SPECIAL ISSUE: Dedicated to Vaclav Havel

Sunday 9th December 2012 HAVeLˇS POWeR OF POWeRLeSS iS STiLL CHANGiNG THe WORLd MADELEINE ALBRIGHT ● THE 14TH DALAI LAMA ● YOKO ONO ● ALI HEWSON ● KARIM ALRAWI ● MARY ROBINSON ● LADAN BOROUMAND ● BILL SHIPSEY ● LEONID VOLKOV ● TARIK NESHNASH ET. ●

www.iHNed.cz

© PeTeR SiS, 2012 – FOR HN 2 VH www.iHNed.cz www.iHNed.cz VH 3 Sunday 9th December Sunday 9th December 1 Lucie ‘Love and truth Karim Tvarůžková must prevail Alrawi 2 over lies and

3 hatred!’ We should all say 4 Egyptin writer nd humn rights tivist HN Editor-in-hief ssistnt nd hed of IHNED.z this every day he fi rst time I read Václav Havel’s essay on re- hat is a subject like human rights doing sisting a post-totalitarian regime, The Power of in a business daily like Hospodarske no- the Powerless, was in an English translation du- viny? Aren’t we supposed to write about ring the late 1980s. I was teaching at a university accounting, or profi t and loss? Tin Cairo while spending much of my time working for 5 WEven from an accountant’s point of view, the big- the newly created, though not legal, Egyptian Organi- gest investment the Czech Republic has made in the zation for Human Rights. The regime we were living twenty-three years of its existence has been the in- under was not in Havel’s sense ‘post-totalitarian,’ but vestment in our own freedom – in the freedom to dictatorial: power was applied crudely and without the think and live the way we want, the freedom to be pretence of ideological legitimization. A couple of ye- successful, to make money, even the freedom not to ars later, I was arrested for my human rights advocacy, have to make money. interrogated, and eventually released by State Security In a few days, it’ll be a year since the death of one of aft er an international campaign led by British newspa- 6 our biggest investors – President Vaclav Havel. per The Guardian. What came as a surprise during my We’re not trying to build him a memorial with this interrogation was discovering who had informed on special issue. What we’re trying to say is that we ha- me: academics, politicians, people I thought had no ven’t forgott en – even though certain events in the reason to be such willing state informers. Czech Republic suggest otherwise. The recent electi- A year later, as a Fulbright International Scholar at ons, for example, raised the hopes of many a Com- university in the United States, I was writing studies munist for a return to power – although so far only on Middle Eastern theatre, state censorship, and the in the regions. possible impact emerging new technologies might have 7 What we haven’t forgott en is that freedom is a pri- on the social and political conditions in the region. I vilege, and that there are billions of people in the found the work of Marshall McLuhan and Harold Innis world who are denied that privilege. Freedom is not on media and its relationship to power to be instructive something to be taken for granted, but something guides to action. Hopes for change led by technology that needs constant care and att ention. were reinforced with the rise of the World Wide Web. One of President Havel’s principal beliefs was that I drew inspiration from the work of Kurt Gödel, the each and every one of us can change the world, no mat- mathematician whose Incompleteness Theorem see- ter how invisible or powerless we might feel at fi rst. med to me proof that no totalitarian system, however 8 We might be just a small newspaper from a place brutal, could ever control and systematise everything. many still call Czechoslovakia, but we don’t want to Yoko Ono There is always something that escapes structuring, Artist nd pee tivist pass up on that opportunity. and therefore resistance is always possible. This issue features, and is dedicated to, people who I wrote then that the internet was the one place whe- are doing far more than us in their eff orts to change re the power of dictators was the least eff ective, a pla- the world. ce to imagine a bett er world and make it a reality. In When President Havel became Hospodarske No- Orphaned children of Hutus murdered by Tutsis during the genocide in 2002, a group of us set up a nonprofi t organization in viny’s Editor-in-Chief six years ago, he was given the Rwanda later found by volunteers of humanitarian organization UNICEF. oko Ono’s 80th birthday HN: if you staged your Bed-ins Beirut (the Arab Development and Media Network), 9 freedom to choose the topics the paper would address. Eventually most of these children did not survive since they contracted is coming up next year, for Peace today, would they be raising funds for a free journalist training programme Instead of covering the stock market, he decided to fo- cholera and other infectious diseases. This photograph was taken in 1994 in but she’s still relentlessly considered art? across the whole Middle East which would include me- cus on human rights abuses around the world. Instead Never losing faith a camp in Goma on the border between Congo and Rwanda. campaigning for human I don’t think the Bed-Ins we once dia ethics (reinforcing personal integrity, Havel’s ‘living of texts about the internal political struggles he favou- PHOTO BY: ANTONiN KRATOCHViL / Vii Yrights and virtues just as she once held with John were considered in truth’) and internet literacy (distinguishing the truth red texts on Russia’s opposition parties, for example, did with her late husband John art by ordinary people. They knew from lies). Over the following eight years we trained or the violence and lack of freedom in Myanmar. Lennon. that it was a peace protest. hundreds of journalists from Morocco to Bahrain. In his editorial, Havel expressed the belief that our A few weeks ago, Mrs. Ono star- I would like to think that our eff orts contributed in fate is our own responsibility. ‘Being responsible for ted her own fashion line, produ- HN: does your dance music fit some way to the Arab Spring that swept away some of 10 the whole world is part of every man’s fate, no matt er in us, Havel issued cing clothes which she once de- within your human rights cam- the dictatorships in the Middle East. The vacuum left how much or how litt le each of us care,’ he wrote. signed for Lennon; she again lit paining? was quickly fi lled by the Muslim Brotherhood, a party We consider ourselves lucky to have that responsi- up the Imagine Peace Tower in Dance music is simply good for created in the 1920s and modelled aft er Benito Musso- bility. We’re glad to have it. We think the Czech Repub- Reykjavík, shining into the night your body and spirit as a form lini’s Italian Fascist party. If during the previous two or lic needs this Havel special issue as much as the rest sky in Lennon’s memory; and, of music. It’s also a good way to three decades we hadn’t already been in a Havel period of the world does. It’s our mission to make sure the last but not least, she awarded acquaint people with the sensiti- of post-totalitarianism, we were there now. The Muslim heartbeat of freedom continues to be heard. a permanent challenge this year’s Lennon-Ono Grant for vity of poetry. Brotherhood is imposing an oppressive, non-democra- Peace to Pussy Riot. tic ideology in the countries it governs. These new regi- 11 „Pussy Riot stood fi rmly in the- HN: Are simpler messages more mes, so far in Egypt and Tunisia but in some cases also ir belief in freedom of expression likely to get across to people in those pending in Yemen and Libya (and possibly Syria and made all women of the world contemporary art? and Jordan as well), are potentially no less autocratic iHNed.cz proud to be women. I consider Art is a way of life. It should than the regimes they aim to replace. They certainly The Czech version of this issue can be found at Pussy Riot fellow activists,“ said always be as simple as breathing. have a stronger ideology. revolutionary leader to denounce could always expect to enjoy the cess and well-being of Aung San Throughout his career in public Mrs. Ono. It should always be as complex as But unlike the time when Europe lived under Soviet www.ihned.cz/havel2012 the Soviet tyrants who had long upper hand in battling evil. But Suu Kyi. life, Vaclav Havel practised politics the workings of our body. dominance, the Middle East now lacks a powerful mi- conspired to oppress his country. complacency was not in Havel’s In October 2011, he signed the of a type designed not to reflect HN: is it important that Pussy Riot litary overlord. What it does suff er from are medieval, 12 The tapestry at the newly renamed Vaclav Havel Air- Instead, his most urgent request vocabulary. Budapest Appeal, calling upon Eu- popular opinion, but to elevate and is a group of women? HN: What about the messages that authoritarian regimes such as the ones in Saudi Arabia port in Prague was presented to Foundation Vize 97 by was that the United States help Like Tomáš Masaryk, Havel cele- rope to take a stand against any enlighten it; the kind of leadership I don‘t think it matt ers if the ar- President Havel put across? and Qatar, which share a common ideology with the Amnesty International and fi ve artists – U2 members the Russian people in making the- He worried tht brated the Czech nation at its best, government – even a freely-elected that prompted us to open our eyes tist is a woman or man. In fact if Living in truth, love, and justi- Muslim Brotherhood and are both willing to spend Bono and The Edge, Sting, Peter Gabriel and Yoko Ono. ir own transition to democracy. but without falling into the trap of one – that abuses its power by un- and demand more of ourselves – we promote a woman artist just ce is what we aim for. We cannot vast sums of money propping up their allies. Military The tapestry was inspired by Peter Sis’ drawing, pub- Instead of treating the Cold the defet of chauvinism. He argued to domestic dermining democratic institutions. and that placed Havel in a catego- because she happens to be a wo- do enough of it and I have total force has been replaced by the purchasing power of lished on Hospodarske Noviny ’s front page last year Madeleine Albright War’s end as a climactic victory, and foreign audiences alike that, His last public statements were in ry with Lincoln, Masaryk, Gandhi man, we are being sexist in the respect for President Havel and the petro-dollar. the day President Havel’s funeral took place. Former U.S. Seretry of Stte Havel emphasized the even larger ommunism, nd despite all the external foes we mi- support of prisoners of conscience and Mandela. same way we criticized men as the strong wisdom expressed in With these changes in the region, Havel’s ideas in The challenge that lay ahead: to create ght face, our most dangerous ene- in Belarus and of opposition pro- Vaclav Havel was no saint, but he being. his ideas. ‘Love and truth must Power of the Powerless have moved from the periphe- 13 a world shaped by moral responsi- of Nzism before my is our propensity toward selfi s- tests in Moscow where, on the day was a rare man and an even more prevail over lies and hatred!’ We ry of relevance to centre-stage. It is Havel’s notion of ot long aft er he became pre- bility. The new president was crys- hness and indiff erence to others. of his funeral, 80,000 demonstra- exceptional leader: courageous in HN: So feminism is a concept of should all say this every day! ‘living in truth’ that may be the most eff ective way of sident, Václav Havel travel- tal clear in stressing the obligati- tht, would prompt The logical corollary to this argu- tors observed a moment of silence his personal approach, he earned the past? resisting these post-totalitarian ideologies imposed on led to Washington where ons we each have to one another. ment was his relentless advocacy to mark his passing. our admiration and respect. But There is a movement now in the HN: Just that, or anything else? the Middle East by the Muslim Brotherhood and their he was scheduled to deliver Narrow interests of all kinds, insi- demorti people of civil and political rights for all Havel oft en told me how impor- the real reason we had so much Middle East of women who tried Be true to yourself. Lies will be supporters. Recently we’ve once again seen protesters Nan address to a joint session of the sted Havel, must give way to uni- people. tant it had been for him and his faith in him is that he never lost to win independence and free- erased by truth. in Cairo’s Tahrir Square wishing to ‘live in truth,’ calling United States Congress. I had the versal principles. His fi rst speech to onlude tht Whether the specifi c challen- democratic compatriots to know faith in us. In so doing, he paid us dom by their own eff ort without for a greater democracy and for the rule of law. In this honour of helping him prepare for in America, like his other speeches ge was posed by apartheid, as in that, during the Cold War’s long the noblest compliment any lea- depending so much on help from As told to daniel Konrád seemingly uneven contest we may still be struggling to 14 that occasion. before and since, was very idealis- their work ws South Africa; or ethnic cleansing, dark years, there were people der could – and issued a permanent the West. unseat the autocrats, but, thanks to the example of men Because he had litt le experience tic: not the sort that national lea- as in the Balkans; or genocide, as in the West who were thinking challenge to us all. I think it’s remarkable. We like Vaclav Havel, we know that we are far from being Thank you for cooperation and support: of public speaking and had develo- ders typically give. done. in Rwanda and Sudan; or politi- about them and were eager to should send our understanding, powerless – we know that knowledge is strength. Bill Shipsey from Art for Amnesty, Peter Sis & Terry ped the habit in prison of avoiding However, we know that Havel’s cal repression in Cuba or China, help in whatever ways were possi- respect and good wishes to our Lajtha, Antonín Kratochvíl, Martina Pařízková and eye contact, we brought in an ex- conception of leadership diff ered Havel never hesitated to raise his ble. This experience left him with sisters in the Middle East. Amnesty International, Adéla Pospíchalová and People pert to help Havel achieve a more from that of most presidents and voice on behalf of justice. This a sense of obligation – that he in- Madeleine Albright Yoko Ono Karim Alrawi in Need, Jiří Kobělka, Guy Borg effective style of speaking. The prime ministers. He had no inte- was true in the days of Charter vited us all to share – toward men HN: is political art becoming more president refused to practise, and rest in the kind of political rhetoric 77 and the Velvet Revolution, and and women on every continent Madeleine Albright is former United relevant? She is an avant-garde and conceptual An Egyptian writer and human rights 15 when he walked to the podium in that divides people into one facti- it was true in the fi nal weeks and who must still struggle for reco- States Secretary of State, the fi rst It defi nitely has a great impact artist, musician, fi lmmaker and a activist, Alrawi’s television, radio and editors: front of 535 Members of Congress on or another, or that exploits an- months of his life. I know from gnition of their most basic rights. woman ever to hold that post. now. It shows people how you can major peace activist. Known for stage plays have been produced in Tomáš Jeník, Daniel Konrád, Zdeněk Mihalco, Lucie and began to speak, his delivery ger, resentment, and fear. He wo- personal conversations that Ha- Havel believed that, although She was crucial in bringing former gain spiritual freedom by being her marriage to John Lennon, Ono England, the U.S. and Canada. Tvarůžková was still poor. But it didn’t matt er. rried that the defeat of Commu- vel was profoundly encouraged dictatorial regimes would come Eastern Bloc nations into NATO. This courageous and sticking to what has also campaigned for feminism Havel may not have been the smo- year she was awarded the Medal you believe in. It shows other Picture Editor: Václav Vašků nism, and of Nazism before that, by Arab democracy movements and go, the pursuit of a more and is known for her philanthropic othest of orators, but he was au- would prompt democratic people and by the promising, albeit fragi- democratic and humane world of Freedom by President Barack activists in the world that they contributions to arts and AIDS Art Director: Jan Vyhnánek thentic - and also surprising. The to conclude that their work was le, developments in Burma, whe- would remain a necessity as long Obama. are not the only ones working to outreach programs. 16 Front Page: Peter Sis American people had expected this done and that, in the future, they re he cared deeply about the suc- as our race survives. change the world for the bett er. 4 VH www.iHNed.cz www.iHNed.cz VH 5 Sunday 9th December Sunday 9th December

1 Tarik Nesh-Nash 2012 2 Freedom isn’t

hen the coming of Spring 2011 brought about a major change in North African po- easy to fi nd litics, Moroccan Tarik Nesh-Nash was one of the fi rst to embrace the new democratic The 14th dalai Lama Wprocess. Nesh-Nash, who was born in Tangiers and had Spiritul leder of Tibetn people previously worked as a manager in Microsoft ’s Seatt le 3 and Beijing branches, seized the opportunity to use The good news is that the internet to help change the Moroccan constituti- cannot recall a single day go- the number of countries on. And he didn’t stop there. Recently he’s been using ing by without a report of so- designated as free or partly crowdsourcing to fund his own anti-corruption plat- mething terrible happening free is growing. However form. And, he says, there´s more to come. somewhere: violence, crime, more than 35 percent of the Iwars, or disasters. No previous ge- world population still live in HN: How does a Microsoft iT engineer become an acti- neration has had to experience so countries involved in serious vist? is it because both your parents were human rights much bad news, and the constant breaches of civil and political 4 activists? awareness of fear and tension we rights. The situation has 101In 2011 Amnesty International I didn’t plan to be an activist in advance, it’s just part feel today should make any sensiti- improved recently in some of being a citizen and doing your best for the country. ve and compassionate person seri- of these notorious countries, found cases of persecution of On the other hand, yes, I was raised in a family where ously question the progress of our such as Cuba or Myanmar, citizens in 101 countries. values like human rights and democracy were some- modern world. but it is still far from being thing we all shared and tried to promote. But I am not Science and technology have con- normal. More than 100 of unique in that sense. These days, most educated urban tributed immensely to the overall world regimes still persecute citizens are engaged one way or another in promoting experience of humankind, but if we their own citizens, half 5 these values. place too much emphasis on them a million people a year – we are in danger of losing touch with mostly civilians – die in armed HN: Your fi rst project was the website Juriste.ma, an those aspects of human knowledge confl icts. online encyclopedia of Moroccan law. What was the that aspire towards honesty and al- motivation behind it? truism. There is unprecedented li- edited by Tomáš Jeník Juriste is a French word meaning ‘expert in law.’ I was teracy, yet universal education does concerned with how every Moroccan citizen today not seem to have fostered goodness, is demanding his or her rights to everything - to free only mental restlessness and discon- 6 expression, education, health etc. On the other hand, tent. We have not yet succeeded in 500 every citizen is supposed to abide by the law and no- bringing about peace and happiness one is excused for breaking it. But the real challenge or in overcoming suff ering. is: how can we really know what the law is? It’s very Natural calamities and similar pro- hard today even for law experts to say they really have blems must be accepted and faced thousand access to all the laws. And even if you ask a lawyer for with equanimity. Others, however, a legal consultation, it will take him some considerable are of our own making and can be A number of people who die every time just to fi nd the relevant legal text. The goal of the corrected. One such type arises from year as a result of armed violence. 7 website Juriste.ma is to divulge legal information and the confl ict of ideologies, political to provide everyone with free access to the law. And or religious, when people fi ght each then, once we achieve this, we can start a higher level other for pett y ends, losing sight of of discussion on what our rights are and how we can humanity. We must remember that move further. The website is the fi rst basic step in get- the diff erent religions, ideologies, ting access to the law and then discerning our rights and political systems are designed and our obligations. for human beings to achieve happi- ness. At no time should we place me- 8 HN: Another of your websites, Reforme.ma, lets citizens ans above ends; the supremacy of discuss various topics related to the new Moroccan con- humanity over matt er and ideology stitution. Which areas have proved most popular? must always be maintained. Reforme.ma was conceived when the new constituti- By far the greatest single danger on was being discussed. What we did is we took every facing humankind is the threat of The ratio of people living 44ongoing military confl icts. part of the old constitution and let the citizens vote for nuclear destruction. I would like to in non-free or partly free or against every single article, to propose new amend- appeal to all the leaders of the nuc- countries as opposed to ments or just submit their ideas for the new constitu- lear powers who literally hold the people living in countries 9 tion. Over 200,000 people visited the site, submitt ing future of the world in their hands, to enjoying full freedom. over 10,000 comments. The most popular topics rela- ted to the specifi c rights of citizens, such as the right to education, the right to health, the right to a job, the When faced with a calm and clear other roots of trouble, and each tea- A street scene in Umm Qasr, FReedOM right to free expression. The articles most voted against mind, problems can be successful- ches a path leading to a spiritual sta- a large port in southern Iraq, were those giving explicit power to the monarch. People ly resolved. When, instead, we lose te that is peaceful, disciplined, ethi- April 12, 2003. were just asking for greater division of power. control over our minds through cal, and wise. It is in this sense that PHOTO BY: ANTONiN KRATOCHViL / hatred, selfishness, jealousy, and I believe all religions have essential- Vii (PROFiMediA) HN: Another project, Mamdawrinch.com, is mapping A Human Approach 10 anger, we lose our sense of judge- ly the same message. If all religions NO YeS % cases of bribery in Morocco. is corruption a major issue ment. Our minds are blinded, and make the bett erment of humanity in Morocco? their main concern, then they can 71Civilians account for 71 percent of at those wild moments anything can During the youth street protests organized by the Febru- happen, including war. But hatred easily work together in harmony for people killed and injured in war. ary 20th movement, one of the biggest slogans was The and fi ghting cannot bring happine- world peace. It is much more bene- Fight Against Corruption. That was what the people ss to anyone, not even the winners. fi cial to try to implement in daily wanted. The newly elected government has put it at the to World Peace Thus, the practice of compassion life the shared precepts for good- top of their agenda. Everybody’s talking about fi ghting and wisdom is useful to all, especi- ness taught by all religions than to 11 corruption but we ’re far from seeing any real results. ally to those responsible for running argue about minor differences in the scientists and technicians who eff ectively as possible. If we adopt show our gratitude by loving them national aff airs, in whose hands lie approach. HN: So even when you were discussing such a delicate continue to create these awesome a self-centred approach to life and all. For, according to Buddhist theo- the power and opportunity to create subject, Moroccans weren’t afraid to jump in and use weapons of destruction, and to all constantly try to use others for our ry, we are born and reborn countless the structure of world peace. the website? the people at large who are in a po- own self-interest, we may gain tem- numbers of times, and it is concei- I question the popular assumption dalai Lama This website is encouraging people to talk about co- sition to infl uence their leaders: I ap- porary benefi ts, but in the long run vable that each being has been our that religion and ethics have no pla- 14th Dalai Lama is both a spiritual rruption and to report it. It’s designed for people to peal to them to exercise their sanity we will not succeed in achieving per- I stress the trining parent at one time or another. In ce in politics and that religious per- 55armed groups use children as report anonymously. We work closely with Transpar- and begin to work at dismantling sonal happiness, and world peace this way all beings in the universe sons should seclude themselves as and political leader of Tibetan 12 ency Morocco, who help us analyse these reports and and destroying all nuclear weapons. will be out of the question. of the mind to share a family relationship. Right hermits. Ethics is as crucial to a po- people. The 1959 Chinese occupation soldiers. publish them anonymously. So citizens are protected Is it not frightening just to contem- According to Buddhist psycho- from the moment of our birth, we litician as it is to a religious practiti- of Tibet forced him into exile in and at the same time we’re making sure there’s no vi- plate such inhuman and heartless logy, most of our troubles are due endure su ering are reliant on the care and kindne- oner. Dangerous consequences will Indian town of Dharamsala. He was lifi cation and no direct att acks because we’re sharing destruction? Is it not logical that we to our passionate desire for and at- ss of our parents; later in life, when follow when politicians and rulers a close personal friend of Václav the information with the public. So far this year we’ve should remove the cause of our own tachment to things that we misap- nd  in  more facing the suff erings of disease and forget moral principles. Whether we Havel. had 30,000 visitors, and we presented the project at destruction? prehend as enduring entities. The old age, we are again dependent on believe in God or karma, ethics is the the International Anti-Corruption Conference in Brazil I stress the training of the mind to pursuit of the objects of our desire lsting stte of the kindness of others. If at the be- foundation of every religion. in November. We ’re also working with activists from endure suff ering and att ain a more and att achment involves the use of ginning and end of our lives we de- All religions agree upon the ne- 13 other regions to see if we can fi nd a way to duplicate lasting state of happiness – a com- aggression and competitiveness as hppiness. pend upon others’ kindness, why cessity to control the undisciplined this tool in other countries. bination of inner peace, economic supposedly effi cacious instruments. then in the middle should we not mind that harbours selfi shness and As told to Hana Němečková development, and, above all, world Such processes have been going on act kindly towards others? peace. To achieve it, I feel it is neces- in the human mind since time im- One of the results of spiritual sary to develop a sense of universal memorial, but their execution has development is calmness of mind. responsibility, a deep concern for all become more eff ective under mo- irrespective of creed, colour, sex, or dern conditions. nationality. When people are mo- The Tibetan Buddhist tradition 14 tivated primarily by greed and jea- also teaches us to view all sentient lousy, it is not possible for them to beings as our dear mothers and to live in harmony. To be born a human being is a rare event in itself, and it is wise to use this opportunity as Tarik Nesh-Nash 15 He comes from Tangier in Morocco but as a manager he worked for Microsoft in U.S. and China. A human rights advocate, he’s following a long family tradition. During the Arab Spring his website Marsad.ma helped adjust the Moroccan constitution. 16 6 VH www.iHNed.cz www.iHNed.cz VH 7 Sunday 9th December Sunday 9th December

1 New arrivals in a prison in Caracas, Venezuela, Roberto de Jesús 1997. In 2003, an Amnesty International report revealed that Venezuela’s prison conditions Even America realizes that are amongst the worst in the world. Drugs and gang violence are prevalent, as are torture and excessive and inhumane punishment.

Guerra (Bott om) A victim of gang violence in the same 2 prison, 1997. PHOTO BY: ANTONiN KRATOCHViL / Vii (PROFiMediA) n los años y meses pasados, las noticias que llegan terror is born out of poverty desde Cuba son sobre las reformas económicas del presidente Raúl Castro. A pesar de que a me- nudo se trata sólo de cambios cosméticos, logran Eensombrecer la posición del gobierno frente a los opo- sitores al régimen. “La situación, en cuanto a derechos 3 humanos, no ha mejorado para nada con el gobierno militar del general Raúl Castro. De hecho, se han pro- ducido una enorme cantidad de arrestos en este año,” dice Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez.

HN: ¿Cómo Havel inspiró a los disidentes cubanos? Puedes darme algunos ejemplos? Havel demostró cómo la lucha pacífi ca no es una pos- 4 tura defensiva que aguarda pasivamente los resultados Hopefully not. Africa has already re- Fortunately not the area we’re in de una gestión, sino una posición activa encaminada Ali Hewson gained 1 percent of world trade and yet. Even though Kony has been a producir transformaciones importantes dentro de tivist, wife of U2’s Bono they’re beginning to turn things driven away there are still problems la sociedad. La disidencia cubana, comprendió la im- around. There’s a saying now that with various illnesses. portancia de reclamar sin descanso, a las autoridades if you want to know where the next del gobierno, el respeto incondicional a sus derechos. rish activist Ali Hewson is this China is, look at Africa. Instbility is  result HN: isn’t that why Bono was lobbying El Proyecto Varela, uno de los documentos de mayor year not only celebrating thirty Congress last month not to cut down impacto moral dentro de Cuba, y más recientemente years of marriage to U2 singer HN: You also run an initiative that of people not on foreign aid? 5 el documento Demanda Ciudadana son -de alguna ma- Bono, but also her own success as helps farmers from displacement Bono’s working hard to stop them nera- hijos espirituales de Carta 77, un documento cuyo Ia businesswoman. Aft er campaig- camps. hving ny other cutt ing down aid. A lot of countries principal portavoz fue precisamente Václav Havel. ning for the victims of the Cher- There’s a programme called The realize that instability is a result of nobyl disaster and rallying aga- Conservation Cotton Initiative wy of mking people not having any other way of HN: Puedes describirme la situación actual en el ámbito inst the Sellafi eld nuclear facility Uganda. We set it up for people making money. Programmes such de los derechos humanos en Cuba ¿Mejoró algo con in England, Mrs. Hewson started who came back after their coun- as the one in Uganda provide these Raul Castro? her own fashion line called Edun, tries had been ravished by twenty- money. One people families with a stream of income. La situación, en cuanto a derechos humanos, no ha promoting fair trade and positive five years of war and during that in Afri get used to It’s not unlike Northern Ireland, 6 mejorado para nada con el gobierno militar del general change in Africa. time basically lost a whole genera- where the instability had a lot to Raul Castro. De hecho, se han producido una enorme „I believe Africa is changing as tion of farming skills. So with the do with the Catholics being unable cantidad de arrestos en este año. A través de nuestro much as the rest of the world is. As help of a company called Techni- hving jobs they re to get well-paid jobs. In fact one of Centro de Información Hablemos Press, hemos docu- Bono would say, it’s not top down Server we’ve been able to give the the major initiatives between En- mentado más de 4 mil detenciones de opositores, ac- anymore – it’s from the bott om up,“ farmers loans, provide them with less likely to go bk gland, Ireland and Northern Ireland tivistas por los derechos humanos, Damas de Blanco, she says. basic training, and help them turn was establishing trade relationships Blogueros y periodistas independientes son detenidos their farms into small businesses. to violene or rime. between the three countries. Once violentamente cada mes y siguen siendo víctimas de HN: is your company edun basically When we started fi ve years ago we people get used to having jobs they 7 hostigamientos y detenciones arbitrarias. saying that, instead of donating mo- had around fi ve hundred farmers are less likely to go back to violence ney to Africa, we should do business – now there’s over eight thousand. or crime. Even America realizes that HN: ¿Cuál es tu experiencia personal con el comporta- with Africa? And since most families in Ugan- terrorism is born out of incredibly miento represivo del gobierno? Sé que fuiste detenido Bono has been working in Africa for da are quite large, the estimates poor, deprived areas. en algunas occasiones, y que amenazan también a tu many years on the macro-level with are that over 80 thousand peop- família... governments, and it became more le might be aff ected by this work. HN: Would you do business with He cumplido en total 3 años y seis meses de prisión. obvious that trade is the really im- All we did was provide them with countries that support terrorism or Realicé 8 huelgas de hambre. Desde que me inicié en la portant part of the package. In the tools and skills. They needed oxen, don’t respect human rights? 8 oposición, y hasta esta fecha, tengo más de 150 detenci- past decade, the African share of to learn how to do rotational crops A lot of times you may encounter ones. Varios miembros de mi familia han sido amenaza- world trade suff ered a major slump or grow cott on, how to get the best some sort of colonial resentment dos de ser llevado a la cárcel si continúan apoyándome. due to illnesses and being undercut out of their land. Within the next but it’s important to keep in mind Las autoridades me presionan constantemente para by China in prices. There is a good two years these farms will be self- that Europe wasn’t behaving respon- que abandone el país, pero yo me niego, aún cuando sé minimum wage in Africa, but the sustainable. sibly either when it ‘discovered’ the- que mi vida y la de mi familia corren peligro. minimum wage in China is much se African countries. We need to lead lower, so a lot of business has gone HN: How many of these farmers are rather than give them a hard time, HN: ¿Cuales son los problemas mas importantes que to China in this period. women? especially since these countries are 9 enfrentan los disidentes cubanos? Apparently over 70 percent of all still developing and learning how La falta de libertades, de justicia. También somos ex- HN: But why would a business relo- farmers in the world are women. to govern aft er they were previous- pulsados de los centros de trabajo; nuestros hijos no cate to Africa now that everyone’s We’ve been there personally qui- ly colonized. Ireland itself is only pueden obtener carreras en las universidades ni se nos cutt ing costs? te a few times including January a century old and we too have had permite construir viviendas; se nos limita el acceso a la I believe consumers have become this year, and I spent some time our share of crooked governments. mayoría de los lugares públicos bajo el argumento se- more conscious not only of the food with one of their leading farmers, But obviously there’s no supporting gún el cual Cuba es propiedad de los “revolucionarios”; they’re eating but they’re also ex- a women who had six or seven chil- dictators anywhere. por eso somos reprimidos, por pensar diferentes, opinar pressing an interest in who’s ma- dren, was pregnant again but still As told to daniel Konrád 10 y expresarnos libremente. king their clothes and how. The teaching over a hundred farmers As told to Simone Radačičová industry may be driving the prices in her group. She was very happy down with cheaper labour, but con- because she’d just had her fi rst crop sumers now want to know the story and was able to buy a uniform for Ali Hewson behind their clothes. I think peop- her eldest daughter and send her to An Irish businesswoman and wife of le are moving towards the idea of school. A lot of those women lost U2ˇs lead singer Bono, Mrs. Hewson buying less, but buying well. We’re their husbands - their men were began her activist career in 1990ˇs, a tiny company, but we’re trying to shot or died of illness. Joseph Ko- highlighting the lasting eff ects of lead the way in responsible trade. ny’s troops only pulled out of Ugan- 11 the Chernobyl accident. She runs We shouldn’t forget that by 2050 da recently. the Edun fashion line and the Nude the population of Africa will double Skincare products. the population of China. HN: Has the ongoing M23 movement aff ected the region? HN: But if we can’t help Africa enough Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez as it is, aren’t we headed for a major An independent journalist and founder catastrophe? 12 of Cuban press agency Hablemos Press, Guerra Pérez devotes his time to remind the world how the Cuban regime treats those who do not agree with it. Because of his actions he spent three and a half years in Cuban prisons. 13

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5 More than half the 6 world’s population

7 lives in non-free and partly free countries 8 9 3 940 674 000 10 non-free

11 3 016 566 100 free 12 (Source: Freedom House 2012)

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1 Inmates in a Venezuelan prison, 1997. In 2003, an Amnesty International Mary report revealed that Venezuelaˇs prison conditions are amongst the worst in the world. Drugs and gang violence are Communist and theocratic prevalent, as are torture and excessive Robinson and inhumane punishment.

2 (Bott om) Poverty in India: Children in Bihar, one of the countryˇs poorest states. PHOTO BY: ANTONiN KRATOCHViL / Vii regimes are much alike (PROFiMediA)

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Former Irish president nd UN High ommissioner for Humn Rights

4 Ladan Boroumand By means of his thought-provo- sassin’s blade, paying with his life for was interested to read an op-ed which Vaclav Havel Irnin humn rights tivist king and subversive ideas on both his insistence on living in truth. wrote in the New York Times in 1992 prior to the the nature and personae of those So Havel did not need to convince Earth Summit in Rio. Addressing the challenge fa- who belong in the dissident ranks me of the need to live in truth and ced by the Earth Summit he said: “This is not just here are certain extraordi- and the audience. He then discreetly be oneself, but he taught me like no Ia technical, economic or ecological task. This tremen- nary human beings who by left the stage, lett ing the light meant Hvel’s msterly one before what living a lie does to dous challenge has a moral and spiritual dimension. right ought never to die, for for him shine instead on those ob- a man’s soul, and by extension to The past era has taught us, survivors of the totalita- their very existence is a ray scure dissidents from around the elbortion on human society as a whole. And he rian regime, one very good lesson – man cannot com- 5 Tof hope in the tragedy of life. This world known to no one in the world did so by referring to simple daily mand wind and rain, as a propaganda song in my coun- thought is what came to my outra- but the security forces of their re- the essentil incidents of life under a totalitarian try once promised. Man is not the omnipotent master ged and devastated mind when I re- spective countries. regime such as att ending an offi cial of the universe, allowed to do with impunity whatever ceived an e-mail from my fellow hu- As I watched Havel leaving the orreltion between ceremony, voting for a preselected he thinks, or whatever suits him at the moment. The man-rights activist Igor Blažević in podium, I was filled with gratitu- candidate, signing a petition, parti- world we live in is made up of an immensely complex which he announced the expected de to the journalist and historian mn’s liberty, his cipating in demonstrations. These and mysterious tissue about which we know very litt le yet still dreaded news of Václav Ha- Anne Applebaum, the author of are all daily experiences that we, citi- and which we must treat with utmost humility.” vel’s passing. Gulag: A History who had given me inessnt quest zens who have lived under totalitari- That is a perfect way to approach the failure of last 6 The fi rst and only time I met Pre- a copy of Havel’s essay collection an rule, are all too familiar with. June’s Rio+20 conference to bring about the para- sident Havel was on one of the many The Power of the Powerless. My si- for onsiousness, For as diff erent as the Commu- digm shift in development we so urgently need. We occasions when he used his renown ster Roya and I had asked Anne to nists’ atheist totalitarianism and the are not on course for a safe world, staying below 2° Cel- to give a voice to the voiceless. It was come and see Omid, the online vir- nd history in his Islamists’ theocratic totalitarianism sius above pre-industrial levels, which governments in February 2007, at the Library of tual memorial in defence of human may be—the one denying God’s committ ed to at the climate conference in Cancun, Congress in Washington, D.C. Havel rights that we had created to pre- open le er to existence and worshiping histori- Mexico in 2010. was there to receive the Democra- serve the memories—and the case cal determinism, the other denying In a recent report the World Bank warned that cy Service Medal. For the occasion, facts—of all those killed by the Is- Husk helped me God’s transcendence and making the 4°C scenarios are devastating: the inundation of 7 he had invited dissidents from dif- lamic Republic of Iran. We told her itself an idol on earth—there is an coastal cities; increasing risks for food production po- ferent countries to share the fl oor that as Iranian citizens in exile, wi- to understnd undeniable kinship between diff e- tentially leading to higher malnutrition rates; many with him and talk about their respe- thout any power, the only thing we rent kinds of totalitarian systems, dry regions becoming dryer, wet regions wett er. ctive struggles for freedom. could do was to document the truth the onfusion nd for they all tend to reduce history to On the positive side, agreement was reached at the Havel came to the podium short about the victims. As she was brow- the dominion of one exclusive Tru- climate conference in Durban last December for a of breath and looking frail. In a bri- sing Omid, and listening to us, Anne purposelessness th, and by doing so pervert its very new legal climate agreement by 2015, to come into ef speech, he reminded his audien- told us that we should read what Ha- essence. As a result, writes Havel in eff ect in 2020. The Durban Platform for Enhanced ce that they should be aware of the vel had to say in The Power of the tht hs infeted his open lett er to Husak, ‘no longer Action, as it is called, is a vital route to a safer world. 8 shortcomings of the very concept of Powerless. Two days later, she sent backed by social history or the histo- However, the negotiations for this new climate agree- ‘dissidence’ invented by the Western us a copy. the lives of my ry of the individual within it, priva- ment have been all too slow and bureaucratic. That press: ‘dissidence’ is not a professi- Havel’s concept of ‘living in tru- te life declines to a prehistoric level is why we have launched a global dialogue on climate on, he said, for dissidents are men th’ was not new to me. I grew up in fellow Irnins. where time derives its only rhythm justice to inform an equitable and ambitious climate and women who have an identity of a dissident family in Iran in the six- from such events as birth, marriage, agreement in 2015. their own. They are scientists, wor- ties and seventies. My father had and death.’ At its core will be a high level advisory committ ee kers, artists. What makes them dis- renounced his political and profes- Ladan Boroumand Havel’s masterly elaboration on of thought leaders who will champion the dialogue’s sidents is their determination to de- sional careers—and ultimately his the essential correlation between principles, objectives and outcomes – most notably 9 fend their dignity and fi ght for their life—for the sake of his principles. Ladan Boroumand is an Iranian man’s liberty, his incessant quest by helping to bring the voices of vulnerable populati- liberty. And thus with elegance and Living in truth - and being isolated human rights advocate. Her father, for consciousness, and history in ons into decision-making - and carry and amplify the subtlety, Havel reminded us that as a consequence - was somehow lawyer Abdorrahman Boroumand, his open lett er to Husák helped me messages resulting from our common eff orts. The those who would speak that night part of the family culture. Nor was was killed in 1991 for his support of to understand the confusion and dialogue will address equity not just in the context of were more than what they would be the idea of taking action without human rights. To honor his memory purposelessness that has infected mitigation, or reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but talking about. At this point, when calculating the chances of immedi- Ladan founded the Abdorrahman the lives of my fellow Iranians for also in the context of more support for adaptation by we were all thinking about the limi- ate success a new revelation to me: Boroumand Foundation. more than thirty years. That is why communities aff ected by climate, equity in the trans- tations of the concept of ‘dissident,’ I had learned this from another hero on the 18th of December, to honour fer of green technologies to the poorest, and equity in 10 Havel shift ed gears and said, not wi- of mine, Shapour Bakhtiar, the last the memory of one the greatest po- fi nancing so that resources really get to those most thout irony and humour, that he had prime minister of Iran under the litical and intellectual fi gures of our aff ected by climate change. We recognise equity as an ended up adopting the word anyway, monarchy. This humanist accep- time, the Abdorrahman Boroumand enabler for greater ambition, which in turn can provi- because ‘it was so practical.’ ted the premiership in January 1979 Foundation will release the Persian de a gateway for operationalising equity practice. only because he thought it was his version of ‘Dear Dr. Husak,’ which I believe that if Vaclav Havel were with us today he duty to tell the truth and warn his I consider to be a masterpiece both would emphasise the importance of putt ing people at nation against the danger of a new in its form and its content. I have the centre of our climate concerns, truly aiming for a form of totalitarian rule. When as- no doubt that each paragraph will fairer and genuinely sustainable world. We are willing 11 ked why he had accepted the premi- strongly resonate with a great num- to tackle the deep issues he raised in that op-ed in the ership when he knew he had litt le ber of Iranian citizens who will fi nd New York Times more than twenty years ago. chance to succeed, Bakhtiar said the in it an illuminating analysis of their same thing as Havel: I did it because own experience. Mary Robinson it was the right thing to do. In 1991, There are extraordinary human the same year that my father was beings who should never die, and in A former member of the Irish Senate, murdered, Bakhtiar too fell to an as- fact they don’t. Havel left us a lega- Mrs. Robinson was the fi rst woman cy that makes sure he will live even President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997. 12 when there is no totalitarian regime Later on she served as United Nations on earth. High Commissioner for Human Rights. She is a forceful advocate for gender equality, women’s participation in peace- building and human dignity.

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1 A miner holds up a screen used to search for diamonds at Congo Creek, outside Koidu, in eastern Sierra Leone, January 2006. Back in the 1990s, rebels Leonid in Sierra Leone and Liberia fi nanced their carnage with diamonds plucked out of the rivers and traded for arms. During a decade of war about 50,000 2012 I was tortured but my people were killed, and thousands had their hands hacked off by rebels. Only Volkov the recent Hollywood movie Blood Diamond raised tough questions about Africa’s bloody diamond trade. Koidu, Sierra Leone. Freedom isn’t (Bott om) The head of a residence for amputees talks with his daughter in 2 Koidu, the diamond capital of Sierra Leone, in January 2006. Sierra Leone Fyodor easy to fi nd rebels, fi nanced by diamond smuggling, dismembered thousands during case brought to light the a decade of war. PHOTO BY: ANTONiN KRATOCHViL/ Vii (PROFiMediA) Krashennikov 3 injustice in Zimbabwe

4 42,5 Russin writers nd opponents of Putin’s regime

million he major diffi culty every single opposition move- ment in Russia needs to deal with is the immense A number of refugees of size of the country and its divided population. 5 concern to UNHCR. That‘s why all those European recipes for the cre- Tation of any opposition movement or civic society have Jestina Mukoko til I was handed over – still a blin- I was being persecuted. I wonde- failed, or worked only poorly. Zimbbwen humn rights tivist dfolded prisoner – to the police. red what had become of ‘innocent The distances between densely populated urban areas During my time in detention my until proven guilty.’ When I was result in enormous transport complications. Even the at- family and colleagues almost lost dubbed a ‘common criminal’ - the tempt to gather a number of people simply for a debate t the crack of dawn on faith in fi nding me alive. I was far Att orney General claimed I was means huge expenses and diffi cult logistics. Besides, we December 3rd four ye- from the fi rst victim of abducti- The judgement a threat to national security and have to bear in mind that those in power in Russia are well 6 ars ago, I was abducted on in Zimbabwe, but I hope and hence not fi t to be granted bail - it aware of the dangers of an organized and confi dent civic by a group of armed men pray that in the future the go- unmbiguously was as if I had already been con- society. We know that they invest enormous resources Aand a woman who took me to vernment will refrain from illegal victed. All that they had to cling in creating various legal, organisational and fi nancial ob- a secret detention centre. I was detentions of those who oppose sttes: ‘It is ler to was my confession, extracted stacles to the activities of civic society. Apart from that, 98A number of countries with taken away from my home in Ha- the regime. through inhuman and degrading a civic society that is yet to be properly structured creates rare barefoot, in my night clothes The transfer to uniformed po- tht t the time torture. extraordinary preconditions for all sorts of provocateurs documented practice of torture or and without my glasses. As a hu- lice custody was only the begin- It took a while but then so- and opportunists. It was under these circumstances that inhuman treatment of prisoners. man rights advocate in Zimbabwe ning of my troubles with the au- the stte seurity mething momentous happened. Russians voted in the elections last year – without ha- 7 in charge of The Zimbabwe Peace thorities. At last I could see my The entire bench of the Supre- ving a structured civic society, without a real opposition Project, an organisation monito- family and my lawyer, but aft er gents kidnpped me Court proved me right. The party registered for the polls, and without leaders of the ring and documenting political my initial appearance in court fi ve judges, including the Chief protest movements recognized both by the opposition violence, I had participated the on Christmas Eve I was sent to the pplint from Justice, unanimously granted and by those who govern. day before in a meeting to mark a maximum security prison cal- me a permanent stay of crimi- It was within the conditions of the old Russia that sixteen days of activism related led Chikurubi for another sixty- her home nd lter nal prosecution, ruling that my the new one matured and had its fi rst clash with reality to gender-based violence against eight days – this time for alleged- rights should have been protec- a year ago during the elections and in their immediate women and children. At that ga- ly planning to hold anti-govern- detined her t ted by the Constitution of Zim- aft ermath. The internet served as a breeding ground for 8 thering I had talked about the ment rallies and on the basis of babwe and that they had there- the realignment of opposition forces. It was the internet large number of women who had the utt erly unfounded accusation  seret ple.’ fore been violated by the state. that gave rise to the star of blogger Alexey Navalny, who been aff ected by political violen- that I was trying to recruit you- The key part of the judgement off ered all those Russians dissatisfi ed with Putin‘s rule 89 ce in the months leading up to ths for military training with the unambiguously states: ‘It is clear the only possible option – to vote for anyone other than the presidential election. opposition’s Movement for De- that at the time the state security the major United Russia party. This idea was so popular I was beaten on the soles of my mocratic Change. agents kidnapped the applicant that it crossed the boundaries of the internet and crushed feet with a hosepipe and a metal But this is not a tale of police from her home and later detained Putin‘s plans for the unfett ered establishment of a ma- states truncheon by two men who al- brutality. Rather, it’s the story her at the secret place, they did jority in the new parliament. Not even massive voting 9 ternated in a serious form of tor- of a single person, at fi rst a bit Jestina Mukoko not have reason to suspect her of fraud helped. Everything that happened in Russia during around the world limit the freedom ture known as ‘falanga.’ My cap- unwitting and even unwilling, having committ ed the criminal that one year aft er the elections has been the hysterical of speech. tors forced me to kneel on the who may have changed the way A human rights activist and director off ence she was charged with.’ response of those in power to the blow they suff ered. gravel during the interrogation, the authorities behave. Becau- of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, In short, the court confi rmed In Summer 2011 we wrote a slim book called Cloud for a long time. Most of the time se I took the advice of my brave, she is a journalist and a former that the public prosecutor did Democracy, in which we described a model of decision- they kept me blindfolded. I was fi rebrand lawyer who suggested newsreader. Two years ago she was not have any lawfully-gathered making by large groups of people wielding informati- considered a dangerous priso- I challenge the very fact that I’d one of ten human rights defenders evidence of my alleged crime and on technologies. It was a model that combined the best ner, which meant that whenever been abducted, tortured and not honoured by US State Deparment’s depended solely on information features of both direct and representative democracy. 10 I had to leave the prison to go to protected by the law, and who ar- International Women of Courage obtained by torture. Cloud Democracy is a fusion of three leading concepts: court or visit the clinic within the gued that my rights had been vi- Award. While it may seem that I simply the voter‘s right to delegate his or her vote to one parti- grounds, they shackled my legs olated by the state. stood my ground, the truth is my cular representative (and also to revoke it at any time); and hands. Only once was I al- We started on the lowest rung case brought to light the injusti- the voter’s right to ‘split’ his or her vote by empowering % lowed to go to a private hospital of the Zimbabwean judiciary at ces that the powerless face. Af- diff erent people to speak on his or her behalf on diff erent for a medical examination. I was the Magistrates’ Court. There – matt ers; and the voter‘s right to gather more information 70of the world population live in ter the landmark ruling, my case put on the examination table, against the wishes of my family will now be referred to in similar about politics while gett ing more involved in a broader the countries with no freedom of shackled, until the att ending do- who just wanted to have me back situations. It is my hope that, as voting process. In January 2012, we launched Democra- Sources: AI, OSN, HRW, DPCR UU, UNHCR, AOAV, IOM DPCR UU, UNHCR, AOAV, Sources: AI, OSN, HRW, 11 religion. ctor protested that she would not safely – I had to give oral eviden- we mark Human Rights Day, the cy 2.0, a programmers’ environment in which we tested examine me in that state. ce of my ordeal on the witness government of Zimbabwe will re- these ideas of Cloud Democracy in practice. Two months I remained in detention, incom- stand in the packed courtroom. consider its att itude towards ci- ago, thanks to Democray 2.0, we held the fi rst alternative municado, for nineteen days un- The court agreed that the matt er tizens’ rights, and towards its re- citizen elections in Russian history, where people ended was not frivolous and referred it spect of the law and its methods up voting for the opposition´s Coordination Council. The- to the Supreme Court. of investigation. It came as a re- se were electronic and technologically secure elections Most of the time, I still felt that lief when President Robert Mu- organized on the principles of crowdfunding. rather than being prosecuted gabe recently urged the police to For the very fi rst time in Russia’s recent political his- 12 investigate and gather evidence tory, diff erent opposition forces not only agreed to join before making an arrest - rather forces but also to set a clear reform path for both civic so- than the other way round. ciety and Russia as a whole. While lett ing those in power reassure themselves about their strength following rig- ged elections, the civic society now needs to prepare for a decisive struggle behind their back. Never before has democracy been such a unifying idea for the diverse Russian opposition. All those forces – from ecologists to 13 liberals, from nationalists to socialists – see the future of the country diff erently - but they see it as democratic. That is a huge leap forward. Russian people are fi nally prepared for democracy. We have a long way to go yet, but we will do all that we can to ensure that regime change in Russia is ‘velvet’, non-violent and democratic. 14 Leonid Volkov Former medallist in programming made a career in IT business. In 2009 he was elected to the municipal council in Yekaterinburg. He is one of the most followed bloggers in Russia.

15 Fyodor Krashennikov He graduated in Russian philosophy from the University of Yekaterinburg. He founded a press agency called UralBiznesKonsalting. With Leonid Volkov he co-authored a book called Cloud Democracy. 16 14 VH www.iHNed.cz www.iHNed.cz VH 15 Sunday 9th December Sunday 9th December

1 Razan Promoting Ghazzawi Democracy 2 in the Land of Cannibals 3

Marek Hudema Syrin blogger, mpigner nd tivist HN editor, member of EU Observtion Mission to Sierr Leone

ne of the few to blog under her own name, 4 Razan Ghazzawi has been highly involved in ozens of people queue in front of the shabby last year’s Syrian uprising. Before temporarily building of the former court that consists of leaving the country in October, she was deta- a roof full of holes and a concrete foundation. Oined twice, had to stand trial and report herself at The sun pierces the morning mist and illumina- the police daily. „I don’t consider myself exceptionally Dtes palm trees and neighbouring houses made of mud. brave,“ says Mrs. Ghazzawi. Everybody shuffl es around impatiently. The elections in one of the poorest countries in the HN: it seems fascinating that you blog and tweet under world, the six-million-populated Sierra Leone in West 5 you real name in such dangerous conditions in Syria. Africa, are about to start. In the coastal town of Shenge, When did you start campaigning for human rights? a group of European Union‘s observers – including me I can’t speak on behalf of my colleagues in the blogos- – watches from close by. There’s eighty of us across the phere – I’m sure they all have their own reasons - but I whole country and we are to monitor the elections in started blogging when I was doing my MA in Lebanon. order to evaluate their democratic nature. This is how Israel launched a war against South Lebanon in July the EU is trying to promote democracy in a country 2006 and I started a blog to stand in solidarity with the torn by bloody civil war until 2002, a war that claimed resistance in the south. Then I blogged about several over fi ft y thousand lives and left tens of thousands 6 issues in Lebanon and Syria – about Syrian workers, maimed. gender rights, and Palestine. So solidarity with peop- The elections are like a national holiday here. As a le living under occupation is the reason I started blo- European I can‘t help but feel a bit ashamed about the gging. At fi rst it was anonymous, but aft er two years lukewarm att itude of my fellow countrymen towards I started using my real name. Before the revolution, elections in my country. By noon the turnout in our many of us blogged about Syrian public aff airs, but we area reaches eighty percent. „I’m voting even though did so with self-censorship. We weren’t so radical as to I‘m not sure anything will change for the bett er,“ says endanger ourselves. But I left Syria at the beginning of a merchant in his forties who has set out from the ca- 7 October this year and I’m based in Europe now. pital. He’s come to Shenge because this is where he’s registered to vote. Not that it’s a small sacrifi ce. In the- HN: President Havel believed in the power of the people, ory, Shenge is not only a town but one of the busine- ‘the power of the powerless.’ do you write with the ss centres of the southern province. But gett ing here same belief? means riding for half a day on a crowded barge that I never considered myself an activist or a defender of squeezes in up to fi ft y people, under a burning sun wi- human rights - I’m just a blogger. I write about what thout a single inch of shade. By car the ride takes at I’m passionate about, I love the people and I relate to least a day, because even in a four-wheel it’s impossi- 8 their struggle. Their struggle is part of mine and that’s ble to drive faster than ten kilometres per hour on the what I write about – my concerns, fears and hopes. But region’s main roads. what people are we talking about? Activists? Intel- The elections are held in improvised conditions, lectuals? Perhaps writers or fi lmmakers? I am repea- mostly in village schools and churches. There is a wood- tedly inspired by the simplest of people. Residents in and-canvas construction at one of the desolate interse- poor neighbourhoods who know their pain really well, ctions – an open-air polling station. The cramped con- who would sing and dance to call for a bett er future. ditions locals vote in are obviously the biggest problem. I don’t really relate to the polished speeches of some Members of the European Union commission don’t 9 prominent activists as much as I do to Abu Moham- The large original Aubusson even have to get up to see the names voters put their mad sitt ing on his balcony, drinking tea and making tapestry, designed by Czech artist cross by on the ballot. However - and this is what the fi - jokes about how a sniper aiming at him missed and Peter Sis, was woven by master nal report of the European Union’s observation mission shot his customer instead. weavers in Aubusson, France. will point out – there are other serious issues. The tapestry, measuring 5 x 4.25 The opposition lacks the same access to the media HN: What do you think about ‘citizen journalists,’ the meters, has been donated to that the ruling party members enjoy. The government non-professionals who are becoming more and more the Dagmar and Václav Havel uses state-owned property – from cars to funds – to important in covering your country’s aff airs? Foundation and will be displayed support its candidates and to bribe voters. During their 10 I don’t know how to explain this. Syrian citizen jour- in Terminal 2 at the Václav Havel campaign, T-shirts, drinks and money are freely handed nalists are some of the bravest revolutionaries in Syria Airport Prague. out. „It’s not a bribe, it‘s normal - and everybody unders- today, but their work is still not recognized as it should PHOTO BY: BiLL SHiPSeY tands that,“ says Amadu, a student from the capital of be. Media channels won’t treat them as professionals the southern province Moyamby. Usually, voters are because they don’t have fancy badges on their ches- given a sum equivalent to $1, or a beer, or perhaps both. ts. Someone like Fisk has to come to Syria and report The opposition then goes and does the same. on the crisis so that the world can understand what’s Another part of the problem is local chiefs. „No, really happening. I don‘t support any party, I’m non-partisan,“ claims an 11 Third world people can’t express their realities without old man in a European-style suit while he sits in front of the help of white experts, or so it seems. Or perhaps a rundown two-storey house in Moyamba. But he is not Syrian citizen journalists would only be appreciated telling the truth; nor is he an ordinary old man. He‘s the in the west because they’re using the internet, a wes- paramount chief and without his approval nothing gets tern invention. ‘Look what the internet did in these done far and wide. In Sierra Leone, with the exception developing countries - it brought freedom! We created of the capital city, the status of chiefs is protected by freedom!’ That is how many journalists and experts Vaclav’s Magic Carpet law. They are elected but chosen only from members of see our struggle. former royal families. They should be independent, but 12 oft en support the ruling party. In return, they receive HN: So you’re saying that that the infl uence of social money for their own local projects. media and the internet on the Arab spring is overrated. „The chances of being elected as a chief are increased is this also true for Syria? Bill Shipsey munist dictatorship and it did so support artists whose rights were speaking of the just man: ‘When In deciding on the art medi- memory by standing up for, and by being a member of a secret society,“ says Amadu. I’m not saying that the role of social media isn’t cru- Founder of Art for Amnesty with remarkable clarity. taken from them. he yields to his god / When truth um I must have remembered the protecting, the rights and princi- Apart from supporting their members, these societies cial for the revolution in Syria - it defi nitely is. I was I fi rst heard of Vaclav Havel in But I also wanted Amnesty as is the treadle of his loom / And jus- chorus from Antigone, because ples that he fought, suff ered and practise rituals, including those which involve human just being critical of how the Western mainstream 1977, the same year I joined Amnes- a movement to celebrate the lives tice the shutt le / He’ll be shown re- we chose to commission and cre- lived for. organs being eaten. „Recently the police arrested half media has been interpreting it and taking credit for he European Union will be ty International. I was greatly in- and example of truly exceptional spect – The city will reward him.’ ate a large tapestry and since Ap- the village. Somebody killed a young boy, disembowel- 13 what the Syrian people themselves invented – for the- presented with this year’s spired by Charter 77 and the ’soul We re unlikely persons who had done most for It was my honour and privile- ril of this year it has been woven led him, and then they ate his entrails,“ says Andrés ir very souls. Nobel Peace Prize on Mon- force’ that Havel provided through human rights. It was with this in ge to maintain contact with Pre- and craft ed by three master wea- Chamorro, a longtime election observer who spent day. Explaining the decision his actions and writings. I was not to see Hvel’s like mind that the ‘Ambassador of Con- sident Havel over the years sin- vers in Aubusson France. We en- a month in Moyamba. Maybe the villagers wanted to HN: Aft er suff ering catastrophic human and economic Tto award the EU, The Nobel Com- the only Irish person to be moved science’ Award was created in 2003. ce 2003. He responded to every listed the support of fi ve of Pre- gain favour from Fortune, or perhaps they sought to losses, can Syria ever heal and get back to normal life? mitt ee cited “the successful strug- and inspired by Havel. In a singular gin but we n There was no question as to who call for support on behalf of tho- sident Havel’s musician friends avenge somebody‘s death. „Even the educated take Maybe it’ll sound a bit naive, but I’m hoping we won’t gle for peace and reconciliation and and unprecedented act in 1982 the was the worthiest recipient of the se whose human rights were be- and admirers – Bono, The Edge, part, and oft en they do not believe in natural death,“ become desensitized to the destruction in our coun- for democracy and human rights.” Irish playwright Samuel Beckett honour his memory fi rst and inaugural award - Vaclav ing att acked and lent his voice to Peter Gabriel, Sting and Yoko explains another doctor who occasionally works in the try. The streets and corners will never look the same. No one was more central to the hu- dedicated his short play ‘Catastro- Havel. In October 2003 he travel- Amnesty International in a num- Ono Lennon – who generous- local hospital. 14 But as long as the spirit of this revolution lives, I be- man rights aspect of this successful phe’ to Havel who was then in pri- by stnding up led to Dublin with his wife Dagmar ber of important campaigns. ly and unstintingly funded the Sierra Leone is, for all its faults, a fairly free country. lieve we’re building something together. It might be struggle in Europe over the past fi f- son. This was the only time Beckett to accept the Award at the hand When he died last year I was gre- entire cost of the project. This Not only was there a non-violent transition of power painful, but the chance to build our future is all we ty years than Vaclav Havel. ever dedicated a play to anyone. for the rights nd of another Irish Nobel Literature atly moved and impressed by the Sunday the tapestry is being un- aft er the previous elections but there is free press, vio- really want. His 1978 essay The Power of the Amnesty International, foun- Laureate, Seamus Heaney. In the outpouring of support from Czechs veiled at the airport in the pre- lations of electoral law are being dealt with, and att acks As told to Lucie Beranová Powerless was the strongest and ded in 1962, has always had a great priniples tht he award speech Heaney referred to of all ages and their call to rename sence of over a hundred of the against candidates of the opposition are investigated. clearest intellectual and literary ex- affi nity with artists and creative Havel as ’the Athenian of our ti- Prague Airport in his honour. I was late President’s closest friends Bill Shipsey And even though this year‘s election was won easily Razan Ghazzawi pose of the totalitarian communist people like Havel, who unders- fought, su ered nd mes, one for whom principles and delighted when the Government of and supporters. by the ruling APC party, the voting was mostly fair. ideology. tand bett er than most the impe- affections were sacrosanct, one the Czech Republic took the timely It is my hope that the tapest- He is the founder of Art for Amnesty, However, it’s also a fact that the government is keen to 15 A Syrian blogger, campaigner and activist, It had an enormous infl uence at rative of freedom of expression lived for. who, like Antigone, refused to be- decision to rename the airport in ry – ‘Vaclav’s Magic Carpet’ – will a global artist engagement programme get the ‘rubber stamp’ of a democratic country. That’s she has been highly involved in the 2011-2012 the time and was a source of in- in particular. In 2002 I founded tray a personal sense of transcen- March. I suggested to my Czech ar- continue to hang in the airport by Amnesty International. He initiated why it responds to all the EU‘s objections, even thou- Syrian uprising. She studied English literature spiration to many others in the Art for Amnesty with the aim of dent right and whose integrity the- tist friend Peter Sis that we might for many years to come and that and produced Amnestyˇs Ambassador of gh it seldom acts on them. Radio stations – the leading at Damascus University and Comparative Communist Bloc countries. Just as allowing artists to give ‘voice’ to reby served the res publica more create a commemorative work of Czechs will admire it and gaze Conscience Award, previously awarded news media in the country – elaborate on all the short- Literature at the University of Balamand. She Amnesty International has done in their support for Amnesty Inter- vitally and eff ectively than any plot art from his ‘fl ying man’ drawing upon it with pride and love for the to activists such as Vaclav Havel, Nelson comings that the EU points out, and citizens are left tweets as @RedRazan. relation to human rights abuses, national and the global struggle for or party.’ which appeared on the front page great man who was once among Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi or Peter with the impression of a regular democracy, in which Havel’s essay shone a bright light human rights. I wanted art to be Heaney went on to quote from of this newspaper on December them. We are unlikely to see his Gabriel. offi cials don’t intervene in electoral matt ers and each 16 on the reality of life under a com- for Amnesty and for Amnesty to the Chorus in Sophocles’ Antigone 23rd last year. like again but we can honour his candidate gets equal coverage in press. 16 VH www.iHNed.cz Sunday 9th December

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3 Living within the 4 truth is not just a protest or a let- ter w ritt en by a group of intellectuals. 5 It can be any means by which a person or a group revolts against manipulati- 6 on: anything from a lett er by intellec- tuals to a workers’ strike, from a rock 7 concert to a student demonstra- tion, from refusing to vote in the

8 farcical elections to making an open speech at some

9 offi cial congress, or even a hunger strike. 10

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Václav Havel POWER OF THE POWERLESS 1978 PHOTO: ARCHiV HN 16