Showing posts with label Communism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Communism. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

SE Asian History: a Chronological Primer

If "Europe in the first half of the 20th century was the killing fields of the world," Asia suffered the same ignominious status from 1949 to 1979. WWII may have ended in 1945, but the last two powers left standing jockeyed for influence while Europe's occupation forces lingered to maintain access to natural resources and strategic ports.

Below is a chronological overview of SE Asian history and related events in the second half of the 20th century. In just 30 minutes of reading, you will learn the basics of 30 years of Asian history, though astute readers will notice my limited knowledge of Thailand and the Philippines. Note that North American time is approximately 14 hours behind SE Asia, so some dates may differ by one day from USA-issued textbooks. 


1945: Terauchi Hisaichi, commander of the Japanese expeditionary forces in Southeast Asia, summons Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta to notify them of Japan's imminent surrender/departure and to tell them to prepare for Indonesia's immediate independence. 

1945: President Sukarno, previously imprisoned by Dutch colonial forces, delivers "The Birth of Pancasila," declaring five founding principles of a Free Indonesia: 1. Indonesian nationalism [the principle of one National state, i.e.,  the will to unite throughout the islands]; 2. Internationalism -- or humanism; 3. Consent, or democracy; 4. Social prosperity [eradication of poverty]; 5. Belief in God [and freedom to worship each Indonesian's particular God]. 

When Sukarno [more popularly written as Soekarno] was faced with the question whether Indonesia should be an Islamic country or a secular one, he denied both. As a compromise, he set forth the principle of belief in the "One and Only God" (Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa). -- Shigeo Nishimura, "The Development of Pancasilia Moral Education in Indonesia." (1995) 

1946: Sarawak state within present-day Malaysia resists being ceded to Britain. Oil-rich Sarawak has functioned independently for almost a century under a deal made between a Bruneian sultan and the British Brooke family.

1947: USA President Truman declares the "Truman Doctrine," in which he pledges USA financial and economic aid to countries that resist Communist influence. 

At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one... I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way. I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is essential to economic stability and orderly political processes. The world is not static, and the status quo is not sacred. But we cannot allow changes in the status quo in violation of the Charter of the United Nations by such methods as coercion, or by such subterfuges as political infiltration. In helping free and independent nations to maintain their freedom, the United States will be giving effect to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations... The free peoples of the world look to us for support in maintaining their freedoms. If we falter in our leadership, we may endanger the peace of the world -- and we shall surely endanger the welfare of our own nation. -- President Harry Truman, March 12, 1947

1947: a two-state solution is borne. After almost two decades of nonviolent protests and negotiations (e.g., the Lahore Resolution) led by Mohandas Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, a British Parliamentary act partitions British India into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. 

1948: a Hindu extremist assassinates Mohandas Gandhi on January 30, 1948. 


1948: the Malayan Communist Party, through the Malayan National Liberation Army, supports an armed insurgency against British occupiers. The British colonial government declares a state of emergency in Malaya, keeping large swaths of the population under lockdown. A state of emergency lasts from 1948 to 1960. 
Our brothers and sisters in Asia, who were colonized by the Europeans, our brothers and sisters in Africa, who were colonized by the Europeans, and in Latin America, the peasants, who were colonized by the Europeans, have been involved in a struggle since 1945 to get the colonialists, or the colonizing powers, the Europeans, off their land, out of their country. This is a real revolution. Revolution is always based on land. -- Malcolm X, "The Black Revolution," April 8, 1964

1949: after four years of civil war, in which millions die, the Communist Revolution in China succeeds. The People's Republic of China (PRC) is established after MAO Zedong of the Communist Party of China defeats Jiang Jieshi aka Chiang Kai-shek, who exiles himself to present-day Taiwan aka Chinese Taipei and receives protection from USA's Navy. MAO prevails in China by supporting peasants and farmers against landowners. 

The Chinese Revolution: they wanted land. They threw the British out, along with the Uncle Tom Chinese... I read an article in Life magazine showing a little Chinese girl, nine years old; her father was on his hands and knees and she was pulling the trigger because he was an Uncle Tom Chinaman. When they had the revolution over there, they took a whole generation of Uncle Toms and just wiped them out. And within ten years that little girl became a full-grown woman. No more Toms in China. And today it's one of the toughest, roughest, most feared countries on this earth by the white man. Because there are no Uncle Toms over there. -- Malcolm X, "Message to the Grassroots," November 10, 1963

1949: despite the Japanese surrender in 1945, the British and Dutch refuse to recognize Indonesian independence. On December 27, 1949, the Dutch finally leave Indonesia and recognize Indonesia's right to self-determination, but continue to control much of Indonesia's private sector, including its banking and oil industries. Indonesia does not gain control of a single Dutch-controlled bank (Javasche Bank) until 1953. 

At the time [1930s], there were two kinds of teacher's colleges: the so-called Native Teachers College to train native Indonesians to become teachers for native children; and the European Teacher's College to train teachers for Dutch children. I was enrolled after a very selective exam, but they barred me because a brown man standing as a teacher before a class of white Dutch children could create respect in the minds of Dutch children for the brown man. That was the reality of colonial society: it was full of discrimination and humiliation for us. -- Dr. H. Roeslan Abdulgani, one-time Indonesian ambassador to the United Nations 

1950: on February 9, 1950, USA Senator Joseph McCarthy gives a speech in which he claims the State Department, USA's agency of international relations and foreign policy, is harboring traitors and Communists. McCarthy, a devout Catholic, frames the conflict as between a "western Christian world and the atheistic Communist world." 

This is a time of "the cold war." This is a time when all the world is split into two vast, increasingly hostile armed camps--a time of a great armament race. -- Joseph McCarthy (1950) 

1950: beginning of Korean War from 1950 to 1953. 

1953: beginning of Cuban Revolution. 

1953: Operation Ajax aka TPAJAX. The United States overthrows democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh in Iran. Mossadegh, a nationalist, had planned to transfer ownership of foreign oil companies operating in Iran to the Iranian people or at least negotiate more equitable terms. 

The struggle against capitalism had to be nationalist, too, because capital in Indonesia [and other SE Asian countries] was predominantly foreign. The goal was unity between nationalism, Islam and socialism but it was the nationalist content of Islam and socialism that made unity possible. -- from Indonesia, the first 50 years, 1945-1995 (Archipelago Press)

1953: in October 1953, USA agrees to send France 385 million USD in military aid to continue disrupting Communist influence in Indochina (present-day Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia). 

Now let us assume that we lose Indochina. If Indochina goes, several things happen right away. The Malayan peninsula, the last little bit of the end hanging on down there, would be scarcely defensible--and tin and tungsten that we so greatly value from that area would cease coming... So, when the United States votes $400 million to help that war, we are not voting for a giveaway program. We are voting for the cheapest way that we can to prevent the occurrence of something that would be of the most terrible significance for the United States of America--our security, our power and ability to get certain things we need from the riches of the Indonesian territory, and from southeast Asia. -- USA President Eisenhower, August 4, 1953 

1954: led by the United States, the Manila Pact is signed, creating SEATO, a NATO for SE Asia. SEATO is unsuccessful and is eventually dissolved in 1977. 

1954: the United States, with the active support and lobbying of the Catholic Church, installs Catholic Ngô Dinh Diem in South Vietnam. Diem and his Roman Catholic Archbishop brother, Ngô Đình Thục, call upon Catholics in the north to move south and openly discriminate against local majority Buddhists. 



1954: from April to June 1954, USA Senator Joseph McCarthy holds anti-Communist hearings in Congress, where he accuses the U.S. Army of Communist infiltration. 

I will tell you about the situation in Saigon. When you did not appease certain groups, they called you a Communist. Who was it in the United States that practiced that tactic? Joe McCarthy? We had the same people in Vietnam. Anyone you disagree with, just call him a Communist. -- General Nguyen Khanh, interview, June 2009 

1954: in November 1954, the USA government gives Ngô over 28 million USD in foreign aid and begins taking over security responsibilities from France. 

1955: Jawaharlal Nehru-led Bandung Conference takes place in Indonesia, focusing on anti-colonialism. Internal Chinese communications indicate Taiwanese plot to assassinate Chinese delegate to conference. Indonesian President Sukarno delivers historic speech capturing optimism and pessimism of the times and correctly predicting war. 

Great chasms yawn between nations and groups of nations. Our unhappy world is torn and tortured, and the peoples of all countries walk in fear lest, through no fault of theirs, the dogs of war are unchained once again... The political skill of man has been far outstripped by technical skill, and what he has made he cannot be sure of controlling. The result of this is fear. And man gasps for safety and morality. -- first Indonesian President Sukarno, Bandung opening address at the Bandung Conference, April 18, 1955
  

1956 to 1962: over ten countries on the African continent declare independence from colonial Europe. [See Ebere Nwaubani's The United States and Decolonization in West Africa, 1950-1960 (2001); and "The United States and the Liquidation of European Colonial Rule in Tropical Africa, 1941-1963" (2003)] 

1957: on August 31, 1957, Tunku Abdul Rahman issues the Malayan Declaration of Independence proclaiming independence from Britain. 
However, the proclamation is mostly ceremonial due to two factors: 1) British troops are still enforcing a state of emergency against Communist insurgents within Malaysia; and 2) Britain appears to be using Rahman to deflect accusations of colonialism by the Communists, who are now technically fighting against an independent country led by a Malay leader. 
The 14 stripes on Malaysia's flag represent its 13 different states, plus one Federal Territory, Kuala Lumpur.
1957: in December, Indonesia's President Sukarno begins nationalizing Dutch-owned businesses and expels between 40,000 and 50,000 Dutch nationals

In many countries, anti-colonial fighters and heroes would win independence and assume power, but then fail at nation-building, because the challenges of bringing a society together, growing an economy, [and] patiently improving people's lives are very different from fighting for independence. -- Singaporean PM LEE Hsien Loong (2015)

1959: beginning of the Laotian Civil War from 1959 to 1975.

1959: in May 1959, USA-backed President Ngô of the Republic of Vietnam passes Law 10/59, authorizing courts to issue death sentences on the spot against any political opponents "endangering national security." 

1959: Britain grants Singapore autonomy except in matters of defense and foreign policy, pushing Singapore towards self-determination. By 1964, Britain's budget was straining under obligations of empire and post-WWII debts, leading the Labour government to announce a phased withdrawal of British troops in Singapore by 1971

1962: on November 1, 1962, a referendum is held in Singapore to determine whether Singaporeans desire a merger with the Federated States of Malaya (present-day Malaysia). An overwhelming majority of Singaporeans vote to join Malaysia, but Barisan Sosialis, Singapore's anti-colonial party formed by left-wing members of the PAP, questions the referendum's legitimacy because blank votes are counted as pro-merger when in fact they represent opposition. 

1963: in April 1963, Indonesia's President Sukarno attacks still-British Borneo in present-day Malaysia, refusing to allow a de facto British-formed state on Indonesia's doorstep ("Konfrontasi"). By pressuring British influence in Malaysia, Indonesia paves the way for eventual Singaporean as well as Malaysian independence. Britain in the 1960s has no stomach for war. It is mired in domestic economic problems due to record unemployment as well as civil unrest in Hong Kong, Aden (Yemen), and Southern Rhodesia. Even so, despite an 800 million pounds deficit in 1964, Britain believes it has a stabilizing role to play "East of Suez." 

1963: on May 8, 1963, South Vietnamese security forces fire into a crowd of Buddhist religious marchers celebrating the Buddha's 2,527th birthday. From NSA Archive: "The rationale for the breakup of this march was no more serious than that the Buddhists had ignored a government edict against flying flags other than the South Vietnamese state flag. Another of [Ngô] Diem's brothers, the Roman Catholic archbishop for this same area of South Vietnam[,] had flown flags with impunity just weeks before when celebrating his own promotion within the Church." 
USA troops kneeling before Catholic priest
(Photo taken in War Remnants Museum in Vietnam)
1963: on June 11, 1963, a bonze--an ordained Buddhist monk--publicly sets himself on fire to protest Ngô's discriminatory actions. 

1963: on July 9, 1963, Britain negotiates terms creating a common financial market between Singapore and Malaysia that allows substantial British banking and insurance influence in SE Asia (as well as Hong Kong). The agreement is signed in London. 
1963: on August 28, 1963, North Borneo (aka Sabah), Sarawak, and Singapore sign an agreement to create a new, British-backed Malaysia effective August 31, 1963 (Merdeka Day aka Freedom Day). 

1963: on November 1 and 2, 1963, USA-sponsored Ngô and one of his brothers are captured and killed. French-trained General Duong Van Minh takes over leadership in South Vietnam. 

1963: on November 22, 1963, USA President JFK is assassinated. 

1964: on January 30, 1964, General Minh is unable to form a viable government in South Vietnam and is overthrown in a bloodless coup led by French-trained General Nguyen Khanh. Subsequent coups and counter-coups occur in Saigon. 

1964: Singapore experiences racial riots between majority-Chinese and minority-Malay residents. A teenaged Kishore Mahbubani, whose father arrived in Singapore orphaned and alone at the age of 13, sees his neighbors beaten and killed. (Mahbubani later becomes Singapore’s Ambassador to the United Nations.) The following year, Malaysia's PM Rahman will cite these riots and the 1,000+ residents arrested as one reason Malaysia separated from Singapore. 

1964: USA President Johnson signs Gulf of Tonkin resolution on August 10, 1964, escalating USA aggression in SE Asia on the basis of two reported attacks: the first one involving zero USA casualties, and the second one falsified.

1965: after Indonesia's attack against British Borneo (now Sabah) and related pressure, the British focus on developing Singapore, especially its port, and forgo a united Federation of Malaya-Sarawak-Brunei-North Borneo-Singapore under British influence. Consequently, on August 7, 1965, Singapore and Malaysia agree to separate, giving Singapore its independence, though some say the predominantly Chinese Singaporeans were "kicked out of Malaysia" as part of a two-state solution giving Muslim Malays political power in Malaysia and non-Muslim Chinese the same statistical dominance in Singapore. In a televised interview, Singaporean founder Lee Kuan Yew (of Peranakan descent) begins crying when discussing separation, saying, "The whole of my adult life, I have believed in merger and the unity of these two territories." 

We are going to have a multi-racial nation in Singapore. We will set the example. This is not a Malay nation. This is not a Chinese nation. This is not an Indian nation. Everybody will have his place. Equal. Language, culture, religion. -- Lee Kuan Yew, 1965
1965: Indonesia withdraws from the United Nations in protest of Malaysia's admittance. As a result of Indonesia's withdrawal from the U.N., it loses access to foreign aid/loans from the World Bank and IMF. 

1965: USA President Johnson opens major ground war in Vietnam, escalating conflict. 

1965: on October 1, 1965, several high-ranking members of the Indonesian military are murdered in an alleged coup d'état but President Sukarno is safe, and the coup fails. By evening, General Soeharto--who now has fewer opponents within the military hierarchy--takes control of Jakarta and places all media under strict military control. The Indonesian military publicly blames the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) for the alleged coup and does nothing to stop indiscriminate anti-Communist violence. Hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions of Indonesians are murdered. The PKI, which at one point had been the second largest Communist political party in the world, is no more.

The rate of increase of consumer prices [inflation] rose from 27% in 1961 to over 1000% in 1966 [in Indonesia]. -- Mary Sutton, Indonesia 1966-70: Economic Management and the Role of the IMF, Overseas Development Institute (April 1982)

1966: on March 12, Sukarno transfers power to Soeharto, Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX (the Sultan of Yogyakarta), and Adam Malik. Western powers tell Soeharto that abandoning Konfrontasi would stabilize Indonesia's economy, meaning the IMF and the United States Agency for International Development would provide substantial foreign aid/loans for Indonesian development and also re-schedule existing debt. Soeharto, eager to make Indonesia the example to emulate in the East, accepts foreign aid and investment that assume, among other projections, annual electrical load growth of 15 to 20%. Over the next two decades, armed with tens of billions of dollars of loans and oil, Soeharto begins modernizing Indonesia's infrastructure, leading a building spree that creates state-of-the-art international airports, railway stations, mosques, art centers, hotels, shopping malls, and other projects, mostly in Jakarta/Djakarta.

I also realized that my college professors had not understood the true nature of macroeconomics: that in many cases helping an economy grow only makes those few people who sit atop the pyramid even richer, while it does nothing for those at the bottom except to push them even lower. -- John Perkins, Confessions of an Economic Hitman (2004)

1966: facing increasing living costs and an uncertain economic future, Hong Kong residents riot in 1966 and 1967 against British policies. Britain devalues the pound sterling in 1967. 

1966: on June 1, 1966, Indonesia and Malaysia begin negotiations in Bangkok. Konfrontasi officially ends August 12, 1966

1967: beginning of Cambodian Civil War and genocide from 1967 to 1975. 

1967: ASEAN is created. 

1967: on September 7, 1967, Indonesia and Singapore establish formal diplomatic relations. 

1968: My Lai massacre in Vietnam

1968: the Soviet Union publishes the "Brezhnev Doctrine," in which the Soviet Union, in order to protect workers' rights worldwide, reserves the right to interfere in countries considering capitalism or non-approved foreign influence.

There is no doubt that the peoples of the socialist countries and the Communist parties have and must have freedom to determine their country’s path of development. However, any decision of theirs must damage neither socialism in their own country, nor the fundamental interests of the other socialist countries, nor the worldwide workers’ movement, which is waging a struggle for socialism. This means that every Communist party is responsible not only to its own people but also to all the socialist countries and to the entire Communist movement. -- Sergei Kovalev, "The International Obligations of Socialist Countries," September 25, 1968 

1969: on May 13, 1969, tensions surrounding Malaysia's general election result in racial riots in Kuala Lumpur, which later spill over into Singapore. Between 100 to 900 people, mostly ethnic Chinese Malays, are killed. Chinese Malays, dissatisfied with the government's plans to promote opportunities for ethnic Malays ("Bumiputera"), shift votes to extremist political parties to send a message to the Malay political establishment. Around this time, eleven Chinese men are found guilty of treason against the Malaysian government. 
From A Doctor in the House, The Memoirs of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad
1969: USA President Nixon expounds the "Nixon Doctrine," whereby the United States pledges financial aid and weapons rather than ground troops for allies facing military threats, thus reversing President Johnson's ground war in Vietnam

American expansion was primarily the outgrowth of financial and economic imperialism. In principle, the United States did not annex, it made an economic conquest. -- from Indonesia, the first 50 years, 1945-1995 (Archipelago Press) 

1973: OPEC initiates an oil embargo against Western nations in protest of Western interference in the Middle East. 

1974: oil and gas fields are discovered in East Timor.

1974: "If the decade must be summarized, it could be said that the youth of America, who had so recently studied it in civics classes, tested the system--and it flunked." -- USA journalist Warren Hinckle, author of If You Have a Lemon, Make Lemonade (1974) 

1975: on April 30, 1975, Communist-backed northern Vietnamese forces re-capture occupied south Vietnam, ending Vietnam War.

1975: in December 1975, after meeting with USA President Ford and Henry Kissinger, General Soeharto invades East Timor (aka Timor-Leste), driving out Portuguese colonizers. Soeharto is covertly backed by the United States, which is keen to prevent Chinese political influence in East Timor. The U.N., seeing East Timor torn between competing interests of several stronger powers, demands Soeharto leave East Timor. Defying world opinion, Indonesia--convinced of its stature as a superpower in the making--maintains troops in East Timor during Soeharto's entire tenure, and East Timor does not gain right to self-determination until 1999-2002. 

The UN estimates nearly half the population [of East Timor] lives below the extreme poverty line of US$1.90 a day and half of the children under 5 suffer moderate to severe physical and mental stunting as a result of malnutrition. -- from UNDP, 2018 article

1978: the Communist Vietnamese military invades Cambodia to remove the genocidal Khmer Rouge. The world is split between condemning the unilateral violation of another nation's sovereignty and applauding the removal of the destructive Khmer Rouge.


1978: the Saur Revolution. Soviet-backed forces murder sitting Afghan President Khan. Taraki, a member of the revolution/coup, is named president in 1978. Taraki is murdered in 1979 by Hafizullah Amin, who in turn is allegedly murdered on orders from the Soviet Union because of his role in Taraki's death. 

1979: Iranian Islamic Revolution. After a year of protests and martial law, the Shah is exiled from Iran and student protestors overrun the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking 52 American hostages. 

1979: Nicaraguan Revolution. "The United States supported the brutal Somoza dictatorship in Nicaragua for over 40 years. The Nicaraguan people, led by the Sandinistas, overthrew this regime in 1979, a breathtaking popular revolution." (Harold Pinter, 2005)

1979: beginning of Soviet-Afghan War from 1979 to 1989, in which 500,000 to 2,000,000 civilians are murdered, causing millions of Afghans to flee to Pakistan and Iran, where they become refugees. The United States actively supports Afghan rebels aka mujahideen, the Taliban's precursor, against the Soviet Union. 

1990-1991: the Soviet Union collapses. 

1997: in 1997 and 1998, East Asia suffered a serious financial crisis that wiped out decades of progress. Unemployment and poverty increased substantially in countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines. The political leaders of Indonesia [including Soeharto], South Korea, and Thailand lost their mandates and were replaced. (From The Tommy Koh Reader, reproduced from February 23, 2009)  

A rapid outflow of foreign capital contributed to the sharp contraction in investment during the Asian crisis. Between 1997 and 1999, net foreign direct investment in Indonesia shifted from an inflow of 2.2% of GDP to an outflow of 1.3%, while the volume of investment fell by 45%. -- Stephen Elias and Clare Noone, The Growth and Development of the Indonesian Economy (December 2011)

In December 1997, ASEAN--originally intended to help smaller and developing Asian countries negotiate better terms with more developed countries--becomes ASEAN Plus Three (APT: ASEAN + China, Japan, South Korea), deepening Asian economic, political, and social cooperation. 

2001: on December 11, 2001, China joins the World Trade Organization. 

© Matthew Mehdi Rafat (April 2020) 

Dedicated to Ms. Dunham, my blue-eyed, straight-haired Social Studies teacher at Castro Middle School (San Jose, CA), who told me "You're not that important." Now that I'm older, I am pleased to say I never let my schooling interfere with my education. 


Friday, May 25, 2018

Replace "Communists" with Russia to See America's Current Allegations in Historical Context

Justice Robert H. Jackson, concurring, Dennis vs. U.S., 341 U.S. 494 (1951)

"The Communist recognizes that an established government in control of modern technology cannot be overthrown by force until it is about ready to fall of its own weight. Concerted uprising, therefore, is to await that contingency, and revolution is seen not as a sudden episode, but as the consummation of a long process. The United States, fortunately, has experienced Communism only in its preparatory stages, and, for its pattern of final action, must look abroad. Russia, of course, was the pilot Communist revolution which, to the Marxist, confirms the Party's assumptions and points its destiny... 

No decision by this Court can forestall revolution whenever the existing government fails to command the respect and loyalty of the people and sufficient distress and discontent is allowed to grow up among the masses. Many failures by fallen governments attest that no government can long prevent revolution by outlawry. Corruption, ineptitude, inflation, oppressive taxation, militarization, injustice, and loss of leadership capable of intellectual initiative in domestic or foreign affairs are allies on which the Communists count to bring opportunity knocking to their door. Sometimes I think they may be mistaken. But the Communists are not building just for today -- the rest of us might profit by their example." 

Bonus

"National unity, as an end which officials may foster by persuasion and example, is not in question. The problem is whether, under our Constitution, compulsion as here employed is a permissible means for its achievement. Struggles to coerce uniformity of sentiment in support of some end thought essential to their time and country have been waged by many good, as well as by evil, men. Nationalism is a relatively recent phenomenon, but, at other times and places, the ends have been racial or territorial security, support of a dynasty or regime, and particular plans for saving souls. As first and moderate methods to attain unity have failed, those bent on its accomplishment must resort to an ever-increasing severity." -- West Virginia State Board v. Barnette (1943)

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Prague, Czech Republic: Deservedly Weird

The Czechs are weird. My first day, a college student took pity on me, a confused-looking tourist on the tram (I should have downloaded the Jizdni rady IDOS app earlier), and invited me to a show. The show turned out to be one of the trip's highlights and better than the 300 koruna performance at a fancy Prague museum. 
How did I get into this small gathering? Through a revolving door filled with heavy books. Why a revolving door? Because this is where the Czech intellectuals met, in secret rooms, to plot against their Soviet occupiers. 

Like much of Europe, the Czechs were occupied by Nazis. Just three years after the end of WWII, the Czechs, having expelled Nazis and fascists, had to battle Communism, which included the Soviet re-taking of property that had been returned to their rightful Czech owners in 1945. The three-years' bout of independence wasn't forgotten when the Soviets came; if anything, the sight of the sickle and hammer reinvigorated the Czech spirit. 

Consider the (pre-Soviet) heroic but ultimately tragic Heydrich assassination attempt, memorialized in the National Memorial to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror. Short version: the British helped a small team of Czechs successfully assassinate the local Nazi police chief, then received cooperation from local church leaders to hide the Czech shooters in an underground crypt below a small church. The way to the crypt requires pushing through an inconspicuously heavy, half-revolving door. (See a pattern?) Unlike visitors today, the Czech shooters had to hide in darkness, armed only with candles for light. (I didn't see a toilet, by the way.) 

Unfortunately, one of the parties involved in the assassination split after things didn't go exactly according to plan, and it's unclear whether he knew the Heydrich hit had worked. He eventually betrayed his colleagues, but the fact remains: the Czechs, unlike other Europeans, resisted. 
Tales from the Crypt
Adolf Kajpr, a Jesuit priest, attracted the Gestapo's attention because of his anti-Third-Reich writings and was sent to Mauthausen concentration camp. Yet, he never wavered in his faith and published still relevant thoughts, such as the idea that liberal capitalism leads to atheistic humanism, but Communism promotes oppression and injustice, especially against religious adherents. Why? "[P]ure religious truths were regarded as a form of resistance against those who claimed to possess the entire truth, freedom, and power." (Note to self: totalitarians hate competition.) 
Incredibly, Czech nonconformity can be traced back to the first President of Czechoslovakia, Tomas G. Masaryk. He was expelled from Catholic school, married a rich French-American woman from Brooklyn, took her last name as his middle name, and as a matter of principle, refused to honor convention. (Politicians matter, folks. For better or worse, they help shape a country's image and ability to credibly claim a particular value in the future.) 
If this isn't available online when I get back to California, I'm gonna be disappointed.

Other Czech iconoclasts include playwright and eventual President Vaclav Havel. Below are two of my favorite passages from perhaps the Czech Republic's greatest citizen: 
From Disturbing the Peace (1990)
Imagine meeting in secret café rooms with a playwright and plotting to drive the law-and-order Soviets so insane, they'd give up and leave. It actually happened. The Czechs managed to resist non-violently and in crazy enough ways to make a report sent to Moscow impossible or incomprehensible. For example, when the Soviets first came, Czech resisters removed all the street signs. In a non-GPS, non-GNSS era, this action rendered the efficient Soviet machine slow, making navigation and mapping impossible. 

The Czechs were just getting started. Try to envision a 22 year-old Soviet soldier patrolling the streets of Prague with a Kalashnikov. He doesn't know where he's going because there are no street signs. When he walks around, trying to maintain order, he sees this: 
"What's going on?" he thinks. No one is attacking him, so he can't shoot. The artist cleans up after the performance, so there's no litter. It's not against the law to "crow." Does he just stand there, looking like an idiot? How does he explain this incident to his local superiors, who then have to report to straitlaced Moscow? If you're the 40 years-old local military commander, and you receive a call describing this performance--and others like it--do you even write a report? If you don't, you'll be accused of hiding information from Moscow, but if you do, you'll look like you've lost your mind, and you might lose your job. What do you do? What do you do?
Suffice to say, Vaclav Havel and his band of misfits prevailed--but only after college students, who so often sacrifice themselves to shame adults and the Establishment into doing what should be done, set themselves on fire. Remember these names: Jan Palach, Jan Zajíc, and Evžen Plocek--they are heroes and better men than you and me. 
Memorial at Charles University
When women today make the popular V-sign in photos, they may not know its full history. It was in Wenceslas Square where President Vaclav Havel, a poet and playwright, made the V-for-victory sign to thousands of Czechs who had finally won their freedom from Soviet occupation. 
At Wenceslas Square, the site of Palach's self-immolation in 1969.

After I left Prague, I read a delightful book by an Australian woman who moved there in search of a more interesting life. The passages below are from Rachael Weiss's book Me, Myself, and Prague (2008), but I recommend you start with her more polished and recent work, The Thing about Prague (2014). Her insights are spot-on about the Czechs, whom she politely calls "eccentric." 
Weiss correctly describes the Czechs as rude by Western standards, but one must also remember much of the world thinks Westerners are idiots for walking around smiling all the time for no reason. Me, I say the Czechs have earned the right to be any way they like. If they want to be eccentric, rude, and notorious for having affairs, more power to them. Anyone repelling armed soldiers using art, nonviolence, and sheer confusion ought to be able to put a man on an upside-down horse in the middle of a bazaar and act as if that's perfectly normal. 
Your eyes do not deceive you. It is what is is.

If you visit Prague, try Medovnik (honey cake), and think of the Czechs as perpetually drunk Germans. Czechs are usually blunt, so it often feels like you're getting yelled at or ignored with no middle ground. I'm no linguistics expert, but the way Czechs speak English indicates their language prefers to be precise and concise when possible. 

Just don't take anything too personally, whether it's the museum employee trying to be helpful by warning you not to buy a ticket because it's too late ("Why did you wait until you only had one hour left? You come tomorrow." I bought the ticket after realizing she wasn't actually giving me an order); to the sitting newspaper stand owner loudly demanding to know why you're standing in front of his stall (an American would just ignore the potential customer); to the waiter who ignores you even when you wave your hand trying to catch his attention. 

Despite the occasional rudeness and weirdness, you'll be pleased to know the Czechs, unlike most of Eastern Europe, have successfully integrated about 60,000 to 80,000 immigrants and made about half of them citizens. These Vietnamese immigrants weren't necessarily fleeing the North Vietnamese military--some relocated voluntarily as part of a later Communist alliance between Chinese-backed North Vietnam and the Soviet Union, which is why Vietnamese food in Prague is different from Vietnamese food in America. 

Besides excellent restaurants and cafés, Prague has too many tourist sights to list, but you should try the following: Charles Bridge, 
Basilica of St. James (aka Church of St James the Greater), 
I don't read Dan Brown's books, but look closely.

Church of St. Nicholas (in Old Town), the Dancing House, 
St. Vitus Cathedral (in Prague Castle aka Prazsky Hrad), the Franz Kafka Monument, 
Yes, the guy who wrote a weird story about a man who turns into an insect is Czech.

National Gallery aka Narodni galerie v Praze (with permanent and changing exhibitions in different locations--I enjoyed Julian Rosefeldt's "Manifesto," starring Cate Blanchett), Wenceslas Square (for its historical value--it's just a shopping area now), National Memorial to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror, and Lobkowicz Palace. Five nights is sufficient. 

Lastly, here's a photo of dogs in the aforementioned royal palace. 
As you can see, you will never, ever be as weird as the Czechs. They are the original hipsters, and others will always be poor imitators. Unlike most artists today, their art and nonconformity had purpose, bravery, and substance, helping the Czechs achieve independence. The next time someone asks whether art and philosophy are useful, you can respond affirmatively--as long as you thank the Czechs. 

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Auron Tare: Albania's Bill Bradley

Auron Tare is that rare, almost extinct breed of politician who answers his own emails, gives direct answers, and inspires respect. I met him—all 6’4’’ inches, in a still athletic frame—for the first time on a rainy December Monday in a cafe. Tare came in jeans, a North Face jacket, and hiking shoes. Throughout the conversation (edited below for clarity and space), two themes arose: be authentic and differentiate yourself through excellent service.

On Travel and Tourism

Tare: With tourism, it is how you present it to the public, and how well you present it publicly.

Me: Has Albania done a good job attracting tourists?

Tare: The foreign market has done a great job discovering us. We don’t have a large tourism budget and have not engaged in widespread marketing. We need to be more niche-oriented and not seek to attend all the larger fairs. Attracting the right kind of the market is the key to developing something different. 

Me: What can Albania do better?

Tare: Many things, but to start, we should focus on incremental improvements, which are very important. First, good professional guiding [aka tour guides]. Second, train the taxi drivers. When I go to London or America, I know I am not going to be cheated. The first contact for visitors when they arrive should be a professional experience.

Me: How do you change the culture, which tilts towards inertia or short-term thinking? And how do you compete for the same tourist dollars as much larger countries?

Tare: Simple. Get a program of 30 people. Explain the program. Install good customer service. Explain the concept: the better you are, the more business you are going to get. Don’t cheat the tourists. Put on some cologne, perfume. Speak some English. Say a few nice words. When the passenger hails a taxi, get out of the car, take the bags, open the door, close the door, and so on. Here, some airport taxis tried charging 50 USD when 20 USD is normal fare to the city centre. When you arrive, the taxi is usually your first impression, and we want your first impression to be good and we want you to feel welcome. It’s a simple thing. [That 30 USD gap, is it worth destroying the tourist’s first impression of us?]

[Remember] Where are we? We are surrounded by Turkey, Greece, Italy. We are a small country. How can we compete? We have to improve the product. We have to have nice signs, nice guides.  We have to make people feel good. We want a more authentic feeling. That is how we are going to compete. 

Me: It’s interesting you mention tour guides. I went to a travel agency, and they only had packages for foreign destinations like Montenegro. I could not find anything for Shkroda or Gjirokaster.

Tare: [shakes his head] Tour guides and tourism itself need a lot of attention. Tourism can be one of the possibilities for economic development for a country like Albania. People here think tourism is something that happens [only] in June, July, August. No one thinks you have to work in the winter to prepare yourself for the summer.

Me: What do you think about Uber?

Tare: I think nothing. I see a general approach in raising the level of taxi drivers.

Me: Like you said, you are a small country. Uber won’t come by itself because it’s not cost-effective. I believe the UAE, probably the world’s best marketer in tourism, created its own taxi hailing app before allowing Uber. As a tourist, I feel much more comfortable if there is a ride-hailing app.

Tare: [nods acknowledgment]

On UNESCO and His Work with UNESCO

Tare: Albania has three UNESCO sites. One I created: Butrint National Park. The others are Gjirokaster and Berat, both of which have castles. Berat has an interesting combination of Ottoman and Byzantine influence in one place.

Me: How can I get there from Tirana?

Tare: Get a cab, bus, or minibus. I can send you the info.

Me: Please do. What is the process for designating a UNESCO site?

Tare: It is a long process, a very bureaucratic process. We approach it from different angles.

Me: How long does it take create one [a UNESCO site]?

Tare: A few years. You don’t “create” a site—the main reason for UNESCO is to try to protect the site. If it has universal value, then you approach UNESCO. The idea is to protect and save the place.

Me: What are the benefits of UNESCO? Do you provide experts? Funding?

Tare: Yes, the UN gives experts. A delegation comes. UNESCO provides professional expertise. You might get some money but that’s not the point. You need to do a great job yourself and make the site work well. Don’t depend on UNESCO, because the most important goal is to be self-sustaining. That is the ultimate goal: the site is to be self-sustaining.

Me: How do you make a site sustainable? So many so-called tourist spots have inadequate signs or background about a place, even in popular destinations like Turkey.

Tare: It’s management. Turkey has some nice sites. In fact, it has a lot. Money is not enough. I work very hard to make a site independent so a site works without any state-funded budget. We want a situation where you don’t care about UN or UNESCO because it functions well.

Me: But doesn’t a restoration cost a lot of money?

Tare: [In many cases,] It is not necessary to restore. What you do is preserve it. We conserve it. We present it. We make it a delightful experience. The moment you start putting too much restoration, you lose the charm, you lose the authenticity. Have you been to Niagara Falls?

Me: Yes, the Canadian side. I loved it. It’s one of my favorite travel experiences, breathing in the air.

Tare: It is disgusting.

Me: Wait, the Falls itself, or what is around the Falls?

Tare: The stores around it, the tourist center. It is cheesy. It is all for money. It’s disgusting.

Me: Ah, you mean the generic stores and kitsch a few blocks from the Falls. Yes, I agree.

Tare: Mass tourism destroys the beauty of nature. There’s a casino there—it is disgusting. Everyone falls into this trap. Everyone wants to imitate.

Me: How do you prevent the tourist trap?

Tare: There is big difference between traveling and tourism. Either you are a tourist or you are a traveler. If you are a traveler, you go to a place for the experience, to enrich yourself. Unfortunately, in the last half of the 20th century, mass tourism happened. In mass tourism, no one goes to eat local food, to meet local people or local tribes. Now what you do, you go, you stay in the same Sheraton hotel. Tourism and traveling are different concepts.

Me: Interesting statement from a man who said tourism could be the driver for economic development, but you are right. Everywhere I go, I see the same block signs with the city name, the same kiosks, the same food trucks… those Christmas kiosks out there? I just saw the same concept in Vienna, but on a larger scale.

Tare: I’m a romantic. I know it’s not going to happen, that we only get travelers here. Even so, we have to be careful in not making the same mistakes with tourism as other countries. Mass tourism has destroyed Greece, it has destroyed many cities, and it will destroy here as well.

Me: How do you stop mass tourism from destroying a country and how do you get travelers to come?

Tare: There are not that many travelers left. That is why we have to focus on tourism. The challenge is how to improve the tourism experience. People who go somewhere without understanding where they are, they are tourists—it’s not done in the traveling sense. There’s no spiritual experience. People in Michigan can go to Florida and then go to Europe, and they’ll have no idea they’ve left the USA. They travel in a bubble. They pay with the same Visa, stay at a Sheraton, eat at a McDonald’s. They are attached to it because it is safe, it is like home. How did it get this way? It is the centralization created by mass tourism.

Mass tourism has destroyed the environment, the culture. It is not easy to do it [travel] right. I like the Scandinavian model: fewer people, better quality.

Me: Wait, Iceland is drowning in tourists. They went with a cheap airfare strategy, and they are getting many, many tourists.

Tare: Norway is holding out for fewer [but higher quality] people. With cheap travel, you get hordes of people. These people still think they are in England when they visit Greece, for example. They drink the same beer, they watch the same football matches.
From Rachael Weiss' Me, Myself & Prague (2008)
They don’t manage to get the experience. Tourism is corrupting the soul, destroying the environment. It is very important to create a balance. You cannot sell a country because it is cheap. You cannot say, “Come to my country because it is cheap. Cheap means sh*t.

Me: But one of the reasons we have “tourism” is because people, especially young people, can only afford to visit a place for two or three days. The more expensive a place, the fewer days most people can stay.

Tare: I’ve stayed in tents, I’ve hitchhiked. I had 60 bucks in my pocket and I visited 5 countries. You have to promote a country as a niche experience. Go for the experience—who cares what is the next destination? I once took a bus in Iran for 10 hours and ended up somewhere I didn’t know. I woke up the next morning and had no idea where I was. Nobody spoke English but I was fine. They thought I was American, but I was not. They are very pro-American, by the way. Turns out I was near a mine and had slept with local workers all night. 

Me: When was this? [Expecting it to be when he was much younger.]

Tare: 7 years ago. Take the bus and go somewhere. Have you ever been on a Greyhound in the U.S.? I don’t use apps. I just go wherever.

Me: Yes, but I grew up without much disposable income. I wouldn’t recommend Greyhound to anyone coming to California because the experience with each station varies greatly, and America is too spread out to make travel solely by buses viable for first-time travelers. Once the bus drops you off, you usually can’t walk somewhere. It’s not like Europe, which is much more compact. We have not invested in infrastructure in America. The buses are often from 20 or 30 years ago.

Tare: Ok.

On Politics

Me: Do you think Albania should continue to be part of NATO?

Tare: I think if you join the club, you have to pay. You can’t even join a book club these days without paying a membership fee.

Me: I saw Basha, the opposition leader, speaking against the incumbent politician on TV, and it was a spirited discussion. It makes me optimistic about Albania, to see that kind of peaceful opposition. Basha is young and he seems to have good ideas.

Tare: Young? His ideas are old.

Me: Wait, isn’t Lulzim Basha the younger politician [from Democratic Party of Albania, in the opposition since 2013], and Edi Rama the older incumbent [and current Prime Minister, affiliated with the Socialist Party]?
From Melody Warnick's This is Where You Belong (2016)
Tare: [Sighs] You are right—Basha is the younger one. He has a young face, but his ideas are old. This is the problem with TV—it projects false perceptions, even unintentionally.

Me: What has Basha or the opposition done that you disagree with?

Tare: They had power for eight years. People are not stupid. They see politicians with fancy cars, fancy watches, and these politicians do not have other jobs.

Me: I notice wherever I go, I get a receipt for services immediately, which includes the VAT. Is that new?

Tare: The law was there 20 years ago, but compliance began only 3 years ago. VAT has finally become standard. Since three years ago, we [the current majority] have made things much tighter.

Me: From what I’ve heard, power outages are a big problem here. Even coming to the city center from the airport, all the street lights were off.

Tare: Yes, I know this issue. The municipality is responsible for the power. It was not receiving sufficient funding.

Me: But this is happening under your party.

Tare: Yes, but it will be fixed. Electricity is provided through a public-private entity. It was an issue with collecting taxes and getting it to the municipality. Now that we are actively collecting taxes, we can better fund infrastructure. The problem is that the local entity is not receiving the taxes. This is a local issue where the taxes are being collected by the federal entity but not making its way down to the local entity efficiently.

Me: How did you change the culture with respect to VAT and other issues?

Tare: Let me give you an example. A while ago, I went with a representative to see the process for issuing birth and death certificates. There was a long line of people. When you reached the front of the kiosk, you gave your money to an outstretched hand, and then in a few weeks, you’d return to get your certificate. The representative told me that even if he is the most honest person, he cannot fix this [i.e., he could not stop corruption from happening eventually].

So the former mayor of Albania set up an office. It was a nice environment, and employees dressed well. We made sure the process was a one-stop shop with online facilities, online payment, and so on. The lines disappeared, and the process is now an excellent statement that proper service can improve the citizen’s life. The overall idea is that we must provide better service.

This place? [motions around the Bazaar we are sitting in.] It used to be a dump. My kids came here recently and said it is much nicer now. People are not stupid. They notice changes. They notice better service. 

Me: What is the Albanian Dream?

Tare: We are a small country. We have lots of energy here, and we need to channel the energy properly. We are now two generations away from Communism [over 25 years have passed since the fall of Communism in Albania]. We need to build technology. How did Malaysia and Singapore do it? The key is to channel the energy we have into proper outlets, and once we do that, we can see what the young citizens want.

Me: Do you want foreign capital?

Tare: We are actively trying to attract foreign capital outside of tourism, but we are a small market, and it is not easy.

Me: What is the role of public sector in attracting capital and businesses?

Tare: [chuckles] We don’t have one now. We see the private sector going after opportunities on its own.
Roberto M. Unger, Free Trade Reimagined (2007)

On Basketball

Me: What sports did you play?

Tare: I played basketball. I was a forward and played both small and power positions. I played for Albania’s national team.

Me: What was that like in the old days, playing for the national team?

Tare: You will not understand those days. A person who hasn’t lived under Communism cannot fully understand, even if I explain it. My wife, who is from Michigan, even she does not understand when I tell her about life under Communism. You cannot understand unless you were there.

Me: I’m more optimistic than you on this issue. Give it a shot.

Tare: [sighs] It was a big deal for us. Sports are a big deal for a country. The state took care of you as much as they could. They looked after you. We grew up with sports. The Russians can understand me immediately but not Americans. The upbringing is so different.

Me: We have problems now in America with parents pressuring their children to compete and hiring private coaches, leading to burned-out kids.

Tare: The Communist system [modeled on the Soviet system] was genius in creating structure. Take away the ideology, take away the propaganda, and leave just the basics—what they did here was genius. [Note: comment refers only to the specific system created by the Communists for different parts of life, i.e., art, culture, sport, community base, etc.]

Each school had a chain system—a regular academic school attached to another school that specialized in one particular sport or activity. [Note: this sounds similar to some charter schools in the U.S., especially in Las Vegas.] This meant that one school specialized in basketball, another school specialized in another sport. A lot of schools were at different levels and in a natural way.

Me: So I actually know a little bit about this because I admire perhaps the greatest Soviet/Lithuanian basketball player of all time, Arvydas Sabonis. He talked about this system before.

Tare: My dad was an athlete, too, so of course he directed me into sports. They direct you, but the chain was natural. I didn’t feel pressure. You didn’t pay anything [which is different from the United States, where expensive private coaches are becoming more common]. We had a Pioneers Club, sometimes called the House of Pioneers. You go there and you learn the basics. It could be sports, it could be handicrafts. It was a house where you discovered talents and promoted them.

People [today] don’t meet anymore in a coordinated way that builds community. The Communists had meetings for propaganda purposes, but take away the propaganda, and there was more community building. Now, TV has taken over. People sit in their houses and don’t go out. People in the same neighborhood don’t meet each other anymore in a substantive way. Before, under Communism, for propaganda reasons, every weekend, we would all meet together. For example, a cultural center for a specific region, every weekend, would take equipment into the mountains by mules and show a movie. 

[Note: I didn’t follow until I realized that the majority of people in Albania, even today, live in villages or the mountains. The Communists, when they were in charge, had to contend with bringing together vast stretches of people who didn’t necessarily have much in common and who didn’t even have access to TV, much less the internet. How do you unite a people who lack basic access to information or what their government is doing for them? It is difficult to imagine what it was like in the past when you are in a major city filled with young people, but Tare sheds light into how sports was used to unite an entire nation, and why it was so important for the Soviets/Communists to win, especially in the Olympics. This also explains why the Soviet Union kept its star athletes like Sabonis for so long rather than allow them to earn much more money abroad.]

They [the Communists] would take equipment to the mountain every week. People lived in the mountains, so they don’t know what is going on. The government was bringing movies up to the mountains. Yes, it was a part of propaganda, but what I’ve discovered now is that apart from propaganda, it was the best way for people to come together and talk. Everyone now stays home and watches TV. They’re more isolated than they used to be! Today, Albania gives concerts in the villages. 60% of Albanians still live in villages or mountains. We have brought in violinists from China and we hold similar events to bring people together.  

In the past, people were more spread out, but social interaction and collaboration was not based on money. Despite the propaganda, the Soviet Union’s Communist system, which was copied by many countries, attracted talent and brought people together in a natural way.

Me: What are your projects here in Albania?

Tare: First, we are building an underwater museum. People can go down into the water and breathe through diving equipment. There’s already one in Mexico. Second, we are also connecting coastline and mountain areas so people can experience remote areas.

Me: Isn’t that extremely difficult to do? You have to pave new roads, use cement…

Tare: No, in the old days people used paths. The paths are there. We need to put signs up, use navigation apps, and work with what we have so people can stay with villagers. There’s an article in WaPo about this project. [Link: http://invest-in-albania.org/washington-post-writes-mountain-tourism-albania/]

2007-2008 was the end of the era of the travelers in Albania. Mass tourism took over after 2008. The private sector has been aggressive in promoting fairs and other events. Of course, the state puts money in advertisements, but not as much as the private sector’s efforts. The difficulty is implementing concepts. The word sustainable is used everywhere, but how sustainable is it really?

Me: Can tourism promote economic development, especially in rural areas?

Tare: Yes, but it needs experienced guides. It takes time, it takes a special model. Right now, the model is this: whoever has the money wants to make the returns.

I have three kids that need to be picked up from school. I have to go now.

Me: Thank you.

Disclosures: I wanted to take Mr. Tare to a seafood restaurant next to the café, and we went to the quieter location to talk, but he only eats fruits and vegetables. I gave him some tea from a pot I’d ordered for myself and the only “benefit” to Tare was a glass of still water. Mr. Tare is a man intent on changing Albania’s perception in the world, and the last politician I’d expect to be caught in any corruption scandal.