December 2005

Åbent brev til statsminister Anders Fogh Rasmussen 22. december 2005 Kære Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Snart skal du holde din nytårstale til den danske befolkning. Vi vil opfordre dig til at se ud over dagen og vejen og fokusere på den store verden, som ligger uden for Danmark og EU. Her giver den uretfærdige fattigdom og de store sociale uligheder grobund for terrorisme, selvom forbindelsen ikke er entydig. USA’s krig mod terrorismen, som din regering har tilsluttet sig, truer både retssikkerhed og humanisme, fordi den bekæmper enkelte terrorister, men ikke terrorisme og dens rødder. Hvis demokratiske rettigheder, menneskerettigheder og medmenneskelighed kan tilsidesættes ved henvisning til, at “vi bekæmper terrorist-trusler”, så vil det lukke dét åbne samfund, der ellers kendetegner de vestlige demokratier. Krigen i Irak har gjort landet til en rede for terrorister. I et spind af uvidenhed, usandhed og politisk manipulation er Danmark blevet indrulleret i en ulovlig og moralsk...

18 december, 2005 Sören Sommelius Den turkiske författaren Orhan Pamuk dras har blivit en bricka i spelet om Turkiets medlemskap i den europeiska gemenskapen. På Bokmässan i Göteborg drog han stora skaror med anledning av romanen “Snö”. Sören Sommelius har träffat honom över en kopp te. Fundamentalister och nationalister med olika förtecken intrigerar, liksom marxister och ex-marxister. Dödande skott avlossas på teatern under staden Kars första direktsända TV-föreställning. Snön faller oavbrutet. Staden är isolerad från omvärlden och varje kapitel i boken inleds med snöflingor. Orhan Pamuk skapar ett mikrokosmos, ett Turkiet i miniatyr, i den östliga utposten Kars i sin roman “Snö”, som i höst kommit på svenska (Norstedts, översättning Inger Johansson). Kars är periferi i Turkiet på samma sätt som Istanbul är periferi i Europa. – Det är en underlig känsla att bo “vid kanten”, säger Orhan Pamuk när jag får en intervjustund med honom under bokmässan i Göteborg....

TFF’s Comprehensive Link Library Collection Iraq 1Read the materials on Iraq from 2004 here Collection Iraq 3Read the materials on Iraq from 2004 here Collection Iraq 2Read the newest materials on Iraq here Articles by non-TFF Associates F e a t u r e s TFF Feature Collection, February 1, 2005Iraq Analyses: The resistance & the electionsPlus human rights, WMDs, the occupation in a wider strategic perspective and the destruction of BabylonSome 40 articles on aspects we should keep in mind in the future. They offer perspectives on what to learn and what to remember when they build up the next crisis… TFF Feature – Farhang Jahanpour, January 14, 2005The Iraqi elections must go ahead as scheduled: the alternative is much worseThere are four main groups inside Iraq who oppose the elections. In spite of spiralling violence, elections should be held. Jahanpour argues postponing the elections does not promise a...

.True, as one actor it has done nothing like the US in Iraq. True, it is great that it young people can learn and work in different parts of Europe. True, it gives much more development aid than others. And true, that integration of countries seems to have reduced the risk of future inter-national warfare on European soil. But then there is the famous other side of the coin: it’s Treaty text is devoid of peace philosophy, policies and institutions. Read it and you are in for a surprise! It lacks every strategy to reduce direct, structural, cultural and environmental violence inside and outside Europe. Its basic security “philosophy” is outlined in “A Secure Europe in a Better World. European Security Strategy (2003), a 16-pages document signed by Javier Solana. It is little but a random collection from different sources, presumably some of his speeches. It’s pretty self-congratulatory; EU has succeeded so well...

It is argued – strongly – that there is no way the EU can or should become an alternative military power to the United States; instead it can become the much-desired alternative to it by conceiving security and peace in a fundamentally new manner. And if it does not take the opportunity now while the United States is slowly but surely going down as an empire and finds few real friends around the world, the EU is losing the best chance it has ever had. Excerpts of this analysis are now being translated into English and other EU languages. Those who understand a bit of Danish are guided to this place on TFF’s site where the report can be downloaded free of charge. Whether or not this Treaty proposal will be revived – as Chancellor Angela Merkel intends – or it will be formally buried, rest assured that the defence,...

The American debate on the Iraq War has entered a dramatic new phase. For the first time, a prominent Democrat, Congressman John Murtha, has called for a withdrawal of American forces from the country. Murtha’s words have had a major impact because he was a former supporter of the war, and has had a career distinguished by his consistently pro-military profile. His argument is based on the inability to complete the American military mission in Iraq, making inexcusable the continued killing and loss of life. He also refers to the adverse effects of the unpopular and flawed occupation of Iraq on the wider goals of opposing global terrorism and to the failure of American reconstruction efforts. Murtha’s critique is widely shared by a majority of Americans at this point, and helps explain the declining popularity of the Bush presidency. Vietnam – a precursor but different But there is no sign that...

A People’s Summit for Departments of Peace was held in London, October 18 & 19 2005, in the spirit of the United Nations General Assembly’s Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace (A/RES/53/243 dated 13 September 1999) and its definition of a culture of peace as “a set of values, attitudes, modes of behaviour, and ways of life that reject violence and prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation among individuals, groups, and nations” (A/RES/52/13). The purpose of the Summit was to strengthen and grow the international movement for a culture of peace and for government Departments of Peace and Ministries for Peace. Vicky Rossi: Where does the concept of a Ministry/Department for Peace originate? Diana Basterfield: I went on the demonstration in February 2003. Despite the millions marching, the war went ahead nevertheless. By coincidence, I was on the mailing...

Again as the Vietnam experience should have made clear, when confronting a nationalist adversary, battlefield victories are difficult, if not impossible to translate into favorable political outcomes. The bloody occupation of Iraq has confirmed this lesson, dramatizing the limits of military superiority in wars associated with foreign occupation, especially of a country previously colonized.   Alternatives: do what seems right – it is not enough to be critical Understanding what has failed in the past and is unlikely to succeed in the present, is not enough. Without a positive alternative the blame game leads nowhere. In my view such an alternative does exist, although it contains big risks and like every proposed line of future policy in Iraq is enmeshed in uncertainty. We cannot know the risks of alternative lines of policy with any precision, but we can do what seems right under the circumstances, and appears to have the...

Stocken, Orust, Sweden – December 3, 2005 Erni & Ola Friholt Denna artikel finns också på svenska  Stocken, Orust, Sweden – December 3, 2005 The now suspended constitution for the European Union is bound to reappear more or less in the same form as before. There are some good ideas in it, such as those about gender equality and equal salary levels for men and women. Also, the Christian fundamentalists had to accept that the religious values are mentioned only along with the humanistic and other components in our culture, all on an equal level. However, the important introductory text or preamble is rather deficient when it comes to the historical perspective on Europe’s relations with its former colonies and its ongoing dominance and power over them, albeit in new ways. It is evident from the military aspects of this constitution that Europe has no intention to create equal rights...

Lund, Sweden, December 3, 2005 Our sister organisation TRANSCEND offers 33 ONLINE COURSES on a broad spectrum of peace-related issues: The Transcend Peace University, TPU: There is an introductory message from TPU Rector and TFF Associate Johan Galtung and a description of each and all of the courses. You learn about the conditions and how a course takes place online. And you can register right away! TPU employs some of the most experienced scholars of our time. The online technology gives us the opportunity to work globally together and learn from each other in new ways – and it’s so much cheaper. We are happy that TPU now employs a series of TFF Associates. Here ou see them and what course they teach: – Peaceful Conflict Transformation – Deep Culture in Conflict Culture – Economics and Peace – Mathematics and Peace JORGEN JOHANSEN – Nonviolent Tools and Philosophy DIETRICH FISCHER – Mathematics and Peace – Peace Journalism – Missed Opportunities: Iraq...

  BREAKING NEWS December 1, 2005 CNN State’s high court won’t spare Williams Schwarzenegger could still stop execution of gang founder   Nonviolence But what’s even more important: Stan Tookie Williams’ commitment is a vital impulse for a civil approach to violence. His history, personal chance and initiatives have yielded and will yield more positive results than all correctional institutions in the United States and, by their own example, call for a policy chance that at long last starts to again invest into the education of young people instead of prison expansion.   What you can do • Read the currently two best newspaper article “Dead Man Talking” in The Times and Clemency for a Crip in the International Herald Tribune • Inform yourself and read more: www.tookie.com, www.savetookie.org, www.againstthecrimeofsilence.de Wikipedia   • Sign the petition for clemency to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Or sign it here: • Mail your own...