September 2017 Review

TransConflict is pleased to present a selection of articles published during September, plus updates from the Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation. 

1) The West should get out of the Kosovo debate

Timothy Less – If the so-called peaceniks are genuinely interested in peace, then they must stop expecting the Serbs to put aside their core values and interests and accept solutions imported from the West that reflect its own particular values and interests. As the tenth anniversary of Kosovo’s independence approaches, and with the issue of recognition yet to be solved, it’s high time they started to do so. Read on…

2) The Iraqi Kurds’ independence is decades overdue

Dr. Alon Ben-Meir – The US and EU must be in the forefront in supporting Iraqi Kurds to achieve independence, and bring an end to the historic travesty that has been inflicted on all 30 million Kurds. Read on…

3) Bridging the impunity gap – a look at the Jayasuriya initiative

Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice – At the end of last month, criminal complaints were filed in Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Peru against Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Latin America, Jagath Jayasuriya. What might they mean in the broader fight for accountability in Sri Lanka given that, for now at least, Jayasuriya has managed to evade justice? Read on…

4) Prospects for credible 2018 Zimbabwean elections

Phillip Nyasha Fungurai – Though the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is considering a Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) system, this will not guarantee free and fair elections in 2018. The system is a piecemeal measure. Instead, the whole election environment should be taken into account in order to navigate the road map to a democratic Zimbabwean election. Read on…

5) An open letter to President Trump

Dr. Alon Ben-Meir – If, as you claim, you are an American patriot who loves his country and cares about its future as a global power and its indispensable moral leadership role to make the world a better and safer place, resign now and do so with dignity for the sake of the country. At a minimum, you will be remembered as the president who finally made the right decision by putting the country’s fate and future wellbeing before his own. Read on…

6) #ReleaseTheList – campaign update

Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice – Last month the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice launched a new campaign in support of them, calling on President Sirisena to fulfil his pledge to release a list of all those who surrendered or were detained by the Sri Lankan authorities during the final stages of the war (a point at which many were never seen or heard from again). Read on…

7) The US has to accept North Korea as a nuclear power

Dr. Alon Ben-Meir – We must now accept the fact that North Korea is a nuclear power and rely on nuclear deterrence while normalizing relations in the process. Anything else is wishful thinking, and Kim Jong Un knows that only too well. Read on…

8) A tribute to Kim Wall

Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice – Kim Wall’s pioneering work shining a light on the situation in the country’s heavily militarized North owed much to her bravery, but also to her great warmth and affability. Read on…

9) Is America still a beacon of light to other nations?

Dr. Alon Ben-Meir – The embedded political, economic, cultural, military, and technological achievements of America remained unmatched. We must now rebuild on this strength and fight for America’s soul. This is what the American people want, and what the world expects from us. Read on…

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