Amjad Ali started out by explaining that the purpose of SYF is to create conditions of social and political justice, and a conflict-free environment among different social groups to ensure a prosperous, peaceful, enlightened and justice-based society. Under its project for peace and human rights, SYF has initiated a campaign to promote understanding of the universal declaration of human rights to the general public through dialogue, awareness campaigns, and youth participation in activities and seminars.

The urgency of their work is caused by the seriousness of the social problems in the Swat Valley are enormous, as Ali explained: ‘Talibanisation’, militancy, terrorism and military campaigns mean that the local population have lost many lives, suffered massive displacements and live with long-running curfews and check points. The social disruption and political instability has harmed not only the local economy but also recreational activities like sports, tourism and other activities. “Sports have been indisputably the most popular leisure activity in the area, not only for children and youth, but for men as players, coaches, leaders, administrators and spectators, but due to above mentioned situation and the paralysed economy, such activities have been pushed to the background”. For this reason, SYF proposed the “Sports for Peace” project to Public Affairs Section US Consulate Peshawar, and were  awarded a grant of $12,000 to encourage initiatives where sport can assist in creating a platform for peacebuilding and development. The organisation facilitated and equipped 3360 players from 330 teams with sports goods and began establishing a network between them.

The “Sports for Culture of Peace” project, funded by the Commonwealth Foundation, was implemented in April 2010 to encourage initiatives to provide structure in an unstructured and destabilizing environment and serve as a means to channel energies away from aggression and self-destruction. According to Ali, “such activities revive and promote sports activities and provide a valuable tool for building resilience and helping conflict survivors to overcome trauma by allowing a brief period of relaxation. This switches attention away from the experience of the loss and provides an opportunity to reinforce educational and safety messages along with welcome respite for parents and caregivers. The youth in particular and communities in general were in need, and hence the initiative was highly appreciated by various segments of the society”.

With the gradual improvement in the security situation, SYF is proposing to initiate sports activities for girls to ensure gender equality and motivate them to play their role in the promotion of peace and development. They inted to extend the sports projects to better promote gender equality and women rights.

It is always important to explore the point of view of the people participating in a project, so Ali shared a couple of stories of players under the Sports for Culture of Peace project.

Husain Ali, 26 years old and captain of  a cricket team which participated in the tournaments, commented that “the armed conflict, Talibanization, continuous curfews and civilian exodus in the area had pushed back the sports activities in his area and the youth of the area and the spectators have no platform to share their feelings and experiences . The sports for culture of peace project enable my team to hold matches with the network members. The revival of their sport activities allow the team players a brief period of relaxation, focus attention away from the experience of the loss and provide an opportunity to reinforce educational and safety messages along with welcome respite for parents and caregivers. In addition to this the cash prizes awarded to my team as a winning team enabled us to equip our team with relevant sports goods and organize such tournaments on self-help basis in the future”.

Zahid Husain is 29 years old and resident of the most affected area, Tehsil Kabal. On the eve of final volleyball match at Koza Bandai, he said “such sporting activities are the backbone for promoting peace and development in the post conflict situation and provide leisure opportunities for both the players and the spectators. On the one hand the players are provided with safe space to avoid drugs, crimes and develop their sense of belonging and lead to team building skills while on the other hand the traumatized spectators are provided with a safe, structured and friendly environment for the people to share their emotions through verbal and nonverbal communication”.

Ali further added that during an interview with the volleyball team about the benefits and usefulness of sports and cultural activities, the team members highly applauded the efforts of SYF to provide structure in a highly unstructured environment. Hence sports and cultural activities help to build cohesive, empowered and active communities. They added that sports and culture are fundamental to our communities as they offer places for people to come together, find common interest and a sense of shared identity. They give children and young people like us the chance to enhance our understanding of the world and develop new skills and knowledge and hence ultimately make places more pleasant, providing attractive environments that improve the day to day experience of all who live and work there.

The work of SYF also received appreciation and encouragement from local elders. In this regard, Ali shared the views of Muhammad Hayat: “all young people require the knowledge, skills and understanding to live in and contribute to a peaceful society and this begins with an understanding of the world in which we live. The first-hand experience that we can gain from sports and cultural activities is to enable young people to acquire knowledge, skills and understanding and hence such activities will help to develop self-esteem, self –confidence and independence and hence provided young people with the opportunity to experience other areas’ cultures, meet and develop new friendship and thus broaden their horizons and knowledge”.

When asked, if he really thinks that involvement in sports helps in healing the wounds of the victims of conflict in Swat, Ali replied by saying that the complex emergency in the area has a negative impact on the economy of the area and has led to high unemployment ratio and such negative impulses are put into the back ground during sports and leisure activities. Besides, the civilian exodus and impact of the conflict situation, void of sports facilities for the youth were also responsible for the postponing of sports activities. He believes that the sports for culture of peace project helps to promote social integration and foster tolerance, helping to reduce tension and generate dialogue.

It has been challenging for SYF to motivate the traumatized students and young people to actively participate in peacebuilding, but their work demonstrates that sports have the power to not only heal the wounds of the victims of conflict but also to give hope of sustainable peace to the ones who have lost substantially.

By Zahid Shahab Ahmed, Pakistan Local Correspondent, 9 December 2010.

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Swat Youth Front (SYF)

SYF is a youth organisation working in the areas of peace, poverty reduction, women's empowerment and human rights.

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Justice Ogoola called upon the government of Uganda to establish a national peace and reconciliation commission. He said “the pearl of Africa is not shinning bright as it used to be due to many issues shrouded in a thick blanket . . . corruption is too much . . . we need peace, we need justice.” In his argument for a peace and reconciliation commission Justice Ogoola called attention to the past and Uganda’s future. “We shall be celebrating 48 years of independence next week but what do we have to show in the national balance sheet?,” he said.

His Lordship Ogoola’s statement reiterates what many people in Uganda strongly believe, that given our history and current politics, truth seeking is an important prerequisite for future peace, justice and national reconciliation. It also brings the debate on peace and justice to the forefront again. Particularly, this dialogue resonates with Uganda’s contexts where commentators tend to narrowly portray justice as solely prosecutorial. Ogoola said the pain in the hearts of Ugandans would reduce once the truth is revealed. He cited a whole range of unresolved past and ongoing abuses including the 1966 attack on Buganda Kabaka’s palace, the assassination attempt against former President Apollo Milton Obote, and the 1971 Idi Amin coup – many of which cannot by law be satisfactorily prosecuted and yet underlie Uganda’s current turmoil. Reflecting on the current context and politics in Uganda, Ogoola lamented that “the country is in coma. The system is falling apart. All political parties seem to be sick with a disease called electioniosis which is caused by greed.”

Ogoola talking to Leander Komakech, the senior research and advocacy officer for the Refugee Law Project, and Pascal Piwang after the Beyond Juba lecture

That a high court judge is calling for a truth-seeking process is an important milestone in broadening transitional justice discourses in Uganda because for several years now, civil society’s advocacy for comprehensive accountability and national reconciliation process has not yielded much result. In 2005, a civil society Coalition for National Reconciliation in Uganda (CORU) came together to build consensus on a national reconciliation process in Uganda. CORU’s diverse membership stems from CSOs, NGOs, and academic institutions, to religious organizations, peacebuilding organizations, research institutions and individuals working for peace, justice, and development in Uganda, all of which believe the need for national truth seeking is a key to sustainable peace building especially because attempts to prioritise prosecutorial justice have failed to yield the peace Ugandans long for.

The War Crimes Division was established to prosecute war crimes and international crimes but is yet to try its first case. Even the domestication of the International Criminal Courts Act has failed to kick-start anticipated transitional reforms in governance as election violence and corruption rocks the political landscape. The International Criminal Court (ICC) itself has refusal calls to lift indictments and facilitate negotiation to end the LRA atrocities, but has failed to apprehend its indicted leaders. Meanwhile arbitrary killings continue in Karamoja, as a result of ongoing militarisation, instead of peaceful disarmaments of the pastoral communities in the north eastern parts of the country. The need exists to fast-track passage and implementation of the civil society proposed national reconciliation bill for Uganda. And it is long overdue.

Back in December 2006, CORU convened a two-day National Conference on Reconciliation in Uganda during which participants were tasked with sketching their ideas of what a national reconciliation framework for Uganda should look like. The outcome became the first draft of a proposed national reconciliation bill for Uganda. Under leadership of the Refugee Law Project (RLP), the civil society draft was developed with wide consultation until completed and handed over to the government appointed technical committee on truth telling under the Justice Law and Order Sector (JLOS) Committee on Transitional Justice. Hon. Justice James Ogoola as Chairman of JLOS was central to the development of this bill. He led several JLOS delegation meetings with RLP and other CORU members over the content of the bill and how it related with other ongoing accountability mechanisms. The bill as drafted thus sought to harmonize the different mechanisms including traditional justice systems, but its passage still hangs in balance.

Stephen Oola, Uganda Local Correspondent, October 2010

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You can listen to the interview below.

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Faith Community Network

The Faith Community Network helps communities in South Thailand to resolve conflicts, working with local religious leaders.

Many of the problems that have contributed to the violence in South Thailand have in fact existed for a long time. Differences in religion and culture have been cited as causing violence. In fact, it is important for the central state of Thailand to understand the differences of the southern states.

NGOs working in the deep south of Thailand have learnt the importance of creating spaces for local people to voice their opinions and take part in activities. It is key that people feel they control their own destinies if there is to be peace in this region.

Islam is the majority religion in the 3 most southern provinces of Thailand – Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. Religious considerations play an important role in any development project. Leaders are an important part of the culture of Muslim communities in the region, so work which cooperates with community leaders – religious, village-level, and political – is crucial to the success of development projects.

By gathering people together and providing an open space for them to express their opinions on the problems affecting the village, its possible to create a peaceful foundation for future development. Development that is successful does not come from the state, but from the people most affected.

In Pa-te, in the Yaha district of Pattani, problems of violence because of the war are widespread, as well as unemployment and drug abuse. Community-based decision making has led to education programmes in local schools as one way of stopping future generations falling into the same trap. With the help of the Faith Community Network, they developed types of Muslim schools known as ‘keerooartee’, to educate young people about the benefits of peace, and for which they have managed to get government support.

In Salopatae, the economic centre of Yala province, the mosque did not serve as the centre of the village for the Muslim community. People practiced religion in their own homes, and therefore lost the community aspect of the mosque as a meeting place. The Faith Community Network worked with the villagers to redevelop the mosque, rather than the local government office, as the centre of village activity. The redevelopment of the mosque allowed for the same type of youth education as in Pata, as well as the establishment of a women’s group that makes items from local materials for sale.

Kadudou village, in the Pinang District of Yala, was in a state of conflict. People didn’t trust each other. Many meetings were arranged & eventually they set up a sewing group in order to develop some kind of livelihood for the villagers. Again, the local mosque had lost its role as a centre of village life, meaning people didn’t talk to each other. The sewing group took on its role.

These are just villages in a global world. The Muslim community in Thailand is a minority – Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country, but it is wrong to say that religion is the cause of the violence in the South. Rather, the Thai state fails to understand the local culture sufficiently, and act accordingly. The same is the case for the state’s response to the violence, it is wrong to simply brand everybody ‘terrorists’ and then respond with more violence.

As these examples show, involving local people directly leads to new & sustainable ways of resolving conflict and building a peaceful life.

Posted by Kokaew Wongphan, 21 December 2009

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Academics in Thailand are beginning to ask this question & in the months toward the end of 2009, there were a number of big academic seminars focused on problems in the Deep South. They covered a range of issues, and were hosted by institutions in both Bangkok and the South, with the dominant themes being Autonomy, Pattani history, Human Rights and the Government’s response to solving the conflict. All of which did not shy away from criticizing government policy or providing alternative solutions.

The “Non-Violence Global Political Sciences”, held by Prince of Songkhla University, looked at solving the political issues of the Deep South. The main discussion looked at methods to stop the violence, by promoting grassroots approaches as a counter to an increasingly top-down method. The also looked at ways to ensure the military strategy was led by the political rather than the other way around.

Prince of Songkhla University, supported by the Research Centre for Peacebuilding of Mahidol University, held a conference on the possibility of an autonomous area in the South, and looked at the experience of autonomy in other countries such as Aceh in Indonesia, Midanao in Philippines, and minority groups in China & New Zeland.

“Phantasm in Southern Thailand : Historical Writing on Patani and the Islamic World”, held by Walailak university, Chulalongkorn university, National Discovery Museum Institute and Thailand Research Fund, in Bangkok, was biggest ever conference about the conflict in the Deep South and had speakers from around the world. Focused on the history of Pattani, the general consensus was the government needed to pay more attention to the historical roots of the conflict – the Patani empire, and the particular identity of region’s people.

However, since the conflict began in 2004, there have been over 1000 published academic articles and books on the situation in the Deep South, and yet violence continues and no real progress seems to have been made. All of these conferences are lacking a crucial element – the participation of local people. The question should not only be about the government response, but where is the space for local people in the peace process? Only then will we see progress in the conflict on Thailand’s Deep South.

Posted by Kokaew Wongphan, 13 January 2009

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Some schools that have completed the Peace Training programme have gone on to establish “Peace Clubs”, and contribute to peace education activities. ARF-Pattani’s role with these schools has therefore changed from that of a trainer to that of consultant, arranging meetings between the clubs to share what they have learnt and to develop relationships between the members.

After finishing the Youth Peace Clubs in schools, in early 2009 ARF-Pattani moved into working with young people in the villages most affected by the violence in the region. Many young people in the villages are poorly educated, very few progress further than high school; many only ever finish primary education.

This lack of education creates serious problems for young people in the villages. Many find it extremely difficult to find work in the cities, and some migrate to Malaysia. Those that stay become targets for drug gangs and terrorist organizations, which also draws attention from the army. ARF-Pattani offers skills training to unemployed young people to try and ensure that they don’t become part of the violence.

Posted by Kokaew Wongphan, 21 December 2009

Asian Resource Foundation Pattani (ARF-PATTANI)

Since 2005 ARF-Pattani has undertaken peacebuilding and sustainable development programs in Southern Thailand, and promotes inter-faith dialogue as central to resolving the regions conflict.

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Peace Volunteers in South Thailand

The peace volunteers are local people, who live and work in the areas affected by the violence. Around 60% are teachers – others come are deputy district officers, or come from community development authorities. Because they are from the area they know the culture, religion and nature of the people, better than any outsider. The training they have received has allowed them to built upon this local knowledge, using it alongside peacebuilding skills.

Peace Volunteers in South Thailand

By 2010, these 69 volunteers will have established a peace building project that extends in to high schools and villages (particularly villages that are experiencing religious based conflict).

Posted by Kokaew Wongphan, 21 December 2009

The Southern Border Province Administrative Centre (SBPAC)

SBPAC has been working for peace in South Thailand since October 2006 with the goal of increasing the participation of people across Thai society in the establishment of peace.

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The situation in East DR Congo has become worse with the arrival of government troops as part of the Kimia II operation to oust the FDLR. Many government troops are not paid and lack discipline. The rape of women and girls is widespread.

Two weeks ago a man was killed in Misisi, a village in the territory of Fizi, by a government soldier. The victim had gone for a ride from Misisi to another village five miles away. He was stopped by a soldier who demanded money for cigarettes.

The victim told him he hadn’t any money. The soldier got angry and took his bicycle, saying:

If you don’t have any money, we’ll take your bike.

A fight broke out, and the soldier took his machine gun and shot the man in the chest, killing the man before fleeing into the Bush.

Once the local people were informed, they went in search of the soldier. They destroyed and burned the houses of soldiers in the village, and took machetes, arrows, and spears to fight the government troops.

According to the managing director of Fizi Hospital, 18 people were killed. This demonstrates how easily one incident can quickly escalate to affect a huge number of people.

Upon learning of the situation in Misisi, we in ACODIF, with the help of local authorities, went into the village. By gathering together local leaders from churches, surrounding villages, and the army, in a fou-hour meeting, they were able to bring about a peace agreement to end the violence.

This meeting has allowed the people who had fled to the mountains to be free to return to the homes. However, this incident demonstrates the levels of violence that still exist in the region, and how ACODIF has had to negotiate for peace in the absence of control by the government of its troops.

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ACODIF - Community Action For Integral Development in Fizi

ACODIF is committed to community development, community peacebuilding, poverty eradication in Fizi, DR Congo

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Today, everybody is talking about peace and stability in the Great Lakes Region; a place of reconciliation between countries which were once living in suspicion. The Republic of Rwanda and DR Congo have exchanged their ambassadors, a new ambassador of DR Congo has started his work in Burundi, and the East African Community is slowly taking shape. The Community of Central African countries is on the move, and the Southern African countries are also promising to strengthen their relations. Time to look ahead, for a common bright future.

Yet, a dark wind is still blowing in the region. DR Congo and Angola were recently expelling refugees from their territories, the Republic of Congo also started the same expulsion of DR Congolese refugees, DR Congo is confronted with the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) in the North, Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR) in South and North Kivu, ethnic clashes, corruption, land conflict, displaced people and an internal refugee crisis. The whole country is still under violence in its four corners: East, West, North and South. Every day, it is confronted by armed clashes, tribal violence, and the displacement of people. According to international reports some neighbouring countries constitute a transit point where minerals pass to reach international markets. With the money they get from the minerals, FDLR buy munitions and equipments, and continue the violence in the country.

The above picture shows that DR Congo is surrounded by tensions caused by the appetite that its wealth creates regionally and internationally.

For Insight on Conflict and my own conflict resolution organisation, the Chirezi Foundation, I have talked with a number of people to try to understand their perceptions. The majority have said that DR Congo is a victim of its vast mineral wealth and what is happening internally is the result of a lack of patriotism from Congolese people from leaders to the general population.

Put together, the scenario of the ‘destabilisation of the elephant’ has begun. Let us look closely at the impression of people internally and externally:

Kimia II

The first impression that we have received is that many people are against the Kimia II operation of the DR Congo government, supported by the UN’s MONUC forces. Many people in DR Congo think that this operation has put the country into a political trap. Three elements constitute the base of their argument:

1. The mission of the operation is vague.
2. Rwandan troops – thanks to the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD – a rebel group supported by Rwanda in the Second Congo War) have been in DR Congo for many years but have not succeeded in dislodging the FDLR.
3. After years of war the DR Congo has no army with the potential to undertake such operation. Neighbouring countries and the international community have never attempted such an operation because they are conscious of the impossibility of such a mission.
4. The operation is sending the FDLR inside its own territory to continue to rape, smuggle and kill innocent people.

New Groups

There is also the birth of new armed alliances with the philosophy of protecting their small lands. Local militia – similar to Mai-Mai – are slowly but surely emerging in different communities in DR Congo and outside the country. People I talked to suspect that many young people are recruited to start new movements of resistance to defend their local land. This is how the Mai-Mai movement started – the same philosophy and same objectives. The local leaders I approached think that such movements could be encouraged because, according to them:

When violence is everywhere in the community, when we lack protection against those so-called FDLR and when you are even unsecured by your own soldiers who were supposed to protect you, nothing can be more welcomed than a local movement to defend you and your property, family and land…

Support for FDLR

In the FDLR, DR Congo is fighting a well organised national and international network. Many people don’t want the FDLR to be dislodged from their positions.  I was told on my visits to South Kivu that many companies have established their bases in neighbouring countries with the sole mission of buying minerals from the FDLR. Also, well ranked personalities in DR Congo and neighbouring countries are being included in such a market. In return, FDLR get food, clothing, munitions and military equipments. The chief of tribes I talked about has invited me to organise a trip to the FDLR places in the mountains where they have their government, school, hospitals, or army. The recent leaked UN report provides evidence of international support for the FDLR.

MONUC to leave?

It is unclear to local people how MONUC can leave the country with the current levels of violence and insecurity. In November, the UN Special Envoy Olusegun Obasanjo reported improvements in the region in November: “Generally, an atmosphere of détente and cooperation has developed in the region”. However, the talks I had with communities in DR Congo show that there will not be peace in these communities, and development at the grassroots, if nothing is done to take seriously the present situation in DR Congo. The population which has suffered decades of war, insecurity, poverty, misery and displacement was starting to settle and slowly solve their local problems, but over the last year the threat of a new and generalised war has arisen once more.

It is the responsibility of every willing person who will read this report to stand and talk about in order to help DR Congo remain stable, peaceful and determined to engage into the development and reconstruction of its country. It is also of the responsibility of every reader to lobby nationally and internally for justice and discourage illegal exploitation of DR Congo’s minerals which could constitute, if nothing is done, the essential cause and reason of a new unwanted war in DR Congo tomorrow.

The Great Lakes Region, and the international community more widely, have an interest in investing in the stability of DR Congo if they do not want to risk the destabilisation of the whole region. It is easy to start fire but much harder to put it out once it has reached the forest… Qui vivra verra!

Floribert Kazingufu, Insight on Conflict, December 2009

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The war that started in DR Congo in 1996 has planted hatred in the hearts of people across the country and caused long hidden conflicts between people, tribes and communities to resurface. Conflicts are started for lots of reasons: economic inequalities, power-grabbing, cultural differences and land disputes – no corner of the country, whether large city or small rural village, has been left untouched. This report focuses on a serious, deadly conflict over a shared river between the two provinces of South Kivu and Maniema, in the territory of Fizi, and how an organisation working with all the people involved succeeded in finding a peaceful solution.

The River Kananda

The River Kananda runs through the heart of the territory of Fizi, and defines the border of the two provinces of South Kivu and Maniema. The river is not simply a convenient border but a rich resource of natural minerals – most notably gold, nickel and diamonds. Two tribes live on each side of the river – the Bembe people on the South Kivu side and Buyu people in Maniema. Before the war the two tribes co-existed quite peacefully, with both tribes sharing the rights to extract minerals from the river without conflict. Only with the onset of war did the question of ownership of the river, and the rights to its rich resources, become an issue.

Open Conflict

Initially, the authorities from both sides did not take the issue seriously. But the presence of the Mai-Mai militia quickly brought another dimension to the conflict. It turned from a simple disagreement to escalate into an armed conflict. Fights broke out, property was destroyed, animals were killed, shops looted and lives lost. In all 16 people were killed, 137 injured, and 48 houses burnt to the ground. The violence finally pushed the authorities into taking action. With the help of local authorities and the police forces, the violence stopped, but the underlying conflict over the river was left unresolved. There was still hatred and anger on both sides. All cross-community activity was stopped. Business, school and church activities were suspended. Life was paralysed on both sides.

Peacebuilding Initiative

ACODIF, a Congolese peace organisation, noticed the danger of violence returning, and realising that the police and local authorities were unable to solve the issue of the river, decided to step in. Sango Shila, President of the organisation told me why they decided to get involved:

We could see that the conflict was taking a dangerous shape that no policemen, nor chief of tribes nor local authority could end if proper method of conflict resolution wasn’t applied…

After two months of meetings between tribal chiefs, pastors, teachers, local authorities, and representatives of the people, ACODIF was successful in brokering a peace agreement between the two tribes.

The decision to live together in harmony

After the agreement, all the suspended activities could start up again, people were able to move from one side of the river to another one without any problems. A local joint committee was put in place to ensure that both sides continue to abide by the agreement.

One villager told me:

Before the talks, it was impossible to move from my place and do business in the other side. I thank God for the atmosphere of peace that is prevailing. Now we can continue to live together again.

Another one stated:

I don’t know why people were quarrelling. The river was there before us and will continue to be there after us. We should take the opportunity to use the wealth in the river to advance us, build common schools, hospitals, etc

Floribert Kazingufu, Insight on Conflict, November 2009

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