Ruling Kurdish Parties Face Electoral Challenge From New Opposition Bloc

By Anthony Shadid
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, July 25, 2009

SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq -- It is election season in Iraq's Kurdish region, and the campaigning here was perhaps most remarkable for how ordinary it seemed.

Barham Salih, a veteran politician and candidate for the region's prime minister, jostled through the crowd. Whistles of his admirers pierced through blaring songs. Campaign posters offered generic pledges: "What we promise, we deliver." "It even involves kissing babies," Salih shouted, amid a gaggle of girls singing, "The flag of freedom is the flag of Kurdistan." "Kurdish politics have evolved," he added.

They have evolved, but possibly not in the way Salih was hoping. Voters in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq go to the polls Saturday to elect their president and 111-seat parliament. And the election may redraw the political map here. For the first time in a generation, the two ruling Kurdish parties face a real opposition, one that is emerging from within their ranks and is determined to hold the parties accountable.

Its success could mean the undoing of a formula that has made the Kurdish region an example of prosperity to the rest of a turbulent country: the exchange of plurality for stability.

Muhammad Tofiq calls it "a turning point."

A former leader of one of the parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the chain-smoking Tofiq is a candidate on the dissident list, known as Change. "Everybody needs change, and everybody feels they need to change the situation. If we don't change the system, then I think the system will collapse."

More than 500 candidates are running for parliament. Massoud Barzani, the incumbent president and head of the other ruling party, the Kurdish Democratic Party, faces five challengers. But the real tension is between Tofiq's Change list and the two ruling parties, which have agreed on a joint slate for the elections.

No one expects the ruling parties to lose their majority. In fact, the real contest may be largely in Sulaymaniyah, where the Patriotic Union, along with its dissidents, draws its greatest support. But many will be watching how many seats the Change list wins, as a barometer of the ruling parties' staying power and the discontent they must reckon with. More than 15 seats would be considered a victory for the opposition, analysts said.

"Every day they are getting more popularity," said Asos Hardi, a columnist and newspaper editor. "They're the big surprise of the election."

Politics is intimate here, with larger-than-life personalities. Tofiq and the Change list's founder, Nosherwan Mustafa, were longtime confidants and lieutenants of Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president and head of the Patriotic Union. At least six other Talabani colleagues have joined their defection.

Still, candidates of the Change list don't seem to differ all that much from the ruling parties in matters of high politics. Both sides endorse a secular Kurdish nationalism that has driven the movement since the days of Barzani's father, the legendary guerrilla leader Mullah Mustafa Barzani. But the burgeoning issues that are proving so dangerous to Iraq's stability -- a fight over a hydrocarbon law to share revenue and manage Iraq's sprawling reserves and negotiations over a disputed border between Kurdish and Arab Iraq -- seem peripheral in this contest. Although Change leaders urge negotiations with Baghdad, they focus more on domestic issues, namely the style of the two ruling parties. "Power corrupts," said Tofiq, who left the Patriotic Union in December 2006.

Even with the prosperity here, many seem disenchanted with entrenched corruption. Complaints are rife about unemployment, poor schools, a lack of housing, shortages of electricity and water, nepotism and the parties' interference in nearly all aspects of life.

"I want to change the dictatorship in my country," said Fareed Saeed, a 25-year-old supporter of the Change list, who gathered with friends in a noisy demonstration of support on a recent night in Sulaymaniyah. Under the watchful eye of police, cars festooned with Change banners blared horns as they careened through streets.

"If they don't respect us, there will be a problem," added a friend, Soran Ali.

Even in Irbil, the freewheeling Kurdish capital whose boom has come to represent the success of Kurdish policies, not everyone is content. "There are people in parliament who shouldn't be in parliament," said Halgurd Abbas, selling honeycombs near Irbil's historic citadel. "They're not serving the people."

Opposition figures seem convinced that the ruling parties will resort to fraud, and even government supporters say some vote rigging is possible.

If it is widespread, some opposition officials have threatened to unleash protests like those that recently shook Iran. But few think the ruling parties need to rig a vote that will almost assuredly deliver them a comfortable majority. As they point out, many of the Change leaders are architects of the system they now denounce -- an irony not lost on many voters. The parties also have the power of incumbency, drawing on their record in delivering Kurds from Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's repression to stability.

"It's true, there's discontent," Farhad Alaaldin, a businessman and supporter of the ruling parties, said as Salih shook hands and worked the crowd. Behind him fluttered banners for the parties' slate, the Kurdistan List. "But when it comes down to it," Alaaldin added, "the Kurdistan List has the most practical program to carry the country forward."

To Hardi, the editor, the contest is simply a modest first step.

"Democracy without challenge, without competition is nothing," he said. "I'm not saying the Change list is going to make Kurdistan a paradise. But I am talking about the real condition of democracy -- that is opposition, real opposition."

In Chicago, a University Initiative Rethinks Health Care

By Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 25, 2009

CHICAGO -- On the sprawling South Side of one of the nation's largest cities, the logic of health care is haphazard, at best. For tens of thousands of the working poor and the unemployed poorer, the concept of a regular doctor and easy access to affordable care is a fantasy.

Clinics are scattered and family doctors few. Too many patients get too little care until small problems become big ones. Others who are not very sick go straight to hospital emergency rooms, where the care is costly and the wait is often long.

To put it simply, there is no health-care system for the 1.1 million residents of Chicago's South Side, said Eric E. Whitaker, a physician and public health specialist who is leading an ambitious and controversial University of Chicago project to remake the delivery of care.

With moral support from close friends in the White House, Whitaker and his Urban Health Initiative team are trying to produce a major expansion of community care that will improve patient health and reduce costs -- goals central to President Obama's health-care reforms.

Obama, who traveled to Ohio last week to tout the Cleveland Clinic as a model of low-cost collaboration between nurses and doctors, hospitals and clinics, is well-versed in the Chicago experiment. Whitaker, a friend since they met at Harvard 20 years ago, is a frequent White House visitor and participated in the early health-care discussions. He told the City Club of Chicago in April: "I need your help. The president needs your help."

Whitaker was lured to his job as executive vice president of the University of Chicago Medical Center by Michelle Obama and by Valerie Jarrett. Obama, who launched the South Side Health Collaborative in 2005, was leading the hospital's outreach program and Jarrett, now a presidential adviser, chaired the medical center board.

On June 29, Michelle Obama announced $851 million in federal stimulus grants to upgrade community health centers, saying their work "has never been more important."

Described by Yale University professor Harlan M. Krumholz as the largest effort of its kind in the country, the Urban Health Initiative seeks to improve health and reduce reliance on emergency rooms by encouraging "medical homes" -- a clinic or doctor's office where patients can turn for routine needs and chronic conditions.

The initiative reinforces local institutions with university doctors and connects people to primary-care physicians and community hospitals. Success will require changes in expectations and behavior from patients and doctors, along with technology and shoe leather to make it happen and test what works -- and what doesn't.

'A System Where People Can Go'

If that sounds similar to the promise and peril of reforms being debated in Congress, it may be because Chicago's quandary is representative of the daunting dysfunction that defines the health industry in many other places.

"We have to create a system where people can go. It doesn't exist and we're trying to build it," said Whitaker, who worked for seven years in a South Side clinic and once ran the Illinois Public Health Department.

Whitaker, who spends much of his time negotiating with doctors, community groups, government officials and university skeptics, calls these the "very early" days in "a decade, two-decade experiment."

On the South Side, where distrust of the university is old, especially among African Americans, the urban health project and a broader hospital restructuring have drawn strong criticism. Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.), a former congressional opponent of Obama, requested an inquiry in May to determine whether the hospital is dumping some of its poorest patients to save money.

The Illinois College of Emergency Physicians warned hospital trustees in February that plans to shrink the emergency department as part of $100 million in budget cuts could compromise patient safety. The group said the university, which treats one in 10 South Side residents, appeared to be "shifting UCMC's responsibility to other community hospitals whenever possible."

"We aren't dumping patients. There's no evidence of that. We are trying to deploy resources more effectively," said hospital chief executive James L. Madara. One way to do that is by "making sure you match the expense of the platform to the need of the disease."

Many emergency room patients have ailments that could be treated effectively in clinics or in smaller hospitals that are eager for the business, Madara said. An appointment that costs $100 at a family doctor's office costs the hospital $1,100, but 27 percent of the patients say they have no regular doctor.

Much of the grumbling, Madara said, can be traced to the nature of change: "There is a resounding chorus of the following phrase: Health care in America doesn't work; don't change anything."

If this is a fight for change, Semeca Johnson is on the front lines. She bears the title of "patient advocate" when she reports to her desk near the emergency room. Her role is to redirect patients who do not need urgent care.

Some show up with pinkeye, a minor rash, an allergic reaction, a broken leg. Some need specialists or a new prescription. An elderly woman with pneumonia needs a hospital bed, but should it be provided by the University Medical Center, a major teaching hospital?

"We just don't have the capacity," Johnson said. On a recent summer morning, one person had been waiting 29 hours for a bed. Ten others had waited at least four hours to see a doctor.

Working the phones, Johnson redirected 15 patients who did not need immediate attention. Among them, five were reconnected with local doctors and five accepted future appointments with specialists.

Seeking a 'Behavior Change'

With the help of university money and doctors, the independent Friend Family Health Center, just five minutes north of the hospital, is expanding into the gap. Last year, the clinic recorded 45,000 patient visits. Managers expect to attract new patients from the emergency room and from two recently closed university-run clinics.

The center aims to persuade patients to return for routine visits and other care, although no-show rates are as high as 50 percent. "People are so used to going to the emergency department," said Laura Derks, the university's chief liaison to the community clinics. "The behavior change is really hard."

Farther south, the Urban Health Initiative is collaborating with the Chicago Family Health Center, a group of four clinics where patient numbers are rising. More than 40 percent of the roughly 20,000 patients -- 98 percent African American or Hispanic -- are uninsured.

To keep the lights on and pay the staff, the nonprofit center collects money from Medicaid and Medicare, as well as other federal grants, private fundraising and the university. A sliding-fee scale starts at $10 for a visit and lab study.

"It's all about providing care as close to home as we possibly can," spokeswoman Barbara Tieder said.

Kohar Jones, a University of Chicago family physician, spends four days each week at the clinics, which draw on 27 doctors and four dentists. She speaks of improvements such as patient awareness and clinic and hospital access, calling them a "shift in the way we perceive health and health care."

One conundrum is how to monitor the health of patients distant from the system.

Investigators hope to persuade the city to supply broadband lines to certain hard-to-reach households to see whether connectedness would improve health. The university is deploying doctors and medical students to staff clinics and undergraduates to work at help desks. Some medical school graduates who return to the community will receive a $40,000 annual bonus for four years.

One of the most nettlesome barriers is the shortage of family doctors, blamed in part on Medicaid's low reimbursement rate. Mishka Terplan, who oversaw a women's clinic recently closed by the university, said doctors sought about $1 million from Medicaid last year but collected $100,000.

Addressing Whitaker's project, Terplan said community clinics handling routine cases do not "provide better or worse care" than the university hospital. But he worries that patients could fall through the cracks and that some who need advanced care may not receive it.

Whitaker said the university will step in when "there is not capacity in the community." Mindful of how many are watching, he counseled patience: "The tale will be told five years from now, whether all the directions we're going will pay off in the ways I think they will."

Obama and members of Congress will not have the luxury of knowing how the experiment turns out before any legislation reaches his desk. Only the beginnings are clear.

Mail Volume Expected to Continue Decline; U.S. Postal Service Adapting Services

By Brigid Schulte
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 25, 2009

Dorothy and Andrew Yankanich moved into their $18,000 brick rambler in Wheaton in 1966 and soon began what would become a daily ritual: Walking across the street to the squat blue mailbox and dropping off bills, birthday cards, letters, catalogue orders and whatever else needed to be sent on its way. For 43 years, in rain and shine, through the raising of seven children, the friendly box they could see through their front window's lace curtains was always there.

Until, one day at lunchtime a week or so ago, it wasn't. Yankanich, 82, watched as postal workers hacked at the rusted bolts and hauled the box away for good.

Across the country, stalwart blue "collection boxes" like the one on Flack Street in Wheaton are disappearing. In the past 20 years, 200,000 mailboxes have vanished from city streets, rural routes and suburban neighborhoods -- more than the 175,000 that remain. In the Washington area alone, half the blue boxes that were on the streets nine years ago have been pulled up and taken to warehouses to molt in storage or be sold for scrap, leaving 4,071 mailboxes remaining in the District, Northern Virginia and the Maryland suburbs.

"It was a nice-looking box," sighed Dorothy Yankanich, 77, looking out on the empty concrete slab across the street. "That was my exercise. Going across the street with the mail every day."

Although some communities have mounted protests -- angry customers in one Maine town planted a snowplow and backhoe in front of a threatened mailbox -- the vanishing boxes are only the most visible sign that something fundamental is changing in the way Americans communicate. The boxes are disappearing because most of us, unlike the Yankaniches, no longer use the mail as we used to.

The U.S. Postal Service says it removes "underperforming" mailboxes -- those that collect fewer than 25 pieces of mail a day -- after a week-long "density test." Snail mail is a dying enterprise because Americans increasingly pay bills online, send Evites for parties and text or give a quick call on a cellphone rather than write a letter.

Combine the impact of new technologies with the gut punch of the recession, and in the past year alone, the Postal Service has seen the single largest drop-off in mail volume in its 234-year history, greater even than the decline from 1929 to 1933 during the Great Depression. That downward trend is only accelerating. The Postal Service projects a decline of about 10 billion pieces of mail in each of the next two years, going from a high of 213 billion pieces of mail in 2006 to 170 billion projected for 2010.

The situation is so dire that the Postal Service, which is projecting a $6 billion shortfall by the end of September despite a recent postage rate increase, will go to Congress this month to seek emergency relief, looking to cut home mail delivery from six days a week to five. Already, the Postal Service has cut hours at hundreds of post offices across the country, including 56 of the Washington area's 386 outlets. It has consolidated routes, dropping 158 delivery routes locally, offered workers early retirement and imposed hiring and salary freezes. Still, said Postmaster General John E. Potter, the service is in "acute financial crisis."

"We're like air," said Postal Service spokeswoman Deborah Yackley. "People just take it for granted that we're always going to be there. Well, if you want to keep your collection box, would you mail a letter, please!"

Back when the Yankaniches were courting, the world was different. They met in 1952 at a turnpike diner in Pennsylvania when Andrew Yankanich, a World War II veteran, was on furlough. They knew each other all of two weeks before he shipped out. So they wrote each other while the U.S. Navy sent him around the globe. "That correspondence went on for two years," he said. "You can't imagine how exciting mail call was every time we hit port." On the strength of what they wrote in those letters, the couple married when he returned and have stayed together for 56 years.

Even now, Yankanich buys a stack of cards every month to mail to family and friends with birthdays and anniversaries coming up. He has a computer and could pay his bills online, but Dorothy doesn't know how to. They're the kind of people who have always known their mailman's first name and leave him presents at Christmas.

But other than holiday cards, they rarely get letters anymore. "A lot our age is gone," Dorothy said. And they were the ones who wrote.

It's not just first-class mail that is migrating to the Web. Junk mail -- the bank offers and ads that often make up most of the day's mail -- has fallen precipitously as businesses follow consumers online. "If you go to banks, they will tell you point-blank that their first priority is to get the hell out of the mail," said Gene Del Polito, president of the Association for Postal Commerce, a trade organization that represents commercial mailers. "These people already see where the change is going."

The Postal Service is valiantly trying to keep up with the times. Customers can buy stamps at grocery stores or online; the system's Web site lets users print out mailing labels and order boxes that the Postal Service will pick up at your door and ship for one price, regardless of weight. "We want people to say, 'Hey, I can turn my home into a post office,' " said Bob Bernstock, president of mailing and shipping services at the Postal Service. "We need to evolve because the way people are communicating has evolved."

These days, children may receive birthday cards from Grandmom, but rarely send them. If there's any thrill left in the mail, it tends to come from things we order, like movies from Netflix, magazines and stuff we buy online. Internet commerce, once expected to save the post office's future, is an important part of the system's revenue, but comes nowhere near making up for dollars lost from the sheer decline in mail volume.

The mail at most front doors now holds few magical surprises such as letters with an international stamp or scented declarations of love, said Nancy Pope, a curator at the Smithsonian's Postal Museum. "Mail is just not as deeply emotional anymore," she said. "We don't have the 'Oh my God, the mail's here!' moments anymore."

Birth announcements and wedding invitations still lend the mail an air of excitement, but consider this: When Rebecca Brodie, 25, a Fairfax County schoolteacher, mails out 175 invitations to her December wedding, instead of including a response card with an envelope and stamp, she will ask guests to RSVP by e-mail.

"We kind of got a little flak for it from the invitation person," Brodie said. But with lots of international family and grandparents who regularly e-mail, she and her fiance decided to save on postage. "Maybe only five out of the 300 people we're inviting don't use the Internet."

Andrew Yankanich still intends to use the mail. His letter carrier told him he can leave his bills in his personal green plastic mailbox next to his front door and flip up the little red flag. So it's no hardship that they've taken away the blue mailbox across the street. It's just, he says, something he'll miss.

Obama Voices Regret to Policeman

By Michael A. Fletcher and Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, July 25, 2009

President Obama, attempting to quell a mushrooming racial controversy that threatened to eclipse his top domestic initiative, expressed regret Friday for saying that police "acted stupidly" by arresting black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his home near Harvard University.

Making a surprise appearance before reporters at the White House, Obama said that he had unwittingly fanned smoldering racial resentment with his response to a question at a news conference Wednesday night. The president said he conveyed that sentiment in a five-minute telephone call to Sgt. James Crowley, the police officer who arrested Gates after being called to the Harvard professor's home to check out a suspected burglary.

"I want to make clear that in my choice of words I think I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge Police Department or Sergeant Crowley specifically -- and I could have calibrated those words differently," Obama said. "And I told this to Sergeant Crowley."

The Wednesday comment had become politically costly for the nation's first African American president, who has sought to cast himself as a clear-eyed arbiter of the nation's racial divisions.

That image was challenged once before, in a controversy surrounding another Obama friend. When the racially charged sermons of the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. became a lightning rod, candidate Obama gave a rare speech that directly addressed the country's racial wounds, and he cast aside Wright, someone he had once called a father figure.

This week, as a growing clamor from conservative critics and police representatives painted Obama as siding with his friend Gates in a battle with the police in Cambridge, Mass., Obama moved swiftly to remove himself as a combatant.

The president said he continues to think the arrest was an "overreaction" by the officer, but he said Gates "probably overreacted as well."

"My sense is you've got two good people in a circumstance in which neither of them were able to resolve the incident in the way that it should have been resolved," Obama said, adding that he hoped the controversy would become a "teachable moment" for improving racial understanding.

Though he tried to remove the bite from his earlier statement, Obama described an uneasy relationship between African Americans and law enforcement.

"Because of our history, because of the difficulties of the past, you know, African Americans are sensitive to these issues," said Obama, who sponsored legislation to track the racial breakdown of drivers stopped by police when he was an Illinois state senator. "And even when you've got a police officer who has a fine track record on racial sensitivity, interactions between police officers and the African American community can sometimes be fraught with misunderstanding."

But the president rejected the notion that, as Crowley said Thursday, he was wrong to take a position on the incident. Any president, he insisted, has a responsibility to contribute constructively to the discussion of racial discord, which he called "a troubling aspect of our society."

"There are some who say that as president I shouldn't have stepped into this at all because it's a local issue. I have to tell you that that part of it I disagree with," he said. "Whether I were black or white, I think that me commenting on this and hopefully contributing to constructive -- as opposed to negative -- understandings about the issue is part of my portfolio."

The controversy has become a lesson for Obama's young presidency, reminding him of the raw sensitivities surrounding race and its ability to distract. Determined not to let the issue distract from the discussion of health care, his top domestic priority, Obama moved within 48 hours from shrugging off the controversy surrounding his comments to coming before the cameras to recalibrate them.

From the moment the word "stupidly" slipped through Obama's lips Wednesday night, debate over Gates's arrest became a polarizing national issue. Obama's top advisers said the president quickly became aware that his words had been received in a way he had not intended.

"We all read the newspapers," said David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Obama. "It was obvious from [Thursday] morning on that this discussion had taken on a life of its own."

The morning after the news conference, conservative blogs and police union representatives pummeled the president for not being more supportive of law enforcement. At first, the White House was publicly dismissive of the controversy.

In an interview with ABC News's "Nightline" on Thursday, Obama defended his words, saying that he was surprised at the controversy they had stirred. "I thought it was a pretty straightforward commentary that you probably don't need to handcuff a guy, a middle-aged guy who uses a cane, who's in his own home," he said.

On Thursday, just hours before Obama spoke to reporters, press secretary Robert Gibbs said the president had not made any attempt to talk to Gates, Crowley or anyone else involved in the case.

"If he realized how much of a overall distraction and obsession it would be, I think he would probably regret distracting you guys with obsessions," Gibbs said.

He added: "I think he's said what he's going to say on this."

Aides would not say what finally convinced Obama to revisit the issue.

Shortly after Gibbs's remarks, police officers in Cambridge denounced the president's statement and demanded an apology in a news conference carried live on cable news channels. Dennis O'Connor, president of the Cambridge Police Superior Officers Association, said the Cambridge police "deeply resent the implication" that race was a factor in the decision to take Gates into custody.

"The president used the right adjective but directed it to the wrong party," O'Connor said.

Axelrod hinted that the police news conference at least in part prompted Obama's remarks.

"We live in a dynamic world. You can see issues evolving and how they are evolving. He was well aware of that," Axelrod said. "His reaction is: 'You know what? Let's deal with it. Let's confront it.' "

It was not the first time that Obama has been forced to quell a public relations storm he created with comments that, in retrospect, seemed less than well considered. Early in his term, he said huge bonuses awarded to executives by companies that had taken bailout money were "shameful" and "the height of irresponsibility."

But when his words helped fuel a congressional effort that almost resulted in legislation banning bonuses, Obama quickly moved to tamp down the criticism.

In March, he drew criticism for jokingly invoking the Special Olympics in describing his bowling skills to Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show."

On Friday, Obama said he and Crowley had talked about "having a beer" at the White House with Gates. Later in the day, he called Gates and invited him to join them.

"I think the president is doing the right thing by trying to lower the temperature in this matter and trying to make sure that this leads to an opportunity for constructive dialogue," said Charles Ogletree, Gates's attorney and a friend and confidant to Obama.

Ogletree said: "I don't think that Skip drinks beer, but I think he would welcome the invitation."

US Corruption Arrests Shock Jewish Community

By Victoria Cavaliere New York 24 July 2009

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The arrests of more than 40 prominent politicians and Jewish leaders in New Jersey and New York on corruption and money laundering charges have sent shockwaves through the close-knit Syrian Jewish community there.

Federal investigators in New Jersey announced Thursday they had arrested more than 40 people, including public officials charged with corruption. Charges against others included international money laundering, selling counterfeit goods, and the black-market sale of human organs.

Acting US Attorney Ralph Marra Jr. speaks at a news conference with Newark division special agent in charge Weysan Dun (R), 23 Jul 2009, Newark, N.J.

In addition to three mayors, officials arrested five influential rabbis from New Jersey and the New York borough of Brooklyn.

"They used purported charities, entities supposedly set up to do good works, as vehicles for laundering millions of dollars in illicit funds. The rings were international in scope, connected to the city of Deal, New Jersey, Brooklyn, New York, Israel and Switzerland," said Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra about the money-laundering scheme.

The rabbis are accused of using their congregations' charitable organizations to launder about $3 million by passing money from alleged illicit activity through their charities' bank accounts. The FBI said the rabbis then kept about 10 percent for themselves.

All of the rabbis come from the close-knit and wealthy Sephardic Jewish communities of southern New Jersey and Brooklyn - and the arrests have put the spotlight on a usually quiet community.

Rabbi Saul Kassin (C) leaves federal court in Newark, N.J., 23 Jul 2009

One of the rabbis arrested, Saul Kassin, is considered the leading cleric of the U.S. Sephardic community, comprised of families that emigrated mostly from the Middle East, Syria in particular, following the formation of the state of Israel in 1948.

Rabbi Kassin leads the largest Sephardic synagogue in the United States, Shaare Zion in Brooklyn, and has written books on Jewish law.

Members of the community have expressed shock and disbelief over the allegations against Rabbi Kassin. Many have been reluctant to speak publicly. One member of Shaare Zion, Ezra Kassin, told reporters he did not believe the charges.

He's just a very honorable person. I can't believe it, I don't believe it. Whatever they want to say, it's hogwash," he said.

Authorities said an FBI "cooperating witness" helped federal investigators gather evidence in the case. Media reports said he was arrested in 2006 for bank fraud.

FBI agent Weysan Dun said the probe seeks to root out corruption in New Jersey, wherever it is found.

"This case is not about politics. It is certainly not about religion. It is about crime, corruption, arrogance. It is about a shocking betrayal of the public trust," he said.

The FBI said the two-year probe is part of a wider investigation into political corruption and money laundering that started 10 years ago.

Mauritanian Political Landscape Changed after Presidential Election

By Anne Look Nouakchott, Mauritania 25 July 2009

Voters outside Maurtiania's capital wait to cast their ballots in an election meant to restore constitutional rule following last year's coup, 18 Jul 2009

Mauritania's National Assembly President Messaoud Ould Boulkheir did not win the recent presidential election, but he did not exactly lose either. As the new de-facto leader of the opposition, he will have a tough time luring support away from the former general who led a coup against the country's first freely elected leader and went on to win the recent presidential election.

Boulkheir garnered more votes than long-time opposition leader Ahmed Ould Daddah, who was competing in his last presidential race. Under Mauritanian electoral law, Daddah will be too old to run in the next election.

But with just over 16 percent of the vote, Boulkheir was far behind former general Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who won more than 50 percent of the vote in a field of nine candidates, making a second round unnecessary. The two opposition leaders had vowed to support each other if the vote had gone to a second round. While the opposition claimed the election was fraudulent, Mauritania's Constitutional Council validated the results, and observers from the African Union and the Arab League say the vote was fair.

Boulkheir will have a tough challenge if he hopes to lead the opposition to victory in the next presidential election.

Boulkheir gained respect from the international community for his steadfast opposition to last August's coup and his role in negotiating the Dakar accord that paved the way for the election. During the campaign, he pledged to combat voter fraud in a spirit of non-violence and democracy.

"We will go through democratic channels and protest democratically. If we encounter violence, we are ready to suffer that violence," he says. "We are ready to die for our convictions."

Born to slave parents, the 66-year-old politician rose through the ranks of civil service to become head of his party, president of the National Assembly and a crusader in the fight to end slavery in Mauritania. His slave mother was almost beaten to death by her master, before French authorities intervened and helped the family escape to freedom.

Though slavery was abolished in 1980, many say it is still practiced in the more traditional, far-flung regions of the country. Boulkheir had vowed that, if elected, he would bring existing slave holders to justice.

Though he had finished fourth in two previous presidential elections, opposition to the coup expanded his traditional support base from his fellow Haratines, or former slaves, to the country's white Arab and black African populations, making him a major contender in this race.

On the last day of campaigning, Boulkheir held a large rally in Nouakchott, the capital, bringing together his long-time supporters and those who had recently joined his camp.

This supporter said Boulkheir could be the president of all Mauritanians, the president who could bring progress to the country. "He's the Mauritanian Obama," she said, referring to the U.S. president. She said Boulkheir was the candidate of change, peace and national unity.

So, why didn't Boulkheir do better in the election?

Political analyst Mohamed Vall Ould Oumer says that, in reaching out to broaden his base, Boulkheir lost his traditional supporters, the more than half a million former slaves who make up one fifth of the country's population.

Oumer says that Boulkheir ignored everyday concerns like food prices, wastefulness and the redistribution of wealth. Oumer says that, in response to Abdel Aziz' claim that he was the "President of the Poor," Boulkheir said he was the president of the rich and the poor. That was a trap, Oumer says, and Messoud fell into it.

Oumer says the only card Boulkheir has left to play is the threat he could pose in the next presidential election by rebuilding his base and championing democratic change.

In the Future, the Cost of Education will be Zero

The average cost of yearly tuition at a private, four-year college in the US this year was $25,143, and for public schools, students could expect to pay $6,585 on average for the 2008-09 school year, according to the College Board. That was up 5.9% and 6.4% respectively over the previous year, which is well ahead of the national average rate of inflation. What that means is that for many people, college is out of reach financially. But what if social media tools would allow the cost of an education to drop nearly all the way down to zero?

Of course, quality education will always have costs involved — professors and other experts need to be compensated for their time and efforts, for example, and certain disciplines require expensive, specialized equipment to train students (i.e., you can’t learn to be a surgeon without access to an operating theater). However, social media can drastically reduce much of the overhead involved with higher education — such as administrative costs and even the campus itself — and open source or reusable and adaptive learning materials can drive costs down even further.

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The University of the People

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One vision for the school of the future comes from the United Nations. Founded this year by the UN’s Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technology and Development (GAID), the University of the People is a not-for-profit institution that aims to offer higher education opportunities to people who generally couldn’t afford it by leveraging social media technologies and ideas.

The school is a one hundred percent online institution, and utilizes open source courseware and peer-to-peer learning to deliver information to students without charging tuition. There are some costs, however. Students must pay an application fee (though the idea is to accept everyone who applies that has a high school diploma and speaks English), and when they’re ready, students must pay to take tests, which they are required to pass in order to continue their education. All fees are set on a sliding scale based on the student’s country of origin, and never exceed $100.

Right now, the University only teaches two courses, information technology and business administration, which school founder Shai Reshef says are the two most useful degrees for finding a job around the world. Of course, the school is not yet accredited and can’t yet confer degrees, but applying for proper accreditation is planned.

Each week, students log onto to the school’s web site to attend a lecture, following which they can discuss the subject matter with other students (asynchronously due to time differences), download course materials, get help from other students or volunteer professors, or take tests to advance to the next course unit. Tests will be automatically graded, or peer-reviewed by multiple other students.

“It’s not for everyone,” said Reshef at an education event earlier this year. “You need to know English, you need to have a computer… our assumption [is that the students will be from] the upper end of the lower class or the lower end of the middle class… it’s people who almost made it… who could have been at the university but missed their chance.”

The administration of US President Barack Obama is reportedly also considering the merits of establishing a free online university. According to draft discussion documents obtained by Inside Higher Ed in June, the administration has had high level discussions about creating courses aimed at community college attendees that would be delivered online for free. According to the report, the government is considering a $50 million per year budget to “pay for (and own) courses that would be free for all, as well as setting up a system to assess learning in those courses.”

“According to the draft materials from the administration, the program would support the development of 20-25 “high quality” courses a year, with a mix of high school and community college courses. Initial preference would go to “career oriented” courses. The courses would be owned by the government and would be free for anyone to take. Courses would be selected competitively, through peer review, for support. And the courses would be “modular” or “object based” such that they would be “interoperable” and could be offered with a variety of technology platforms.” — Inside Higher Ed

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A College Education for Free: OpenCourseWare

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In April 2001 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology proposed something unheard of in the pages of the New York Times. They said that they would begin putting their entire course catalog — some 2,000 courses — online, for free, over the course of an ambitious ten year initiative at the cost of up to $100 million. The following year, in October 2002, the first fifty courses went up on their OpenCourseWare site. Nearly 7 years later, MIT is nearing its goal, with about 1,900 free courses available through the OpenCourseWare program, and materials now routinely posted on other social media sites, including YouTube (), Flickr (), and iTunes U.

In fact, the OpenCourseWare initiative (or its ideas) has spread to over 200 institutions of higher education around the world, including Yale (not technically OCW, but the same idea), Nortre Dame, Tufts, and the Stanford School of Engineering (also not technically OCW).

OpenCourseWare doesn’t confer degrees, but it allows anyone to audit classes at some of the world’s most prestigious institutes of higher education for only the cost of bandwidth. However, because OpenCourseWare course materials are released under a Creative Commons license that essentially allows for the materials to be shared and remixed for non-commercial purposes with attribution, it’s easy to imagine that they could someday be used by institutions like the University of the People or Obama’s theoretical online community college as part of a degree granting program.

Of course, OpenCourseWare isn’t free — or even cheap. Stanford estimates that the cost of putting courses online runs between $10,000 and $15,000 per course — and courses with video content cost twice that. However, beyond the initial outlay to get the courses created and put online, the price of delivering them to the public is only the cost of bandwidth, which is close to free.

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A Radical Idea: Free Textbooks

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According to the College Board, the average cost of textbooks and supplies for a college student attending a four-year college in the US is $1,077. But what if textbooks were free? What if printed course materials were made open and available online at no charge? How would that change the game?

The Wikibooks project, which began in 2003, aims to create open source, CC-licensed textbooks written by volunteers. The site now contains over 38,000 pages of free textbooks, but unfortunately many of the books remain incomplete. Like Wikipedia (a more well-known project from the same foundation), entries are only completed as volunteers have time, and quality assurance is potentially spotty.

Perhaps a more sustainable model is Flat World Knowledge, which offers free, CC-licensed textbooks and study materials, but charges a fee for paper copies. The Flat World Knowledge books are written by expert authors that have been vetted by the company and generally have advanced degrees, are professors, or have practical experience in their field. The books are licensed under the same permissive Creative Commons license as the OpenCourseWare materials.

Flat World Knowledge books are currently in use at a number of universities, including Eastern Michigan University, the University of Rhode Island, the State University of New York system, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Sam Houston State University, and others.

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Conclusion

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The marginal cost of education is being driven toward zero due to social media and innovative approaches to online learning like OpenCourseWare, Flat World Knowledge, and the University of the People. That’s because the nature of information is such that it can be created once at cost and distributed and consumed over and over again for free.

“Knowledge is, as the economists say, a non-rival good,” wrote venture capitalist Brad Burnham in May. “If I eat an apple, you cannot also eat that same apple; but if I learn something, there is no reason you cannot also learn that thing. Information goods lend themselves to being created, distributed and consumed on the web. It is not so different from music, or classified advertising, or news.”

So in the future, the cost of education might be free, or nearly free, which could just level the playing field.

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More social media resources from Mashable:

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- 10 Ways Universities Share Information Using Social Media
- 10 Ways to Use Social Media to Pick a College
- 10 Ways Universities Are Engaging Alumni Using Social Media
- 10 Ways Journalism Schools Are Teaching Social Media

Chechen Separatist in Rare Talks

A Chechen separatist envoy and a regional government representative say they have held talks on bringing stability to the south Russian region.

The prime minister of the government-in-exile, Akhmed Zakayev, and Dukuvakha Abdurakhmanov, chairman of the Chechen parliament, said they had met in Oslo.

Mediators said the talks were the first between the two sides in eight years.

Russian forces have fought two wars against separatists in the mainly Muslim republic since 1994.

The conflicts claimed more than 100,000 lives and left it in ruins.

Mr Zakayev represents the separatists' political wing, not the military wing that is leading the insurgency in Chechnya.

He said the two sides had "discussed political issues being solved not by force but by political means".

"I would like to express delight that this has taken place," he added. "I'm strongly convinced every Chechen person should be well aware of the processes taking place, and should take part in them."

“ This meeting has been authorised not only by [Chechen President Ramzan] Kadyrov himself... It has been happening in perfect co-ordination with the highest leadership in the Kremlin ”
Ivar Amundsen Chechnya Peace Forum

Mr Abdurakhmanov meanwhile said the talks had centred on "the total political stabilisation of the Chechen Republic and the final consolidation of Chechen society".

Norwegian mediator Ivar Amundsen, the director of the human rights group, Chechnya Peace Forum, said it was the first time there had been "a serious political dialogue between the Russian-installed regime in Chechnya and the government-in-exile".

"This meeting has been authorised not only by [Chechen President Ramzan] Kadyrov himself... It has been happening in perfect co-ordination with the highest leadership in the Kremlin," he said, adding that further talks would be held in London in 10 days' time.

Six months ago, Mr Kadyrov declared that political normalisation could not be achieved without the involvement of Mr Zakayev.

He repeated the offer of reconciliation last month, telling Russian television that there would be no point in imprisoning him and that he would like the former actor to play a role in reviving Chechen culture.

When asked on Friday if he would take up offer, Mr Zakayev told BBC Russian: "I will definitely return to the Chechen Republic and there are no conditions that I would impose on this."

Spreading insurgency

Mr Zakayev was a leading rebel in Chechnya until 2000, but fled and sought asylum in the UK when Russia regained control.

In 2003, a British court rejected Moscow's request for his extradition on kidnapping and murder charges, saying that there was substantial risk of him being tortured by the authorities.

Two years ago, Mr Zakayev declared himself prime minister of the rebel Republic of Ichkeria after the President, Doku Umarov, described Western countries as the enemies of all Muslims, and announced his intention to install shariah across the region.

Any statement of support from him for the Kremlin-backed government in Chechnya would aid Moscow, analysts say.

Chechnya has in recent years been more peaceful. In April, President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the end of a decade-long "counter-terrorism operation", intended to pave the way for the withdrawal of thousands of troops.

But since then several attacks have taken place. Earlier this month, two police officers and two soldiers were killed in a gun battle with militants in southern Chechnya.

Fighting has also spread to neighbouring Dagestan and Ingushetia, where correspondents say a violent Islamist insurgency is growing.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/8167526.stm

Published: 2009/07/24

China Launches Arabic TV Channel

By Michael Bristow
BBC News, Beijing

China is launching an Arabic-language TV channel to show the Middle East and North Africa the "real" China.

China Central Television's station will broadcast news, entertainment and cultural programmes 24 hours a day.

It is part of the Chinese government's plan to promote its own viewpoints by encouraging state-controlled media organisations to go global.

Beijing, while saying that some foreign broadcasters misrepresent China, tightly restricts its own media.

'Distorted views'

"It is imperative for us to be a multi-language, multi-faceted and multi-perspective broadcaster," said Zhang Changming, vice-president of CCTV.

Speaking at a launch event, he added: "[We hope] the world can know China and China can know the rest of the world even better."

CCTV already has four international channels that broadcast in English, French and Spanish, as well as Chinese.

The new Arabic channel will be accessible for nearly 300 million people in 22 Arabic-speaking countries from 25 July.

“ CCTV will present the world with the real China ”
Zhang Changming Vice-president, CCTV

The broadcaster declined to comment on how much the channel was costing and how many viewers it is hoping to attract.

It will have an initial staff of about 80 and is being fronted by Arabic-speaking Chinese presenters.

Mr Zhang made it clear that the aim was to counter some of the "distorted" views about China that are put out by a number of foreign broadcasters.

"Our principle is to be real, to be objective, to be accurate and transparent. CCTV will present the world with the real China," he said.

He did not mention that Chinese media outlets are routinely censored by the government and face tight restrictions about what stories they can cover.

Expansion plans

CCTV also plans to launch a Russian-language channel in September and is not the only Chinese media organisation to have expanded.

In April the Chinese-language Global Times newspaper launched an English edition with the aim of promoting Chinese people's views to foreigners.

China has long complained about what it says are biased and unfair reports about the country carried by foreign media outlets.

There was a government-backed campaign against the "prejudiced" foreign media last year following the unrest in Tibet, which led to death threats to some foreign correspondents based in China.

But China is not the only country broadcasting to the Middle East. Last year the UK's BBC launched its own publicly funded Arabic TV channel.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/8166486.stm

Published: 2009/07/25

Indonesia Poll Result Challenged

One of the defeated candidates in Indonesia's presidential election is to challenge the result, a spokesman says.

Former president Megawati Sukarnoputri believed that there were "unresolved legal issues" over the vote, said her party spokesman Gayus Lumbuun.

Mrs Megawati secured 26.8% of the vote, compared to incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's 60.8%.

A spokesman for the third candidate, Vice-President Jusuf Kalla, has said he will challenge the voter lists.

Mr Kalla received 12.4% of the vote in the 8 July poll.

Mrs Megawati boycotted the formal announcement of results from the election commission on Saturday.

"Because there are still unresolved legal issues, we are rejecting the presidential election results from the KPU (election commission)," Gayus Lumbuun said.

He said the campaign would lodge a challenge with the Constitutional Court.

Profile: Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Profiles: Indonesia poll candidates

Both defeated candidates had alleged that the voter lists were flawed in the run-up to the elections, amid claims that duplicate names and those of dead people were appearing on the electoral rolls.

A spokesman for Mr Kalla, meanwhile, said that he would appeal over the voter list issue, but had not yet decided whether to accept the official results, AFP reported.

Indonesia's poll watchdog acknowledged the problems.

Election Supervisory Body chief Nur Hidayat Sardini said that "there were many violations", but said the polls were "considered a success".

Mr Yudhoyono said the candidates had the right to an appeal.

He was elected president in 2004 and Indonesians have, correspondents say, been impressed by his ability to manage the economy and clamp down on corruption.

Many see him as someone who has turned the economy around and brought much-needed stability and security to the country.

Holding the Line

by Meghan Rhoad

July 20, 2009

Related Materials:

Detained and Dismissed

Other Material:

http://www.ontheissuesmagazine.com

Policymakers would do well to bring the same commitment to defending our principles that they have brought to defending our borders.

Meghan Rhoad, US Researcher in the Women's Rights Division

As a feminist and as an American working on immigration policy, I have a clear line in the sand when it comes to the treatment of women who immigrate to this country: "defending our borders" should not be at the expense of defending our values. But when I interviewed women in immigration detention facilities all over the country last year and heard their stories of neglect and abuse, it became clear to me that this line has been crossed.

Immigration detention is the fastest-growing form of incarceration in the United States, and women represent roughly 10 percent of the burgeoning detention population. In 2008, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over immigration detention, held over 300,000 people in its custody for various lengths of time, and the total may surpass 400,000 this year. The daily immigration detention population now tops 30,000, an increase of roughly 50 percent over 2005. As long as Congress continues to dish out funding to step up Border Patrol operations and to expand immigration detention space, that growth is likely to continue.

The explosion of immigration detention has undermined two core principles of justice: deny liberty only when necessary, and treat those in custody with dignity. But in the politics of immigration, these core principles have become easily exchanged bargaining chips. The U.S. government has enthusiastically embraced a system that deprives more and more people of their liberty while their immigration cases are being processed -- administrative, not criminal, proceedings. Let me be clear: the majority of women imprisoned in detention centers have committed no crime. They include asylum seekers, victims of trafficking, survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, pregnant women, nursing mothers, children, the elderly and the seriously ill.

Immigration detention has increased even though alternatives such as allowing people to remain in the community while checking in regularly have proven cost-efficient and effective in ensuring that people show up for their hearings.

Not only does our government detain people unnecessarily, but it does so with cruelty and neglect. The conditions in many detention facilities violate the core principle of respect for the dignity of the men and women detained. The glaring failure to provide adequate medical care is of particular concern. International standards hold that detained persons are entitled to at least the same standard of health care they would receive if they were living free in the community. But in interviews for a Human Rights Watch report released in March 2009 on medical care for women in immigration detention, I heard dozens of horror stories of substandard care due to poor policies, implementation and oversight.

As I heard these women speak, the line in the sand between sound public policy and human rights violations became crystal clear: the point where those involved in designing or carrying out these policies knew or should have known that what they were doing is wrong. Transgressions were apparent everywhere:

• Women shackled during pregnancy.
• Breasts pumps denied to nursing mothers, resulting in fever and mastitis, and leaving them unable to continue breast-feeding.
• Critical screenings for breast and cervical cancer withheld.
• Contraception and abortion made inaccessible.
• Women humiliated and demoralized because they could not obtain sanitary pads.
• Confidentiality of medical information breached.
• Medical records lost in transfer.
• Requests for medical help ignored while dangerous conditions went untreated.

These policies do not just endanger women immigration detainees' lives. They also threaten their emotional health.

The impact of these policies is felt not only by those detained, but by their families and communities. One woman interviewed for our report described to me how her inability to get medical care when there were signs that she might have breast cancer was devastating her family:

"I worry about my breast a lot. I told my family, 'Don't ask me to [appeal my immigration case].' I'm not well and I would have to stay without medical care. I don't know from month to month ... things can get worse in my breast. It's hurting me. What was I supposed to do, die of cancer here? With adequate care, yes, I would stay until the end. Because 22 years of my life [have been in the US]. My kids are 12 and the United States is all they know. Depression, inadequate food, detention? Yes, still I would have fought it indefinitely."

There is some hope. The Obama administration is in the process of examining the detention system, including the system's health care record, and its role in our immigration policy. Congress will also be taking on these issues when they debate comprehensive immigration reform. As these reviews are under way, policymakers would do well to bring the same commitment to defending our principles that they have brought to defending our borders. And women who care can tell them so.

"The Last Resistance Generation": The Reintegration and Transformation of Freedom Fighters to Civilians in Timor-Leste

PAPER PRESENTED AT THE RMIT UNIVERSITY ‘HARII NASAUN IHA TIMOR-LESTE URBANU NO RURAL’ CONFERENCE, DILI, 8-10 JULY 2009.

Based on the research paper, ‘Forgotten Heroes or Bandidos? Timor Leste’s High Risk Youth: The long road to stability.’ [Sousa-Santos, draft, July 2009].

Contact Details: jss@sc-et.com

The Last Resistance Generation’:

The Reintegration and Transformation of Freedom Fighters to Civilians in Timor-Leste[1]

Jose Kai Lekke Sousa-Santos

The process of nationbuilding is a notoriously exclusive exercise despite the often used, but ill-exercised catch-cry ‘principle of participation’. The reality tends to be that the best intentions of the members of the international community often create an environment in which elements of the new society are often sequestered to the margins. In the case of Timor-Leste, these elements are mostly comprised of the last generation of freedom fighters to form the resistance movement and armed struggle against the Indonesian occupation. Referred to here as ‘the last resistance generation,’ this paper advances the argument that the failure to reintegrate and transform elements of this young demographic – many of whom are disenfranchised, unemployed, and poorly educated – has been a critical but not unforseen oversight of ten years of nationbuilding.

The failure to reintegrate and transform the last resistance generation is a paramount issue which continues to be, and has the potential to remain, in the worst case scenario, one of the central pillars or dynamics of instability in the process of nationbuilding and security sector reform(SSR). On the other hand, the best case scenario is that this issue will remain a fundamental socio-economic challenge to current and future leaders which will be responsible with the critical tasks of addressing the challenges of nation and statebuilding in a complex state such as Timor Leste. This paper examines the lack of a holistic approach addressing the reintegration and transformation of former informal and formal resistance groups leading to the marginalisation and disenfranchisement of this significant demographic, . This paper also highlights past and current state and international initiatives to reintegrate former recognized independence fighters into society, as well as unrecognized or uncategorized members of the resistance movement and also explores methods to positively transform, and engage this invaluable albeit potentially destabilising demographic.

A large number of these individuals and groups gained international notoriety as a consequence of the 2006 crisis. An underlying theme of this paper – in the words of one such prominent figure, “are we forgotten heroes or bandidos? And if they continue to call us bandidos, we will show them bandidos.” Unfortunately due to the attitudes sometimes shown by the international security forces, United Nations Police, and certain INGOs, the inadvertent demonization of these former heroes of the struggle for independence continues to occur and entrenches this culture of marginalisation.

Ten Years On

Timor-Leste now faces the same central predicament that most nations emerging out of war or civil strife experience: how does the state integrate those who fought or actively supported the struggle for independence and self-determination. Ten years of internationally managed or assisted initiatives, have yet to resolve this fundamental issue. Key grievances arisen from this demographic remain only partially addressed. Many of the youth who fought or were actively engaged in the struggle for independence – the last resistance generation– remain unacknowledged and are not included or able to fully participate in the economic, educational and state development accessible to many. This is mainly due to the traumatic factors which these young men and women faced during the Indonesian occupation from 1975-99. Moreover, during the ten years since the referendum, the opinions and solutions espoused by many well-meaning countries, humanitarian agencies, and international NGOs, on how to build the national security infrastructure,[2] have failed to fully take into account the historical and socio- cultural complexities. Hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless man-hours have been spent addressing the issue of security sector reform as part of the broader nationbuilding exercise – issues deemed by international stakeholders as paramount to the future stability of an emerging democracy in Timor-Leste. This paper does not advocate an across-the-board identification or solution to all these problems but rather seeks to address one of the key topics which, Timorese NGOs[3] advocating for disenfranchised youth and disaffected groups have red flagged as one of the few critical issues yet to be addressed and resolved.

The Marginalisation and Disenfranchisement of the ‘Last Resistance Generation’

Comprising what is termed here as ‘the last resistance generation,’ are a complex mix of countless remnants consisting of young former FALINTIL fighters; ritual arts groups and semi religious sects, of secret societies and clandestine youth cells incorporated into the structures of martial arts organisations. All were critical components of the resistance and independence movement which now ten years on from the referendum, continue to struggle with issues regarding cultural and national identity, deep-seated trauma, the loss associated with no longer fulfilling a vital role in society, and a fundamental sense of not belonging in mainstream civil society. The ongoing marginalisation of the last resistance generation by – and from - the process of nationbuilding underway in Timor-Leste since 1999, reflects a failure to genuinely acknowledge and address the historical role that many young Timorese played in the fight for independence, and threatens to undermine contemporary statebuilding efforts. The issue of marginalisation and disenfranchisement is by no means exclusive to this category. However, the inclusion, meaning participation and not just representation, of the last resistance generation, is of critical concern in the context of both security sector reform and national development.

The last resistance generation which played such a critical role during the final years of the struggle for independence now feel marginalised and/or discriminated against due to the lack of recognition for both their roles and involvement during the resistance leading to a loss of opportunities in education and socio-economic prosperity. A singularly common denominator – and occasionally unifying factor - amongst the majority of individuals and elements within these groups scattered throughout urban and rural Timor-Leste is the poverty of opportunity they have experienced and an overriding sense of not belonging. It is of no coincidence that a proportion within these groups are well-represented by a frequently quoted and critically important demographic fact: the largest demographic within Timor-Leste’s population is our youth and up to two-thirds of Timorese youth are either directly involved with or affiliated to martial arts, ritual arts or disaffected groups. This demographic combined – this last resistance generation – is potentially volatile as demonstrated during the 2006 crisis and presents an uncompromising security landscape which needs to be understood and engaged with by stakeholders, not demonised or further marginalised. This militaristic and often feared demographic should and could become Timor-Leste’s greatest resource.

Early DDRR Initiative

Despite early efforts in disarmament, demobilisation, reintegration and rehabilitation (DDRR) programmes, many young former FALINTIL remain at the margins of society. Over 1000 former FALINTIL fighters went through the reintegration program, but thousands of others remained dissatisfied with their treatment and the manner in which the new army had been established.[4] In 2001 this dissatisfaction led to the creation of a number of veterans’ organisations and riots in December 2002.[5] Former FALINTIL fighters under the age of 35 who do not qualify to be considered as veterans under current government legislation are to a large extent uneducated, lacking in vocational skills, and suffering from extensive post-traumatic stress disorder. For instance, young former FALINTIL fighters who were not integrated into the newly-formed defence or police forces mainly due to high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder and / or the lack of educational skills, such as literacy and numeracy, are relegated to accepting menial positions in the very State that they have sacrificed so much to create.

The FALINTIL Reinsertion Assistance Program or (FRAP) developed in 2000 under the UNTAET administration attempted to assist in the social and economic reintegration into civilian society of the 1,308 guerrilla fighters not selected to join the new East Timor Defence Force. Although a package consisting of: transport to their host communities; a transitional safety net of USD$500.00 provided over a 5 month period; a reintegration package or income generating activity; training; as well as job and medical referrals, it was not a long-term solution but rather provided initial support to the former combatants and did not engage or guarantee participation in the broader nation-building process.[6]

The Alkatiri / Fretilin Government created a secretary of state for veteran’s affairs and undertook the registering of veterans with the intention of granting pensions.[7] The caveat, however, is that only 350 veterans with service of fifteen years or more will receive monthly payments of calculated at USD$407 ($100 more a month than the public service salary). Veterans who have served eight to fourteen years only become eligible to receive a pension after the age of fifty-five. For many young fighters experiencing difficulties in accessing employment, education and vocational training, feel this to be unjust and discriminatory.

The transition from combatant life to civilian is shaped by context and it is arguable that for the transition, and therefore reintegration and transformation, to have a lasting impact, the unique cultural, historical, and social fabric and context of Timor-Leste must be an integral part of any strategy that seeks to address this issue. Particularly, the role of traditional leadership and power structures within Timor Leste, which comprises of large numbers of former combatants and clandestine elements – as central figures. The difficulties regarding the identification and validification of members of the clandestine movement has meant that as of yet there have been no similar programmes or initiatives to address and support the needs of these former clandestine elements and groups.

Former key elements of the independence movement such as formal and informal clandestine groups; ritual art groups; cells and elements within martial arts groups are at risk of morphing into disenfranchised and violent armed groups, organised criminal elements, and / or guns for hire.

Trauma and A Sense of Not Belonging = Violence and Instability

One of the critical and largely unaddressed consequences of the occupation is the widespread trauma experienced by those engaged both directly and indirectly in the struggle. Severe and untreated post-traumatic stress disorder has led to the elements who have contributed to the struggle being left at a disadvantage as opposed to the youth demographic which was not involved in the struggle for independence and was able to pursue and access a semi-normal life, for example, through educational, employment, and health care opportunities. Access to opportunities has better enabled this demographic to more easily integrate into an independent Timor-Leste and thereby overcome a certain level of trauma. Those who have little or no experience beyond the jungle and minimal opportunity to develop their skills beyond that of guerrilla warfare, civil disturbances, and the instigation of instability during the occupation, now find themselves within a vacuum regarding their identity, skill-sets, and a place and means in which to contribute to a now independent Timor-Leste. The lack of opportunity and sense of not belonging compounded by post-traumatic stress disorder can manifest in deep-seated resentment which will continue to maintain the availability of these groups as a source of political and civil instability.

A Source of Instability: Alternative Security Structures

The reintegration and transformation of young resistance veterans – including both FALINTIL and clandestine - into mainstream society is an essential component of nationbuilding and the mitigation of future conflict. It is of little coincidence that a number of the martial arts and ritual arts groups involved in the 2006-07 violence have their origins in the clandestine and guerrilla movement. Strong affiliations to both of the respective national security institutions – the F-FDTL and PNTL – as well as political parties and / or economic elites further necessitates the need for a comprehensive and holistic understanding and approach to transform past security and clandestine structures into the state apparatus. Due to their moral authority and legitimacy established during the occupation, many of these groups pose a challenge – and legitimate alternative - to state authority, specifically to the security sector and administrative institutions at the local and national levels.

Where to from here?

The approach advocated in this paper is a far more holistic, comprehensive, and socially appropriate approach that challenges those involved in SSR – the Government, the United Nations, international security stakeholders and INGOs– to engage this demographic not only in discussion but also into the security sector reform and nationbuilding process itself. Programmes initiated by local Timorese NGOs such as Uma Juventude, Ba Futuru, and many others, where selected young leaders from groups such as(7-7, 5-5, 3-3, 12-12, Fitar bua Malus, PSHT, KORK, Colimau Duah Ribuh and Sagrada Familia as well as Former FALINTIL fighters under the age of 35) were given the opportunity to engage in intensive training in conflict mediation, peacebuilding, and nationbuilding techniques, after completion of the programs the majority of participants have shown their effectiveness as agents of conflict mediation and change both at the grass-roots and national levels.

Academics and practitioners alike need to think outside the box and utilise programmes such as those conducted within the region in response to conflict in Bougainville and the Solomons Islands which gave young combatants the opportunity to experience possibilities beyond the jungle.

For instance, in response to the protracted civil war in Bougainville, the New Zealand Government invited leaders from the two warring factions from Bougainville on a study-tour of New Zealand where they were able to meet with Maori representatives and discuss traditional methods of maintaining nationhood and identity within a modern democratic state.

This eventuated in a change of attitudes on the part of the leaders of these warring factions, created bonds and understanding between the leaders based on mutual experience, and opened their eyes to the possibilities and benefits of dealing with long-standing conflicts and animosity through peaceful means within cultures similar to their own. This enabled Bougainvilleans to then peaceably address the long-standing self-determination movement between the Bougainvillean people and the Papua New Guinean state.

It is critical for the future peace and stability of Timor-Leste that all stakeholders involved in security sector reform – from the Timorese Government to the United Nations and all in between – that increased engagement with the last resistance generation is prioritised as it this group who themselves hold both the answers and the key to long-term security and stability in Timor Leste.

Selected References

International Crisis Group, ‘Timor-Leste: Security Sector Reform,’ Crisis Group Asia Report No 143, 17 January 2008.

King’s College of London, ‘Independent Study of Security Force Options and Security Sector Reform for East Timor,’ The Centre for Defence Studies, King’s College, London, September 2000.

McCarthy, John, ‘Falintil Reinsertion Assistance Program (FRAP), A Final Evaluation Report,’ (USAID: Dili, East Timor), June 2002.

Rees, Edward, ‘The UN’s failure to integrate FALINTIL veterans may cause East Timor to fail,’ Online Opinion Australia, 2 September 2003

Sousa-Santos, Jose, ‘Forgotten Heroes or Bandidos? The Last Resistance Generation of Timor-Leste’ [draft research paper], July 2009.

Sydney Morning Herald, ‘East Timor at flashpoint as disillusionment sets in,’ 14 December 2002.


[1] This paper was presented at the RMIT University‘Harii Nasaun iha Timor-Leste Urbanu no Rural’ conference, Dili, 8-10 July 2009, and is based on the research paper, ‘Forgotten Heroes or Bandidos? Timor Leste’s High Risk Youth: The long road to stability.’ [Sousa-Santos, draft, July 2009].

[2] The earliest and most influential of which was the King’s College of London, ‘Independent Study of Security Force Options and Security Sector Reform for East Timor,’ The Centre for Defence Studies, King’s College, London, September 2000. For a recent critique of security sector reform initiatives, see International Crisis Group, ‘Timor-Leste: Security Sector Reform,’ Crisis Group Asia Report No 143, 17 January 2008.

[3] Such as the national NGO Uma Juventude

[4] For a critical evaluation of the Falintil Reinsertion Assistance Program, see John McCarthy, Falintil Reinsertion Assistance Program (FRAP), A Final Evaluation Report, (USAID: Dili, East Timor), June 2002.

[5] ‘East Timor at flashpoint as disillusionment sets in,’ Sydney Morning Herald, 14 December 2002.

[6] John McCarthy, Falintil Reinsertion Assistance Program (FRAP), A Final Evaluation Report, (USAID: Dili, East Timor), June 2002, ibid. See also, Edward Rees, ‘The UN’s failure to integrate FALINTIL veterans may cause East Timor to fail,’ Online Opinion Australia, 2 September 2003.

[7] International Crisis Group (2003), ‘Timor-Leste: Security Sector Reform,’ p.20.

Europe's Jobless Youth

By Mark Scott

London, July 23—On paper, Jerome Delorme seems like a pretty desirable job candidate. The 23-year-old has a master's degree in European studies from the prestigious Sciences Po university in Grenoble—once a sure ticket to a top company, even in hard times. And he spent a year studying in Dublin, speaks fluent English, and has already had several high-profile internships. But in three months of looking for work, Delorme has been able to land only another internship, at a nonprofit organization. "The crisis has made getting a real job very difficult," says the native of the southern French city of Valence.

Delorme is typical of Europe's Gen Y these days. Most of his friends are also pounding the cobblestones in search of employment—as are about 5 million other young Europeans, or about 20% of the under-25 population, the European Union estimates. That's nearly a third higher than a year ago and well above the 8.9% unemployment rate for the EU as a whole. In some countries the situation is far worse. Nearly 37% of Spain's Gen Yers can't find work. In France, it's 24%, vs. 17% in the U.S.

Policymakers worry prolonged unemployment will hurt an entire generation's ability to compete in the workplace. When the economy finally recovers, many of the under-25s will have become over-25s, and younger rivals will be nipping at their heels for entry-level jobs. The big fear: Europe's Gen Yers will suffer the fate of Japan's Lost Generation—young people who came of age in the recession-wracked 1990s but lacked the skills to find good jobs even after the economy started to pick up steam.

Government Schemes

If that happens, the Continent would struggle to cope with large numbers of jobless young people. Violent protests over lousy job prospects earlier this year in Eastern Europe made politicians acutely aware of mounting social problems. "Most countries are moving in the right direction, but there's still a risk that unemployment will last for years," says Stefano Scarpetta, head of employment analysis at the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development in Paris.

Governments are spending billions to keep the young busy via college grants and vocational courses until the economy recovers. On June 29, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown unveiled a $1.6 billion scheme to create 100,000 jobs for young people, with a special emphasis on helping those who've been out of work for more than a year. And on Apr. 24, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a $1.9 billion plan to find work for 500,000 young people by June 2010. That includes grants to companies that employ Gen Yers and a 12% increase in new government-funded apprenticeships in plumbing, carpentry, and other trades.

Some wonder how much good those programs will do given the severity of the downturn. "There's pressure on governments to find employment for young people, but I don't see how that's going to happen in the short term," says Giorgio S. Questa, a professor at City University's Cass Business School in London.

Business groups, meanwhile, fret that new apprenticeships could take jobs away from older workers and may prove unsustainable if government funding dries up. Neil Carberry, head of employment policy at the Confederation of British Industry, says similar programs in the 1980s failed because they simply kept young people busy without giving them sufficient skills to land more interesting work when the economy recovered. "People digging ditches and painting walls just doesn't add value," he says.

Spain's Setback

Lavish welfare systems ease some of the strain for Europe's Gen Y. With state-sponsored health care and ample jobless benefits, Europeans have fewer worries than unemployed twentysomethings in the U.S. And young Europeans are more likely to bunk with Mom and Dad than their American counterparts are, so it's easier for them to make ends meet while looking for a job. In Spain, for instance, more than half of people under 30 still live at home.

But that has done little to ease the pain of the crisis for many Spaniards. When the country's construction and real estate industries were booming, under-25s often skipped college to go straight to work, cashing in on the credit-fueled bonanza. Since 2007, though, the economy has imploded and may contract by 3.2% this year. Many young people were on short-term contracts, so they were first to be laid off when times got tough. And skipping further education in favor of employment, they often lack such skills as foreign languages, IT know-how, and advanced math that employers demand. Says Carlos Serrano, a 25-year-old electronic engineer from northern Spain who has been looking for a job for a year, with no luck: "The crisis has trapped us graduates at the worst possible time."

Scott is a reporter in BusinessWeek's London bureau .

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PNTL Resume Primary Policing Responsibilities in Manatuto

UNMIT Press Release

25 July 2009, Manatuto – Today the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for East Timor (SRSG) Atul Khare and Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão presided over the ceremony marking the resumption of primary responsibilities for the conduct of police operations by Polícia Nacional de Timor-Leste (PNTL) in the District of Manatuto.

Manatuto is the third district where the PNTL is resuming primary policing responsibilities since the process started in May 2009 in the district of Lautem and continued in June 2009 for the district of Oecussi.

The Government of East-Timor and UNMIT are jointly implementing the resumption process in a gradual manner – district by district, unit by unit. The decision for Manatuto PNTL to resume primary policing responsibilities was made based on the result of rigorous assessments on the preparedness of PNTL in the district. The assessments were conducted by joint teams comprising representatives of the Government of East Timor and UNMIT, including PNTL and UNPOL, using mutually agreed criteria.

For a time UN Police will maintain their presence in the districts where the PNTL have resumed responsibilities, in order to monitor, advise and support the PNTL, including in the area of human rights protection.

Manatuto is one of the 13 districts of East Timor, located in the central part of the country, bordering capital Dili to the west. It reaches both the south and north coasts of the island, and is only one of two districts to do so (the other is Lautém in the far east) and has the most geographical diversity. The city of Manatuto is known for its salt production and abundance of tamarind. It has a population of 38,580 (census 2004) and an area of 1,706 km².