PressInfo #76 – Svetu trebaju centri za rekoncilijaciju (izmirenje)

“Da li se još sećate Kim, devetogodišnje vijetnamske devojčice koju su 1972. godine pogodili napalmom američki ratni avioni? Ta slika je 24 godine proganjala Džona Plamera; on je pilotirao helikopterom koji je omogućio taj napad napalmom. Njegov brak je propao, on se izolovao od prijatelja i rodbine i propio; posle svega postao je metodistički pastor u Virdžiniji. Kim i Džon su se sreli 1996. godine i on kaže: „Kim je videla moj bol, moju tugu, moje sažaljenje… Ispružila je ruke i zagrlila me. Jedine reči koje sam uspevao da prozborim bile su: ‘Žalim, žao mi je’ – i to sam ponavljao i ponavljao. Ona je tada govorila: ‘U redu je, u redu, opraštam ti.” Njih dvoje su sada dobri prijatelji koji se često čuju i razgovaraju.

Možda je ovo jedinstvena priča, no kako uopšte možemo govoriti o obnavljanju mira posle ratom nanesenih ozleda, štete i zla, a da svoju pažnju ne posvetimo i humanim aspektima sukoba uopšte, a pogotovo opraštanju i rekoncilijaciji?“ pita se direktor TFF-a, Jan Oberg. „Mislim da bi opraštanje i rekoncilijacija trebalo da postanu naš glavni cilj: u istražnim studijama, u obučavanju i treninzima, a iznad svega moramo da damo snagu svakoj civilnoj i vojnoj – i svakoj međunarodnoj organizaciji koja se bavi ratom razorenim zajednicama – da na tome radi s lokalnim stanovnicima.

Samo pogledajte Bosnu i Hrvatsku posle 1995. Pogledajte Kosovo danas ili Somaliju… Jesu li i tamo ljudi raširili ruke jedni prema drugima i rekli „Opraštam ti“? Imaju li sada više poverenja jedni u druge? Da li su naučili kako da izađu na kraj s prošlim događajima, ne tako što će naprosto zaboraviti ili krivicu bacati jedni na druge, nego tako što će priznati sve što se dogodilo i potruditi se da nađu način da se to više nikada ne ponovi? Može li se to reći čak i za Južnoafričku Republiku? Lako je popraviti kuće i infrastrukturu, lako je razbacivati se novcem i govoriti o ljudskim pravima. Ali šta da se radi ako ljudi na terenu i dalje mrze jedni druge i ni na pamet im ne pada da urade bilo šta što bi ličilo na ono što su uradili Kim i Džon? Hoće li oni ikada postati istinski srećni i hoće li ikada ponovo pronaći svoj unutrašnji mir? Hoće li to biti omogućeno makar njihovoj deci? Kako će onda izgledati njihovo društvo ukoliko ne budemo znali kako da, da se tako izrazimo, „popravimo“ i duše ljudi i da pomognemo da se stvori tolerancija, koegzistencija, pa čak i saradnja i ljubav?“

Jan Oberg dalje kaže: „Jedan od mojih najdirljivijih doživljaja bio je kada smo članovi TFF tima i ja pomagali Hrvatima i Srbima u istočnoj Slavoniji da se ponovo sretnu: momci i devojke zajedno sa generacijom svojih roditelja po prvi put su dobili priliku da se sretnu licem u lice i razgovaraju o svemu što se dogodilo – uz obavezu da se drže isključivo činjenica, da govore o sebi (‘I language’) i da izbegavaju da krivicu bacaju na bilo koga. Mnogi su se rasplakali, posle toga su se mnogi zajedno i nasmejali – neki su do sada postali prijatelji i zajedno učestvovali na nekoliko različitih projekata – a, istina je, neki su sastanak napustili pre kraja i još jednom ostali bez nade.

To mi je pomoglo da shvatim koliko smo problem ‘rekonstrukcije duše’ do sada zapostavljali i koliko je bez toga sve drugo uzaludno. Na Kosovo možete sasuti novca koliko god hoćete – to neće dovesti do mira osim ako, uz duboko poštovanje i uvažavanje lokalnih ljudi na svim stranama, ne donesete i ono nešto što je u novčanim terminima neizmerljivo.

Nedavno sam bio u Burundiju, zemlji u kojoj su mnogo gora zverstva pogodila neuporedivo veći broj ljudi. Tokom dvonedeljnog boravka od brojnih nevladinih organizacija i ministara tamo sam mogao čuti neuporedivo smisleniji i iskreniji mirotvorni govor nego tokom svih osam godina TFF-ove misije u bivšoj Jugoslaviji. Nemam spreman odgovor za ovu razliku, ali se pitam da li smo mi Evropljani više skloni miru koji se gradi mačem – legalistički, mehanički i nametanjem spoljašnjih ekonomskih, političkih i ljudskopravaških uslova – dok drugi možda mir vide pre kao pokušaj da se postigne pomirenje sa samim sobom, da se izađe na kraj sa zlom koje se dogodilo, da se pronađu sopstveni načini i iskoriste lokalni kulturni rituali i tradicije kako bi se omogućilo praštanje i rekoncilijacija. Ukratko, izgleda da bogati Zapad teži manje-više intervencionističkim brzopoteznim mirovnim paketima gde ljudi dolaze na poslednje mesto, dok druge kulture stavljaju ljude i nematerijalnu dimenziju problema na prvo mesto, znajući da istinski mir mora proisteći iz pojedinca i iz društvenog tkiva. Ako je to tako, onda bi mi Zapadnjaci o mirotvorstvu mogli mnogo da naučimo od drugih kultura.

Za praštanje postoji mnogo definicija, ali po svojoj suštini to je individualni moralni čin koji pomaže čoveku da se oslobodi bremena mržnje i prava na osvetu. Za rekoncilijaciju su potrebne najmanje dve osobe i njome se teži da se iz mračne i bolne prošlosti izvuče nešto konstruktivno. Praštanje ne znači zaboraviti; naprotiv, znači zapamtiti prošlost kako bi se u budućnosti živelo normalnije i ispunjenije. Ništa od ovoga ne može se postići novcem, oružjem ili pravnim merama – i sve to ide daleko dublje od obuke o ljudskim pravima.

„Da budem još konkretniji“, nastavlja Jan Oberg, „vreme je da iz svih tih užasnih ratova nešto naučimo i izvučemo konstruktivne zaključke iz moralnih i intelektualnih katastrofa, među kojima je i prisustvo takozvane ‘međunarodne zajednice’ na Kosovu. Zamislimo da osnujemo regionalne institute (centre ili akademije) za rekoncilijaciju u područjima gde su sukobi istorijski česti i gde postoji rizik da se ponove. Rekoncilijaciju možemo shvatiti kao krovni koncept koji obuhvata sve što se dešava od potpisivanja primirja do pune normalizacije i socioekonomskog razvoja – sa posebnim naglaskom na humanu dimenziju posleratne obnove.“

[Završni deo teksta ostaje tematski i sadržajno isti kao u originalu, uz tehnički ispravljene prelome, interpunkciju i tipografske znakove.]

© TFF 1999

• You are welcome to re-print, copy, archive, quote from or re-post this item, but please retain the source.
• TFF’s website has all the relevant links to Iraq, the Balkans, including media there + peace research, and non-violence
• Teacher, activist, journalist?? You’ll always find something interesting at TFF.
• Get your daily global news from the leading media on TFF’s site, all in one place.

Peace & future researcher + ‌Art Photographer

Related Posts

Small and different + among the 10% most active + 9,000 texts + 150 Associates + 60 000 a day — and a stubborn belief that peace is smarter and must be secured by peaceful means. In 2026, the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research (TFF) turns 40. On Monday, October 5, 2026, a new TFF homepage will go live — a new gateway to more than 9,000 articles, analyses, research papers and other contributions produced over four decades of independent peace research. But this is not simply a new website. For four decades, TFF has worked from a simple conviction: peace is smarter than militarism and can be brought about by peaceful means. This is not merely an aspiration. It is the principle expressed in the UN Charter and the Gandhian tradition that has guided our work from the beginning. TFF is a research-based, independent and people-financed foundation....
The agreement is catastrophic both because of what it says and what it doesn’t mention. It reduces further the major asset of security policies: Freedom of action. Jan Oberg TFF director September 25, 2026 A couple of hours before the agreement was signed on September 22, 2026, I published the following 13 hypotheses about what it would most likely contain on TFF Substack (in English). I was wrong on only the first point. Contrary to what Trump had written on his Truth Social platform, it does not appear to come into force immediately. In fact, it turned out to be worse than even I had anticipated. After these hypotheses now come a number of reflections in light of what the agreement actually contains, and does not contain, as well as the way in which it has generally been presented by major media outlets and by the public-service broadcaster DR. My...
Jan Oberg May 15, 2026 Go to this Fox News page and scroll the whole way down: President Donald Trump tells the world that his meeting with President Xi Jinping yielded a lot of very concrete political and economic results – of course, only where the Chinese side, according to him, agreed with him. He does not mention the Taiwan issue, but Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, says that it did not feature prominently in their talks and that the US policy on Taiwan has not changed. Then go to China Daily – or Global Times – and you will see that for the Chinese it is framework, principles, structure of cooperation etc. that matters – all embedded in the overall idea of “constructive bilateral relationship of strategic stability.” Nowhere is any concrete agreement or deal – all that Trump refers to – mentioned. At the general level, this gives you insights into the very different social...

Recent Articles

An aspect of Iran’s culture and civilisation you’ve probably never heard about. Don’t be surprised if the US and Israel also try to bomb them. Jan ObergTFF director October 26, 2026 Today – under the “USraeli” threat of new “annihilating” bombings – opens the 7th International Conference on Peace and Conflict Resolution at Tehran’s University. As far as I can tell, this is the only permanent, advanced peace research institution in West Asia/the Middle East. Perhaps more countries in that region could be inspired? I mean, how many military “security” institutes and military academies do they have? Many peace research institutes and university departments have been established since the 1950s in the West. They are now all under attack; some have closed down, some have gone mainstream, yet others kept the name but do nothing to research peace and disseminate results or advice; instead, they cooperate with militarism’s platforms such...
Let’s discuss using AI to create peace – in contrast to boring geopolitics devoid of creative healing and visions. Jan Oberg TFF director October 15, 2026 I asked VEED to create a short video exemplifying how peace is preferable to war, then chose the lady as a template. Simple as that. In less than a minute, it produced this video, which any peace-loving person would appreciate. The only problem is that human intelligence (HI), at least the one that exists among Western decision-makers, isn’t half as moral or smart as AI. I have used AI to dialogue about peace and peace plans, creative conflict resolution and visions of a better future for humankind. It so happens that I am having more stimulating, intelligent, creative and moral discussions with AI than I could possibly have with any EU or NATO leader today. Yes, AI has very problematic and dangerous aspects; used...
Below are TFF-related media mentions, comments, videos and social media posts published elsewhere but not on this homepage. We happen to catch and list only a fraction. Regarding video comments and debates, we recommend that you go to the TFF Video Channel on Substack where many of them are reproduced. Jan Oberg is a contributor to China Daily – 52 million daily clicks – and Global Times, CGTN and CCTV (the national television), China Investment, Xinhua News Agency and several others. Articles and videos on these media very often multiply into countless Chinese (and Western media) that re-post them from these main media. Thanks to The China Academy, his analyses, interviews and comments are frequently posted on YouTube channels such as Thinkers Forum and Wave Media. These videos are often re-posted on Bilibili (China’s YouTube), the China Content Center on TikTok, and on the Chinese edition of TikTok, Douyin.com. This means reaching hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide over a year. While there are too many to catch on all these...

TFF on Substack

Discover and subscribe to more peace materials on TFF Substack

Most Popular

An aspect of Iran’s culture and civilisation you’ve probably never heard about. Don’t be surprised if the US and Israel also try to bomb them. Jan ObergTFF director October 26, 2026 Today – under the “USraeli” threat of new “annihilating” bombings – opens the 7th International Conference on Peace and Conflict Resolution at Tehran’s University. As far as I can tell, this is the only permanent, advanced peace research institution in West Asia/the Middle East. Perhaps more countries in that region could be inspired? I mean, how many military “security” institutes and military academies do they have? Many peace research institutes and university departments have been established since the 1950s in the West. They are now all under attack; some have closed down, some have gone mainstream, yet others kept the name but do nothing to research peace and disseminate results or advice; instead, they cooperate with militarism’s platforms such...
Let’s discuss using AI to create peace – in contrast to boring geopolitics devoid of creative healing and visions. Jan Oberg TFF director October 15, 2026 I asked VEED to create a short video exemplifying how peace is preferable to war, then chose the lady as a template. Simple as that. In less than a minute, it produced this video, which any peace-loving person would appreciate. The only problem is that human intelligence (HI), at least the one that exists among Western decision-makers, isn’t half as moral or smart as AI. I have used AI to dialogue about peace and peace plans, creative conflict resolution and visions of a better future for humankind. It so happens that I am having more stimulating, intelligent, creative and moral discussions with AI than I could possibly have with any EU or NATO leader today. Yes, AI has very problematic and dangerous aspects; used...
Below are TFF-related media mentions, comments, videos and social media posts published elsewhere but not on this homepage. We happen to catch and list only a fraction. Regarding video comments and debates, we recommend that you go to the TFF Video Channel on Substack where many of them are reproduced. Jan Oberg is a contributor to China Daily – 52 million daily clicks – and Global Times, CGTN and CCTV (the national television), China Investment, Xinhua News Agency and several others. Articles and videos on these media very often multiply into countless Chinese (and Western media) that re-post them from these main media. Thanks to The China Academy, his analyses, interviews and comments are frequently posted on YouTube channels such as Thinkers Forum and Wave Media. These videos are often re-posted on Bilibili (China’s YouTube), the China Content Center on TikTok, and on the Chinese edition of TikTok, Douyin.com. This means reaching hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide over a year. While there are too many to catch on all these...
Read More
Screenshot 2026-10-26 115647
An aspect of Iran’s culture and civilisation you’ve probably never heard about. Don’t be surprised if the US and Israel also try to bomb them. Jan ObergTFF director October 26, 2026 Today – under the “USraeli” threat of new “annihilating” bombings – opens the 7th International Conference on Peace and Conflict Resolution at Tehran’s University. As far as I can tell, this is the only permanent, advanced peace research institution in West Asia/the Middle East. Perhaps more countries in that region could be inspired? I mean, how many military “security” institutes and military academies do they have? Many peace research institutes and university departments have been established since the 1950s in the West. They are now all under attack; some have closed down, some have gone mainstream, yet others kept the name but do nothing to research peace and disseminate results or advice; instead, they cooperate with militarism’s platforms such...
Screenshot 2026-10-15 141837
Let’s discuss using AI to create peace – in contrast to boring geopolitics devoid of creative healing and visions. Jan Oberg TFF director October 15, 2026 I asked VEED to create a short video exemplifying how peace is preferable to war, then chose the lady as a template. Simple as that. In less than a minute, it produced this video, which any peace-loving person would appreciate. The only problem is that human intelligence (HI), at least the one that exists among Western decision-makers, isn’t half as moral or smart as AI. I have used AI to dialogue about peace and peace plans, creative conflict resolution and visions of a better future for humankind. It so happens that I am having more stimulating, intelligent, creative and moral discussions with AI than I could possibly have with any EU or NATO leader today. Yes, AI has very problematic and dangerous aspects; used...
girl-5894831_1280
Below are TFF-related media mentions, comments, videos and social media posts published elsewhere but not on this homepage. We happen to catch and list only a fraction. Regarding video comments and debates, we recommend that you go to the TFF Video Channel on Substack where many of them are reproduced. Jan Oberg is a contributor to China Daily – 52 million daily clicks – and Global Times, CGTN and CCTV (the national television), China Investment, Xinhua News Agency and several others. Articles and videos on these media very often multiply into countless Chinese (and Western media) that re-post them from these main media. Thanks to The China Academy, his analyses, interviews and comments are frequently posted on YouTube channels such as Thinkers Forum and Wave Media. These videos are often re-posted on Bilibili (China’s YouTube), the China Content Center on TikTok, and on the Chinese edition of TikTok, Douyin.com. This means reaching hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide over a year. While there are too many to catch on all these...
Nobel-Prize-Plaque
Jan Oberg TFF director October 13, 2026 According to Alfred Nobel’s will, the Nobel Peace Prize shall be awarded: ”to the person who has done the most or best to advance fellowship among nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and the establishment and promotion of peace congresses.” Further down, he also expresses how the prize for the “champions of peace” shall be decided: “that for champions of peace by a committee of five persons to be selected by the Norwegian Storting. Alfred Nobel’s will is remarkably short and clear. But few seem to have read it. Nobel did not say that the committee itself should consist of members of parliament. He entrusted the Storting with appointing five persons. In principle, it could have selected diplomats, mediators, peace researchers, conflict-resolution specialists, or other individuals with recognised expertise in matters of peace from around the world. Instead, the Storting gradually...
law-419057_1280
The Quest for Humane Survival Richard Falk Professor emeritus, Princeton UniversityTFF Associate since 1986October 12, 2026 After decades of teaching and writing about international law in academic frameworks that were not institutionally situated within law school environments—at Princeton and the University of California, Santa Barbara—I found myself most receptive to the TWAIL outlook. It has been especially illuminating in clarifying the extent to which international law evolved as a dialogical critique of Europe’s efforts to legitimize its colonial undertakings. In particular, TWAIL has exposed how international law has functioned to legalize the subjugation of Third World peoples, securing conditions for exploitative investment and trade relations, the coercive enforcement of public debts, and an ideology of cultural superiority. TWAIL’s exposure of these economic legacies of colonialism has influenced my understanding of the history and development of international law, broadly conceived, as an ideological project of the Western sub-system of the world...
images-2
Advocates of nuclear disarmament are regularly dismissed by the champions of nuclear deterrence as naïve and unrealistic, utopian or even irresponsible. Yet this ‘doctrine’ of deterrence, regarded by France as the ‘cornerstone’ of its national security, is based on quasi-religious beliefs, a theory that cannot be proven, risky gambles and fragile assumptions. So much so that one might legitimately ask which side the ‘Care Bears’ are on. Marc FinaudVice-President of Initiatives for Nuclear Disarmament (IDN) October 9, 2026 This article was originally published on Pressenza When it comes to these things being treated as religious concepts, look here. Idealists and realists It was Hubert Védrine, François Mitterrand’s former Foreign Minister, who repeatedly coined the phrase: ‘Europeans are a sort of Care Bears who don’t realise they’re living in Jurassic Park’. He applies this reference to the cartoon for well-behaved children not only to what he regards as weakness or idealism...