{"id":72885,"date":"2016-05-02T12:00:44","date_gmt":"2016-05-02T11:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=72885"},"modified":"2024-11-26T21:25:32","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T21:25:32","slug":"peace-state-iceland-meaning-what","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2016\/05\/peace-state-iceland-meaning-what\/","title":{"rendered":"Peace State Iceland. Meaning What?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Members of the Iceland Allthing<\/em> Foreign Affairs Committee,<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I have been asked to come to Iceland to answer that question; thanks indeed for inviting me to address you.\u00a0 And to apologize, as a Norwegian, for our occupation of Iceland 1262-1386 instead of sending mediators to help settle your civil war.\u00a0 Our century long colonization does not become better because Denmark colonized you five centuries, 1386-1918; and more deeply.\u00a0 But you are now your own, with a wonderful language and literature; right now with a problematic economy and polity.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Reykjav\u00edk has a very good name internationally as the venue of the 11-12 October 1986 summit meeting of the Cold War superpowers. The meeting of US President Ronald Reagan and the Soviet Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev at H\u00f6fdi did not by itself end with an agreement. But it was the beginning of the end of the Cold War three years later, and as such made world history.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So why not build on that, making a Reykjavik Mediation Center<\/em>, RMC, politically and internationally independent, and on Iceland’s location between West and East, USA and Russia?\u00a0 Look at the map.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For Reykjav\u00edk to invite USA and Russia, with Kiev and Donetsk.\u00a0 Maybe also Brussels, in the sense of NATO and EU. Issue: the conflict in and around Ukraine–meaning “at the border”, between two nations, Catholic-Ukrainian and Orthodox-Russian; with much hatred and violence.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Very dangerous, some speak of a Third World War coming.\u00a0 Inviting them would be a signal of world concern, offering a venue for open talks without conditions.\u00a0 Iceland has little mediation capacity today, but Icelanders would be present and learn from the occasion.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Add to this an invitation to the UN to station UN Peacekeeping Forces in Iceland, using the vast vacant lands between Keflav\u00edk and Reykjav\u00edk for training.\u00a0 That would add peace as a source of income to fisheries and tourism, and lift Iceland out of its Third World economy.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A peace state helps itself by helping others.\u00a0 Nevertheless, two problems:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 First, a peace state can neither be allied to a state that killed more than 20 million in 37 countries since WWII nor member of an offensive alliance.\u00a0 Either the USA and NATO become more defensive or Peace State Iceland has to distance itself, gradually, carefully; keeping good relations.\u00a0 Iceland’s security would be better served by using Keflav\u00edk for UNPKF than for USA-NATO, and by solving conflicts.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Second, if you want to help solving conflicts start with your own.\u00a0 Iceland was a victim of giving primacy to the financial over the real economy; and the financial collapse held Icelanders accountable for incompetent banking and naive creditors.\u00a0 That whole system has to be overhauled, and Iceland could make a virtue of its vice by putting the whole issue on the agenda for the Reykjav\u00edk Mediation Center.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Do not exclude the possibility of inviting the Security Council and, more importantly, the General Assembly for a session.\u00a0 After few years of experience a UN Conflict Transformation Agency<\/em>?\u00a0 Apart from the unfortunate incident in connection with the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, Iceland has attacked nobody–as opposed to Norway and Denmark in Libya–and could easily put together its own defensive defense based on non-provocative, non-offensive arms.\u00a0 Just in case.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What is mediation?\u00a0 Talking with all parties, excluding nobody, asking questions such as, “How is the Ukraine you would like to see?”, “What was the worst, the best that happened?” Testing the answers for legitimacy (law, human rights, basic needs), and help bridging the legitimate goals by some changes in reality, like a smart federation.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Both for the negative peace of conciling trauma and solving conflict, removing causes of violence; and for the positive peace of building equitable relations for mutual and equal benefit, and harmony through empathy with all parties.\u00a0 A good mediator has to be constructive, empathetic and creative.\u00a0 Not easy, but it can be learnt.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You may feel that Iceland is so small, and the Big–USA-Russia-China-Islam-EU–so Big. Exactly your comparative advantage!\u00a0 You cannot be suspected of playing classical big power games for regional or world hegemony.\u00a0 You can become big by playing peace games instead.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Identify in the Five Big both the Bad and the Good, maybe as:<\/p>\n