TFF PressInfo

There is all reason to rejoice at the fact that the United Nations and Secretary-General Kofi Annan have been awarded the centenary Nobel Peace Prize. It is the right choice. Though one would wish it had happened before, the award comes at a critical moment when governments around the world need to be reminded of the fundamental importance of the UN and its norms. It is the only government organisation that truly represents “the international community.” It is the leading one symbolising humanity’s struggle to abolish war and seek peace by peaceful means. It does a lot of good and much less harm than most self-appointed peacemakers like NATO. And its budget is still about 3% of what its governments waste on weapons and wars. Kofi Annan The Nobel Committee correctly emphasises that Kofi Annan has brought new life to the organisation. He is a soft-spoken man with inner calm,...

Svensk utgåva av denna Once upon a time, there was a Sweden that was different and wanted to make a difference in the world. Over the last few years it has become an acquiescing, commonplace Sweden that has almost abandoned its creativity and independent foreign policy. Now it follows the flock and the leader(s) of the flock. A country of only 8 million people, Sweden used to base its welfare on heavy industry and science, on Scandinavian welfare thinking, equality and a strong civil society filled with active NGOs. There is even a term for that quality: “folkrörelses-Sverige,” the “peoples’ movement Sweden.” As a foreign policy actor, Sweden made a difference by vigorously promoting goals such as international solidarity, non-alignment, nuclear disarmament, common security, confidence-building and peace-keeping through a policy of active neutrality. It was a staunch believer in and supporter of the United Nations. It took a stand when...

Det fanns en gång ett Sverige som var annorlunda och som ville hjälpa till att förändra världen. Under de senaste få åren har det blivit ett passivt och fogligt alldagligt Sverige som nästan har övergivit sin kreativitet och sin oberoende utrikespolitik. Nu följer det flocken och dess ledare. Sverige, ett litet land med 8 miljoner innevånare, grundade sitt välstånd på tung industri och vetenskap, på ett skandinaviskt välfärdstänkande och ett starkt civilsamhälle, fyllt av aktiva NGOs. Det fanns t.o.m. en särskild benämning på detta: “folkrörelse-Sverige”. Som utrikespolitisk aktör hade Sverige en särskild betydelse i världen genom att verka för mål som internationell solidaritet, allianfrihet, kärnvapennedrustning, gemensam säkerhet, förtroendeskapande och fredsbevarande genom en aktiv neutralitetspolitik. Det gav ett starkt och pålitligt stöd till Förenta Nationerna. Det tog ställning när små stater angreps. Dess regering främjade folkrörelseaktiviteter som Den stora Fredsresan och Folkriksdagen för nedrustning. Den svenska utrikespolitiken grundades på folklig debatt...

 12 oktober, 2001  Der var en gang et Sverige, som var anderledes og som ønskede at gøre en forskel i verden. Igennem de sidste få år, er det blevet det tilpassede Sverige, som har afviklet sin kreativitet og sin uafhængige udenrigspolitik. Som et land med kun 8 millioner indbyggere byggede Sverige sin velfærd på tung industri, videnskab, skandinavisk velfærdstænkning, lighed og på et stærkt civilsamfund fyldt med aktive folkelige bevægelser. Man talte faktisk om “Folkrörelses-Sverige”. Som udenrigspolitisk aktør gjorde Sverige en forskel ved kraftigt at fremme mål som international solidaritet, alliancefrihed, kernevåbenafrustning, fælles sikkerhed, tillidsskabelse og fredsbevarelse gennem en aktiv neutralitetspolitik. Det var en sikker støtte for FN. Det tog et standpunkt, når små nationer blev angrebet, og regeringen fremmede folkebevægelser som Den store Fredsrejse og Folkerigsdagen for Nedrustning i 1980erne. Sveriges udenrigspolitik baseredes på offentlig debat og engagement og var således i betragtelig grad forankret i folkelig støtte. Det...

The images of the hijacked planes crashing into the World Trade Center are nightmare images of unspeakable horror that will forever be a part of our reality. Imagine, however, another nightmare — that of a mushroom cloud rising over an American city. This is a threat we can no longer ignore. Perhaps today citizens and leaders alike will better understand the seriousness of the nuclear threat. Our leaders have failed to grasp that our present nuclear weapons policies contribute to the possibility of nuclear terrorism against our country. Large nuclear arsenals do not protect us any more than a missile shield would have prevented the attacks against the World Trade Center or the Pentagon. In 1998 India and Pakistan both demonstrated their nuclear capabilities. Pakistan, which borders on Afghanistan, is now the only country in the world to recognize the Taliban regime. Should there be a US led war in...

America and Americans on September 11 experienced the full horror of what must surely be the greatest display of grotesque cunning in human history. Its essence consisted in transforming the benign, everyday technology of commercial jet aircraft into weapons of mass destruction. There has been much talk about Americans discovering the vulnerability of their heartland in a manner that far exceeds the collective trauma associated with the attack on Pearl Harbor. But the new vulnerability is radically different and far more threatening. It involves the comprehensive vulnerability of technology closely tied to our global dominance, pervading every aspect of our existence. To protect ourselves against the range of threats that could be mounted by those of fanatical persuasion is a mission impossible. The very attempt would quickly turn the United States into a prison-state. And yet who can blame the government for doing what it can in the coming months...

The terrorist attacks against the United States have shocked the world and left Americans feeling vulnerable and fearful of future attacks. The US has made a major military deployment to the Middle East and seems intent on military action against Osama bin Laden and possibly Afghanistan and other states that may harbor terrorists or be linked to these attacks. But the military is a blunt instrument that could easily increase the cycle of violence by causing the deaths of more innocent civilians. The US response to the attacks should adhere to three basic criteria: it should be legal, moral and thoughtful. a) It should be legal under both domestic and international law, sanctioned by the United Nations, and multilateral in scope. b) It should be moral in not taking more innocent lives. c) And it should be thoughtful in asking why this has happened and what can be done to...

(B) Continued from PressInfo 129 Global brainstorm on a humanity-oriented Western policy Imagine that we begin a global brainstorm where people of all walks of life can contribute their opinions freely on questions such as: how can the United States, and the West in general, make a more efficient contribution to a world in peace, justice and human development? What new forums do we need — in the fields of politics, religion, education, culture, etc — to balance the globalisation in the economic sphere? How must we re-structure the world system to promote global democracy and democratic governance (for, by and with the peoples) to benefit all and not mainly Western people? We are talking about a new global policy for us all and not just for the biggest countries. We are talking about taking the idea of a global human family seriously when making decisions at home. We are...

(B) PressInfo 129 and 130 is our contribution to questions we find essential now: Can something positive come out of the terrible events in New York and Washington on September 11? Can the innocent victims of many nationalities and walks of life be honoured by hard thinking about a more peaceful world? Can this particular violence teach us something about the civilisational necessity to reduce violence before it is too late? We shall be happy if you find any inspiration here and we invite your constructive thoughts to tff@transnational.live. Two weeks have passed. We mourn the tragedy in New York and Washington. Innocent lives were taken by mad men who could not find intelligent, non-violent ways to make their point. No civilised goals can ever be promoted by such methods. No ideology and no religion in the world can justify them. There are those who argue that, at this very...

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” and America’s pre-eminent foreign policy observer, George Kennan, ambassador to the Soviet Union during Stalin’s time, wrote quite a few...

NATO will not leave Macedonia NATO people emphasise that Operation Essential Harvest in Macedonia is a very limited mission; it will only be in Macedonia for one month and only to collect 3,300 weapons. It is not monitoring, it is not peace-keeping and it is not peace-enforcement. And, as we have shown in PressInfo 125 it is not a disarmament mission. It’s a “collect-not-too-many weapons” mission. When NATO’s mission approaches its termination, there is likely to be an intensive media effort to emphasise that the KLA/NLA kept its promise and handed in 3,300 weapons. It will be heralded by NATO and the EU as a major step in the direction of peace by that side. However, following the logic of this whole affair it is a quite reasonable hypothesis that both parties will spend the time productively to acquire new weapons. Because: a) The Macedonians and the government have no...

Macedonia in NATO – NATO in Macedonia Successive Macedonian governments officially argue that the country must become a member of NATO. Macedonia is heading for NATO membership. However, since Macedonia is not yet “mature” enough to be in NATO, NATO will be in Macedonia. Macedonia has not had, or been allowed to have, an independent national security commission that could investigate various future options for the country. NATO membership is the only idea in Skopje. If there are sceptical security experts and defence intellectuals, they do not seem to speak out. The local NGOs vary in their enthusiasm; however, peace groups, women’s groups, etc who are not only sceptical but downright opposed to it have little influence. What NATO membership will cost, in money terms, in the next, say, twenty years is not analysed and there is no talk of a referendum &endash; but, of course, a lot of talk...