TFF PressInfo

“We are proud to be invited to this year’s State ofthe World Forum. It’s one of the most influential anddiverse gatherings of world leaders, convened for the firsttime by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1995. This year around 800networking leaders and activists in business, science,academia, politics, religion and the arts come together inSan Francisco from October 27 to November 1,” says Jan Obergwho has been asked to contribute to the Forum’s Coexistenceand Community-Building Initiative. The Forum’s mission is ‘to establish a global network ofleaders and change agents who come together for bothdiscussions and action. It does this in the conviction thatit is networks of committed individuals and institutionswhich are emerging as principal sources of innovation andeffectiveness, thereby reframing and invigorating civilsociety.’ Jan Oberg: “The incredible diversity of the State of theWorld Forum is its major strength. You find grassrootsinteracting with the gatekeepers of capital and power. Ihave understood that the Forum is...

“This is a modest proposal for institutionalisation ofpeace-related teaching in regions of conflict. It’s aCitizens Forum for Human Rights and Peace Education,HR&PE. It mentions Croatia but is equally relevant for,let’s say, Kosovo or Macedonia, or any other trouble spot.You may think that this is relevant only after war, but Istrongly believe that forums like this should be createdwherever the situation threatens to erupt into violence. Ifthe trigger-happy international “community” had invested insuch projects – both in their own ministries of foreignaffairs, in international organisations and in trouble spotssuch as Kosovo – 5 or 10 years ago, people on all sideswould begin to realise the utter futility of using weaponsto achieve their goals,” says TFF director JanOberg. “You see, there are no limits to what can be done to helppeople coexist in postwar communities. The internationalcommunity has no specialised competence or organisations inthis field. Post-war reconciliation is the most importantmeasure to...

“What on earth would be the POLITICAL AIM of bombingSerbia now? Violence has been used by both parties foralmost a year. Some 250.000 people may already be displaced,homes and towns torched and destroyed. KLA is defeated andSerbia’s government has declared that the war is over,provided KLA’s military struggle does not resume. Before theUN Security Council, NATO or other actors in theinternational ‘community’ decides to carry out air strikesthroughout Serbia, it would be wise to ponder a fewquestions, problems and risks and come up with some answers.I offer some of both in what follows,” says Jan Oberg who,with his TFF colleagues, has conducted analyses and servedas a citizen diplomat in the region since 1992. • IF WE BELIEVE NATO MILITARY INTERVENTIONS WOULDSTOP THE KILLING, ETHNIC CLEANSING AND MASSACRES, WHY HAS ITNOT HAPPENED LONG AGO?POSSIBLE ANSWERS: 1) The international “community” isnot a community when it comes to managing conflicts. Thereare too many solid...

Lund, August 25, 1998 – “The standard media backgroundto the conflict tells us that it all started in 1989 whenSlobodan Milosevic, then President of Serbia, repealed theautonomous status granted the Kosovo province in the 1974constitution. This is wrong and propagated by journalistswho have not bothered to study root causes, attitudes orother complexities. It’s a typical example of KISS reporting– ‘Keep It Simple, Stupid.’ But the deliberate choice ofthis particular political action as ‘the cause of all of thetrouble’ conveys the image that the Serb side alone is toblame,” says Jan Oberg who has been engaged in this conflictsince 1992. “This is an age-old conflict between two peoples who aremuch more different and segregated than any other twopeoples or nations in ex-Yugoslavia. The basic causes of conflict were and remain: 1)historically based inter-ethnic mistrust, b) economicunderdevelopment and inequality, and 3) how to – if at all –integrate the Kosovo province meaningfully...

“To understand a conflict – and, thus, help solve it –we need to know something about at least three things:Attitudes, Behaviour and the root Causes of the conflict.That’s the ABC. Most media simply report on behaviour andignore the two other dimensions. This is why people ingeneral feel that they don’t understand much of it all, inspite of watching and listening carefully to news reports.And when media cover conflict behaviour, many seem to usethe KISS principle – Keep It Simple, Stupid. What youhave heard about human rights in Kosovo/a is a good exampleof KISS journalism,” says Jan Oberg, head of TFF’sConflict-Mitigation team upon returning from yet anothermission to Belgrade, Prishtina and Skopje. “I want to make it clear that I consider the Serbgovernment guilty of extremely serious and systematic humanrights violations in the Kosovo province. Over the years,the Serb leadership has pursued an absolutely immoral andself-defeating policy of repression. Having listened tohundreds...

Lund, August 23, 1998 – “There are dangerously manyhalf truths and biases in the reporting from Kosovo/a. Thegeneralised media image of the conflict shapes publicopinion which in turn threatens to push politicians intoaction that will have counterproductive effects on theground,” says Jan Oberg, head of TFF’s Conflict-Mitigationteam, upon returning from yet another mission to Belgrade,Prishtina and Skopje. “The standard media story about Kosovo the last sixmonths goes like this: ‘Kosovo is a province in Serbiainhabited by about 2 million people, 90 per cent of whom areAlbanians and 10 per cent Serbs. The dissolution of Tito’sYugoslavia started in 1989 when Serbian president SlobodanMilosevic repealed the autonomy which the province hadenjoyed since 1974. The region is characterised by extremepoverty and systematic human rights violations by Serbianauthorities against the Albanians, to the extent that one isjustified in calling it a police state or an ‘apartheid’system. The Serb ‘offensive’ is an attempt by Belgrade...

“Look at what happens in Kosovo and you would like tobelieve that all good powers worked for PREVENTION of thistragedy but that, unfortunately, tragedies happen.Governments, inter-governmental and non-governmentalorganisations are already overloaded with ongoing conflictsand catastrophes; budgets are tight etc. Admittedly theseare very complex problems; and just as all diseases cannotbe prevented, we can’t expect all wars to be prevented. According to this theory, if things go wrong it is theparties’ fault and if they go well it is thanks to theinternational community and a few shuttling envoys ordiplomats. World media naively corroborate this theory: Wewatch how diplomats, envoys, and delegations fly around,hold press conferences, meet their kin in palaces or makesolemn declarations if they don’t issue threats. In short,do all they can to stop wars and force people to negotiationtables, don’t they? Well, no outbreak of violence on earth was morepredictable than the one in Kosovo. There have been moreearly...

The World Bank last week approved a DEM 74 million(US$40.6 million equivalent) Recon-struction Project forEastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srijem Loan forCroatia. The project area is one of the most fertileparts of the Balkans and prior to the war, was known as the“bread basket” of the region. Due to damage to the extensiveflood control and drainage system, much of the agriculturalland has become unusable. The project will: 1) Repair and rebuild the flood control and drainagefacilities; 2) Clear the landmines left behind in the flood controlnetwork; 3) Provide for sound and sustainable environmentalmanagement of the adjoining nature reserve at Kopackirit; 4) Rebuild a partially completed wastewater system in oneof the major towns in the area. The World Bank explains that the project is expectedto make a major contribution in stimulating the localeconomy, thereby creating an incentive for people to returnhome. It is an important contribution to reconstructionand is the result...

“Most of what you hear from Croatia and the Balkansnowadays is negative. The good news is that it is possibleto bring young Croats and Serbs together and help themdevelop an atmosphere of trust, tolerance andreconciliation. It gives us hope,” says Jan Oberg, head ofTFF’s conflict-mitigation team, returning from thefoundation’s 30th mission to what was onceYugoslavia. Last month TFF conducted a series of reconciliationseminars in Eastern Slavonia with 120 Croat and Serbgymnasium students from Vukovar, Osijek and Vinkovci. Formost of them it was the first time they left “their” townand met “the other side.” Various techniques such as fishbowl, role play, groups discussions and brainstorming wereused. The students got to know each other and exchangedviews, made friends and sang songs. They cried when anyonewho so wanted told about the hurt and pain and what he orshe had experienced during the war; they did so withstatements like “I experienced, in my family…”...

We have redesigned TFF’s site to achieve shorterdownloading time, easier navigation, increased visualclarity and better print-outs. What has changed?You will find a new basic structure, a cover pageand site map, navigation bars and more illustrations and aconsistent colour design. It’s simply more readable! What has not changed?The high quality and broad scope, the unique TFFimage, the frequent featuring of new materials to make thiswebsite one of the most dynamic in the trade. This comprehensive site has the following sub-divisions: • SITE MAP – easy overview for you: • NEW – updates and links to the leading daily world news sites. • TFF – Associates, projects, results, Newsletters, Annual Report and TFF Friends. • FORUMS with three sub-divisons: MeetingPoint with topical themes and debate; Jonathan Power’sweekly columns and the 10th TFF Anniversary Collection ofarticles on the post-Cold era. • FEATURES – covering interesting activities, appeals and documents from around the world....

“Many people, particularly in politics and the media,seem to believe that peace will unfold when conflictingparties stop fighting and sign a ceasefire or peaceagreement. Nothing could be more wrong. It is sad enough tosee wars raging, but for professionals inconflict-resolution it is almost as sad to see how limitedthe understanding, the philosophy and the general capacityis for overall postwar peacebuilding,” says TFF director JanOberg. “Postwar trust- and peacebuilding has at least two dimensions: 1) Former enemies seek to clarify what happened and why,to find out what it meant to themselves and the others andlearn to live with the harm and pain. In short, notforgetting or concealing but living on with memories,forgiveness and reconciliation. This is basically anindividual process. 2) To develop normal relations, partly re-constructingthe past (e.g. infrastructure and houses) but also buildingsomething new for the future; it is about securing that theold conflict will not return. In short, violence-preventionand...

“Postwar initiatives can help prevent future policies ofrevenge, violence and outbursts of repressed traumas. It ispossible to develop policies of reconciliation andtrust-building and take initiatives which encourage citizensto take steps toward forgiving. One such initiative could bethe setting up of history and school book commissions. Atruthful approach to history is a vital element in shaping afuture together and help the next generations livepeacefully in spite of what happened,” says TFF director JanOberg. In societies which have gone through civil wars, one ormore parties can choose to be triumphalistic, punishing orhumiliating, an option often chosen by winners. They canalso decide to be reconciliatory and tolerant and helpinnocent citizens irrespective of the side to which theybelong and thus set an example for the young who will befuture leaders. Reconciliation speech can replace hatespeech. This choice depends on the types of atrocities committed,on the configuration between winners and losers, if any. Itdepends on...