All posts by CPNN Coordinator

About CPNN Coordinator

Dr David Adams is the coordinator of the Culture of Peace News Network. He retired in 2001 from UNESCO where he was the Director of the Unit for the International Year for the Culture of Peace, proclaimed for the Year 2000 by the United Nations General Assembly.

Burkina Faso: Peace and social cohesion at the heart of the book “The problem tree and other news” by Lacina Téguéra

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article by Mamadou Zongo in Le Faso

A teacher and journalist, Lacina Téguéra presented his book entitled “The problem tree and other news”, this Saturday, June 17, 2023 at the headquarters of Editions Plum’Afrik, in Ouagadougou, in the presence of the godfather Jean Marie Kafando.


Burkina Faso is experiencing an unprecedented security crisis marked by terrorist attacks. In addition to the efforts made by the political and military authorities for the reconquest of the entire national territory, each citizen, according to his skills, contributes in his own way to this fight against the terrorist Hydra. It is in this sense that Lacina Téguéra has given himself the mission of promoting the values of peace and social cohesion through its collection of short stories “The problem tree and other news”.

Drawing inspiration from his daily experience, the author addresses themes such as social cohesion, living together, literacy, education, respect for tradition, youth employment, the condition of African women, leadership issues, etc. “It’s to tell the Burkinabè population to come back again to social cohesion and living together, because these are small quarrels that slowly become wars between populations”, explains the author.

(Article continued in right column)

(Click here for the original French version of this article.)

Question for this article:

Do the arts create a basis for a culture of peace?, What is, or should be, their role in our movement?

(Article continued from left column)

It is for Lacina Téguéra to make its share of contribution to the training and education of the new generation, in a world in perpetual change. “In this difficult context that our country and some countries in the sub-region are going through, it is more than necessary, through books, to promote the culture of peace, living together, tolerance and to instil certain values such as honesty, the value of tradition, respect for elders, the spirit of solidarity and family. This book is also another proof of resilience. The context is certainly difficult, but we will not abdicate and Burkina Faso will remain standing,” he said.

For Lacina Téguéra, his work is written in a simple style, accessible to everyone. It therefore invites readers to make it their own, to read it and to recommend it to loved ones. “One thing is to write, one thing is to be read. I therefore invite readers to purchase the work or to recommend it to friends and colleagues. That’s why I write in simple French, accessible to all with a certain dose of humor… This document is to be read with handkerchiefs to wipe away the tears of laughter or crying,” he said.

Jean Marie Kafando, entrepreneur, sponsor of this dedication ceremony, congratulated the author for the quality of his work and for this big step in the world of writers, by extension of entrepreneurship. “I initially agreed to be his godfather because it is a long friendship, an acquaintance of twenty years. It is a very beautiful work which aims to be educational and which speaks of the problems that Burkina Faso is experiencing today. So it’s my way of bringing my stone to the construction of living together,” he said.

A teacher by training, Lacina Téguéra is currently attached to school and university administration in the Human Resources Management Service of the Provincial Directorate of Preschool, Primary and Non-Formal Education of Bazèga. He is also the correspondent for RTB/Radio and the newspaper Le Pays in the province of Bazèga. The book is available at the unit price of 3,000 F CFA.

Africa, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Luanda to host third Pan-African Forum for the Culture of Peace

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article from Mundo ao Minuto (translation by CPNN)

Angola will host the 3rd Luanda Biennale – Pan-African Forum for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence – on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th of November, to address the continent’s themes on violence prevention, it was announced today.

An intersectoral commission, coordinated by the Minister of State for the Social Area, Dalva Ringote, is already preparing the meeting that should take place under the motto “Education, Culture of Peace and African Citizenship as Tools for the Sustainable Development of the Continent”.

(Continued in right column)

(click here for the original Portuguese version of this article.)

Question related to this article:

The Luanda Biennale: What is its contribution to a culture of peace in Africa?

(Continued from left column)

The Biennale of Luanda, a meeting resulting from a decision of the 24th Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in 2015, will bring together heads of State and Government from the continent and the world, young leaders and international organizations.

The Angolan Government, in a statement, invited financial institutions, the private sector, civil society, scientific, artistic and sports communities to participate in the meeting to address crucial issues on the continent and promote the prevention of violence.

A memorandum of understanding signed on June 20, 2023 between the Angolan Government, through the Luanda Biennale, and the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OEACP) was also under analysis at the level of the preparatory body.
The memorandum ensures the active participation of the OEACP and the Member States of the six regions of the organization, supporting the mobilization of resources from partners and actors and identifying joint initiatives that can be integrated into the Bienal de Luanda program.

The previous Bienalle de Luanda took place between 27 and 30 November 2021 (see CPNN December 2021.

Africa, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

English bulletin July 1, 2023

. . THE PEACEMAKERS . . .

Little has changed since our bulletin of February 17 in which we quoted authorities saying that with the war in Ukraine we are “sleepwalking to Armageddon. This month, Anthony Blinken, the American cabinet minister responsible for foreign affairs, CIA, etc., insisted that the war should be continued because a ceasefire “would legitimize Russia’s land grab. It would reward the aggressor and punish the victim.”

But there are efforts for peace. In CPNN this month, we cite those of the African countries, the Pope, Presiden Lula of Brazil, the Chinese government, and the civil society meeting in Vienna.

The most recent initiative comes from a delegation of African countries that met with President Zelensky in Kiev and President Putin in St. Petersburg. The delegation included the presidents of South Africa, Comoros, Senegal, and Zambia as well as the prime minister of Egypt and representatives of the presidents of the Republic of the Congo and Uganda. “This war has to have an end. It must be settled through negotiations and through diplomatic means . . . This war is having a negative impact on the African continent and indeed, on many other countries around the world,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

In his meeting with the African delegation, Putin mentioned a draft peace agreement that was drawn up with the help of Turkish President Erdogan: “It was called treaty of permanent neutrality and security guarantees of Ukraine,” Putin said, adding that the document included 18 articles pertaining to Ukraine’s security. But the agreement was never realized, for which Putin blamed the other side.

As described in a recent CPNN article, Pope Francis has launched a peace mission aimed at finding a settlement of the Russia-Ukraine war, upsetting Ukraine’s allies with his refusal to insist that Russia leave Ukraine as a starting point for negotiations. The pope has appointed Cardinal Matteo Zuppi  as a special envoy for his peace mission.

The Pope’s initiative reflects his support in general for the culture of peace. In April of this year, he diffused a video throughout the world, saying, “Let us develop a culture of peace. Let us remember that, even in cases of self-defense, peace is the ultimate goal, and that lasting peace can exist only without weapons. Let us make non-violence a guide for our actions, both in daily life and in international relations.”

Recently, the Pope met with Brazil President Lula and they discussed Lula’s proposal of a group of countries to mediate in possible negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow. Lula’s proposal has elicited little response from the international community.

The Chinese government also presented a peace proposal earlier this year, and Chinese envoys have met the leaders of both Ukraine and Russia to promote it. While the proposal was dismissed by NATO, it was welcomed by many in the Global South, although some questioned whether Chinese threats against Taiwan did not contradict the principles of their proposal.

The Chinese initiative also reflects its public support for the culture of peace. In a video about President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to the Chinese Academy of History, the Deputy Director-General of the Academy says that, “The pursuit of peace and harmony is the foundation of the Chinese spirit. It is in the gene of Chinese civilization. In the 5,000-year history, our ideal world is of great unity. We value a culture of peace and unity.”

As for the civil society, during the  weekend of June 10-11 in Vienna, Austria, over 300 people representing peace organizations from 32 countries came together for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine to demand an end to the fighting. Despite the uniform bottom line of the participants, which was a call for peace talks, there were plenty of disagreements about what should be mentioned in the final declaration. Noting these disagreements, participant Medea Benjamin says that “the most important segment of the final document and the gathering itself was the call for further actions.” “This weekend should be seen as just the start,” said organizer Reiner Braun. “We need more days of action, more gatherings, more outreach to students and environmentalists, more educational events. But this was a great beginning of global coordination.”

As expressed in a blog this month by the CPNN coordinator, “Are we sleep-walking to Armageddon, as some have predicted? Or will the forces for peace be able to end the Ukraine War? . . . As the late Daniel Ellsberg warned us, our world hangs in the balance.”

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY



Lula meets the Pope, talks world peace

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY



Can Pope Francis bring peace to Ukraine?

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT



Two analyses of the Paris Climate Summit

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION



Media Organizations From Global South Discuss Solidarity and Standing Up to Sanctions
  

WOMEN’S EQUALITY



Conflict resolution and peacebuilding: The Union of Women of Cultural Communities for Peace in Mali (UFCPM) equips its members

EDUCATION FOR PEACE



Mexico: UAEMéx and the Judiciary promote a culture of peace

HUMAN RIGHTS



Elders warn of consequences of “one-state reality” in Israel and Palestine

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION



Spain: The Forum for a Culture of National Security approves the proposal to create a Culture of Peace Group led by Crue
d-disarmament

Two analyses of the Paris Climate Summit

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from Reuters

A statement from Greenpeace

Analysis by Reuters

A Paris summit to discuss reforming the world’s financial system scored some notable wins that should tee up greater action before climate talks later this year, though some participants were disappointed with progress to address poorer states’ debt.

The Summit for a New Global Financing Pact saw French President Macron host around 40 leaders, many from the Global South, to debate changes to multilateral finance institutions in the face of climate change and other development challenges.

Much of the discussion centred on the key requests of developing nations, framed through the “Bridgetown Initiative” led by Barbados leader Mia Mottley, and her adviser Avinash Persaud said he was pleased with the outcome of the talks.

“It’s a roadmap for genuine change,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of the talks. “What’s emerged here is a real … understanding of the scale and pace of what is required.”

Among the highlights were confirmation that the richer world will likely hit a long-overdue target of providing $100 billion annually in climate finance to poorer countries, a long-delayed debt deal for Zambia, and a package to boost Senegal’s renewable energy capacity.

The World Bank and others also said they would start adding clauses to lending terms that allow vulnerable states to suspend debt repayments when natural disaster strikes.

Yet it was the wording of the final statement from attendees and subtle changes in the tone of discussions behind the scenes that gave hope to Persaud that even greater change was coming.

Specifically, for the first time, the document acknowledged the potential need for richer countries to provide fresh money to multilateral development institutions like the World Bank. This came alongside a plan to draw on more of their current assets, to the tune of $200 billion over 10 years.

Another first was in the explicit target for multilateral development banks to leverage “at least” $100 billion a year in private sector capital when they lend.

(article continued in right column)

Question for this article:

Sustainable Development Summits of States, What are the results?

(Article continued from the left column)

A reference was also made to finding “new avenues for international taxation”, as well as other Bridgetown Initiative requests including offering investors foreign exchange guarantees.

“That was widely discussed here and (there’s) lots of support behind an initiative that’s happening outside of Paris, at the International Maritime Organisation in a couple weeks time, on a levy on shipping emissions,” Persaud added.

Still, the summit was not without its critics.

“Unfortunately, the Paris Summit has not provided the breakthrough needed to find the funding for our planet’s survival,” Teresa Anderson, Global Lead on Climate Justice for ActionAid International, said, pointing to new funding pledges being loans or temporary debt relief instead of grants.

All eyes now turn to more traditional events later in the year, including the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings, a G20 meeting in September and the COP28 climate talks in Dubai.

Persaud said his focus would be on making sure the plan to scale up multilateral development bank lending was in place by the time of annual meetings in October, and that pilot work began on reducing the cost of capital for developing countries.

The summit, held against a backdrop of criticism that the world is moving far too slowly to address climate change, was a success in that it delivered a roadmap requiring specific actions by specific dates, some observers said.

“They’ve got a clear timetable of what they want to see happen and it’s that timeline that puts the pressure on and means that it’s harder to just kick things into the long grass,” said Sonia Dunlop from think tank E3G.

Analysis by Greenpeace:

 President Macron’s Summit for a New Global Financing Pact ends with very limited progress to make polluters pay for the escalating costs of the climate crisis. Governments failed to commit to concrete and ambitious action to make the fossil fuel industry pay.  

Tracy Carty, Climate Politics Expert at Greenpeace International, said:

“The Summit ended with mild recognition of the need for new taxes to pay for climate action and identified a role for the G20 and COP28 to take them forward.  Taxing big polluters should be top of the agenda for these global moments, but rich country governments don’t have to wait to act – they already can and must introduce taxes on big polluters, above all the fossil fuel industry, to pay for loss and damage now.

“Silence on the fossil fuel industry paying for the mess they have caused was deafening at this Summit. Fossil fuel companies are racking up obscene profits, while millions in low-income countries pay the price as drought, floods, sea level rise and other climate catastrophes wreak havoc.” 

Pierre Terras, Head of Climate and Energy campaigns at Greenpeace France, said:

“President Macron’s promotion of fossil gas as an energy of transition during this Summit was totally irresponsible and resonates with his poor record of domestic climate in-action. Unsurprisingly, he also has fallen short in recognising the need to tax the fossil fuel companies to pay for the damage they have caused. Both nationally and globally, the French president seems stuck on protecting the wealthiest and the polluters.”

Europe, global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT,

Brasilia summit: Lula and Maduro reboot regional integration

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from Morning Star Online

Brazil’s President Lula invited all 13 presidents from South America to a summit on May 30 aimed at developing a collective and “common vision and relaunching decisive actions for sustainable development, peace and the well-being of our peoples.”


(Click on image to enlarge)

Lula presented 10 proposals to bring about the region’s rapprochement — a consensual approach to economic, social and cultural issues.

Peru’s de facto ruler Dina Boluarte was not present because Peru’s right-wing congress did not authorise her to attend.

Among the proposals, Lula put forward the undertaking of regional investments to assist social and economic developments, mobilising the resources of banks such as Bank of the South, a development bank set up by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay (Fonplata) and the Venezuelan Economic and Social Development Bank (Bandes).

Lula also made a strong pitch for deepening South American independence and sovereignty in monetary matters through compensation mechanisms and the creation of a common reference currency for trade to reduce the region’s dependence on currencies such as the dollar.

He stressed the need to collaborate at the level of regional planning for which he asked for the updating of the South American Council for Infrastructure and Planning (Cosiplan), emphasising physical and digital integration.

He also stressed the need to reactivate regional co-operation on health, especially on vaccination and health infrastructure.

He went on to focus on regional collaboration in two key strategic areas, energy and defence. The South American nations had already established the Defence Council of the South (Codesur), which due to the US reactionary counteroffensive that led to right-wing governments coming into office in the region between 2009 and 2019, had not been functioning. 

Collaboration on the former, given that many South American countries are oil producers would enormously enhance the region’s economic muscle and bargaining position at the international level, especially in the current world geopolitical climate.

Lula proposed to create a high-level structure made up of representatives of all involved presidents to relaunch a renewed regional integration process in South America, stressing the urgency of these tasks — something enthusiastically echoed by Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro.

During the summit, President Maduro held meetings with various presidents aimed at strengthening strategic bilateral ties with those nations to consolidate paths of co-operation and integration.

Presidents Maduro and Lula met at Brazil’s presidential palace where they celebrated the re-establishment of diplomatic relations, including the reopening of embassies after four years of Brazil’s total break with Venezuela carried out by extreme right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro.

A memorandum of understanding on agri-food matters was signed by representatives from both countries aimed at strengthening exchanges on livestock, food sovereignty and security.

Furthermore, Lula and Maduro discussed the possibility of Venezuela joining the Brics coalition (made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), which Lula strongly supports, opening the possibility of the two countries making use of the common currency Brics intends to issue.

Maduro also held a meeting with Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro at Itamaraty, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Relations, that resulted in the signing of the Agreement for the Creation of the Neighbourhood and Integration Commission to co-ordinate co-operation on their extensive common border.

(Continued in right column)

Questions related to this article:
 
Latin America, has it taken the lead in the struggle for a culture of peace?

(Continued from left column)

The border has been the favourite area of operations for narco-trafficking paramilitaries as well as a base for Colombia-sponsored paramilitary and other operations against Venezuela.

President Petro has become a key figure in the dialogue persistently advocated by President Maduro between Caracas and the far-right opposition in Venezuela.

Petro organised an international conference on Venezuela, held in Bogota, to encourage talks between them.

Maduro also met Bolivia’s President Luis Arce, also at Itamaraty, seeking to strengthen strategic ties between the two nations. While Venezuela is rich in oil resources, Bolivia is rich in natural gas.

The meeting took place within the framework of 13 co-operation agreements signed last April between the two presidents as part of the Venezuela-Bolivia Joint Integration Commission.

Following Lula and Maduro’s encouragement to strengthen Unasur, Petro announced Colombia’s re-entry into the regional organisation.

Perhaps most significantly, Lula vindicated the political legitimacy of the Maduro government: at a joint press conference with Maduro, Brazil’s president expressed joy in saying “Venezuela is back!”

He stressed that Venezuela is a democracy and any view to the contrary is the result of a false “political narrative” of “authoritarianism and anti-democracy” from the enemies of Venezuela.

He added: “I have argued a lot with European social democrats who defend democracy and do not understand that Venezuela is a democracy.”

Lula went further to state that it is incredible that the nation has been inflicted by over 900 sanctions because the US does not like it.

He went on to say that to deny Maduro was the president of Venezuela, and to recognise Juan Guaido instead, was the “most absurd thing in the world.”

Lula also expressed a strong wish that Venezuela goes back to being a fully sovereign nation where “only its people through a free vote, decide who will govern the nation.”

In stark contrast to “civilised” Europe, Paraguay’s recently elected president, Santiago Pena, a rightwinger, in an interview with the BBC declared: “There is only one president in Venezuela and his name is Nicolas Maduro.”

On the 31 tons of Venezuelan gold held in the Bank of England, Lula was unequivocal: “That gold reserve, instead of being placed under the custody of Guaido, must be placed in the custody of the Venezuelan government.”

Lula added that Brazil’s relationship with Venezuela should not just be commercial; it needs to be political, cultural, economic and technological.

He said this could be around university partnerships and even their armed forces, working together in their common border “to combat narco-trafficking.”

Lula’s proposal for Venezuela to join the Brics coalition and Venezuela’s enthusiastic willingness to do so was instantly welcomed by China and Russia.

This is in the context of Brazil’s former president Dilma Rousseff, who was deposed by convoluted right-wing machinations in 2016, being appointed president of the Brics New Development Bank.

With Lula’s summit, South America’s regional integration has taken a qualitative leap forward. It confronts serious complexities in the neoliberal legacy left by the right-wing administrations which wrecked several national economies in a very short period.

Washington’s policy combines heavy-handed interventionism to bring about regime change, especially against Venezuela, with a “divide and rule” policy that was successful in bringing the likes of Bolsonaro, Mauricio Macri, Ivan Duque, and many other right-wing leaders to power.

The summit is a strong reaffirmation of the region’s collective sovereignty — all factors of enormous strategic significance. It is also a victory for multipolarity, and objectively a substantial setback for the US and its accomplices.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Latin America

Elders warn of consequences of “one-state reality” in Israel and Palestine

. . HUMAN RIGHTS . .

An article from The Elders

Following their visit to Israel and and Palestine, Mary Robinson and Ban Ki-moon warn that a ‘one-state reality’ is now rapidly extinguishing the prospect of a two-state solution.

The Chair and Deputy Chair of The Elders warned today (June 22) that a ‘one-state reality’ is now rapidly extinguishing the prospect of a two-state solution foreseen in the 1993 Oslo Accords to bring peace and security to both the Israeli and the Palestinian peoples. 

The Government of Israel’s intent to exercise sovereignty over all the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea undermines the democratic ideals of the Israeli state, denies the Palestinian people their right to self-determination, and risks an uncontrollable explosion of violence on both sides.
  
Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders, former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, and Ban Ki-moon, Deputy Chair of The Elders and former UN Secretary-General, spoke out at the conclusion of a three-day visit to Israel and Palestine. They met a range of Israeli and Palestinian political leaders and civil society organisations, foreign diplomats, and former members of the Israeli military and diplomatic service. 

They also saw for themselves some of the facts on the ground, and heard from Israeli, Palestinian and international human rights organisations about the ever-growing evidence that the situation meets the international legal definition of apartheid: the expansion and entrenchment of illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the establishment of dual legal regimes and separation infrastructure in the occupied territories, and the institutionalised discrimination and abuses perpetrated against Palestinians. 

They heard no detailed rebuttal of the evidence of apartheid. On the contrary, the declarations and policies of the current Israeli Government – whose Coalition Guidelines state that “the Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the Land of Israel” – clearly show an intent to pursue permanent annexation rather than temporary occupation, based on Jewish supremacy. Measures include the transfer of administrative powers over the occupied West Bank from military to civilian authorities, accelerating the approval processes for building settlements, and constructing new infrastructure that would render a future Palestinian state unviable.   

(continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

Israel/Palestine, is the situation like South Africa?

How can war crimes be documented, stopped, punished and prevented?

(continued from left column)

Such a situation has profound implications for Israel’s proud status as a democracy, the two Elders warned. It also undermines the credibility of the international community as the guarantor of a rules-based global order. If the Israeli Government’s current trajectory is not reversed, countries who care about the international rule of law should consider serious enforceable measures to increase pressure on the Israeli Government to meet its international obligations. 
 
The two Elders also noted with alarm the highest level of violence since the end of the second intifada in 2005. They condemned the killings in the past week of Palestinian civilians by Israeli security forces in Jenin, of Israeli settlers by Hamas in the West Bank, and of a Palestinian civilian by Israeli settlers. The Palestinian leadership has a responsibility to do all it can to prevent the terror attacks that cause very real fears among Israelis. The two Elders warned such incidents will only escalate and multiply unless the root causes of the conflict are addressed. 

Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders, former President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: 
“I am profoundly shocked by the changes I have seen on my first visit to this region for several years. The policies of successive Israeli governments have entrenched the oppression of Palestinians, and also jeopardise the security and democracy Israelis have fought so hard for. Meanwhile the Palestinian people have no confidence in their own leadership; elections are long overdue and the democratic vacuum and shrinking civic space allows extremism and violence to flourish. All parties, including the international community, must act urgently to avert a calamitous descent into uncontrollable violence.” 

Mary Robinson and Ban Ki-moon expressed solidarity with Israelis protesting against their government’s proposed plans to weaken judicial independence, and encouraged protesters to confront the corrosive impact of the 56-year occupation on Israeli democracy. 

They also challenged the international community to address double standards on violations of international law. The indictment of Russian President Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes in Ukraine stands in stark contrast to the lack of progress on the ICC’s investigation into alleged crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. Together with the case before the International Court of Justice and the work of the UN Commission of Inquiry, the ICC case is a litmus test for the credibility of an international system which should hold to account all those who break international law. 

Ban Ki-moon, Deputy Chair of The Elders and former UN Secretary-General, said: 
“I leave Israel and Palestine with a heavy heart. I have seen and heard compelling evidence of a one-state reality, with systemic impunity for violators of international law and human rights. There is a lack of political vision and leadership in Israel and Palestine and among Israel’s allies, who continue to revert to a short-term approach. The people of Israel and Palestine, and the world, deserve better. And they deserve it now, before it is too late.” 

HUMAN RIGHTS, Mideast

Media Organizations From Global South Discuss Solidarity and Standing Up to Sanctions

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article by Mauro Ramos in Peoples Dispatch

At an event in Shanghai (May 8), representatives of media organizations from Asia, Africa, and Latin America highlighted the need for learning from and working with each other and building infrastructure to resist western hegemony


(Photo: Research Institute of International Communication at East China Normal University)

“The conflict imposed by the United States [on China] is partly due to the decline of Western control over science and technology. Gradually, neocolonial control over finance, resources, and science and technology has been exhausted, but the neocolonial structure remains with respect to Western control over weapons and information systems,” said Vijay Prashad, director of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and Chief Correspondent of Globetrotter, at the opening of the “Communication as Solidarity” conference, organized by the School of Communication at East China Normal University along with several other Chinese entities in Shanghai. 

Besides representatives from Press TV,TeleSUR, RT and CGTN, the event also included members of progressive media organizations such as Pan African TV, ArgMedios, and Brasil de Fato, and over 100 researchers and media professionals from China, Ghana, Zambia, South Africa, Brazil, and Russia.  

Prashad said that Western powers have almost absolute control over information systems. “This control is exercised through Western domination of infrastructure, such as fiber optic cables, and human networks of information production, and through the ideological power of Western media established during colonial times.” 

One of the hosts of the meeting, Lu Xinyu, of the newly formed International Communication Research Institute at East China Normal University, said that the movement for a new order in the 1970s tried to solve the problem of the unbalanced global media structure, but failed. “So today we hope to have a new understanding of this issue: One aspect is the domination of the media by the West. That requires that we, the media and media organizations of the global South, work together.” 

Targets of sanctions and censorship by the Global North

The conference was attended by representatives of media organizations that have faced the brunt of censorship.

In 2010, US State Department documents leaked by WikiLeaks revealed that the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office had told the US embassy that the British government was “exploring ways to limit the operations of the IRIB’s Press TV service.” (IRIB = Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting)

In the document, the British chancellery stated that national and international law did not permit the withdrawal of Press TV’s license, but that a possibility could be open if more sanctions were imposed on Iran. 

Finally, in 2013, the Iranian state channel’s license was revoked in the UK for allegedly violating the country’s Communications Act. In the following years, the media outlet suffered several blocks on its YouTube and Gmail accounts, was banned from Facebook, had its website https://presstv.com/ confiscated, and late last year, the French satellite operator Eutelsat decided to take the channel off the air.

At different levels, many of the media organizations present at the meeting have been facing censorship, blockades, and sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe or right-wing governments, as in the case of TeleSUR. 

(Article continued in the column on the right)

Question related to this article:
 
How can media from the Global South break the media hegemony of the Global North?

Free flow of information, How is it important for a culture of peace?

(Article continued from the column on the left)

The multi-state-owned platform has already been removed from the programming of the National Telecommunications Corporation, a state-owned channel in Ecuador in 2018 under Lenín Moreno. After the coup against Evo Morales in Bolivia in 2019, the state-owned Entel under the de facto government of Jeanine Áñez, suspended the broadcast of the channel founded by Hugo Chávez.

In 2021, the UK withdrew CGTN‘s license on the grounds that it is directly controlled by a political party, which is not allowed in the country. RT, on the other hand, has been banned from all European territory and from platforms such as YouTube. The Spanish version of the channel on that platform had six million followers until it was taken down.   

In a debate about the search for sovereignty for the Global South media, the president of TeleSUR, Patricia Villegas, defended the need that the countries to develop their own platforms, such as satellites, servers, and social networks. “The content we’ve been building relies on borrowed highways that are owned by others who define and change the rules, block you whenever they want, according to the interests that they defend. So, if we want to continue to tell what really happens in each of these territories, we have to fight to build our own highways.”

For the director of Brasil de Fato, Nina Fideles, the conference was significant “by the very fact of bringing together, over two days, people and media outlets from different countries, who could share experiences and ideas about communication from the Global South.”

“Besides the fact that we had the opportunity to learn more about the Chinese experience in relation to communication, we also learned about the economic and social model here and the country’s role reorienting the global geopolitical situation,” added Fideles.

The founder of the Post in Zambia, Fred M’membe, said that the meeting between the different media outlets was trailblazing. He also commented that media like TeleSUR, RT, and CGTN, among others, have a great responsibility to use the knowledge and resources they have to help create a new kind of media, a new way of communication. “Our adversaries, those who want to continue with the ideas of exploitation and humiliation of others, are investing billions of dollars around the world to consolidate their ideas of dominating the world,” said M’membe, who is also president of the Socialist Party of Zambia.

Progressive media and Pan-Africanism

Another axis of debate at the conference was the media scenario on the African continent, as well as the Pan-African agenda. Kambale Musavuli, director of Pan-African TV, said that Pan-Africanism has been taking root in the African continent and that the role of progressive media is essential to the project. 

“We have achieved Pan-Africanism at the political level by bringing the countries of the African Union together, but now we need the Pan-Africanism among the people. Where are the people? They are in the rural communities, and to reach them you need the media, radio, television, and newspapers. We are using the media, especially TV, to reach the people in remote areas. So, using community radio stations, using television stations run by progressive organizations, it will be possible to spread this vision of a united Africa under Pan-Africanism,” Musavuli explained.  

Kwesi Pratt Jr., founder of the channel, said that Africa’s image and history are permanently distorted by the hegemonic media. “There is a hysteria all over the world that prevents us from choosing our own friends and deciding our own destiny. The African reality today is: Those who colonized and enslaved us are exploiting and stealing our resources to maximize the profits of multinational corporations instead of developing Africa. This is the story we need to tell and we need to tell it in our own way, using our own instruments,” he said.

The conference saw the official inauguration of the International Communication Research Institute of East China Normal University, which will have Lu Xinyu as dean. 

This new institution seeks to contribute to the development of multi-level and multi-channel international communication platforms and networks for the countries and regions in the Global South.
 
(Thank you to the United National Antiwar Coalition for calling our attention to this article.)

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global

Lula meets the Pope, talks world peace

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from Prensa Latina

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday (June 21) met Pope Francis in the Vatican for 45 minutes and the two discussed world peace, along with other matters.

The Brazilian leader thanked the Pope on social media for the audience and for the “good conversation about peace in the world.”

The behind-doors meeting took place in the Vatican close to the residence of the Pope, who recently underwent surgery for hernia.

The meeting was followed by the Brazilian delegation meeting the Pope and the traditional exchange of gifts.

(Continued in right column)

Questions related to this article:
 
Can the peace movement help stop the war in the Ukraine?

(Continued from left column)

Lula, who had received a letter from the Argentine-origin Pope while in prison, gifted him a print of the painting Sagrada Familia by Pernambuco-based artist JF Borges.

On his part, Francis presented Lula with his 2023 Message of Peace, the document on human brotherhood and the book on Statio Orbis from Mar. 27, 2020, when he had prayed for the end of the pandemic at a deserted St Peter’s Square.

Lula invited the pontiff to make another visit to Brazil – as his first international visit as Pope had been to Rio de Janeiro in July 2013 – and attend the festival honoring Our Lady of Nazareth in October.

The Brazilian president’s office had already announced that he intended to discuss the fight against hunger with the Pope along with other issues such as his initiative to end the Ukraine war.

Lula has proposed forming a group of countries to mediate in possible negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, although his proposal has elicited little response from the international community.

The Brazilian leader arrived in the Vatican in a convoy of around 15 official cars along with the first lady, and was received at the doors of the Paul VI audience hall by the Pope’s aide, Leonardo Sapienza.

After his Vatican visit, Lula is set to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday evening at her official residence and seat of power, the Chigi Palace in Rome.

He will also meet Rome’s mayor Roberto Gualtieri, an old friend who had met Lula in prison while he was behind bars on corruption charges that were later revoked by the judiciary. On Thursday, the Brazilian president will fly to Paris for the next stop of his Europe tour.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Europe, Latin America,

France: “You are, we are, Earth Uprisings”

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Reporterre (translation by CPNN)

Even dissolved, Earth Uprisings (Les Soulèvements de la Terre) will continue to be talked about. In this forum, readers are invited to create a movement of resistance.

Earth Uprisings was officially disbanded on June 21 by the government. Faced with this unprecedented attack on the ecological movement, Reporterre undertakes to continue to speak about Earth Uprisings, their actions and their convictions. Here is their column published at the end of the dissolution.

On June 21, in the Council of Ministers, the government initiated a judicial procedure for dissolution of Earth Uprisings. After throwing his mutilating grenades in our faces, the government claims that we would no longer have the right to exist together, nor to organize ourselves. It now claims to dissolve an uprising, by all means.

From the sinister offices of Place Beauvau, this dissolution is intended to be a guillotine that ends the life of this story. And yet the noise that runs through the country, where hopes are still budding, says something else entirely. Contagious whispers, countless outbursts of solidarity remind us that the worst attacks sometimes produce unexpected reversals.

What if this dissolution was actually a ministerial call to join a great resistance movement? A network already strong with 110,000 declared members, 180 local committees, with as many people involved in public life, in collectives and unions. A supposedly forbidden movement, but collectively unstoppable, targeted by power, but anchored in the territories, present in places of work and studies, barns and back rooms, even within the administrations. The government claimed to make us disappear, in reality we will be more and more visible every day.

“Despite the dissolution, The Uprisings will resurface”

Faced with the persistence of this threat, we offer you a great game. A game that could not be more serious, a game that constitutes a network of resistance. We will together, in the days and weeks to come, continue to make Earth Uprisings appear in 1,000 ways in the public space: in front of bars and social centers, at coffee breaks, through open meetings, antennas international relations, inscriptions on the walls, pennants and celebrations, disarmaments and snubs.

Despite the dissolution, Les Uprisings reappeared suddenly on construction sites or in the heart of an industrial site, overflowing streets crowded with clamor against the market order, taking root in private gardens, people’s houses or common farms. It’s up to you, ours to find.

(article continued in right column)

(Click here for the original article in French

Question for this article:

Despite the vested interests of companies and governments, Can we make progress toward sustainable development?

Local resistance actions: can they save sustainable development?

(Article continued from the left column)

What grows back everywhere cannot be dissolved

These upsurges begin tonight [Wednesday June 21], with rallies of support organized in already more than 100 cities in France at 7 p.m., in front of the prefectures.

We, participants from everywhere in the Uprisings, therefore call on you to join the more than 180 local committees that have been formed in recent months, the hundreds of territorial resistance groups, local struggles and already existing trade union sections which have publicly claimed their membership of the movement. The word of the Earth Uprisings belongs to them, it belongs to you.

Together we will continue to support our injured people. We will continue the struggles on the ground everywhere and converge in even more numbers.

Two next deadlines have already been set this summer, two essential action times for water sharing in the middle of summer and in the midst of historic drought:

* the water convoy from Poitiers to Paris on the 18th to August 27;

* the action campaign 100 days to dry them out.

Beyond these few landmark actions, we are going to forge everywhere the necessary complicities to concretely stop the advance of concrete, the drying of the soil, the intoxication of the water and the dissolution of the links.

We will meet again. You are, we are, Earth Uprisings.

“A movement cannot be dissolved!” »

In solidarity with the dissolution measure, various media are committed to providing spaces to disseminate information on the variations of the movement across the country in the weeks and months to come. Here are the first ones: Basta!, Brains Not Available, La Relève et la Peste, Contre-Attack, Le Média, Sharing is Nice, Monday Morning, Dijoncter.info, Reporterre, Terrestrials, etc.
These different channels, created in solidarity by supporters or organizations, will also host the multiple decentralized voices that today claim to be Earth Uprisings:

* a Mediapart blog of friends of the Earth Uprisings ;

* an inter-organ Telegram channel to join.

An email address of friends of the movement who are committed to collecting and relaying the way in which different organizations and existing local struggles intend to follow up on this call locally: lesamiesdessoulevements@cryptomail.ch

Support and international relay antennas of the Earth Uprisings are announced in Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain and the United States by a certain number of organizations and media in the face of threats of censorship by the French government.

Legal support teams will continue to monitor the proceedings initiated: antirep-bassines@riseup.net, legal-lutteslocales@riseup.net

A movement cannot be dissolved!

Europe, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Working with religions for social cohesion in Chad

. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article by Rimteta Ngarndinon in Tchad Infos (translation by CPNN)

Oxfam and several of its partners are organizing a workshop on June 15 to review and adopt a religious argument for social cohesion in Chad.

In its mandate to contribute to peace, Oxfam, leader of a consortium of NGOs (CARE, International Alert, H.E.D, Tamat, ARDEK, and Help Tchad) has been implementing for more than three months, the project “Strengthening resilience and social cohesion in the border areas of Chad and Niger (RECOSOC)”.

(continued in right column)

(Click here for a French version of this article.)

Question related to this article:
 
How can different faiths work together for understanding and harmony?

(continued from left column)

In this context, studies have shown that the misuse of religious precepts is one of the causes of armed conflict and violent extremism. To do this, the project has adopted a religious argument for social cohesion, peaceful coexistence and the culture of peace because all religions advocate peace and all communities aspire to live in peace.

Given that the main religions are the same in Chad and Niger, the project wants through this workshop to make a rereading of the argument of Niger by the Chadian religious leaders before its adoption. Thus, representatives of the Higher Council for Islamic Affairs (CSAI), the Entente of Evangelical Churches and Missions in Chad (EEMET) and the Catholic Church take part in this workshop.

Specifically, says Watadé Nadjidjim, monitoring-evaluation, admissibility and learning coordinator within the project, it will be a question of proofreading this reference document which includes the suras and biblical verses. “At the end, we have to see which verses or suras are related to living together, peace and social cohesion. And we’re going to make good use of it.”

Africa, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY