MoPress

Author: mopress

  • Welcome Evan Pritchard

    June 16, 2004–Beginning this week, Peacefile is honored to post items from Evan Pritchard’s Peace Diary. Readers can select for items posted by Pritchard via the categories menu on the right.

    cheers,
    Greg Moses
    Peacefile Editor

  • Geneva Ignored

    What Iraqi Unionists are Trying to Teach America and Why We Can’t Hear Them

    [Afternoon update 6/16/2004: new paragraphs inserted between ** double asterisks below]

    By GREG MOSES

    http://peacefile.org/wordpress

    A comprehensive, nation-by-nation survey of worker’s rights got a 170-word write up last week in the “World in Brief” section of the Washington Post. So we can’t say that workers of the world were completely ignored.

    http://www.icftu.org/survey2004.asp?language=EN

    Neither can we say that the Post was unselective in its choice of detail. Of 129 labor activists killed around the world in 2003, 90 were killed in Columbia alone, suggesting that the vortex of narco-politics is a meatgrinder for workers’ rights, too.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26610-2004Jun8.html

    Nor was the Post standing alone last week in its preoccupation with other issues. Like wallpaper, the press lavished coverage upon a week-long funeral for that former President who was so sincere about freedom for the people that he broke the legs of public-sector unionism.

    But last week, if you were eager to hear American journalists reporting from Geneva, where trade unions of the world were holding their most important annual gathering, in conjunction with the United Nations’ International Labor Organization (ILO), then you were taught another sad but predictable lesson about things a corporate press does not do.

    On June 10, the Associated Press did write a 400-word summary of a 112-page global study on child labor that was released from the Geneva conference. “Sadly, many countries don’t see domestic child labor as a problem,” said author of the ILO study, June Kane. Of the ten million children affected, the AP spoke to none.

    As for activities of the Iraqi unionists at Geneva, the only accounts I found were written by the embattled unionists themselves. Abdullah Muhsin, the London-based voice for the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) reports a very interesting conversation between his delegation and Korean unionists.

    http://www.iraqitradeunions.org/archives/000042.html

    “The meeting focused on the presence of Korean troops in Iraq and the proposal for an additional 600 soldiers to go to Iraq to help with humanitarian needs for construction, and for medical aid,” reports Muhsin.

    “The meeting also discussed the 30 June transfer of power to the Iraqis, the role of the UN and the proposed draft UN resolution on Iraq.”

    “Both sides agreed,” reports Mushin, “that the occupation of Iraq must now end, that the UN must take a leading role in the [future] of Iraq and that real power and sovereignty must be handed to the transitional Iraqi government established on 30 June 2004.”

    Muhsin’s report evades details of any conclusions that might have been reached during that conversation regarding the 600 additional Korean soldiers. Should they stay home? Should they come to Iraq only under UN supervision? An independent reporter might have pressed those questions.

    Muhsin drops quite a few names and gives an impression of widely nurtured contacts. The IFTU is emerging from war as a leading voice of labor in Iraq. In the opinion of Owen Tudor, a leading organizer of Trade Union Councils (TUC) in Europe, the IFTU is one of the labor groups in Iraq that enjoys “genuine links with workers in workplaces,” and is, “more or less representative of ordinary workers.”

    http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-7859-f0.cfm

    However, feisty opposition unionists in Iraq continue to question the credentials of Muhsin and IFTU. A Monday afternoon email (June 14) from Iraqi unionist Aso Jabbar relays an uncompromising statement by Falah Alwan, President of the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI).

    [email and attachment available to editors on request]

    In the words of Alwan, “fascist traditions” are being continued in Iraq, because the provisional government is trying to designate one official union (Muhsin’s IFTU), and because unions are also being discouraged (in fine Reagan fashion) from organizing public service employees.

    It is not yet clear how the “months old” unions of public sector employees will fare under the emerging Iraqi state. As Tudor explains in his brief review of history, public service unions had once thrived in Iraq before they were banned by Saddam Hussein in 1987 (the decade that began with Reagan’s 1981 order to fire the striking air-traffic controllers).

    As for IFTU’s status as the only union to be recognized by the emerging Iraqi state, Alwan’s opposition union, FWCUI, claims more than 300 endorsers to its complaint, filed with the ILO, that the emerging government’s arrangement with IFTU violates workers’ basic rights to organize their own unions. So there is widespread agreement that the IFTU’s relationship to the developing Iraqi state is not healthy for workers of the world.

    http://www.wpiraq.org/english/2004/uui090604.htm

    **On June 16, Jabbar provided via email a “final report” prepared by the Geneva delegation of the Campaign Against the Occupation and For Labour Rights in Iraq.

    According to the 4-page report, a coalition of labor delegates did on June 11 present a formal complaint to the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association. A follow-up hearing is scheduled for November. While trying not to take sides regarding which union would be best for the Iraqi workers to choose, the labor coalition did lodge a complaint against the Iraqi governing council’s “Decree No. 16” that names the IFTU as the only state-approved union.

    “It is up to the Iraqi workers themselves to decide freely and without any external interference the paths and means it will deem necessary for defending the workers’ interests in Iraq,” says the labor coalition’s final report. “We intend, moreover, to state most strongly that not one step can be made towards democracy if the workers’ right to freedom to organize is not completely respected.”**

    In a Friday column for the Nation, labor reporter David Bacon, who also serves as an editor at the USLAW website, makes it clear that anti-war unionists in the USA are not choosing favorites. Bacon treats IFTU as a legitimate union, even if USLAW agrees that the Iraqi state has no legitimate right to name IFTU as the sole representative of Iraqi workers. USLAW’s fund drive promises to support both FWCUI and IFTU.

    http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040628&s=bacon

    In the “Arab world,” it is widespread practice to name a single, state-designated union. If IFTU’s offical status violates workers’ rights to organize their own unions, so does every other state-approved union in the “Arab world.” In Februrary, a coalition of Arab NGO’s, headed by Hasan Barghouthi, announced an initiative to support more independence and democracy among trade unions in Arab nations. Barghouthi’s organizational website at dwrc.org is still under construction.

    http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/role/globdem/globgov/2004/0212arab.htm

    While the rest of the world may agree that IFTU should not serve as the exclusive, state-approved union for Iraqi workers, it is the IFTU which arrives in Geneva as the only “official delegation” listed by the ILO for the workers of Iraq.

    Click to access delegates-final.pdf

    Yet, in the subtle world of Iraq’s emerging politics, it is not quite true to say that IFTU is Iraq’s official delegation to ILO. The people mentioned by Muhsin as IFTU delegates are NOT listed by the ILO as belonging to IFTU. Instead, Muhsin and his colleagues are officially listed as “advisers” to the General Union of Trade Unions (GUTU?).

    The name change from IFTU to GUTU, and the designation of Muhsin and company as “advisers” may have only minor implications. But during these intense days of “reconstruction” such small details suggest that the legacy of another tradition continues. Under the regime of Saddam Hussein, the state-approved union was known as the General Federation of Trade Unions or GFTU, not far in spelling from GUTU. As recently as February, Tudor reports that the GFTU was still active in Iraq and that the IFTU was under pressure from other unionists in the “Arab world” to merge with GFTU into a single organization that could serve as the state’s exclusive, official union.

    http://www.uslaboragainstwar.org/article.php?id=4066

    As I have complained above, lack of independent reporting on these interesting poltics leave details unexplained. Who for instance is Rassim Hussein Al-Awadi, the figure listed by the ILO as the actual “delegate” of the GUTU? And why does his name not appear among the usual list of worker-elected IFTU officers? Is this the same Baath Party Regional command chairman, Brig. Gen. Husayn al-Awadi, who was arrested by coalition forces in June of 2003, listed as number 53 of the 55 most-wanted members of the former regime?

    If your neck is beginning to tighten at the sight of so many acronyms and layers of identity, welcome to the re-organization of civil society in occupied Iraq. We have not yet addressed the Kurdish labor groups, nor the teachers union, but we can save those for another day. (The acronym GUTU, by the way, is homonymous with the name of ancient mountain people from whom present-day Kurds are said to be descended.)

    http://iraq.asinah.net/en/wikipedia/h/hi/history_of_the_kurds.html

    In the meantime, opposition unionists in Iraq continue to provide hot copy for readers interested in the vigorous exercise of democratic debate. The statement released Monday afternoon via email from Alwan’s FWCUI says, “The essential issue of the labour movement in Iraq does not lie in finding trade unions, forming branches, or completing its staff. Currently the race in Iraq is about which one of the parties or organisations can fill the power vacuum.”

    “The workers are deprived from forming their own independent organisations, and kept away from doing their daily living business to form a government that excludes labour–‘the majority’–from any role in the Iraqi political future.”

    If exclusion of workers from meaningful power has a remedy, it must include a radical shift of emphasis among journalists and citizens of America. The same reporters who quiz experts about the possibility of democracy in Iraq, might ask themselves what they mean by democracy-—whether it includes workers’ rights to self organize. And if workers’ rights are essential to democracy, then don’t these rights deserve more coverage from the so-called democratic press?

    David Bacon, for example, gives credit to, “new unions in the southern oil fields and refineries [who] defeated the Coalition Provisional Authority’s attempts to lower wages and forced Halliburton to abandon plans for replacing them with foreign workers for reconstruction work.”

    Yet if Iraq’s provisional government continues to develop along lines already drawn, argues Alwan, the emerging Iraqi state, “will deprive the workers from the opportunity of forming their own unions which as a result will repeat the same old methods and conclude in the loss of the workers endeavours to get rid of the state controlled unions, and that means what is happening in Iraq is nothing but formal democracy.”

    The formal democracy that America is bringing to Iraq is not real democracy says Alwan. But have we grown so accustomed to formal democracy in post-Reagan America, that we forget how to support a struggle for real democracy in Iraq? What are the chances that news outlets owned by corporations can support independent reporting about workers’ rights?

  • More Gay Weddings

    June 16th, Wednesday: Saw article in Poughkeepsie Journal today about Rebecca Rotzler doing gay weddings.

  • Way of the Heron

    June 15th, Tuesday, I went to my favorite air conditioned library and spent several hours compiling two discs worth of info on non-lethal weapons and space weapons, and the two combined, nothing secret, all presumably placed on line with the blessings of those involved. Here are some of the links:

    http://www.acronym.org.uk/dd/dd66/66op1.htm; (for technical data)

    http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/oldpaper/article.cfm?archiveDate=09-14-02&storyID
    (Amazing; a great page on US Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) from Sept. 14th, 2002, about his Space Preservation Act, which protests deploying weapons into space. The city of Berkeley has endorsed the resolution.)

    For good technical info on high-power microwave and other NLW’s go to http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/hpm.htm

    You can read about V-MADS and Active Denial Systems at http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/v-mads.htm

    I was also amazed to find that one of the first in-depth articles about space weapons was by my good friend Erik Baard from the Village Voice. You can still read this ahead-of-its-time page at http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/o131/baard.php. It was published August 1st, 2001!!! At that time I thought Star Wars was a good movie.

    Even TIME magazine mentions NLWs at http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,322588,00.html.

    You might like http://www.sgr.org.uk/conferences/Wright97.html.
    Promoting Ethical Science and Technology.

    For info from Steve Wright the anti-space weapons guru at The Omega Foundation, go to http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/27a/053.html

    For the very best report on the whole gamut of NLW and SW, google Future Sub-lethal, incapacitation and paralyzing technologies, their coming role in the mass production of torture, cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment. October 25-26, 2002 London UK

    Also, equally important to google is Bradford Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project (BNLWRP) by Neil Davison and NickLewer, May of 2004, the University of Bradford. It should not be hard to find.

    Through Counterpunch’s article by Jacob Levich, I was able to print out Kerry’s military proposal, (fact sheet) which emphasizes NLW for Iraqis. You can see Levich’s important article at http://www.counterpunch.org/levich06102004.html

    And then click on John Kerry, or Raytheon. The Raytheon site has photos of the weapons themselves.

    Then I wrote down the Way of the Heron mediation and peacemaking techniques for the frist time, in preparation for Wednesday’s class at the Open Center. I’ve been using these techniques for years, but never formally scripted them, but I feel we are in changing times, and I’m seeing the stark necessity of being more organized, partly so that this information can be passed to more people. There is still plenty of it which can only be found in the oral tradition.

    Way of the Heron: Conflict Resolution Techniques That Work
    Evan Pritchard

    1. If communication is possible, work towards a meeting of the minds using
    The Way of the Heron mediation techniques:

    A. Fact finding, discussion, networking by individual parties.

    B. Purification; time of meditation, prayer, fasting, rest, bathing, etc.

    C. Brokered negotiations—finding a neutral party (peacemaker/mediator) to oversee discussion/negotiation between the two conflicting parties. In the old times, the Peacemaker would be given tobacco; if he/she accepted it, the process would officially begin. The tobacco allows the mediator to be a better vehicle for Great Spirit. The Peacemaker states the rules of the discussion in advance, and upholds them at all times. Peacemaker can stop discussion if too many rules are broken, enforce a cooling off period, or state that process must be restarted at another time. Some sample rules include:

    D. Rules: 1. opponents should remain seated, 2. opponents should not yell, 3. opponents should not interrupt each other, 4. opponents should not speak for more than three minutes at a time; 5. opponents should not use curse words; 6. opponents should use “I” statements rather than pass judgment on the other party, “I feel abused by you,” “I think you are wrong.” 7. opponents should avoid generalized insulting remarks; the focus should be on the action in question, not on the person; 8. Opponents should remain non-violent and not threaten violence.

    E. Process and Goal: Opponents should work towards (in order) 1. clear communication; 2. understanding; 3. apology and forgiveness(sometimes this must come only after step 4) ; 4. resolution.

    F. Resolution: Opponents should write down a treaty, agreeing point by point, and shake hands on it. There should be a clear meeting of the minds. The goals of this resolution are: 1. restoration of property in cases where property has been lost, 2. assistance with healing if injury has occurred; 3. efforts to heal emotional injuries; 4. promise to prevent further incidents.

    G. Direct action, such as a treaty, agreement, truce, resolution, or restorative justice. Use symbols such as burying the hatchet, smoking the pipe, etc. Gifts or tokens of friendship or mutual non-interference should be exchanged. Treaty should be specific as to expectations, specific as to parameters, specific as to responsibilities and penalties, and be equitable as well.

    In everyday situations, we cannot always bring in a peacemaker, although groups such as Ulster-Sullivan Mediation Group can provide a mediator (peacemaker/heron/broker) for a nominal fee. These professionals can interact with the legal system where necessary and are recognized in most counties as alternatives to court action.

    2. If communication is not possible, political entities may organize a march or other peaceful demonstration. March may involve both chants and slogans and non-verbal symbolic behavior. No laws are broken. In daily life, the breakdown or refusal of one party to participate in the Way of the Heron, leads the other party to non-violent, possibly non-verbal protest, or non-cooperation.

    The Heron’s Way Every Day

    Each conflict we find ourselves in begins in a situation where there is no peacemaker around, so we must be our own peacemaker, which is a different thing. Most conflicts do not start out with violent ambushes but with varying levels of interference with the flow of activity.

    Levels of Conflict

    1. actual conflict of needs between the two parties: “you’re sitting in my seat.” “you’re blocking the door,” etc. (solution: start with stating your own need, then work towards pointing out the obstruction tactfully. Most people will “get it” and move or adapt before you have to point the finger.)

    2. unintentional misunderstandings between the two parties: (solution: “I could swear I heard you say ….. Am I hearing you correctly?”) Occasionally, we have no idea there has been a misunderstanding, we just think the other is rude.

    3. verbal abuse, lies, or intentional misunderstandings: “you don’t deserve to be here.” “my way or the highway,” “that’s not how we do things around here,” “he just left and there’s no one to talk to you about that.” (see below)

    4. physical ambush or attack, or the verbal threat to attack: (solution: martial arts, police protection, legal action, etc)

    Verbal Abuse and Verbal Self-Defense

    When anyone attacks you verbally, there are three steps to take:

    1. identify that it may be verbal abuse; buy time, and say, “Wait a minute, that doesn’t make sense!” (detach yourself from the conversation, either make a joke if its minor, or don’t cooperate with the game if its important. You can say “I don’t understand.” )

    2. Identify the type of abusive rhetoric that is being used. (see below)

    3. Respond using “Madnak” or ethical warrior techniques, or walk away.

    Abusive rhetoric has trick words in it. In each case of verbal abuse there are issues with

    1. logos 2. pathos 3. ethos. Each is designed to interrupt real communication.

    1. There is always a flaw in the logic (solution: say, “Hey, wait a minute, that doesn’t make sense!” “Have you really thought this through?” or “I don’t understand!”) It usually takes a few minutes to figure out what is illogical in the statement, so buying time is fair. Some will paraphrase the statement (either negatively or positively) and ask “Is that what you’re trying to say?”

    2. There is always an emotional hook (solution, say: “Are you trying to make me angry?” “Are you trying to abuse my good nature?” “Are you trying to confuse me?” “Are you trying to scare me?” “Was that a threat?” “Do you really believe that?” “Are you trying to sweet-talk me?” “Flattery will get you nowhere.” “Are you selling something?” “And your point is?”

    3. There is always a potential for unethical action, an invasion of privacy, robbery, a violation of boundaries. It should be recognized and “called” immediately. (solution: say “What will you give me in return?” “I don’t agree to that!” “I don’t know you that well.” “You don’t have the right.” “What are you trying to pull?” “Do I look like a fool?” And the ever-popular, “I am not a door mat!”

    In a con-game situation (and some of the greatest con artists are in our own house, including cats and dogs) you may not be able to figure out the trick. If you feel in danger by someone you don’t trust, you can say, “What do you want from me?” “Where is it written down (where does it say in my contract) that I have to tell you that?” “I’m not in the mood for clever conversation today.” Or just walk away.

    In Madnaq The Ethical Warrior, (unpublished) there are prepared answers to over 150 types of trick or abusive rhetoric. For each type, and in each case, there are, for argument’s sake, three levels of response; 1. extra mild; 2. mild; 3. spicy. If its your boss, try #1, if its your friend, try #2, if it’s a stranger, try #3. It is also possible for the student of Madnaq to analyze the person’s verbal abuse techniques in a clinical, objective manner, and share this evaluation with the abuser in a somewhat critical way. In my experience, this elicits immediate respect and caution from the abuser; however eventually they may try other means to trick you.

    These are defensive techniques, designed to save your skin when faced with conflict, however the goal of the practiced Madnaq or ethical warrior is to be a tool of the Creator, an instrument of peace. The higher goal is to heal the anger around you through speaking your truth, and fostering true understanding. The more confident you are in this kind of verbal self-defense, the more unthreatened you feel, the more loving and sympathetic you will feel towards others. Remember, the key is communication, standing in your truth.

    I came across this today on my computer. I must have written it a while ago.

    The Way of the Heron
    An Ancient Algonquin Indian Alternative To War Still Effective Today

    Martin Luther King was a follower of Mohandas Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolent social protest. He took a trip in 1959 to India and met with followers of Gandhi. During this trip he became so convinced that nonviolent resistance was the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom. Gandhi has spent seven years in prison, but believed it was honorable to go to prison for a just cause. King followed most of Gandhi’s ideas.

    King once said, ‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

    My friend Oannes, sent me this email yesterday; It seems our Algonquin “Way of the Heron” is also a tradition of the Miccousukkee of Florida.

    Dear Evan: Thunder & Lighting fill the afternoon, & we are gifted with more rain.
    Hope you’ve read my articles on the EarthCharter (Message of the FireFly) and my
    Lecture at the EarthCouncil for the Indig People’s Prg. Our new NGO Wahkochobee
    EarthCharter Project is getting ready to fly from the nest. Will keep you informed.
    The Great Blue Heron (GBH) in Miccousukkee is sacred to many of our Native
    Peoples. This marsh-bird represents the native ethic of peace. Clan-mothers &
    Chiefs who wore the feathers of the GBH & who spoke with th feather in council, wre known as ‘Peace Keepers’. Inter-tribal representatives who served as ‘Ambassadors’,
    carried a wing feather from the GBH as a sign of their integrity, & concern for the well being of MotherEarth & All Life. The GBH taught our peoples the values of patience,
    sharing of food with other beings, of taking care of their family & mate, of defending
    their territory, and sharing their knowledge of navigating the sky/stars for N/S migrations. Our EC project chose the GBH as a symbol to honor the SW Florida region now called ‘everglades’ were we are geographically based, this wetland ecosys-
    tem sacred to Seminole & Miccousukee, and the ancient culture peoples, Calusa, Tequesta, Timiqua, & Tocoboggins. Let me hear about your presentation.
    Sincerly; Oannes

    Tuesday; played some catch with Scooter and saw Mets beat Indians. Saw TIME article on blogging, just came out today, which is funny. I didn’t know how popular blogging has become. A kind of coincidence really.