Archive 1986 – 2017

In simultaneous referenda on both sides of the Green Line, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriot last Saturday – 24th of April 2004 – delivered their verdict on the Annan Plan ˆ a proposal for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem. The outcome of the twin referenda was a resounding oxi (no) (75.8 per cent) from the Greek Cypriots and a clear evet (yes) (64.9 per cent) from the Turkish Cypriots. The background Drafted by the U.N. in close consultation‚ with the parties, and first tabled in November 2002, the Annan Plan envisages the political reunification of the island along the lines of a federal state under a power-sharing regime. The United Cyprus Republic was to be composed of two equal constituent states, each exercising extensive autonomy. Other elements of the plan provide for the transfer of territory currently under Turkish Cypriot administration to the Greek Cypriot constituent state, reinstatement...

LONDON – From the headland here, the most easterly point of the Americas, where Brazil juts out towards Africa- the locals tease visitors that on a clear day you can see Nigeria- one question looms before all others. Why did this bounteous continent to the south do so much less well than its counterpart to the north? North America was settled by pilgrims, idealists, political and religious refugees. They wanted to create a New World and early on democracy became the chosen instrument. It was flawed, of course. It did not protect the Indians and it didn’t encompass the slaves, but it laid the basis for economic advance first and social and political reform later. The Brazilian historian Sergio Buarque de Holanda wrote that the English pioneers went to North America to build a paradise whereas the Portuguese went to Brazil to enjoy a ready made paradise. The Spanish and...

Af Folkerepublikken Kinas Statsråds Informationskontor Folkerepublikken Kinas Statsråds Informationskontor udsender årligt en menneskerettighedsrapport for USA. 2003-rapporten er dateret 1. marts 2004 og gengives her i Orla Jordals danske oversættelse. Den engelske udgave findes på Folkets Dagblad og Information Clearing House. “Den 25. februar 2004 udsendte USAs State Department sin Landerapport om menneskerettighedsforhold for 2003 (i det følgende kaldet “rapporterne”). Som i tidligere år optræder USA igen i år som “verdens menneskerettigheds politi” ved i “rapporterne” at forvrænge og kritisere menneskerettighedssituationerne i mere end 190 lande og regioner i verden, herunder i Kina. Og ganske som sædvanligt “udelod” USA sine egne langvarige uregelmæssigheder og problemer med menneskerettigheder i “rapporterne”. Derfor må vi, som tidligere, hjælpe USA med at holde rede på USAs egne menneskerettighedsforhold. 1. Om liv, frihed og personlig sikkerhed De forenede stater har længe været et volds- og kriminalitetshærget samfund med alvorlige krænkelser af folks rettigheder fra ordensmagternes side og med...

By Lewis MacKenzie April 22, 2004 From The National Post, Canada, April 6, 2004 Five years ago our television screens were dominated by pictures of Kosovo-Albanian refugees escaping across Kosovo’s borders to the sanctuaries of Macedonia and Albania. Shrill reports indicated that Slobodan Milosevic’s security forces were conducting a campaign of genocide and that at least 100,000 Kosovo-Albanians had been exterminated and buried in mass graves throughout the Serbian province. NATO sprung into action and, in spite of the fact no member nation of the alliance was threatened, commenced bombing not only Kosovo, but the infrastructure and population of Serbia itself — without the authorizing United Nations resolution so revered by Canadian leadership, past and present.  Those of us who warned that the West was being sucked in on the side of an extremist, militant, Kosovo-Albanian independence movement were dismissed as appeasers. The fact that the lead organization spearheading the...

Det er lite vann i bassengene etter fire måneder uten regn. Men Colombo har ikke opplevd mange “power-cuts” den siste tiden. Grunnen er ganske enkelt at myndighetene ikke vil vise at de har problemer med kraftforsyningen rett før et valg. Slikt påvirker velgerne negativt for de partier som har sittet ved makten frem til i dag. I ukene som kommer regner folk med at strømmen forsvinner noen timer hver dag. Dessuten har Buddha, Kristus, Rama, Muhammed eller hvem du ellers tror på vist seg fra sin beste side og vi fikk skikkelige ettermiddagsregn de siste tre dagene før valget. I Sri Lanka er de fleste store religioner godt representert og de er viktige faktorer i valgkampen. Det er derfor godt om religiøse høytidsdager og selvsagt er det røde dager i kalenderen ved hver fullmåne. Men landet er delt etter mange andre linjer enn religion. Som for alle andre stater er...

Inngress Valget i Sri Lanka andre april gav støtte til president Kumaratunga, men uten eget flertall i parlamentet er det langt frem. Det ble langt mindre vold enn forventet og det forventede utegangsforbudet ble aldri utlyst. Av de 225 representantene som ble valgt er 13 kvinner. Presidenten vil forsøke å få gjennom en grunnlovsendring som gir henne og embetet mer makt på bekostning av statsminisiteren. Spørsmålet er om fredsforhandlingene blir lettere etter dette. Splittelser To år med våpenhvile har skapt en ny politisk virkelighet i Sri Lanka. Når krigen pågikk var det lett å glemme interne motsetninger i de forskjellige grupper. Nå som muligheten til en fremtid uten terror, krig og katastrofer åpner seg kommer interne motsetninger opp til overflaten. Noen av disse er gamle konflikter, andre oppstår som resultat av at maktkamp om politisk lederskap og ressurser blir mer akutte. Valget i Sri Lanka har vist en splittelse i...

A donors’ conference, co-sponsered by the Burundian government, the Belgian government and UNDP will be held in Brussels January 12-13, 2004. This PressInfo offers a perspective on its urgency. See also TFF’s new Burundi Forum. Imagine for a moment that politics is about goodness and generosity. Where could a few million dollars of government aid and a few civil society organisations – guaranteed – win the hearts of extremely poor millions who want peace and already work hard to achieve it after 10 years of war and genocide? The answer is Burundi, the heart-shaped country in the heart of Africa. Burundi makes a good story from Africa. But what does the world know about Burundi, its problems and struggles? Burundi’s tough reality Here are the basic facts. Burundi’s population is about 7 million and it is number 171 out of the 175 countries on the UNDP’s human development index. Their life...

Den 12-13 januar 2004 blev der afholdt en donorkonferens for Burundi i Bryssel, arrangeret af Burundis og Belgiens regeringer og FNs Udviklingsprogram, UNDP. Der er uendeligt meget på spil for de 7 millioner mennesker. Se iøvrigt mere om landet og TFFs engagement i landet under TFF’s Burundi Forum. Forestil dig et øjeblik at politik handler om godhed og gavmildhed. Hvor kunne nogle få millioner dollars i ulandshjælp og nogle få private hjælpeorganisationer – med garanti – vinde hjerterne hos nogle ekstremt fattige millioner mennesker som ønsker fred og som allerede arbejder hårdt for at opnå den efter 10 års krig og folkemord? Svaret er Burundi, det hjerteformede land i hjertet af Afrika. Burundi giver en positiv historie fra Afrika. Men hvad ved verden om Burundi, dets problemer og kampe? Her er de basale kendsgerninger. Burundis brutale virkelighed Burundis befolkning er på ca. 7 millioner og det er nummer 171 af...

A donors’ conference, co-sponsered by the Burundian government, the Belgian government and UNDP will be held in Brussels January 12-13, 2004. This PressInfo offers a perspective on its urgency. See also TFF’s new Burundi Forum. Imagine for a moment that politics is about goodness and generosity. Where could a few million dollars of government aid and a few civil society organisations – guaranteed – win the hearts of extremely poor millions who want peace and already work hard to achieve it after 10 years of war and genocide? The answer is Burundi, the heart-shaped country in the heart of Africa. Burundi makes a good story from Africa. But what does the world know about Burundi, its problems and struggles? Burundi’s tough reality Here are the basic facts. Burundi’s population is about 7 million and it is number 171 out of the 175 countries on the UNDP’s human development index. Their...

Den 12-13 januari 2004 pågår en donorkonferens för Burundi i Bryssel, arrangerad av Burundis och Belgiens regeringar och FN:s Utvecklingsprogram, UNDP. Så här mycket är på spel för 7 miljoner människor. Se i övrigt mycket mer om landet och TFF:s engagemang i landets fredsprocess i nya TFF’s Burundi Forum. Tänk er ett ögonblick att politik handlar om godhet och generositet. Var skulle några miljoner dollar i regeringsbistånd och några organisationer från det civila samhället – garanterat – kunna tala direkt till hjärtat hos miljoner ytterst fattiga människor som vill ha fred och som redan arbetar hårt för att uppnå detta efter tio år av krig och folkmord? Svaret är i Burundi, det hjärtformade landet i hjärtat av Afrika. Burundi kan bli en bra tidningsstory från Afrika. Men vad vet världen om Burundi, dess problem och dess strider? Här är grundfakta. Burundis brutala verklighet Burundi har en befolkning på ungefär sju...

LONDON – In Recife one can see the real abomination of Brazil. Over the last 30 years I’ve watched this north eastern city’s population grow like a fungus. A quarter of the people of Brazil’s fourth largest city live in the crime-ridden, extremely violent, favelas (shanty towns), many of them without sanitation. After I walked these filthy, mud-laced streets and returned to stay at the house of the local Catholic priests deep inside one favela lines of a Kipling poem turned in my mind, “Chance-directed, chance-erected, laid and built on the silt/ Palace, byre, hovel- poverty and pride- side by side/ And, above the packed and pestilential town, Death looked down.” Last year the newly elected president, Luiz Inacio da Silva, “Lula”, brought his cabinet here. He was waylaid with placards reading, “Lula, only you can save us”. Can Brazil move from Third World to First World? Can it rid itself...

Why did it fail to deal with themost destructive conflicts? Thirty-one year old Virgil Hawkins’ dissertation is a treasure of information and solid analysis at a time when the largest reforms of the United Nations since its establishment are being discussed. Although not his aim, Hawkins’s book could be said to make the case for the most important UN reform of all: learn from earlier mistakes and get engaged in the most important conflicts; take on the conflicts that cost many human lives and make, finally, the UN an organisation for all humankind not just for the few. The truth Hawkins tells us is this: the Council has failed miserably to respond to the conflicts that cost most lives and concentrated on minor ones – because of members’ narrow interest policies. Globalisation takes place in the economic and military spheres of international society – but there is not yet anything...