DOCSLIB.ORG

Justice Vs Peace in Times of Transition

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Justice Vs Peace in Times of Transition Confronting Past Human Rights Violations This book examines what makes accountability for previous abuses more or less possible for transitional regimes to achieve. It closely examines the other vital goals of such regimes against which accountability is often balanced. The options available are not simply prosecution or pardon, as the most heated polemics of the debate over transitional justice suggest, but a range of options, from complete amnesty through truth commissions and lustration or purification to prosecutions. The question, then, is not whether accountability can be achieved, but what degree of accountability can be achieved by a given country. This book examines five countries’ experiences in detail—El Salvador, Honduras, Argentina, South Africa, and Sri Lanka—and offers a comparative survey of nearly 30 countries’ experiences. It discusses three factors that affect the accountability achieved: international or external influences, the balance of forces between civilians and the military and or government and opposition forces, and the extent and nature of previous rights abuses. The book also examines strategies of transition, trade-offs and compromises that regimes (and international actors assisting them) may make in an attempt to achieve greater accountability or greater stability. The focus is on the politics of transition: what makes accountability more or less feasible and what strategies are deployed by regimes to achieve greater accountability (or alternatively, greater reform). The result is a more nuanced understanding of the different conditions and possibilities that countries face, and the lesson that there is no one-size-fits-all prescription that can be handed to transitional regimes. Chandra Lekha Sriram is Lecturer in the School of International Relations at the University of St. Andrews, where she teaches international relations and international law, and human rights. She obtained her doctorate from Princeton University in 2000. THE CASS SERIES ON PEACEKEEPING ISSN 1367–9880 General Editor: Michael Pugh This series examines all aspects of peacekeeping, from the political, operational and legal dimensions to the developmental and humanitarian issues that must be dealt with by all those involved with peacekeeping in the world today. 1. Beyond the Emergency: Development within UN Missions edited by Jeremy Ginifer 2. The UN, Peace and Force edited by Michael Pugh 3. Mediating in Cyprus: The Cypriot Communities and the United Nations by Oliver P.Richmond 4. Peacekeeping and the UN Agencies edited by Jim Whitman 5. Peacekeeping and Public Information: Caught in the Crossfire by Ingrid A.Lehman 6. US Peacekeeping Policy under Clinton: A Fairweather Friend? by Michael MacKinnon 7. Peacebuilding and Police Reform edited by Tor Tanke Holm and Espen Barth Eide 8. Peacekeeping and Conflict Resolution edited by Oliver Ramsbotham and Tom Woodhouse 9. Managing Armed Conflicts in the 21st Century edited by Adekeye Adebajo and Chandra Lekha Sriram 10. Women and International Peacekeeping edited by Louise Olsson and Torunn L.Tryggestad 11. Recovering from Civil Conflict: Reconciliation, Peace and Development edited by Edward Newman and Albrecht Schnabel 12. Mitigating Conflict: The Role of NGOs edited by Henry F.Carey and Oliver P.Richmond 13. Ireland and International Peacekeeping 1960–2000: A Study of Irish Motivation Katsumi Ishizuka 14. Peace Operations after September 11, 2001 edited by Thierry Tardy iii 15. Confronting Past Human Rights Violations: Justice vs. Peace in Times of Transition Chandra Lekha Sriram Confronting Past Human Rights Violations Justice vs Peace in Times of Transition Chandra Lekha Sriram FRANK CASS LONDON and NEW YORK First published in 2004 in Great Britain by Frank Cass 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Frank Cass 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 © 2004 Chandra Lekha Sriram All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Sriram, Chandra Lekha, 1971– Confronting past human rights violations: justice vs. peace in times of transition/Chandra Lekha Sriram.—1st ed. p. cm.—(The Cass series on peacekeeping, ISSN 1367–9880; 14) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Truth commissions-Case studies. 2. Human rights-Case studies. 3. Crimes against humanity-Case studies. 4. War crimes-Case studies. 5. Government liability-Case studies. 6. Restorative justice-Case studies. 7. Amnesty-Case studies. I. Title. II. Series. JC580. S65 2004 323.4’9–dc22 2004002936 ISBN 0-203-31289-9 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-7146-5599-6 (Print Edition) Contents Preface vii Acknowledgements viii List of abbreviations x Introduction: Truth, justice, and accountability 1 1 What makes accountability possible? 21 2 Global experiences in transitional justice 40 3 El Salvador: ‘Negotiated revolution’ and the truth commission 82 4 Argentina: Struggle for accountability 112 5 Honduras: Justice in semi-transition 133 6 South Africa: The exchange of truth for justice 154 7 Sri Lanka: Justice in the midst of war 179 Conclusion: Compromises of transition 211 Bibliography 222 Index 235 Preface The basic questions that this book asks are ‘What makes accountability for past abuses more or less possible in transitional regimes that still face serious resistance from elements of the old regime?’ and ‘Against what other goals is accountability likely to be balanced?’ I begin with the continuum of possible outcomes: the options are not simply prosecution or pardon, as the most heated polemics of the debate over transitional justice might have us believe, but a range of options—from complete amnesty through truth commissions and lustration or purification to prosecutions. The question, then, is not whether or not accountability can be achieved, but what point on the accountability continuum can be achieved by a given country. I hypothesize that there are three factors that make accountability more or less feasible in a particular country: international/ external influences, the balance of forces between civilians and the military and or government and opposition forces, and the extent and nature of previous rights abuses. Then, as the relatively small literature that does address factors affecting accountability runs the risk of being too deterministic, I argue that there are also strategies of transition, trade-offs and compromises that regimes (and international actors assisting them) may make in an attempt to achieve greater accountability or greater stability. It is these last two practical aspects that the book emphasizes, articulating and investigating hypotheses about what makes accountability more or less feasible and what strategies can be deployed to achieve greater accountability (or, alternatively, greater reform). The result is a more nuanced understanding of the different conditions and possibilities that countries face, and the lesson that there is no one-size-fits-all prescription that can be handed to transitional regimes considering the legacy of the past. Acknowledgements A project of this size cannot be undertaken, much less completed, without the support of many people. I am grateful to my friends and colleagues, for support both intellectual and emotional, during the protracted development, research and editing of this book, and particularly to the support and advice provided by my advisers and dissertation committee. Any list is bound to be incomplete given the vast number of people who have contributed. Any errors of fact or judgement are, of course, my own. I would like to thank, first and foremost, my primary advisers, Professors Michael Doyle and Richard Falk of Princeton University. Their advice, criticism and encouragement continuously enabled me to refine my argument and consider novel theoretical approaches. I am also very indebted to two committee members who provided insights and helpful discussions nearer the completion of the project, Professor Gary Bass and Alexandra Barahona de Brito. The book has since benefited immeasurably from the comments of anonymous reviewers, and from my editors at Frank Cass, Sian Mills, Sally Green and Andrew Humphrys. Innumerable colleagues, in my department as well as around the world, have pushed me further, enabling me to think about my argument in new contexts, and with new frameworks. A special and heartfelt thanks is due to an extraordinary man and politician, Dr Neelan Tiruchelvam, whose graciousness and support were matched only by his dedication to human rights and reform in Sri Lanka. He was assassinated by an LTTE suicide bomber in 1999, and the world is much the poorer for the loss. I am also particularly
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Dân Chủ Và Xã Hội Dân Sự Dân Chủ : Chỉ Một Nhà Nước Dân Chủ Mới Tạo Ra Được Một Xã Hội Dân Sự Dân Chủ ; Chỉ Một Xã Hội
    0 | 402 TINH THẦN KHAI MINH QUYỂN Tủ sách Nhập môn Triết học Chính trị DÂN CHỦ VÀ XÃ HỘI DÂN SỰ 0 | 402 DÂN CHỦ VÀ XÃ HỘI DÂN SỰ --- Biên soạn: Minh Anh – Vi Yên [Nhóm Tinh Thần Khai Minh] 1 | 402 MỤC LỤC Lời nói đầu ........................................................................................3 Xã hội dân sự là gì? ............................................................................4 Xã hội dân sự ? ..................................................................................37 Sự phát triển của xã hội dân sự ..........................................................66 Một số quan niệm cổ điển về xã hội dân sự ........................................93 Xã hội dân sự hiện tại và tương lai .....................................................129 Con người dân chủ & xã hội dân sự ...................................................152 Xã hội dân sự có thể làm gì để phát triển dân chủ ..............................168 Xã hội dân sự và dân chủ tự do ..........................................................176 Xã hội dân sự và dân chủ ...................................................................192 Tính chính đáng từ bên trên và xã hội dân sự: Sự thay đổi văn hoá - chính trị ở Đông Âu ....................................................................................204 Xã hội dân sự ở Ba Lan và Hungary ...................................................265 Xã hội dân sự trong các chế độ cộng sản đang đổi mới .......................311 Hướng tới củng cố dân chủ................................................................368 2 | 402 LỜI NÓI ĐẦU Tủ sách “Nhập môn Triết học chính trị” là tủ sách nhập môn bàn về các chủ đề cơ bản trong lĩnh vực Triết học chính trị, do nhóm Tinh Thần Khai Minh sưu tầm, biên tập và chuyển ngữ từ các bài viết của các học giả trong và ngoài nước. Chúng tôi cám ơn Luật Khoa Tạp chí đã hỗ trợ và tạo điều kiện cho chúng tôi phát triển Tủ sách này.
    [Show full text]
  • “Neither Angel Nor Maggot: Adam Michnik on the Ethics of Resistance
    Joshua Cherniss Draft May 2010 “Neither Angel Nor Maggot: Adam Michnik on the Ethics of Resistance and Compromise 1 A frequent criticism of liberal political theory2 is that it deals with idealized abstractions, operating at a far remove from the realities of politics and the demands of political activity.3 A frequent criticism of liberal politics is that, if it is in inspiration naïve, it is in attitude complacent, and in practical effect conservative. However far liberal ideals point away from the status quo, liberalism, as a political tendency based on a theory of limited government, aspiring in theory to tolerance or “neutrality”, and most comfortable with a practice of compromise, simply cannot support, or even allow for, a transformational politics. And, even if this is not true of all forms of liberal politics, it is certainly a feature of that defensive, pessimistic tendency in liberal thought, which has been evident and intermittently prominent since liberalism's emergence in the reaction against the excesses of the French Revolution (in the work of Benjamin Constant and his fellow-travelers), and which re-emerged in the mid-twentieth century out of an encounter with radical political ideology.4 If these criticisms are to be believed, then liberal political theory has little of use to say about the ethical and strategic difficulties of political action in real, non-ideal situations; and to the extent that it does have something to say about these subjects, what it has to say is generally detrimental; and the insights of the defensive “liberalism of fear” is particularly detrimental to any politics that aims at far- reaching change.
    [Show full text]
  • Against Anti-Semitism. an Anthology of Twentieth-Century Polish Writings
    Pol-Int EDITED VOLUME Against Anti-Semitism. An Anthology of Twentieth-Century Polish Writings Published: 09.05.2019 Reviewed by M.A. Jonathan Zisook Edited by Dr. Markus Nesselrodt In this extremely timely publication, Adam Michnik and Agnieszka Marczyk present twenty-two essays on antisemitism and Polish-Jewish relations written by Polish intellectuals from the interwar period until the present. Originally an immense three-volume work published in Polish, Against Anti-Semitism: An Anthology of Twentieth- Century Polish Writings is a highly curated one volume selection of the "greatest hits" in English translation. [1] With the exception of four essays, which were previously available in English, the essays appear in English for the first time, having been expertly translated by Marczyk. Read together as a corpus of literature confronting historic antisemitism in Poland, the essays critically examine the causes and consequences of Europe's oldest and most pernicious form of hatred in Polish society. The editors open the volume with an informative historical introduction, which situates the discussion of Polish- Jewish relations within a historical continuum from the 19th century onwards. By doing so, Michnik and Marczyk enable general readers unfamiliar with Poland and its shifting sociopolitical and cultural contexts—the partitioning of Poland by the Austrian, Prussian, and Russian empires in the late 18th century, the reconstitution of independent Poland following World War I, German occupation during World War II, and the fall of Communism in 1989—to comprehend the peculiarities of the Polish case. Thus, Against Anti-Semitism "is an experiment in cultural transposition—an attempt to bring a long-standing internal Polish debate to audiences beyond Poland" (p.
    [Show full text]
  • Speak Truth to Power
    SPEAK KERRY KENNEDY TRUTH FOTOGRAFÍAS DE EDDIE ADAMS TO POWER DEFIENDE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS Material didáctico elaborado por el ROBERT F. KENNEDY CENTER FOR JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS Basado en el libro de KERRY KENNEDY Speak Truth to Power Incluye el guión de la obra de teatro de ARIEL DORFMAN Voces desde la oscuridad “TODO LO QUE NO QUEREMOS VER, TODO AQUELLO DE LO QUE HUIMOS, TODO LO QUE NEGAMOS, DENIGRAMOS O DESPRECIAMOS, ACABA VENCIÉNDONOS. EN CAMBIO, TODO LO QUE PARECE DURO, DOLOROSO O MALO PUEDE CONVERTIRSE EN UNA FUENTE DE BELLEZA, ALEGRÍA O FUERZA SI NOS ENFRENTAMOS A ELLO CON LA MENTE ABIERTA” RIGOBERTA MENCHÚ “EL ARMA MÁS POTENTE EN PODER DEL OPRESOR ES LA MENTE DEL OPRIMIDO” STEVE BIKO “LA PAZ, EN SU SENTIDO DE AUSENCIA DE GUERRA, NO TIENE MUCHO VALOR PARA ALGUIEN QUE ESTÁ MUERTO DE HAMBRE O DE FRÍO. NO ALIVIA EL DOLOR DE UN PRISIONERO TORTURADO. LA PAZ SÓLO TIENE SENTIDO CUANDO LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS SON RESPETADOS, CUANDO LA GENTE TIENE ALIMENTO, CUANDO LOS INDIVIDUOS O LAS NACIONES SON LIBRES” DALAI LAMA “SI NO TOMAS PARTIDO ANTE LAS SITUACIONES DE INJUSTICIA, YA ESTÁS DEL LADO DEL OPRESOR. SI UN ELEFANTE PISA CON SU PATA EL RABO DE UN RATÓN Y TÚ LE DICES QUE ERES NEUTRAL, SEGURO QUE EL RATÓN NO TE AGRADECE TU NEUTRALIDAD” DESMOND TUTU “A VECES PIENSO: ¿QUÉ ESTOY HACIENDO? NO GANO NADA CON ELLO Y NO PARECE MUY EFECTIVO PARA EVITAR EL SUFRIMIENTO A MI ALREDEDOR... PERO, SI ME DOY LA VUELTA Y LO DEJO, NO HABRÁ NADIE QUE LO INTENTE” KA HSAW WA “SON LOS INNUMERABLES ACTOS DE CORAJE Y FE LOS QUE MUEVEN LA HISTORIA HUMANA.
    [Show full text]
  • Memory, Politics and the “Populist” Moment
    Memory, Politics and the “Populist” Moment Kate Korycki University of Toronto Paper prepared for presentation at the Canadian Political Science Association (CPSA) annual meeting at Ryerson University, Toronto, May 30 - June 1, 2017. DRAFT Comments and questions are most welcome. Please direct them to [email protected] Korycki/CPSA 2017/ Draft - do not cite without permission. Introduction In 2015, Poland held legislative and executive elections. Both were won by the Law and Justice Party (PiS).1 Its victories ended an almost decade-long reign of PiS’s main adversary, the Civic Platform (PO),2 and they obliterated from legislature the third major player, the Democratic Left Alliance3 - and they were surprising. They were surprising because they brought to power a party, which claimed that communism was still a clear and present danger in Poland. Since the election, the PiS’s maneuvers and policies, especially those relating to the media and the judiciary, have been characterized as populist and authoritarian: threatening democracy and the rule of law. They prompted demonstrations and protests from the concerned Poles, alarms from foreign commentators, and rebukes from the EU (Garton Ash 2016, Duval Smith 2015a, and 2015b, Rankin 2016). In this paper I concentrate on PiS’s electoral moves, and I take the party’s charge of persisting communism seriously. I do this in an analytical, not a substantive, sense - that is, I do not give credence to the notion that communism rules Poland, but I track the political productivity of such a construction. In doing so I contribute to the understanding of the discursive mechanisms implicated in the contemporary iteration of the so-called populist moment.
    [Show full text]
  • Adam Michnik
    Adam Michnik Quiz! Course management notes 1. Today’s quiz is our LAST for the course. 2. We have big three assignments left for the course (in addition to the film-viewing and reading for our remaining classes). These are: 3. Your Poland question! It is due by the end of class on Thursday, 4/26. 4. Our Poland exam, which will take place in class on Thursday, 5/3 (the last day of classes for the semester). 5. Your Poland essay/project! Please see Assignments in Canvas for a description of the essay, a pdf on possible sources for it (we’ll emphasize a more traditional essay that uses secondary sources to analyze something about Poland in more depth than we’ve done in class), and the grading rubric. 6. Czechoslovakia essays are still being graded. Sorry, I haven’t had enough time! Please read the feedback that we’ve post. If you’d like to discuss your essay/grade with me, please email me. 7. A final note is that course evaluations will soon be active and you’ll receive an email about that. They are online. Please complete them! Note on the Poland module - It’s drive primarily by guest speakers, which means that some years, depending on the speakers, it’s not very coherent (we get pieces of the general puzzle but have a hard time seeing the big picture). 1 - This year, however, it has been very coherent: we’re looking at individual pieces of a large puzzle that we have a very clear picture of.
    [Show full text]
  • „Tygodnik Mazowsze” — Cudowne Dziecko Drugiego Obiegu
    DZIEJE NAJNOWSZE, ROCZNIK XLIV — 2012, 4 PL ISSN 0419–8824 Paweł Wierzbicki Kraków „Tygodnik Mazowsze” — cudowne dziecko drugiego obiegu Generał Wojciech Jaruzelski, obwieszczając Polakom 13 XII 1981 r., że „Rada Państwa w zgodzie z postanowieniami konstytucji wprowadziła [...] stan wojenny na obszarze ca- łego kraju”1, wymusił na środowiskach niezależnych zmianę dotychczasowego modelu funkcjonowania. W miarę upływu czasu sprowadzona do podziemia opozycja zaczęła więc tworzyć liczne zakładowe i regionalne struktury konspiracyjne z mającą charakter ogólno- polski i ukonstytuowaną w kwietniu 1982 r. Tymczasową Komisją Koordynacyjną na czele. Zajmowały się one między innymi pomocą dla represjonowanych oraz zwalnianych z pracy działaczy podziemia. Przede wszystkim jednak ich zadaniem było rozpowszechnianie ulotek oraz prowadzenie działalności agitacyjnej i prasowej. Miały stworzyć niezależny obieg infor- macji poprzez uruchomienie wolnych od cenzury mediów2. Bardzo ważne miejsce w tym procesie zajmował ruch wydawniczy, czyli drugi obieg, który badacze określają jako „tworzenie publikacji przez oficyny nie mające oficjalnego statusu prawnego, nie rejestrowane i nie posiadające zgody na druk i rozpowszechnianie”, oraz „kolportowanie ich poza siecią oficjalnych punktów sprzedaży”3. Zbigniew Bujak, już po upadku komunizmu, zjawisko to opisywał następująco: „Historia naszego podziemia to w znacznym stopniu historia prasy i naszych wydawnictw. Przy pomocy tych instrumen- 1 Ukonstytuowała się Wojskowa Rada Ocalenia Narodowego. Rada państwa wprowadziła stan wojenny na obszarze całego kraju. Przemówienie gen. Armii W. Jaruzelskiego, „Trybuna Ludu”, 14 XII 1981, nr 293/11611, s. 1. 2 Zob. M. Poleski [pseud. Czesława Bieleckiego; wszystkie pseudonimy wyjaśniono na podstawie Słownika pseudonimów pisarzy polskich, t. V: 1971–1995, red. D. Świerczyńska, Wrocław 1998], Jak zorganizowała się „Solidarność” w okresie stanu wojennego, „Tygodnik Mazowsze”, 1 VIII 1982, nr 23, s.
    [Show full text]
  • An Oral History Perspective on the Victim Hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa, 1996-1998
    REMEMBERING THE TRUTH: AN ORAL HISTORY PERSPECTIVE ON THE VICTIM HEARINGS OF THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION OF SOUTH AFRICA, 1996-1998 by MARIÉ MAGDALEEN OELOFSE submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree PHILOSOPHIAE DOCTOR in the FACULTY OF HUMANITIES (DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY) at the UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE BLOEMFONTEIN PROMOTER: PROF. S.L. BARNARD BLOEMFONTEIN: MAY 2007 I declare that the thesis hereby submitted by me for the Philosophiae Doctor degree in the Department of History at the University of the Free State, is my own independent work and has not previously been submitted by me at another university/faculty. I furthermore cede copyright of the thesis in favour of the University of the Free State. ……………….. M.M. Oelofse i TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ....................................................................................................................................... i-ix Chapter 1 TO REMEMBER AND TELL: THE NATURE OF ORAL HISTORY 1.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 DEFINING ORAL HISTORY ................................................................................................... 2 1.3 THE CURRENT STATUS OF ORAL HISTORY ................................................................. 8 1.4 ORAL HISTORY SHIFTS THE FOCUS AND TRANSFORMS THE CONTENT OF HISTORY .......................................................................................................13 1.5 THE PROCESS
    [Show full text]
  • Nowhere to Turn Report
    NOWHERE TO TURN: THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE FAILURE TO MONITOR HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN WESTERN SAHARA AND TINDOUF REFUGEE CAMPS NOWHERE TO TURN: THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE FAILURE TO MONITOR HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN WESTERN SAHARA AND TINDOUF REFUGEE CAMPS ROBERT F. KENNEDY CENTER FOR JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS 2 NOWHERE TO TURN: THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE FAILURE TO MONITOR HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATIONS IN WESTERN SAHARA AND TINDOUF REFUGEE CAMPS I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS The Sahrawi are the indigenous people of Western Sahara, who descended from Berber and Arab tribes.1 The following is a report on the human rights situation facing the Sahrawi people who reside in the disputed territory of Western Sahara under Moroccan control and in the Sahrawi refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria. Much of the information contained in this report is based on information gained from interviews and meetings during a visit to the region of an international delegation led by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights (RFK Center). For nearly 40 years, both the Kingdom of Morocco and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguía el Hamra and Río de Oro (POLISARIO Front) have claimed sovereignty over Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. After years of armed conflict, in 1991 the United Nations (UN) established the Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), a peacekeeping mission to oversee the cease-fire between the Kingdom of Morocco and the POLISARIO Front and to organize and ensure a referendum on self-determination. Today, 22 years after the establishment of MINURSO, the referendum has yet to take place.
    [Show full text]
  • Truth Telling in Eastern Europe: the Liberation and the Burden
    Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe Volume 11 Issue 4 Article 2 8-1991 Truth Telling in Eastern Europe: The Liberation and the Burden Walter Sawatsy Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree Part of the Christianity Commons, and the Eastern European Studies Commons Recommended Citation Sawatsy, Walter (1991) "Truth Telling in Eastern Europe: The Liberation and the Burden," Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 11 : Iss. 4 , Article 2. Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol11/iss4/2 This Article, Exploration, or Report is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TRUTH TELLING IN EASTERN EUROPE: THE LIBERATION AND THE BURDEN by Walter Sawatsky Dr. Walter Sawatsky (Mennonite) is a professor at the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart, Indiana. He is a former director of the European Office of the Mennonite Central Committee and travelled widely in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. He is the author of Evangelicals in the Soviet Union and a member of the advisory editorial board and regular contributor to OPREE. This was article was originally delivered as the Peace Lecture Series, Bethel College, November I 5, 1990. THE REVOLUTION OF THE WORD In Christian thought there is a close connection between word, truth, life, and freedom. John's Gospel begins with the claim that "in the beginning was the Word" and then identifies Jesus Christ as the Word, as God.
    [Show full text]
  • Adam Michnik, , Agnieszka Marczyk, Against Anti-Semitism. an Anthology of Twentieth- Century Polish Writings, Oxford: Oxford University Press 2018, ISBN 9780190624514
    Review of the publication: Adam Michnik, , Agnieszka Marczyk, Against Anti-Semitism. An Anthology of Twentieth- Century Polish Writings, Oxford: Oxford University Press 2018, ISBN 9780190624514 Reviewer: Jonathan Zisook M.A. Editor: Dr. Markus Nesselrodt Date of publication: 09.05.2019 DOI: 10.11584/opus4-738 In this extremely timely publication, Adam Michnik and Agnieszka Marczyk present twenty-two essays on antisemitism and Polish- Jewish relations written by Polish intellectuals from the interwar period until the present. Originally an immense three-volume work published in Polish, Against Anti-Semitism: An Anthology of Twentieth-Century Polish Writings is a highly curated one volume selection of the "greatest hits" in English translation. [1] With the exception of four essays, which were previously available in English, the essays appear in English for the first time, having been expertly translated by Marczyk. Read together as a corpus of literature confronting historic antisemitism in Poland, the essays critically examine the causes and consequences of Europe's oldest and most pernicious form of hatred in Polish society. The editors open the volume with an informative historical introduction, which situates the discussion of Polish-Jewish relations within a historical continuum from the 19th century onwards. By doing so, Michnik and Marczyk enable general readers unfamiliar with Poland and its shifting sociopolitical and cultural contexts—the partitioning of Poland by the Austrian, Prussian, and Russian empires in the late 18th century, the reconstitution of independent Poland following World War I, German occupation during World War II, and the fall of Communism in 1989—to comprehend the peculiarities of the Polish case.
    [Show full text]
  • Selections from the Conference, "Communism's Negotiated Collapse: the Polish Round Table Ten Years Later"
    Communism’s Negotiated Collapse: The Polish Round Table, Ten Years Later A Conference Held at the University of Michigan April 7-10, 1999 The following are excerpts from an English translation of the conference presentations. Not only were the complete presentations vastly more rich and complex than these snippets can possibly convey, but as with all excerpts, these reflect the personal interests of those doing the selecting. Readers are therefore strongly encouraged to refer to the complete transcript of the conference, which is available (both in Polish and English), at our website: <www.umich.edu/~iinet/PolishRoundTable>.1 PANEL ONE: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE POLISH ROUND TABLE Adam Michnik Lifelong activist for human rights, advisor to the Solidarity movement and negotiator for the opposition in the Round Table negotiations, historian and author Adam Michnik (b. 1946) has been Editor-in-Chief of the daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza since its inception in 1989. After being expelled from the University of Warsaw and imprisoned (1968-69) after the March protests of 1968, Michnik completed his degree in history at Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznań in 1975. He was a founding member of the Workers' Defense Committee (KOR) in 1977 and a lecturer in the "Flying University," an organization that brought intellectuals and worker activists together in unofficial seminars. Imprisoned again from 1981 to 1984 and from 1985 to 1986, Michnik continued to advocate democracy and civil society. Following the Round Table 1 All excerpts quoted below were transcribed and translated from Polish to English by Kasia Kietlinska except for those by László Bruszt, Dai Qing, John R.
    [Show full text]