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Publications >> Democracy Newsletter
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National Endowment for Democracy News and Information Winter 2002 Newsletter
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Sierra Leonean Women Battle for Democracy
Zainab is a common name in Africa, but Zainab Bangura is not a common woman. Bangura is the coordinator of the NED-supported Campaign for Good Governance (CGG), the largest non-governmental organization advocating for good governance in war-torn Sierra Leone. Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than two million people, well over onethird of the population. Many are now refugees in neighboring countries. In 1996, touched by the suffering of her fellow Sierra Leoneans, Bangura mobilized thousands of women to confront armed soldiers in pro-democracy street protests. With lack of training and little experience on how to combat thousands of unarmed women, the confused soldiers found themselves receiving orders from Bangura. “We are your mothers, your sisters, your wives and your daughters,” she told them. “If you’re going to shoot us, then do it now. But, remember, the whole world is watching.” This extraordinary display of courage led to Sierra Leone’s first democratic election in 20 years. With Bangura as their coordinator, the women formed CGG to promote democratic participation of the people of Sierra Leone, empower civil society, redress gender imbalances and promote human rights. CGG’s work has earned international recognition. Its Human Rights Officer Abdul Tejan Cole earned a 2001 Human Rights Watch Award. Bangura was honored with the 2000 Human Rights Award of the New York-based Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, which noted: “Through her grassroots organizing with women, Ms. Bangura is widely credited with ensuring the success of the 1996 presidential election. Because of her work, Ms. Bangura is on the rebels’ hit list and has survived three attempts on her life.” As the threats against Bangura rise, so do the demands for CGG’s services. To respond, the CGG has created departments to focus on specific programs, starting with a human rights department in 1998. It is the biggest such unit in the country today. The work of CGG’s 13 human rights monitors is to investigate, document and report violations across the country, and it is the only local organization documenting testimonies of atrocities committed during the civil war. CGG also provides human rights education on women and children’s rights and offers legal and medical support to victims of domestic and sexual violence. As a long-term strategy to sustain peace and freedom, the organization has helped to create human rights clinics at the University of Sierra Leone and at various schools in the country’s capital, Freetown. CGG is aware that for it to be effective, women must have a voice in every sector. For this reason, it has set up a department to promote the economic and political status of women and other deprived people, through the development of a micro credit program and provision of adult literacy training for low-income women. More than 1,000 women have benefited from this program and their rate of repayment is over 90 percent. CGG is now preparing to train women candidates, campaign managers and election monitors to participate in the elections scheduled for May 14, and is also encouraging political party leaders to nominate women candidates. Whatever the outcome of the elections, CGG plans to continue its work to educate the public on a wide range of topics, including democracy and elections, human rights, corruption and civilmilitary/police relations. It will also continue building a network of civil society groups that will work together to bring an end finally to the nation’s prolonged civil war. [Top]
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Latin American Civil-Military Group Tastes Success in Peru
The role of the military in politics is causing growing concern for democratic stability in Latin America. To help address this threat, NED is supporting the Security and Defense Network in Latin America (RESDAL), a network of individuals working to improve and strengthen civilian control over the armed forces in the region. RESDAL brings together civil and military leaders throughout the region to discuss the threat to democracy arising from deteriorating relations between civilian governments and the military. The goal is to create an atmosphere of trust and ultimately strengthen the role of civilians in security and defense policies. Based in Argentina, RESDAL is composed of civilian think tanks and NGOs, working in civil-military relations in Peru, Brazil, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Argentina. RESDAL had a major success during its November 14-18 meeting in Peru. After a series of meetings with top ranking military officials, including the Peruvian civilian Minister of Defense, David Waisman, RESDAL signed animportant agreement to advise the Defense Ministry in the restructuring of the armed forces under the newly elected government of President Alejandro Toledo. The government is already working with civil society, political parties and new military leaders to reform the role and structure of the armed forces, and to improve civilian oversight of the intelligence sector. This is an effort to address the problems inherited from the government of Alberto Fujimori, when the armed forces and the intelligence service became instruments of internal political control and policymaking. Without objective civilian oversight, these groups acted with impunity, violating human rights, restricting political liberties, and evolving into an effective network of political and economic corruption. Working with the Toledo government, RESDAL will provide training for civilians in budget monitoring, security and defense. In a follow-up meeting in December 2001, RESDAL met with the congressional defense committee to explore ways to strengthen its oversight of the armed forces. The Argentine member of RESDAL, Jaime Garreta, has extensive experience in advising congress on defense and security issues. Delegates at the Peru meeting in November expressed growing concern that in countries such as Venezuela, Ecuador and Guatemala, the military is again becoming a visible and important political actor. In other countries throughout the region, the military is assuming greater control over a wide variety of state functions, often with the support of a public that is increasingly dissatisfied with the effectiveness of civilian governments. Encouraged by its success in Peru, RESDAL is hopeful similar events could help to improve civil-military relations and foster civilian governments in other countries of the region. The next target is the Dominican Republic, where RESDAL is planning to hold its next meeting in June 2002 and will address several important issues such as police reform and civilian oversight. During the November meeting in Peru RESDAL also discussed future activities in the region, including developing the capacity of civilian think tanks to monitor military budgets in Argentina, Chile and Brazil; sharing information and models of intelligence sector reform to assist the processes under way in Guatemala and Peru; and training civilians in civil society, and defense ministries in security in Ecuador, Argentina and Brazil through a distance learning program being developed in Brazil. With this first meeting, RESDAL has developed an ambitious agenda for improving the role of civilians in security and defense policy making and operations. News of the meeting as well as a report on current activities and a comprehensive database of documents and research on civil military relations can be found at RESDAL’s Web site at: http://www.resdal.org. [Top]
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Paula Dobriansky Receives Democracy Service Medal
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) presented its Democracy Service Medal to Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula J. Dobriansky, on January 17, 2002, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the cause of democracy and for her service on the NED Board of Directors. “Diplomat, democrat, scholar, colleague – Paula Dobriansky is a rare and accomplished individual who has consistently brought her many and considerable gifts to bear in working to promote the principles of democracy and human rights around the world,” said Carl Gershman, President of the NED. “Whether at State, the U.S. Information Agency, the National Security Council, the Council on Foreign Relations, or at NED, Paula has always worked to advance freedom, and in the process has won many friends and admirers in the world-wide community of democrats.” The presentation took place at a dinner held at the Chancery of the Slovak Republic, hosted by Ambassador Martin Bútora. Bútora was awarded the Service Medal in 1999 on the 10th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in then Czechoslovakia, in which he was a leading figure. In addition to Gershman and Bútora, the program included remarks by U.S. Representative Christopher Cox and NED Vice Chairman Thomas R. Donahue; the Medal was presented by NED Chairman Vin Weber. This was the fifth presentation of the Democracy Service Medal. Previous recipients are Lane Kirkland and Lech Walesa (1999), Martin Bútora and Alexandr Vondra (1999), John B. Hurford (2000), and John Brademas, Fred Iklé, Richard Lugar and Stephen Solarz (2001). [Top]
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Chairman's Message
IMAGINE AN ELECTION IN WHICH THE WINNERS ARE imprisoned! That is precisely what happened 11 years ago in Burma. Some 20 elected officials of the victorious National League for Democracy are still incarcerated by that country’s military rulers, as are some 1,500 political prisoners and, remarkably, the party’s charismatic leader, the Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Early one recent rainy Saturday morning, over 200 advocates of democracy, including many Burmese exiles whose lives are devoted to the struggle, gathered at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to mark the 10th anniversary of the awarding of the peace prize to this courageous woman, and to call for an end to the repression and the restoration of democracy. The D.C. event, sponsored by NED and its four Institutes, coincided with a ceremony in Oslo in front of the Norwegian Parliament organized by the Nobel Committee and carried by satellite around the world. From the event at the Chamber, those gathered in 35 cities were able to hear the eloquent remarks of AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, as well as those of NDI Chairman Madeleine Albright, who observed that those calling for freedom for the Burmese people are “united across lines of party and confession, nation and race, gender and creed.” In Norway, 20 past recipients of the award signed an appeal calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all political detainees, “providing for their freedom of speech, movement and association without restriction.” Among those calling for her release was the South African Bishop Desmond Tutu, who described the Burmese democracy leader as “a giant among women and men.” While the Endowment continues to work with fledgling democracies to help them develop effective governing institutions, we will not abandon those countries where dictators deny fundamental freedoms to their people. As NED Board member Julie Finley pointed out to those assembled at the Chamber, NED will continue to assist the struggle for democracy in Burma through support for coalition building, the government in exile, trade unions, women’s groups, human rights organizations, and independent media outlets. In short, the hope of the Burmese people must be kept alive. Let’s remember the words of Aung San Suu Kyi, in a videotape made for the occasion: “we believe in democracy because it is the only system that insures respect for basic human rights.” Vin Weber Chairman [Top]
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NED Grantee Prepares Afghan Women for Leadership
The Women’s Learning Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace (WLP), a NED grantee that works to increase the political participation of women and prepare them for leadership, conducted a workshop in Washington, D.C. on November 27 designed to help Afghan women develop strategies for creating an open and inclusive democratic society in their homeland. WLP, in conjunction with Vital Voices, a worldwide NGO of women leaders, worked with a group of Afghan women who have been living in exile, some in the U.S. and in refugee camps in Pakistan. The group included peace activists, advocates for the rights of women and children, NGO leaders, educators, doctors and nurses. WLP President Mahnaz Afkhami began the session by sharing with the participants her experiences as an NGO activist and as a government minister in pre-revolutionary Iran. There women faced problems similar to those confronting Afghan women today, including the need to accommodate culture and religion while seeking to preserve their individual rights. Afkhami described Iranian women’s efforts to help harmonize their traditions with modernization without destroying their culture. Among the strategies used to advocate for change in Iran were mobilizing support among progressive ulama (religious scholars), who helped create language that allowed reform of family laws in ways compatible with religious texts. She outlined the formulation of the position of Minister of State for Women’s Affairs. A similar post was sought by Afghan women and was recently created by the interim administration of Afghanistan. After a lively discussion, WLP Programs Director Rakhee Goyal and Haleh Vaziri, a co-author of WLP’s Leading to Choices: A Leadership Training Handbook for Women, demonstrated how various groups and individuals can use negotiation to combine their agendas, find common ground, and become more effective advocates for change through collective action. Each participant was asked to articulate a personal vision to capture the aspirations of her community. The women outlined goals ranging from providing health services and education, to increasing literacy, enhancing vocational skills, enabling women to become leaders, and establishing women’s constitutional rights in Afghanistan. Based on negotiation and conflict resolution methods, the Afghan women developed a statement that they felt reflected the aspirations of most Afghans: “To establish an independent, democratic, broad-based, stable society where women and men from all ethnic groups and backgrounds are empowered through education and training to participate in all aspects of decision-making in Afghanistan.” That statement mirrors the mission of WLP, which is also conducting leadership-training workshops for Afghan women and girls in refugee camps in Peshawar, Pakistan, in partnership with the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL). WLP and AIL are developing a culturespecific adaptation of the leadership curriculum in Persian and are testing it in refugee camps. The goal is to enhance the participants’ ability to work with others to formulate ideas for creating vibrant civic movements, fostering women’s rights and building their nation. The leadership curriculum, Leading to Choices, is the product of a two-year process of collaboration among hundreds of women and men at the grassroots, national, regional, and international levels. With NED support, Leading to Choices was created by WLP in collaboration with L’Association Démocratique des Femmes du Maroc in Morocco, BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights in Nigeria, and Women’s Affairs Technical Committee in West Bank/Gaza. Leading to Choices can be adapted by women and men to their needs and backgrounds. The handbook covers topics such as team building, collective learning, effective listening, providing feedback, negotiation, consensus building, embracing diversity, developing shared vision and goals, and motivating others through participatory decision making. Culturespecific editions of Leading to Choices in Arabic, French, Hausa, Russian, and Uzbek are in development, and the handbooks are being used in workshops to train women and men—Muslims, Christians, human rights activists, university students, NGO representatives and domestic workers—in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. [Top]
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Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Works for Free Elections
Viktor Yushchenko, former Prime Minister of Ukraine, addressed a Capitol Hill audience at a breakfast meeting cosponsored by NED, the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America on November 8, 2001. Elected Prime Minister in December 1999, Yushchenko was forced from office in April 2001 in a no-confidence vote moved by parliamentarians opposed to his free-market economic reforms and his efforts to battle corruption. Yushchenko is now the leader of Our Ukraine, a coalition of pro-reform, market oriented political parties working to consolidate democratic forces and to lay the groundwork for free and fair elections. Yushchenko came to Washington to highlight the importance of the upcoming parliamentary election that will be held in Ukraine on March 31, 2002, and to emphasize the need for international support to ensure a clean election. “We have good reason to believe that for the first time in the 10- year history of our independence, democratic forces of Ukraine have a good chance of winning a majority in parliament,” said Yushchenko. “Right now our concern is how to guarantee that the coming elections will be transparent, free and fair.” “The outcome of the election will undoubtedly play a major role in determining whether Ukraine stays on the path toward a fully democratic society, or experiences further setbacks,” said Rep. Louise Slaughter (DNY), a founding member and co-chair of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus. Slaughter was joined at the briefing by the other co-chairs of the Ukrainian Caucus, Reps. Steve Horn (R-CA), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and Bob Schaffer (R-CO), as well as Rep. Don Sherwood (R-PA). While noting that Ukraine has made significant progress since becoming independent, Slaughter said, “reports of government corruption and harassment of the media have raised concerns about the Ukrainian government’s commitment to democratic ideals.” She urged that observers from the organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) be given full access to monitor the elections. [Top]
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NED Grantee Wins “Genius” Award
XIAO QIANG, Executive Director of NED grantee Human Rights in China (HRIC), has been awarded a 2001 MacArthur Fellowship, better known as a “Genius” Award. The fellowship is a $500,000 stipend, paid by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation over five years to talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in work that improves society and advances important causes. Chinese scientists and scholars founded HRIC in March 1989 and NED has supported the international NGO since 1992. Xiao has served as HRIC’s Executive Director since 1991, and has been instrumental in the organization’s creativity and effectiveness in fostering human rights. For example, HRIC is planning to use the promotion of the 2008 Beijing Olympics to improve human rights in China. “I accept this extraordinary honor with deep gratitude to the two countries I love – China, where I was born and raised, and America where I live now,” said Xiao. [Top]
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Forum Welcomes Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows
The National Endowment for Democracy’s International Forum for Democratic Studies (Forum) recently inaugurated the Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows program which provides paid fellowships for democratic activists and scholars in residence at the Forum. Following are brief profiles of three current fellows. For more information on the program, visit the IFDS web site at http://www.ned.org/forum/fellowship_program.html. Dr. Chaihark Hahm, a legal scholar, is spending 10 months as a Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow conducting research and writing a book on constitutional review and democracy in South Korea. Dr. Hahm is examining major decisions of the Korean Constitutional Court and how they affect the development of democracy in South Korea, using a comparative framework that considers the influence of political culture and cultural traditions in Asia, as well as the recent experience of constitutionalism in post-communist countries. Trained in the legal systems of both the U.S. and South Korea, Dr. Hahm’s interests include American constitutional law, Confucian political philosophy, and Christian theology. His previous works have dealt with interpreting the Confucian political tradition of pre-modern Korea as a form of constitutional discourse. A native of South Korea, Dr. Hahm received his early training in law at Seoul National University, and went on to receive advanced law degrees from Yale, Columbia, and Harvard. After finishing his doctorate at Harvard Law School in 2000, he spent a year as a research fellow at Harvard’s East Asian Legal Studies Program where his research concentrated on civic education as a requisite for vibrant constitutional and democratic politics. In addition to his training in law and politics, he holds an M.A. in Religion from Yale Divinity School, and he maintains a deep interest in problems of biblical interpretation, and contextualization of the church’s message in non-Western societies. Myroslava Gongadze is spending five months at the Forum as an activist-in-residence analyzing the role of the media in the current political crisis in Ukraine. That crisis is largely a result of the brutal murder of her husband, opposition journalist Georgy Gongadze, after he vanished on September 16, 2000, in what is widely believed to be a politically motivated crime that has implicated top-level Ukrainian officials, most notably, President Kuchma. Myroslava Gongadze was forced to seek political asylum in the U.S., where she now lives with her twin four-year-old daughters. Catapulted to international prominence after the loss of her husband, Gongadze resolved to focus all her efforts on a media campaign demanding an open and lawful investigation of the crime. Armed with a Master’s degree in civic law from Ivan Franko National University in Lviv, she has given more than 300 interviews to both Ukrainian and international media, and organized more than 15 press conferences in defense of democratic values, freedom of speech and the rights of journalists in Ukraine. In addition to her legal training, Gongadze has extensive experience in journalism and public relations. She has worked as a public relations officer in Ukraine for several organizations, including an opposition political party, “Reforms and Order,” and a media organization, Internews. She also served in 1994 as a media and campaign consultant to members of “New Wave,” a center-right political alliance, which resulted in victories for party representatives in the Verkhovna Rada, Lviv oblast and city councils, as well as the Lviv mayoral office. In 1995, she served as the executive director of the award-winning documentary Dream Defenders, which was broadcast on television stations throughout Ukraine. In 1998 she headed the public affairs office of the all-Ukrainian daily Day. Dr. Ramin Jahanbegloo is spending 10 months as a Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow examining the role of Iranian intellectuals in the process of democratization in Iran. “This will help to identify some of the deeper philosophical currents influencing the thinking of leading reformists in Iran, by comparing four generations of intellectuals in Iran and their role in the theoretical and practical advancement of democracy in the country,” said Jahanbegloo. Born in Iran, Dr. Jahanbegloo grew up in France where he earned his B.A. and M.A. in Philosophy, History and Political Science, and a Ph.D. in Political Philosophy from the Sorbonne University. During his years in France he worked with French journals such as Esprit, Etudes and Croissance. In 1992 he returned to Iran to help stimulate debate concerning ideas of democracy in the country. He joined the government-run Academy of Philosophy in Tehran, where he taught modern philosophy before becoming a researcher at the French Institute for Iranian Studies in Tehran and a lecturer. Dr. Jahanbegloo moved to Canada in 1997. He was a fellow at Harvard’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies in 1998-1999, and adjunct professor in political theory and comparative politics (Islam and Politics) in 1999-2001 at the University of Toronto. Dr. Jahanbegloo has written 15 books in English, French and Persian and has authored many articles in Iranian, Indian and Western journals. [Top]
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Democracy Research Network Launches e-Newsletter
The Network of Democracy Research Institutes released the first issue of its monthly electronic newsletter, Democracy Research News, in November. The research network, one of several functional networks within the World Movement for Democracy, is an association of organizations around the world that conduct research on democratization and the policy and institutional challenges of democratic development. It was established to facilitate interaction and exchanges among democracy scholars and activists and to promote awareness of the diversity and vitality of democracy studies today. The network is composed of independent institutions, university-based study centers, research institutes affiliated with political parties, labor unions, democracy and human rights movements, and other organizations, and is administered by the NED's International Forum for Democratic Studies in Washington, D.C. Each issue of the newsletter will contain announcements of new publications by network members, recent and coming events sponsored by members, news about the network and its members, and notices and listings of new research on democracy. "We expect that readers of Democracy Research News will use it to initiate discussions, to pose questions on research topics, and to announce or propose collaborative projects on democracy," said the Senior Program Officer for the International Forum, Thomas Skladony. The November issue includes news on research institutes in South Africa, Thailand, South Korea, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Georgia, Canada, Australia, Ghana, and the United States. Although membership in the network is limited to organizations that conduct research on democracy, Democracy Research News will be distributed, free of charge, to anyone interested in its content. For more information about the network please visit its Web site at (www.wmd.org/ndri/ndri.html) or contact Thomas W. Skladony, senior program officer at the International Forum for Democratic Studies (skladony@ned.org). To subscribe, write to ndri@ned.org. Other functional networks of the World Movement for Democracy include the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Group and the Network of Democracy Assistance Foundations, and others are in development. Information on these and the regional networks of the World Movement can be found on the World Movement Web site (www.wmd.org). THE WORLD MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRACY is a global network of democrats, who have come together to cooperate in the promotion of democracy. Initiated by NED in February 1999, the World Movement is led by a distinguished international Steering Committee and NED serves as its Secretariat. For more information about the World Movement and its activities, visit its web site at (www.wmd.org). [Top]
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Highlights of Recent NED Grants
Balkans Regional Center for Liberal Strategies (Bulgaria) The Center for Liberal Strategies, a prominent independent think tank based in Sofia, Bulgaria, will work with seven other think tanks in the Balkans to develop a policy document outlining new strategies for countering impediments to democratization in Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia and Bulgaria. Balkan experts and key policy makers from Europe and the United States will discuss the draft at an international conference to be held in Sofia or Washington. The final document will be released at the beginning of March 2002 to policy makers and the media, and each think tank will present the recommendations to their country’s policy makers. China Foundation for China in the 21st Century The Foundation for China in the 21st Century will maintain a research network to enable Chinese scholars and policy analysts, working in an environment of academic freedom outside China, to provide better information and tools for policy analysis to intellectuals, officials and dissidents within China. The network will give particular focus to addressing ethnic tensions which could provide justification for a tightening of political space. Middle East Regional Arab Women’s Media Center (AWMC) The Arab Women’s Media Center will conduct media and communication training for 200 Jordanian women NGO representatives. The center will also disseminate training materials to organizations throughout the region. Based in Amman, Jordan, AWMC is an independent NGO founded in 1999 to advance media freedom in the Middle East and to increase the participation of women in the media through a program of conferences, publications and training. Russia Independent Council for Legal Expertise Working closely with some of Russia’s leading legal scholars and practitioners, the Independent Council for Legal Expertise will analyze new legislation pending before the Russian State Duma and regional legislatures. The analysis will enable democratically minded legislators to propose changes to strengthen the legal foundation for human rights and democracy in Russia. The council will continue working closely with human rights groups and NGOs to defend the civil rights and freedoms of Russian citizens. Peru, Colombia, Venezuela Instituto de Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS) The Peruvian group, Instituto de Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS), will protect journalists in Peru, expand access to information domestically and support the foundation and promotion of journalist networks in Colombia and Venezuela. IPYS maintains a network of journalist volunteers in five cities in the country who are linked to a central office in Lima through e-mail and a toll-free telephone line to assist at-risk journalists. In addition to supporting their network of correspondents in Peru, IPYS will conduct workshops for journalists on investigative reporting and accessing information. [Top]
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