Talking to Groups that Use Terror.pdf - United States Institute of Peace

Peacemaker’s Toolkitsovereignty. The Spanish government was irked by the issuing of the BrusselsDeclaration in March 2010, a document signed by an array of majorinternational figures (such as Nelson Mandela and Mary Robinson) thatcalled on ETA to adopt a permanent cease-fire and on Madrid to make an“appropriate response” and negotiate “a just, permanent and democraticresolution of the Basque conflict.” The Spanish government, whose securityforces had dealt ETA numerous blows in recent years, declared, “This is not atime for statements, but a time for ETA to give up and disband itself.” 33A mediator looking for entry may therefore want to avoid describinghimself or herself as an “envoy” initiating a “negotiation” or “peacemission;” vague or elliptical terminology may be more acceptable,especially if the mediation initiative can be disguised—verbally atleast—as a far less intrusive activity. To avoid offending the Britishgovernment and to launch his involvement with the Northern Ireland peaceprocess, George Mitchell was given the title “special advisor to the presidentand the secretary of state on economic initiatives in Ireland” and asked toorganize a conference in Washington on trade and investment betweenNorthern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.While governments usually want to treat terrorism as a matter for itsdomestic law enforcement system, some PAGs want to internationalizetheir conflict, bringing in foreign governments or IGOs that are eithersympathetic to their goals or at least prepared to press the PAG’sgovernment adversary to make concessions for the sake of ending theconflict. The PLO has almost invariably welcomed U.S. involvement inthe Israeli-Palestinian peace process, not because Washington necessarilysupports Palestinian interests but because Washington is seen as having boththe ability to influence Israeli decision making and a strong interest inbringing stability to the Middle East.Mediators, always looking for leverage over the parties, may share aPAG’s desire to internationalize the peace process and for much the samereason. However, confronted by a government’s reluctance to internationalize,a mediator will need to tread carefully not only in theterminology he or she uses but also in the external actors he or she seeksto introduce into the peace process. Ideally, those actors should be seen bythe government and the PAG as supportive allies or at least as evenhandedsupporters of the peace process. Consider recruiting several foreign actorsso as to reassure each party that as least some of the foreign players have70