STS International Solidarity
STS International Solidarity is a small international humanitarian organisation. Until now it has established itself in Denmark, the Balkans and in Somalia but with many friends and contacts around the world.
STS International Solidarity is based on the following:
General principles1. We consider most of the catastrophes, which are hitting mankind today as manmade. Very few people profit from the disasters. The disasters can only be avoided if those who are threatened and their organisations act together.
2. In this period of disasters there is a big need for relief that humanitarian organisations can bring. But we have to be aware that some of the humanitarian organisations are today parts of a big “relief industry” and also concerned with serving their own interests.
3. As a contrast STS International Solidarity always starts its own interventions by trying to find answers of the following questions: why did this specific catastrophe occur in the first place and what can be done to avoid repetitions in the future?
4. All experiences show that a main reason for wars is the spreading of the poison of ethnic or religious hatred among the peoples. We fight this hatred as best as we can by trying to ally ourselves with forces that want peace and reconciliation.
5. Sometimes we get economic support from (for instance) the Danish State. But the only ones who can decide our line are our own members.
6. We try to build our organisation on a voluntarily basis, including among former receivers of aid. In case we have to pay salaries or other sorts of income we will make sure that these are kept inside normal income.
7. Because of our selective help, our support to the peaceful political forces, support for trade unions and other popular movements, peace movements etc. the effects of our aid is cannot be measured out in terms of money alone.
8. The roots of what is today STS International Solidarity can be found in Europe and in Somalia in Africa. In the following we will describe the development in more details.
STS International Solidarity and the wars in the Balkans
1. The collapse of Communism in the Balkans and the splitting up of Yugoslavia in independent states opened an arena for nationalist parties (some still calling themselves Socialists). Among others the dominating Serbian and Croatian powers tried to part Bosnia among themselves.
2. In these efforts they were – respectively and more or less openly – supported by different greater powers in Europe. United Nations was paralysed.
3. Bosnia-Herzegovina has been a model of ethnic and religious tolerance for all of Europe for centuries. It was characterised by the fact that people of very different ethnic and cultural background, believers in different religions (as well as non-believers), could live peacefully together – except for periods where foreign intervention and wars (as the Second World War) sharpened all contradictions. The rise of nationalism and religious intolerance during the fall of Yugoslavia once again brought big problems to bear for the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
4. Supported by local Serbian and Croatian nationalist groups Serbia and Croatia attacked Bosnia-Herzegovina and started mass programs of “ethnic cleansing”. The hatred was whipped up, together with fear, and most Bosnia-Herzegovina was split up according to ethnic and religious lines. Only the Northern industrial town, Tuzla, was an exception. Here could Bosnians who were called Serbs, Croat or Muslims or belonged to 19 other ethnic groups – not to speak of the ethnic “mixed” – continue to live together in internal peace defending their right to do so and the original Bosnian culture of tolerance against their different besiegers.
5. As a consequence an inter-European movement – mainly based in trade unions – rose in 1992-93 to come to the assistance of the multiethnic and multireligious Tuzla. STS International Solidarity was a part of this big movement, which called itself International Workers Aid. While some parts of the movement later were weakened or disappeared STS International Solidarity grew and was able to make a lot of projects. We now count the leaders of the multiethnic parties and organisations in Bosnia among our friends. In periods we were also able to work in other countries in the Balkans as well, for instance in Kosova and Macedonia with great help from our friends who were still existing in International Workers Aid at that time.
6. STS International Solidarity never considers receivers of our humanitarian help just as “social clients” but as equal partners and friends, who for a period needed the solidarity of others who were better off. One of the results is that our friends and members in Bosnia made it possible for us to stay in Bosnia while most other humanitarian organisations have left. Following the line of international solidarity our friends has formed a branch of STS International Solidarity in Bosnia with more than 700 registered members who will also help us to help others.
STS International Solidarity and the development in Africa and in Somalia1. The African continent has suffered from foreign intervention for more than 500 years. The colonial powers claimed they brought civilisation and culture to Africa but what they in fact did was to enslave the African peoples, part them up in a way that suited their own interests and steal their wealth. A common strategy was to whip up ethnic hatred by using the outlived tribal- and clan structures to “divide and rule”!
2. The period of direct rule of colonialism in Africa began to crumble after the Second World War, but the economic motives for continued domination sustained. A consequence can be seen in the way in which the wars are going on. In countries with rich natural resources like the DR Congo, Sudan (and Somalia) many attackers come from the outside. They are financed by parts of the robbery of the natural resources. Some militias are paid – directly or indirectly – by big mine or oil companies. Once again the poison of ethnic hatred is used to stir up tensions between different ethnic groups. The enormous natural resources are not used in the interests of the Africans themselves but on the contrary: Some of the riches are used to kill thousands upon thousands of common people.
3. The problems of Somalia are mainly a result of the facts that Somalia is, at least potentially, a very rich country and has a very important strategic geographical position. STS International Solidarity considers the continued existence of the many clan-based war fractions as mainly a result of foreign intervention: economically, politically as well as militarily.
4. STS International Solidarity supports the natural and (formally general recognised) right of the Somali people to solve its own problems without foreign interference. Different political experiments, as for instance the Arta-conference in 2000, show the ability of the Somalis to do that. Foreign intervention should be strictly limited to help Somalia to overcome the material and social problems that the different interventions and the civil wars have left behind.
5. Realising that certain Somali groups of intellectuals more or less will agree with us in our fundamental points of views STS International Solidarity decided to engaged in Somalia in 1999. Since then we have build up STS Somalia which have today more than 22 member organisations..
6. Because of its persistent support for peace and reconciliation STS International Solidarity was appointed ambassador of goodwill of the former government of transition of Somalia – but without any pay and any obligation for neither of the two parts. We have used our independence to take initiative to clean the streets in Mogadishu in 2001 and to some peace initiatives in the capital. We have also used our independence to buy and distribute ten sets of football dresses to ten different regions in Somalia – in spite of the different political character of the local ruling political forces. We wanted young people to begin playing football with each other in stead of killing each other. For this initiative we received a diploma from the International Olympic Committee for our contribution “to the friendship among people”.
7. As the unconditional support STS International Solidarity offers the Somali people contrasts sharply with the policy of our own government, other individual European countries, the European Union and other international organisation we have realised that our chance for getting support from rich donors is very little. The strategy we chose to follow has therefore been – with the help of our members – to try to build up a foundation of our own. This strategy was started in 2000 and although we have met many problems in the meantime we don’t see any lasting alternative.
8. At the moment we concentrate on the following:
1) To support our Somali members organisations by making a centre in Mogadishu from which they can work.
2) To especially support our member organisation, Peace Campaign Group, which many times has shown its ability to make peace among fighting clans in Galgaduud and other parts of Somalia.
3) To support our members organisation, Somali Teachers Union, and to help establishing Somali-Scandinavian Friendship schools.
4) To further the solidarity work with our member organisation, AIDSOM, which in the Southern and Central Somalia fights AIDS and circumcision, suppression of women and polygamy.
5) To continue our work in the Balkans especially with supporting the national rights of the Albanian people.