December 2005

2005 PressInfo 231, December 9, 2005Is the European Union pro-peace?Read the Constitution/Treaty text and you are in for a surprise! Contrary to what you have heard repeatedly, there is no hope for real conflict-resolution and peace there. In this field, the EU is more in need of reform than the United Nations. This PressInfo also includes information about TFF’s work concerning the EU, not the least Johan Galtung’s analysis and Erni & Ola Friholt’s constructive re-formulations of the Treaty. By Jan Oberg. PressInfo 230, December 4, 2005Ending the war on IraqThe solutions proposed in the American political mainstream are not convincing: wait until the Iraq military can bring stability to the country seems like waiting for Godot. We should have learned better from our Vietnam experience. Mobilise the U.S. anti-war opinion, help Iraqi reconciliation and consider the 8 balanced steps that must be taken now to get us out and...

See also our comprehensive collection with guides, themes and resources from the last few years here. Newest stuff added at the bottom Robert Fisk, Information Clearing House, Sept 24Blame Iran. Christian Science Monitor, Sept 29Iran’s tough stance a hit at home. Iranians held pro-nuclear rally in Tehran Information Clearing House, Sept 29The U.S. Has Plans to Invade Iran Before Bush’s Term Ends Christian Science Monitor, Sept 29Why Iran isn’t a global threat Oxford Research Group, NovemberIran’s Nuclear ActivitiesDr. Frank Barnaby, November 2005 FPIF, Foreign Policyin Focus, Nov 3Who’s Next – Iran & Syria? International Herald Tribune, Nov 4Syria and the UN: Another polarizing double standard International Herald Tribune, Nov 8EU restates its demand, but studies Iran’s request Reuters, Nov 8Iran rebukes EU over nuclear fuel cycle issue Information Clearing House, Nov 12A Legal US Nuclear Attack Against IranThe real reason for the IAEA Iran resolution International Herald Tribune Nov 21Reprieve for...

LONDON – Americans seem to have less appetite for war than before. In took the best part of a decade for public opinion to swing firmly against the Vietnam War. This time in Iraq it has taken barely three years. Critics may like to make out that America is a warrior nation with an urge to dominate the world. But although from time to time martial figures do push themselves through to the seats of power they seem unable to carry the public with them for long. It looks likely that in the next general election Americans will vote for a candidate who stands against overseas adventurism. Those who are trying to erect a case for de-fanging a putative nuclear Iran by force will not succeed. Nor will those who want to up the ante with China. Of course nothing is simple when it comes to matters of war and...

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...

LONDON – After we had talked about all manner of jihadists for an hour – jihadists in Kashmir attacking India, jihadists in Afghanistan attacking America and today jihadists in Pakistan attempting to kill President Pervez Musharraf – I asked the high American official, “don’t you feel that you spend all your time just picking up the pieces for the wrongheaded policies when the West supported the jihadists as a tool against the Soviet presence in Afghanistan?” He sighed, nodded and replied, “That’s right”. Driving away from that conversation I was convinced more than ever that the various terrorist movements unleashed in this corner of the world over the last twenty years have their origins in the policies of Jimmy Carter, that most pacific of all post war American presidents who, prodded by his National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, decided to undermine and repel the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan of Christmas...

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....

I sitt Nobeltal skrädde litteraturpristagaren Harold Pinter inte orden. Han anklagade USA för statsterrorism, global maktmanipulation, totalt förakt för internationella rättsprinciper, därtill ett land med en inhemsk Gulagarkipelag av fängelser. Invasionen av Irak betecknade han som “ett banditdåd”. Och, sa Pinter, “det patetiska och fogliga Storbritannien” traskar efter USA i ledband som ett bräkande litet lamm. Tal, skriver jag. Men var det jag såg ett tal eller ett väl regisserat stycke existentiell enmansteater? Naturligtvis var det teater. Brittiska The Guardians teaterkritiker Michael Billington jämförde Pinters tal med en laddad teaterpjäs av Beckett, som “Slutspel”. På scenen satt den svårt sjuke författaren i rullstol, med en filt över knäna. Hans kroppsliga bräcklighet och rösten anfrätt av strupcancer stod i total kontrast till vreden och livskraften i hans moraliska övertygelse. Det han framförde var en svidande politisk anklagelseakt mot världens mäktigaste stat USA och mot hans eget land. Bush och Blair borde ställas inför...

The Myth of Ethnic WarSerbia and Croatia in the 1990sV.P. Gagnon JrCornell University Press Daytonavtalet undertecknades på en amerikansk flygbas december 1995. Därmed sattes punkt för ett blodigt bosniskt inbördeskrig. Fredsavtalet ledde till att vapnen vilade men inte till att fred byggdes. Bosnien är i dag ett internationellt protektorat. Fredsavtalet garanterade de etniska grupperna vissa rättigheter, vilket försvårat ett politiskt demokratibygge baserat på medborgarskap. Hög arbetslöshet och utbredd fattigdom präglar den unga staten. Det finns de som kallat Bosnien en “monsterstat”. Varför har såren från kriget varit så svårläkta? En orsak är att fredsavtalet inte konstruerades för att lindra de konflikter som lett till krig. Kriget beskrevs ständigt som ett etniskt krig mellan hatiska folkgrupper. Daytonavtalet skapade en “etnisk fred”, med etnisk maktbalans. Men var det ett “etniskt krig”? Naturligtvis inte, det vet varenda människa med rötter på Balkan. Redan i titeln till sin bok “The Myth of Ethnic War”...

LONDON – This is not just currently the world’s most dangerous geological faultline, it is the world’s single most dangerous geopolitical fault line – and there is now a clear connection between the two. Standing here in this devastated town and looking at the foot ranges of the Himalayas where October’s earthquake tore off a kilometre-long front of mountainside makes one shiver in awe at the earth’s almighty power of destruction. A nuclear war would destroy in a different way – whole cities of the subcontinent would be incinerated. What is the connection between these two events? Geographically there certainly is. I’m standing near the epicentre of the earthquake in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, the one-third slice of Kashmir that Pakistan wrested from India after the first of their three deadly wars. Nearby the two countries have a de facto border, the so-called Line of Control. The Indian part is also largely...

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...

Annette Schiffmann, PressInfo 229, December 2, 2005Tookie Williams – from gang leader to children’s book author and peace activist…butHe is scheduled to die by injection on December 13. Breaking news is that the California High Court won’t spare him. Unless Governor Schwarzenegger intervenes to stop the execution. TFF Associate Annette Schiffmann writes the Tookie story and tells you how you can help save his life – but please act now! Times, LondonDead man talking International Herald TribuneClemency for a crisp Stanley Williams official website WikipediaStanley Williams State’s high court won’t spare WilliamsSchwarzenegger could still stop execution of gang founder CNN December 13, 2005Williams just hours from execution Jan Oberg, TFF director – December 13, 2005Save the life of Stanley “Tookie” WilliamsWilliams was executed today. Oberg’s appeal letter to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. CNN, December 2005Williams claim of founding Crips is disputedGang expert: Crips ‘helped destroy the black community’

Catharina Östman, Vasa Bladet, 8:e november 2005Burundi – vad då?Med utgångspunkt i Burundis positiva fredsprocess frågar Catharina Östman “Vore det inte på tiden med ett utvidgat nyhetsbegrepp där också det som redan görs för de drabbade i olika länder skulle lyftas fram – inte för att dölja problemen, utan som sporre för oss omkring att engagera oss ännu mer?” Patrik Stålgren i Göteborgs-PostenVänd inte ryggen åt Burundis folkMed en ny president öppnas en möjlighet att bryta våldsspiralen i Burundi, skriver Patrik Stålgren. TFF Feature Collection, November 7, 2005Burundi’s peace process: Positive story – but did you ever hear about it?Is the story of 7 million people moving towards peace, development and justice after war not worth telling or is it that editors and journalists simply don’t see peace when it happens? TFF keeps updating you about the country – and continue to serve as goodwill ambassador for the country! PressInfo...