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For the arrogance of power America now pays a terrible price By JONATHAN POWER TFF PressInfo 127 September 12, 2001 LONDON – The American nation appears not only immensely distressed and angry about the bombings but surprised too. It cannot understand why anyone should be moved by such hatred against it and, inured from the rest of us by the isolationism of most of its political representatives and its media, it has little idea of the currents swirling against it. An event of this magnitude was not only unimagined, it was unimaginable. Yet long before George Bush became president with his forceful in-your-face, take-it-or-leave-it attitude to the world outside on issues as diverse as global warming and anti-missile defences, America has been turning in on itself, to the point of self-destructiveness. William Pfaff, the astute American commentator, wrote recently that "America is a dangerous nation while remaining a righteous one"...

Peaceful Europe – Something different Peace is promoted by constructive proposals and dialogue Four preceding PressInfos have expressed concern over — and criticised — the ongoing, militarisation of the EU. Some will say: but there are no alternatives. We believe that there are always alternatives, that democracies are characterised by alternatives and choice, and that openly discussed alternatives will improve the quality and legitimacy of society’s decision–making. In addition, it is an intellectual and moral challenge to not only criticise but also be constructive. If we only tell people that we think they are wrong, they are not likely to listen. However, if we say: what are your views on this set of ideas and steps? — we may sometimes engage them in dialogue and sow a seed. Most people in power circles live their daily lives in in a time frame and a social space where certain ideas, viewpoints...

Take the longer view, reflect on what we may learn about conflict-management in the 1990s. TFF publications are short with long duration. For students, concerned citizens, media people and humanitarian organisations, course and seminar leaders &endash; everyone searching beyond mainstream and political correctness: May we remind you of three Balkan related publications? Learning Conflict and Teaching Peace in Former Yugoslavia. A Course Report by Peter Jarman and Jan Oberg, 1998. (Catalogue # 60); about teaching peace in conflict regions. Violence Prevention, Postwar Reconstruction and Civil Society. Theory and Yugoslavia by Jan Oberg, 1998. (Catalogue # 61); about peace-making with a human and social face. Preventing Peace. Sixty Examples of Conflict Mismanagement in Former Yugoslavia since 1991 by Jan Oberg, 1999. (Catalogue # 62); about a few things that could have been done differently, and why militarisation of the EU/NATO is not the right lesson to learn. May we also remind you of our...

Kosovo/a independent? By Jan Oberg, TFF director (Erratum to PressInfo 105 after this text) The main proposal in the independent international Kosovo Commission’s report is that Kosovo should be given conditional independence. This PressInfo deals with this proposal and a few other aspects of the report. THE FIRST PARAGRAPH The very first paragraph of the report’s executive statement states: "The origins of the crisis have to be understood in terms of a new wave of nationalism that led to the rise of Milosevic and the official adoption of an extreme Serbian nationalist agenda. The revocation of Kosovo’s autonomy in 1989 was followed by a Belgrade policy aimed at changing the ethnic composition of Kosovo and creating an apartheid-like society." Here are some simple counter arguments: a) nationalism alone certainly can not explain the conflicts in the region; b) not only the Serbs used nationalism, so did Bosnian Muslim, Croats, Macedonians,...

Intellectually the Kosovo Commission Report is a turkey and it won’t fly By Jan Oberg, TFF director We expect soldiers we send to the front to have some military education and training. As patients we hope the doctor has studied medicine. And who would write a constitution for a new state if not professionally educated lawyers? But not so when it comes to conflict-analysis, mediation or peace-making. In this field it seems that neither specific education, practical experience nor knowledge about the conflicting parties and their cultures is of any importance. The important thing is that you want to do good. Last year, Prime Minister Goran Persson of Sweden took the initiative to establish an independent international commission tasked with analysing the equally enigmatic and tragic Kosovo conflict and NATO’s bombing as well as outline the lessons to be learnt. He appointed Richard Goldstone, the well-respected South African judge and...

Konflikthantering – det nya kalla kriget Jan Øberg Den internationella så kallade “gemenskapen” är på plats som fredsskapare i så gott som varje konflikt och krig med sina diplomater, soldater, återuppbyggnadshjälpare, monitorer, jurister, ambassadörer, fredsbevarare, medlare, poliser, experter, förhandlare – och med agenter, satelliter, hangarfartyg och kampflygplan i högsta beredskap. Fredsstörande fraktioner skall bringas till det berömda förhandlingsbordet kring vilket de under det internationella samfundets tryck skall säga ja till fredsplaner. Denna generella, tidstypiska mediebevakning av politiska konflikter och krig befäster mer eller mindre medvetet två djupt missvisande, men funktionella uppfattningar. (A) Konflikter handlar om goda versus mindre goda aktörer och konfliktlösning är följaktligen en fråga om att bestraffa de onda och belöna de goda, offren. (B) Världen är uppdelad i två parter, ja det finns två världar: Å ena sidan har vi "fredsförstörarna" – skurkstater, hitleristiska diktatorer, förfelade stater, primitiva och onda aktörer, terrorister, folk som bara förstår stora...

Pictures from Montenegro (Crna Gora) – "The Black Mountains" Kiosk next to railway station From Podgorica old town   Monument in city centre Detail from old churchyard, Podgorica   New buildings everywhere... Market square, Podgorica   Montenegro – filled with literature and history Volkswagen Passat with CG = Cerna Gora (Montenegro) and rabbits multiplying © TFF 2000 Please reprint, copy, archive, quote or re-post this item, but please retain the source. Tell a friend about this photo series Send to: From: Message and your name Test You are welcome to reprint, copy, archive, quote or re-post this item, but please retain the source. Would you – or a friend – like to receive TFF PressInfo by email?

Migrated from the TFF legacy site archive. In their own voice What people around the world wrote to and about TFF 1136 letters, comments and signature by September 12 – and more come in every day! From people of all walks of life in 62 countries. We did not know that we had SO MANY friends. More than one-third chose to not only write their name in support of TFF but also add very warm, sometimes strong, appreciaiton of our work. You may find your own words here. We are overwhelmed. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. All messages were copied and sent on September 14 to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, HE Anna Lindh and to the Ministry’s preparatory committee which recommends which organisations to give organisztional support. Please see also the analysis of the worldwide constituencies and our analysis in Swedish of the Ministry’s decision....

TFF Support Appeal The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs withdrew organizational support for TFF for the year 2000, without prior consultation, motivation or documentation but with immediate effect. (Background) We will apply again for the year 2001 and beyond. Swedish NGOs must apply to the Ministry for annual organizational grants by September 15. The Ministry usually decides who to support in November or early December. Therefore, please sign this NOW so we can include YOUR signature together with all the support letters we already have received with our application. That is likely to exert maximum pressure on the Ministry. You are welcome to reprint, copy, archive, quote or re-post this item, but please retain the source. Would you – or a friend – like to receive TFF PressInfo by email?

UD slopar stöd till oberoende fredscenter – Under nio år har TFF av UD tilldelats ett årligt organisationsstöd. I år fråntogs stiftelsen detta stöd med omedelbar verkan och utan förvarning eller motivering. Syftet tycks vara att tysta en oberoende, kritisk stämma inom internationell konflikthantering. TFF, Transnationella Stiftelsen för Freds- och Framtidsforskning i Lund, är Sveriges enda icke-statliga center för freds- och säkerhetsforskning. Stiftelsen är den enda inom sektorn forskning och upplysning, som helt berövats bidrag. Sedan 1991 har TFF byggt upp en internationellt ledande kompetens särskilt vad angår Balkans konflikter. I en tid när Sveriges engagemang på Balkan är större än någonsin, med en svensk bataljon i Kosovo/a och stora biståndsinsatser till främst Kosovo/a och Bosnien, borde ett oberoende forskningscenter som TFF snarare ges ökat grundstöd för att bidra till en fördjupad syn på möjligheter och problem då det gäller freds- och försoningsarbete. Organisationsbidrag ges för att skapa kontinuitet och...

LONDON- What an anniversary that was! The first birthday marking Nato’s bombing of Yugoslavia brought forth a torrent of articles both pro and against. Yet not one came close to matching for lucidity and perceptiveness, delivered in an icily ironic style, the essay penned at the time of the war by the former Swedish prime minister, Carl Bildt, in the cerebral British monthly, Prospect. Bildt, who is presently the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Balkans, is a man of political leanings, if elections are anything to go by, too far to the right for most of his countrymen. His instinct is to support Nato, to be close to America, to wind back the welfare state and to argue the case for the use of force and intervention. But something happened to him on the road to Belgrade. “The Baby Bombers”, as the editor headlined the piece, was a wake-up call...

The New Millennium – We are leaving behind a century with a horrible reputation. There have been many manifestations of occidental fundamentalist faith in truths that justify killing, repressing, exploiting and alienating millions, even billions: the colonialism/imperialism spearheaded by this country; genocidal hitlerism and stalinism; the blind forces of world, particularly american capitalism now even presenting itself as “globalization”; the (also occidental) islamic, counter-fundamentalism; and some similar practices in Japan and China. There has been an increasing litany of war and violence, some of it today even presented as “humanitarianism”. There were shining lights. Two geniuses, Freud and Jung, penetrated the individual and collective human subconscious. A third genius, Gandhi, followed by King Jr and Mandela, explored the enormous potential of nonviolence. The first two, both Westerners, probed the roots of evil in the darkest recesses of the soul; the other three, none of them western whites, expanded the perimeters...