Thursday, June 30, 2005
Tajikistan next stop
I have now bough my flight ticket to Dushanbe, the Tajik capital. I am flying with a for me so far unknown Russian airline called Pulkovo aviation. I will leave Stockholm at the 28th of July arriving in Dushanbe in very early morning at the 29th.
On the way back, some two weeks later, I will stay for two days in St petersburg and do some touristing aswell. I will be back at Arlanda in late afternoon at the 14th of August.
Those of you, well if anyone..., who wonders exactelly what I will do there have to wait for a few more days before I publish my detailed planning.
On the way back, some two weeks later, I will stay for two days in St petersburg and do some touristing aswell. I will be back at Arlanda in late afternoon at the 14th of August.
Those of you, well if anyone..., who wonders exactelly what I will do there have to wait for a few more days before I publish my detailed planning.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
No trip to Uzbekistan for me
Because of the political situation in Uzbekistan, I have now cancelled my plans to go there in August. I will however still go to Tajikistan. More information about my project will be found here shortly.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Why do people hate America?
What is wrong with people? When following the debate in Sweden, and I guess in the rest of Western Europe with some exceptions, one can believe that the big threat against democracy and security is the USA. Not much could be more wrong.
Was it really better when we had another superpower that “balanced” the USA, a thing that many people seem to want back? Well, ask the victims of communism if they think it was better.
Who should balance the USA? Communist China? Or a theocratic dictatorship in the Middle East? Prefer not. Some wants the EU to develop into a power that could “balance” USA, and sure I would love the EU to grow and to have a common foreign- and security policy but there is no need for them to “balance” USA, they should work together. To promote democracy, personal freedom and human rights is by far the most important thing in international politics. All democracies should join this struggle by the way. There do not always have to be military campaigns, that should be (and are) exceptions.
People should think more about the alternatives to today’s situation than complaining about the USA. The alternatives are really pretty scaring, eh?
And about the oil… how much oil is there in Kosovo, Vietnam, Korea or Germany? I do however agree that they probably have a reason other than just promoting democracy for the sake of it itself. They have come to realise that a democratic world serves them better, and then what is the problem? A world order dominated by China would surely come to other conclusions. For me and most other people democracy has a value in itself but if (I say if) America promotes democracy only because they know it is good for business (in the long run) and for their security then I am happy with the situation. There are no bad reasons for promoting democracy.
Everything is not good though, that goes without saying. It is hard to get credibility in the struggle for liberty when you support regimes like Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan. They have to stop doing that and I think it will happen.
Someone said Guantanamo? That is also a big mistake from the Bush administration. It is unacceptable that they violate the principles they claim to defend. These people should definitely have the right to a fair trial. Nevertheless, the anti-Americanism is stupid and dangerous. (By the way, when following the debate one can get the impression that most prisoners on Cuba are under American custody. Nothing can be more wrong. They are only a tiny fraction of the political prisoners in Communist Cuba. That is no excuse, but rather interesting when you here the Swedish “not-so-reformed-communists” crying out about how terrible USA acts, and the minute after defending Fidel Castro. How about THEIR credibility??)
Again, people how spend large parts of their time telling the rest of us how bad the USA is, should really present a realistic alternative that seems better for people who believe in democracy and human rights. It is going to be interesting.
And last. The political anti-Americanism is one thing. But the cultural one? In one way it is logical that people are getting negative towards a dominating culture, but then do not listen to their music, do not eat their food, wear their clothes or see their movies. It is that simple. This “cultural imperialism” is, actually, voluntarily.
Was it really better when we had another superpower that “balanced” the USA, a thing that many people seem to want back? Well, ask the victims of communism if they think it was better.
Who should balance the USA? Communist China? Or a theocratic dictatorship in the Middle East? Prefer not. Some wants the EU to develop into a power that could “balance” USA, and sure I would love the EU to grow and to have a common foreign- and security policy but there is no need for them to “balance” USA, they should work together. To promote democracy, personal freedom and human rights is by far the most important thing in international politics. All democracies should join this struggle by the way. There do not always have to be military campaigns, that should be (and are) exceptions.
People should think more about the alternatives to today’s situation than complaining about the USA. The alternatives are really pretty scaring, eh?
And about the oil… how much oil is there in Kosovo, Vietnam, Korea or Germany? I do however agree that they probably have a reason other than just promoting democracy for the sake of it itself. They have come to realise that a democratic world serves them better, and then what is the problem? A world order dominated by China would surely come to other conclusions. For me and most other people democracy has a value in itself but if (I say if) America promotes democracy only because they know it is good for business (in the long run) and for their security then I am happy with the situation. There are no bad reasons for promoting democracy.
Everything is not good though, that goes without saying. It is hard to get credibility in the struggle for liberty when you support regimes like Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan. They have to stop doing that and I think it will happen.
Someone said Guantanamo? That is also a big mistake from the Bush administration. It is unacceptable that they violate the principles they claim to defend. These people should definitely have the right to a fair trial. Nevertheless, the anti-Americanism is stupid and dangerous. (By the way, when following the debate one can get the impression that most prisoners on Cuba are under American custody. Nothing can be more wrong. They are only a tiny fraction of the political prisoners in Communist Cuba. That is no excuse, but rather interesting when you here the Swedish “not-so-reformed-communists” crying out about how terrible USA acts, and the minute after defending Fidel Castro. How about THEIR credibility??)
Again, people how spend large parts of their time telling the rest of us how bad the USA is, should really present a realistic alternative that seems better for people who believe in democracy and human rights. It is going to be interesting.
And last. The political anti-Americanism is one thing. But the cultural one? In one way it is logical that people are getting negative towards a dominating culture, but then do not listen to their music, do not eat their food, wear their clothes or see their movies. It is that simple. This “cultural imperialism” is, actually, voluntarily.
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Is Central Asia dangerous?
No it s not.
I will go to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in August for a development projekt aimed at schools in the region. The question many people ask me is if it is not dangerous to go there. It should however not be any problems as long as I act in a sensible way. I have checked the homepages of the Swedish, Canadian and Australian departments of foreign affairs. The Swedish UD accually advice Swedes to avoid non-essential trips to Uzbekistan. That is a milder degree of travel warning than if they were to advise against ALL trips to the country.
The Canadians warn their citizens from travelling to the Kyrgyz republic and to the trubelsome regions in eastern Uzbekistan (excluding the capital Tashkent). I did´nt have plans on doing that anyway...
The Australian department advice against all non-essential travels to Kyrgyzstan. They do not advice their citizens against going to Uzbekistan, but they write as follows: "Australians in Uzbekistan are advised to exercise extreme caution. Recent reports suggest that terrorists may be in the advanced stages of planning attacks. These could occur at any time, anywhere in Uzbekistan, including the capital Tashkent, and could be directed against a range of targets, including locations known to be frequented by foreigners." Well, that is a bit to vague to avoid the country. Sometime there might occur a terroristattack somewere jalla jalla... I could figure that out without help from the Australian intelligence service. If it is the same sources that claimed Iraq had weapens of mass destructions I will be very safe in Tashkent.
Lonely planet is the only homepage I have checked that warns for (some parts of) Tajikistan. Not the capital though. They don´t say anything at all about Uzbekistan... who shall one believe...?
Tajikistan seems as safe as any other place. The question is Uzbekistan. It is hard to know since everyone issue different kinds of warnings. I will monitor the development and I have to be prepered to change my plans but at the moment I am still aiming at going to both countries.
Here are some links.
Swedish travelwarnings:
http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/3436
Canadian travelwarnings: http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/sos/warnings-en.asp
Australian travelwarnings: http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/
Lonely planet´s travel warnings: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/travel_ticker/
I will go to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in August for a development projekt aimed at schools in the region. The question many people ask me is if it is not dangerous to go there. It should however not be any problems as long as I act in a sensible way. I have checked the homepages of the Swedish, Canadian and Australian departments of foreign affairs. The Swedish UD accually advice Swedes to avoid non-essential trips to Uzbekistan. That is a milder degree of travel warning than if they were to advise against ALL trips to the country.
The Canadians warn their citizens from travelling to the Kyrgyz republic and to the trubelsome regions in eastern Uzbekistan (excluding the capital Tashkent). I did´nt have plans on doing that anyway...
The Australian department advice against all non-essential travels to Kyrgyzstan. They do not advice their citizens against going to Uzbekistan, but they write as follows: "Australians in Uzbekistan are advised to exercise extreme caution. Recent reports suggest that terrorists may be in the advanced stages of planning attacks. These could occur at any time, anywhere in Uzbekistan, including the capital Tashkent, and could be directed against a range of targets, including locations known to be frequented by foreigners." Well, that is a bit to vague to avoid the country. Sometime there might occur a terroristattack somewere jalla jalla... I could figure that out without help from the Australian intelligence service. If it is the same sources that claimed Iraq had weapens of mass destructions I will be very safe in Tashkent.
Lonely planet is the only homepage I have checked that warns for (some parts of) Tajikistan. Not the capital though. They don´t say anything at all about Uzbekistan... who shall one believe...?
Tajikistan seems as safe as any other place. The question is Uzbekistan. It is hard to know since everyone issue different kinds of warnings. I will monitor the development and I have to be prepered to change my plans but at the moment I am still aiming at going to both countries.
Here are some links.
Swedish travelwarnings:
http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/3436
Canadian travelwarnings: http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/sos/warnings-en.asp
Australian travelwarnings: http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/
Lonely planet´s travel warnings: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/travel_ticker/
