In Focus

Water in the Middle East Panel

Monday, October 11, 2010, 11.00–12.30, Academy of Sciences, Hall 2

Organized in cooperation with Coca-Cola

Moderator: Eva van de Rakt 

Panelists: Václav Cílek, Peter Thum, Hamed Assaf 

 

Water in the Middle East is considered to be the most precious and scarce natural resource. Economic growth, social cohesion, political and environmental stability are all dependent on water and its availability. It is believed, that climate change will have profound effects on the Middle East. Already today, climate changes are contributing to the often underreported natural disasters occurring in the Middle East (droughts, floods and extreme weather – all have doubled since the period of 1988–1997). Together with continuing demographic growth (2 % per year) and urban densification in the Middle East, the region will reach absolute renewable water scarcity mark by 2050 = 500 m3 per capita. How can this process be stopped? Which of the existing projects are feasible considering the current political situation?

Panel

Monday, October 11, 2010, 12.00–13.30, Žofín Palace, Conference Hall

 

Moderator: Josef Jařab

Panelists: Dana Drábová, Masashi Nishihara, Charles D. Ferguson, Dewi Fortuna Anwar, Paul Wolfowitz

 

Nuclear weapons have not been deployed since the horrific consequences of the 1945 bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Mutual Assured Destruction capability, that both Cold War superpowers developed by growing stockpiles of nuclear warheads in the 1950s, was arguably one of the reasons why the Cold War remained “cold“. The disintegration of the bipolar world, the spread of nuclear weapons´ ownership to other countries, the attempts by Iran and North Korea to acquire them and to be able to launch them on Western cities, and the constant danger that a terrorist group might get hold of an atomic bomb – these are some of the challenges which nuclear weapons present today. What have we learned since Hiroshima? What are the main nuclear arms-related threats today? Do nuclear weapons still serve as a deterrent against armed conflicts? Is a nuclear-free world possible? Is it desirable?

Panel Discussion

Monday, October 11, 2010, 16.00–17.30, Academy of Sciences, Hall 1

Organized in cooperation with People in Need

 

Moderator: Marie Peřinová 

Panelists: Jiří Šitler, Marek Benda, Cheery Zahau, Sabe Soe

 

The plan of the Burmese is ruling military junta is to hold parliamentary elections on November 7, 2010 has been condemned around the world as an attempt to entrench and legitimize military rule in the country. The elections are part of the régime’s much criticized “road-map to democracy”, which contains a number of undemocratic measures including the military having an effective veto over decisions made by the new parliament and government. What is the current situation in Burma? What does the election campaign look like? What are the expected results? What should be the reaction of the international community towards the newly-elected representatives?

Panel Discussion

Monday, October 11, 2010, 16.00–17.30, Academy of Sciences, Hall 2

Organized in cooperation with People in Need

 

Moderator: Malvína Krausz Hladká 

Panelists: José Luis García Paneque, Pavla Holcová

 

During 2010, Cuba has on several occasions caught the attention of the international community and the media. One of the last and remarkable steps of the Cuban government was the announced release of 52 political prisoners. Most of those released currently live in exile in Spain. What is their status quo in the country? What are their future chances? How do the released prisoners perceive current developments in Cuba and the attitude of the international community towards the Cuban régime? And what is the future of those who, if released, refuse to leave the island?

Presentation

Monday, October 11, 2010, 17.00–18.00, Academy of Sciences, Hall 3

Organized in cooperation with The Open Society Institute

 

Participant: Lisena DeSantis

Panel Discussion

Monday, October 11, 2010, 18.00–19.30, Academy of Sciences, Hall 2

Organized in cooperation with the ProEquality Center of the Open Society, p.b.c., the UN Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the UN Information Centre Prague

 

Moderator: Míla O’Sullivan 

Panelists: Shirin Ebadi, Beatrice Mtetwa, Janina Hřebíčková, Michal Broža, Pavel Gruber

 

Women in conflict and post-conflict situations continue to be exposed to different forms of violence, including rape, and lack sufficient opportunities to become active agents of change in the process of creating a peaceful and sustainable post-conflict environment. In view of that, the UN, governments and civil societies around the globe are currently utilizing the momentum of the tenth anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security to assess the effectiveness of its implementation. This panel discussion contributes to the revision process by reflecting the lessons learned so far, highlighting the challenges and suggesting steps forward.

Panel

Tuesday, October 12, 2010, 10.00–11.30, Žofín Palace, Knight´s Hall

Organized in cooperation with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and People in Need

 

Moderator: Josef Pazderka 

Panelists: Alexander Cherkasov, Aslan Doukaev, Khassan Baiev, Gregory Feifer

 

Almost nine years after the then Russian president, Vladimir Putin, ordered Russian troops to recapture the separatist republic of Chechnya, the small republic in the North Caucasus has been significantly transformed. Houses which were destroyed have disappeared. There is a new airport, a rebuilt university, a modern high school and several new hospitals. The Russian government insists that the conflict in Chechnya, which claimed tens of thousands of lives, is definitively over. The central figure of its “normalization” policy is 31-year-old Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov. His “normalization”, however, has come at a price. In return for peace, Chechnya has been transformed into a totalitarian fiefdom with a flourishing personality cult, rigged elections and extra-judicial killings by the militia loyal to Ramzan Kadyrov. Some of its vocal critics – namely Natalia Estemirova and Anna Politkovskaya – have been killed in very suspicious circumstances. Chechnya‘s unemployment rate is 80% and the security forces are still fighting a high altitude battle with hundreds of radical militants in the mountains. What is the current reality of the Chechen Republic? Is the life of ordinary people better than 5 or 10 years ago? What are the main features of Ramzan Kadyrov´s authoritarian style of governance? Is there a real alternative to it? Who is behind the extra-judicial killings of Kadyrov´s critics (Estemirova, Politkovskaya etc.)? Are there any prospects of finding and punishing the real killers? Is there any prospect of genuine dialogue between the government and NGO’s in Chechnya?

Tuesday, October 12, 2010, 10.00–11.30, Academy of Sciences, Hall 1

Organized in cooperation with Association for International Affairs

 

Moderator: Daniel Novotný 

Participant: Dewi Fortuna Anwar

 

Since its inception, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been an intergovernmental organization with a double life in the international system: it appears to be an international organization, but largely does not act like one. In November 2007, the Heads of State and Government of the member states signed the ASEAN Charter thereby giving the organization a more formal framework. Dr. Anwar, a leading expert on the developments in ASEAN, will discuss the ASEAN Charter‘s key provisions (while juxtaposing it with experience within the EU) and offer some considerations on its strategic imperatives.

Water in the Middle East Panel

Tuesday, October 12, 2010, 11.45–13.15, Žofín Palace, Knight´s Hall

 

Moderator: Irena Kalhousová

Panelists: Hasan Abu Nimah, Natasha Carmi-Hanna, Oded Fixler

 

The Arab-Israeli conflict is not about oil. Rather than that strategic resource, water is the issue here. The growth of the population and rising living standards combined with wastefulness and climate change have created a situation in which water resources are used excessively and no longer meet demand. The water issue is ever present in discussions between antagonistic neighbors in the Levant. Former United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali’s often quoted assertion that water would cause the next world war has proven exaggerated. Yet, hopes that neighbors at loggerheads would start to co-operate in order to solve the problems of water shortage, which would eventually lead to a permanent peace, have proven overly optimistic. Will a growing shortage of water help both sides to reach a compromise, or will water become a hot issue which will lead to a collapse in negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians?

Panel

Tuesday, October 12, 2010, 13.15–14.45, Žofín Palace, Conference Hall

 

Keynote Speech: Grigory Yavlinsky 

Moderator: Misha Glenny 

Panelists: Mirek Topolánek, Fyodor Lukyanov, Gesine Schwan, Gregory Feifer

 

Despite significant economic interdependency, the EU and Russia continue to champion two seemingly incompatible political systems: liberal democracy and “sovereign democracy”. EU-Russia dialogue has ground to a virtual halt over the last few years and it has been almost three years since the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), governing EU-Russia relations, expired. Brussels and Moscow seem to be in agreement on the need to produce a new treaty to support a qualitatively better relationship, but little has been achieved. Different biases and misunderstandings make any attempts at a new partnership a more daunting task than ever before. But with both growing economic interconnectedness and mere geographic proximity coupled with their interests in the common neighborhood, Europe and Russia are bound to interact with each other on an even greater scale in the years to come. The form and substance of the EU-Russia relationship in the 21st century will have monumental implications for Europe and beyond. What needs to change in Russia and Europe in order to build a genuine partnership? Is there a real desire on both sides to build one? What do Russia‘s leaders mean by modernization? Transfer of technology, or the introduction of the rule of law and political liberalization? Will the EU ever be able to form a common EU policy on Russia, and what is needed for that to happen? Does Russia need the European Union as a partner, or will it pursue bilateral relations with individual European countries? Can Europe and Russia find a common language to address the numerous challenges likely to arise in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus? Is the threat of Russia as an ever-increasing revisionist power exaggerated? Faced with grave long-term economic and demographic challenges, will Russia become more of a strategic nightmare sapping the EU‘s vital foreign policy resources rather than a reliable partner in Europe and the world?

Tuesday, October 12, 2010, 17.15–18.45, Goethe Institut

Organized in cooperation with Politicalprisoners.eu

 

Moderator: Tomáš Bouška 

Panelists: José Luis García Paneque, Trudie Bryks, Françoise Mayer, Tomáš Bursík, Miroslav Vaněk

 

Experts on contemporary history, eyewitnesses and former political prisoners will discuss the role of former political prisoners in democratic societies. The life stories of politically persecuted people can still inspire and educate all generations. Their memories remain an important source for further study. Who are they and what have we learned from them?