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Konflikthåndtering – den ny kolde krig Det internationale såkaldte “samfund” er tilstede som fredsskabere i snart sagt hver eneste konflikt og krig med sine diplomater, soldater, genopbygningshjælp, monitorer, jurister, ambassadører, fredsbevarere, mæglere, politi, eksperter, forhandlere og med agenter, satelliter, hangarfartøjer og kampfly på alert. Fredsforstyrrende fraktioner skal bringes til det berømte forhandlingsbord omkring hvilket de under det internationale samfunds pres skal sige ja til fredsplaner, Den generelle, tidstypiske mediedækning af politiske konflikter og krige befæster mere eller mindre bevidst to dybt misvisende, men funktionelle, opfattelser. (A) Konflikter handler om gode versus mindre gode aktører og konfliktløsning er følgelig et spørgsmål om at straffe de onde og belønne de gode, ofrene. (B) Verden er opdelt i to parter, ja der er to verdener: På den ene side er der "fredsforstyrrerne" – slyngelstater, hitleristiske diktatorer, forfejlede stater, primitive og onde aktører, terrorister, folk der ikke forstår andet end store bogstaver og bomber...

Interview With Jan Oberg 1. DR. OBERG, HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE PRESENT SITUATION IN KOSOVA, ESPECIALLY REGARDING THE OSCE OBSERVER MISSION WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO BE ESTABLISHED IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS? Compared with one or five years ago, the present situation is worse for all parties. Innocent civilians – about 10% of the Kosovo-Albanians and 10% of the Kosovo-Serbs – have lost their home, belongings, human rights and safety. No politician ever asked them and I am sure they did not want this to achieve any political goal. Second, Serbia/FRY has lost important parts of its control and sovereignty and it has more international interference than ever – what all Serbia was directed out to vote against just a few months ago. And the Albanians in Kosovo are worse off too – they no longer obtain the sympathy, solidarity and admiration for their nonviolent policies from the world...

The G7 "Solution" to the Global Financial Crisis – Following the dramatic nosedive of the Russian ruble, financial markets around the World had plummeted to abysmally low levels. The Dow Jones plunged by 554 points on August 31st, its second largest decline in the history of the New York Stock Exchange. In the uncertain wake of "black September 1998", G7 ministers of finance had gathered hastily in Washington. On their political agenda: a multibillion dollar plan to avert the risks of a Worldwide financial meltdown. In the words of its political architects US Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown: "we must do more to . . . limit the swings of booms and busts that destroy hope and diminish wealth."(1). Announced by President Bill Clinton in late October, the G7 proposal to install a 90 billion-dollar fund "to help protect vulnerable but essentially healthy...

The "Blic" Interview With Hieromonk Sava The peace and harmony. The sun shines while the monks are working in the fields of Decani Monastery. The church bell calls for communal meal in the refectory. This is a scene which someone could hardly expect only a mile from the town of Decani where serious clashes between the Serbian security forces and the KLA occurred just a month ago. The love and peace which shine on the faces of the abbot and his monks give an impression of an oasis of true peace and Christian blessing. "I would rather devote myself to monastic life, silence and prayer. But I simply cannot close my eyes in front of what is going on before us. Our brotherhood is helping all the people in need here as much as we can. I know that we cannot stop the war and make all the evils in...

An International Criminal Court If you care about human rights, this may be your biggest single chance to make a difference. In our time, the world has seen some of the most horrific mass crimes in history. Yet most of the criminals walk free. In 1946, the defeated war criminals of World War II were tried for their crimes at historic tribunals in Nuremberg and Tokyo. The international community determined that war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and military aggression should never again go unpunished. They talked of setting up a permanent international court to address such horrors and help prevent them in the future. But nothing was done. As a result, military and political leaders responsible for the deaths of millions-such as Saddam Hussein and Pol Pot-never had to fear prosecution for their crimes. Right now, a process is going on at the UN which will, finally, make an...

Global Falsehoods: How the World Bank and the UNDP Distort the Figures on Global Poverty Professor of Economics, University of Ottawa, author of The Globalisation of Poverty, Impacts of IMF and World Bank Reforms, Zed Books, London, 1997. © copyright by Michel Chossudovsky, Ottawa, 1999. To publish this text contact the author at chossudovsky@sprint.ca Until the 1998 financial meltdown (“black September” 1998), the World economy was said to be booming under the impetus of the “free market” reforms. Without debate or discussion, so-called “sound macro-economic policies” (meaning the gamut of budgetary austerity, deregulation, downsizing and privatisation) continue to be heralded as the key to economic success and poverty alleviation. In turn, both the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have asserted authoritatively that economic growth in the late 20th Century has contributed to a reduction in the levels of World poverty. According to the UNDP, “the progress...

Financial Warfare “Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men”. (Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address, 1933) Humanity is undergoing in the post-Cold War era an economic crisis of unprecedented scale leading to the rapid impoverishment of large sectors of the World population. The plunge of national currencies in virtually all major regions of the World has contributed to destabilising national economies while precipitating entire countries into abysmal poverty. The crisis is not limited to Southeast Asia or the former Soviet Union. The collapse in the standard of living is taking place abruptly and simultaneously in a large number of countries. This Worldwide crisis of the late twentieth century is more devastating than the Great Depression of the 1930s. It has far-reaching geo-political implications; economic dislocation has also been accompanied by the outbreak of regional conflicts,...

LONDON– “5,500 journalists and 700 in the American delegation alone” reports a London newspaper on the Kyoto global warming jamboree. If only one tenth of those would turn up for a conference on supplying pure water and giving every girl a basic primary education then we might be getting somewhere with the most tangible pressing environmental need of our age. (And one that cannot be scientifically questioned, to boot.) Still, give Kyoto its due. This is the way issues get placed firmly on the political map. “I have only a modest proposal” said Kierkegaard as I recall “to make the true state of affairs known.” It may be the wrong issue, it may be an overblown issue but if you believe in getting attention this is the way to do it. But it has its dangers. Crying wolf can be counterproductive. Twenty-five years ago I wrote a column for the Washington...

OSCEs topmøde – nye veje, også på Balkan Danmark har til årsskiftet formandsskabet i OSCE, den Europæiske Sikkerheds- og Samarbejdsorganisation og der skal være topmøde i København 18-19. december. I København bør energien bruges til konkrete handlinger og ikke spildes på floromvundne udtalelser. I perioden 1975-85 profilerede OSCE sig ved menneskerettigheder, kontakter, information, kultur og uddannelse. Mellem 1986 og 1992 tilkom tillids- og sikkerhedsskabende tiltag og våbenkontrol. Og med Paris Chartret fra 1990 ligger tyngdepunktet på folkeretten, demokrati, markedsliberale reformer, social retfærdighed og miljøaspekter samt, fra 1994, forebyggende diplomati, konfliktforebyggelse, krisestyring og kooperativ sikkerhed. I 15 af verdens brændpunkter har vi OSCE-missioner hvor der gøres et imponerene arbejde, der sjældent når ud i medierne. Medlemsstaterne, der skønt navnet også regner USA og Canada, er øget fra 34 i 1990 til 55 i dag og verden er gledet ind i en fase hvor OSCEs og FNs målsætninger og erfaringer er langt...

OSSEs toppmöte: Nya vägar, också på Balkan Danmark fungerar fram till årsskiftet som ordförandeland i OSSE, den Europeiska Säkerhets- och Samarbetsorganisationen. 18 &endash; 19 december arrangeras ett toppmöte i Köpenhamn. Jag hoppas att energin vid detta möte används till konkret handling och inte förspills i flortunna uttalanden. Under perioden 1975 &endash; 1985 profilerade sig OSSE när det gäller mänskliga rättigheter, information, kultur och utbildning. Mellan åren 1986 och 1992 tillkom förtroende- och säkerhetsskapande åtgärder samt vapenkontroll. Med Paris Chartret från 1990 ligger tyngdpunkten på folkrätt, demokrati, marknadsliberala reformer, social rättvisa, miljöfrågor samt från 1994 på förebyggande diplomati, konfliktförebyggande insatser, krishantering och kooperativ säkerhet. I 15 av världens brännpunkter har OSSE-insatser gjort imponerande mycket som sällan når ut i medierna. Medlemsstaterna, till vilka trots OSSEs namn också räknas USA och Kanada, har från 1990 ökat i antal från 34 till 55 i dag. Världen har gått in i ett skede, där...

Økonomien – en rod til "etniske" konflikter Snart sagt enhver akademisk og massemedial fremstilling om international politik indledes i dag med fire politisk korrekte påstande, nemlig a) den om at vi efter den Kolde Krig næsten ikke har konflikter eller krige mellem stater men kun inden for dem og b) at de i grunden handler om etnicitet, religion, klaner, identitet eller gammelt had. For det tredje c) myten om at de nu kommer "op til overfladen" ved kommunismens sammenbrud og fordi der ikke længere er en Øst- og en Vestblok, der sammen holden orden, samt d) den om at demokratier er fredelige og ikke bekriger hinanden (men nok dem, de definerer som udemokratiske). Jeg siger politisk korrekte fordi disse mytelignende påstande bevarer og fremmer en forståelse af verden, der befrier Vesten med USA og EU i spidsen for mistanker om at vi kunne være en delårsagen til miséren. Roden til...

Diana, Theresa, Turner og det civile samfund Prinsesse Dianas forskrækkelige død ændrede på forunderlig måde vor verden. Mediernes onde magt blev stillet til skue og skam, omend der blandt de sørgende over netop denne dramatiske død må have været konsumenter af den fornedrende sladderpresse. Samtidig knyttede mediernes gode magt mennesker rundt om på Jorden sammen sammen i et unægteligt egenartet fællesskab. Det gentog sig da Moder Theresa døde, omend i mere normalt format. De var u-konstituerede ledere, hverken prdukter af demokratiske valg, diktatur eller økonomisk magt. De var ledere i det civile samfund, ikke af regeringer eller internationale organisationer. De havde magt, men ikke den sædvanlige, der yderst bygger på tvang og vold. De talte til hjertet først men så sandelig også till fornuften, mens mange valgte magthavere hverken taler fra det ene eller til det andet. De var kvinder, der valgte ikke at følge den slagne karriere men gjorde...