Cartoons

This week has been difficult at the Danish embassy. It is not every day that you have 300 people in the street with protest signs and ten TV-cameras pointed at your embassy. On the other hand the demonstration on Monday was a very peaceful and calm event – just as the organizers from IAF had promised. And a peaceful and lawful demonstration is a perfectly legitimate way of using the freedom of expression.

At the conclusion of the demonstration I invited the Secretary General of the IAF and the IAF spokesperson to my office, where they handed me a letter to the Danish Prime Minister. The meeting took place in a friendly atmosphere and the IAF used the occasion to explain the anger of Muslims with the reprinting of the cartoon. I had the opportunity to try to correct some of the misunderstandings that apparently are widespread.

First of all, I think it is very important to state clearly that there is no specific or general intention to harm or disturb Muslim feelings or the feelings of other religious communities for that matter. This is and has always been the position of the Danish government.

Secondly, the reason for the republication of the cartoon – as stated by most of the editors-in-chief – was to document a murder plot that had been planned by three persons. Let us not forget that – the events all started out with the successful intervention from Danish police and intelligence in foiling a planned terrorist assassination of the illustrator. So, it was not about causing intended harm to the Muslim population, but about how to document a news story.

Thirdly, it is crucial to understand that the government – and that goes not only for Denmark but for many other countries – has neither means nor political mandate to interfere in the decisions of the free press. That is why it is free. But the press is also responsible and accountable within the law – and very often the editors have to appear before the court to defend their writings – mostly about individual people. Sometimes they win – sometimes they lose their case.

Fourthly, organizations representing parts of Danish Muslim population reacted with a statement saying that 1) they distance themselves from the alleged murder plot, 2) the press is free to choose what to print and that the opponents of the cartoons are free to disagree with the printing, and 3) that in light of the current situation they did not understand the purpose of reprinting the cartoon. The statement concluded by stressing their readiness for dialogue and in fighting radicalisation.

Getting back to the meeting with IAF the main conclusion was that dialogue and mutual respect is the only way to wipe out misunderstandings like this one. This has also been the generel conclusion when talking to other Jordanian national figures during the last week.

And dialogue is actually one of the main reasons behind establishing an Embassy in Jordan. The Embassy will be a partner in dialogue – especially when focusing on enhancing mutual understanding and avoiding new misunderstandings and misconceptions to spread. Many of our projects in Jordan and the region are exactly about this. We want to continue on that track. Our relations with the Arab world have been long lasting and substantial. Just to mention a few examples of what we are doing, the Danish support for the Palestinians is solid and substantial. In Paris last year, Denmark pledged more than 110 mio. USD for the PA. For the refugees from and in Iraq we allocate more than 20 mio. USD a year. Another important aspect is our continued political support in solving many of the most important regional questions.

It seems that it is once again necessary to refocus on issues that unite us instead of highlighting divisive events.

Iraqi Refugees and Danish Humanitarian Aid

The next couple of days the Embassy will be accompanying the Danish Minister for International Cooperation on a visit in Jordan. For background information on the substantial Danish aid I suggest you look at the embassy homepage.

Lion of Jordan

If somebody is interested in a fascinating book on the political life of the late King Hussein – in particular his efforts to advance the Peace process – I would recommend the “Lion of Jordan” by Avi Shlaim. To me, who am not familiar in depth with all the details in the more than half a century long Peace process, this book was a kind of revelation. Of course the predominantly positive view on King Hussein and the personal view of the – in some camps controversial – author has to be taken into account when reading the book. But it offers a lot of detailed insights on the role of some of the central players in the region and in the US. The book draws many of its conclusions from information from primary sources not least the King himself and his close collaborators at the time.

The book concludes with a telling picture – attributed to Israeli intelligence – of the political struggle of King Hussein: “A man trapped on a bridge burning at both ends, with crocodiles in the river beneath him: he cannot go forward, he cannot retreat, he cannot jump. He is a slave of the status quo”. Yet he and his Hashemite dynasty survived against all odds.

There is written a lot of reviews on the book, among others The Sunday Times, The Guardian and on different blogs. I will in particular be looking forward to the review that at some time must be published on The New York Review of Books that usually draws from different books on a related topic and puts it all into perspective. Update September 2008: Another new review has been published by Wall Street Journal. Update November 2008 – The NYRB article is to be found here.

Some of my friends and among them actually some of the primary sources in the book have asked me whether I had bought the book in Jordan. Actually I did. I stumbled upon this book totally by coincidence in a huge bookstore in Mecca Mall where it was displayed prominently. So it is available – unfortunately at a pretty hefty price 37 JD. Update 25. March – the book is now available for 27 JD’s in Citymall – apparently The one good that dosn’t suffer from inflation….

Another book I recently finished reading was the new book written by Randa Habib – Head of the local AFP-bureau in Jordan. It also deals with the late king but in a much more personal and less scientific way than Shlaim. It is called “Hussein – Père et fils” and for the time being it is in French only. I believe that an Arabic translation is on its way. Randa was really close to the king and privy to a lot of privileged information. It complements “Lion of Jordan” on some of its weaker points on political and economical development in Jordan and it gives the reader a better understanding of the personality of King Hussein. Enjoy!

Review in NYT october 08 Lion of Jordan

The Honeymoon with cheap oil has ended.

So, the honeymoon is over and the though reality of world market prices has arrived. No more subsidies for fuel consumption – and a rapid and programmed dismantling of the remaining energy subsidies. This will be an economic challenge for many – but also an occasion to change behaviour and save on energy.

Experience shows that this best happens with stick and carrot incentives. The stick just hit hard – slapping price hikes of up to 110% must definitely qualify as such. This is the time to act – and to start picking up some of the carrots that just lies on the ground and waits to be collected.

One of them is the obscene amount of lights burning in almost every office and every public building – even in broad daylight. Why not just turn it off until really needed? Or even more progressively – and maybe to radical a suggestion – change the 100 W and the Halogens to more energy efficient and long lasting light bulbs. It is a bit more expensive initially – but over the lifespan of the bulb only a fraction of the price for electricity for a normal one. And this is just one among a huge number of good energy saving initiatives, which just waits to be implemented. As with all small things it has to be done on a large scale to have a substantial impact. Public institutions and private companies should lead the way.

Other important incentives are to make energy saving devices available on the Jordanian marked – and at world market prices. I would like to – but I don’t suggest given the constraints on the national budget – even lower and more attractive prices in order to facilitate a more rapid behavioural change towards extended use of energy conservation equipment e.g. thermostats, insulation, efficient pumps etc. But at least look at the taxes and customs on these devices. To high – and for some energy intensive products to low – taxes and customs impedes a positive behavioural change.

I am glad that some of my Jordanian colleagues and friends are singing this song as well. A couple of days ago Al-Arab Al Yawn had an thought provoking interview with Eng. Malek Kabariti from the National Energy Research Center (NERC) about the new energy strategy, energy rationalization and renewable energy sources. (Update 5.3.08 Blogger Batir have made a good entry on the Energy Strategy and the draft Renewable Energy Law). Even though not everyone subscribe to all his points of view I think that his thoughts ought to be debated much more than is the case today. There is to much focus on high profile energy projects like Nuclear and Oil Shale and to little on easy-to-do quick wins and renewables in this field. The honeymoon with cheap oil has passed away for good and it is time to act today in preparation for the future.

COP 15 “Demonstratorium”

A new interesting initiative saw the light of day in Copenhagen today. In a public-private partnership governmental institutions and business organisations are joining forces to inform about and promote climate friendly technologies and products in the run up to the global climate conference – COP15 – that will be held in Copenhagen in 2009.

One of the outcomes of the partnership will be a “Demonstratorium” where the efficient – and I guess downscaled – energy system of Denmark is on display. Another one will be the creation of an Internet portal about Danish sustainable and climate friendly energy technology. It is also the intention of the members in the partnership to arrange political and business visits for climate and energy interested foreign visitors. And not least they will focus on education, training and job creation within the energy field. Maybe Jordan should also look in this direction when preparing for the global knowledge society (as stated in the National Agenda). I’ll keep you posted.