[R-G] An Empire of NGOs

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

<http://montages.blogspot.com/2007/10/empire-of-ngos.html>
Monday, October 01, 2007
An Empire of NGOs

On the question of Western "NGO"1 interventions in nations of the
global South and their relations to the US-led multinational empire,
there regrettably is no consensus on the broadly defined Left. The
lack of consensus even among leftists makes it impossible to raise the
consciousness of the Western public about the roles of "NGOs" in the
empire's "regime change" campaigns, which negate the essence of
democracy in the name of "democracy assistance."

Take a look at a recent series of exchanges over the International
Center on Nonviolent Conflict2 in the Green Left Weekly:

    * "Interview with Eva Golinger: US Continues Destabilisation
      Push in Venezuela" (GLW 716, 28 June 2007)

    * Jack DuVall (President, ICNC), "Gollinger Interview" (Letter
      to the Editor, GLW 718, 22 July 2007)

    * Michael Barker, "Promoting 'Democracy' through Civil
      Disobedience" (GLW 722, 25 August 2007)

    * Stephen Zunes, "Inaccurate and Unfair Attacks on the ICNC"
      (GLW 723, 31 August 2007)

    * Michael Barker, "An Accurate and Fair Critique of the
      International Center on Nonviolent Conflict" (GLW 725, 22
      September 2007)

I doubt that Eva Gollinger or Michael Barker has been able to persuade
Stephen Zunes that leftists shouldn't be serving as "chair of the
board of academic advisers" of the ICNC (Zunes, 31 August 2007) or
otherwise supporting it or any other institution like it. Can anyone?

1 I put the term "Non-Governmental Organizations" between quotation
marks, for some of the "NGOs" in question are wholly or largely funded
by the United States government and other governments of the
multinational empire. The Solidarity Center is a good example: "A
well-kept secret about Solidarity Center is that it received 90%
(nearly $30 million) of its annual revenue from the U.S. State
Department and other government agencies of the Bush administration,
but it got less than 2% ($600,000) from the AFL-CIO. These figures are
from Solidarity Center's 2003-2004 Annual Report" (Harry Kelber, "How
Sweeney Won Three Sham Re-elections; His Role in ULLICO Scandal and
Elsewhere," Labor Educator -- downloadable in PDF at
laboreducator.org/sweeneyres3.pdf).

2 For information about the International Center on Nonviolent
Conflict, see, also, Tom Barry, "The New Politics of Political Aid in
Venezuela," Right Web Analysis (Silver City, NM: International
Relations Center, July 18, 2007), though all you need to know is
probably that it lists Freedom House as one of the "Related
Organizations" on the ICNF Web site's "Resources" page. As for its
method, get it from the horse's mouth -- check out the "Discussion
Guide" that accompanies Bringing Down a Dictator, a film that
functions as a how-to manual that teaches you to pull off a "regime
change" with the support of the government of the United States and
other "democracies." The executive producer of the film is Peter
Ackerman, Founding Chair of the ICNC and Chairman of Freedom House,
and "Special Thanks" in the film's credit go to the International
Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, and the
United States Institute of Peace. The guide encourages the film's
audience to debate intriguing questions such as the following:

        * A number of factors contributed to the overthrow of
          Milosevic, especially financial assistance and training from
          the United States. Based on information in the film, discuss
          the role of each of the following in bringing down the
          Milosevic regime:

              Aid from the United States and European countries
              The NATO bombing
              Elections
              Street marches and protests
              The strike at the Kolubara Coal Mine (p. 6)

        * The United States government gave over $25 million dollars
           in aid to Otpor and other opposition groups during the
           movement against Milosevic. Some of these groups declared
           themselves to be anti-American. What is the purpose of the
           US funding of anti-American groups overseas? Does
           accepting US funds weaken a group's anti-American stance?
           If a group is fighting for justice, does that automatically mean
           that the group is a good group? Do the methods they use in
           their fight have any effect on whether the group is "good" or
           not? Explain your answers to the last three questions. (p. 10)

The film is "available on DVD in both the NTSC and PAL television
systems," in "Arabic, Burmese, English, Farsi, French, Indonesian,
Mandarin, Russian, and Spanish." Very thorough -- all relevant
languages for the most urgent US "regime change" campaigns are
covered. Needless to say, the ICNC, as well as other members of the
empire of NGOs, is working on Iran:

     In choosing Freedom House as the venue for a foreign policy
     address this week, President George W. Bush has stepped
     into an intense debate among democracy activists in the US
     and Iran on how US dollars should be used to carry out the
     administration's policy of promoting freedom in the Islamic republic.

     Few in the Washington audience on Wednesday realised that
     Freedom House, an independent institution founded more than
     60 years ago by Eleanor Roosevelt, the former first lady, is one
     of several organisations selected by the State Department to
     receive funding for clandestine activities inside Iran.

     Peter Ackerman, chairman of the board of trustees, who
     introduced Mr Bush, is also the founder of a separate organisation
     that promotes non-violent civic disobedience as a form of
     resistance to repressive regimes. His International Center on
     Non-Violent Conflict has organised discreet "workshops" in the
     Gulf emirate of Dubai to teach Iranians the lessons learned from
     east European movements.

     A separate organisation, the Iran Human Rights Documentation
     Centre based in New Haven, Connecticut, has also received
     US funding and organised a Dubai "workshop" for Iranians last
     year that was not made public.

     Mr Ackerman, who is very wealthy from an earlier career as a
     financier, says he does not accept government money. Questioned
     by the FT, Freedom House confirmed it had received funding from
     the State Department for activities in Iran. It declined to give details
     but said it was not involved in Mr Ackerman's work in Dubai.

      Freedom House also disclosed that it received $100,000
      (€83,873, £57,500) from Mr Ackerman last year and a further
      $100,000 from his organisation.

     In a research study, with Mr Ackerman acting as chief adviser,
     Freedom House sets out its conclusions: "Far more often than
     is generally understood, the change agent is broad-based,
     non-violent civic resistance - which employs tactics such as
     boycotts, mass protests, blockades, strikes and civil disobedience
     to de-legitimate authoritarian rulers and erode their sources of
     support, including the loyalty of their armed defenders." (Guy
     Dinmore, "Bush Enters Iran 'Freedom' Debate," Financial Times,
     31 March 2006)

It should be noted that Mr, Jack DuVall himself visited this blog to
defend the ICNC, merely because I cited the same Financial Times
article in an entry whose focus was Freedom House, not the ICNC:
"Queering Freedom House," Critical Montages, 24 September 2007 (be
sure to read his comment). It looks like opinions of leftists are a
sensitive spot for the organization.
--
Yoshie