From the field
From the field Blood bath in Balochistan
Mubashir, Director of PINFO, an Pakistan-based information management organisation, discusses insecurity in Balochistan. Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province, and is subject to much violence, conflict and insecurity. Pakistan’s Supreme Court recently held a hearing to look at the situation. Read more >>>
From the field Art and tradition for peace in Kashmir
Ashima Kaul, Insight on conflict’s local correspondent for Kashmir, speaks to Balwant Thakur, a man whose passion for theatre and peace saw him take to the remote villages of Kashmir to revive a lost art form. 22 years of militancy have damaged cultural and social traditions and art forms in Kashmir. On such example is ‘Bhand Pather’, a traditional folk theatre Thakur calls “the real face of Kashmir“ Read more >>>
From the field Burundi: challenges for truth and reconciliation
Landry Ninteretse, Insight on Conflict’s Local Correspondent for Burundi, talked to civil society to get their views on transitional justice mechanisms that are supposed to bring effective reconciliation among Burundians after nearly five decades of violence and grave violations of human rights. Read more >>>
From the field Beyond Kony 2012: Local peacebuilders advice to Invisible Children
Steohen Oola, Insight on Conflict’s local correspondent for Uganda, writes on the local reaction to Invisible Children’s Kony 2012 campaign. Particularly the reatcion of respected local peacebuilders, such as the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative (ARLPI), a local interfaith peacebuilding organisation in northern Uganda, which has urged Invisible Children to work with people in the region to find a lasting solution to the LRA situation. Read more >>>
From the field Pakistan: challenges of conflict-induced displacement
Zahid Ahmed, Insight on Conflicts local correspondent for Pakistan, looks at the issue of conflict-induced displacement in the country. Military conflicts have displaced millions of people in recent years. Many have now returned, but there are still 500,000 internally displaced people in Pakistan. For those that have returned, the legacy of violence presents unique problems. Zahid hopes to start a discussion on what he sees as a fairly new phenomenon in Pakistan. Read more >>>
From the field Hope for lasting peace in Burma
Ismail Wolff, Insight on Conflict’s local correspondent for Burma (Myanmar), looks at the prospects for peace in the country. Recent developments have raised hopes that Burma is on the path to securing lasting peace. Ceasefires have been signed with many armed groups, freedoms are opening up, and open elections are due to be held. Ismail highlights the need for genuine political dialogue to address the underlying grievance behind the conflicts in order to turn these welcome reforms into sustainable peace. Read more >>>
From the field A Ugandan reflection on the Kony 2012 campaign
Stephen Oola, Ugandan peacebuilder and Local Correspondent for Insight on Conflict, provides a Ugandan perspective on Invisible Children’s controversial Kony 2012 campaign. Although positive about Invisible Children’s work on the ground in Uganda, Stephen questions the lack of involvement of Ugandans in the campaign. Read more >>>
From the field Nepal: Civil society demands justice for conflict victims
Ambika Pokhrel, Insight on Conflict’s Local Correspondent for Nepal, looks at the issue of conflict victims in Nepal. More than five years since the end of the armed conflict, many victims have not received the support and justice the peace accord entitles them to. Impunity is widespread with many who are accused of committing crimes during the conflict enjoying political office. Civil society is active in Nepal. Challenging this impunity and demanding justice for victims of conflict. Read more >>>
From the field Kashmir: building peace through trade
Zafar Iqbal, founder of Kashmir based organisation Press For Peace (PFP), discusses trade between Indian- and Pakistani- administered Kashmir. Intra-Kashmir trade was established as a confidence-building measure between India and Pakistan in 2004. Zafar explains the difficulties facing traders on both sides of the line of control, as well as the hope trade brings. Read more >>>
From the field Observing the polls in DR Congo
November 28, 2011 was historic in the DR Congo; the first ever democratic national election organized by the Congolese themselves. Indeed it was only the second time since independence in 1960 that a multi-party electoral vote would be set to determine the presidential seat. However, this relatively undeveloped voting system left the electoral process wide open to systemic and local corruption that could erode its very legitimacy. Two years ago I visited communities affected by violence in the eastern DR Congo. So when Christian Aid offered me the opportunity to help monitor and evaluate the election, I felt compelled to return in the hope that a fair election would improve the livelihoods of the Congolese people. Read more >>>
