Toasting Mark Frankland

The loggia at the Chelsea Arts Club was heated by the beating sun and the chatter of predominantly Observer hacks, past and present, at a celebratory lunch today to remember the life. work and personality of Mark Frankland, the man who played the role of Honorary Elder Brother in my life. Sue Arnold — for long one of my favourite columnists – had arranged the venue and Robert Chesshyre compered the speeches, but it was Mark’s humanity, even beyond death, that galvanised such a good turout. Former Observer Editor Donald Trelford, who flew over from his home in Mallorca specially for the event, gave a witty but chivalrous account of Mark’s time with the paper (as well as with MI6), notably remembered for his spells in Vietnam and the Soviet Union. Neal Ascherson gave insights into Marks central and eastern European links and David Hindmarsh recounted intriguingly how a very young Mark had helped smuggle a young Pole out of his Communist homeland at the height of the Cold War. Bob Chesshyre then suggested that following the example of Quaker gatherings, other people present might feel moved to stand up and say a few words. Several did, including Martin Woollacott, formerly of the Guardian, an organ that was held in bad odour by many on the Observer for a while after the two’s merger. I said nothing, as I felt I had expressed what I wanted about my own relationship with Mark in the Guardian several weeks ago. Though he hated fuss and large gatherings, I think secretly he would have been rather pleased to know that he had been remembered, not a some vainglorious memorial service at St Brides or elsewhere, but a rather boozy, rather nice lunch of former colleagues at the Chelsea Arts Club.

Link: www.fobs.info

Bernard Jenkin on Afghanistan

This afternoon I attended the second half of a Global Diplomatic Forum conference on “Two Years of the UK Coalition Government’s Engagement with the World”. Barbara Serra from Al Jazeera vigorously chaired a session on the UK’s Role in the Middle East and North Africa Politics, but it was disappointing that no-one on her panel spoke up forecefully for the rights of the Palestinians; the mantra that ‘both sides must go back to negotiations’ in the Israel/Palestine conflict was intoned by both DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson and Labour’s Shadow Minister for the Middle East, Ian Lucas, though at least the latter seemed to have a better grasp of the injustices inherent in the current situation. Far more stimulating, however, was the following session on the UK’s Approach to International Security Issues, which focussed almost exclusively on Afghanistan. The big surprise (for me) was how vigorously Bernard Jenkin, defence buff and Tory MP for Harwich and North Essex, spoke about the unwinnable situation in which British (and other NATO) forces have landed themselves in there, not least in Helmand province, where the insurgeny, he argued, was actually fuelled by the presence of Western troops. Al Qaeda is finished in Afghanistan, he said, and the insurgency is essentially one of Pashtun revolting against Kabul’s rule, some of which have been successfully wooed by the Talisban, who, he feels, will be back in power not long after the Allies leave. This was hardly official Coalition Government policy on Afghanistan, but I confess it chimes in with what I have increasingly felt — and a sizeable proportion of the British public, so opinion polls tell us.

Link: www.diplomatsblog.com

Time in Turkey

Turkey’s largest-circulation daily newspaper, Zaman, celebrated 25 years of publishing today at London’s City Hall with the launch of an exhibition of images of Turkey through the eyes of 25 celebrated international photographers. The contrasts between tradition and modernity as well as between west and east shout out at the viewer, as do different perpectives and presentations of Turkish men and women. The photographers each give a résumé of their approach to their craft and their choice of theme in an accompanying catalogue which can serve as a lasting legacy. It is maybe invidious to make comparisons between different styles and subjects, but I was particularly struck by Samuel Bollendorff’s sweeping Anatolian panoramas, in which small-scale women stare into infinity as if searching for something or someone lost. Steve McCurry meanhile captures the mysticism as well as the exoticism of Sufi whirling dervishes and musicians in Bursa, while Massimo Mastrorillo exposes the anonymity and ugliness of urban sprawl in his set “Nowhere” Close to Everywhere. All in all this is a collection which merits lingering long before each photograph, whether at the exhibition itself, in the basement of City Hall (and several other locations round the world), or while reading and contemplating the excellent catalogue.

European Liberal Democrats in the Caucasus

It was daring — even brave — of the Armenian National Movement to invite the European Liberal Democrats (ELDR) to convene a Council meeting in Yerevan this week, only days after general elections were held in Armenia, about which they have cried foul. ELDR has never had a meeting on such a scale in the Caucasus before, but it was doubly valuable for European Liberal Democrat Council members as the Liberal International organised a side-trip fact-finding mission to Georgia beforehand. I was involved in both, as the (UK) Liberal Democrats’ representative on the Executive of Liberal International and an elected member of the ELDR Council. I was in Armenia six years ago, travelling widely around the country, so it was fascinating to see how the capital Yerevan has been rapidly modernising, though the countryside has changed little and indeed gives the feeling of still being back in the Soviet era, only friendlier. But there was also a big contrast between Georgia (a first for me) and Armenia. In Tbilisi, our Georgian hosts — the Georgia Dream coalition — gave a very critical appraisal of how they see democracy fumctioning in their homeland, whereas the government — who looked after us for half a day — put a different spin on the state of affairs. But whoever was right about whichever issues there is no denying that Georgia is a place willing itself onto an upward trajectory, much aided by the abolition of widespread earlier corruption and personal insecurity. Most Georgians are anxious to get into NATO and one day into the EU as well; the 12-Star flag of Europe is prominant everywhere alongside the Georgian red cross. We were taken to the Line of Occupation on the edge of South Ossetia to remind us of just how close and real the Russian occupational presence is. In Armenia, in contrast, there is more of a Russian flavour to the capital, but of course there is also a big influence of the Armenian expatriate community from France and the United States, some of whom are presumably financing the massive amount of reconstruction going on. In the ELDR Council and contiguous special sessions we heard a lot from NGOs and others about alleged irregularities in last Sunday’s poll. But there was also, among other things, a fascinating session on LGBT Rights in the South Caucasus, organised in conjunction with the two Dutch Liberal parties (the VVD and D66) as well as International Liberal Youth (IFLRY). Just days ago a gay-friendly bar in Yerevan was set alight by far right activists, but nonetheless there is a lot of positive conscious-raising on equality issues (even in Georgia, where over 90% of the population say they disapprove of LGBT activism). The black hole as far as the Armenians are concerned seems to be Azerbaijan, but as I know from a visit there not all that long ago, things are modernising apace in Baku, financed by oil money, even if the regime is pretty authoritarian. All in all, the Caucasus is a region with huge political and economic potential, desperate to be seen as European, while at the same time retaining its diverse specificities.

Will İstanbul Become a Global City?

İt was odd to go straight from the London elections to an academic conference on multiculturalism in İstanbul, organised by the İslington-based Dialogue Society, but at least London was the subject of the paper İ presented at it at Fatih University. The precise topic was ‘How successful a multicultural model is London?’ I showed how London had developed its multicultural nature empirically through immigratıon over the centuries from the Empire, as well as through refugees from central and eastern Europe and more recently migrants from the New Commonwealth and other EU member states. But London’s multiculturalism is normative as well, in the sense that successive governments — at national, regional and local level — since the 1980s have stressed the need to celebrate diversity as well as extending service provision to take into account the diverse population. That remains true despite comments by Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron in Germany last year, subsequently contradicted by his Liberal Democrat Deputy Nick Clegg. İn my paper, İ judged that London has become a successful example of multiculturalism, though whether it can be a model for others is maybe a different matter. To an extent London is sui generis, not least because it is now an indisputably global city, whose inhabitants can see themselves as not only living in the UK but also as being global citizens. Therein lies much of the city’s economic and financial success. But which other cities in the world might emulate that? New York, possibly, and, interestingly, İstanbul. During Ottoman times, İstanbul was the captital of a multicultural empire embracing many peoples, religions and languages. Everything changed after the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of a new Turkish Republic with its capital ın Ankara and a state-driven policy (in the interest of nation-buıldıng) of One Country, One People, One Language. But despite the departure of signifıcant numbers of Turkey’s minority inhabitants — not least the Greeks — Turkey is still de facto multicultural. The question now is whether the AKP government headed by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has the courage and the confıdence to not just acknowledge this but follow through the consequences. İstanbul meanwhile has become empirically more multicultural, with many foreigners, including Arabs – as well as a huge number of Kurds from Anatolia – setting up homes here. So maybe indeed it can aspire to being a multicultural global city, as well as Turkey’s largest urban centre. The benefits would be considerable.

Nick Clegg at the Centre for Turkey Studies

The Centre for Turkey Studies and Development (CTS) is little more than a year old, yet as Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg acknowledged at its first anniversary dinner at the Park Lane Sheraton Hotel this evening, its growth has surpassed even that of the Turkish economy. Several hundred people — predominantly Turks/Kurds/Turkish Cypriots in London — gathered for drinks and then a first class Indian dinner in the ballroom in the bowels of the hotel. The Turkish and Kurdish community has become one of the most visible in multicultural London and is beginning to make its mark in business, finance and the service industries. It is the architypal community that has got up and done stuff without waiting for handouts, or positive discrimination or any of the other things promoted by the Socialist Left. Of course, much of the credit  for CTS’s extraordinary success is due to the dynamism of one amazing individual, Ibrahim Dogus, who has managed to whip up support across the three main political parties. Nick Clegg joked that the rate of exponential growth shown this year means we will have to gather in the O2 Arena in 2013 — and indeed, why not? The London-based Turkish/Kurdish/Turkish Cypriot community is big enough. I welcome the way it is increasinly integrating into London society, without losing its roots and identity, and I look forward to the day when there wil be a Turkish-speaking member of the London Assembly or the lower House of Parliament (currently there is one such member of the House of Lords, the LibDem Baroness Meral Ece).

Link: www.centre-for-turkey-studies.org

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Impossible dreams are what drive humankind forward: we were given free will to think the unthinkable. Karl Popper used to talk about creative leaps of the imagination and although doubtless some people will think me pretentious for saying so, that is what came to my mind as I emerged from watching Lasse Holstrom’s Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Based on the best-selling novel by Paul Torday, the movie recounts the quest by an extremely rich Arab shekih (Amr Waked) to reproduce the thrill (for him) of salmon fishing on one of his Scottish Highland estates, but in the Yemen, with the aid of a dam, a Scottish ichthyologist (Ewan McGregor) and a smart young female public relations-cum-mnagement consultant (Emily Blunt). Like many dreams,the scheme is preposterous, yet passion and commitment — and pots of money — make it happen, even if initial victory is swept away by the forces of reaction. It’s a powerful story, shot against wonderful backdrops of Scotland and Morocco (a safer stand-in for the Yemen) and there is much acting, notably by Ewan McGregor, whose portrayal of the single-minded fish specialist is both bathetic and endearing. Kristin Scott Thomas as the hard-nosed (indeed, hard everything) press relations guru of a shallow British Prime Minister is a sort of cross between Alistair Campbell and Cruella De Ville; it may be a caricature but it is an effective one and underlines her potenial as a bitchy Maggie Smith for future cameo roles. All in all, a feel-good film that mixes high drama with some good jokes and an often intelligent script. Another ‘hit’ for the British film industry, I’m sure.

London’s Portuguese Gala

Among the many newspapers that serve London’s multicultural community, the Portuguese language As Noticias is something of a leader. There are reputedly around 400,000 Portuguese in Britain — not to mention the large numbers of Brazilians, Angolans, etc. — a substantial proportion of whom are in London, notably in the Vauxhall area of Lambeth. But it was in Battersea, at the Portuguese-owned Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel, that Joao Noronha of As Noticias hosted the fourth Portuguese community Gala dinner last night, with splendid live entertainment flown in from Lisbon. The guests of honour included the Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities, José Cesario (pictured), who is one of four members of the Portuguese parliament elected by expatriates: two for Europe and two for the rest of the world, the latter being Mr Cesario’s constituency. That means a huge amount of travelling for him, from Brazil to Goa to Macau and points in between. It’s an interesting system of representation which I suspect Britain will one day have to consider following. There are hundreds of thousands of Brits who live abroad — notably in Spain — who become disenfranchised after 15 years away. Moreover, the concept of a Diaspora helps maintain a nationality’s sense of identity and community, as many of the ethnic groups in London demonstrate. The Portuguese community in Britain originally consisted largely of people working in the hospitality business and low-skilled jobs but these days they are of all types, including bankers, as was illustrated by the sponsorship of last night’s event by four of the leading Portuguese banks with operations in London. I was there as a guest as a Portuguese-speaking LibDem, alongside the similarly lusophone Conservative MEP Charles Tannock.

Vince Cable Mentors in Primrose Hill

A while back, the Liberal Democrats established a mentoring scheme to help develop promising potential young politicians, especially from black and minority ethnicities and it was good to see that in action today when the Business Secretary, Vince Cable, came to Primrose Hill in Camden to speak in support of a young man he has been mentoring, Chris Richards, who is both the LibDem GLA candidate for the constituency of Barnet & Camden and on the city-wide list, as well as fighting the marginal Primrose Hill ward seat in a Camden Council by-election. Vince also took questions from an audience made up of party activists, business people and lobbyists and representatives of both the main local newspapers. Not surprisingly, there was quite a lot of focus on the High Speed rail-link proposals, as many Camden residents are concerned about the likely impact of current plans on the area around Euston. But Vince spoke well in favour of the principle of High Speed rail as a key element in spreading prosperity round the country; it’s the nitty-gritty of the routes that has to be sorted out, listening carefully to residents’ concerns. Most of the rest of the discussion was about financial and other help for small and medium-sized businesses, especially in start-ups. Chris Richards himself, through his work with the Institute of Engineering and Technology, is no slouch on such issues and of course Vince is a star. He is the party’s greatest public asset and it is commendable that he is managing to squeeze in campaigning activities in the run-up to the 3 May election, not only for his mentoree but for other candidates and councils around the UK in parallel with his busy government portfolio.

Peace on the Korean Peninsula

The division of Korea and the tense military stand-off on the peninsula – which alas sometimes involves aggressive action from the North — is the last remaining manifestation of the Cold War. As was said by one of the speakers at a Korea seminar at the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) in Lancaster Gate last night, this belongs in the 20th century, not the 21st. North Korea remains a menacing mystery for many in the West, and a constant worry for South Koreans, and indeed Japan, given the range of North Korean missiles. Yet the situation is not completely bleak, nor entirely static. The coronation of Kim Jung-Un as the third generation of North Korea’s Communist dynasty was pretty surreal, but Pyongyang did allow quite a number of foreign journalists into the country to witness some of the ceremonies associated with his takeover and the 100th anniversary of his grandfather and creator of the ideology of Juche, Kim Il-Sung. Moreover there are more contacts with the North these days than used to be the case. At the gathering last night it was pointed out that one hotel (yes, just one!) in Pyongyang does have CNN in its rooms and some North Koreans are able clandestinely to watch South Korean TV, even though that is dangerous. Reportedly one million North Koreans also have mobile phones (though foreign visitors who go to the country have theirs temporarily confiscated). It is significant to remember that until 1971, North Korea had a stronger economy than that of the South. In the intervening four decades, South Korea has been one of the most successful Asian Tigers, while the North has languished and many of its citizens live in dire poverty, some even succombing to starvation. Yet the first shoots of a market economy have been allowed to emerge. And China has been urging the North to carry out economic reforms. Probably only after sweeping economic reforms will the reunification of Korea become feasible, though no-one believes that could happen as quickly or indeed as smoothly as in the case of reunited Germany. But in the meantime, all interested parties need to avoid the rhetoric of belligerency and the North needs to recognise that fundamental change is in its own interest.