THE END OF THE PEACE RESEARCH CENTER, SPAIN

OPEN LETTER

Created in 1984, the Peace Research Center of Madrid (Centro de Investigación para la Paz—CIP) was one of the first centers established in post-Franco, democratic Spain to provide information and analysis on peace and armed conflicts to governments, legislatures, the media, universities and schools, and civil society representatives. Committed to progressive values yet assuming an intellectually critical posture, CIP contributed to a much-needed pluralism in an environment too often dominated by powerful economic and political interests.

CIP crafted and maintained a strategic vision committed to peace research and served as an important reference in Spain and abroad. It has played a key role in relevant world events like the first Gulf war, the crisis of the African Great Lakes (Rwanda, Burundi), the Balkan conflicts, the terrorist attacks of 9-11, and the current war in Iraq. Responding to the demands of the media, and social organizations, CIP offered its analyses and proposals for alternative views and solutions.

CIP received the UN´s Messenger of Peace Award and several of its projects have been funded by the European Commission, the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation of the Foreign Ministry, the Ford Foundation and the Madrid Community International Agency of Cooperation.

During the last six months of 2006, the new Board of the Worker’s Home Foundation (Fundación Hogar del Empleado) (FUHEM), main donor and provider of part of the Infraestructure of CIP, decided to end its existence and terminated its publications and activities focused on peace, conflicts and security. FUHEM argued, that these issues were no longer relevant.

The real reasons, however, appear more related to the traditional disputes over power and personalism that have caused so much damage to social organizations and progressive causes in Spain.

Regrettably, destroying is always easier than constructing. The disappearance of CIP involves the end of an intellectual and political momentum representing more than 22 years of work, and the squandering of human capital and experience not easily replaced at another institution. With the disappearance of CIP we have all lost.

We want to make manifest with this letter our substantial disagreement with the decision taken by the Fundación Hogar del Empleado. The end of CIP leaves each one of us with less voice and less diversity in our work and from this moment on, intellectually and politically all the poorer.

Add your name and affiliation and circulate. Signatories should correspond to the following email address: cip1984_2006@yahoo.es