Electoral campaign started and the new PES restyled its web platforms, adding brand new functionalities and giving to all of you even more opportunity to interact with the PES and participate in the campaign!

First of all, the Campaign blog. As you already know Yourspace was created for the public consultation to allow citizens to contribute to the PES manifesto.
Now that we have our manifesto, it is time to campaign for the European elections! Check out the new campaign website on http://elections2009.pes.org/elections2009/ ... Don’t worry, you will find a familiar environment and all the functionalities you are used to, even more!
Send us your stories, blogs and events to the campaign website. You just need to register/login, either as a guest or an activist on the new website and click on “How to get involved?!”.

Try new interactive features! For instance, Manifesto in every corner of Europe, the competition where the PES challenges its activists to take a picture of the manifesto cube in a typical landmark or with a local personality! Click here to find more about this contest.

Download our new visual identity, print it out and ingrate it into your website; visit the Electoral toolkit page and download postcards, posters, cubes in all EU languages, the screensaver, logos and banners!

So…still here?!! Type www.elections2009.pes.org and take your time to explore it and find out all tools available!

Th!nk about it

4 months of writing. Young media junkies getting political about the union!

It sounds like another community that I know of :-)

‘Hands off EU child care targets’ is the message for the Czech Presidency from a growing number of European Socialists. Yesterday Yourspace reported support from the Greek, Belgian and Irish parties for the protest started kicked off PES Women. Today we can report that Romanian Social Democrat MEP Rovanna Plumb, who is also President of Romanian PSD Women, made her concerns known to the European Parliament yesterday. She told the Parliament in Strasbourg that the Czech Presidency should propose measures to help Member States improve childcare.
 
Today Social Democratic Women of Slovenia, gathered at their National Council meeting in Ljubljana, will express their “outrage” at the Czech Presidency. “We insist that the Slovene minister and all other ministers dealing with this issue in their respective EU member states strongly reject this shortsighted proposal of the conservative Czech government” said Majda Potrata MP and President of the SD Women.

In Cyprus Sociali Democratic MP Roulla Mavronikola met the Minister of Employment and Social Insurance, and declared afterwards she was confident that the Cypriot Government would agree to maintain the EU childcare targets agreed in 2002. She added that the Cypriot Social Democrats EDEK would strongly oppose in any effort either of the EU Czech Presidency or of any other party to reduce the targets that European governments agreed to improve working parents lives.
 
An article in the Czech media last week quoted Czech Minsiter Petr Necas saying it was ‘totalitarian’ to object to a debate on the childcare targets. But he then revealed his real intentions by describing the targets as nonsensical.
 
Zita Gurmai said “We are happy to have a debate but we refuse to water down the EU childcare targets. It is clear that Minister Necks would like to ditch the targets. He is testing the water by asking for a debate. We say debate what you like but don’t think you can get the EU to drop the targets.”  
 
Add your voice to the protest about Czech Presidency plans to ditch EU childcare targets by emailing public@eu2009.cz.

Commemoration has linked usually also to International Holocaust Remembrance Day.The background is, that on January 27, 1945, Soviet troops entered the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, the last such camp still functioning. They found 7,000 survivors from among the more than 1,000,000 people murdered there. The memory of the Holocaust in western Europe has historically been a kind of spur for ‘anti-racist’ movements, but how to define Holocaust?

Definitions 

Most scholars define the Holocaust as a genocide of European Jewry alone, or what the Nazis called the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question”. Taking into account all the victims of Nazi persecution, the total number of victims would be between nine and 11 million of which figure appr. six million were Jews.

Earlier the word holocaust has been used since the 18th century to refer to the violent deaths of a large number of people, e.g. many writers used it before World War II to describe the Armenian Genocide of WWI.

If and when the word holocaust is reserved to describe murdering six million Jews during WWII the other similar brutalities need another term and the word Genocide is most used to describe the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group. A word pogrom is used mostly in relation with a form of riot directed against a particular group, whether ethnic, religious, or other, and characterized by the killing and destruction of their homes, businesses, and religious centers.

Balkans

Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest extermination center created by the Nazis. It has become the symbol of the Holocaust and of wilful radical evil in our time.The death tolls in extermination centers vary but rough estimations are following (source Wikipedia):

• Auschwitz II 1,400,000
• Belzeg 600,000
• Chelmno 320,000
• Jasenovac 600,000
• Majdanek 360,000
• Maly Trostinets 65,000
• Sobibor 250,000
• Treblinka 870,000

Few people know that 3rd biggest extermination center was Jasenovac.Two reasons maybe explain this: 1st it is located in Croatia and 2nd the main part of victims were Serbs.From total 600,000 murdered ones some 25,000 were Gypsies, some 25,000 Jews and over half a million Serbs.

YadVaShem - "Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority" - is Israel’s official memorial to the Jewish victims of the holocaust describes Jasenovac as follows (source):

Located in Croatia 62 miles south of Zagreb, Jasenovac was Croatia’s largest concentration and extermination camp. Jasenovac, was a network of several sub-camps, established in August 1941 and dissolved in April 1945. The Nazis gave control of Jasenovac to the puppet Croatian government, which was run by the fascist Ustasa movement. A large number of Ustasa members served in the camp, most notably Miroslav Filipovic-Majstorovic, who was notorious for killing prisoners with his bare hands.

The Independent State of Croatia was created and supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It thus adopted their racial and political doctrines. Jasenovac had a role in the Nazi "final solution"; it was also used, however, in the ethnic cleansing of Romany and Serbian inhabitants. So during the WWII, Serbs shared the similar fate as Jews at the hands of Nazis. Jasenovac was not the only place where Serbia’s neighbour Croatia ran several concentration camps where Jews, Serbs and Roma have been murdered. Bosnian Muslims and Kosovo Albanians were allies of Hitler as well.

(More about Jasenevac in my document library )

Memory today

In April 1945 the partisan army approached the camp. In an attempt to erase traces of the atrocities, the Ustaša blew up all the installations and killed most of the internees. An escape attempt by the prisoners failed, and only a few survived.

It seems that after WWII Croats tried to hide all evidence about brutalities in Jasenovac, all material evidence disappeared as if there had not been any camp in that place.Later – during Tito’s time - the state and the authorities tried to implement “Brotherhood and Unity” motto, with the aim of creating tolerance between the nations and the crime had to be forgotten as soon as possible.

On Summer 2008 Israel’s ambassador to Croatia,  Shmuel Meirom,  harshly criticized the funeral given to a head of a WWII Jasenovac concentration camp in Zagreb, saying also that it insulted the memory of those killed in the camp run by Croatia’s Nazi-allied Ustasha regime.“I’m convinced that the majority of the Croatian people are shocked by the way the funeral of the Jasenovac commander and murderer, dressed in an Ustasha uniform, was conducted,” ambassador Meirom said in a written statement to the state news agency Hina. “At the same time, I strongly condemn the inappropriate words of the priest who served at the funeral and said that Sakic was a model for all Croats”Meirom said. (More about this in my article )

So commemoration or International Holocaust Remembrance Day or events and history related to them has recent times been observed with various ways.In Serbia Serbs and Jews held the main commemoration ceremony at the Memorial to the Victims of Genocide in the Second World War at the Old Fairgrounds (Staro Sajmiste) in Belgrade – a place where thousands of them were murdered during WWII.

Yearly commemoration is important remainder for fair picture of history.  At least one day per year is good to think what ultra nationalism can be at its worst level, what kind of interests, power game, attitudes and hidden motivations are creating possibilities for murdering civil populations or ethnic groups.  And to remember that these actions have been continuing also after WWII e.g. in Cambodia, Rwanda and Darfur even today.

(More my articles one may find from my Archives:Blog)

balkan
ari rusila
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Childcare is a 21st century public service - it gives children a great start to their education and learning to live and play with other children, and it frees to look for paid work, it creates work, it brings together the community.
 
In 2007 the Party of European Socialists ran a campaign to encourage governments to fulfil their commitment to EU targets for childcare places (targets set in 2001 to provide childcare places for 30 per cent of 0-3 year olds and 90 per cent of children 3-school age by 2010). Childcare features in the PES principles for a New Social Europe.
 
So the PES is furious that the conservative Czech Presidency are asking whether the EU should ditch its childcare targets.
 
PES Women Executive issued a statement saying they "strongly oppose any watering down of the EU childcare targets."
 
The issue is due to be raised at an informal meeting of EU family ministers on February 5 in Prague.
 
A Czech Presidency discussion proposes to open a debate about the "relevance" of paper EU childcare targets and contains no mention of the possibility of actually stepping up efforts to increase or improve childcare services.

Zita Gurmai, President of PES Women said "The EU should be looking at how it to help increase the quantity and quality of childcare, not trying to ditch targets just because some member states are failing to achieve their commitments."
 
PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said "At the start of the Czech Presidency the President of the Czech Republic wrote that the EU should be cutting social and environmental standards. Now we see the Czech Presidency are trying to put that into practice. It is unbelievable that the Czech conservatives want Europe to cut childcare when people are already suffering job and pension cuts. I challenge the European conservatives - the EPP - to say where they stand. Do they want to force mothers back to the home or force even more working parents to pay for private childcare?"
 
The PES encourages anyone who cares for childcare to let the Czech Presidency - public@eu2009.cz - know why EU childcare targets are relevant, and why you oppose ditching EU childcare targets.

That said Riccardo Nencini (Secretary of the Italian Socialist Party) in commenting on the news of an agreement between Veltroni and Berlusconi for an amendment to the electoral law for the European elections.

Veltroni wants to defend his leadership in the party, so the agreement with Berlusconi. He tramples democracy for its own purposes. He wants to introduce a barrier to 4 / 5% to prevent at other parties, including the Socialist Party, to elect MEPs.

The Italian Socialists are preparing to respond to this "beastly" and anti-democratic act.

Ce mouvement unitaire et interprofessionnel —assez rare en France pour être souligné— promet d'être massif et revendicatif.

A cette occasion, la Fédération de Paris du PS a élaboré un tract mettant en avant les propositions contenues dans le Manifesto PSE 2009 pour répondre à la crise. Il s'agit de porter à la connaissance des manifestants les mesures préconisées par les socialistes européens dans le document qui engagera leurs candidats au moment des élections européennes en juin prochain.

Le flyer du PS parisien est téléchargeable :

http://www.ps-paris.org/docs/flyer-29janvier-PSE.pdf

Intrigued? Have a look to the attached file.   

In these papers the Friends of the SPD emphasize that in this war both parties have violated international law. Looking past the question of blame, it must be recognized that the military operations led by the Israeli Army and the Palestinian casualties are totally disproportionate in comparison to the victims and damages that are caused by the Hamas attacks. They go on to say: “this war like no other fosters the radicalization of the whole Arabic–Muslim world, which is increasingly recognizable? in Europe. By this, the war is destroying the prospect of a sustainable solution for the Middle-East conflict.”

The past 60 years have shown that a recourse to violence cannot be the solution in this conflict. A two-state solution that would satisfy both Palestinian and Israeli needs can only be achieved “through a historic compromise and an enduring peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The way leading to success”, the Friends of the SPD state, “is set by international law, UN resolutions and peace plans.” But especially the Israeli Government has, in their eyes, continuously undermined the realization of a two-state solution by continuing to allow new settlements on Palestinian ground, tightening the occupation rules and weakening the peaceful forces within the Palestinian society.

Regarding Germany’s and the SPD’s reaction to this crisis the Friends of the SPD state, that it is their belief that the protection of human dignity is the guiding principle of policy and an untouchable part of our national interest and that international law, which is binding on all members of the UN should be at the basis of any crisis evaluation. “Our justified and well–founded solidarity with Israel should not make us forget this basic principle.”

Hence the Friends of the SPD call on all SPD politicians to:

-    join the PSE position in the EP,
-    plead for immediate access for journalists into Gaza,
-    support a European road map that brings forward negotiations and includes incentives and sanctions,
-    plead for the implementation of UN resolution 1860 that calls for an immediate cease-fire.

In recent weeks we have all watched the savagery of the Israeli assault on Gaza, first in disbelief and then with growing anger at the appalling images of pain, death and suffering that we have witnessed. Both the PES leadership in Brussels and the leadership of the Irish Labour Party have been very strong in challenging the scale of the Israeli aggression and arguing the need for a ceasefire and a meaningful peace process. They have also been to the fore in demanding that those responsible for the horror that has been unleashed on the civilian population of Gaza are held to account for their deeds.
 
As our contribution to the campaign to hold Israel to account, the Steering Group of PES activists Dublin met on Saturday 17th January and adopted a resolution calling for the PES to suspend the Israel Labor Party from its status as an observer member of the Party of European Socialists. This resolution is working its way through the Irish Labour Party structures and I hope will eventually be put on the agenda of the PES Presidency. We would be delighted if you would offer messages of support to us as we guide this resolution to a conclusion.

Download the presentation "SAVE.....Gaza" here attached.

Find here the tools for PES member parties and PES activists to add a European dimension to their local campaigning activities.

•    PES manifesto. A new direction for Europe.
•    Manifesto Tour
•    Virtual Tour. Poul Nyrup Rasmussen as a speaker in your PES activist city group
•    Campaign Exchanges
•    Manifesto in every corner of Europe!
•    Linking our websites

Then, give us your opinion. Write in our Blog. Send your videos. Share your ideas. 

The PES manifesto “People first: A new direction for Europe” features concrete proposals including:

•    A European strategy for smart green growth to create 10 million new jobs by 2020
•    New financial market regulation covering all players including hedge funds and private equity
•    Climate-changing emission reductions for industries such as transport and construction
•    A European Pact on Wages for decent minimum wages in all EU member states
•    Stepping up the fight against the trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation.

Read more here (also, find more information on the Madrid Council here and see here some of the contributions for the manifesto).

So we challenge you to take a photo or video of party members with the manifesto in front of a local landmark or with a local personality.

For the European elections we are asking member parties to make their bid to the PES to host campaign exchanges on each European Day of Action, with PES activists traveling to other countries to campaign together.
More information will follow in the next weeks.