For decades and centuries the Middle East has been characterized by conflict and confrontation. It is one of the most significant geo-strategic regions in the world where, over the years, great power interests have confronted one another and continue to do so. The world’s largest fuel resources are to be found in the Middle East, which has led to interference by other countries who have sought and continue to seek control and influence. A long-term sustainable resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict does not appear to be within reach. It will rather remain one of the foremost causes of continued armed antagonism. Through active political and diplomatic efforts, Egypt has strongly contributed to bringing about a resolution of this conflict.
The Middle East and its nearest environs appear to be one of the world’s most militarized regions and are one of the most dangerous trouble spots in the world. The conflicts have partly passed from being a fight against external enemies to becoming inter-Arab battles.
The Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979 drastically changed the strategic picture in the Middle East and introduced Islam as a political-religious weapon. The end of the cold war in 1990 led to the establishment of the United States as the world’s only superpower. At about the same time, strong Islamic movements were established which confronted and challenged the United States. Several regimes in the Middle East appear today to find themselves in a protracted struggle against radical Islamic forces which have strong support from large sections of the population. The threat of terrorism as a domestic phenomenon in the region’s countries must be emphasized. It is also important to put the region in its geographic context and point to the link Pakistan – Yemen - Horn of Africa – East Africa, which partly surrounds the Middle East.
At the same time some, albeit few, positive political trends may be noted. More or less democratic elections have been held in a couple of countries. The Doha Agreement on Lebanon in May this year turned something that appeared in the spring to be the start of a new Lebanese civil war into relative stability, presidential elections and the appointment of a government in Beirut. Syria’s possible rapprochement with Europe is positive. Developments in Iraq are perhaps moving in the right direction. The indirect talks between Syria and Israel with the aid of Turkey may perhaps lead to a positive result. Greater consideration has been given in some areas to women’s interests and women have been allowed to make their voices heard in political contexts. In some places the media are gaining ground and some signs of political openness can be seen. Those in power may be criticized in the press. This is a welcome development which the Institute must support.However, economic and social development in the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region has stagnated and poverty is increasing. Despite the fact that growth in certain countries is relatively good, the divide between rich and poor is increasing. More and more people are living under the poverty line, unemployment is increasing, access to decent housing is declining and sanitary conditions are in many respects inferior. Health care is inadequate and does not reach all citizens. The school system lags far behind and many children do not even receive minimal schooling. Women are not integrated into society to the extent urgently needed. Violence against and harassment of women is common. The reform process has come to a halt. Economic injustices remain problems that characterize and plague the region. In some places, the democratic deficit is ocean-wide and in some countries respect for human rights leaves a great deal to be desired.
At the same time, globalization is impacting on developments in the Middle East, which is also affected by the climate crisis. Greenhouse gases, for example, will hit desert areas and their already insecure water supply. The rapid increase in population and rising water consumption makes the water issue even more essential for the region’s political stability than it already is. As usual, the region faces major challenges.
As distances have shrunk, this part of the world has become an area in Sweden’s strategic neighbourhood. Above all, migration issues and the Mohammed caricature crisis contributed to this.II. The Swedish Institute’s (SwedAlex) objectives and aim
The Swedish Institute in Alexandria was inaugurated in the autumn of 2000 after a few years’ preparations. The long-term and overall aim for SwedAlex is to contribute to stability, peace and economic development in the area through the promotion of economically and socially sustainable development. The establishment of SwedAlex was seen as part of Sweden’s foreign policy and Swedish international development cooperation efforts in the broad sense and shall serve the purpose of promoting the development assistance policy goals laid down by the Swedish Parliament.
Visions and objectives for SwedAlex have been defined in detail in different previous plans of activities and annual reports and need not be repeated in detail in this document. They recur anyway in different places in this plan of activities also. To sum up, SwedAlex shall build bridges between Europe and in the first instance the MENA region in order to lessen the deep distrust that exists in some quarters. The Institute is to create contacts which might not have come about without these activities. Understanding and knowledge between different peoples and groups with different opinions and values will hopefully increase and as a result confidence shall replace distrust. Europeans must better understand historical and cultural forces that act in the region and among the people of the region and, at the same time, SwedAlex shall further the region’s understanding of European approaches and relations. Target groups for the Institute’s debates, discussions and operations will be, among others, politicians, senior officials, researchers, students, journalists and free writers, religious leaders, members of the armed forces, representatives of trade unions and business organizations and, last but not least, voluntary organizations. All these participants will represent national, regional and international levels.
An important long-term objective is that as SwedAlex gradually becomes a better known institute, its activities will become governed by demand and hence carried on reactively. Interested parties and “clients” both in the Middle East/North Africa and in Sweden/Europe will direct the Institute’s activities. As long as SwedAlex is not sufficiently well known it may also be a question of supply governed activities, which means that SwedAlex can proactively arrange different conferences, etc. chiefly within the areas decided. By selecting certain areas to focus on, the Institute will actively support and set in motion activities in these fields and achieve links between a series of activities that can lead to intensification (e.g. in the gender equality area)! SwedAlex must encourage the debate and dialogue between civil society and public authorities, which will hopefully result in increased understanding of different points of view and thinking. It must be stressed that the issues and contexts dealt with at the Institute must be seen in a future-oriented perspective. Subjects and problems discussed at the Institute should be of importance for long-term political, economic, social, cultural and religious development in the region, for relationships between the countries included in this part of the region and for relations between these countries and the world around, in the first instance Europe. On this basis, ideas and proposals that may be of benefit to the countries in question will be formulated. European Mediterranean cooperation within the framework of the European Union shall be supported.
The aim is set out formally, although unclearly, in the instructions for SwedAlex (Swedish Code of Statutes 1998:1218). From these it may be seen that SwedAlex shall promote increased contacts between on the one hand Sweden and other countries in Europe and, on the other, Egypt and other countries in the MENA region. The Middle East is mentioned in the Ordinance, while in the agreement between the Swedish and Egyptian governments the geographic area is further qualified to apply to the Middle East a n d North Africa. SwedAlex is to carry on its activities by means of conferences, seminars, lectures and the production of publications. Furthermore, the Institute is to promote research and academic exchanges. The Institute will thereby become an important forum for establishment of contacts.
But, the aim and instructions do not define SwedAlex’s profile sufficiently clearly. Are the expenses for SwedAlex – albeit very small in a larger perspective – for the actual development assistance activities in reasonable proportion to the benefits? What has really been achieved by all the discussions, how have peace efforts been served and what have the poor gained? Perhaps the confidence-raising dialogue has led to increased mutual respect, tolerance and understanding and less prejudice among those who have taken part in the activities.
However, it is a fact that the grassroots are not always reached at SwedAlex, the discussions are reserved for the so-called intellectual elite (an important exception from this may, for example, be the seminar on culturally conditioned violence that was held in June 2007 and which was in fact initiated with the “rank and file”, and from there “moved up” to the academic world, another example may be women’s seminars which are connected with everyday life). On the other hand, development assistance financing need not mean that the result must have an immediate effect on poor people. As in all assistance, a mix of indirect and direct instruments is involved. SwedAlex’s activities are, of course, an indirect tool and it is therefore naturally not “wrong” that the activities affect the well educated more and reach the broad masses to a lesser extent. Anything else would be unrealistic. Instead, the interesting question is who these elites are and, above all, to what extent can they be effective “agents of distribution and change”? Hopefully, SwedAlex has chosen the right participants, who should be willing and able to spread the knowledge and experience they have acquired to a wider circle and thereby participate in information efforts in their home countries. The idea is that experience and conclusions from SwedAlex’s exercises should “trickle” down to a wider circle – at best and lastly to the general public. The best way to reach outside the walls of the conference room is probably to use regional media. These are, it is true, underdeveloped in many places in the Middle East. This fact will be a challenge for SwedAlex as regards strengthening the media, but also an opportunity as regards producing messages, placing articles, participating in broadcasting, etc.
At the same time, one must be aware that SwedAlex is a relatively small Institute and that it may be difficult to make it well-known and attractive. Not least the geographic location with inconvenient air communications to the world around is less tempting.
SwedAlex is an integral part of the Foreign Service (Sweden’s International Agreements 2000:19 Art. 3). The Egyptian and Swedish Foreign Ministers are SwedAlex’s dialogue partners in the respective country. It is essential that SwedAlex carries out regular checks with the two governments (annex 7 to Board Minutes, 26 November 2006).III. Strategy In order to effectively meet the goals set by the Government for SwedAlex and to fulfill its aim, long-term thinking is needed and concentration on a limited number of important areas (see below). Certain important and interesting sectors must be given lower priority (for example environment, children’s literature, youth and migration issues). The Institute must have the courage to say no to some proposals – this is part of the strategic thinking and is also justified by the limited resources. For SwedAlex’s activities, the following factors may be mentioned in particular: 1. The geographic definition
Under Swedish Code of Statutes 1998:1218, the Institute shall aim to establish and maintain good contacts with authorities, institutions, organizations and private individuals in Sweden and the rest of Europe and in the region and also with European Union institutions, that is to say with a wide network of contacts to say the least. Thus, the main geographic areas are Europe – not just EU members – and the region – not just the Arab countries. The previous Board instructed SwedAlex to build a broader network of contacts with the Arab countries that are not participating in the Barcelona process, for example the Gulf States which are to be given more attention. In the Gulf States, a lot of effort is being made to increase the role of women in society. They (that is to say the Gulf States) are also part of the slow changeover to parliamentary systems (however, not necessarily democracy). Developments in the Gulf are naturally more diversified and dynamic than in the more traumatized Near East. Turkey and Israel are to be included in the picture. It was also the previous Board’s ambition that SwedAlex should establish contact with the EU’s new member states, for example the Baltic States. Nor should the countries of former Yugoslavia be forgotten. But there are limits to how much the Institute can manage. A nucleus of countries, with which SwedAlex has closer cooperation, will probably crystallise in the future.
In this context it is important to underscore that SwedAlex neither can nor wishes to compete with the Barcelona process. It should also be emphasised that although the countries of the Middle East/North Africa have many characteristics in common (e.g. language, religion and history), today they are characterised by deep political, economic and social differences. 2. The establishment of a limited number of sectors in which SwedAlex should primarily operate – a strategic selection of important areas for activities in the long term
Ever since 2000, the Institute has endeavoured to extend its activities and is now in a period of consolidation. In order to ensure more long-term and effective work, four areas of activity to which SwedAlex will devote itself in particular have been formulated. The relatively broad “lines” which SwedAlex 2009 – 2011 will mainly develop should be – not necessarily in order of priority – as follows:
A. Democracy, human rights, gender equality
B. Culture, religion, value systems
C. The knowledge society
D. Peace and security
The purpose of this streamlining is that SwedAlex be able to seriously devote itself to a limited number of sectors that lie within the framework of the foreign and development cooperation policy pursued by the Government – thus, it is no chance occurrence that the strategy largely coincides with Sida’s strategy for the Middle East and North Africa. This does not prevent other subjects from coming to the fore on an ad hoc basis. However, for the period 2009 – 2011, a clearer focus should be on the four areas mentioned (but please note that these four areas of priority taken together are exceedingly resource-intensive for an Institute as small as SwedAlex!). It is possible, or even probable, that the Institute will not be able to live up to this quite extensive agenda but must profile its activities and have a clearer focus on a limited number of “cutting edge sectors”. The Institute may gradually find special competences and niches in which its work can be intensified and recognized as significant seen in relation to other institutes engaged in similar operations. SwedAlex may be at the forefront regarding, for example, women’s issues and human rights issues. Time will tell how far staff resources stretch.
For several years, the previous SwedAlex Board thrashed out this (strategic) selection issue, which finally received an attractive solution from the point of view of Swedish foreign and development cooperation policy. If this planning is upheld, SwedAlex should obtain a desirable and precise profile. At best, fewer activities would thereby be of an ad hoc nature.
A very important task for SwedAlex during the three-year period 2009 – 2011 will be the continued extension of the Institute’s contacts. In fact, network-building is a foundation-stone of the Institute’s strategic activities. Contacts established must be maintained and new ones created; especially if/when the geographic sphere of interest is extended.
At the end of 2008 it is not possible to account in detail for the different activities and programmes that will take place in the period 2009 – 2011 for the various areas now given priority. Some programmes for 2009 have been decided and can be given concrete form while others must be confirmed. Only indications can be given at this point for the following two years. In the attached annex, a list is given of the activities that so far are envisaged to take place. The list is “active” and updated at weekly meetings at the Institute. Here are some brief comments on the various fields of activity:
A. Democracy, human rights and gender equality These subjects play an important role in SwedAlex’s activities. Democracy issues are not easy to pursue in the Middle East, not least since security and stability are the overriding objectives of many Arab regimes which have cut down on the reform process and in many cases have only a pro forma interest in democratic development. This fact makes it even more important for us to proactively drive democratisation issues. Respect for human rights is deficient in many countries. In cooperation with regional NGOs and with the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Lund, various seminars will be arranged. Implementation of the death penalty in the Arab world is subject to careful attention and a follow-up of the 2008 conference, which, inter alia, led to the adoption of what is known as the Alexandria Declaration, is planned for March 2009. However, demands for the abolition of capital punishment are making relatively little progress, but new knowledge and new, refined technology (for example DNA samples) in the region and also awareness of the need for greater legal security in matters of evidence are gaining ground.
A lack of gender equality and the discrimination of women are marked in the majority of Arab countries. In December 2008 another seminar on women and politics will be arranged and the intention is that it be followed up the following year with varying contributions. In several countries women are in the majority among university students but only a few find employments after their studies due to the segregated or closed labour market. Instead, there is a dependence on male labour from neighbouring countries or South East Asia. There is increased awareness that this situation is untenable. We must make the most of this awareness and support those who are working for change. Female entrepreneurship is, for example, gaining ground and should be supported. The increased participation of women in society will remain a key issue for both poverty reduction and democratisation.
Public opinion is increasingly becoming a factor we must pay attention to in all the countries of the region. Competition from cross-border media (satellite channels and the Internet) has contributed towards greater freedom for printed national media also. All Arab countries have what we today call “The Arab Street”, which controls events even in totalitarian states. Journalist-related exercises will therefore be important. SwedAlex is planning long-term cooperation with the Swedish Institute for Further Education of Journalism (FOJO) and some other organisations engaged in media issues, aiming, inter alia, for the further education of journalists from the Arab world.B. Culture, religion and value systems
Cultural issues will continue to play a major role although it is important to underscore that SwedAlex is not a cultural institute but rather an institution for dialogue within a wide circle of sectors. However, understanding of each other’s cultures is of decisive importance for international bridge-building. Polarisation of feelings has perhaps never previously been as conspicuous as now and the value of dialogue cannot be overestimated. The religious dimension is also fundamental to increased understanding. A previous member of the board was of the opinion, however, that we tend to exaggerate the religious dimension when we carry on a dialogue with the Muslim world and that this marginalises other very important questions, for example social and economic inequality. However, it must be stressed that knowledge about different religions is important. An example that may be mentioned of SwedAlex’s commitment is “The Image of the Other Textbooks”, which aims to provide an objective description of Islam in European textbooks and of Christianity in Islamic textbooks. SwedAlex’s cooperation partners in this long-term project include, among others, UNESCO, the Arab League and the George Eckhart Stiftung in Braunschweig. Another project is a follow-up of what is called the “Understanding Each Other” project. A group of 12 young people from Sweden visited Egypt in November for talks about, among other things, the integration of Muslims in Sweden. However, it must be stressed that SwedAlex is not a theological institution. Religious questions are only one set of subjects out of many discussed. But in pace with the rapid advance of islamism – both peaceful islamism, meaning that religious people behave increasingly as good muslims and aggressive islamism which wants to gain power by violence and establish Islamic republics, it is essential that the religious debate is kept alive at the Institute. When resources so permit, there should be a follow-up of the series begun on “Sharia’ and international law”, which, inter alia, aims to bring about a discussion and talks between (Arab) Muslims and (European) Christians on issues concerning outlook on life. Early next year SwedAlex will resume contacts with well-placed Egyptian interlocutors in the matter.
A recently concluded seminar with Mediterranean museums, “Medmus”, will be analysed to find out whether the preconditions exist for a continuation. This network, which started in 2002, covers both cultural exchanges and research cooperation. The contours of cooperation must, however, be clarified in greater detail if it is to fall within SwedAlex’s long-term operations. In connection with the annual meeting of the Egyptian philosophical society in Alexandria in December this year, a two-day seminar will be held at SwedAlex. The aim is to discuss questions concerning philosophy of life and other value issues. The intention is that the Egyptian philosophers continue to meet Egyptian colleagues at SwedAlex in December each year.
Today, there is increased awareness of the need to raise the region’s level of education. Over the years, UNDP’s Human Development Reports have indeed been widely criticised in the region but their contents have made an impression. At the same time, the regimes face a choice: should the existing often religiously coloured educational systems be reformed or should a (parallel) more secular system (that answers better to the needs of the modern labour market) be built up?
The Swedish Research Council carries on close cooperation with Egypt’s Academy for Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT), the aim of which is a fair distribution of scholarships to researchers from Sweden and the Arab world. It is a long-term project and covers Swedish research and knowledge strategies within the framework of the long standing Swedish Research Link programme, which is financed by Sida and administered by the Swedish Research Council. Today, it constitutes an important strategic network construction and aims to bring together research teams from the Arab world and their Swedish colleagues. The idea is that by financing cooperation projects of high scientific quality, the programme will contribute to mutual scientific and socioeconomic development in the countries participating. Next year, a workshop focusing on human sciences will be arranged at SwedAlex within the framework of the Swedish Research Council’s so-called MENA-Links project. The title of this conference, which is the third of six planned working meetings, has not yet been decided.
The Swedish Institute in Stockholm has started a long-term programme concerning “Leadership programmes for young opinion-moulders in MENA”. Among other things, it is intended that young Arabs with leader qualities be given insight into Swedish society and establish networks there. The project will hold a seminar at SwedAlex in the spring of 2009.
Swedish universities/colleges are considering the initiation of several years’ cooperation with SwedAlex, among others, on master degree programmes.
In this area too, there is major potential for long-term activities – not least in cooperation with regional organisations. Up to now, Sida has financed annual translations of SIPRI’s yearbook. This is done on condition that, in connection with its publication, SwedAlex arranges some form of security policy seminar, at which selected parts of the yearbook are discussed. In February-March 2009, the Centre for Middle East Studies (CME) in Lund will arrange a conference in cooperation with SwedAlex on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA) and Gothenburg University in cooperation with SwedAlex and the Institute for Peace Studies at Bibliotheca Alexandrina will probably arrange a symposium on mediation experience and conflict resolution some time in April-May. Sida’s objective in its MENA strategy is, inter alia, to raise regional cross-border water issues from both a poverty and conflict-prevention perspective. SwedAlex is planning with Sida a seminar on regional water issues in the spring of 2009, which will continue during the period 2009 – 2011.
3. Cooperation with other organizations
SwedAlex has already entered into agreements with several different organisations. Through close cooperation with national, regional and international organisations with objectives similar to the aims of SwedAlex, synergy effects can be achieved. Agreements have, for example, been entered into with Sida, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Arab League, UNESCO, the Academy for Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) in Cairo and the Centre for Arab Unity Studies (CAUS) in Beirut. It is essential that these agreements are carefully followed up and that a review is carried out concerning how the contents can be applied. It is also of importance that the forms of cooperation be developed and adapted to changes in the world around. Cooperation with other organisations may be formal and cover several years but may also be informal and in the short term and include only o n e activity. However, it is essential that there is a regional partner when different programmes and projects are established. Furthermore, it is important that SwedAlex develops its cooperation with the Section for Turkish-Swedish Cooperation at the Consulate-General in Istanbul and also with the research institute there. SwedAlex’s contacts with different parliamentary organisations should, resources permitting, be further extended. The “contact capital” built up over the years with local, regional and international organisations and with civil society in general must be better utilised. Civil society in the Middle East is making progress, albeit modest progress. Most countries in the region have, for example, human rights organisations – although sometimes in their infancy. Steps forward may be small by Swedish standards but it is important to apply a regional measure because otherwise the seeds of change will disappear.
Special attention must be given to the cooperation already established with Sida, primarily with its regional programme officer in Cairo but also with Sida in Stockholm. How can this cooperation in the first instance find its right form and secondly be strengthened and intensified? Naturally, synergy effects can be achieved if, for example, conferences dealing with a common subject and addressed to the same target group are organised together. Sida carries on an extensive, effective and impressive regional programme. Areas of activity that Sida has in common with SwedAlex include, inter alia, democracy and human rights issues, gender equality, civil society and conflict prevention. Sida also gives priority to cross-border water management projects – a subject that SwedAlex also raises within the framework of Peace and Security (see below). It is precisely in areas where Sida and SwedAlex have interests in common that cooperation must be consolidated. Our roles differ but are compatible. In some cases our mandates meet and overlap each other. On the other hand, Sida and SwedAlex are totally different organisations with differing preconditions and remits. Sida enters into cooperation agreements and carries on development cooperation with different partners while SwedAlex’s main tasks are to establish a dialogue and promote contacts between Europe and the Middle East/North Africa in the political, economic, social, cultural and religious spheres.
In some cases Sida acts as financier of projects proposed by SwedAlex. It is then up to the Institute to implement and report. The question is not what we can do together but how it should be executed and what degree of formality it should have. Projects that are financed by Sida but administered by SwedAlex include, inter alia, an annual translation of SIPRI’s yearbook (cf. Page 8 above). A condition Sida has made for this financing is that in connection with publication some form of seminar on the themes of the yearbook is arranged. Last year such a seminar took place in Amman. In addition, very useful meetings with regional NGOs have taken place at the Institute with Sida financing. Another important effort financed by Sida is so-called MENA Links cooperation which the Swedish Research Council administers with Egypt’s ASRT (see above). But cooperation with Sida should perhaps be reviewed, since it is so often a question of what Sida is to finance and how much money is involved per activity? Cooperation has then been formalised in Sida’s standard agreements which are perhaps not always appropriate.
So far SwedAlex has not utilised the whole of its programme budget every year (however, due to the large number of activities this autumn, this year’s budgeted funds will be exceeded). If/when this is the case - that is to say the budget is not fully utilised – it is untenable that Sida should finance SwedAlex programmes – at the same time as the Institute does not utilise its own budget. There is not really anything to say that cooperation between Sida and SwedAlex need comprise transfers of funds. Our money comes de facto from the same source. On the other hand, it appears that more coordination urgently needs to take place. We must keep one another better informed of what we are involved in and share knowledge and experience as well as contacts and networks with each other. The management of SwedAlex should perhaps hold an annual run-through with Sida’s Team MENA in Stockholm (or in the region).
IV. Awareness of SwedAlex in Sweden and in the Arab world
Information about SwedAlex’s existence and activities must be spread more proactively and more effectively in Sweden/Europe and in Egypt/the Middle East and North Africa. Above all it is essential to give greater attention to SwedAlex in Sweden. Proposals to this end are currently under intense discussion. Initially, several measures are planned to achieve this goal. In cooperation with a Swedish consultant the Institute intends to produce a new more extensive informational brochure which, among other things, will describe SwedAlex’s strategy. The cost of a professional document of this type may be high but is in reasonable proportion to its usefulness. The Institute is preparing a plan for ensuring this brochure is widely spread, including the production of a good mailing list. A power point presentation must be produced. A second measure is the establishment of a media strategy. There is a draft media strategy which is attached to this plan of activities. A further measure might be what is termed road-trips, which would entail the Institute leadership visiting universities/colleges, public administrations, trade organisations in Sweden and for example in connection with press conferences, spreads information about SwedAlex. The website must be more professionally designed. In the Arab world, information about SwedAlex can be spread through visits by SwedAlex representatives in the capital cities. Visits to the media and civil society’s interest organisations will be important in this context. In order to build sustainable bridges to the Arab world, perseverance and a long-term approach are important. It is essential that Arab co-organisers be engaged early in the preparation work. The Institute has begun to produce its own publications following different seminars that have taken place at SwedAlex, one on violence against women and yet another on the abolition of capital punishment.
Lastly, it should be underscored that projects arranged by SwedAlex should mainly be held on the Institute’s premises in Alexandria and only in exceptional cases should conferences, seminars, etc. be located elsewhere.
V. Change of name
The previous Board discussed on various occasions a change of name for the Swedish Institute in Alexandria. Many believe SwedAlex is part of the Swedish Institute (SI) in Stockholm. The discussion on a change of name must be resumed.
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This plan of our assignment and activities has been translated into English in order that our foreign partners are given a better insight into our strategy and operations.
Tommy ArwitzDirector
2008-12-15