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Publications >> Democracy Newsletter
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| National Endowment for Democracy News and Information Issue 1 2006 |
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Democracy Prevails in Liberia Liberia Elects Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf President On November 8, 2005, just two years after Liberia emerged from a brutal 14-year civil war that claimed more than 200,000 lives and displaced a third of the population, the nation elected the first woman president to serve as a head of state in modern African history. The National Election Commission declared that former World Bank economist Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf won 59 percent of the run-off vote, defeating international soccer star George Weah, who obtained 41 percent. Although Weah and many of his supporters challenged the results, domestic and international election observers maintained that the run-off vote, which came nearly one month after the first round of elections, was largely free and fair. Liberians came out in impressive numbers to cast their ballots in both rounds, many lining up at polling stations as early as 1 a.m. Government, international observers, and United Nations military kept watch at the polls as identification cards were checked against pictures in the voter roster, ballots were handed out, and fingers were marked with indelible ink to prevent double voting. Citizens cast their votes behind a cardboard booth, folded the ballot, and placed it in a container. Minimal violence was observed, with the exception of a few flared tempers on the part of exhausted voters who traveled lengthy distances and waited exceptionally long hours. The level of participation on the part of the citizenry for both rounds of the presidential election – turnout was estimated at 75 percent – signaled that the Liberian people "are united around a common objective of transforming this war-ravaged nation through democratic governance," according to the National Elections Committee (NEC).
Liberia reached the end of its destructive 14-year conflict with the signing of the 2003 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the two main rebel factions and the remnants of President Charles Taylor's government. The peace agreement established a contentious transitional government composed of rebel leaders, Taylor supporters, and members of civil society. Fortunately, Liberian civil society has grown into a vibrant force for peace and democracy in the country, thanks to the hard work of democratic activists and civil society groups who have fought hard for human rights awareness, civic education and training, freedom of the press, and a credible and transparent electoral process. NED looks forward to continuing its longstanding commitment to democratic progress, and with a democratically elected government in place, the Liberian people may finally look forward to a new era of peace and prosperity. [Top]
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Iraq Witnesses a Year of Historic Democratic Progress
Last January, Iraq successfully conducted its first democratic elections in over a half century. Since this milestone, the Iraqi people have made clear their determination and commitment to moving forward on the path toward democracy. After the January elections for an interim government, the National Assembly appointed a 55-member drafting committee to create a permanent constitution, setting the stage for negotiations throughout the summer that led to a draft constitution in September. On October 15, the Iraqi people voted in a national referendum to ratify the constitution, paving the way for historic parliamentary elections to take place in December. From the time of its liberation in 2003, NED has continuously supported a variety of programs that promote democracy in Iraq. Despite considerable security concerns in addition to serious political and logistical challenges, the Endowment, through its family of affiliated core institutes as well as local NGOs, has provided support to the Iraqi people. NED's core institutes were dedicated to engaging local civil society groups in the transformation of the country's political process. The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) conducted a Constitutional Dialogue and Education Program in concert with five indigenous Iraqi NGOs to introduce and broadly explain the content of the constitution to more than 140,000 Iraqis – far more than the 100,000 they expected to reach. In partnership with the Election Information Network (EIN), NDI trained and deployed nearly 10,000 election monitors to ensure a transparent and legitimate referendum process. And despite considerable security concerns, NDI staff members served as international observers during the referendum vote. NDI continued to provide Iraqi NGOs with technical assistance, training, materials, and consultative support to respond to changing conditions leading up to the December 15 elections. The International Republican Institute (IRI) played an instrumental role in the preparations for national elections by holding ten televised debates among party and entity leaders. In addition, IRI provided campaign training to a broad range of political parties on topics ranging from candidate leadership skills and platform development to overcoming the obstacles that an insecure environment poses while trying to conduct a political campaign. Strengthening the business community and developing political party platforms have been major endeavors of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) throughout the year. CIPE's two training sessions focused on helping all political parties interested in pursuing a peaceful, democratic process to develop promising economic planks for their party platforms that enabled them to offer more than just a sectarian or tribal perspective to their constituencies. In addition, CIPE has developed a weekly television program titled "Economic Files," covering business and economic issues important to the Iraqi business community, as well as promoting political advocacy between the business community and the Iraqi government. On the labor side, the American Center for International Labor Solidarity (Solidarity Center) began its work in Iraq in 2005 with the aim of strengthening basic worker rights, such as the right to a free and fair workplace and the guarantee of timely and adequate wages. The work of the Endowment's core institutes has been buttressed by more than 35 local grantees that are engaged in civil society projects aimed at political party development, raising awareness of women's rights, and encouraging the free flow of information to Iraqi citizens, as well as general support for the constitutional referendum and election processes. The Iraqi Organization for Human Rights Coordination (IOHRC) has dedicated itself to educating and involving citizens in Baghdad, Basra, and Karbala on basic constitutional concepts as well as the importance of an independent judicial system. IOHRC has held several constitutional workshops targeting community leaders, training them in the ideals of federalism, women's rights, minority rights, and the role of religion. The organization also publishes a weekly newsletter, Alwa'i ("awareness"), which is distributed to schools, universities, civil society organizations, government offices, and at events in Baghdad, Basra, and Karbala. Ensuring the political inclusion of women is critical to the success of a democratic transformation in Iraq. Several NED grantees have made it a primary goal to increase awareness among women of their rights and their need for involvement in the political process in the face of deteriorating security conditions and the rising influence of political forces that may want to exclude women from the reconstruction and the political transition process. Bent Alrafedain (BA) is one NED grantee that has worked to educate and empower women leaders through civic education and awareness raising activities. Working primarily in the Babel province, BA was active in January 2005 election monitoring, and has since created an internet resource center that has served as a tool in encouraging local women to participate in the constitutional referendum and the December 2005 national election. Ben Alrafedain is also one of many local NGOs that have campaigned for adequate women's representation in the language of the permanent constitution. Baghdad-based grantee Nahrain successfully launched a website devoted to electoral developments that became an essential source of information for the Iraqi electorate, decision-makers, and other members of the media both inside Iraq and throughout the region during the January elections. Nahrain continued its critical work during the referendum process and the preparations leading up to the national parliamentary elections in December. The online news portal, which averages one million visitors per month, also serves as a central repository of all relevant laws and regulations relating to the ongoing political process, enabling a network of writers and contributors to disseminate critical information to the Iraqi people. In the coming months, NED will continue to build on democratic gains by supporting programs that help Iraqi citizens and civil society organizations constructively influence the country's political process. Political party strengthening, civil society development, encouraging women's political participation, supporting international economic standards and workers' rights, and helping to ensure a smooth transition to a viable democratic government are key areas in which NED plans to provide support and training in cooperation with its core institutes and indigenous Iraqi NGOs. NED will also continue to seek out new avenues for supporting future democratic development. [Top]
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Chairman’s Message
When NED's founders drafted the governing by-laws, they included a provision limiting to three the number of three-year terms that Board members could serve. Their foresight has been vindicated by the fact that the policy has enabled us to widen our reach by calling upon the talents and experiences of so many excellent individuals. Still, the cost of implementing that policy has been considerable, a fact best illustrated by the January 2006 departure of two of our most active and effective members, Thomas R. Donahue and Emmanuel Kampouris. Tom came to the Endowment following a distinguished career in the American labor movement, having served from 1979 to 1995 as the Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO and having been elected its President in August 1995 to complete the unexpired term of Lane Kirkland. It was during Tom's tenure as the second-in-command at the AFL-CIO that the labor movement played a pivotal role in the transition to democracy of the former Soviet bloc countries through its support of the Polish trade union Solidarity. Tom has an extraordinarily wide range of interests, from his work with the Council on Foreign Relations, the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy, and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, to his current involvement as chairman of the Board of an employee-owned shipping company and membership on the Farm Labor Commission for North Carolina, Ohio, and Michigan. At NED, Tom took over the position of vice chair of the Board in 2001, when Paula Dobriansky, who is currently serving as Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, left to enter the Bush Administration. On the Board, he has played a leading role in helping colleagues understand the nuances of international labor programs as they relate to the promotion of democracy. But perhaps Tom's greatest contribution has been the clearheaded and incisive perspective he brings to all of our deliberations that has earned him the deep respect of his colleagues. Mano Kampouris joined the NED Board as a prominent leader in the American business community, having served as President and Chief Executive Officer of American Standard, and, from 1993-1999, as the Chairman of its Board of Directors. Like Tom, Mano's interests range widely, as overseer of the Executive Council on Diplomacy, a member of Oxford University's Council for the School of Management Studies, and as a member of the Executive Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He is a strong advocate of the idea that a healthy business sector is critical to a functioning democracy. At NED, Mano has served as Chairman of the Committee on Budget and Audit. The Committee is tasked with the responsibility of assisting the Board in overseeing the quality and integrity of the Endowment's accounting, auditing, and reporting practices. As the Endowment's budget has grown over the past few years, and as the responsibility of corporate boards to scrutinize the activities of the organizations they oversee has increased in the wake of a number of highly publicized scandals, the work that this committee carries out has taken on great importance. Mano has applied his considerable experience, managerial expertise, and overall good judgment to carrying out with great effectiveness this complicated task. In this endeavor, he has been most ably backed up by none other than Tom Donahue. Tom and Mano have played critical leadership roles during their tenure at NED. They reflect both the diversity of this institution and the qualities of leadership and deep commitment to our mission that we are fortunate to have on our Board of Directors. We will miss their unique contributions. Vin Weber Chairman [Top]
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World Movement for Democracy to Hold Fourth Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey
Launched in 1999, the World Movement is a global network that meets periodically to exchange ideas and experiences and uses new information and communication technologies to foster collaboration among democratic forces. The World Movement is led by an International Steering Committee, and NED currently serves as its secretariat. Two Turkish organizations – the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV), and the Helsinki Citizens Assembly – will cosponsor the Assembly. The Fourth Assembly will be structured, as it has been in the past, around topical, functional, and regional workshops to maximize participation and to produce practical recommendations and initiatives. Topical workshops will include preparing for democratic breakthroughs and the challenges of consolidation, confronting the challenges of terrorism and anti-terrorism, and ensuring the democratic inclusion of women and marginalized populations, among others. Functional workshops will be designed to strengthen networking in various areas of democracy work, such as youth, women, media, research, and local governance. Regional workshops will offer an opportunity for those from different areas of democracy work, including political parties, labor organizations, and NGOs, to focus on regional challenges and needs. The Assembly will also host its popular "Democracy Fair" that will feature an exhibition area, a computer training lab, a video screening room, and a "town hall" in which participants can educate each other about their respective causes and generate support for them. Another highlight of the Assembly will be the Democracy Courage Tributes dinner, which will honor individuals and groups who have exemplified extraordinary courage in their commitment to advancing democracy. For more information about the Fourth Assembly, please visit www.wmd.org/fourth_assembly/main.html. Information about the World Movement for Democracy is available at: www.wmd.org. [Top]
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NED Cosponsors Conference on the Crisis in Burma
NED board member Morton Abramowitz of the Century Foundation opened the conference by emphasizing that the 55 million people who live in Burma continue to "live in deplorable conditions." A series of panels featuring a diverse array of speakers explored the critical issues facing Burma and the region, such as narcotics trafficking, the spread of HIV/AIDS, refugees and internally displaced persons, and a host of other humanitarian issues. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, expressed his frustration with a regime that ignores U.N. resolutions and bars its representatives from entering the country. Charm Tong, a NED grantee who co-founded the Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN) and heads the School for Shan State Nationalities Youth (SSSNY), detailed the regime's systematic abuse of human rights and the horrible costs inflicted upon the women of Burma. During her visit to Washington, Charm Tong also met with President George W. Bush. The 50-minute meeting helped energize the Administration, which has since mounted a diplomatic offensive against the military government of Burma, suggesting to other nations in the region that it is a "test case" for whether they hold the same values and standards as the United States. Conference participants went on to consider international policy responses in the afternoon. Peter Yeo, Democratic Deputy Staff Director of the U.S. House of Representatives International Relations Committee, explained the rationale behind America's sanctions policy, emphasizing that there is bipartisan consensus on how to deal with Burma. Her Excellency Heng Chee Chan, Singapore's Ambassador to the United States, outlined ASEAN's approach of constructive engagement towards the Burmese military regime. Noting that these and other approaches have failed to produce any meaningful change, Attorney Jared Genser, who led the team of lawyers that prepared the report, commissioned by former Czech President Vaclav Havel and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Threat to the Peace: A Call for the UN Security Council to Act in Burma, argued that a UN Security Council resolution calling for multilateral intervention in Burma would be the best path to peace, national reconciliation, and an end to the burgeoning humanitarian crisis.
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Fukuyama Speaks on Identity, Immigration, and Liberal Democracy
Fukuyama, who was introduced by NED Vice President for Research and Studies Marc Plattner, is regarded as one of today's most distinguished democracy scholars, and few have had as much influence on the direction of modern social, political, and economic thought, and of public policy, both domestic and international. The author of several significant books, Fukuyama has written extensively on democratization and international political economy. He is perhaps best known for his landmark book, The End of History and The Last Man, in which he speculates that liberal democracy may constitute the "end point of mankind's ideological evolution" and hence the "final form of human government." In his lecture, titled Identity, Immigration and Liberal Democracy, Fukuyama explored the challenges faced by the liberal democracies of Western Europe, Canada, and the United States in integrating Muslim immigrants. In particular, Fukuyama probed the reasons why the model of multiculturalism, which originated in Canada and has been reasonably successful there, is increasingly regarded as a failure in countries like the Netherlands, Great Britain, and France. The greatest obstacle that Western Europe faces, he contends, is that many Muslims, particularly those who are second- and third- generation, have been unable to achieve a clear sense of identity, resulting in a disenfranchised group of people who have failed to assimilate into mainstream culture. Fukuyama argued that as long as Europeans keep them from joining the privileged ranks of society, Muslim immigrants will resort to desperate measures to extricate themselves from a repressive existence, with disastrous consequences for an unsuspecting majority that marches forward in the interest of one national identity. According to Fukuyama, many marginalized European Muslims embrace Osama bin Laden as a visionary figure who offers a way to connect with a larger Islamic identity, independent of state or nationality. In an attempt to stem an inevitable tidal wave of events associated with a marginalized faction, Fukuyama suggests taking multiculturalism more seriously. Immigrants should be able to look forward to attaining not only jobs but status within their newfound homeland, so that one day Muslims can feel as French or as Dutch or as Spanish as they are in name. Laws should be amended so that citizenship is open to immigrants at an earlier stage, as the Germans did in 2000. Traditions that are integral to the established national identity should not be exclusionary of groups whose ancestors were not a part of their creation. Finally, the perspective that it is impossible to create a melting pot along the lines of that which has been adopted in the United States is of deep concern, contends Fukuyama. For if Europeans continue to regard their national identity as a blood and soil creation that inhibits the integration of new ethnic groups, then the prognosis for a harmonious and productive European society is bleak.
An edited text of Fukuyama's lecture will be published in the April 2006 edition of the Journal of Democracy. For more details about the event, including a webcast and event summary, visit the NED website at www.ned.org. [Top]
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NED Grantees Honored for Human Rights Achievements
The National Endowment for Democracy is pleased to report that three of its grantees have been recognized for their courageous dedication and exemplary efforts in exposing human rights violations and improving the lives of oppressed populations.
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NED President Honored by Dalai Lama Gershman receives ICT's Light of Truth Award
Gershman was honored for his leadership of the Endowment, which has long supported the efforts of the Tibetan leadership to promote democracy in Tibetan society, both in exile and inside Tibet. The International Campaign for Tibet promotes human rights and democratic freedoms for the Tibetan people, whose culture has been stifled since the Chinese invasion of 1949. The Dalai Lama and thousands of his supporters fled to India in 1959 where they established a democratic government in exile. In the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, His Holiness has become one of the world's most eloquent proponents of non-violence, which has won him the admiration of people throughout the world. The November 15 ceremony, which took place during the Dalai Lama's high profile visit to Washington to meet with President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, and members of Congress, began with an address by His Holiness, followed by awards presentations by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, former U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, and Paula Dobriansky, Undersecretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs and U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues. Elie Wiesel concluded with an address on the concept of universal responsibility. In accepting his award, Gershman paid tribute to the valiant way in which the Tibetan people have endured years of oppression. "Rather than falling into the trap of victimization, which has crippled so many national movements, [the Tibetan people] have transformed their suffering into a source of moral strength. In so doing, His Holiness and the Tibetan people as a whole have become a unique voice for the idea of universal moral responsibility. They are a beacon of hope and a model for others who have also suffered injustice but who often languish in anonymity and despair." [Read more of Carl Gershman's remarks...] [Top]
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Coleman, Friend, and McElroy Join NED Board
U.S. Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN), American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Edward J. McElroy, and Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFL-CIO) International President Patricia Friend have joined the Board of Directors of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). All three were elected at NED's January 13 Board meeting. NED Chairman Vin Weber remarked that the new directors "exemplify NED's bipartisan commitment to advancing democratic values and institutions, including support for free markets and free trade unions." Senator Norm Coleman served for 17 years in Minnesota's Attorney General's office before becoming mayor of St. Paul in 1993. During his 10-year tenure as mayor, Coleman oversaw an era of rapid change and economic improvement. In 2002, Coleman ran against incumbent Senator Paul Wellstone, who died tragically in a plane crash just eleven days before the election. He defeated former Vice President Walter Mondale to become senator. Senator Coleman is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he chairs the Western Hemisphere subcommittee and also serves on the subcommittees for African Affairs, International Operations and Terrorism, and Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs. Patricia Friend has served seven years as International President of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) and is a respected leader in the airline industry and throughout the labor movement. Friend is one of eight women on the 54-member AFL-CIO Executive Council, serves on a number of other AFL-CIO committees, and is on the Board of Trustees for the Council for Adult & Experiential Learning (CAEL). Edward McElroy leads one of the fastest-growing labor unions in the United States. McElroy has been involved in the labor movement since 1967, serving as president of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, and secretary-treasurer of AFT until his election as AFT president in 2004. McElroy also serves on the boards of Working America and the National Labor College. [Top]
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Forum Welcomes New Class of Reagan-Fascell Fellows
The International Forum for Democratic Studies welcomed the arrival of its Fall 2005 Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows in October. The Reagan-Fascell program aims to deepen the knowledge, enrich the skills, broaden the perspectives, and revive the energy and morale of some of the world's most creative and courageous democratic practitioners and scholars. This class of fellows includes democratic activists and scholars from Iran, Romania, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and the United States. Hossein Bashiriyeh is an associate professor of political science at the University of Tehran in Iran, where he has been teaching courses on subjects ranging from political mobilization and development to theories of democratic transitions since 1982. During his fellowship, he is examining the role of political oppositions in moving from "transitional situations" to "actual transitions," comparing cases of successful and unsuccessful democratic transitions in the last quarter of the twentieth century. Siamak Namazi is managing director of Atieh Bahar Consulting, Iran's premier private consulting firm, and serves on the editorial board of Iran Strategic Focus, a monthly publication that features news and analysis of political and economic developments in Iran. Mr. Namazi is devoting his fellowship to a comparative study of different models of economic reform and their impact on political development, as well as the role of the private sector in promoting good governance. Internationally recognized as one of Romania's most original thinkers, Alina Mungiu Pippidi is director of the Romanian Academic Society, one of Romania's foremost think tanks and a leading policy advocacy group in the region. She is an analyst for Freedom House's annual Nations in Transit survey for Romania, in addition to serving as a consultant to the United Nations Development Programme in the Balkans and to the World Bank in the Caucasus. During her fellowship, she is writing a paper on anticorruption and public-integrity campaigns within the broader framework of state building. A renowned Russian political analyst and one of Russia's foremost political commentators, Andrei Piontkovsky is director of the Center for Strategic Research in Moscow, a Russian think tank that endeavors to support Russia's political development through research and consultation on a wide range of reform issues, from the rule of law to economic policy. Dr. Piontkovsky has been a consistent and outspoken critic of Putin's model of "managed" democracy in Russia. During his fellowship, he is exploring U.S. policy toward Russia and its implications for democracy promotion in Russia. Penda Mbow is an associate professor of history at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, where she has published widely on African political and social issues, often focusing on the role of Islam in Africa. She has previously served as Senegal's minister of culture and as cultural advisor to the Senegalese department of ethnography and historical heritage. During her fellowship, Dr. Mbow is researching the evolution of Islam's relationship with democracy in Senegal, as well as the interplay between women, human rights, and religion in Islamic societies. A leading proponent of the importance of economic growth in promoting democracy and sustainable development, Ann Bernstein is founding director of the Center for Development and Enterprise, an independent policy research think tank based in Johannesburg, South Africa whose publications are widely read by leading policy makers. She previously served as executive director of the Urban Foundation, South Africa's then-premier NGO that had been instrumental in using the power and influence of business to persuade the apartheid government to reform key aspects of its approach to black urbanization. During her fellowship, Ms. Bernstein is conducting research on the role of business in society, especially in developing countries, and the impact of corporations on social, economic, and democratic processes. A renowned expert on terrorism, European integration, and the Kurdish minority, Dogu Ergil is chair of the department of political behavior and a professor of political sociology at Ankara University in Turkey. He is also president and co-founder of the Centre for the Research of Societal Problems (TOSAM), based in Ankara. In 2004, TOSAM took on the challenging work of putting together a comprehensive youth democracy training program for high schools, which was tested among high school and university students in southeastern Turkey. During his fellowship, Dr. Ergil is completing this project by preparing a training manual, tentatively titled Democracy and Effective Citizenship Training: A Handbook. He will also work on a monograph concerning citizens' attitudes toward secular and religious politics. A highly respected human rights attorney who has been on the frontlines of the struggle for human rights and democracy in Uzbekistan, Nozima Kamalova is founding chair of the Legal Aid Society of Uzbekistan (LAS), a leading nongovernmental organization that safeguards and promotes the rule of law and human rights in Uzbekistan by investigating high-profile human rights abuses and providing free legal services to the poor. Ms. Kamalova has been instrumental in the revision of several Uzbek laws related to torture and human rights. During her fellowship, she is exploring the impact of security measures in the war against terror on democratic freedoms and civil rights. A widely recognized expert on democratic transitions in East Africa, Joel Barkan is professor emeritus of political science and international programs at the University of Iowa and senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. Over the past three years, Dr. Barkan and several collaborators have collected a large amount of data on the role of legislatures in transitional African democracies, which he is drawing upon during his fellowship as he prepares a book-length manuscript on the legislative experience and democratization in six African countries. Charles Fairbanks is director of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. His areas of expertise include the politics of Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus; strategic and security issues in the region; and human rights and democratization. During his fellowship, he is conducting a comparative study of democratic breakthroughs in the postcommunist world.
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Former NED Grantee Liu Binyan Dies
Among his many accomplishments, Binyan headed the NED-supported Princeton China Initiative, an independent center for Chinese dissident intellectuals in exile. While at the Initiative, Binyan compiled, edited, and published China Focus, a monthly English-language newsletter analyzing political and economic issues that were not often reported in the mainstream press. Binyan also edited The Road, a Chinese-language newsletter that gave readers inside China access to ideas and information otherwise blocked by state censorship. Both publications were edited by his wife, Zhu Hong, an accomplished editor and translator. An outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party, Binyan was a prolific dissident writer who exposed official corruption and repeatedly challenged the Party to reform itself. He was condemned as a "rightist" by Mao Zedong in 1957 and was periodically sent to labor camps for the next two decades. Upon Mao's death, Binyan was readmitted to the Party and given a job with the People's Daily. Nevertheless, his commitment to exposing injustice and the suffering of ordinary people had not waned, and his scathing commentary prompted his expulsion from the Communist Party in 1987. Binyan spent his remaining years in exile in the United States, where he continued to write about politics and injustice in China. He had always hoped to return to his homeland, but his wish was never granted, despite repeated requests in writing to government leaders. Binyan's wife has requested that his ashes be returned to China. [Top]
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Highlighs of Recent NED Grants
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights will hold a public education and human rights awareness workshop in a community affected by Operation Murambatsvina, government sanctioned demolitions widely seen as punishment for urban dwellers who mostly voted against the ruling Zanu-PF party in March elections. Burma Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Assistance Association for Political Prisoners will continue to research and document the situation of political prisoners inside Burma with key areas focused on prisoner's fate and disappearances. The Association will provide assistance to political prisoners, former political prisoners who continue to be harassed and watched, and their families in an effort to raise international awareness about the deepening human rights crisis inside Burma. Bosnia-Herzegovina Alternativna Televizija (ATV) Alternativna Televizija, an independent TV station based in Banja Luka, will produce weekly investigative documentaries titled "Dossier" to promote the transparency and accountability of governmental institutions in Republika Srpska. The documentaries will address a variety of social, political, and economic problems facing citizens living in the entity, including corruption and the misuse of political power, organized crime, and constitutional reforms to encourage citizens to actively participate in holding elected representatives accountable. Kyrgyzstan Youth Human Rights Group (YHRG) In Kyrgyzstan, where thirty-five percent of the population is between the ages of twenty and thirty, the youth are an important constituency. The YHRG will study the changing role of youth in the political transformation, make recommendations concerning policies toward youth, and encourage youth participation in Kyrgyzstan's policy formulation process. Haiti Centre de Formation Citoyenne et d'Appui au Developpement (Center for Citizen Training and Development Support or CEFCAD) CEFCAD will work in rural Haiti with community groups and their leaders to develop democratic community development organizations along with projects focused on re-building a school and improving water sanitation. CEFCAD's programs provide local community groups with the capacity to respond to problems and push government and the international community for funds and help resolving local problems. Iraq Civil Society Initiative CSI will train active citizens, representatives from NGOs, and provincial government employees from four districts in Sulimaniya on principles of government monitoring and accountability to support the development of accountable and transparent governance in northern Iraq. [Top]
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