Archive 1986 – 2017

LONDON – Tightening the noose on Islamic seminaries – madrasas – Pakistan’s president, Pervez Musharraf, promulgated last week an ordinance prohibiting these institutions from teaching or publishing literature which promotes militancy, sectarianism and religious hatred. This should please both the Americans and the British who have long been convinced as Colin Powell, when Secretary of State, put it, that “the madrasas are a breeding ground for fundamentalists and terrorists”. Some of the suicide bombers who exploded the bombs on the London transport system in July were educated in Pakistani madrasas and London has been leaning on Islamabad to close down the more extremist ones. How virulent are they? Yesterday I arrived unannounced at one the of the largest madrasas in Lahore, a city that, besides being the home of some of the most beautiful and breathtaking of Mogul architecture, sits close up to the Indian border and provides a base...

TFF Amahoro (Peace) Coalition in Burundi, December 6, 2005Appeal for an Open Center for Peace and Reconciliation !Twelve of the best Burundian NGOs – youth, women, teachers, media, scholars, former militaries, etc – have joined forces to set up the first ever learning center in support of one of the world’s most promising – but internationally unknown – peace processes.Competent and experienced, they will foster peace and improve life among their 7 million fellow citizens in Burundi, the world’s third materially poorest country with so much talent and energy. Burundi must be rewarded for having recognised in earnest that war is rubbish and peace is realistic and possible.This is your 2006 people-to-people peace project. It’s a TFF-initiated project. Do something positive today: read, spread the message and donate! Even the smallest support will make a huge difference. TFF Feature Collection, December 6, 2005Burundi – Isn’t it time we rewarded this country for...

When someone wants to start a war, there are always arms dealers standing ready. Seemingly unlimited resources are made available.When people decide to put war behind them, media pays no attention and wealthy governments ignore them unless, that is, it is a “strategically important country.Burundi is another name for one of the world’s most impressive and promising peace processes. A good story. But it doesn’t receive a fraction of the small humanitarian aid it needs; more and more Burundian are starving – as can be seen from some of the news articles below. TFF is one of the few organisations that follow and support the peace process in Burundi – through 12 fine civil society organisations in the country. You can read much more here, at our Burundi Forum.Below please find are some of the recent stories out of Burundi. UN Security Council (September)Security Council encourages establishment of ‘Partner Forum’ for...

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...

This is our response to Hashim Thaci’s article, My People Deserve Their Independence, in the International Herald Tribune, November 25, 2005. The IHT printed our response on December 4, 2005 – but in a much shortened version. Here is our letter in full. Hashim Thaci, leading Kosovo-Albanian politician, argues (International Herald Tribune, Nov 25, 2005) that “my people” – presumably referring here to the Albanians – deserve their independence. It’s one of many pro-independence articles appearing now when talks are to start about the future status of this UN-administered part of Serbia and Montenegro. Independence is one option and it would be a good solution if a) the arguments for it were more truthful and b) it would not risk further instability and perhaps renewed violence. Thaci’s main argument is that his Albanian people have suffered so much that they deserve independence. But while Milosevic’ policies were indeed ruthless and indefensible, Thaci’s historical...

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...

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...

Denna artikel finns också på svenska  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 for its former colonies but rather continue its dominance by military means, if necessary. A short criticism of...

News about the TFF network and Associate publications TFF Associates teach new online courses – December 3, 2005TRANSCEND Peace University with TFF AssociatesGaltung, Fischer, Johansen, McGoldrick, Lynch and Oberg teach various peace courses in spring 2006. See all about it here.Scilla Elworthy, TFF Associate, & Gabrielle Rifkind, September 21, 2005Hearts and Minds. Human security approaches to political violenceNew book, see more about it and download it all at the linkBurns H. WestonChild Labor and Human Rights.: Making Children MatterFrancis A. Boyle, September 22, 2005About his book “Palestine, Palestinians and International Law”Review here.Stuart ReesPassion for Peace – Exercising power creativelyKen CoatesThis prolific writer’s own books hereSpokesman’s Books in generalThe Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation – Spokesman JournalJan Øberg, 20. september 2005Freds- og konfliktpsykologi“Introduktion til psykologi” – Danmarks største psykologibog; 2. udgave nu med et kapitel af Øberg om bl.a. vold, krig, menneskets natur, civilisationspsykologi, forsoning, fred, ikkevold, magt og kvinder som en særlig...

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...