H.E. Mr. Konstantine Surguladze,Ambassador of Georgia in the Netherlands. By Roy Lie Atjam. Georgian National Ballet Sukhishvili, is one of the most acclaimed ensemble in the world. In the past (73) years the dance company has performed in over one hundred countries. The group is inimitable, astounding, elegant and so much more. It’s precisely therefore that H.E. Mr. Konstantine Surguladze Georgia’s Ambassador in the Netherlands has brought Sukhishvili to The Hague to perform at Georgia’s Independence Day- and 100 Years of Georgia’s First Democratic Republic celebration. For additional Marian van Noort’s pictures, please open the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157696173236291

During the performance, the crowded Diligentia theatre frequently burst into applause with shouts of “bravo” and standing ovation at the conclusion. The show commenced with the most authentic traditional pair dance Qartuli. It is an expression of chivalry by the Georgian men towards the women. The audience composed of various Ambassadors, Chili, Armenia, Slovakia and many more, along with the many invitees and the diaspora very much appreciated the entire show. The festive evening was hosted at Diligentia theatre The Hague on 4thJune 2018 An extract of Ambassador Konstantine Surguladze’s welcome remarks is hereby attached. “Today I am proud to celebrate with you the National Day – Independence Day of my Country and 100 years anniversary of the establishment of the first Democratic Republic of Georgia. I thank you all for coming and sharing this festive occasion with me.

Exactly 100 years ago, one of the most important stages for Georgian statehood has been started. In 1918, the foundation was laid for the modern Georgia’s European basis – the Democratic Republic. The Republic, principles of which were – devotion to democratic values and certainly – country’s European development and European future. I am happy to represent a country that still is committed to these values and nowadays I can say out loud, that Georgia is a leader in the region in terms of democratic consolidation, human rights protection, rule of law, transparency and economic reforms. I can freely state that today Georgia strenuously steps towards the European family, to where we truly belong. My friends, the brief period of existence of the First Democratic Republic of Georgia – from 1918 to 1921 was ceased due to malevolent efforts from external forces, but it left the greatest trace in the modern history of Georgia and had epochal significance for our statehood.

We want to celebrate this momentous occasion to immortalize historical event of proclamation of country’s independence by the National Council of Georgia (which was later called Parliament (of Georgia)). Then, the Head of the National Council – Noe Jordania asserted: “…Our present life and the future pathway are firmly inter­woven with the West, and no force is able to break this union.”

Highly remarkable is that the constitution itself, which was adopted during the independence period (1921) can be considered one of the most sophisticated, advanced and perfect supreme legislative acts oriented towards human rights in the world, for its time. The Constitution that is now in force in Georgia, states in the preamble that it is based on the historical legacy of the 1921 Constitution, hence recognizing the political and legal hereditary link between today’s Georgia and then -independent Republic of Georgia. Despite the fact that Georgia had been languished for more than a century under the Russian empire, the authors of the constitution, then, managed to create a legal document that stood out among the post-World War I constitutions in its vision and uniqueness. A parliamentary governance system, the abolition of death penalty, freedom of speech, universal suffrage, these and many other provisions as well, were some of the features of the constitution that distinguished it among the constitutions of that time for its progressiveness, even among the modern European ones too.

  Now in our day, being a country that has signed the Association Agreement with the EU, I am happy to observe that relations between the European Union and Georgia were brought to a new level, and currently, to my satisfaction, the EU is Georgia’s largest trading partner. Today Georgia is the most enthusiastic Europe-oriented country of our region. We are eager to further strengthen our presence in and with Europe, that’s why the European and Euro-Atlantic integration is one of the pillars of our daily agenda. I hardly need to reiterate that Georgia has established itself as a modern state with its historical and cultural roots belonging to Europe. We believe that through the support of our partners, and the Netherlands among them, the path of the European and Euro-Atlantic integration will finally bring a sustainable security and prosperity to our country and citizens. Today, as an Ambassador accredited in this beautiful country, almost for 4 years already, I am delighted to note that the cooperation between my sending and the receiving states is developing successfully – both in bilateral and multilateral formats. Last year we commemorated the 25th anniversary of the diplomatic relations. With this date in mind, we look back to those years of dynamically increasing cooperation based on shared values, common interests, and mutual commitment to the security and prosperity in today’s world. The Netherlands clearly demonstrated its support during the working process of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement and Visa Liberalization, and I can freely say that the Netherlands firmly supports Georgia’s European path. During these recent years, trade turnover between Georgia and the Netherlands has indicated very promising developments. And it’s notable to mention that the Netherlands is on the 4th place in Georgia’s top investor countries. I am confident that the exclusive benefits offered by the Georgia-EU DCFTA will further positively influence our bilateral economic cooperation. Bearing in mind the utmost significance of this important date this year, we wanted to have an extraordinary celebration and so, (with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Georgia), managed to bring top performers on the stage in The Hague – Georgian National Ballet Sukhishvili. Sukhishvili dancers are the most famous Georgian ensemble not only in my country but throughout the decades, they have been popular in many places around the globe. Even several companies wish to have them perform in Amsterdam in bigger halls next year, so I am twice as happy to have them here now and looking forward to very fantastic concert today. The host of the ensemble is hotel Best Western Den Haag and I thank their representatives who I think are here in the hall. I would also like to thank Georgian successful students –Ana Tavadze and Tekla Tevdorashvili – who will make a video footage of the concert and the evening. And last but not least, I wish to grab the opportunity and thank our Honorary Consul Mr. Gijs de Jager. Mr. Jager, as always, was kind and enthusiastic as well, to co-sponsor these outstanding dancers’ visit to the Netherlands. I would like to hand over the certificate of Appreciation for friendship and generous support of Georgia.” End quote        

Important Philippine Arts Encyclopedia donated by H.E. Ambassador Jaime Victor Ledda of The Philippines By Anton Lutter. The University of Leiden has acquired an important encyclopedia about the arts of The Philippines. The encyclopedia which consists of 10 volumes, is an important acquisition to the University of Leiden Asian Library. The Asian collections of the University of Leiden belong to the foremost collections worldwide, containing the largest collection on Indonesia in the world; one of the leading Chinese libraries in the Western world and one of the largest collections on South East Asia in Europe. Next to that the library constitutes one of the four worldwide depositories of the Japan Art Catalogue project of the National Art Center of Tokyo. H.E. Ambassador Jaime Victor Ledda’ speech focused on The Philippines national hero Jose Rizal who was interested in learning Dutch and meeting with the famous Dutch orientalist and linguist Prof. Hendrik Kern. The director of Leiden University Library Mr. Kurt de Belder thanked the ambassador for the most generous gift to the library and invited the guests – consisting of students, academe, diplomats and the commander of the Order of Knights of Rizal in The Hague Sir Anton Lutter, KCR to an exhibition of maps of The Philippines.  

One of the highlights of the exhibition was the more the 300 years old Murillo map, considered the first scientifically based map of The Philippines, compiled by the Spanish Jesuit Pedro Murillo Velarde and printed by the native Tagalog Nicolas de Cruz Bagay. An even older map showing The Philippines was displayed. This map, covering the entire Far East was designed by Arnold Floris van Langren and engraved by his brother in 1595 and “all taken from the most accurate sea charts and rutters in use by the Portugese pilots today”, is one of the earliest engraved maps presenting the Portuguese knowledge of this area. After the exhibition the University of Leiden hosted a special reception where the guests took the opportunity to meet old friends and university staff.    

                           

Acting as MC Michel Kerres, from NRC newspaper, during Q&A session, at the table Remco Breuker and Peter Potman.

By Guido Lanfranchi. On Tuesday May 22^nd, amid the rapid and tumultuous events occurring on the Korean peninsula, a large audience gathered at the Societeit De Witte, in the very center of The Hague, to attend the seminar: “Current Developments on the Korean Peninsula.” The event was organized thanks to a collaboration between the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the Netherlands,  the Asia and Oceania Department, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Leiden Asia Centre and the Clingendael Institute.   North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un suddenly pledging to denuclearize, the leaders of the two Koreas meeting in Panmunjom and agreeing to work together on ending the Korean War, and Kim Jong-un scheduling a meeting with US President Donald Trump. All this in an outstandingly short amount of time. How could someone interested in the Korean peninsula keep track of all these developments and (at least try to) understand them? With this in mind, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the Netherlands, the Leiden Asia Center and  the Clingendael Institute, organized a seminar on the “Current Developments on the Korean Peninsula.”

The event, which took place during the whole morning of Tuesday, May 22^nd, featured an outstanding panel of speakers. Among them, H.E.Mr. Lee Yun-Young, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Netherlands; Dr. Jun Bong-Geun, Advisor on the Inter-Korean Summit 2018; Professor Remco Breuker, lecturer of Korean Studies at Leiden University; Mr. Sico van der Meer, Research Fellow at Clingendael Institute; and Mr. Peter Potman, Director of Asia and Oceania Department at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. H.E. Ambassador Lee, highlighted in his speech the outstanding value of the Panmunjom meeting. He remembered that the meeting had been possible only because of previous diligent work by diplomats and functionaries from both sides. As for the future developments, Ambassador Lee stressed that “we Koreans have an aspiration for peace,” and that everyone in the peninsula will follow the negotiations’ developments very closely. As for the international community, he noted that international support to the talks will be more than needed in order to ensure a good outcome, which will benefit not only the Korean people, but also the whole international community. In his lecture, Dr. Jun Bong-Geun explored a wide array of questions related to the Korean peninsula. He analyzed the different aspects of inter-Korean relations, focusing on the issues of unification, security, and peace. Also, he outlined the political and economic landscape, both domestically and internationally, in which North and South Korea have acted in recent times, before moving to the current situation. Speaking about the recent talks, Dr. Jun Bong-Geom noted that the current negotiations are a purely political process, managed by strong political leaders, rather than a bureaucratic process. Moving then to potential future developments, Dr. Jun Bong-Geum presented four hypothetical scenarios: confrontation-containment, forced denuclearization, engagement, and peace-regime building. He stressed that, while denuclearization was a key term in the April 27^th Panmunjom declaration, there are different models of denuclearization, and it is still not clear if the many actors involved will be able to agree on one. Eschewing the idea of adopting past models, Dr. Jun Bong-Geum stressed the need of a unique ‘Korea-type’ solution, which should take into consideration both past experiences and the peculiarities of the Korean case. The lecture of Sico van der Meer, touched upon several similar issues. Mr. van der Meer outlined the possible outcomes of the newly established negotiation track between North Korea and the United States. He stressed that the leaders of both countries seem to have a strong political will to reach a deal, but he also noted that, in case of failure, a conflict would not be anymore such an unlikely scenario. Questioned by the audience, Mr. van der Meer touched upon another series of issues, such as the diplomatic negotiations ahead of the US-DPRK Singapore summit, North Korea’s shift away from its Byongjin policy, and the role of regional states (such as Japan) in the solution of the crisis.

Professor Remco Breuker shifted the attention of the audience towards another fundamental issue regarding North Korea: the problem of Human Rights. He noted that Human Rights discussions have been often left out of the negotiations’ agenda, both in the past and in the present talks. This has often been justified on the grounds that the resolution of the Korean conflict and a transition towards more prosperous economic models in North Korea would in the long run alleviate the Human Rights related problems. To the contrary, Prof. Breuker advocated the need for including Human Rights as a cornerstone of negotiations, if international rule of law is to have a meaning. Interestingly, he argued that the real problem is not North Korea having nuclear weapons, as in other situations in history this situation has already been handled (e.g. during the Cold War). Rather, the North Korean problem mostly lies in the country’s sociological, ideological system; therefore, he suggested, negotiators should talk about Human Rights at all costs. Mr. Peter Potman, from the Dutch Foreign Ministry started his speech by mentioning the long-lasting interest of Dutch people for Korea. He stressed that the Dutch government’s priority on the North Korean situation remains the issue of non-proliferation; unification, although significant, is not the primary concern. Mr. Potman voiced its support for a critical engagement aimed on the one hand at pressuring the North Korean regime to change its behavior, but on the other hand to avoid any escalations of tensions in the Korean peninsula. Also, Mr. Potman talked about the involvement of China in the negotiations with North Korea, expressing his conviction that China is playing and will play a role in shaping the outcome of the future talks. During the Q&A section, the audience had the possibility to ask more questions to the speakers. The questions focused on, among the many issues: the different perceptions of denuclearization held by the different actors involved; the role of Human Rights in the negotiations; the impact of sanctions on the North Korean economy and, especially, on its people. Since the day of the event, there have been even more frantic developments and plot twists. On May 24^th, the government of North Korea invited the international press to witness the destruction of its nuclear test site of Pungyye-ri, in order to show its goodwill concerning denuclearization. The very same day, on account of a recent verbal escalation over remarks by the US State Department and the North Korean Foreign Ministry, US President Trump temporarily called off the forthcoming meeting with Kim Jong-un. After further talks between US and North Korean officials, the two leaders rescheduled the historic meeting, which will take place on June 12^th in Singapore. Observers from all over the world are keen to see what will be the outcome of this meeting. Among the many people following the developments, those who participated to the seminar on May 22^nd will surely be better equipped to understand how events will unfold.

Nathalie Loiseau – Picture by French Embassy to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. 7 May 2018, Luxembourg City, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg: French Minister for European Affairs, Nathalie Loiseau, was in the Grand Duchy for a tête-à-tête with the President of the European Investment Bank, Herr Werner Hoyer. Thereafter she took her time to encounter French functionaries employed at the European institutions with seat in Luxembourg. The latter was done through a reception hosted at the Résidence de France by Ambassador Bruno Perdu and his wife. Minister Loiseau partook at the ceremony inaugurating the new French lycée Vauban accompanied by HRH The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, and the country’s head of government, Xavier Bettel.

Sovereign Prince Albert II and Ambassador Buddhi Athauda – Picture by Gouvernement Princier de Monaco. Wednesday, 6 June, Paris: Sri Lanka was elected to the UNESCO intergovernmental committee for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. Sri Lanka was chosen to one of four seats available for the Asia-Pacific, in the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, for the period 2018-2022, at the election that took place in Paris during the 7th General Assembly of UNESCO, the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Sri Lanka said in a press release. Delighted with his victory, His Excellency Ambassador Buddhi K. Athauda in Paris thanked all the ambassadors for voting for Sri Lanka and believe in Sri Lanka’s leadership at UNESCO. Eight countries contested from the Asia-Pacific Group, namely, Bangladesh, China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Malaysia, Palau and Sri Lanka. The countries that succeeded in being elected are:

• China with 123 votes
• Sri Lanka with 122 votes
• Japan with 107 votes
• Kazakhstan with 98 votes

The Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage which became a milestone in the evolution of international policies for promoting cultural diversity was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in 2003 at its 32nd session. “Recognizing the need to safeguard the traditions and living expressions among communities in Sri Lanka as well as in other countries of the world that are inherited from our ancestors such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festivals, knowledge and practices concerning nature, and knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts, Sri Lanka became a State Party to the Convention in 2008,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said. This is the first time that Sri Lanka contested for a seat in the Committee since becoming a State Party to the Convention. “Sri Lanka recognizes that intangible cultural heritage is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity in the face of growing globalization, and that an understanding of the intangible cultural heritage of different communities helps promote intercultural dialogue, and encourages mutual respect for other ways of life. The decision to seek election to the Committee at this juncture is driven by the Government’s commitment to the process of reconciliation in the country through which Sri Lanka endeavors to preserve and promote ancient traditions of all communities in the country while fostering respect and understanding of each other’s ways of life, practices, customs and traditions.” “Sri Lanka is deeply appreciative of the invaluable support received from all the States Parties to the Convention that enabled Sri Lanka’s success at this election,” the Ministry statement added. For further information:

• UNESCO intergovernmental committee for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage: https://ich.unesco.org/en/functions-00586
• Functions of the Intergovernmental Committee for the …
• ich.unesco.org
• Embassy of Sri Lanka to France, Delegation to UNESCO (H.E. Ambassador Buddhi Athauda): http://www.srilankaembassy.fr