September 2006

Bangkok, September 25, 2006 The September 19, 2006 (9/19) coup d’etat in Thailand is a great puzzle for many. It is difficult to understand this coup not so much in terms of why it has happened, but its popularity. There were reports of people giving flowers and cold drinks to soldiers on the streets. In Chiangmai, kids would not stop bothering their teachers until they were taken to see the coup tanks. In fact, according to one recent survey, 83% of Thais nationwide are in favor of this coup. Given the positive popular reception of this coup, one wonders if there is such a thing as a “good” or “peaceful” coup?In this article, I wish to first offer an explanation why so many, both common people and noted public intellectuals, are supporting this coup. Then the moral enigma when reasons for the coup could be accepted while the coup as...

By Håkan Wiberg and Jan ObergSeptember 22, 2006 The 192nd member has recently been admitted to the United Nations. Montenegro with its 600,000 inhabitants recently had a referendum, where 86.6 per cent of those enfranchised voted. Out of these, 55.5 per cent voted for independence, and 44.5 against. Another way of presenting the same data is that 48.1 per cent voted for, 38.5 against and 13.4 not at all. There are reasons to dig deeper into what happened. What is the internal and external background to this event? Does it increase or decrease the stability of the region? Could this decision cause trouble at some point in the future? Could it have an impact on the question of independence for Kosovo? Indeed, is the Montenegrin drive for independence mainly a result of external at the time, anti-Milosevic pressures by the West and, thus, an unintended result of short-sighted policies years...

A Serbian journalist and TFF Associate argues that only a genuine compromise over Kosovo’s future status can guarantee stability.A true, balanced, and negotiated compromise on Kosovo’s future status would swing the pendulum of Balkan stability towards the European path. A manipulated, one-sided, and imposed decision would, however, open a Pandora’s box of secessionist movements in the world and release the ghosts of a nationalist past in the Balkans.As we approach the beginning of talks on the future status of the Kosovo province, it becomes crucial to grasp the full complexity of the Kosovo status issue.There has been an attempt in the last year and a half to close down international debate before the status talks had even begun by suggesting that only independence is a viable solution for Kosovo.The truth is, the issue of Kosovo’s status is dependent on so many historical, legal, political, religious, economic, and demographic elements that...

The 11 solutions (Part 2) Part 11. Discuss the basic reasons behind terrorism It’s very simple: try to look at the world from the perspective of the disadvantaged millions. Try to listen with a Muslim/Arab ear to Western, sometimes Christian-based, politicians – how would you feel if you were in the receiving end of such arrogance, history falsification, constant threats of bombings, accusations about being less civilized and educated? Wouldn’t you be a little angry? You might not become a terrorist yourself, but you certainly could see those who the West categorizes as “terrorists” as people who stand up for your pride and against the humiliation. 2. Listen to the terrorists’ words Bin Laden’s first message dealt with, among other things, the wars the U.S. has fought including the atomic bombs dropped ion Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While we must never accept or endorse the meanest of all violence – that...

By Jan Oberg, TFF directorLund, Sweden – September 11, 2006 The 11 solutions (Part 2) 1. Discuss the basic reasons behind terrorism It’s very simple: try to look at the world from the perspective of the disadvantaged millions. Try to listen with a Muslim/Arab ear to Western, sometimes Christian-based, politicians how would you feel if you were in the receiving end of such arrogance, history falsification, constant threats of bombings, accusations about being less civilized and educated? Wouldn’t you be a little angry? You might not become a terrorist yourself, but you certainly could see those who the West categorizes as “terrorists” as people who stand up for your pride and against the humiliation. 2. Listen to the terrorists’ words Bin Laden’s first message dealt with, among other things, the wars the U.S. has fought including the atomic bombs dropped ion Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While we must never accept or...

Part 2 It happened five years ago and changed the world. But for the wrong reasons. The biggest problem is not 9/11 but 10/7: October 7 when the Bush administration started the “war on terror” in a mistaken or deliberate attempt to capitalize on that fateful day: 9/11. But their deficient and opportunistic interpretation of the event has created a world much more unstable than any time since 1945. Deficient? Opportunistic? If you think these are strong words, please look at the recent Discovery-TIME Magazine opinion poll. 49 per cent of the American people think that the Bush administration has used the threat of terrorism or the terrorism alerts for political reasons! (45 per cent do not think so). The same poll shows that only 23 per cent of the Americans think the U.S. will win the war on terrorism within the next ten years or so. And 54 per cent think that...

Across Iraq, excluding Kurdistan, there were, in May 2006, 1,294 civilian deaths as a result of violence. The UN Assistance Mission reports that these people included 58 women and 17 children. Further, an additional 2,687 people were wounded, including 178 women and 41 children. ‘In June 2006, 1554 civilians died violently (among them 66 women and 30 children). An additional 3,075 people were wounded… The Medico Legal Institute (MLI) in Baghdad separately reported receiving 1,375 unidentified bodies in May, and 1,595 in June 2006. The total figure of civilians killed in Iraq adding the figures provided by the Ministry of Health and the MLI reaches 2,669 civilians in May and 3,149 in June 2006. According to the Ministry of Health, from January to June 2006 there were 6,826 civilians killed and 13,256 wounded. Including the figures of the MLI in Baghdad for the period, the total of civilians killed in...

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Vicky Rossi: Inam, you are doing a lot of work with the young people in the Shufat refugee camp, what is life like for these children and adolescents? Inam Wahidi: In the entire camp there are only two schools – one for boys and one for girls – there are no places for the children to play and there is a growing drug problem amongst young people. Vicky Rossi: So only 2 schools for the children of 22,000 inhabitants? Inam Wahidi: Yes. There are around 2,000 children that go to school so there are 2 shifts – one in the morning and one in the afternoon. It is just primary and secondary education because for high school they must go to Jerusalem. My organisation arranges activities for the children in the camp because they don’t have anywhere to play. Many children die because of car accidents in the street. Vicky Rossi: They...

Vicky Rossi: Could you tell me a little more about your understanding of the term nonviolence. This morning in your speech you said that nonviolence for you was about empowerment and the recognition of equality. Sami Awad: For me the concept of nonviolence was one that I can say that I grew up with. I grew up in a family that was very understanding of the political realities that we live in under occupation, but was always looking for ways to find solutions. The person who had the most influence on my life was my uncle, whose name is Mubarak Awad. When Mubarak returned to Palestine from living in the U.S. in 1984, he opened a centre called the Palestinian Centre for the Study of Nonviolence. As a young teenager, I was very involved and active with the activities he did. We would go out to lands that were going to...

Vicky Rossi: Lisa, were you born in Israel and did you grow up there? Lisa: No, I was born in South Africa and my family emigrated to Israel when I was eleven years old. They emigrated to a city just north of Tel Aviv and I grew up and went to school there, although I have travelled abroad a lot since then. Vicky Rossi: What kind of stereotypical ideas of Jewish Israelis have you found that people you have met on your travels have had? Lisa: They have stereotypical images of the soldiers and their rude, bad behaviour. Although I can’t really justify the soldiers’ behaviour, if I have to find something to explain a little bit then I would say that young 18 year olds find themselves having to go straight into the army, having to face the situation of suddenly wearing a uniform, suddenly having to hold guns and having...

On the occasion of the Summer University in Tamera, Portugal, I had the good fortune to gain many insights, away from the well known government rhetoric, into the issues that underlie the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As part of the Summer University, Sami Awad, Reuven Moskovitz and others gave open, constructive and inspiring talks on the historico-political foundations of the conflict and also on possible ways forward to a sustainable peace. The 10 day Summer University offered me the opportunity also to conduct one formal interview and three informal conversations with participating Palestinians and Israelis. Through the views and initiatives of these grassroots activists, a clear and plausible way forward to peace and reconciliation can be envisioned. Interview # 1 of 4 Reuven MoskovitzPeace activist, co-founder of Neve Shalom,winner of the Aachen Peace Award 2003. Dr. Reuven Moskovitz was born in 1928 in Schtetl Frumsiaca in the northern part of Romania. Expulsed from his...