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GPF List-Serve
August 30 - September 3, 1999
Greetings from GPF,
Chaotic violence has overtaken East Timor, as militias supported by the Indonesian military terrorize the pro-independence population. Just a short while ago, voting on the future of the territory took place in relative calm and with an estimated 95% turnout, so the terrible violence now comes as a surprise. Clearly, the Indonesian military are able to keep the militias in check, so why violence now, rather than on the voting day itself? As we write, the results of the vote are expected momentarily. If, as is likely, the pro-independence position wins out, what will insure the safety of the Timorese population during the months of transition? Many in New York are talking about a UN operation, while some hope that the Indonesian government will at last assume its responsibility and rein in its military. The period ahead will test the endurance of the courageous Timorese and also present a serious challenge to the United Nations and its capacity to oversee an orderly transition to independence in this former Portugese colony.
The UN's capacity to act in East Timor and so many other crises is tragically limited by its deep financial crisis. The other day, the US-based Chronicle of Philanthropy contacted GPF to ask our views on Ted Turner's gift to the UN. They also asked us about the increasing tendency of the whole UN system to solicit private funds. We are not enthusiastic about this trend and we said so, loud and clear. In our view, private philanthropy cannot and should not take over the responsibilities of member states for covering the UN budgets. Ted Turner's monies may appear benign and seem supportive of positive UN programs. But what if media mogul Rupert Murdoch offered the UN another billion, conditional on programs with his own particular conservative political spin? Bill Gates might step up with an even mightier gift, on the understanding that the UN would adopt a fully Microsoft computer environment. In such a setting, member states would scarcely be able to influence policy and the Secretary General would become a glorified fund-raiser, constantly on the prowl for UN-friendly billionaires.
We are alarmed that UN offices are now actively soliciting private funds, not only from rich individuals but also from corporations and foundations. Recently, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has gone on a major fund-raising binge and even the Executive Office of the Secretary General is out hat-in-hand on the foundation circuit. It is hard to fault these desperate measures by UN officials who face the naysaying of the United States government and the tight-fisted approach of other member states. But these gifts and grants inevitably effect UN policies, weaken NGOs, promote a "privatization" mentality, and get the governments "off the hook." The philanthropic community -- billionaires and foundations alike -- should assume their proper responsibilities. They should be helping to increase government funding. And they should be exploring innovative future funding sources for the UN like global taxes. We hope the Chronicle of Philanthropy will state this case fairly in its upcoming article. But we fear that in the present political climate, the negative neoliberal trend will only continue.
GPF itself has a very modest budget, but we have been constantly fighting for better UN funding. Our coordinating efforts on this year's Millennium Mobilization are now moving into high gear. The diverse worlwide events on October 23rd mobilization day will include a student rally in Silicon Valley, a citizen protest in Calcutta, India, and even a large dinner event in Paris. Many dozens of groups in cities on every continent will participate.
One of those working on the mobilization effort will be Marc Sutton, a new intern recently graduated from the University of Exeter in the UK and now a Master's Degree candidate in Political Economy at the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Rsearch. We welcome Marc, our second UK intern. We have had many qualified applicants for internships this fall and we will be announcing further appointments in the next two weeks as the fall team takes shape