31 October 2017 No 26 ISSN 1664-7963

Current Concerns PO Box CH-8044 Zurich Current Concerns Switzerland The international journal for independent thought, ethical standards, moral responsibility, Phone: +41 44 350 65 50 Fax: +41 44 350 65 51 and for the promotion and respect of public international law, human rights and humanitarian law

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Legal aspects between Spain Editorial The broad discussion about the Cata- and Catalonia cannot be solved lan independence aspirations is on the by railroading them through one hand certainly due to the com- plexity of the question. Freedom and Serious conciliation negotiations are now indispensable self-determination additionally affect The conflict between the Spanish central lawyer and legal philosopher Prof Dr Rein- existential questions of human coex- government and the regional government of hard Merkel and asked questions about the istence, and as a participatory contem- the Autonomous Community of Catalonia is state and international law. The statements porary one is increasingly concerned endless. Both sides refer to legal positions, of the scientist from the University of Ham- about whether the parties involved are both governments are supported by a large burg are of particular interest because they capable and willing to develop a so- number of citizens. Both sides argue his- do not take sides for one of the parties in- lution acceptable to the population of torically, politically and economically. The volved but focus on the clarification of legal all parties by peaceful means. As al- international discussion about the prob- issues. Without losing sight of the political ways in such disputes, one also asks lem is divided. It threatens an escalation dimensions and an appropriate way to a so- about the real political interests behind that can cost many victims. Already many lution, the honest dialogue. the respective statements – for exam- things have fallen out of joint. Nearly 1,000 ple the EU, which after initial restraint injured are to be lamented. This is reason The referendum was not legal now openly supports the central gov- enough to get a clearer picture of the fun- in terms of constitutional law ernment. About three years ago, the damental problem and to look for solutions. At the beginning of the interview, Professor visitor speaking with the representa- Merkel describes the position of the Span- tives of an independent Catalonia in km. On 4 October 2017, the broadcaster RT the streets of Barcelona was told, that Deutsch interviewed1 the emeritus criminal continued on page 2 the EU and USA (and George Soros) would appreciate and financially sup- port such a state – and then heard from The law on self-determination today representatives of the other side that by Prof Dr iur. et phil. Alfred de Zayas* they too were sponsored by the United States. And why one asks with a view International law is Pursuant to the 2010 Advisory Opin- to history, which should never be ig- dynamic. It devel- ion of the International Court of Justice nored, has former, after long disputes ops through treaties on Kosovo, a unilateral declaration of in- granted rights of self-determination and practice. A pro- dependence does not violate international been cancelled? Such a procedure can gressive develop- law. The separation of Kosovo from Ser- only stoke dissatisfaction facing great- ment of internation- bia has established an important precedent er rights of autonomy of the Basques al law has gradually in international law that is being invoked for instance. What for? brought forward the by many peoples aspiring to independ- Beyond all power-political ambi- ideal of self-deter- ence, including the Kurds and the Cata- tions, the question of the law arises. Alfred de Zayas mination of peo- lans. While recognition is declaratory and There is primarily the level of human (picture ma) ples from the early not constitutive of statehood, it is in the rights, whose Article 1 (Universal Dec- conceptions of au- interest of the international community to laration of Human Rights) maintains tonomy in Woodrow Wilson’s famous 14 welcome de facto States into the United the fundamental equivalence and the at- points via the UN-charter through to de- Nations and thus enable them to adhere to tachment to reason and humanity in the colonisation and to the recognition of the United Nations conventions, particularly regulation of our coexistence as an un- right to secession in the states of the for- the human rights treaty system. The ele- alterable as anthropological basis. mer Soviet Union and Yugoslavia which ments of statehood are objective: defined As the alongside contributions show, achieved their independence. Pursuant territory, population, government and ca- questions also arise at the internal level to the precedents created by the unilater- pacity to enter into relations with other of the constitutional state, as well as al declarations of independence of Slove- States. A new State must be economically various questions from the perspective nia, Croatia, Kosovo etc. the human right viable and observe human rights and in- of international law. And quite apart to self-determination in the form of seces- ternational law. from this: Beyond natural and anthro- sion has been established – however, as a pological considerations, all positive last resort when internal self-determina- Law on self-determination law – be it national or international law tion can no longer be achieved. as preventory international law – is formulated by human beings and Modern international law on self-deter- as such must be able to adapt in princi- * Alfred de Zayas is UN Special Rapporteur on mination recognizes that self-determi- ple to new developments. the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable nation as peremptory international law International Order. This statement is expressed in his personal capacity and not as UN inde- pendent expert. continued on page 4 continued on page 2 No 26 31 October 2017 Current Concerns Page 2

”Editorial ”Legal aspects between Spain and …” Political opportunism bends the law continued from page 1 continued from page 1 In another example, Merkel makes clear Interesting in this context would be a ish central government that the referendum that political instances are based on polit- look at Swiss federalism: this was and of 1 October would be “illegal” according ical opportunism rather than legal aspects. is not a construct of a state-theoreti- to the Spanish constitution as “legally cor- So would “the West, as is well known, cal nature, but has historically emerged rect”: “Like most of the constitutions of have forgotten its sympathies for seces- from numerous and prolonged disputes the world, the Spanish also does not allow sion in the case of Kosovo six years later, of greatly diverse points of view. Today, one-sided secession of a part of the popula- in the case of the Crimea and the East- it grants the individual cantons a degree tion, that is, no breaking up of its own ter- ern Ukraine. Even in this inconsistent atti- of self-determination, which no auton- ritory. The states are, in the doctrine of in- tude one can see that secessions are unfor- omous region in the rest of the world ternational law, as it is sometimes casually tunately still primarily a matter of sheer knows. Starting out from the commu- phrased, no club of suicidals. And there are power and interest policy, and less an ob- nity autonomy over the sovereignty of a number of good reasons for this – from ject of legal principles.” the cantons from the bottom upwards, the defense of manifest economic damage, “The causa Kosovo,” Merkel said, “thus the Swiss federalism allows for a sub- regularly associated with such a separation tarnishes the otherwise clear interpretation sidiary task division, which delegates to of territories for the rest of the population of international secession law. There are, the Confederation only those tasks that of the central state, to the avoidance of the however, good reasons for not accepting the lower levels are not able to cope risk of internal and external instability, also unilateral and conflicting secessions, such with on their own. For example, the di- usually associated with it.” as those now undertaken in Catalonia, also rect state taxes are the responsibility of If the government of Catalonia neverthe- in future under international law and not the cantons and municipalities, the di- less declares independence, Merkel expects to recognise new state-like structures that rect federal tax covers a very small part little international support through recogni- have arisen on this path alone.” of the tax burden. Cantonal regulations tion: “There will not be such recognition, include, for example, education, social not only because secession is unconstitu- Central government must take the welfare, construction, judicial organi- tional under Spanish law, but also because striving of the Catalans sation, police, penitentiary, and others. the states would not allow any international for independence seriously A large part of the state organisation precedents for successful secessions. After Merkel, on the other hand, scrutinizes the and administration thus remains with all, they could also be affected by it.” central government’s action against the the national communities, which are referendum of the Catalans: “Whether not simply subject to centralised deci- The complex view of international law one must reject the referendum as such, sions, but have a great scope of design According to international law, a declara- as a simple public opinion poll, is another and influence, and thus have a high de- tion of independence can scarcely be jus- question. And here interesting additional gree of self-determination of their im- tified: ”Since the states have a considera- points come into play. The result of the mediate living conditions. Of course, ble interest in the avoidance of secessions, referendum makes it clear that the Cata- these possibilities of a more independ- and since they are also the norm grantors lans will maintain their striving for inde- ent and much more direct organisation of international law, there is rather no in- pendence. If they therefore begin to im- of state institutions are additionally ternational cover for such things.” But Mer- plement this politically, if they de facto strengthened by the direct democra- kel restricts: “However, there are two im- take over administrative, police and, cy. It allows not only authorities of the portant limitations to this principle. First, above all, fiscal sovereignty, then the federal entities, but also each individu- there is no explicit prohibition of seces- central government in Madrid seems to al to participate in the shaping of their sions in international law. Establishing be left with only a military intervention own environment. Without these princi- such a ban would be difficult because in- to prevent the illegal seizure. Because of ples, Switzerland would not have been ternational law is primarily a legal system the eminent danger of a civil war which able to settle the decades-long conflict between states. For this reason, individual that would evoke, this would no longer around the canton of Jura democrati- sections of the population within a state are be acceptable, even under aspects of in- cally. Not by chance the Catalan Prime fundamentally not suitable subjects of in- ternational law.” Minister, Carlos Puigdemont, has asked ternational law – and therefore no plausible Switzerland for mediation. addressees for prohibitions under interna- No military violence against Switzerland cannot be exported – but tional law (apart from the universal prohi- independence movement its experiences can. Without the willing- bition of committing crimes under interna- In this context, Merkel draws atten- ness to cope with the differences of the tional law). Secondly, the powerful states tion to an interesting case from Canada: interests not simply with power politics, of the world have sometimes accepted such “There is a highly noteworthy verdict of but through genuine settlement of inter- precedents for secessions, especially when the Canadian Supreme Court from 1998 ests and in the sense of the greatest pos- the mother state concerned was not accept- on Quebec’s secession aspirations, been sible freedom for the individual parts, able to them for political reasons.” Indeed: holding back by Canada for decades. In Switzerland would not exist today. Ad- “The most recent and most striking exam- this, the court initially denies Quebecs’ ditionally, another important experience ple is the immediate recognition of the one- claim to unilateral secession, but on the was that the population in these pro- sided separation of Kosovo from Serbia in other hand obliges the central govern- cesses has always shown a fine sense of 2008, which, incidentally, did not have any ment to enter into an open dialogue with the importance of such a balance – be- previous referendum, so it did not have any their representatives in the event of the yond political ambitions, the awareness democratic cover. All major western states, establishment of a clear majority of the of reciprocity and the need for more or including Germany, have recognised this population in the secession region. Such less equitable solutions is clearer to all. secession within a few days.” Merkel also a dialogue should not exclude a corre- However, this presupposes a willingness adds: “This was contrary to international sponding amendment of the Constitution to open and honest dialogue. law.” – Despite an opinion from the Inter- from the outset. In any event, the imme- national Court of Justice for the UN Gen- Erika Vögeli eral Assembly. continued on page 3 No 26 31 October 2017 Current Concerns Page 3

”Legal aspects between Spain and …” EU is not a suitable intermediary Federal order: continued from page 2 Merkel doubts whether the EU is suit- self-determination within a state able for such a mediation. It was parti- The Catalans must, however, know that diate use of military force by the central san. “Maybe there is a way to turn the they have no right to independence: “Of government was inadmissible. The deci- United Nations.” Merkel, however, does course they can exercise all the democratic sion suggests that a secession must be ac- not plead for an independent Catalo- possibilities of the formation and articula- cepted in the end if the sole means of its nia: “It is hoped that the Catalans will tion of their collective will. But they do not prevention is the application of civil-war- accept reason before this last step and have a right to state independence. True, like violence. I think that’s right.” abandon their efforts, which is also po- like all peoples, they have a ‘right to self- With regard to Catalonia, this means: litically and ethically difficult.” But he determination’ under Article 1 (2) of the “I am afraid that the events in Catalonia also calls on the Spanish central govern- UN Charter. One can even leave open the could ultimately lead to this problem. ment: “Madrid, on the other hand, should difficult question of whether they can de- Then the concerned parties, including offer more extensive concessions than be- mand it only as part of the Spanish people the EU, would be well advised to look fore in aspects of Catalan autonomy. [...] or even as a Catalan nation. For ‘self-deter- closely at the deliberations of the Cana- Both parties should now engage in seri- mination’ within the meaning of the UN dian Supreme Court. In any case, a half- ous conciliation negotiations, in accord- Charter does not mean a right to a state of way neutral negotiator will be needed for ance with the spirit of the Canadian judi- its own. It means that all groups which can the negotiations now necessary.” cial review of 1998.” plausibly assert their own identity of cul- tural, ethnic, religious or other kind have a right to free participation of their own com- Direct democracy in Austria? munity in the various forms of democrat- ic participation – but only in the legal and rt. On 20 October the head of the Austri- est. The FPÖ, under its chairman Heinz- geographical boundaries of the legitimate an People’s Party (ÖVP), Sebastian Kurz, Christian Strache promised that the Aus- state to which they belong. To this extent, was given the task of forming a govern- trians should take their fortunes into their one must therefore distinguish between ment by Austrian Federal President Alex- own hands in the future. Among other an ‘inner’ self-determination, namely, a ander Van der Bellen as his party topped things, the FPÖ demands for an expan- state-internal from an ‘outer’ self-deter- the polls. sion of direct democracy according to the mination, namely as a souvereign state of The good election result of the ÖVP Swiss model. Remembering bitter expe- its own. There is a genuine right for ethnic (31.5%) and the Freedom Party of Aus- riences, they demand binding referen- and other groups living in an orderly state tria (FPÖ, 26%) in the National Council da on successful petitions if Parliament only to the first-named, state-internal (par- elections from 14 October has suggested fails to implement them, as has happened ticipative) self-determination. Only if they a government coalition of these two par- in many cases before. In addition, youth are permanently suppressed as a group by ties. A coalition of the ÖVP and the So- should be more involved in direct dem- the majority in the mother state they can cial Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ, ocratic decisions. Citizens should also sometime acquire a right to secession.” 26.9%) is considered to be unlikely, be- have the possibility to stop laws adopt- Isn’t that a good argument to think cause both parties had formed the gov- ed by Parliament with the help of veto more intensely in the direction of a feder- ernment coalition even before the elec- referenda. al state structure? • tion. How will the campaign promises be The coalition talks of the ÖVP and implemented in the coalition negotia- 1 https://deutsch.rt.com/europa/58470-rt-inter- the FPÖ will be pursued with great inter- tions? • view-mit-prof-merkel/ of 4 October 2017

Current Concerns The international journal for independent thought, ethical standards, moral responsibility, and for the promotion and respect of public international law, human rights and humanitarian law Subscribe to Current Concerns – The journal of an independent cooperative The cooperative Zeit-Fragen is a politically and financially independent organisation. All of its mem­bers work on a voluntary and honorary basis. The journal does not accept commercial advertisements of any kind and receives no financial support from business organisations. The journal Current Concerns is financed exclusively by its subscribers. We warmly recommend our model of free and independent press coverage to other journals. Annual subscription rate of CHF 40,-; Euro 30,-; USD 40,-; GBP 25,- for the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hongkong, Iceland, Ireland, Is- rael, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Swit- zerland, United Arab ­Emirates, United Kingdom, USA Annual subscription rate of CHF 20,-; Euro 15,-; USD 20,-; GBP 12,50 for all other countries. Please choose one of the following ways of payment: - send a cheque to Current Concerns, P. O. Box, CH-8044 Zurich, or - send us your credit card details (only Visa), or - pay into one of the following accounts: CH: Postscheck-Konto (CHF): 87-644472-4 IBAN CH91 0900 0000 8764 4472 4 BIC POFICHBEXXX CH: Postscheck-Konto (Euro): 91-738798-6 IBAN CH83 0900 0000 9173 8798 6 BIC POFICHBEXXX D: Volksbank Tübingen, Kto. 67 517 005, BLZ 64190110 IBAN DE12 6419 0110 0067 5170 05 BIC GENODES1TUE A: Raiffeisen Landesbank, Kto. 1-05.713.599, BLZ 37000 IBAN AT55 3700 0001 0571 3599 BIC RVVGAT2B No 26 31 October 2017 Current Concerns Page 4

”The law on self-determination today” from becoming a threat to regional or in- claims the self-determination of peoples. continued from page 1 ternational peace. In case of conflict be- We saw the establishment of the United tween the principle of territorial integri- Nations Mission for the Referendum in (ius cogens) is a right of peoples, and not ty and self-determination, it is the latter Western Sahara (MINURSO) by Securi- a prerogative of States to grant or deny. that prevails. ty Council resolution 690 (1991); the in- Self-determination is an expression of de- Addressing the aspiration of peoples to dependence referendum and secession mocracy, as democracy is also a mode of self-determination in a timely fashion is an of Nagorno Karabakh in 1988, the ensu- self-determination. However, this right – important conflict-prevention measure, as ing wars against Azerbaijan 1992–94, in- like all rights – is not automatic, meaning is evidenced by countless wars since 1945 cluding OSCE mediation; the dissolution not self-executing. It requires the exercise that found their origin in the DENIAL of of the Soviet Union into 15 republics, the of effective control, which sometimes can self-determination. The best way to know 1991–92 wars and unilateral declarations only be obtained by waging a successful whether a population wants autonomy or of independence of Abkhazia and South- war as in Bangladesh in 1971, or can fail independence is by conducting a referen- ern Ossetia, the unilateral declarations of as in the case of the Tamils of Sri Lanka dum. The United Nations conducted such independence of the separatist regions of in 2009. referenda in Ethiopia/Eritrea, Timor Leste Yugoslavia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and The right of self-determination has and South Sudan, but only after tens of Herzegovina, Macedonia through armed been and continues to be denied with im- thousands of persons had perished in war. conflict. punity, similarly as the ius cogens pro- It would have been preferable to have me- We also saw the friendly separation of hibition of the use of force contained in diated in a timely fashion and organized the Czech and Slovak republics in 1993; Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, is all too referenda with all guarantees and monitor- the Eritrean referendum of 1993; the Que- frequently violated with impunity, as in ing required. bec self-determination referendum of the case of the illegal invasion and bom- 1995; NATO’s bombardment of Serbia bardment of Iraq in 2003, which UN Sec- One hundred-year development in 1999 and dismantlement of its territo- retary General Kofi Annan correctly de- Some antiquated professors of internation- rial integrity; the Timor Leste independ- nounced as an “illegal war”. The violation al law want to stop the progressive devel- ence referendum of 1999; the Montenegro of the right of self-determination or of the opment of international law, contending referendum of 2006, the 1983–2009 failed prohibition of the use of force does not di- that self-determination only applies to de- war of independence of the Tamils of Sri minish the legal force of the norm of in- colonisation. Whoever is aware of the one Lanka; the unilateral declaration of inde- ternational law. It only manifests once hundred year development of the norm, pendence of Kosovo in 2008 and Adviso- again the lack of enforcement mecha- will shake his head, because law is a liv- ry Opinion of the International Court of nisms in the UN system and the fact that ing thing. We are not living in the days of Justice in 2010; the South Sudanese ref- war crimes and crimes against humanity the Estonian Declaration of Independence erendum in 2011; the Crimea referendum often go unpunished. of 1918, the pious pronouncements of the in 2014 and reincorporation into Russia; Territorial integrity is a central princi- League of Nations, the system of minor- the de-facto separation of Donetsk and ple of international law and internation- ities protection… A promising develop- Lugansk from Ukraine in 2014; the Scot- al relations, particularly important when ment was Article 3 of the Atlantic Charter tish referendum 2014; the Kurdistan ref- it reinforces the peace and stability of of 1941, later enshrined in the Declaration erendum 2017; the Catalan referendum in the international community. The princi- of United Nations of 1942 and Article 1(2) 2017 etc. The list of peoples aspiring to ple is related to the prohibition of the use of the United Nations Charter, and Chap- self-determination is long, and it is in eve- of force in Articles 2(4) of the UN Char- ter XI of the UN Charter concerning non- ryone’s interest not to stick our heads in ter, and is reaffirmed in General Assem- self-governing peoples. the sand, but to anticipate their needs and bly Resolution 2625 on Friendly Rela- What has followed has been a steady propose solutions in a timely fashion. tions, and resolution 3314 containing the development toward letting people de- Henceforth the United Nations, the Eu- Definition on Aggression. The principle of cide on their futures by way of plebiscite ropean Union, the Organisation of Ameri- territorial integrity means that no State can or referendum. We recall Security Council can States, the African Union, the OSCE encroach on the territorial integrity of an- Resolution 47 on a plebiscite in Kashmir, and other international organisations other State, hence is external. But the prin- General Assembly Resolution 194(III) on should develop “early warning” mecha- ciple cannot be invoked internal against a the right to return of the Palestinians, GA nisms and offer mediation and good of- people seeking self-determination. Its ap- resolution 1514 on Decolonisation (1960), fices so as to solve self-determination dis- plication is external against outside threats the failed self-determination war of the putes before they degenerate into violent and not internal, as that would be incom- Igbos for the independence of Biafra confrontation. Self-determination can be patible with Article 1 ICCPR and ICE- 1967–70, the declaration of independence exercised as internal self-determination SCR and could not justify continued sub- of Bangladesh in 1971 and the Pakistani- in the form of federalism with a high de- jugation of minorities or of peoples under Indian War, the entry into force of the In- gree of autonomy, or in the form of exter- occupation. When a people strives for in- ternational Covenant on Civil and Politi- nal self-determination through secession. ternal or external self-determination, the cal Rights and the International Covenant A democratic choice through referendum world community should facilitate its re- on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is the civilized way to implement this right alization and thus prevent a local dispute in 1976, common Article 1 of which pro- which is so essential to sustainable peace.• No 26 31 October 2017 Current Concerns Page 5

USA and Germany opened Pandora’s box Documents prove: double standards based on power politics provoked separatism, extremism and terrorism by Živadin Jovanovic* Recent develop- rope and the rest of the world. Disregard- ence was that the 1999 NATO attack on ments in Europe ing and violating the principles enshrined Yugoslavia without UN authorization is “a ring a bell, in par- in the Helsinki Final Act, in the UN Char- precedent to be invoked by anyone at any ticular the surge ter and in international conventions and time, and which is going to be invoked”. of secession- treaties, they have induced a lasting insta- This renders any allegations of a princi- ism (Catalonia) bility in the Balkans as the most vulnera- pled and rule-based policy utterly dubious, is reminiscent of ble part of Europe. Presently they want to when the aggression executed in violation certain events. pressure Serbia into officially recognising of the UN Charter is declared to be a prec- Crises of today the forcible capture of her state territory in edent, and the unilateral secession of Ko- shed more light the form of an engineered unilateral and sovo directly resulting from such aggres- Živadin Jovanovic on the roles of the illegal secession of Kosovo and erasing it sion is declared to be “a unique case”?! (picture ev) EU, the USA and all from track-record “for the sake of her Germany. To what European future”, the same Serbia they Not a single report referred extent have they been guided by the prin- have demolished, deceived and humiliat- to genocide or related crimes ciples of international law and democra- ed. What kind of future could possibly be In the eve of NATO 1999 aggression on cy in the Kosovo crisis? Did they bother built upon such foundations? Yugoslavia two major international mis- to actually read the reports of their own The genie of separatism and terrorism sions had been placed in the Province (expensive) missions in Kosovo and Me- that the leading countries of NATO and of Kosovo and Metohija. One was under tohija (KDOM, KVM, ECMM) depicting the EU have released from Aladdin’s lamp the auspices of OSCE known as Kosovo the realities on the ground? To what ex- in Kosovo and Metohija back in 1998/99 Verification Mission (KVM), headed by tent have they been defending the right to for the purpose of furthering the geopolit- American diplomat William Walker and self-determination and human rights and ical goals of the USA and some Europe- the other under the auspices of EU known to what extent abusing separatism for the an powers, such as Germany and the UK, as European Community Monitoring Mis- expansion of geopolitical interests? As for example, keeps spreading over Eu- sion (ECMM), headed by German diplo- the implementation of long-term strate- rope, while the EU and NATO believe they mat Dietmar Hartwig. The latter con- gies takes time, recollections of the past would be able to push it back into the lamp, veyed the often repeated assessment of may help to better understand the inter- clear their names and revitalise their dent- the leader of KVM and his entourage that: ests and roles of the EU in the ongoing ed unity by sacrificing once again the inter- “There is no such thing as high costs to Kosovo negotiations in Brussels. ests of Serbia. The real tragedy for Europe deploy NATO in Kosovo. Any cost is ac- is the misconception that truth is only what ceptable.” Over a longer period of time, the leading the EU commissioners and spokespersons After Kosovo Albanian leadership had members of both NATO and the EU have declare to be the truth. The dominance of declared unilateral illegal secession in been supporting the terrorist Kosovo Lib- such reasoning is preventing a genuine un- 2006, Dietmar Hartwig sent four letters eration Army (KLA) in Kosovo and Me- derstanding of the historical maelstrom that to the German Chancellor Angela Merkel tohija. In 1999 they launched an armed has engulfed the Old Continent! in 2007, urging her that Germany should aggression against Serbia (the Federal Re- not recognise such unilateral act. In his public of Yugoslavia), violating the very Strategic reasons for a war against letter of 26 October 2007 to Chancellor principles of international law which EU the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Merkel, Hartwig1, among other points, officials are so eagerly referring to these “War on the FRY was waged to rectify an says: days. To sum it up, the same countries erroneous decision of General Eisenhow- “Not a single report (of CMM) sub- and supra-national unions whose spokes- er from the Second World War. Therefore, mitted from late November 1998 up persons swear to this day that they have due to strategic reasons, the US soldiers to the evacuation (of ECMM, KVM) always been upholding the same princi- have to be stationed there.” This quote was just before the war broke out (1999), ples and rule-based policies, had dealt the the explanation given by American repre- contains any account of Serbs having strongest blow to the global legal order sentatives at a NATO conference held in committed any major or systematic and to the United Nations since the end of late April 2000 in Bratislava, and noted crimes against Albanians, and not a World War II back in 1999. by Willy Wimmer, former State Secretary single report refers to any genocide in the German Ministry of Defense, in his or similar crimes… Quite the con- Spread of secessions and expansion report to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder of Islamic extremism trary, my (ECMM) reports have re- dated 2 May 2000. peatedly communicated that, consid- The policies pursued by governments of The first point in this report is an ex- ering the increasingly more frequent those countries and by supra-national un- plicit US request that its allies (NATO KLA attacks against the Serbian ex- ions thereof during the Yugoslav and the members) recognise an “independent state ecutive authorities, their law enforce- Kosovo crises have provoked the spread of Kosovo” as soon as possible, whereas ment personnel kept demonstrating of secessions, the expansion of Islamic ex- the tenth, last point, reads that “the right to remarkable restraint and discipline. tremism, Wahhabism and terrorism in Eu- self-determination takes precedence over This was a clear and persistently re- all others”. Should one wonder any further iterated goal of the Serbian admin- about the present referendum on secession * The author is President of the Belgrade Forum istration – to abide to the Miloševic- for a World of Equals, former Federal Minister of Catalonia? Holbrooke Agreement (of 13 October for Foreign Affairs of FR of Yugoslavia (1998- Wimmer’s report also notes the US de- 2000) clared position at the Bratislava Confer- continued on page 6 No 26 31 October 2017 Current Concerns Page 6

”USA and Germany opende Pandora’s box” October 2007) made it progres- Enough said about the “humanitari- continued from page 5 sively more evident that Germa- an intervention” and the concerns for the ny not only supports the American protection of rights of the Albanian pop- 1998) to the letter so not to provide desire to see Kosovo independent, ulation as the features of the “unique- any excuse to the international com- but also actively promotes its sep- ness of the Kosovo case”. American Mil- munity for an intervention. aration from Serbia. You are to be itary base “Bondsteel” in the vicinity of In the phase of taking over the considered responsible for this, the town of Uroševac, surely by a pure Regional Office in Priština, col- because according to the German chance, happens to be among the larg- leagues from various other missions Basic Law the ultimate competence est US military bases outside the USA. – KDOM, US, British, Russian, etc. rests with the chancellor. The same Perhaps their anxiety over being poten- – confirmed that there were huge holds true for your foreign minis- tially spied on from the Serbian-Russian ‘discrepancies in perception’ be- ter, in particular, who knows per- Humanitarian Centre in Niš merely con- tween what said missions (and, to fectly well what is going on in Kos- firms that the “Bondsteel’s” mandate is a certain degree, embassies as well) ovo, and is presently pursuing your strictly local, humanitarian and just for have been reporting to their respec- political directives by tirelessly ad- a short time? tive governments and what the lat- vocating Kosovo’s independence ter thereafter chose to release to the and, thus, its secession from Ser- US, EU and NATO prevent media and the public of their re- bia. Instruct him, rather, to pro- implementation of the spective countries. mote a sustainable solution for the Security Council Resolution 1244 Kosovo issue which is in line with It was the USA, the EU and NATO, not False reports international law. Only if all states Serbia, who froze the conflict following should have prepared the war choose to respect the applicable the armed aggression of 1999. They have This discrepancy could, ultimately, rights laid down in international kept it frozen for the past 18 years by not only be understood as part of long- law, we can have the foundations allowing complete implementation of UN term preparations for war against for the common life of all nations… SC resolution 1244. They forced Serbia Kosovo/Yugoslavia. In fact noth- Should Kosovo become inde- to fulfil all its commitments insisting on ing of what the media – and, with pendent, it will be perpetuated as the legally obliging character of the res- no less intensity, political sources, the place of unrest… olution while exempting themselves and too – have relentlessly claimed, has the Albanians from any obligation stat- “A dangerous signal ever happened until the time of my ed therein. They realise that the full im- to other ethnic groups” departure from Kosovo. Accord- plementation of UNSC Resolution 1244 ingly, until 20 March (1999) there Contribute to achieving the solution amounted to a preservation of integrity of was no reason for military inter- for Kosovo on the basis of the en- Serbia, which is exactly what they do not vention, which renders illegitimate dorsed UNSC Resolution 1244 ac- want since it goes against their geopo- any measures undertaken thereaf- cording to which Kosovo remains a litical concept of expanding to the East. ter by the international community. province of Serbia. American wish- Especially now, when the West is under- Certainly the collective behav- es and active efforts to see Kosovo going a transition from which it may not iour of the EU Member States prior secede from Serbia and see Kosovo emerge as mighty as it was during the to, and after the war broke out, gives and Kosovo Albanians achieve full uni-polar world order. rise to serious concern, because the independence, are contrary to the At present the West demands that Ser- truth was disrespected, and the cred- international law, politically depre- bia “unfreezes” Kosovo “independence ibility of the international communi- cated and, on top of all, irresponsi- process”. How? By compelling Serbia to ty was damaged. However, the matter bly expensive… sign a “legally binding agreement” with of my concern and the reason why I Kosovo’s secession from Serbia Priština, to recognise the illegal unilater- write this letter is exclusively the role guided by ethnic criteria would con- al secession, legalise the illegal 1999 ag- of the FR of Germany and its role in stitute a dangerous precedent and a gression, accept the consequences of vi- this war and its political objective to signal for other ethnic communities olent ethnic cleansing of over 250,000 separate Kosovo from Serbia …” in other countries, including EU Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija and es- Member States, who could rightful- sentially assume responsibility for all of Germany promoted ly demand the ‘Kosovo solution’” – that! the division of Serbia •

The daily political news reporting Dietmar Hartwig writes in conclusion of 1 Translation of the German quotes from Dietmar over the previous months (before his letter to Chancellor Merkel. Hartwig’s letter by Current Concerns No 26 31 October 2017 Current Concerns Page 7 China – a chance for cooperation rt. In the eyes of many Western media ship. So, the insinuation that China acts centuries, the Japanese occupation in the the National Congress of the Commu- just as ruthlessly as the previous coloni- 1930–1940 and the subsequent civil war nist Party of China (NCCPC) held every al powers (France, Germany, Great Brit- and Mao’s devastating economic experi- 5 years is considered as well staged oper- ain or the United States), can lead to dan- ments in the 1960s the country was driv- etta in the tradition of the congresses of gerous miscalculation. China leads neither en into poverty and held there. Communist parties. Particular reference a gunboat diplomacy nor it covers half the The country’s enormous upturn over in this context is regularly made to prob- world with a “global war on terrorism”. the past 20 years is more and more recog- lems with corruption, possible faction- Obviously, the modern great power nised internationally. Technicians and en- al machinations and as icing on the cake China sees its options rather on econom- gineers from China have caught up in very then the lack of democracy. New in the ic than in military field. In addition, the many areas to global leadership. This ap- repertoire of the mainstream media is the country relies increasingly on internation- plies to the digital domain as well as for reference to China’s growing economic al law and the United Nations, instead of aerospace or transportation. The boom ra- power and perceived intent to blackmail constantly violating law in force. diates globally, other economies could and or to intimidate other States. So, as if this The hesitant, almost shy reaction of can benefit from Chinese growth. would be some completely unknown phe- Western countries to the Chinese offer As an example, the Chinese Govern- nomena in the West. Certainly, there is a to participate in the “One belt, one road” ment initiated the downright gigantic pro- lot to criticise concerning the conditions initiative points rather on power politics ject of the new Silk Road (OBOR – one in China. But unfortunately, the reader considerations than on free-market inter- belt, one road). It creates a wide corridor usually learns little about the country it- est. Real chances of cooperation could be of economic trade to land and sea from self, its development as well as its self-im- squandered. It could be that some Europe- Asia to Europe. The project involves more age whereas specifically old prejudices are an countries (Macedonia, Hungary, Serbia than 60 countries and 4.4 billion people. encouraged and new resentments built up. and Slovakia) instead of using EU loans As a result, work and prosperity for many In recent years many presentations are building now necessary highways and can be achieved. • about China have appeared that allow a bridges in their country with Chinese sup- differentiated view of the country (for ex- port. ample Seitz, Konrad. China. Eine Welt- macht kehrt zurück. 2006. ISBN 978- China as an economic engine 3-442-15376-3). Even with very little It is a tremendous achievement to feed Current Concerns insight into the history of the country, a today the Chinese population of 1,390 The international journal for independent thought, ethical standards, moral responsibility, judgement should be made carefully and million people and to increase prosper- and for the promotion and respect be differentiated. Most newspaper edi- ity. Some decades ago, the country was of public international law, human rights tors‘ view without reflection is striking, struck by catastrophic famine with mil- and humanitarian law entirely out of their Western self-under- lions of victims. Last but not least by the Publisher: Zeit-Fragen Cooperative th and 20th standing and their transatlantic relation- colonialism of the West in the 19 Editor: Erika Vögeli Address: Current Concerns, P.O. Box, CH-8044 Zurich Dynamic growth in China Phone: +41 (0)44 350 65 50 Fax: +41 (0)44 350 65 51 rt. To give an idea of the dynamic devel- with claims to have the most rapid train E-Mail: [email protected] opment of China a section of the devel- of the world. opment of the Chinese railway network The track thereby goes past the Subscription details: for high-speed trains will be presented. densely populated provinces Hebei, published regularly electronically as PDF file Western experts estimated 30 years for Henan, Hubei, Hunan and Guangdong. Annual subscription rate of the expansion of the network. But only Hong Kong (7.3 million) is too connected SFr. 40,-, € 30,-, £ 25,-, $ 40,- a few years later most of the tracks are to this track with a 142 km long rail trail. for the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, used. The high-speed line is operating since Cyprus, , Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, The second longest train path of this the end of 2012 – it’s construction start- Greece, Hongkong, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, high speed rail network is the track ed in October 2008! The travel time was Japan, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Nether- from Beijing (7.7 million inhabitants, shortened from 20 to 8 hours. It is the lands, New Zealand, Norway, Qatar, Singapore, indication without agglomeration) to second north-south-axis after the track Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab ­Emirates, United Kingdom, USA Guangzhou (12 million). It is 2,298 km from Beijing to Shanghai which got into long and one of the four north-south- operation in the Chinese high speed net- Annual subscription rate of SFr. 20,-, € 15,-, £ 12,50, $ 20,- axes in the planned high speed rail net- work. for all other countries. work. This track at the moment is the This track was challenging also in con- Account: Postscheck-Konto: PC 87-644472-4 world’s second largest after the high structional terms. The difficult section speed rail of Shanghai (15 million) to between Wuhan and Guangzhou con- The editors reserve the right to shorten letters to Kunming (5 million). The construction sist of 65% bridges and tunnels. A spe- the editor. Letters to the editor do not necessarily costs amounted to about 17 billions cial challenge was the construction of reflect the views and opinions of Current Concerns. of US-dollars. The track is driven with the 4,500 m long Jin-Shazhou-tunnel be- © 2013. All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or speeds of up to 350 km/h. China there- neath the Pearl River near Guangzhou. transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No 26 31 October 2017 Current Concerns Page 8 CETA put into effect – an affront to democracy by Jacques Sapir*, France The free trade grounds of its carcinogenic effect, because “free trade agreement”. Essentially, this agreement be- Dow Chemical, which marketed the her- is a treaty which imposes the norms de- tween the European bicide, decided to bring this case to court. fined by the multinational companies on Union and Canada, There is also the bias problem. It may be the parliaments of the EU Member States. CETA (Compre- true that this treaty opens up access to If someone had wanted to show the deep- hensive Economic public procurement in Canada to Europe- est antidemocratic nature of the EU, he and Trade Agree- an enterprises. In fact, however, the EU would have had to take the same way. ment), was put into market is already open for Canadian com- In view of these facts, the advocates of effect on 21 Septem- panies [via the WTO, Ed]. One glance at this Treaty are faced with a considerable Jacques Sapir ber 2017. It is an el- the different numbers of inhabitants will problem in terms of democracy and legal- (picture oquent testimony to tell who the winner is. (Canada 37 mil- ity. In France, it is known that only one of Wikipedia) the fact that the EU lion, EU 512 million). Furthermore, we the presidential candidates, namely Em- Member States have are faced with the fundamental empha- manuel Macron, has spoken openly in fa- allowed their sovereignty to be taken away sis on free trade or, more precisely, the vour of CETA. Jean-Marie Cavada, one from them. New laws are implemented, peculiar interpretation of free trade con- of his most important supporters, has also which are above their own legislation and tained in this agreement. It turns out that voted in the EU Parliament to adopt this not subject to any democratic control. this is always biased towards the interests agreement. Hence, not for the first time of multinational enterprises, which by no in our history one might be reminded by Protection for big private investors means comply with the interests of con- the course of these presidential elections CETA is a so-called “free trade agree- sumers and workers. of what Jacques Chirac in his time (to be ment”. But in fact, it challenges the non- precise, on 6 December 1978) denounced tariff measures which various EU states CETA includes a genuine as the “parti des étrangers” (party of for- can take to protect their populations from democratic-political problem eigners) in his “Appel de Cochin” (named unhealthy food. There is a risk that with Therefore, the dangers that CETA in- after the same hospital in Paris, where he CETA these safety requirements will find volves, concern public health and quite was staying at the time)…1 itself more and more under pressure. This obviously sovereignty. It also threatens agreement also establishes investment democracy. When, after a long pause and Becoming aware protection rules that entail major hazards. twisting and turning, the European Par- of the dangers of CETA Namely, it includes a clause introducing liament voted, the French deputies of four Nicolas Hulot, before being appointed En- an arbitration court to protect large pri- political groups voted against, Front de vironment Minister in the government of vate investors [usually multilateral enter- Gauche [Left Front], EELV [The Greens], Edouard Philippe under Emmanuel Ma- prises investing in a foreign country; Ed.] the Socialist Party and the Front Nation- cron, had made a very clear statement which makes it possible to take legal ac- al. An alliance which is not so strange against CETA. In view of this situation, tion against the decision of a single state after all, if one recognises the problems his staying in government means a betray- (or the EU) in case it jeopardises „legiti- which this agreement entails. Actually, al of his convictions. On 22 September, the mate expectations on the profitability of it is worth noting that CETA was reject- Minister for Ecological and Solidar Tran- the investment“. Therefore, it is a mecha- ed by the delegations from three of the six sition (sic) expressed his disappointment nism called the “ISDS clause” (Investor- founding countries of the European Eco- of the agreement taking effect in a radio state dispute settlement, Ed.) which pri- nomic Community (EEC) as well as by the broadcast on Europe 1. He also admitted marily serves to protect future profits of second and third largest economic power that the evaluation committee nominated investors. This mechanism is a one-way of the Euro countries. Nonetheless, this by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe in street. In this system a state cannot take Treaty was ratified by the EU Parliament July had identified several potential risks measures against a private enterprise, on 15 February 2017. It has, however, still in the CETA. But Hulot added, “The pro- but only the other way round. There- to be ratified by 38 national and region- cess had already gone so far that it would fore, it should be noted that CETA will al parliaments within the EU. Even so, it have been difficult to stop its taking ef- allow investors to appeal political deci- is already considered to be partially appli- fect – without a diplomatic conflict being sions if they are of the opinion that they cable. On 21 September 2017, CETA was triggered with Canada, which we did not are violating their interests. This pro- provisionally put into effect. This applies want.” The irreversibility mechanism de- cess, which can prove very expensive to areas where the EU is solely responsi- liberately incorporated into this agree- for the states, will have already a deter- ble. The areas where the consent of the ment cannot be demonstrated any better. rent effect in the case of the mere threat Member States is also necessary are tem- Let us also remember that the former TV of a legal trial. Let us recall that in 2011 porarily suspended, such as the issue of ar- announcer and environmentalist, prior Quebec shied away from forbidding the bitration or intellectual property. However, to being appointed Minister for the Eco- component of a certain herbicide on the some 90% of the provisions of the Treaty logical Transition, repeatedly expressed can already be implemented, which repre- that CETA was not “climate-compatible”. sents a genuine democratic problem. In ad- Thus, one can easily imagine the size of * Jacques Sapir, born in 1954, is a French econo- dition, if a state was still to refuse the rati- the toad he had to swallow in this matter ... mist. He has taught at the University of Paris- X Nanterre. Since 1996 he has been a director fication of CETA now, it would have to be Since his election, Emmanuel Macron of the EHESS (Ecole des hautes études en sci- implemented for three years anyhow. It is has also presented himself as a defender ences sociales) and has been heading the CEMI clear here that everything has been done to of ecology and our planet by topping Don- (Center d‘études des modes d‘industrialisation). formulate and apply this treaty, regardless ald Trump’s slogan, altering it to “Make He is an expert in Russian business and strategic issues. Since 2016 he is (foreign) member of the of the peoples’ will. the Planet Great Again”. He has reiterat- Russian Academy of Sciences. He is the author This agreement is in no way equiv- of a variety of books and articles. alent to what is usually referred to as a continued on page 9 No 26 31 October 2017 Current Concerns Page 9 Germany must finally take its East seriously by Karl Müller Since the accession of the five East Ger- Mrs Barbe was a GDR dissident, was “Since we know servitude, man states to the jurisdiction of the West member of the “Bundestag” for the So- freedom is sacred for us!” German “Grundgesetz” (Basic Law) cial Democrats (SPD) from 1990 to 1994, Mrs Barbe writes: “I understand the on 3 October 1990, the West German was later member of the CDU and is now grief, the anger, the hopelessness, the “elites” are operating with prejudic- working for the “Sächsische Landesze- helplessness, the powerlessness of many es against the people in East Germany. ntrale für politische Bildung” (Saxon of my East German co-citizens in face of These stereotypes have been aggravated State Centre for Political Education). It their political, legal and social incapaci- since the elections to the “Bundestag”. seems like her letter is a must read for tation and I understand their election de- But there are also objections. those who wish to understand East Ger- cision which was mine, too. If justice is many better. acted in a state in two different ways, so- Unfortunately there are also former East In the beginning she is reporting expe- ciety disintegrates. Because equality be- Germans nursing these prejudices. One riences of East Germans turning towards fore the law must be the same for all or of them is Wolf Biermann, model GDR authorities. Remember: The majority of else it turns into injustice. The precon- dissident in West Germany and propo- upper level positions in East German au- dition for democracy and freedom is the nent of the Iraq War in 2003. After the thorities are still occupied by West Ger- rule of law.” And finally she cites a trans- elections to the “Bundestag”, Biermann mans. They came after 1990 and they are parency shown in Dresden every Mon- has accused the East Germans AfD (Al- still there. Angelika Barbe writes: “Of day: “Since we know servitude, freedom ternative for Germany) voters of disre- more than 500 letters we received from is sacred for us!” garding democracy and freedom. But citizens in the Saxon State Centre, more … this is not the issue here today. This is than 90% complained that they received On 18 October 2017, the Minister- about an open letter, written by Ange- no response to their petitions, letters and President of Saxony, Stanislaw Tillich, lika Barbe to Biermann in reaction to inquiries, neither from mayors, repre- resigned from his office and also from his accusation. The German journal Cic- sentatives or heads of district authorities his position as head of the CDU (Chris- ero has published this letter on 6 Octo- nor from other members of the establish- tian Democratic Union) in Saxony. In the ber 2017. ment.” The logical consequence: “They elections to the “Bundestag”, the CDU do not feel accepted, feel mocked and are had suffered a severe defeat which made additionally insulted as racists.” it only the second strongest party, after the ”CETA put into effect – …” And Mrs Merkel, the former East Ger- AfD. On 19 October, the Deutschlandfunk continued from page 8 man? “Chancellor Merkel lands with a hel- interviewed the head of the CDU faction icopter […], lifts off after an hour and does in the Saxon Landtag, Frank Kupfer. The ed this statement, be it at the United Na- not solve a single problem. In an election interview contains a number of interest- tions or on occasion of his journey to the arena she gives a house cleaner the advice ing passages. For example his response Antilles after hurricane “Irma”. Howev- to put her meagre salary into a Riester pen- to a question regarding his party’s elec- er, it is important to note that his com- sion [a state-subsidized private pension tion blow in Saxony: “Sure there is also mitment to CETA and his readiness to fund], thus proving that she is unaware of a Saxon component. But the main com- comply with the rules of the European the living conditions of the citizens.” ponent, I am convinced, is the politics of Union, having been severely delayed be- And the (West German) political cul- the Federal Government and especially the cause of the issue of hormone-active sub- ture? One cannot speak about political refugee politics.” And then: “I have great stances [or “endocrine disrupters”], clear- culture in this country. I am missing the respect for Minister-President Tillich’s de- ly demonstrates that he uses ecology only anti-totalitarian consensus, I am missing cision to accept the political responsibili- as a pretext to show off some communi- an open exchange regarding controversial ty. I also hope that there will be rethink- cation effects of the most appalling kind. topics, I am missing respect for dissenters. ing in Berlin.” It is crucial to be aware of the scope of the A self-appointed caste of self-appointed And a little later, regarding Angela implementation of CETA and its dangers opinion leaders is using terms like toler- Merkel directly: “To simply stand there, to national sovereignty, democracy and se- ance, later reversing their meaning. Those to defend it all and to say I have done eve- curity of the country. • following the press can daily watch jour- rything right, this is not what the voters nalists keeping silent about the truth, well expect from her.” 1 Haegel, Florence. Mémoire, héritage, filiation: aware that the population is also being in- … Dire le gaullisme et se dire gaulliste au RPR, In: formed through the internet, is communi- Does this mean that there is still hope Revue française de science politique, vol. 40, no. cating with friends and relatives in West that elements of political reason also ar- 6, 1990, p. 875 Germany or is having a first-hand experi- rive in mainstream? Or will such voic- Source: Russeurope from 22.9.2017 ence of affairs (e.g. in Berlin-Neukölln, in es also be shrugged off in the coming (Translation Current Concerns) Duisburg-Marxloh or in Essen).” years? • No 26 31 October 2017 Current Concerns Page 10

Gert Polli: Europe is under dominance of US secret services by Rainer Schopf

The book by Gert Polli,1 former chief of se- cret service of Austria, was already briefly Austria and Switzerland presented in Current Concerns No 22/23 on rs. Just a few words on the neutrality of Aus- land in close contact to Bratislava. The site is 12 September 2017. This is now a brief as- tria and Switzerland as anchored in their con- known under the name of Königswarte. In sessment of individual aspects. In his pref- stitutions. Both, like Germany, have long been Switzerland there is a similar facility in the ace, Polli notes that the EU is in a down- part of the US surveillance infrastructure in municipality Leuk on the Valais Plateau. It ward spiral, trapped in it, and this is to be Europe. But what role do the communications was founded 2012 by the Signalhorn AG, op- ascribed to its own failure. The EU adheres intercept stations play in Austria and Switzer- erated by Swisscom and has now changed its uncritically and at all costs to the transat- land? So far, there has been little public dis- name several times. Scarcely known, as Polli cussion in both neutral countries on the espio- writes, is that there are two separate stations, lantic link. The American National Securi- nage activity of US Secret Services. In Austria, the smaller ones – completely legal – of the ty Agency (NSA) is the sole beneficiary of the National Security Agency (NSA) operates Confederates and the much larger one of the this development, which the European elite at least satellite reconnaissance in Burgen- NSA in the service of the US. has not yet been able to admit today. Moreo- ver, the non-critical takeover of foreign poli- Two central topics are supposed to be companies remain unmolested in the same cy objectives of the US leads the EU close to discussed here: crimes, because the German secret services a political and economic confrontation with • The attack of American secret services simply lack any reciprocal tool “to convict Russia. Geopolically the EU goes by the US on the German economy and American companies the same business prac- into an economic and political cul-de-sac in • the failure of the German secret servic- tice. It is difficult to understand why German which the US declares Russia a clear enemy. es to defend against it. intelligence service pays so little attention As a most prominent example, Polli is stat- to this phenomenon of economic espionage ing the factual enforced conformity and con- Industrial espionage large-scale.” (p. 69) However, the damage to trol of European secret services under the In recent years American courts have the German economy is far greater than the dominance of Americans. Under the guise of massively inflicted fines on German flag- draconian financial penalties. The middle and American counter-terrorism, the EU is los- ship companies such as Siemens, VW and upper management was sentenced to lengthy ing momentum and increasingly denies its Deutsche Bank among others. Coincidence? prison terms, not just the sales management. own values: “The European Union is fallen Not for Polli. For him, Germany is the pre- This bloodletting bleeds out the companies, into the worst crisis since its existence. It’s ferred destination for American economic and it often takes up to ten years for the off- threatened to decay.” (p. 14) espionage, because it is the largest econo- spring to be worked in. my in the EU. As a high-tech site, it regular- In the foreword, Gert Polli sums up in a ly files the highest number of patents at the Secret services striking way what he explains and sub- European Patent Office (EPO) compared to In the Cold War Germany became a front stantiates on the following pages in detail other European countries. The NSA scandal state and the most important site for US in- and comprehensibly to the citizens. Al- revealed that German industry was and is telligence services in Europe and it has re- though Polli generally talks about the role under massive economic espionage. Chan- mained like this to this day. Already in the of the EU, the question of why Germany cellor Merkel reacted to the Snowden reve- first post-war years the Allied Forces under has fallen between the fronts is explicit- lations with the well-known “spying among the leadership of the United States estab- ly repeated. The well legible and under- friends is not on”. On the other hand, the lished a nationwide network to monitor all standable book is divided into 17 chapters Federal Association of German Industry postal and telecommunications traffic. The and a detailed appendix. (BDI) shares the concern that “targeted eco- United States was also the Godfather in nomic and industrial espionage is commit- the construction of the security authorities. ted”. (p. 58) All previous German investiga- They pursued American interests, not Ger- Airbus and Siemens tions into the NSA affair were petered out, man. They set up an imperative division of rs. Not yet discussed in Polli’s book is the because it cannot be what must not be. intelligence services and police authorities. recent Airbus scandal. If, in the current Why were the American attacks possible The emergence of an overly efficient, cen- bribe affair, European aircraft manufactur- at all? The formula is relatively simple. Ger- trally controlled German authority should er is found guilty before European courts, man companies are monitored by the Ame- be prevented. This has already been comit- the financial damage is immense. How- rican secret services worldwide in their in- ted in 1949. Under this structural decision, ever, there are now clear indications that ternational business. They operate with the German security continues to suffer: the CIA has also informed US courts and is usual perks and bribes, as they are also com- • The intelligence services are strictly working on an indictment. Airbus would then lose lucrative orders in series to Boe- mon at Boeing, McDonell Douglas, Lock- prohibited from all police powers, ing and forfeit its leading position in the heed, and without them a larger contract • The police are prohibited from con- global market. comes hardly into being. One may be sorry ducting any intelligence investigations, Siemens has announced to cut thou- for this corruption, it is not denied even in • A personal union between secret ser- sands of jobs in the turbine business and the US. It is frankly acknowledged that con- vices and the police is prohibited. to completely close down German sites. tracts worth multimillions can only be con- This separation does not exist in any They are supposed to be partly trans- cluded through illegal payments. This is other country in the world, which is fatal. ferred to the US works in Orlando and where the US Secret Services come into play. Also for Gert Polli, this “birth defect” Charlotte, because there it is cheaper to They only uncover the misconduct of Ger- is the cause of the numerous mishaps in produce than in Germany and the US pu- nitive tariffs can be eliminated. Obviously, man companies via intercepted telephone Germany, be it the RAF (Red Army Frac- the former German giant Siemens is bow- calls and e-mails. Their findings are passed to tion), the NSU (Nationalist Socialist Un- ing under pressure by the US. American courts, German companies are ac- cused and sentenced to high fines. American continued on page 11 No 26 31 October 2017 Current Concerns Page 11

“No computer can replace a teacher” Press conference of the “Alliance for a Humane Education” in Stuttgart by Klaudia Kruck-Schaer In Stuttgart the “Bündnis für humane Bil- made clear that there is no evidence that the tion, that the students should again collect dung – aufwach(s)en mit digitalen Medien” massive use of digital media results in better the requirements for studying, and that a hu- (“Alliance for a Humane Education –awak- learning outcomes. “There is no ‘digital ed- mane education must be maintained as a pre- ing to the growing up with digital media”) ucation’, the computer can only be an aid,” requisite of a functioning democracy. Profes- introduced itself to the media in an extensive Peter Hensinger summed up briefly and pre- sor Dr Lankau quoted the OECD Director press conference on 9 October 2017. Present cisely. Learning happens in relation to an- of Education, Andreas Schleicher, as say- were the speaker of the Alliance Professor other person. The teacher cannot be replaced ing: “We have to consider it as a reality that Dr Ralf Lankau (University of Offenburg), by a computer and its learning software. technology is more damaging than useful as well as Dr Matthias Burchardt (Univer- in our schools.” Consequently, the pioneer- sity of Cologne), Professor Dr Paula Bleck- Criticism of “Digitalpakt # D” ing nations of South Korea and Finland have mann (Alanus College, Bonn), Professor According to the words of the Alliance’s turned back to restricting the use of digital Dr Edwin Hübner (Freie Hochschule Stutt- speaker, Professor Dr Lankau, the reason devices in the classroom. gart), Professor Dr Gerald Lembke (Dual for the launch of the alliance was the wide- University of Applied Sciences Baden- spread concern about the comprehensive Children are no training robots Wuerttemberg, Mannheim) and Peter Hens- digitisation of schools following the Educa- Dr Matthias Burchardt spoke on the issue inger (Diagnose Funk). To the alliance also tion Secretary Johanna Wanka’s initiative “For Humanisation of Living Conditions”. belong Professor Dr Gertraud Teuchert- of the so-called Digitalpakt # D. In order to He emphasised that the participants of Noodt (University of Bielefeld) and Profes- express their concern, the alliance initiated the alliance were no “machine breakers”. sor Dr Dr Manfred Spitzer. the petition “Trojans from Berlin: Digital- They had all done research. Digital educa- pakt # D” on 1 November 2016. This was tion had to be developed in a reflected way. The “Alliance for a Humane Education” is signed, among others, by many professors, The age of the children and the respective a union of citizens who advocate a humane university lecturers and teachers. 1,688 school type had to be considered. and democratic education in all public edu- persons have signed this petition on the In- Hardly any attention, he said, was given to cation institutions. The alliance is commit- ternet by now (as of 15.10.2017, https://bil- important findings from the research carried ted to having all children and young peo- dung-wissen.eu/kommentare /erklaerung- out by the educational sciences: There was ple in the schools personally instructed and trojaner-digitalpaktd.html). In addition, an a primordial situation in education: Learning cared for, regardless of their parents’ social open letter was sent to the state ministers of meant a human interpersonal relationship. status and financial power. Renowned sci- education and cultural affairs and to the the Burchardt pointed out that education and entists from different disciplines, including Kultusministerkonferenz (“Standing Con- learning are the result of a direct and vital cognitive research, developmental psychol- ference of the Ministers of Education an relationship between human beings. Here ogy and pedagogy, have joined the alliance. Cultural Affairs of the Länder”) on 28 June the foundation is laid for maturity and social They oppose the imprudent introduction of 2017: “DigitalPakt School as seen by the responsibility. He continued to explain that digitisation at the schools and, in particular, Ministers of Education: aberration of edu- digitisation of private and public pedagogical the “Digitalpakt # D” (digital agreement) cation policy”. spheres is detrimental to the education of the initiated by Federal Minister Wanka. This individual, that it isolates the human being, compromises the educational sovereignty of Clear research results on education alienates him from the world and from his the Federal States and the teachers’ method- and digitisation fellow human beings. It also surrenders stu- ological freedom. It encroaches on the de- During the Stuttgart press conference dents to control and management by others, cisions of individual school authorities and it became clear that there, scientists had and thereby endangers our common culture, links the financial budgets with five-year come together who presented and brought our democracy and economy. According to plans and technical presets (cloud comput- together clear research results on the is- Burchardt, there is a risk that the passing on ing, WLAN), without being able to prove sues of education and digitisation. of knowledge from generation to generation the benefit of media technology in class. It was clearly perceptible that it was the will be disturbed. The acquisition of comput- All statements at the press conference members’ intention that learning was to be were driven by great commitment, and they the central focus again in all areas of educa- continued on page 12

”Gert Polli: Europe is under …” Light and enlightenment ing for a time in which social unrest is seen continued from page 10 in the darkness of the veilings as a probable scenario on the part of the Germany is between the fronts, writes government.” (p. 259) With his impressive derground) or the fight against terrorism. Polli. It is hardly clear to the citizens how book Gert Polli brings light and enlighten- The police must not investigate in case of the secret services have become the spear- ment to the darkness of the veilings. state’s protection and the secret services head of global change. The year 2017 was It is up to us as citizens not to allow to must not seize anybody. In addition, the the year of destiny in security policy. In il- be forced into a fight against each other, police is not nationwide organised, but legal wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, etc., but to enter into an open dialogue in order is bound to the federal structure of Ger- American drones are controlled by the US- to resolve the problems that are to come. • many’s countries. This led to numerous military base Ramstein in Germany. Based breakdowns in the transmission and co- in Bad Aibling, the uncontrolled monitor- 1 Polli, Gert R. Deutschland zwischen den ordination of data. It remains to be seen ing of the telephones and the internet in Fronten: Wie Europa zum Spielball von whether the newly established federal po- Germany takes place. Starting from Leip- Politik und Geheimdiensten wird, (Ger- many between the fronts: How Europe be- lice, which emerged from the federal Bor- zig, large American troops are redeployed comes the plaything of politics and secret der Guard, is a symbiosis between secret to enter the war zones and to get close to services) Munich 2017 services and police. the border of Russia. “Germany is prepar- (Translation Current Concerns) No 26 31 October 2017 Current Concerns Page 12

”‘No computer can replace a teacher‘” continued from page 11 7 humanist demands of the “Alliance for Humane Education” ers, he said, was a compensation for deficien- “Neither teachers nor pupils should be made 4 Data from and between schools and cies. Teachers are to be replaced by machines to work with digital devices during the les- pupils may neither be recorded nor and devices, and students are to learn in a sons.” – This already offers the legal freedom be evaluated for learning profiles. Pu- “self-controlled” manner, which means that of choice of teaching material. pils are lawfully protected minors, their students are to optimise themselves cybernet- 1 Schools and universities in Germany data, according to German Law must ically like training robots. Thereby the com- are educational institutions with hu- be protected. Here we have legislative puter controls the learner and calculates the manist and democratic traditions. They backlog demand prior to technical con- next learning step. All the student’s impuls- are thought out by people and not by cepts. es are recorded. The student is therefore put technical systems and their develop- 5 From the perspective of pediatricians, into a new role. The learning process is moni- ment cycles. It is necessary to have more cognitive scientists, representatives of tored and controlled. Burchard explained that teachers, mentors and tutors and not the media impact and evalutation re- hardware. search and of pedagogy, screen media the digitisation project pursued economic in- 2 Media and media technology are tools do not support learning in the first terests, prepared students for the process in- in a pedagogical or (subject) didactical years of school. As a result, daycare dustry 4.0 and did not serve humanisation of context. They are materials which could centers and primary schools must be IT- living conditions. be used for assisting in order to sup- free in direct pedigogical work. port the lesson and the learning. The 6 The crucial media-competence for ed- Promises of digitisation teachers themselves decide about which ucational opportunities like for educa- will not come true teaching materials, with respect to their tional justice are the cultural techniques: The promise made by digitisation will not educational background and according reading, writing and calculating. Invest- be fulfilled. “Competence orientation” and to the basic rights of free learning and ment in these cultural techniques and teaching materials. a promotion of reading are sustainable the “new learning culture” must be revoked 3 Neither teachers nor pupils may be and emancipatory. in order to allow for good education. The forced to use devices of the media- or 7 Media technology in the classroom is al- focus needs to be put on a good staffing consumer electronics such as tablets, ways to be questioned from an educa- ratio at schools and on well-trained teachers. smart-phones or others. Each child must tional perspective and to assess: wheth- “Schools and universities need more staff, be able to take part in the lessons and er and, if so, when it can (not must) be good buildings and a renaissance of educa- to do the homework without having used age-appropriate. tional thinking free of technocratic, politic to use electronic devices and without (Translation Current Concerns) or economic ideologies,” said Burchardt. being disadvantaged. Professor Dr Gerald Lembke made con- crete recommendations regarding the use with the parents’ needs: “In the prevention am an active member of the Alliance for of digital media in teaching: programme ‘Echt Dabei- gesund werden im Humane Education.” “Based on scientific knowledge and to digitalenZeitalter’ (Really taking part – grow- During the discussion, Professor Lankau the best of my belief as a scientist and fa- ing up healthily in the digital age) we expe- and Professor Bleckmann stated that there ther, it is an erroneous belief that our chil- rience the plight of parents and educators at had been no dialogue with the Federal Gov- dren become better adapted to life and daycare centres and primary schools every ernment and the relevant bodies so far and their future through digital media, smart- day: They see the negative effects on the that “digital education” was decided in the phones and tablets in nurseries and pri- physical, psychosocial and cognitive devel- Federal Ministry for Research and Edu- mary schools. I am not fundamentally opment of children, which the ever-expand- cation in Berlin. If scientists of the “Alli- opposed to the use of digital media in edu- ing consumption of screen media entails. ance for Humane Education” were listened cational processes. However, these should And they ask themselves: How do we bal- to at all in this context, they were always be used defensively and as one among ance protection against digital risks against only “alibi critics”. The Federal Ministry other proven pedagogical methods. At the the ability to seize digital opportunities? How of Family Affairs and Education was de- age of up to 12, digital media should defi- will our children become responsible users of cisively advised by a group of industrial- nitely not be used in the educational pro- media instead of media addicts?” ists, the Feldafinger Kreis and the Scheer cess.” Group led by Professor August-Wilhelm So far, politics has refused Scheer. Professor Scheer is the initiator of Teaching children to enter into a dialogue the Saarbrücken Manifesto2 and a share- to be responsible in their use of media Professor Bleckmann heads the study holder and chairman of the advisory board Professor Dr Paula Bleckmann advocated group “Digitisation of Education” with- of Scheer GmbH, an international IT com- in Stuttgart, that parents should essential- in the Vereinigung Deutscher Wissen- pany. Scheer GmbH works closely with ly buy their children mobile phones that schaftler (Association of German Sci- the software developer SAP. The educa- are not web-enabled, in order to set them entists). This group is exactly concerned tors advising Education Minister Johanna a limit. Ever younger children are given with this balance. She thinks that “the Wanka come from the field of empirical mobile phones, and younger children are fact that our government’s digital educa- research. The “Institute for Artificial Intel- particularly prone to develop addictive be- tion policy lacks precisely this good bal- ligence” in Ulm is also one of the consult- haviour. Professor Bleckmann is doing re- ance is a disaster. First of all, we need ing institutions (www.uni-ulm.de/in/ki/). • search on the emergence of addiction in studies in the good tradition of assess- relation to digital media and has also pub- ing the consequences of technology that 1 “Echt dabei” is an initiative of the BKK umbrel- lished on the subject. She offers teach- compare different digital educational la association, the BKK regional associations and the participating company health insurance funds. er training courses on “How do our chil- scenarios in the long term. It is negligent The prevention programme was developed by dren become responsible in their use of to put all one’s eggs into one basket, and “Media Protect e. V. - Familien stärken im digi- media?” In the Ortenau-Kreis in Baden- moreover – according to the current state talen Zeitalter“ (“to strengthen families in the Wuerttemberg, and they are very popular. of research – into the wrong basket: In digital era”), which was developed mainly by Pro- fessor Bleckmann of the University of Freiburg. In his seminars for further education for this way, a lot of suffering is caused and 2 www.scheer-group.com/Scheer/uploads/2016/11/ parents, Professor Bleckmann is confronted a lot of money wasted. To prevent this, I Scheer_Saarbr%C3%BCcker-Manifest.pdf No 26 31 October 2017 Current Concerns Page 13 Dual vocational training – Success factor for the economic location and for our youth mw. In his article on page 8, Pierre-Ga- despite the great commitment of the voca- German cantons. Therefore we citizens, briel Bieri describes the dual Swiss voca- tional trainers in the relevant companies. and especially the entrepreneurs among us, tional training system as a «success fac- P.-G. Bieri mentions the tendency of many should put an emphatic end to the bad de- tor». This is undoubtedly true, not only parents and teachers to view academic velopment of our schools. from the entrepreneur’s point of view, but training as a “better” way to work life as An important role in the dual voca- also from the perspective of the entire so- a reason for this development. Enterpris- tional education and training system is cial structure, and particularly also for es and professional associations might def- played by the apprenticeship companies. the personal development of the individu- initely counteract this tendency by means of Dual vocational training courses be- al young persons who serve and success- more active information, as advocated by long to the corporate culture, not only in fully complete an apprenticeship. This the author. But another problem with seri- SMEs, but also in most large Swiss com- means that the great majority of young ous consequences must be addressed: as he panies. This is also the case with STIHL, people – particularly also those from mi- also notes, elementary schools currently fail an internationally active large-scale grant families – are socially well-integrat- to equip all young people with the necessary group which manufactures motor saws ed and attended to in the difficult time of school basics, and often also with the re- and other motor-driven equipment, espe- growing up. Last but not least, it is thanks quired attitude towards work. Here we have cially for agriculture and forestry, in Wil to the dual vocational training that youth to start at the lower levels of school, and we and Bronschhofen (Canton of St. Gallen). unemployment in Switzerland is so low. must address the problem quickly and thor- A conversation with the group leader for In the last few years, however, many oughly: for the deplorable deficiencies will vocational training, Jaqueline Brunner, training places have remained unfilled de- even be multiplied by Curriculum 21, which gives a good insight into the valuable spite their great number and variety, and is currently being introduced in the Swiss- work of training companies. Apprenticeship firms and workshops foster and maintain dual vocational training Interview with Ms Jaqueline Brunner, STIHL GmbH & Co KG (chain saw production), responsible for training at the branch office in Wil

Current Concerns: I have read in the need for specialists from your own training Then there are also personal require- daily press that you have a training work- workshop. Does this work well? ments. shop with 47 apprentices, which is to be Yes, this summer we were able to hold 10 Yes, in addition to the interest in the pro- further developed aiming at more than 60 of our 14 graduates. We had many very fession and the school qualifications, this apprenticeships. good results in the final apprenticeship ex- is the third most important prerequisite Jaqueline Brunner: Yes, that’s right. Cur- aminations, and we are, of course, proud for me. We have a special STIHL culture; rently, there are 52. This year some more when so many want to stay and if we have we deal with each other quite openly. So youngsters started than completed their enough places for them. we get to know each other, although we apprenticeship. are 900 employees altogether. When you As an international company, do you also meet, you shake hands. If you come from What are the professions you teach here look for your skilled personnel abroad? another company or start your apprentice- in Wil? We at the chain saw site are not interna- ship here, you first have to get used to the In our two factories in Wil and Bron- tional in the sense that we regularly look fact that you shake hands with your co- schhofen, there are now eight different ap- for specialists in the international area, but workers and speak to each other, if briefly. prenticeships, and nine starting from next we need skilled workers who live in Swit- However, this is very nice and makes for summer: multi-discipline engineers, auto- zerland, who have grown up and trained a familiar atmosphere. You have to bring mation engineers, electricians and com- here. This is why the dual education sys- along this openness or this personality, in puter scientists (4 years of apprentice- tem is very, very important and right for order to feel comfortable here. ship); production-mechanical technicians, us and also for Switzerland. In the technical-mechanical field, we logisticians and commercial apprentices have a training workshop. There is very (3 years), all with a Swiss Certificate of What are your prerequisites for a teenag- important that you can work well in a Qualification EFZ; mechanical practicians er to serve his apprenticeship scheme at group. Some students prefer a small com- (2 years, with a Swiss Federal Vocational STIHL? pany with few people and where you re- Certificate). Next year, the automotism in- Personally, I think the most important late directly to the boss. Then there are staller (3 years) will be added. You do not thing is the enthusiasm for the profession: others who are better able to learn in a find these professionals a dime a dozen on what will I learn here quite generally, and group where there are different learners in the market; that is why we train them our- what will my training in this vocation look different stages of their apprenticeships, selves. We have a great many plants we de- like in the next 2, 3 or 4 years? The sec- where they can support each other and veloped ourselves, which were built and ond prerequisite is the educational require- also have a vocational trainer on hand to developed by the principal firm in Waib- ment. In some apprenticeship occupations give help and advice. When it comes to re- lingen (D). An external service technician we have very high requirements, because it cruiting, it is important to find out wheth- is not able to repair and maintain these – is not always easy to find the right learners. er the individual fits well into our compa- but that is what our internal specialists do. At STIHL, however, we also train academ- ny or whether he can come to terms better ically weaker youngsters; we offer 2 young in a smaller workshop with fewer people. This impressed me when I read the inter- people an apprenticeship place in the two- view with Mr Zappe (“Wiler Nachrichten” year attestation training course in the me- from 18 May 2017) that you can cover your chanical field each year. continued on page 14 No 26 31 October 2017 Current Concerns Page 14

”Apprenticeship firms and workshops …” continued from page 13

Of course, today we also have the prob- lem that many school leavers do not bring along the necessary school basics, after 9 years of school. This is also a result of school reforms, that many students are no longer introduced to their subjects and guided along by their teachers. Have you also made the experience that the basics are lacking with many school leavers? Long-term vocational educators repeated- ly tell me that knowledge has decreased, especially in the mathematical-technical area. Today the emphasis is on foreign lan- guages, and of course they are important for certain professions, but for some of our professions the technical and mathemat- ical subjects are very important indeed. And we notice, of course, that the one or the other of our apprentices does have a deficiency there. The majority, about 80 per cent, cope very well with the start of their apprenticeship, but sometimes they Female polymechanic at the lathe. (picture STIHL) do have to catch up in some points at the beginning, or they arrange for some addi- tional assignments and learn how to do it. WorldSkills Competition in Abu Dhabi 2017: Then there are those who have more trou- Young Swiss professional people bring 20 medals ble at school. In our training workshop, mw. The WorldSkills Competition takes place every 2 years at changing venues. they are very well supported by the pro- Young professionals up to 22 years of age are admitted as participants. fessional trainers, who try to show the A total of 38 young Swiss nationals travelled to the Worldskills Competition in practical relevance because many young- Abu Dhabi. There they competed with around 1,300 participants from 58 countries sters understand the practise better than for four days. With its 20 awards, including eleven gold medals, Switzerland ranks the theory. second/third (Switzerland has the second largest number of gold medals, Korea has It is also a good support if the voca- more medals altogether) in the 2010 WorldSkills, which took place 15–18 October. tional schools offer support courses, ei- The first place – and that should really give us who live in the Western world food ther in the form of specialised courses for thought – is held by China. Trade groups and other professional organisations are given the unique oppor- or as homework support, where they can tunity to strengthen the reputation of vocational training in the public view by na- go on Saturday morning. We also take tional and international professional competitions. In Switzerland, the SwissSkills the parents on board, because there are Foundation organises Swiss competitions in more than 70 professions every year, also young people who are more at lib- so having since 1953 enabled young professionals to participate in the WorldSkills erty from the beginning of their appren- Competition. (Source: swiss-skills.ch) ticeship onwards, and therefore they think The Swiss medallists: that they will have less learning to do now. Gold Together with the parents and the voca- Cédric Achermann, Altbüron LU, and Fabien Gyger, Spiez BE (automation engineer) tional schools and with what the voca- Manuel Allenspach, Gossau SG (IT / Software-Solutions) Marcel Wyss, Grindelwald BE (installer of sanitary facilities and heating systems) tional trainers in the company make pos- Emil von Wattenwyl, Kehrsatz BE (web design and development) sible for the learners, we put them back Beat Schranz, Adelboden BE (electrician) on track just about every time. What is the Simon Furrer, Gunzwil LU (plant electrician) most important is that the learning young Sven Bürki, Lanzenneunforn TG (cabinet maker) person finds out where to find the miss- Tatjana Caviezel, Uetliburg SG (restaurant service) ing information, and that he realises that Irina Tuor, Breil / Brigels GR (health professional) this is part of his education, and all these Ramona Bolliger, Gontenschwil AG (baker, pastry chef, confectioner) things will finally come together and form Adrian Krähenbühl, Niederösch BE (construction and agricultural machine mechanic) my course of apprenticeship. The learner Silver has to learn, he has to want to learn, and Marco Michel, Kerns OW (multi-disciplined engineer / automation) Heiko Zumbrunn, Wittinsburg BL (car body designer, tin smith) then he will succeed. Jannic Schären, Gerzensee BE (electronic engineer) Sandra Lüthi, Burgdorf BE (decorative painter) Today pupils are often taught only insuf- Florian Nock, Turbenthal ZH (carpenter) ficient basic knowledge of the German Benjamin Räber, Herlisberg LU, and Nils Bucher, Sarnen OW (landscape gardeners) language as well as the practical sub- Bronze jects. What is your experience in this re- Janine Bigler, Lenzburg AG (printing technologist) spect? Fabio Holenstein, Bazenheid SG (joiner) Yes, of course German is also very im- Maurus von Holzen, Dallenwil NW (car body designer and varnisher) portant. No matter what profession, from Special prize: Beat Schranz wins the title “Best of Nation”. He scored the highest overall score in the Swiss team with 767 points. (Source: sda)

continued on page 15 No 26 31 October 2017 Current Concerns Page 15 Success factor vocational education by Pierre-Gabriel Bieri, Centre Patronal The Swiss system of vocational educa- to get more involved. It has tion works well. It is being praised in of- been realised for some years ficial speeches and some countries envy now, that the situation is us. However, our system suffers from the more complex and heteroge- fact that part of society has the tendency neous. According to a “ba- to idealise academic education. It is also rometer” published by the necessary to emphasise the important role Swiss Confederation, 71,700 of professional associations in the context young people are interest- of vocational education. ed in finding an apprentice- ship in 2017, compared to Thousands of unoccupied 66,000 in 2016. The compa- apprenticeship places nies themselves offer 79,000 If politics is still arguing about how the places. But in mid-summer, system of retirement is to be organised, the media reported more there is a much greater consensus on the than 11,000 seats that could other end of professional life. Everyone in not be occupied yet. Switzerland praises the merits of vocation- al education, being close to the working The vocational education world and its imponderabilities and which is not a second choice! prepares most young people efficiently to The numbers fluctuate, but master a profession and find a job. Feder- the reality is that every year al Councillor Johann Schneider-Ammann­ numerous apprenticeship uses every international forum and offi- places remain unoccupied cial visit to promote the dual vocational while some adolescents fail education system in Switzerland, which is to find a job. It is no surprise Cooperation in the Swiss professional training. currently being studied by several other that vacancies are found in (picture STIHL) countries, even on the other side of the the technical, mechanic or Atlantic. practical professions, which at first glance dency to idealise the academic education This enthusiasm, however, must not be appear to be less attractive. In order to at- by letting the vocational education appear restricted to political speeches. At a time tract learners the companies from the sec- a second choice. This regrettable attitude when vocational education is looking for a tors addressed need to strengthen their particularly affects some of the cantons of “Vision 2030”, which is currently limited communication in the future. But to ex- West Switzerland, perhaps influenced by to a catalogue of good intentions, profes- plain the disproportion between supply its proximity to France. It leads to an ad- sional training deserves to be understood and demand, young people are also to be ditional burden for the high schools, then and promoted at all levels. Even though mentioned who do not correspond to the for the universities, and results in a wor- the Swiss system works well, improve- desired profiles of the training compa- ryingly high dropout rate of students. For- ments are still possible. In particular with nies. Sometimes, the instructors complain tunately, today an increasing interest in regard to the attractiveness of vocational about the weak level of young people leav- study courses of the universities of ap- training in general and some professions ing compulsory school, or even problems plied sciences (“Fachhochschulen”, FH) in particular, or with regard to the suitabil- with their behavior. can be observed, which have a more prac- ity of young people for the qualifications Another persistent accusation concerns tical focus. That applies in particular for required. the all too frequently expressed devalua- holders of vocational school-leaving cer- Not so long ago there were complaints tion of the vocational education in the eyes tificate. about missing apprenticeship places and of the pupils. Their parents, their teachers, pressure was exerted on the companies even the school authorities have the ten- continued on page 16

”Apprenticeship firms and workshops …” Formerly many apprentices used to What would you like primary schools to continued from page 14 have more practical opportunities in teach? their spare time: at home one often had a During the three years I have been at the attestation apprentices right up to stu- small workshop; the father had perhaps STIHL, I have been able to get to know a dents in the “Berufsmittelschulen” (vo- completed some craft training and im- lot of teachers from the higher levels of pri- cational secondary schools), they are all parted some of his skills to his son or mary school. Many come to visit us, so as to taught German at vocational school, some daughter, who then learnt to use a ham- get some knowledge of the professions that additionally English, and at the KV (com- mer or a drill in this way. Today, espe- we train. I would like the teachers to con- mercial college) also French. And at the cially in the urban area, many youngsters tinue to invest so much commitment into firm, every learner has to be able to write have not had these experiences anymore. the career choice of their students. Also, I reports or to present something to others. In the course of their manual training would like to see more schools make a stand The final examination in their vocation- or arts and craft period, they sometimes for “Mint” projects [i.e. mathematics, com- al training course includes a presentation produce “cool” things from metal and puter science, natural sciences and technolo- with a dossier. There are very big differ- wood, if they have good teachers. There gy], so that more students will be able to get ences. Some of them, I wonder how well are, however, also those with whom the experience of technical and practical activi- they write – perhaps those are the ones arts and craft lesson is rather a time to ties, in projects in cooperation with industry who read a lot. play around. and trade, even outside school. • No 26 31 October 2017 Current Concerns Page 16

New journal: Personale Psychologie und Pädagogik (Personalist Psychology and Pedagogy)

Dear reader, families, school and professional as well life and culture. He is capable of reason with this issue, the Institute of Person- as social life. and will, he can take on responsibility alist Human Sciences and Social Issues In this spirit, the journal issues are and can help seek honest and in equiv- launches its publication series “Person- geared towards parents, educators and alence peaceful solutions for all (bonum alist Psychology and Pedagogy”. The in- teachers as well as to all those interested commune). dividual issues will be published in loose in psychological and pedagogical ques- Erika Vögeli and Moritz Nestor succession. The articles are addressed to tions. They are intended to provide im- both laymen and professionals alike. pulses and help – both for the daily chal- A personalist point of view in psychol- lenges of an educator’s daily work life ogy and pedagogy is one of the most as well as for shaping doctors’, psychol- pressing challenges of our time: first and ogists’, psychotherapists’, theologians’ foremost, it is a serious struggle for the daily professional practice and that of conception of man. It is our publication’s those in care providing professions who aim to provide an integrated view of are interested. the rich knowledge and the wide range The journals’ articles are developed of experience – not only in conceptual from the central question of the “con- terms but by focusing on the main ques- cept of man” (conditio humana) and tion itself: “What is man?” reflect the different areas that the In- To us, it is about psychological knowl- stitute works in: Issues brought up by edge of the human nature, both prac- psychology, pedagogy, psychotherapy, tically as well as theoretically – about psychosomatics and psychiatrics as well man’s understanding of himself and his as the foundations of anthropology, cul- fellow human beings and about his coex- tural anthropology, philosophy, history istence in all aspects, big and small. and economic and social sciences. Experience with and knowledge By emphasising the term “person- about man and his coexistence shouldn’t alist” in the Institute’s name, we con- be limited to universities or the ther- sciously link back to those traditions apeutic consulting room. Everyone defining man as a being that constant- should be able to benefit from it – be it ly relates to other human beings (zoon for one’s personal way of life or to strive politikon), and who possesses a creative The journal can be ordered here: for a peaceful coexistence in marriages, and formative ability to shape his own [email protected]

”Success factor vocational education” nies and the professional associations This role of professional associations, continued from page 15 are regularly in need of new talent, more as laid down in Article 1 of the Federal than the “labor market” – an abstract Act on Vocational and Professional Ed- The professional associations concept. In this sense, it is necessary to ucation and Training, should be at the in the frontline emphasise the essential role of profes- heart of all official speeches and all con- The enthusiasm for the academic educa- sional associations in the organisation of siderations of the future. • tion entails, above all, the risk of pro- vocational education, which is even more voking a discrepancy to the needs of the important than that of enterprises, even industries and companies. These needs, if they are large. The experts know what Source: Press and Information Center Centre Pa- however, are crucial to draw attention to they need today, and they are the best tronal from 27 September 2017 (No. 2248) the new generations of useful and inter- to determine what they will need tomor- esting career opportunities. The compa- row. (Translation Current Concerns)