshop in NY, Kjell Skyllstad shared with us a poem that changed the Norwegian Constitution:

CHRISTMAS EVE
by Henrik Wergeland
at http://www.vetssweatshop.net/poem1.htm

Imagine a storm that seems as if heaven
unleashed its very worst?
A storm as if every soul, from Cain to God’s
last condemned, cursing the earth, from hell
escaped and tempted them to betray heaven?

A storm, whose voices of terror can never be
forgotten?
For all would think it must be sent for me
alone, that hurricane’s thunder meant for me and
only me, about whose sins the spirits just have
learned.

A storm the strength of which could teach
priests and pious alike to worship demons in
that element, in which the crash the old man
could hear, from childhood in his moss-grown
ear, an earthquake of the clouds, doomsday of
the air?

A storm that shook the strong man’s heart
hidden to his chest, a storm from heaven, in
which he heard spirits call his name, carried past
him by gales, and every treetop screamed like
ravens?

But the ravens hid in the crevice, the wolf held
his hunger, and the fox dared not go out.
In the house every light was extinguished, and
the leash dog was kept indoors.
In such a storm, God, will you hear prayers?

In such a storm - it was a Christmas eve – when
night fell before the day had reached its end,
there was a Jew, nearly overcome, who found
himself in Sweden’s desolation, the Tived Forest
He was expected in town for the sake of
Christmas, by girls longing for his bag of
buckies, lace and everything they needed for the
morrow, Second day and New Year’s.
Their longing was strong and full of faith, for "old
Jacob" had never missed a Christmas he was as
sure as Christmas was itself.

In such a storm-
"Slush! Was it again the storm that howled
through the branches? It screamed. Now it’s
screaming yet again." And Old – Jacob abruptly
paused and listened for the second time. There,
it was quiet For the storm is increasing the way
a waterfall washed over a drowning man. He
keeps walking "Slush! Again a sound!" – a
sound, cutting through the forest funk. "The
treacherous owl screams like a child. Who
would let a child out in such a storm? Not even
the wolf does that to hers." The old man
trudges again into the snow. Then the scream
set in again, and his doubts fall away, for this
gust, which already flies in a tower over the
forest treetops, carried with it a word, a simple
word and at once he turns to whence a came,
working his way deeper into the forest, deeper
into the snow and the night, which raises itself
as a deep black cliff against his every step, only
visible through the snow, as if the whole forest
were full of flying, shrouded ghosts, howling in
his way, airily on toe they appear, growing
fearsome, then to disappear among the trees.
But the old man fights his way through the
storm. He moves when it grows and holds his
breath when it slows, listening on his knees. But
then he jumps up and walks into the dark as a
dwarf cuts through the black mold. He hears
no more. The old man trembles at the thought
that evil spirits are playing with him, and
mumbles forth his own prayers. Then a cry
comes forth again and quite near, though his
own shout the storm pushes back into his
throat. But here, yes here! Ten more steps!
Something dark is moving in the snow, as if the
storm had played with a log loosened from its
root.

O Lord, an arm! O Lord, a child! A child! But
dead! – "Did the stars think that on this night,
when the Star of Bethlehem shone among them
that nothing good could happen on Earth? For
none of them saw, that Old Jacob, happy as
though he had found a treasure, threw – without
the slightest hesitation – away his entire fortune:
the bag, pulled off his threadbare cloak,
enveloped the child’s limbs, exposed his chest,
and put the cold cheek to it until it awoke from
his heartbeat. Then he leaped up. But to where?
For the storm had covered his tracks – but not to worry.

For in the thunder in the forest tops he only
heard David’s jubilant harps. He saw the gusts
as cherubs, showing him the way on swan white
wings, and in that to and fro, he followed,
feeling the Lord’s strong guiding hand.

But to find a house in the wild Tiveden, in such
a night, when lights were kept unlit? And
midway was only a simple place, the roof of
which could not be told from the snow – and by
a miracle he found it. There he collapsed. He
could go no further – and many gusts he
endured before he took his load and struggled
to the door. He knocked softly at first, so as to
not awake the child, and now for the first time
he missed his old bag, for he had nothing to give
the good, poor people who soon, with
hospitality, would open the door. Oh, he knocked
many times before it answered. "In the name of
our Savior, who comes here in such a night?
"The old Jacob. Don’t you know me? The old Jew?

"Jew?" cried the horrified couple. "Then stay
outside! We have nothing with which to buy,
and only misfortune will you bring to this house,
on this night, when he was born that you killed."

"I killed?"
"Yes, your people, and that is the sin, which
shall be punished through a thousand
generations."
"Ach! In this night, when even the dog is kept indoors?
"Yes, the dog, but no Jew in this, a Christian house."
He heard no more. The harsh words blew
through him colder than the wind, and threw
him, harder than any storm, down into the
snow, bent over the sleeping child. And then it
seemed to him, even while he stared toward the
window, as if the white face appeared again, as
if he sank in feathers, and precious heat flowed
through his veins, and as familiar beings,
whispering like simmer winds, surrounded him,
until a lifted finger said, come, he sleeps. And
into a well-lit hall nearby they went, only the
child stayed at his feet, pulling the pillows more
around him, until at last he felt, that also he fell
asleep - Where the snow was that grew around
the dead man.

"O Jesus! The Jew is still there!" the husband
shouted, when he looked out that morning.
"Then chase him off! It is Christmas morning,"
the wife chimed in. And see the Jewish way in
which he holds his goods to his chest!" "He is
aggressive with his goods. With a stiff gaze he
looks in here, as if we had money with which to
buy." "Though I’d like to see what he has to
sell." "So show us Jew!"
They both went out.
The frozen glaze they saw in the corpse’s eyes.
They paled more than that, they screamed and
shook in remorse.
"Oh Jeremiah!"
"What accident has happened!"
They stood him up and his load came with.
They opened the cloak. And there, around the
Jew’s neck - Margaret, their child – a corpse like
him.
A lightning doesn’t strike, and adder doesn’t bite,
the way horror and pain hit the couple then. The
snow wasn’t as pale as the father, the storm
didn’t howl as the mother "Oh God has
punished us! Not the cold of the storm, but our
own cruelty has killed our child! For naught!
Ah, for naught the Jew for the sake of mercy
knocked on our door!"

When the forest again became fit for travel,
message came from the farm, where Greta was
kept in foster care, and whence she went, when
Christmas bells were rung and before the storm
set in, wandering on her own to visit her parents
on Christmas eve. But they came not to ask
about the child, but about the Jew from the
town girls, whose home to go to church was
postponed to New Year’s if he came.

Where he lay dead before the fireplace, the
husband sat with the fixed stare of the frozen
Jew’s and bending like the corpse, the fire
increased so the corpse was stretched and arms
folded. But before him on his knees was
Margaret’s mother, her daughter’s arms still
stronger around the dead man’s neck. "She
belongs no more to us," she cried. "He has
acquired the child with his death. We dare not
separate little Greta from him, for she must
intercede on our behalf to Jesus with his Father
- because He will listen to a poor Jew."

Ana Ljubinkovic kindly writes to us:

Have you had an occasion to read Harold Pinter's Nobel lecture given just about a week ago? I thought it might be nice to share it with others or perhaps on our web-site if you think it is appropriate. This is the link

http://nobelprize.org/literature/laureates/2005/pinter-lecture-e.html

Dear colleague,

The new number of Intervention (Vol 3, No.3 ) is now on its way to subscribers.

I hope you are already familiar with our journal, Intervention, The International Journal of Mental Health, Psychosocial work and Counselling in Areas of Armed Conflict, which brings special focus to local field reports, training, evaluation and practical implementation within this important discipline. The journal is published in close co-operation with the War Trauma Foundation and IRCT.

Volume 3: Number 3: Winter 2005
Special Number: Reconciliation In Practice

Reconciliation - The wrong track to peace?
David Becker looks at the shortcomings of reconciliation in current theory and practice. Describing the experiences of Chile, Sierra Leone and Israel/Palestine, the author concludes that the concept of reconciliation is here to stay, and proposes a definition that does justice to the complex intra-psychic processes connected with integrating conflicts instead of burying the past.

Empirical criteria for reconciliation in practice
Dan Bar-On examines the processes of reconciliation. Although a top-down legal and political agreement between the formerly conflicting parties is certainly necessary, a full solution also requires a complementary bottom-up educational and social-psychological process. These are crucial in allowing people to let go of the hatred, the desire for revenge, the memory of trauma and the mistrust. Bar-On discusses the TRT group which brought together descendents of holocaust victims and nazi perpetrators over a period of thirteen years, and considers some lessons for the current Israeli/Palestinian conflict. He suggests several empirical criteria for the study of reconciliation in practice.

Can there be reconciliation without justice?
East Timor is undergoing a reconciliation process, but the fact that many of the perpetrators have escaped justice means a high level of anger remains among the victims. The authors consider how to to make provision for the inevitable anger and frustration felt when the perpetrators avoid prosecution.

Reconciliation in the aftermath of violent conflict in Rwanda
Richters et al.prsent their experience of the reconciliation process in Rwanda over an extended period, and under a repressive government. They discuss if, and to what extent, internationally oriented concepts and programs with cultural specific approaches to reconciliation are in themselves in conflict with each other, or whether they have the potential to reinforce each other.

Twelve creative ways to foster reconciliation
Using his considerable experience as a mediator in many conflict areas, John Galtung discusses twelve approaches to reconciliation. Since no single approach is capapble of dealing with the complexities of reconciliation, the author suggests using a combination of approaches which can be discussed and approved by the parties so as to arrive at an optimum blend for their particular local situation.

Online Resources.
Intervention is participating in several online projects to make information available to the widest possible readership. They include the PILOTS Index to Traumatic Stress Literature ( http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/publications/pilots/ )

Call for papers: Ex-combatants
In November 2006 we hope to publish a special issue on the theme: "ex-combatants: reintegration into society". Theoretical contributions, research articles, field reports and reviews of inspiring books are all welcome. If you would like to contribute, or if you know somebody else who could, please contact us.

Perhaps you would like to suggest some other subject for inclusion, or want to take up an issue with one of our authors? Perhaps you know of a librarian who should review the publication, or a colleague who would benefit from a subscription to Intervention...if there is any way in which we can help each other, please do not hesitate to ask us.

Yours faithfully

Guus van der Veer
Editor

Intervention is downloadable!

Our new website contains downloadable versions of past articles
as well as current news and events.
www.interventionjournal.com

HumanDHS Is Now Incorporated in NY State!

In the US, all contributions to Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies are tax
deductible as allowable by law.

Linda kindly writes (17.12.2005):

Now that the HumanDHS has a tax-exempt number in the U.S., Rick and I established a checking account for our organization!--Hooray! If people want to make contributions, they can be sent to:

HumanDHS
5 Rock Street
Framingham, MA 01702

Checks can be made out to "HumanDHS"

The tax-free number for our "DOMESTIC NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION" is
"02-076-0075"

Here is a little quote we can use, if Americans ask us about making donations:

Thank goodness for Nitza and Robin's valuable work that made this milestone possible!! I sent them a thank you note.

Much love to all,
Linda

Linda Hartling, Ph.D., Associate Director
Jean Baker Miller Training Institute
http://www.jbmti.org
Wellesley Centers for Women
Stone Center, Wellesley College - 106 Central Street - Wellesley, MA 02481

The Year Ahead in US-UN Relations

Date: Thursday January 12, 2006

Time: 1:00-2:30 PM

Location: Church Center of the UN
777 UN Plaza, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10017

RSVP: Full contact information to:
Jessica Hartl, UNA-USA
202-462-3446
jhartl@unausa.org

Featured Speaker

Steven A. Dimoff
Vice President, Washington Office
United Nations Association of the USA

Background

With the United States refusing to join the consensus to pass the UN's $3.89 billion biennial budget if more progress is not made on management reform, US-UN relations have reached a critical juncture. What will this budget crisis mean for future US-UN relations? Will this financial pressure move the organization towards speedier adoption of reforms, as some predict in Congress? With the Senate Foreign Relations Committee set to visit New York in early February, does this signal improving Congressional-UN relations? Mr. Dimoff will offer a detailed account of current U.S. budgetary issues - including the result of appropriations for the UN in 2005, the status of US payments to the UN, and expectations for the 2007 budget. He will address the implications for Washington of what has happened in New York - e.g. the UN reform progress and the fallout from the Oil for Food scandal. And he will provide a wrap-up of Congressional action in 2005, with a preview of important topics in Congress for 2006.

Search for Common Ground Newsletter - December 14, 2005

Search for Common Ground
1601 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20009 USA
Tel.: (1-202) 265-4300
Fax: (1-202) 232-6718
E-mail: search@scfg.org
Web: www.sfcg.org

Search for Common Ground
Rue Belliard 205 bte 13
B-1040 Brussels, Belgium
Tel.: (32-2) 736-7262
Fax: (32-2) 732-3033
E-mail: brussels@sfcg.be
Web: www.sfcg.org

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

Winter 2005-2006

Dear Friend of Search for Common Ground,
As our 23rd year comes to an end, my colleagues and I have the distinct pleasure of wishing you joyous holidays. Despite the precarious state of the world, there is much to be thankful for. Here at SFCG, we are overwhelmingly optimistic. Our hope for 2006 is that many more people - and nations - will realize that everyone on the planet shares common humanity and that all of us can do much better in resolving problems peacefully.

BURUNDI. Burundi provides reason for optimism. We began work there in 1995 after genocide swept through neighboring Rwanda. Lionel Rosenblatt, then head of Refugees International, challenged us: If we could not take action to help stop Burundi from becoming a mass killing field, how could we, in good conscience, call ourselves a conflict prevention organization. Lionel was absolutely right. A month later Susan Collin Marks and I, accompanied by the late Yvette Pierpaoli and Lionel, arrived in Bujumbura. We were armed only with support from Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative (and now a SFCG board member).

Societal Conflict Prevention. We launched a multi-pronged effort to help defuse violence, and Burundi soon became our biggest project. We made a long-term commitment, as we have done elsewhere - in Africa, in the Middle East, in Eastern Europe, in Indonesia, and in the US. Here is what we started in Burundi:

Studio Ijambo. We launched a radio production studio that employed Hutus and Tutsis and that ABC News' Ted Koppel called "the voice of hope in Burundi". The goal was - and is - to make programs (including our first-ever radio soap opera) to counter hate radio and promote reconciliation. Today, we produce 15 hours a week of original programming that airs on five Burundian radio stations.

Women's Peace Center. To mobilize women as peacemakers, we opened this center to work with thousands of women's associations in organizing training, facilitating interethnic dialogue, providing information about women's legal rights, and supporting resettlement of internally displaced people (IDPs).

Victims of Torture Project. This activity brings together the expertise of organizations working in peace-building, traumatic medicine, community organizing, and human rights advocacy. It promotes psychological healing, furnishes legal assistance, and aids in reintegration of victims.

Domestic Shuttle Diplomacy. We engaged Jan van Eck, a former South African ANC Member of Parliament, to promote dialogue and help solve problems among leaders of conflicting parties, including groups outside official talks. Jan became a widely trusted intermediary who is still engaged in good work in Burundi.

Youth. Originally called the Working with Killers project, this effort involves providing young militia members with alternatives to violence. Activities include sponsoring football (soccer) tournaments, training youth in conflict resolution, and widely distributing comic books that deplore violence. . Originally called the Working with Killers project, this effort involves providing young militia members with alternatives to violence. Activities include sponsoring football (soccer) tournaments, training youth in conflict resolution, and widely distributing comic books that deplore violence.

Cultural Events. We organized a national dance competition, along with singing and drumming festivals. We produced music for peace radio programs and enlisted reggae star Ziggy Marley to record public service announcements (PSAs).

Have we made a difference? Burundi has moved back from the brink of genocide. A top-level mediation process led by Nelson Mandela resulted in a political settlement, national elections, and interethnic power sharing. Independent evaluators found that our work contributed greatly to changing the political and social environments. Unfortunately, one rebel group continues armed conflict; many political leaders refuse to abandon their zero-sum approach; and Burundi remains fragile. But compared to ten years ago, there has been extraordinary progress, and we are proud to have played a positive role. To understand better what this means on the human level, here are a few of the stories that describe our work - and there are literally thousands more:

Saving Lives in Kinama. In February 2001, rebel forces invaded Kinama District, and the residents fled. Several Hutu women hid with their children in the homes of Tutsis they had met during conflict resolution trainings organized by our Women's Peace Center. Our staff learned of the crisis after some of the women and their children had been without food for five days. While we do not normally provide humanitarian relief, we worked with both Hutu and Tutsi partners to organize donations and distribute food, while avoiding detection by both the Tutsi-led military and the Hutu rebels. After the fighting ended, a woman came to our office in Bujumbura to say, "When you gave me that small bag of food, I had just lost my child, and my two others would have died today without your help."

Crossing the Divide in Busoro. Léonie Barakomeza and Yvonne Ryakiye were both born in Busoro but did not know each other. In 1993, fighting broke out, and their community was destroyed. Léonie and her fellow Tutsis fled to one side of the river; Yvonne and the Hutus went to the other. In 1996, the two met through the Women's Peace Center and began to work together. Unlike most of their neighbors, they were willing to cross the river. They were accused of being spies and traitors, but they persisted. Other women followed their example, and links grew. The two created a women's association, whose name translates as We Want Peace. They urged people to return home. Despite meager means, the women pooled their resources and built 40 brick houses for both Tutsi and Hutu families. Their efforts were recognized, when, along with eight other Burundian women, they were nominated for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize.

Reconciliation in Rusengo. The Women's Peace Center has trained hundreds of Burundian women to be facilitators in reuniting divided communities. In 2004, one facilitator was invited to Rusengo, where many ethnic killings had occurred. The community had reached the point where it wanted the violence to end and asked us to facilitate a reconciliation process. A meeting was convened, and our facilitator formed those present into two lines: on one side were the perpetrators; on the other were the families of dead victims. One by one, those in the first group stepped forward to admit guilt. Then, those in the second group took the hand of the person who had confessed and granted pardon. The session ended with a stirring twist. A young man, who had stood with the victims and had just taken the hand of someone who had murdered one of his family, suddenly crossed the space between the lines, joined the perpetrators, and reached across to take the hand of a woman whose husband he had killed. He was forgiven.

SIERRA LEONE. While our Burundi program celebrated its tenth birthday, we reached another milestone in Sierra Leone where our daily radio soap opera produced its 1000th episode. Called Atunda Ayenda (Lost and Found), it airs on all 11 of the country's radio stations. Hugely popular and influential, it tells stories - laced with themes of conflict resolution - of ex-combatants who come home, look for lost loves, and rebuild their lives.

Presidential Soap. In October, Ambassador George Moose, Vice Chair of our Board and a former US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, was part of a visit that a group of our investors took to Sierra Leone. The investors met with, among other people, the President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. Needless to say, they were pleased to hear that President Kabbah is a regular listener of Atunda Ayenda and that he believes our radio programs are playing a key role in helping restore peace to Sierra Leone.

PALESTINIAN MEDIA. In partnership with the Ma'an Network of Independent Palestinian TV Stations, we have co-produced a 13-part TV drama series. Called Mazah fi Jad (Seriously Joking), it features three families - two Muslim and one Christian - and focuses on the problems of everyday life for ordinary Palestinians, particularly the young. Themes of peaceful problem-solving abound. The series was televised during this fall's Ramadan holidays.

It shatters Palestinians' stereotypes about themselves. - USA Today

The new soap opera has captivated viewers. - Voice of America

Magazine Series. Since August, we have co-produced with the Ma'an Network a twice-weekly TV magazine series for Palestinian viewers. The segments, which are produced by the ten local TV stations that comprise Ma'an, tell stories that convey the positive, human-interest side of Palestinian society. Episodes to date have profiled the gold market in Tulkarem, tobacco cultivation in Jenin, a look at Bethlehem University, and a portrait of a disabled man in Nablus who lives a wholly self-sufficient life.

Legislative Redux. In 1997, Palestinian authorities arrested Daoud Kuttab, a leading Palestinian journalist, for airing live TV coverage of the Palestinian Legislative Council, including discussions of alleged corruption. Daoud was kept in prison for eight days, and the broadcasts stopped. Since August 2005, the Ma'an Network, in partnership with Daoud, Al Quds Educational TV, and us, has resumed broadcast of the Palestinian legislative sessions. We believe that these C-SPAN-like programs promote transparency and non-violence in the Palestinian political process.

AFRICAN ELECTIONS. During recent Burundian and Sierra Leonean elections, we formed consortia of journalists to report on results. By having reporters on the ground as the votes were being counted, we reduced the possibility of fraud and violence. This fall, Liberia held elections, and we partnered with UN Radio and a private station to cover them. The Dutch Minister of Development Cooperation, Agnes van Ardenne-van der Hoeven, described the initiative thusly:

Let me mention a recent success of our cooperation with civil society: during the Liberian presidential elections, the first since the civil war, we funded the NGO, Search for Common Ground. This NGO relieved social tension during the elections through radio broadcasts in sixteen local languages. The programmes featured debates between the candidates, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and former soccer player George Weah, and gave callers the opportunity to denounce any irregularities live on the air.

ANGOLAN YOUTH. In Angola, as elsewhere, we put special emphasis on working with young people. We bring together youth from the MPLA and UNITA, the opposing sides in the former civil war, to empower them to co-create projects that promote reconciliation. This work is particularly important in dealing with youth violence, which has a highly negative impact on Angola. Here is a statement made by a participant in one of our workshops:

I began by disrespecting my teachers and assaulting stores with an armed street gang known as AKM. Then, I wanted to leave that life behind because I was tired and a guy by the name of Paixão told me about the trainings. Today I am completely different as a result of the trainings… They gave me tools with which to resolve conflict without violence.

THE DIFFERENCE OUR INVESTORS MAKE. Financial investment from people like you is crucial to our work. Individual support represents a personal commitment to a non-adversarial way of dealing with conflict, and it enables us to expand greatly our reach and our impact. We are committed to changing the world, and, as you can see from the descriptions in this letter, we are working with some of the most courageous and extraordinary people on the planet. Your support strengthens their resolve and ensures their viability and sustainability. My wife Susan and I make a substantial annual contribution to Search for Common Ground. We ask you to join us as a Common Ground Partner and make a three-year pledge. Please mail in your reply or click on our secure website, http://www.sfcg.org/help/help_home.html .

With best wishes,

John Marks
President

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

DEMOCRACY ALERTS/APPEALS
1. Aid Agencies Call on UN Security Council to Protect Civilians from Rebel Attacks in Uganda
2. Democracy Activist Imprisoned and Facing Possible Execution in Ethiopia
3. Editor Freed After 14 Months in Prison
4. News Reports: Nepal Government Will Not Issue Travel Documents to Refugees

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS
5. "China's Conscience," Distinguished Writer Liu Binyan, has Died
6. Call for Applications: Distance Learning Course on Campaigning for Access to Information
7. Stanford 2006 Summer Fellows Program
8. African Network (ADF) Newsletter Now Available Online
9. IFES's Democracy at Large Focuses on Asia

CIVIC EDUCATION
10. Publication: Islam and Democracy: Towards Effective Citizenship
11. ICTJ Announces Essentials Course on Transitional Justice

ELECTIONS
12. World Forum for Democratization in Asia Reports on Sri Lanka's Elections

HUMAN RIGHTS
13. Current Issue of Individu Focuses on Violence in Pakistan
14. NGOs Call for Credible Human Rights Council at UN
15. Violations of Human Rights alongside UN WSIS Summit
16. Court Orders Trial of Civil Society Leaders in Venezuela

INTERNATIONAL DEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE AND SOLIDARITY
17. New Book on Post Authoritarian Transitions Published
18. Seminar Summary of the Czech Republic's Transition Experiences

INTERNET, MEDIA, AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
19. New Funding Opportunity for Documentary Producers
20. African Free Expression Groups Launches Network

POLITICAL AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION OF YOUTH
21. Applications for International Volunteerism Summit
22. Telecentre.org to Offer Support to Grassroots Technology Centers around the World

POLITICAL PARTIES AND POLITICAL LEADERSHIP
23. New Publication: NDI Political Party Research Series

TRANSPARENCY AND ANTI-CORRUPTION
24. Conference on International Anti-Corruption Held in Guatemala
25. GOPAC Launches New Web Site

RESEARCH
26. Global Integrity Seeks Experts in Governance and Corruption Issues

WOMEN'S ISSUES
27. New Advocacy Tool for Reform of Family Law in Muslim-Majority Societies
28. Submissions Deadline Extended for Women's Stories and Art

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

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

DEMOCRACY ALERTS/APPEALS

1. Aid Agencies Call on UN Security Council to Protect Civilians from Rebel Attacks in Uganda
Fifty international aid agencies have requested that the UNSC help protect children in the northern region of Uganda. They say the violence by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) fighters is claiming 1,000 lives every week. Their call comes as a high-level UN Security Council delegation is due to begin talks with the Ugandan government. British-based charity Oxfam calls it the world's worst case of mass child abuse, with 20 children being abducted every week by the rebels. The organization Save the Children takes the view that this is no time for half measures and says the Security Council must challenge the government to protect its own people. LRA attacks have risen in the last month since the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the five top rebel leaders.
Go to: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4420488.stm

2. Democracy Activist Imprisoned and Facing Possible Execution in Ethiopia
Berhanu Nega, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) vice chairman, New York-educated economist, was imprisoned for participating in peaceful demonstrations against the government of Ethiopia on October 31. Academics from Nega's alma mater, the New School, are asking U.S. Secretary of State Rice, Senator Clinton, and Ethiopia's representative at the United Nations to intervene and help free him. According to Amnesty International, Mr. Nega is one of hundreds of Ethiopians detained by the government in the wake of the protests. Along with almost a dozen CUD leaders and journalists, the economist has been listed by the organization as a "prisoner of conscience." Students at the New School working on behalf of Mr. Nega's release said he is reported to be in solitary confinement and limited to one meal a day.
Go to: savenega.org/

3. Editor Freed After 14 Months in Prison
Reporters Without Borders voiced delight at the release of Paul Kamara, the founder and editor of the independent daily "For Di People," after 14 months in prison for urging the Sierra Leone government to keep its promise of democracy and put an end to its repression of the news media. "After more than a year of waiting and suffering, Paul Kamara is finally being reunited with his family and his newspaper," the press freedom organization said. Reporters Without Borders added: "Any further serious press freedom violations such as the imprisonment of one of the country's most respected journalists would cause irreversible harm to Sierra Leone." Kamara was released by the Freetown appeals court, which overturned his October 5, 2004 conviction of two 24-month sentences for "seditious defamation." He left the court smiling, accompanied by his wife and daughter, his newspaper staff, other journalists, and his lawyer.
Go to: www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=15761

4. News Reports: Nepal Government Will Not Issue Travel Documents to Refugees
A Nepal government source told Nepal News that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) recently approved a policy decision denying travel documents to refugees including those from Tibet. This latest move is likely to pose serious difficulties for all refugees living in Nepal who are traveling to third countries and likely to raise international concerns especially in the West. Travel documents issued by host nation for refugees are regarded as passports for overseas journeys. Denial of travel documents would further isolate refugees from the outside world. It is estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 Tibetan refugees enter Nepal every year after a long and arduous journey through the Himalayan passes from the Chinese Autonomous Region of Tibet. The Nepal government's decision would remain in effect for an indefinite period, the source revealed. The government claims that the total number of Tibetan refugees in Nepal is not more than 15,000.
Go to: http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2005/oct/oct24/news11.php

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS

5. "China's Conscience," Distinguished Writer Liu Binyan, has Died
One of China's most distinguished and revered writers, Mr. Liu Binyan, died at the Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on December 5. The cause of death was advanced colon cancer that had spread to other organs. He was 80 years old. In 1956 he published "On the Bridge Worksite," which exposed bureaucracy and corruption, and "The Inside Story of Our Newspaper" about press control. The two works had a powerful nationwide impact among readers, but the following year, 1957, Mr.Liu was labeled a "rightist" and expelled from the Communist Party. He spent the next 21 years in and out of labor camps. In 1985, when the Chinese Writers' Association was allowed (for the first and last time) to elect its own leaders, Liu Binyan received the second-highest number of votes. In spring of 1988, he came to the United States for teaching and writing; after publicly denouncing the Chinese government for its Beijing massacre and nationwide crackdown in June1989, he was barred from returning to China and consequently never returned. Although largely separated from his Chinese readers, he continued to read and write about China, and to interview visitors from the country, in every way he could. In recent years, while fighting his losing battle with cancer, Liu wrote several letters to China's top leaders asking permission for one last visit to the country he loves. The letters were delivered, but Liu received no response, not even a notice of rejection. Liu is survived by his wife Zhu Hong, son Liu Dahong, daughter Liu Xiaoyan, and two grandsons, Liu Dongdong and Li Dakuan.
Go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/06/international/asia/06liu.html

6. Call for Applications: Distance Learning Course on Campaigning for Access to Information
The global free expression group, Article 19, and the human rights organization, Fahamu, invite applications for a distance learning course on Campaigning for Access to Information. This course, available to those in southern Africa, looks at why access to information is important, what an access to information law should contain, and how to set about campaigning for one. While several countries in southern Africa have draft laws for access to information in place, South Africa is the only country in the region that has a proper access to information law. But even when a law or a draft law is in place, it is important to have the ability to critique it in order to make sure it includes the best provisions possible. Participants who successfully complete this course will be awarded a certificate from Article 19 and Fahamu. Applicants should send a one page summary CV, with a letter of 500 words or less explaining why they should be selected for this course.
Applications should be sent to: info@fahamu.org
Go to: http://www.fahamu.org/foi.php

7. Stanford 2006 Summer Fellows Program
The Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, California, invites policy makers and activists from countries undergoing political, economic, and social transitions to participate in its second annual Summer Fellows Program on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law to be held July 31 - August 18, 2006. This program offers a unique approach to studying the ways in which democratic institutions and institutions that foster economic development can be established and strengthened in varying country contexts. The curriculum draws on the combined expertise of Stanford scholars and practitioners in the fields of political science, economics, law, sociology, and business and emphasizes the links between theory and practice. This program is aimed at early to mid-career policy makers, academics, and leaders of civil society organizations who will play important roles in their country's democratic, economic, and social development. The deadline for the applications to the program is January 6, 2006.
Go to: cddrl.stanford.edu/summerfellows/

8. African Network (ADF) Newsletter Now Available Online.
The African Democracy Forum (ADF) recently issued its second ADF Newsletter, which is now available online. This issue features three articles: "The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and the Role of Civil Society: Lessons from Ghana"; "Critical Analysis of the Economic and Social Rights of Congolese Citizens Recognized in the Transition Constitution"; and "A Critique of Southern African Development Community (SADC) Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections." The newsletter also includes reports on ADF activities and a profile of ADF member organization, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network.
Go to: www.africandemocracyforum.org

9. IFES's Democracy at Large Focuses on Asia
The December issue of Democracy at Large, a quarterly magazine published by IFES, designed for professionals and others interested in democracy development worldwide, focuses on Asia, with articles on India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Afghanistan and China. The issue features articles by Roland Rich ("Designing Democracy in Pacific Asia"), Fr. Ranhilio Callangan Aquino ("Coping with Corruption in the Philippines"), and a profile of Women Power Connect's Ranjana Kumari, and more.
Go to: www.democracyatlarge.org

CIVIC EDUCATION

10. Publication: Islam and Democracy: Towards Effective Citizenship
This book is an Arabic-language guide to teaching about democracy in Muslim societies intended for leaders involved in grassroots education in their communities. The guide was written by authors from Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, and Jordan in collaboration with Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) and Street Law, Inc.
Go to: www.islam-democracy.org/

11. ICTJ Announces Essentials Course on Transitional Justice
The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), in association with the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Faculty of Law, has established an Essentials Course: a 4-day intensive, non-credit course on Transitional Justice. The course will cover the essential themes, mechanisms, and case studies in the field of Transitional Justice. The first course will be offered from February 2-5, 2006. The venue for the course is the historic Irish College in Leuven, Belgium, just outside of Brussels, where the ICTJ is in the process of establishing a new office. The cost of the course is 390 Euros, payable within 15 business days following admission into the course. The program is primarily targeted at (1) pre-mission field staff of international and regional multilateral bodies, and (2) mid-level and senior human rights academics and practitioners who cannot spare long periods away from their jobs and families. To be considered, an applicant will need to prove gainful employment in human rights or a related field, and possess a Master's degree or equivalent. Each course will be limited to a maximum of 30 participants. Graduates of the course will receive a Certificate of Completion.
Go to: www.ictj.org

ELECTIONS

12. World Forum for Democratization in Asia (WFDA) Reports on Sri Lanka's Elections
WFDA reports that the presidential election that took place November 17th in Sri Lanka was one of the key contests requiring regional attention. People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) and the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) were applauded for their efforts in regional observation and monitoring missions. The election was peaceful in most of the country and participation was high with a turnout reported at over percent. However, WFDA states that improvement is needed in the north and east regions of Sri Lanka and that these LTTE controlled regions were unable to vote or boycotted the elections. According to WFDA, democracy in Sri Lanka cannot be considered to be complete until all citizens are able to participate.
Go to: www.wfda.net/news_detail.htm?id=210

HUMAN RIGHTS

13. Current Issue of Individu Focuses on Violence in Pakistan
The current issue of "Individu -spotlight," a monthly newsletter that appears on Individu-land's Web site, entitled 'While Gilgit burns...' focuses on the violence in Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA) in Pakistan and the political basis for this violence. "Individu-land" is a cyber space where the individual is considered as the most important actor. The principles that connect the various individuals at "Individu-land" include: individual freedom, social responsibility, rule of law, pluralism, equality before the law, independent judiciary, democracy, free market economy, and secularism.
Go to: www.individualland.com/newsletter/newsletter.html

14. NGOs Call for Credible Human Rights Council at UN
A coalition of 62 civil society organizations from around the world wrote to the UN General Assembly President Jan Eliasson urging prompt "establishment of an effective, credible, and authoritative Human Rights Council." Coordinated by Human Rights Watch and the Democracy Coalition Project (DCP), the broad coalition of democracy and rights groups outlined the essential elements needed to "fulfill the promise that engendered this reform." DCP has additionally called for a UN Democracy Caucus position on the Human Rights Council, as well as on resolutions introduced in the General Assembly dealing with rights abuses in seven countries around the world.
Go to: www.demcoalition.org/pdf/Joint%20HRC%20Letter%20on%20Timeline%20-%20Dec.%206%20%2020051.pdf

15. Violations of Human Rights alongside UN WSIS Summit
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) reports that in front of participants of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), journalists and human rights defenders were jostled, insulted, and then violently beaten. On November 14, 2005, at Place d'Afrique in Tunis Omar Mestiri, a founding member of the National Council for Freedom in Tunisia (Conseil National pour les Libertés en Tunisie - CNLT) was seized by police as soon as he arrived for the meeting of the coordinating committee of the Citizens' Summit on the Information Society (CSIS)." Mr. Mestiri was then beaten by the plainclothes policemen who were impatiently awaiting international and Tunisian delegates and members of civil society. The law enforcement agents shouted, jostled, and tried to physically intimidate the on-site Tunisian journalists. When members of international NGOs, such as the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), Human Rights Watch, the Danish Human Rights Institute and other civil society representatives tried to intervene, the police officers moved away from the journalists, and manhandled the international delegates in turn. "
Go to: www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=2430527

16. Court Orders Trial of Civil Society Leaders in Venezuela
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), by ordering a trial of four civil society leaders on charges of treason, a Venezuelan court has assented to government persecution of political opponents. A court in Caracas has ordered that María 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. Machado and Plaz have been charged under Article 132 of the Venezuelan Penal Code with "conspiracy to destroy the nation's republican form of government." If convicted, they face up to 16 years in prison. Súmate engaged in voter outreach and education that encouraged participation in a national referendum to determine whether Chávez should remain in