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    <title><![CDATA[Ontwikkelingsorganisatie Hivos]]>: <![CDATA[Civil Society in West Asia]]></title>
    <link>http://www.hivos.net</link>
    <description></description>
    <language>eng-GB</language>
    
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			<title><![CDATA[Regional Perspectives on the ‘Dignity Revolutions ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Publications/Policy-Papers/Regional-Perspectives-on-the-Dignity-Revolutions</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This policy paper provides unique perspectives from Middle Eastern &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;activists who are part of popular protests across the region. The &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;recommendations are based on their perspectives and addressed to the EU &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;at large European Commission, the Dutch government and &amp;nbsp;Non-Governmental &amp;nbsp;Organisations in order for them to best support the &amp;nbsp;democratic &amp;nbsp;transitions in the region.These perspectives were the subject of lively and inspiring debates at a seminar at the University in Amsterdam on April 18th, 2011 and advocacy meetings on April 19th and 20th, 2011 &amp;nbsp;with Dutch and European policy makers in the Hague and Brussels &amp;nbsp;respectively. At the seminar activists from Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, &amp;nbsp;Morocco and Syria discussed with Dutch academics and practitioners from &amp;nbsp;and outside the Knowledge Programme Civil Society in West Asia. The &amp;nbsp;idea for organising this seminar surfaced during internal discussions on &amp;nbsp;the Arab Spring within the Knowledge Programme Civil Society in West &amp;nbsp;Asia. Ever since the eruption of popular protests, we have been &amp;nbsp;witnessing an avalanche of analyses from ‘experts’ in the Western media &amp;nbsp;on the roots of revolutions in the region. However, largely lacking were &amp;nbsp;the perspectives of people who were the key drivers of these protests. &amp;nbsp;For this reason we organised the seminar and advocacy meetings, and we &amp;nbsp;produced this policy paper.The paper does not and indeed cannot &amp;nbsp;present the perspectives of all activists involved in the popular &amp;nbsp;protests. But it certainly presents the key conclusions and &amp;nbsp;recommendations of the seminar and subsequent advocacy meetings, and &amp;nbsp;therefore provides a platform for these activists to share their &amp;nbsp;stories, perspectives and recommendations with policy makers, academics &amp;nbsp;and activists in the Netherlands and the European Union. In this way we &amp;nbsp;aim to make a modest contribution to the global debate on the Arab &amp;nbsp;Spring and hope to assist activists, academics and policy makers in the &amp;nbsp;region and beyond to better comprehend the complexity of transformative &amp;nbsp;changes that re-configure the political landscape of the Middle East.Accordingly, &amp;nbsp;I will pay attention to the conceptualization debate, i.e. how do we &amp;nbsp;make sense of Arab Spring. The second part will address the role of new &amp;nbsp;social media in this spring. Thereafter, I will reflect on the collapse &amp;nbsp;and/or sustenance of several ‘fear factors’, before going into the &amp;nbsp;relation between economic development and democratisation. Finally the &amp;nbsp;conclusions and recommendation of the activists will be presented.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;This is Policy Paper 3 of the Knowledge Programme Civil Society in West Asia by Kawa Hassan]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:40:24 +0100</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[KP policy paper on the ‘Dignity Revolutions’ recommended by BNR News Radio as a reading material ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/KP-policy-paper-on-the-Dignity-Revolutions-recommended-by-BNR-News-Radio-as-a-reading-material</link>
			<description><![CDATA[At a programme of the Dutch radio channel BNR News Radio on Wednesday 23 November, the latest policy paper of KP Civil Society in West Asia entitled Regional Perspectives on the 'Dignity Revolutions': How Middle Eastern Activists Perceive Popular Protest was recommended as a reading material. This policy paper provides the perspectives of political and social actors who are the foot soldiers of the ‘Dignity Revolutions’. Please click the link of the programme below (in Dutch). &amp;nbsp;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 24 Nov 2011 11:25:05 +0100</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[BlueCoat: US technology surveilling Syrian citizens online ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/BlueCoat-US-technology-surveilling-Syrian-citizens-online</link>
			<description><![CDATA[In the context of repression in the Middle East and North Africa, &amp;nbsp;surveillance technology has played a key role in providing authoritarian &amp;nbsp;regimes with the tools necessary to track citizens online. Among these &amp;nbsp;companies, BlueCoat has proved to be the most efficient in helping the Syrian regime control every movement of Syrians on the Internet.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:15:54 +0100</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[Regional Perspectives on the ‘Dignity Revolutions ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/Regional-Perspectives-on-the-Dignity-Revolutions</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This policy paper provides unique perspectives from Middle Eastern &amp;nbsp;activists who are part of popular protests across the region. The &amp;nbsp;recommendations are based on their perspectives and addressed to the EU &amp;nbsp;at large European Commission, the Dutch government and Non-Governmental &amp;nbsp;Organisations in order for them to best support the democratic &amp;nbsp;transitions in the region.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 16 Nov 2011 12:05:44 +0100</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[Syria's crisis: A 'war of attrition' and a 'marathon', experts say]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/Syria-s-crisis-A-war-of-attrition-and-a-marathon-experts-say</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Read the interesting article of Ahram Online on the conference Emerging Spheres of Civil Engagement in Syria organised by Hivos, Arab Forum for Alternatives and University of Amsterdam on 24-25 October 2011 in Cairo.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:46:53 +0100</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[The Syrian Uprising and the Power of Stories]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/The-Syrian-Uprising-and-the-Power-of-Stories</link>
			<description><![CDATA[On &amp;nbsp;a daily basis scores of Syrian activists upload their YouTube footage &amp;nbsp;of protests and the regime’s atrocities, hoping that someone will watch &amp;nbsp;them, become outraged, and act in ways to support the uprising. Given &amp;nbsp;the regime’s information blackout, a lot can be learned from these video &amp;nbsp;snapshots. Yet otherwise the eerie silence from Syria has been deafening. Rarely &amp;nbsp;are Syrian activists given a voice to express their grievances, wishes, &amp;nbsp;desires, aspirations and dilemmas. It is against this background that &amp;nbsp;this newsletter has given the floor to some of such Syrian &amp;nbsp;writer-activists who, despite the high risks involved, continue to publish their commentary in the Arabic-language media. It is in the power of their stories that these Syrian and Arab authors prove themselves to be true revolutionaries.&amp;nbsp;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:12:34 +0100</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[What Support for the Protest Movement?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/What-Support-for-the-Protest-Movement</link>
			<description><![CDATA[﻿If the creeping massacre of the Syrian population is to be stopped, &amp;nbsp;now is the time to send out an unambiguous message, warns Volker &amp;nbsp;Perthes, expert on the Near East and director of the German Institute &amp;nbsp;for International and Security Affairs]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:57:23 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[The Arab Spring: Common Roots, Common Challenges ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/The-Changing-Face-of-Citizen-Action/News/The-Arab-Spring-Common-Roots-Common-Challenges</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Ongoing revolutions in the Arab world signify another iteration of a &amp;nbsp;process the world has witnessed before in various regions, including &amp;nbsp;Southern and Eastern Europe, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. &amp;nbsp;Observers were wondering why the cloud of democracy passed over the Arab &amp;nbsp;World without raining. This question led analysts to believe in what &amp;nbsp;was called “Arab exceptionalism,” or the alleged incompatibility of the &amp;nbsp;societies of the region with democratic development. This claim &amp;nbsp;resonated with the conventional argument that&amp;nbsp;Arab ruling elites used to &amp;nbsp;justify their repressive policies against their own citizens on the &amp;nbsp;grounds that ‘people are not ready for democracy.’ The Tunisian &amp;nbsp;revolution came in early 2011 to refute these allegations and prove that &amp;nbsp;the Arab peoples desire dignity and freedom as much as any other &amp;nbsp;people.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:20:56 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[The Egyptian Revolution and the Polish Experience in Democratic Transition   ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/The-Changing-Face-of-Citizen-Action/News/The-Egyptian-Revolution-and-the-Polish-Experience-in-Democratic-Transition</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Political changes in the Arab world have begun for good. Tunisia and Egypt were the beacons of change on the Arab map injustice, authoritarianism and economic hardship. Similarly Poland in 1989 was the first country in the socialist bloc to have gone through revolutionary political, social and economic changes. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:32:05 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[Social Protest in Egypt]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/The-Changing-Face-of-Citizen-Action/News/Social-Protest-in-Egypt</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Social protest movements have unprecedentedly increased after the explosion of the 25th of January’s revolution. These protests have recorded, in some days, nearly 200 protests, they have ranged in the period from the 12th till the 14th of February from 40 to 60 protests per day in all sites, and included different geographical regions across the country to the point that has led the military council on the 14th of February 2011 to call in his fifth statement for “ending the protests and give the government a fair chance to work”. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:16:59 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[Hivos Advices The Netherlands Advisory Council On International Affairs on Support to Democratic Reforms in the Middle East ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/Hivos-Advices-The-Netherlands-Advisory-Council-On-International-Affairs-on-Support-to-Democratic-Reforms-in-the-Middle-East</link>
			<description><![CDATA[As a reaction to popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, The Dutch Advisory Council On International Affairs (AIV) requested Hivos and other Dutch NGOs on 21st of April to advice it on how the Dutch government could support reforms, democratization processes and rule of law in the region. Today the 28th of June the Dutch parliament debates about the AIV advise entitled Reforms in the Arab Region: Opportunities for Democracy and Rule of Law (Dutch translation) as well as the response of the Netherlands government. The English version of the advice is not available yet. We will post this version as soon as is available. Below is the link of the Dutch version. This is an executive summary of those recommendations of AIV report that are related to the advice of Hivos. &amp;nbsp;AIV is an independent body which advises government and parliament on foreign policy, particularly on issues relating to human rights, peace and security, development cooperation and European integration. The AIV produces advisory reports on its own initiative or at the request of government or parliament. All reports are presented to the relevant members of the government as well as to the House of Representatives and Senate. In most cases, the government members in question are the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Defence, the Minister for Development Cooperation and the Minister for European Affairs. They are expected to send a government response to parliament within three months. The requests for advice, the reports and the government responses are all made public (www.aiv-advies.nl)AIV presented its report on 22nd of June in the Hague. AIV takes over an important part of the strategic advice of Hivos, particularly the analysis on the emerging regime types and the central role of civil society in transition processes. The strategic advice of Hivos is based on the insights of Knowledge Programme Civil Society in West Asia- policy papers, working papers, book reviews, newsletters, events reports and forthcoming edited volumes- as well as experiences of its Rights and Citizenship and Expression and Engagement Programmes West Asia.To start with, AIV partly takes over the strategic framework of Hivos’ analysis that the factors that have led to these uprisings seem to be similar, but the transitions will be different depending on the country context and the form of the state that has emerged or is emerging. As a result AIV refers to the emergence of the following state forms: repressive authoritarian states (Syria, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain), transitional states (Egypt and Tunisia), ‘liberal authoritarian’ monarchies (Morocco and Jordan), dysfunctional democracies (Iraq &amp;amp; Lebanon), diverse other cases (Palestinian territories, Iraqi Kurdistan and Sudan).AIV acknowledges the advice of Hivos that now the culture of fear has collapsed, there finally is a fee space for liberated civil and political societies to contribute to meaningful social change. This &amp;nbsp;provides real windows of opportunity for international actors. Yet it is also imperative to realize that the supportive role of international actors in any post-authoritarian Arab order will be limited due to that fact these uprisings are indigenous movements with indigenous agenda and hence these movements will shape the future of their region-no matter how well intentioned and –equipped external actors are and will be.In addition, AIV acknowledges the recommendation of Hivos that support to civil society should be sustainable, long term and programme (and not project) based. AIV embraces Hivos’ advice that this support should be provided to independent and trusted civil society organisations/initiatives and political parties and there should be special attention for women’s rights and marginalized groups such as LGBT, ethnic and religious groups. Finally, AIV recognizes the central role of insightful knowledge that helps to&amp;nbsp; adequately understand and analyse complex and historic developments in the region. In this regards, AIV believes that the support of the Netherlands government to civil society in the region should be based on sound analysis and knowledge on the evolving quick and complex dynamics and societal processes as well as how civil society can contribute to democratic reforms in such a context. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:52:47 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[The Arab revolutions: an end to dogma]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/The-Arab-revolutions-an-end-to-dogma</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The popular uprisings in the Arab world are a great disaster for a radical camp led by Syria-Iran and long indulged by media such as al-Jazeera. A great opportunity follows, says Hazem Saghieh.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:36:00 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[Pre-publication Announcement ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Publications/News-Events/Pre-publication-Announcement</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Next year the Knowledge Programme Civil Society in West Asia will publish three books: Comparing Authoritarianisms: Reconfiguring power and regime resilience in Syria and Iran, Civil Society in Syria: Voices from Within and Unusual Suspects and the Changing Nature of Civic Activism in Syria and Iran. Read more about these publications in the pre-publication announcement.    ]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:16:16 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[The Uncertain Future of Democracy Promotion ]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Publications/Reviews/The-Uncertain-Future-of-Democracy-Promotion</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Democracy promotion has had a tough decade, nowhere more so than in the Middle East. In Working Paper 12 Steven Heydemann reviews the policy paper Beyond Orthodox Approaches: Assessing Opportunities for Democracy Support in the Middle East and North Africa.  Ten years ago, the democratic optimism that followed the end of the Cold War was in relatively good health. Today, after a decade of authoritarian reversals, a sustained “backlash against democracy promotion,” and authoritarian resurgence from Russia to Africa to Latin America, post-Cold War optimism has given way to a darker, more sober assessment of democratization’s limits. The Middle East in particular, with not a single experience of transition from Morocco to Iran, has been the crucible of hard-won lessons about the durability of authoritarian regimes and their resilience even in the face of quite extraordinary pressures]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:06:52 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[Newsletter Civil Society in West Asia, Issue 3]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Publications/Newsletters/Newsletter-Civil-Society-in-West-Asia-Issue-3</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The uprisings in the Arab world had not even been in full swing before various political agendas scrambled to appriopriate them. Many opinions appear to be caught up in clichés and analyses colored by blatant attemps to only see self-serving and worn-out world perspectives confirmed. It is against this background that sobering and thorough academic research on the origins and nature of the Arab uprisings gains urgent value.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 09 Jun 2011 11:37:01 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[Newsletter Civil Society in West Asia, Issue 3]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Newsletter/Newsletter-Civil-Society-in-West-Asia-Issue-3</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The uprisings in the Arab world had not even been in full swing before various political agendas scrambled to appriopriate them. Many opinions appear to be caught up in clichés and analyses colored by blatant attemps to only see self-serving and worn-out world perspectives confirmed. It is against this background that sobering and thorough academic research on the origins and nature of the Arab uprisings gains urgent value.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 09 Jun 2011 11:14:01 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[Working Paper 17: Authoritarianism and the Judiciary in Syria - ARABIC version]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/Working-Paper-17-Authoritarianism-and-the-Judiciary-in-Syria-ARABIC-version</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Working Paper 17 analyzes the role of the judiciary in Syria’s strongly authoritarian setting wherein ‘the rule by law’ serves as a tool of repression; qualities that have far-reaching implications for foreign assistance programs on judicial reform, the rule of law and reform generally. This is the Arabic version of the paper.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:38:45 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[17: Authoritarianism and the Judiciary in Syria - ARABIC version]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Publications/Working-Papers/17-Authoritarianism-and-the-Judiciary-in-Syria-ARABIC-version</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Working Paper 17 analyzes the role of the judiciary in Syria’s strongly authoritarian setting wherein ‘the rule by law’ serves as a tool of repression; qualities that have far-reaching implications for foreign assistance programs on judicial reform, the rule of law and reform generally. This is the Arabic version.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:19:09 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[Working Paper 20: So many Similarities: Linking Domestic Dissent to Foreign Threat in Iran]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Latest-News/Working-Paper-20-So-many-Similarities-Linking-Domestic-Dissent-to-Foreign-Threat-in-Iran</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This paper offers an analysis of Iran’s hardline narrative about the 2009 events in general and the Green Movement in particular. This narrative dismisses domestic challenges to the regime as a product of Western interference. The paper shows that this narrative is a product not of simple paranoia, but an inherently consistent and thought through narrative based in existing understanding of Western meddling. The regime not only tries to defuse opposition by connecting it to a foreign threat, but also aims to justify the violence used against journalists, reformers and Green Movement activists by branding them as ‘agents of the West’. Whether the regime succeeds in selling their message to a broader Iranian public remains the question, and may partly rely on the availability of a counter-narrative from the side of the Greens.&amp;nbsp;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:44:27 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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			<title><![CDATA[20: So Many Similarities: Linking Domestic Dissent to Foreign Threat in Iran]]></title>
			<link>http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Civil-Society-in-West-Asia/Publications/Working-Papers/20-So-Many-Similarities-Linking-Domestic-Dissent-to-Foreign-Threat-in-Iran</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This paper offers an analysis of Iran’s hardline narrative about the 2009 events in general and the Green Movement in particular. This narrative dismisses domestic challenges to the regime as a product of Western interference. The paper shows that this narrative is a product not of simple paranoia, but an inherently consistent and thought through narrative based in existing understanding of Western meddling.&amp;nbsp;The regime not only tries to defuse opposition by connecting it to a foreign threat, but also aims to justify the violence used against journalists, reformers and Green Movement activists by branding them as ‘agents of the West’. Whether the regime succeeds in selling their message to a broader Iranian public remains the question, and may partly rely on the availability of a counter-narrative from the side of the Greens.&amp;nbsp;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:30:14 +0200</pubDate>                                                           
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