TNI activities 2000

See also TNI Annual Report 2000

January

Sign-on letter to Spanish President Aznar and Sign-on letter on Chile-US Free Trade as part of the Bring Pinochet to Justice Campaign.

February

NGO Climate-Energy Skillshare: 'A Common Message towards COP-6?' Workshop jointly organised by TNI and WWF (Europe) at TNI, Amsterdam, for European NGOs concerned to prepare themselves for the issues at the Climate Change Negotiations in The Hague in November. 30 participants.

February

TNI Briefing Paper: 'Fungus versus Coca: UNDCP and the Biological War on Drugs in Colombia' by Martin Jelsma.

March

'Asia People's Forum' preparatory workshop for the Asia-Europe meeting III, Brussels, co-organised by TNI.

April

TNI Asia Project organises a workshop on ASEM (Asia-Europe meeting) at the European Commission NGO Liaison committee's Annual General Meeting, Brussels.

May

The book External Debt, Brazil and the International Financial Crisis by Marcos Arruda is published by Pluto Press, London, in association with Christian Aid and TNI.

12 May

TNI, XminY and ATTAC (Netherlands) host a public meeting at the Rode Hoed in Amsterdam on "Social Movements Today: Strategic Steps Forward". Speakers include TNI fellows Susan George (France), Joel Rocamora (Philippines) and Dot Keet (South Africa); Kees Hudig and Theo Ruyter (ATTAC). 100 participants.

14 May

TNI and ATTAC (Netherlands) host a workshop at TNI on Global Taxes, "Tax the rich!" with fellows Walden Bello and Howard Wachtel, and Nicola Bukkard of Focus on the Gobal South (Bangkok). 12 participants.

May

Asian Civil Society delegates discuss the Asia-Europe Meeting III with European NGO representatives at a workshop organised by TNI in Amsterdam. 15 participants.

May

Civil Society delegates from Korea, Malaysia and Thailand undertake a four-country lobby tour of Europe (Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and France) around agendas of the Asia-Europe People's Forum in relation to the Asia-Europe meeting (ASEM) III. Organised by TNI.

14 May

TNI organises the screening of the documentary "Paying the Price: Killing the Children of Iraq" by John Pilger at the Cavia Filmhuis in Amsterdam. TNI fellow Phyllis Bennis leads the post-film discussion.

May

TNI Annual Fellows Meeting in Amsterdam. Topics on the programme: Harm Reduction Policies vs War on Drugs (Martin Jelsma), United Nations Futures (Phyllis Bennis), Russia Today (Boris Kagarlitsky), Reinventing Democracy (Hilary Wainwright), Report from Zimbabwe (Basker Vashee), North-South Dialogues on Globalisation (Dot Keet), Whither the Washington Consensus (Howard Wachtel), Regionalisms: Framework for the Future (Walden Bello), Privatisation of the Energy (Ophelia Cowell), WTO GATS Services Liberalisation (Ellen Gould, Susan George, Myriam vander Stichele). 45 participants.

May

New TNI fellows appointed: Dot Keet (South Africa), Boris Kagarlitsky (Russia), Martin Jelsma (Netherlands) and Ricardo Vargas Meza (Colombia) are appointed to the TNI fellowship.

June

The TNI Energy Project holds a public seminar in Amsterdam on Public Finance and Sustainable Development, involving Dutch development organisations.

June

The TNI Energy Project hosts a public forum on 'Equity and Climate Change' at the Rode Hoed in Amsterdam. NGOs, policy-makers, government officials and journalists attends the event. 30 participants.

22 June

Asia Workshop at the parallel 'From Bangkok to Geneva' Alternative Summit, during the UN Social Summit Review in Geneva, Switzerland

22-23 June

Europe Asia Civil Society Summit, organised by the European Union in Lisbon, Portugal. 40 participants, including TNI representative Pietje Vervest.

25 June

Memorial Service for Victims of Torture on the Chilean Naval Vessel Esmeralda

June

TNI Forum, 'Equity in Environmental Negotiations: The Indian Case', talk by Dr. Subodh Wagle. Attended by interested members of the development community in the Netherlands. 20 participants.

June

TNI organise a workshop on 'Nuclear Weapon Free Zones' at the INES conference in Stockholm, together with INESAP, Gensuikin, Peace Depot (Japan) and the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation. 30 participants.

June

Publication of the booklet 'Cultivos illicitos y proceso de paz en Colombia: Una propuesta de cambio en la estartegia antidrogas hacia la solucién política del conflicto' (Proposal for Peace), by Ricardo Vargas Meza, TNI and Acción Andina, Santafe de Bogotá. The booklet is presented formally at the International Hearing on Illicit Crops and the Environment that was taking place in the demilitarised zone in southern Colombia, hosted jointly by the two key parties to the peace talks - The FARC guerilla and the Colombian government. Martin Jelsma and Ricardo Vargas represents the TNI & Partners Drugs and Democracy Project.

July

TNI Drugs and Democracy programme co-hosts the conference 'Colombia and Europe respond jointly to Plan Colombia', organised by a coalition of 70 Colombian and 50 European NGOs parallell to the official donor conference for Plan Colombia in Madrid. 400 participants. TNI fellows Martin Jelsma and Ricardo Vargas attends the meeting.

August

TNI Energy Project and INZET co-hosts a public meeting on 'Equity and Environmental Negotiations' at the Rode Hoed in Amsterdam. 20 participants.

August

TNI Energy Project partners undertake a lobby tour of Indonesia and Thailand in relation to the Climate Change Negotiations due to take place in The Hague in november. Ophelia Cowell and others from the project participate in NGO-government roundtables in both countries.

1-4 September

International Conference Nuclear Weapon-free Zones: Crucial Steps towards a Nuclear-free World in Uppsala, Sweden. Organised by TNI together with the partners in the NWFZ project. 50 participants. The conclusions of the conference are released to the press as the "Uppsala Declaration".

September

TNI Energy Project presents the publication 'Fuel for Change' at the skillshare organised by partner CEE Bankwatch Network at the counter-summit to the IMF / Worldbank Annual General Meeting in Prague. Fellows Walden Bello and Boris Kagarlitsky also participates in the events.

September

Preparation for the Climate Change COP 6 (the Hague) in Lyon, France. TNI co-organise a workshop on 'Towards the Hague Mandate? Why the climate agreement must be fair to be effective', with INZET (Netherlands), Friends of the Earth International, The Wuppertal Institute (Germany), Climate Action Europe and Centre for Science and Environment (India). At the same event, together with Friends of the earth International, TNI launch the booklet 'Gathering Storm: The Human Impact of Climate Change', researched and written by TNI Energy project co-ordinator Ophelia Cowell.

September

TNI and the Global South Leadership Initiative co-hosts a report back on the Lyon Meetings in preparation for the Climate Change Negotiations in the Hague in november. A statement entitled 'COP-6 Must Produce Clear, Strong Industrialised Country Commitments To Ratify The Kyoto Protocol For Entry Into Force By Rio+10 In 2002' is issued in advance. 20 participants. Parallel events are held in Tokyo and Washington.

September

TNI organise a briefing in Amsterdam for development NGOs interested in 'COP-6: The Position of the South'.

September

TNI organise a workshop in Amsterdam to discuss the implications of the Pinochet Case for the application and extension of international human rights law. Participants includes Joan Garcés, lawyer for the families who brought the case in Spain, Sophie Thonon, lawyer for French families bringing a case against the Argentinian dictatorship and Dutch human rights activists working to support the Rigoberto Menchú case in Spain. 15 participants.

October

TNI CD-Rom: Ellen Gould, researcher employed by TNI to study the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), produces a comprehensive CD-Rom for activist-researchers on WTO-matters.

October

In time for the Seoul People's Forum, TNI publish the booklet 'Up in Arms: Europe's Arming of South Korea and it's Implications for Peace in East Asia'

17-21 October

In connection to the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) III, TNI co-organise Asia Europe People's Forum (AEPF) III in Seoul, Korea. The theme of the forum is 'People's Action and Solidarity Challenging Globalisation'. 800 people from 33 countries participates. An estimated 25 000 participates in the march arranged.

October

TNI/FOE/Both Ends Political Café, on 'Export Credit Agencies' with Doug Norlen of the Pacific Environmental Resource Centre in the USA. 20 participants.

October

TNI, Acción Andina, the Sunshine Project and Acción Ecológica host a two day public conference 'La Guerra Contra las Drogas y el Uso de agentes biológicos' (the Biological War on Drugs in the Andean-Amazon region) at Universidad Andina Simón Bolivar in Quito, Ecuador. Parlamentarians, NGOs, ministerial officials and representatives of international agencies participates, 150 participants totally.

October

TNI, Acción Andina, the Sunshine Project, Instituto Latinoamericano de Servicios Legales Alternativas, Pro-agua and others host a two day public conference 'Foro internacional política antidrogas: de la fumigación en la erradicación manual' (Forced eradiction versus Alternative Peace Proposal) at the Faculdad de Derecho, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Bogotá, Colombia. 100 participants.

October

TNI Drugs and Democracy programme partners join forces with the Grupo de Monitoreo del Plan Colombia and organise a public debate in Quito, Equador on the establishment in Equador of a 'Forward Operating Location', a US military air base for surveilance of Colombia. 50 participants.

October

TNI organises a special breifing session in Amsterdam, where fellow Martin Jelsma explains the situation in the Putumayo, a major coca-producing area in southern Colombia and the majot target area for Plan Colombia'a military operations poised to begin in december. 20 participants.

October

TNI/Coalition of Filippino Migrant Workers (CFMW) Public Forum: 'Armed Conflict and the Prospect for Peace in Mindanao'. Speakers include Cris Gaerlan, director of the Alfatihaq Foundation, professor Julkipli Wadi and Dr Carmen Abubakar of the Institute for Islamic Studies at the University of the Philippines and Fr Eliseo Mercado, Covenor of Kusog Mindanao. 60 participants.

November

Seminar in Cordoba organised by INET with Joel Rocamora, Hilary Wainwright, Marcos Arruda, Martin Jelsma, Jochen Hippler, Mariano Aguirre, Fiona Dove and Kees Biekart attending for TNI.

7 November

In Holland Randstad: Suharto's Lucrative Capital Market, Indonesian expert George J. Aditjondro accuses Dutch banks of covering up Suharto's illgotten wealth. Aditjondro is visiting the Netherlands to attend the last meeting of the Dutch Indonesia Committee. TNI's Asia Programme is host of their website. TNI and Komitee Indonesië have published a preliminary list of companies linked to Suharto, his family and their cronies in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

11-13 November

National Convention for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace in New Delhi, India. Initiated by TNI fellows Praful Bidwai and Achin Vanaik, and organised by a broad coalition of organisations led by the Movement in India for Nuclear Disarmament. 600 participants.

November

TNI/Coalition of Filippino Migrant Workers (CFMW) Seminar: 'The Life and Work of Migrant Women in the Domestic Sector: Knowing the Human Rights of Migrant Women Overcoming Violations and Violence', organised as a contribution by TNI and CFMW to the public education efforts of the RESPECT European Network of Migrant Domestic Workers. 40 participants.

November

Release of the TNI/IPS publication of the SEEN report 'Banking on Climate Change: How Public Finance for Fossil Fuel Projects is Short Changing Clean Development'.

November

TNI/INZET workshop 'The Climate Meeting in the Hague: Beyond COP6', at the two day Climate Justice counter-conference organised by the National Committee for Sustainable Development (NCDO) of the Netherlands, during the COP6 Climate Change negotiations. 25 participants.

November

TNI launches the book 'Fuel for Change' edited by Ian Tellem and co-authored by a number of the TNI Energy Project partners. Published by Both Ends / Zed Books.

November

TNI/INET International Conference in Cordoba, Spain on the theme 'Beyond the Third Way - New Kinds of States, New Kinds of Parties'. Marcos Arruda and Kees Biekart talks about 'Civil Society and Globalisation: Local Solutions to Global Problems', Hilary Wainwright about 'Combining Electoral Power and Popular Power' and 'From Local to Global'. Marcos Arruda presents 'Toward a New Political Party: Networking and Acting Locally and Globally'. 70 participants. Two connected public meetings attract 200 participants each.

29-30 November

Relations between Africa and the European Union in the 21st Century Civil Society Declaration to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of SADC and the EU. Meeting in Gaborone.

December

TNI meets with international students from the Institute for Social Studies in the Hague to discuss activist research approaches and potential collaboration. 35 participants.

>Also available: The Annual Report in PDF format