Mas Acà del Màs Allà - A Music Lesson from Oaxaca
While riot police are occupying the Southern Mexican state capital Oaxaca after months of unrest and violence over teachers walkouts and protests, a small group of adolescent musicians from the tiny Mixe community
Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec in the Western part of that same state is currently marching the streets of the city of Basel, together with a brass band from the Basel region, U Brass, thus forming a "Pompes funèbres" Orchestra in a unique festival called DIESSEITS VOM JENSEITS(on this side from beyond) which combines contemporary music and folk music from both rural Mexico and from Switzerland, on the subject of death in their respective cultural traditions.
The whole enterprise started three years ago when by actress/singer Désirée Meiser and her team of the "railway station for new music" or GARE DU NORD in Basel, Switzerland, had the idea to launch a composer workshop for contemporary musicians from both Mexico and Switzerland. It turned out to become a major binational cultural event. With the participation of artits such as composer Gualtiero Dazzi and writer Francisco Serrano , high quality musical and operatic productions are presented. The subject of the festival is further treated in depth by an exhibition of antique folk art from Mexico and contributions to the "Dia de la Muerte" celebrations by contemporary Mexican sculptors.
But the most surprising phenomenon of the festival is the earnest and professionalism of the youthful Banda de Filarmonia CECAM of Tlahuitoltepec These young musicians have no problem to switch from their local tunes with their intricate rhythms to a Gloria by Schubert.
It is a lesson in education and culture of the highest possible level from one of the most remote and poorest regions of Central America
Monday, October 30, 2006
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Switzerland's trouble with political bipolarism
Switzerland is confronted with growing dissatisfaction over it's political structures and processes. Traditional decisionmaking by popular referendum on legislation passed through the federal parliament and/or popular vote on initiatives has proved to bring on efficient and sustainable results with respect to economic wisdom, but legislation on important subjects such as reform of the health care system or social security has lagged behind recent political, economic and demographic changes.
The cause for this slowdown of the political process lies principally in the interferences between the range of action and of responsibilities of local (cantonal) and federal legislation which systematically dilute the responsibility on both levels of government. The so-called concordance government formed by the four major parties which has become polarized by the presence of very outspoken representatives of the left (foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey from the Social Democrats)and the right(minister of justice Christoph Blocher of the Swiss People's Party) within the seven member federal government. There is no formal coalition contract between the parties which participate in the government, but a shaky consensus on major subjects which allows the key players to criticize their colleagues in an increasingly rude way. The Pan-European trend towards a bipolar politial landscape has not helped most European countries because of the narrrow majorities that can be won under the specific conditions which differ from the American modal of bipolarism which is centered on the person of the president. As a result, coalition governments of the type of Germany's actual "Grosse Koalition" become major roadblocks to political action and legislatory reform. The Swiss system has worked well as long as the members of the government refrained from political activism and concentrated their effort on the task of managing their ministries without interfering with others (in Swiss terminology "departments") of extremely divers dimensions: e.g. the relatively small and lean department of Justice and the enormous department of the Interior which has to deal with social security, health care and culture).
With growing mediocracy, the visibility of government members has dramatically increased over the last few years, and their narcissistic performance has stirred up a public debate over which one of the government members is the weakest - i.e. the one with the lowest number of public statements and appearances.
Justice minister Christoph Blocher, an entrepreneur turned politician with an extremely nationalist credo seasoned with talk of market economy and liberalism,
would like to lead the political right toward bipolarism but his poisonous and vulgar rhetoric is not suited for audiences that adhere to more open concepts of state and nation, on the other hand. The political left, on the other hand, tries to monopolize
social subjects as well as an open-minded foreign policy and to lure the liberal electorate into it's centralist, interventionist camp.
The "Freie Demokratische Partei" FDP, heirs of the founding fathers of the modern federal state in mid 19th century, are desperately seeking to get away from a chronically low profile and dwindling electorate.
Since the members of the government are not eo ipso the formal or informal leaders of their respective parties (exception: People's Party Christoph Blocher), and are
elected by the two chambers of parliament according to a formula which respects proportions of relative strength of their parties- the so-called "Zauberformel" or magician's formula), the results of the 2007 elections will probably see a great debate about bipolarism and a new form of concordance and/or coalition, with an uncertain issue.
Most probably, voters will force parliament to make tough decisions on the composition of the government in terms of party representation and of human resources. One of the consequences will be that Switzerland, despite the nationalistic rhetoric of the People's Party, will resemble more to other European democracies than to itself.
Switzerland is confronted with growing dissatisfaction over it's political structures and processes. Traditional decisionmaking by popular referendum on legislation passed through the federal parliament and/or popular vote on initiatives has proved to bring on efficient and sustainable results with respect to economic wisdom, but legislation on important subjects such as reform of the health care system or social security has lagged behind recent political, economic and demographic changes.
The cause for this slowdown of the political process lies principally in the interferences between the range of action and of responsibilities of local (cantonal) and federal legislation which systematically dilute the responsibility on both levels of government. The so-called concordance government formed by the four major parties which has become polarized by the presence of very outspoken representatives of the left (foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey from the Social Democrats)and the right(minister of justice Christoph Blocher of the Swiss People's Party) within the seven member federal government. There is no formal coalition contract between the parties which participate in the government, but a shaky consensus on major subjects which allows the key players to criticize their colleagues in an increasingly rude way. The Pan-European trend towards a bipolar politial landscape has not helped most European countries because of the narrrow majorities that can be won under the specific conditions which differ from the American modal of bipolarism which is centered on the person of the president. As a result, coalition governments of the type of Germany's actual "Grosse Koalition" become major roadblocks to political action and legislatory reform. The Swiss system has worked well as long as the members of the government refrained from political activism and concentrated their effort on the task of managing their ministries without interfering with others (in Swiss terminology "departments") of extremely divers dimensions: e.g. the relatively small and lean department of Justice and the enormous department of the Interior which has to deal with social security, health care and culture).
With growing mediocracy, the visibility of government members has dramatically increased over the last few years, and their narcissistic performance has stirred up a public debate over which one of the government members is the weakest - i.e. the one with the lowest number of public statements and appearances.
Justice minister Christoph Blocher, an entrepreneur turned politician with an extremely nationalist credo seasoned with talk of market economy and liberalism,
would like to lead the political right toward bipolarism but his poisonous and vulgar rhetoric is not suited for audiences that adhere to more open concepts of state and nation, on the other hand. The political left, on the other hand, tries to monopolize
social subjects as well as an open-minded foreign policy and to lure the liberal electorate into it's centralist, interventionist camp.
The "Freie Demokratische Partei" FDP, heirs of the founding fathers of the modern federal state in mid 19th century, are desperately seeking to get away from a chronically low profile and dwindling electorate.
Since the members of the government are not eo ipso the formal or informal leaders of their respective parties (exception: People's Party Christoph Blocher), and are
elected by the two chambers of parliament according to a formula which respects proportions of relative strength of their parties- the so-called "Zauberformel" or magician's formula), the results of the 2007 elections will probably see a great debate about bipolarism and a new form of concordance and/or coalition, with an uncertain issue.
Most probably, voters will force parliament to make tough decisions on the composition of the government in terms of party representation and of human resources. One of the consequences will be that Switzerland, despite the nationalistic rhetoric of the People's Party, will resemble more to other European democracies than to itself.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
The Bastard of Istanbul
Osservatore Profano's latest post was centered on the question of reliable partners for Europe in the near future. The saturday, October 28, 2006 issue of Neue Zürcher Zeitung has an interesting answer to part of that question. It reports on Elif Shafak's novel "The Bastard of Istanbul" and the fact that the author has explicitly addressed some of the most controversial subjects in Turkey's political orientation, i.e. language policy and the historical workup of the Armenian question.
Elif Shafak, who lives in Istanbul and Tucson, Arizona, where she teaches gender studies an interculturality, was asked about the reactions to her new novel in an outside Turkey. According to the report in Neue Zürcher Zeitung, the reactions throughout Turkey have been positive in general, most "hate mails" to the authors are from Turks living abroad. Thus, the reaction to Shafak's book reflect both the apparent capacity for introspection within Turkey and the identity problems of migrants.
Instead of a question, Osservatore Profano should like to extend an invitation to fellow bloggers today to read Elif Shafak's "Bastard of Istanbul"
Osservatore Profano's latest post was centered on the question of reliable partners for Europe in the near future. The saturday, October 28, 2006 issue of Neue Zürcher Zeitung has an interesting answer to part of that question. It reports on Elif Shafak's novel "The Bastard of Istanbul" and the fact that the author has explicitly addressed some of the most controversial subjects in Turkey's political orientation, i.e. language policy and the historical workup of the Armenian question.
Elif Shafak, who lives in Istanbul and Tucson, Arizona, where she teaches gender studies an interculturality, was asked about the reactions to her new novel in an outside Turkey. According to the report in Neue Zürcher Zeitung, the reactions throughout Turkey have been positive in general, most "hate mails" to the authors are from Turks living abroad. Thus, the reaction to Shafak's book reflect both the apparent capacity for introspection within Turkey and the identity problems of migrants.
Instead of a question, Osservatore Profano should like to extend an invitation to fellow bloggers today to read Elif Shafak's "Bastard of Istanbul"
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Tough Choices for a Europe desperately looking for reliable partners
Europe faces tough choices these days. The Economist asks: "Will Europe loose Turkey?", and recent top level talks on energy policy with Russia have produced fears of being one day held hostage through dependence on Russian energy deliveries. There is no particular affection in Western Europe neither for Turkey nor for Russia, but the emotional uproar caused by the discussion whether Turkey should recognize the genocide on the Armenians has been much more important than the one caused by the slow and systematic erosion of the legal prerequisites for a functional market economy and a Western style democracy in Russia.
Therefore, Europeans should ask themselves which one of their most important neighbours is more trustworthy: Turkey or Russia? If European strategies are based on religious
paradigms, the answer would be: Russia, because it is a country with a Christian tradition. If European strategies are based on geographical and geo-strategical assumptions, then the accent should be on a strong and sustainable cooperation between the countries around the Mediterranean, the "mare nostrum" as the Romans used to call it. To achieve political stability and sustainable economic growth in this
region, full cooperation of Turkey is needed. Turkey is the only country in the Eastern basin of the Mediterranean with a functional relationship to Israel despite it's Islamic background and Turkey is one of the most important motors of political innovation and transformation in the islamic world. The most important argument for a stable and trustful relationship between Europe and Turkey is the simple fact that Turkey is not and will never be a superpower and therefore does not represent a threat to Europe.
Furthermore, a Turkey oriented toward Western Europe without regret could come to the conclusion that it should reach out in a friendly gesture to it's neighbours in the East, Georgia and Armenia, both in need of the development of stable and fruitful relationships on the Southern slopes of the Caucasus.
What is your opininion on Europe's tough choices?
Europe faces tough choices these days. The Economist asks: "Will Europe loose Turkey?", and recent top level talks on energy policy with Russia have produced fears of being one day held hostage through dependence on Russian energy deliveries. There is no particular affection in Western Europe neither for Turkey nor for Russia, but the emotional uproar caused by the discussion whether Turkey should recognize the genocide on the Armenians has been much more important than the one caused by the slow and systematic erosion of the legal prerequisites for a functional market economy and a Western style democracy in Russia.
Therefore, Europeans should ask themselves which one of their most important neighbours is more trustworthy: Turkey or Russia? If European strategies are based on religious
paradigms, the answer would be: Russia, because it is a country with a Christian tradition. If European strategies are based on geographical and geo-strategical assumptions, then the accent should be on a strong and sustainable cooperation between the countries around the Mediterranean, the "mare nostrum" as the Romans used to call it. To achieve political stability and sustainable economic growth in this
region, full cooperation of Turkey is needed. Turkey is the only country in the Eastern basin of the Mediterranean with a functional relationship to Israel despite it's Islamic background and Turkey is one of the most important motors of political innovation and transformation in the islamic world. The most important argument for a stable and trustful relationship between Europe and Turkey is the simple fact that Turkey is not and will never be a superpower and therefore does not represent a threat to Europe.
Furthermore, a Turkey oriented toward Western Europe without regret could come to the conclusion that it should reach out in a friendly gesture to it's neighbours in the East, Georgia and Armenia, both in need of the development of stable and fruitful relationships on the Southern slopes of the Caucasus.
What is your opininion on Europe's tough choices?
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Georgia On My Mind - Back in the USSR?
The word POGROM existed before the Russian Revolution, disappeared during the Soviet Era and appears to make a brillant comeback under Vladmir Putin. In the 19th century,
POGROMS were targeted mainly at Jews, in post-modern, post-communist neo-tzarist Russia new ethnic entities have replaced the Jews. The Chechens, still a very fashionable target because of their islamic identity, are now conceding the top place to fellow Non-Russians from the Western slope of Caucasus, the Georgians.
Osservatore Profano's question:
Was the real (prophetic) meaning of the Beatle's song: "Georgia On My Mind - Back TO the USSR" instead of "IN the USSR"?
The word POGROM existed before the Russian Revolution, disappeared during the Soviet Era and appears to make a brillant comeback under Vladmir Putin. In the 19th century,
POGROMS were targeted mainly at Jews, in post-modern, post-communist neo-tzarist Russia new ethnic entities have replaced the Jews. The Chechens, still a very fashionable target because of their islamic identity, are now conceding the top place to fellow Non-Russians from the Western slope of Caucasus, the Georgians.
Osservatore Profano's question:
Was the real (prophetic) meaning of the Beatle's song: "Georgia On My Mind - Back TO the USSR" instead of "IN the USSR"?
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Mediocracy and the pandemic of authoritarianism
These days, tiny Switzerland offers "fish bowl" experience for the observation of the passage of power from classical political authority to the media, the emergence of a "mediocracy".
On a popular Late Night show on State TV called ARENA, the discussion about Justice minister Christoph Blocher's critical remarks on Swiss federal antiracism legislation during a visit to Turkey (see "Kemal Atatürk and Switzerland") had taken place without the participation of representatives of the "Grand Old Party" of Switzerland, the Free Democratic Party,FDP. The president of FDP, Fulvio Pelli, later fustigated the media for echoing premeditated provocations by the far right Justice minister. The consequence of his remarks has now become a full scale fox hunt for his head and for the party itself. It appears that even in a traditionally stable political system like Switzerland, political parties no longer are free to follow a coherent strategical line without risking to be undone by the media, and that political raiders like Christoph Blocher can blow up subjects of minor importance on the scale of political and economic priorities at will, with full support of the media.
In ancient Greece, this degenerated form of direct democracy was called "ostrakismòs" (ostracism) and it lead a) to mediocrity and b) to tyranny.
It might be interesting for the reader who is not fully familiar with present time Swiss politics that Christoph Blocher in 1981 (then a member of the Federal House of Representatives - Nationalrat) declared that the military dictatorship in Turkey was the only possible solution in the fight against terrorism...
These remarks are fully compatible with Blocher's later political record, and they strongly support Osservatore Profano's impression that we live in an emerging pandemia of highly infective authoritarianism, the origins of which can be found in Beijing, with a route of spread to Russia and some Republics of the former Soviet Empire. More recently smaller pockets of infection have been identified in various parts of Europe, e.g. Poland. Contrary to the emerging pandemia of Avian Flu where there is a strategic plan developped and imolemented by the World Health Organization and it's national partner organizations, no internationally acknowledged center of competence is at hand for controlling the pandemia of authoritarianism.
What will be the role of the blogosphere in this context?
Will it contribute to the trend to mediocrity and ostracism in a mediocratic system?
These days, tiny Switzerland offers "fish bowl" experience for the observation of the passage of power from classical political authority to the media, the emergence of a "mediocracy".
On a popular Late Night show on State TV called ARENA, the discussion about Justice minister Christoph Blocher's critical remarks on Swiss federal antiracism legislation during a visit to Turkey (see "Kemal Atatürk and Switzerland") had taken place without the participation of representatives of the "Grand Old Party" of Switzerland, the Free Democratic Party,FDP. The president of FDP, Fulvio Pelli, later fustigated the media for echoing premeditated provocations by the far right Justice minister. The consequence of his remarks has now become a full scale fox hunt for his head and for the party itself. It appears that even in a traditionally stable political system like Switzerland, political parties no longer are free to follow a coherent strategical line without risking to be undone by the media, and that political raiders like Christoph Blocher can blow up subjects of minor importance on the scale of political and economic priorities at will, with full support of the media.
In ancient Greece, this degenerated form of direct democracy was called "ostrakismòs" (ostracism) and it lead a) to mediocrity and b) to tyranny.
It might be interesting for the reader who is not fully familiar with present time Swiss politics that Christoph Blocher in 1981 (then a member of the Federal House of Representatives - Nationalrat) declared that the military dictatorship in Turkey was the only possible solution in the fight against terrorism...
These remarks are fully compatible with Blocher's later political record, and they strongly support Osservatore Profano's impression that we live in an emerging pandemia of highly infective authoritarianism, the origins of which can be found in Beijing, with a route of spread to Russia and some Republics of the former Soviet Empire. More recently smaller pockets of infection have been identified in various parts of Europe, e.g. Poland. Contrary to the emerging pandemia of Avian Flu where there is a strategic plan developped and imolemented by the World Health Organization and it's national partner organizations, no internationally acknowledged center of competence is at hand for controlling the pandemia of authoritarianism.
What will be the role of the blogosphere in this context?
Will it contribute to the trend to mediocrity and ostracism in a mediocratic system?
Friday, October 13, 2006
Pope, Orwell and NEWSPEAK - a supplement
Osservatore Profano apologizes for having omitted in the blog on Pope Benedict XVI and George Orwell a key element that is necessary to understand the relation between present day communication concepts and George Orwell's "1984":
One of the most remarkable accomplishments of the regime described in "1984" was the fact that sources of information such as newspapers were reedited and republished regularly in order to avoid any contradiction between historical events and judgements on those events and present-day interests of the authorities.
Osservatore Profano wanted to stress the similarity between the reediting of declarations made by the present Pope and the techniques of disinformation used by the regime of "1984".
For an in depth discussion of these questions, it may be useful to quote the English historian Lord Acton, a Catholic and a Liberal,fierce opponent to the principle of infallibility of the Pope adopted at the first Vatican Council: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely..." (in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton, 1887)
Osservatore Profano apologizes for having omitted in the blog on Pope Benedict XVI and George Orwell a key element that is necessary to understand the relation between present day communication concepts and George Orwell's "1984":
One of the most remarkable accomplishments of the regime described in "1984" was the fact that sources of information such as newspapers were reedited and republished regularly in order to avoid any contradiction between historical events and judgements on those events and present-day interests of the authorities.
Osservatore Profano wanted to stress the similarity between the reediting of declarations made by the present Pope and the techniques of disinformation used by the regime of "1984".
For an in depth discussion of these questions, it may be useful to quote the English historian Lord Acton, a Catholic and a Liberal,fierce opponent to the principle of infallibility of the Pope adopted at the first Vatican Council: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely..." (in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton, 1887)
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Pope Benedict XVI and George Orwell
48 years ago, in 1948, George Orwell published his famous novel "1984".
Few people have read the book but almost everybody nowadays is familiar with the title of a popular reality TV programme: "BIG BROTHER" - in "1984" the term was used for the dictator in control of the totalitarian society of the future depicted by Orwell.
Still fewer people are aware of the term "NEWSPEAK", the official language of the Orwellian society which was designed to invert the content and meaning of words into their contrary. In 1947 - one year before the publication of "1984" - philologist Viktor Klemperer had published his analysis of "LTI - Lingua Tertii Imperii" (The language of the Third Reich). The same author later undertook a similar effort for "LQI - Lingua Quarti Imperii" (the language of the "Fourth Reich",i.e. the socialist German Democratic Republic) but these texts as well as Klemperers diaries during and after the war were never published until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
The Vatican has published a new version of Pope Benedict's Regensburg conference (see my blog on "Ownership of Reason, Faith - and of God?" September 14, 2006), adding short remarks signalling a certain distance of the speaker from his citation of Manuel Palaeologus concerning the prophet Muhammad.
Osservatore Profano, asks:
1) Has Pope Benedict XVI never had the opportunity to read "1984"?
2) If Yes, Osservatore Profano should like to beg His Holyness pardon for having
suspected the Vatican of using "NEWSPEAK" as part of it's communication concept
3) If No, then WHY must the Vatican's communication concept use "NEWSPEAK"
48 years ago, in 1948, George Orwell published his famous novel "1984".
Few people have read the book but almost everybody nowadays is familiar with the title of a popular reality TV programme: "BIG BROTHER" - in "1984" the term was used for the dictator in control of the totalitarian society of the future depicted by Orwell.
Still fewer people are aware of the term "NEWSPEAK", the official language of the Orwellian society which was designed to invert the content and meaning of words into their contrary. In 1947 - one year before the publication of "1984" - philologist Viktor Klemperer had published his analysis of "LTI - Lingua Tertii Imperii" (The language of the Third Reich). The same author later undertook a similar effort for "LQI - Lingua Quarti Imperii" (the language of the "Fourth Reich",i.e. the socialist German Democratic Republic) but these texts as well as Klemperers diaries during and after the war were never published until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
The Vatican has published a new version of Pope Benedict's Regensburg conference (see my blog on "Ownership of Reason, Faith - and of God?" September 14, 2006), adding short remarks signalling a certain distance of the speaker from his citation of Manuel Palaeologus concerning the prophet Muhammad.
Osservatore Profano, asks:
1) Has Pope Benedict XVI never had the opportunity to read "1984"?
2) If Yes, Osservatore Profano should like to beg His Holyness pardon for having
suspected the Vatican of using "NEWSPEAK" as part of it's communication concept
3) If No, then WHY must the Vatican's communication concept use "NEWSPEAK"
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
State of the Art - Art of State
To Polish philosopher Wladislaw Tatarkiewicz, we owe a 3 volume history of aesthetics, and a three-part disjunctive definition of art as "A construction of forms or a reproduction of things or an expression of experiences capable of producing delinght or emotions or shock"
A recent initiative by young Swis artists, http://www.kunstfreiheit.ch, adresses the question of whether copyright legislation and freedom of art are compatible.
In fact, modern copyright legislation tends to be more prohibitive than permissive when it comes to commercial aspects of art production. Besides the fact that (post)modern art is in perpetual conflict with cultural traditions and therefore tends to confirm Tatarkiewicz's definition, another aspect of aesthetics in the tradition of Baumgarten (philosophy of perception) merits to be studied: the question whether politics are a form of art. George W.Bush's grotesque scenario of political organization of the world under American leadership, Pope Benedict's "Stubengelehrten" approach to interreligious dialogue, the destruction of the Buddha statues by the Talibans of Afghanistan, and last but not least Al Qaeda's activities from 09/11 to Madrid and London, present time political activties seem to correspond more and more to the Tatarkiewicz definition of art than to the serious search of solutions for practical problems that are the traditional basis of politics.
In this perspective, copyright legislation will some day help politicians declare their activities as works of art, on the ground that they have been able to provoke delight, emotion and shock...
http://filelefteros.blogspot.com
To Polish philosopher Wladislaw Tatarkiewicz, we owe a 3 volume history of aesthetics, and a three-part disjunctive definition of art as "A construction of forms or a reproduction of things or an expression of experiences capable of producing delinght or emotions or shock"
A recent initiative by young Swis artists, http://www.kunstfreiheit.ch, adresses the question of whether copyright legislation and freedom of art are compatible.
In fact, modern copyright legislation tends to be more prohibitive than permissive when it comes to commercial aspects of art production. Besides the fact that (post)modern art is in perpetual conflict with cultural traditions and therefore tends to confirm Tatarkiewicz's definition, another aspect of aesthetics in the tradition of Baumgarten (philosophy of perception) merits to be studied: the question whether politics are a form of art. George W.Bush's grotesque scenario of political organization of the world under American leadership, Pope Benedict's "Stubengelehrten" approach to interreligious dialogue, the destruction of the Buddha statues by the Talibans of Afghanistan, and last but not least Al Qaeda's activities from 09/11 to Madrid and London, present time political activties seem to correspond more and more to the Tatarkiewicz definition of art than to the serious search of solutions for practical problems that are the traditional basis of politics.
In this perspective, copyright legislation will some day help politicians declare their activities as works of art, on the ground that they have been able to provoke delight, emotion and shock...
http://filelefteros.blogspot.com
Monday, October 02, 2006
Kemal Atatürk and Switzerland
80 years ago, Turkey adopted the Swiss Code of Civil Law (a.k.a Zivilgesetzbuch, ZGB).
After a serious diplomatic row last year between Turkey and Switzerland over the responsability of the emerging Turkish Republic in the expulsion and death of several hundred thousand native Armenians, Swiss Justice Minister Christoph Blocher will now visit Ankara to take part in the commemoration of the adoption of Swiss ZGB by Turkey. Kemal Atatürk was known as a autocratic ruler who not only ordered the creation of modern Turkisch language by academic linguistic specialists, but, and this may be more significant for the actual situation, forbade the use of the veil (chador)in parliament, universities and colleges. Swiss justice minister Blocher is himself well known for his autocratic tendencies. The fact that he has outmanoeuvered his female colleague, the social democratic minister of foreign affairs, Micheline Calmy-Rey on this journey, may add to his gratification that he will be able to pay tribute to another great autocrat. The only problem for him might be the fact that on the board of the joint Swiss Turkish Foundation for the study of the relations between the two countries, some of the fiercest oponents of his own policy are active. For details on the activities of the Foundation and it's board, see our link to "Stiftung Forschungsstelle Schweiz-Türkei"
Switzerland, in addition to the commemoration of the successful export of her civil law 80 years ago, will be able to expose her intern contradictions at the Ankara commemoration.
Will this later help Switzerland to develop more moderation when it comes to discussions on intercultural relations, migration, integration etc.?
And could this help the Turks themeselves to overcome their own internal conflicts?
http://filelefteros.blogspot.com
80 years ago, Turkey adopted the Swiss Code of Civil Law (a.k.a Zivilgesetzbuch, ZGB).
After a serious diplomatic row last year between Turkey and Switzerland over the responsability of the emerging Turkish Republic in the expulsion and death of several hundred thousand native Armenians, Swiss Justice Minister Christoph Blocher will now visit Ankara to take part in the commemoration of the adoption of Swiss ZGB by Turkey. Kemal Atatürk was known as a autocratic ruler who not only ordered the creation of modern Turkisch language by academic linguistic specialists, but, and this may be more significant for the actual situation, forbade the use of the veil (chador)in parliament, universities and colleges. Swiss justice minister Blocher is himself well known for his autocratic tendencies. The fact that he has outmanoeuvered his female colleague, the social democratic minister of foreign affairs, Micheline Calmy-Rey on this journey, may add to his gratification that he will be able to pay tribute to another great autocrat. The only problem for him might be the fact that on the board of the joint Swiss Turkish Foundation for the study of the relations between the two countries, some of the fiercest oponents of his own policy are active. For details on the activities of the Foundation and it's board, see our link to "Stiftung Forschungsstelle Schweiz-Türkei"
Switzerland, in addition to the commemoration of the successful export of her civil law 80 years ago, will be able to expose her intern contradictions at the Ankara commemoration.
Will this later help Switzerland to develop more moderation when it comes to discussions on intercultural relations, migration, integration etc.?
And could this help the Turks themeselves to overcome their own internal conflicts?
http://filelefteros.blogspot.com
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