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.

UK: Protests: Trump & May – No More Bombs on Syria, 13-16 April, Nationwide

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

A natioal survey by Stop the War

All the anti-war movement activity has played an important part in ensuring the vast majority of the British people oppose the attack despite near blanket support from the mainstream. This is a huge achievement. Now we need to build on it.

The world is becoming more dangerous by the day. This is why it’s so important that we stay in the streets and that we make sure we have permanent anti-war organisations in every town, city and university.


Sheffield protest

> Fri 13 April – 17:00 | London

On Friday, Stop the War Coalition will be handing in a letter signed by MP’s, trade unionists, celebrities and academics to No.10 to urge Theresa May to refrain from joining Donald Trump in escalating the war in Syria.  Military interventions from external powers have failed to bring an end to the war. The only solution in Syria is a ceasefire on all sides and a political settlement. Join us at 17:00 on Whitehall to demand an end to the bombing of Syria.

> Fri 13 April – 17:00 | Manchester

Emergency protest – 5:30 Piccadilly Gds – Manchester – Don’t Bomb Syria

> Fri 13 April – 17:00 | Leeds

Leeds Coalition Against the War – LCAW – Demo on Monday, please bring placards, banners, candles

> Fri 13 April – 17:00 | Doncaster

Join us at Doncaster Mansion House to protest against the proposed bombing of Syria which could escalate into catastrophic international war. Be part of the coordinated protests happening at this time across the UK.

> Fri 13 April – 17:00 | Sheffield

Hundreds outside Sheffield Town Hall tonight opposing plans for Britain to join the bombing of Syria. Speakers highlighting the previous disastrous interventions in Iraq and Libya which led to chaos and suffering for millions of people. 

> Sat 14 April – 11:00 | Norwich

Stop the War is calling a demonstration in Norwich this Saturday, as set out above. Speakers will include former Norwich MP, Ian Gibson, who opposed the disastrous war in Iraq and sees similarities with the situation today.
Our stall will be collecting signatories for a petition stating:- “We oppose calls for further escalation of military intervention in Syria. Any western attack would lead to more death and destruction and would deepen the misery of the Syrian people. It would prolong the cycle of violence and risk direct confrontation between the great powers. The only solution in Syria is an end to all foreign intervention, a ceasefire on all sides and a political settlement.”

Question for this article:

How can we be sure to get news about peace demonstrations?

> Sat 14 April – 11:00 | Bournemouth

We oppose calls for further escalation of military intervention in Syria. Any western attack would lead to more death and destruction and would deepen the misery of the Syrian people. It would prolong the cycle of violence and risk direct confrontation between the great powers. The only solution in Syria is an end to all foreign intervention, a ceasefire on all sides and a political settlement’. Please bring placards and banners.

> Sat 14 April – 12:00 | Cardiff

No to Trump: Stop Bombing Syria
Aneurin Bevan Statue, Queen Street, Cardiff

> Sat 14 April – 12:30 | Edinburgh

6.30pm at Buchanan Street Steps Gather in protest against the bombing of Syria. Say loud and clear “Not in Our Name!’ No to War – Yes to Democracy.

> Sat 14 April – 13:00 | Nottingham

Don’t Bomb Syria – Nottingham Protest
Brian Clough Statue, King St, NG1 6 Nottingham, United Kingdom

> Sat 14 April – 14:00 | Liverpool

MP Dan Carden, Shadow Minister for International Development and MP for Walton will be speaking at this event.

No more bombs on Syria. Liverpool will send a resounding message to Theresa May and her allies that we say stop the rush to war. 
Not in Our Name!

> Mon 16 April – 17:00 | Bristol

— ASSEMBLE FROM 5PM, marching by 6PM —

We will protest en masse to call to halt the military intervention and demand that our MPs and parliament represent this opposition and stand against this potentially catastrophic move from our government and its allies. Let’s show them what democracy looks like. In recent days least 43% of the population were opposed and only 22% supportive of intervention according to a poll (YouGov). Please *lobby your MP* here : tinyurl.com/DontBombSyria18

> Mon 16 April – 17:30 | Exeter

Don’t Bomb Syria, Bedford Square, Exeter

> Mon 16 April – 17:30 | London, Parliament Square

We will be protesting on Monday when Parliament returns on Parliament Square from 5.30pm. Join us.

> Tues 17 April – 17:00 | Birmingham

Bull Ring Entrance

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Europe

English bulletin April 1, 2018

. . . THE NEW GENERATION . . .

The news this month is dominated by the new generation.

In the United States on March 14, over one million students in over 3000 schools walked out of classes to protest gun violence, led by the survivors of the massacre of 17 students and staff in Parkland, Florida, last month.

As explained by Chelsea, a high school student, “We’re here protesting gun violence all across America. Guns don’t solve problems, they create problems. And obviously, as you can see, we all feel strongly about this. This is something that’s been going on for far too long. And if people—if adults aren’t going to take action, we need to take action.”

In the words of another high school student, Jayleen Flores, “A big part of this was to show that our generation is going to make the change because we are the future, and we are soon to be adults. So it is like this is our time to really get out there and have them listen to us,””

Ten days later, on March 24, young people took the leadership in over 800 ‘March For Our Lives’ events across the United States, including almost one million in Washington, D.C. alone. The most remarkable moment at the Washington rally was when 17-year-old Emma Gonzalez, a survivor of the Parkland shooting, addressed the crowd and paused for a full 6 minutes and 20 seconds silence – the time it took for the gunman to kill 17 of her Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School classmates.

In some of the biggest U.S. youth demonstrations for decades, protesters called on lawmakers and President Donald Trump to confront the issue. Voter registration activists fanned out in the crowds, signing up thousands of the nation’s newest voters. In Washington, Cameron Kasky, a 17-year-old high school junior, told the crowd: “Politicians: either represent the people or get out. Stand with us or beware, the voters are coming.”

The young people are finding substantial support in their efforts to change the gun laws of the United States. Both of country’s teacher’s unions are supporting the student walkout and demonstrations. Many politicians and Hollywood stars joined in the demonstrations.

One especially symbolic contribution was that of the New England Patriots football team which offered their airplane to transport the students from Parkland, Florida, to the Washington demonstration.

Photos illustrate the historic nature of the demonstrations.

And there are already important economic effects. Major corporations are cancelling the discounts that they previously offered to members of the National Rifle Association. And the oldest gunmaker in the country, Remington, has filed for bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, it is a teenager, 17-year-old Amed Tamimi, who has become the heroic representation of resistance by the Palestinians to the Israeli occupation. She has been sentenced by a secret military court to 8 months in prison for have slapped, pushed and kicked an Israeli soldier who was occupying her house not long after he or another soldier in his squad shot her cousin in the head with a rubber bullet, forcing him into a coma. Her mother filmed the episode and uploaded it onto Facebook. As a result Amed has become a hero while her mother has been sentenced to prison for “incitement.” Meanwhile, the film has sparked solidarity actions around the world.

The scale and historical importance of these actions by the new generation reminds one of the leadership by youth in the global movement against the war in Vietnam in the 1960’s and in the movement against Apartheid in South Africa in the 1970’s. As a result, the Vietnam War had to be abandoned, and Apartheid was overthrown. Will America’s lax gun laws be changed and will the Israeli occupation be overcome? The answer is in the hands of the new generation.

      

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY


USA: Enough! A Million Students Walk Out of Schools to Demand Action on Guns in Historic Day of Action

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION


Brazil: World Social Forum concludes in Salvador

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION



World Peace Flame to be lit in Ashland, Oregon (USA)

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT



France: Citizen vote against nuclear power

WOMEN’S EQUALITY


What Is CSW and Why Are We in New York to Be Part of It?

HUMAN RIGHTS



Cuba a ‘Champion’ of Children’s Rights: UNICEF

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY



Ahed Tamimi and the Pathology of the Israeli Mind

EDUCATION FOR PEACE



‘Back to Learning’ education campaign to benefit half a million children in South Sudan
Uncategorized

New Peace Museum in Ramnicu Valcea, Romania

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from the Newsletter of the International Network of Museums for Peace

On 19th January, a new peace museum – Peace Museum Valcea – was opened in Ramnicu Valcea, the capital city of Valcea County situated in the central-south area of Romania. The historic city, whose foundations go back to Roman times, has a population of 92,000. The museum, which is the first in Romania and in the whole of south-eastern Europe, was founded by Magdalena Cristina Butucca – a peace and human rights activist who is also founder and editor of two online newspapers, Diplomatic Aspects (2009) and Diplomatic Intelligence (2014). She worked as a volunteer at the Peace Museum Vienna in 2017 and was inspired to create a similar educational institution in her country.


Magdalena Butucea at the museum opening

(article continued in right column)

Question for this article:

Peace Museums, Are they giving peace a place in the community?

(article continued from left column)

The main purpose of setting up the museum is the widest possible dissemination of information on the concept of peace, and on peace education. The museum has started negotiations with high schools and universities with the aim of introducing courses about peace education.

Liska and David Blodgett, founders of the Peace Museum Vienna, and Ali Ahmad, its director, participated in the opening ceremony. The event was widely reported in the media, with many articles in the local, regional and national press, as well as reports on radio and television. A report by the Romanian National Press Agency can be seen here.

A report by Radio Romania (with a number of photographs) can be found here. Also a six-minute film (in Romanian) about the opening of the exhibition can by viewed by clicking here.

A few days after the opening the museum showed a photographic exhibition about social peace, titled Peace and US made by Andrew Niculescu. For more information, please see the museum’s website.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Europe

Photos: #FreeAhedTamimi and #FreePalestine in Brussels, Berlin, Athens, Amsterdam, London, Jaipur, Manchester, Naples, Milan, Dortmund

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

A photo essay from Samidoun, Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

Dozens of organizations around the world joined a global call for actions to free Ahed Tamimi, fellow Palestinian child prisoners like Abdul-Khalik Burnat, her family members Nariman and Nour Tamimi, and all Palestinian prisoners on 22 December.


Brussels, Belgium – 22 December 2017 (Photo: Myriam De Ly)

This call coincided with the ongoing large demonstrations around the world in defense of Palestine and Jerusalem following U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration that the U.S. is recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and the upsurge inside Palestine against Zionism and U.S. imperialism. It was also marked by the 128-9-35 vote at the United Nations against the Trump declaration and Israeli colonialism in Jerusalem.

Protests around the world demanded freedom for the prisoners, joining the day of action, and stood with Jerusalem and Palestine. In addition to the photos below, protests also took place in Hamburg, Koblenz, Stuttgart, Gottingen, Kalmar, Brescia, Viareggio and Lodi.

Please email us at samidoun@samidoun.net or message us on Facebook to let us know about your protests to free Ahed Tamimi and Palestinian prisoners and to stand with Jerusalem and with Palestine!


New York City, US – 22 December 2017 (Photo: Bud Korotzer/Desertpeace)


Berlin, Germany – 22 December 2017 (Photo: Afif El-Ali)


London, UK – 23 December 2017 (Photo: Yaya Aurora- Facebook)

(Photos continued in the right column)

Question for this article

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

(Photos continued from the left column)



Manchester, UK – 23 December 2017 (Photo: Mebz Malji)


Naples, Italy – 22 December 2017


Milan, Italy – 23 December 2017 (Photo: Francesco Emilio Giordano)


Dortmund, Germany – 23 December 2017 (Photo: Mahmoud Salem)


Jaipur, India – 22 December 2017 (Photo: Adv Kuldeep Vyas)


Amsterdam, Netherlands – 24 December 2017

global, Mideast, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY,

Mexico: Monterrey Installs Municipal Council of Social Prevention of Violence

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from Posta (translation by CPNN)

As of this Thursday [March 22], the municipality of Monterrey has a Municipal Council for the Social Prevention of Violence and Crime comprised of representatives of academia, society and the business sector, as well as municipal officials. It will be responsible for coordinating public policies and coordinating with other government bodies on the issue of prevention of violence.

Mayor Adrián de la Garza addressed the Council, saying that, among its faculties, the members should formulate plans, programs and actions for the prevention of violence and crime and should start a diagnosis of the causes that generate this problem and evaluate the social impact of the plans they carry out, in addition to promoting training in this area.

“Reacting after violence has occurred may help to lower some incidence, and provide some feeling of justice, but in reality it does not alleviate the problem. What society is looking for that there is less violence, that there is less insecurity, that there is less criminal incidence. The key to this is preventive actions”, he emphasized.

(continued in right column)

(Click here for the Spanish original of this article)

Questions for this article:

How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

(continued from left column)

After the Council took up the initiative, a collaboration agreement was signed with the Civil Association RENACE, to implement the project of “Psychosocial support to adolescents in conflict with the Law” with which they will give advice to young people detained for administrative offenses.
In addition, the group will support the Council to identify antisocial behavior and its causes, to generate preventive actions, to develop operating rules to achieve the objectives and to measure results.

* Pearl Leticia Guadalupe Montemayor García, Director of Citizen Services of the Center for Citizen Integration (CIC)
* Rosa Nelly Pérez Mares, Regional Coordinator of Youth Services A.C. (SERAJ)
* María del Consuelo Bañuelos Lozano, Director of Peace Promotion. Martín Carlos Sánchez Bocanegra, General Director of RENACE, A. B. P.
* Silvia Camarillo Vázquez, Director of the Monterrey Operational Unit of Youth Integration Centers A.C. (CIJ)

The Counselors of the academic community are:

* Juan García Rodríguez, Criminology Coordinator of the Faculty of Law and Criminology of the UANL [Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León].
* Julia Leticia Neira Tijerina, Director of Management of the Urban Environment, Purísima-Alameda District of U-Erre
* Karla Guadalupe Samaniego Pérez, Coordinator of the Faculty of Law and Legal Sciences of the Metropolitan University of Monterrey.
* Rogelio Manuel Cortés Leal, Director of Citizen Planning of ITESM [Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education]
* Julio César Treviño Leal, Professor at the José Martí University of Latin America.

Directors of the business sector:

* Dimas Padrón, In charge of Vial and Patrimonial affairs of Arca Continental S.A.B de C.V.
* Deassy Daniela Juangorena Hernández, Special Projects Advisor of the Senda Group.
* Reynaldo Osorio Fernández, National Head of Labor and Patrimonial Protection of OXXO.
* Estefany Elizabeth Mercado Cortés, Regional Manager of Human Resources of SEARS.
* César Alejandro Villarreal Treviño, president of the National Chamber of the Restaurant Industry and Seasoned Foods (CANIRAC)

(Thanks to Rogelio Cortés, the CPNN reporter for this article).

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

In pictures: ‘March for Our Lives’ Rallies Demand Stricter US Gun Controls

. .DISARMAMENT & SECURITY. .

A multimedia gallery from Telesur

Thousands demonstrated across the United States [on March 24] to demand gun controls in the wake of February’s school shooting in Florida, which killed 17 people. The nationwide March For Our Lives rallies, some led by student survivors, aim to break the legislative gridlock stymying efforts to restrict firearms in a nation where mass shootings like the one on Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have become frighteningly common.



Across the United States and outside U.S. embassies, hundreds of thousands of campaigners took part in the ‘March for Our Lives’ anti-gun protests. Photo:Reuters


With slogans such as ‘If they choose guns over our kids, vote them out,’ protesters in Washington jammed Pennsylvania Avenue as students from the Florida high school where 17 people were murdered called on lawmakers and President Donald Trump to confront the issue. Photo:Reuters


Celebrities sang and survivors spoke, rallying the crowds with chants of ‘Never Again’ and promising that the Florida Parkland students would challenge congressmen and ‘Vote Them Out.’ Photo:Reuters


Students listen as Emma Gonzalez, a survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in Florida, addresses crowds at the ‘March for Our Lives’ event. Photo:Reuters


Protesters hold photos of school shooting victims during a demonstration demanding stricter gun controls in New York City. Photo:Reuters


Parkland shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez addresses the ‘March For Our Lives’ event before pausing for a full 6 minutes and 20 seconds silence – the time it took for the gunman to kill 17 of her Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School classmates. Photo:Reuters

(Article continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

Do you think handguns should be banned?, Why or why not?

(continued from left column)



On Friday, Trump signed a US$1.3 trillion bill that includes modest improvements to background checks for gun sales and grants to help schools prevent gun violence. Photo:Reuters


“I have learned to duck from bullets before I learned to read,” said Edna Chavez, 17, a student at the Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles, who lost a brother to gun violence. Photo:Reuters


“Politicians: either represent the people or get out. Stand with us or beware, the voters are coming,” Cameron Kasky, a 17-year-old high school junior, told the crowd. Photo:Reuters


Student marchers filled streets nationwide, including in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, San Diego and St. Louis. Photo:Reuters


Shooting survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida led the demonstration. Photo:Reuters


More than 800 demonstrations were scheduled, with events as far afield as London, Tokyo, Mauritius and Stockholm. Photo:Reuters

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, North America

‘No more’ or we vote you out: students lead huge U.S. anti-gun rallies

.DISARMAMENT & SECURITY.

An article from Thomson Reuters

Chanting “never again,” hundreds of thousands of young Americans and their supporters answered a call to action from survivors of last month’s Florida high school massacre and rallied across the United States on Saturday [March 24] to demand tighter gun laws.

In some of the biggest U.S. youth demonstrations for decades, protesters called on lawmakers and President Donald Trump to confront the issue. Voter registration activists fanned out in the crowds, signing up thousands of the nation’s newest voters.



Frame from video on Reuters website

At the largest March For Our Lives protest, demonstrators jammed Washington’s Pennsylvania Avenue where they listened to speeches from survivors of the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

There were sobs as one teenage survivor, Emma Gonzalez, read the names of the 17 victims and then stood in silence. Tears ran down her cheeks as she stared out over the crowd for the rest of a speech that lasted six minutes and 20 seconds, the time it took for the gunman to slaughter them.

The massive March For Our Lives rallies aimed to break legislative gridlock that has long stymied efforts to increase restrictions on firearms sales in a nation where mass shootings like the one in Parkland have become frighteningly common.

“Politicians: either represent the people or get out. Stand with us or beware, the voters are coming,” Cameron Kasky, a 17-year-old junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, told the crowd.

Another survivor, David Hogg, said it was a new day.

“We’re going to make sure the best people get in our elections to run not as politicians, but as Americans. Because this – this – is not cutting it,” he said, pointing at the white-domed Capitol behind the stage.

Youthful marchers filled streets in cities including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, San Diego and St. Louis.

More than 800 demonstrations were scheduled in the United States and overseas, according to coordinators, with events as far afield as London, Mauritius, Stockholm and Sydney.

‘Take Their Liberty Away’

Underlining sharp differences among the American public over the issue, counter-demonstrators and supporters of gun rights were also in evidence in many U.S. cities.

Organizers of the anti-gun rallies want Congress, many of whose members are up for re-election in November, to ban the sale of assault weapons like the one used in the Florida rampage and to tighten background checks for gun buyers.

On the other side of the debate, gun rights advocates cite constitutional guarantees of the right to bear arms.

(Article continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

Do you think handguns should be banned?, Why or why not?

(continued from left column)

“All they’re doing is asking the government to take their liberty away from them without due process,” Brandon Howard, a 42-year-old Trump supporter, said of the protesters in the capital. He had a sign saying: “Keep your hands off my guns.”

Wearing a red “Make America Great Again” sweatshirt, 16-year-old Connor Humphrey of San Luis Obispo, California, said: “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.”

Humphrey, who was visiting Washington with his family for spring break, said he owns guns for target shooting and hunting and uses them responsibly. His school had a lockdown exercise last week.

“I think teachers should have guns,” he said, echoing a proposal made by Trump after the Parkland killings.

Still, rallies for tighter firearm restrictions also sprang up in rural, Republican-leaning communities ranging from Lewiston, Idaho to Logan, Utah where there is strong support for the Second Amendment constitutional right to own guns.

Among those marching next to New York’s Central Park to call for tighter gun controls was pop star Paul McCartney, who said he had a personal stake in the debate.

“One of my best friends was shot not far from here,” he told CNN, referring to Beatles bandmate John Lennon, who was gunned down near the park in 1980.

Taking aim at the National Rifle Association gun lobby, teenagers chanted, “Hey, hey, NRA, how many kids have you killed today?”

The young U.S. organizers have won kudos and cash from dozens of celebrities, with singers Demi Lovato and Ariana Grande, as well as “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, among those performing in Washington. Actor George Clooney and his human rights attorney wife, Amal, donated $500,000 and said they would be at the Washington rally.

The U.S. football team the New England Patriots loaned its plane to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students and their families to travel to Washington.

At the march in Washington, an elementary school student from Virginia, Naomi Wadler, 11, captivated demonstrators when she spoke up for African American girls who were victims of gun violence but whose stories “don’t make the front page.”

White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters said the administration applauded “the many courageous young Americans” who exercised their free-speech rights.

“Keeping our children safe is a top priority of the president’s,” said Walters, noting that on Friday the Justice Department proposed rule changes that would effectively ban “bump stock” devices that let semi-automatic weapons fire like a machine gun.

Also on Friday, Trump signed a $1.3-trillion spending bill including modest improvements to background checks for gun sales and grants to help schools prevent gun violence.

Former President Barack Obama said on Twitter that he and his wife Michelle were inspired by all the young people who made the marches happen.

“Keep at it. You’re leading us forward. Nothing can stand in the way of millions of voices calling for change,” Obama said.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson, Lacey Johnson, Katanga Johnson and Lauren Young in Washington, Alice Popovici in New York, Phoenix Tso in Los Angeles, Zachary Fagenson in Parkland, Robert Chiarito in Chicago, Jim Oliphant in West Palm Beach and Andrew Hay in Taos; Editing by Daniel Wallis, James Dalgleish and Nick Zieminski)

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, North America

Mayors for Peace around the world

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article by CPNN based on the news flash of Mayors for Peace

The March 2018 news flash of Mayors for Peace describes initiatives around the world.

16 new members were added, bringing the total membership to 7,558 cities in 163 countries. Seven of these came from Iran where there are now 997 member cities. Six came from Italy, where there are now 504 member cities. Two new cities came from Germany and one from Japan.


(click on photo to enlarge)

(article continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

 
How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

(article continued from left column)

Mayors for Peace is now running a project to distribute seeds from A-bombed trees to all member cities wishing to receive them. It is hoped that the acts of raising the second-generation A-bombed trees will help raise citizen’s awareness of peace. As of November 2017, seeds or seedlings had been distributed to cities in Belgium, Spain, Germany, Norway, Australia, Russia, Canada, UK, Switzerland, slovenia, Switzerland, France, Italy, USa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan and Korea.

Youth are invited to apply for the 2018 Youth Exchange Programe for the “Hiroshima and Peace” course. Click here for details.

The UK & Ireland Mayors, Provosts and Leaders for Peace Chapter will hold its Chapter meeting on Friday, March 23, in Leeds Civic Hall. At the meeting, it is planned to encourage Mayors, Provosts and senior councillors that attend the meeting to also sign the ICAN pledge to work for a nuclear weapons free world that has been developed for local and national politicians.

Visit the following links for articles from the Hiroshima Peace Media Center of the CHUGOKU SHIMBUN:

. – A-bomb survivor Shigeaki Mori to visit U.S. for first time in May
– 31 officials from 9 nations attend training in Hiroshima
– Hiroshima mayor criticizes new U.S. nuclear strategy
– Criticism mounts against comment by Japanese foreign minister
– A-bomb survivor donates late sister’s belongings to Peace Museum

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, global

25 public universities in Colombia work for peace in the regions

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Excerpt from CoPaLa: Construyendo Paz Latinoamericana, Boletín cuatrimestral, número 8, México-Latinoamérica. marzo-junio, 2018 (translated by CPNN)

Representing the public institutions of Higher Education (Universities and Institutes), gathered in Girardot from October 22 to 27, 2017, developing of the Second Diploma on University, Region and Peace, following the premises, principles and conclusions of the first diploma of 2016, which culminated with the signing of the University Pact for Peace, sustained with a sense of territoriality and collective construction of stable and lasting peace, we subscribe to the present manifesto:


(click on image to enlarge)

1. We ratify the commitments to the construction of a stable and lasting peace with ethical responsibility, social commitment and a perspective of respect and recognition of the various communities in their diversity, plurality and culture.

2. We demand the institutions to address the voices, experiences and desires of the communities and to construct the policy and actions of Rural Higher Education from below and in context.

(Continued in right column)

(Click here for the original Spanish version of this article)

Question related to this article:

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

(Continued from left column)

3. We call on the State, the Government and the Ministries of Education and Finance to understand in all their complexity that the main problem facing Public Universities is their de-financing and that it is necessary that they assume with urgency the reparative task of updating budgets and guaranteeing full autonomy and democracy so that the quality of educational processes and results respond to the demands of the territories and of the country that expects real peace with social justice.

4. As delegates and representatives of the public universities assembled here, whose common denominator is the strong ties to the territories where the armed conflict had its greatest impact, we commit ourselves to add and share efforts so that the policy of Rural Higher Education respects the interests of the communities, implementing the peace agreements and promoting a dialogue of knowledge between universities and communities.

5. We express our will for public universities to be recognized as privileged scenarios to promote dialogue and tolerance so that war will not be the alternative chosen to resolve differences or resolve conflicts.

6. We call for strengthening the capacities of the University Pact for Peace so that each university from its ranks and directives can support and commit to the Pact and promote a strategy of dialogue to deal with the issues of Peace and Higher Education and especially to help formulate the relevant policies and programs.

7. Within the framework of this pact, we hereby delegate to the Centro de Pensamiento para la Paz of the National University, to accept and carry out the tasks of the Technical Secretariat with a view to maintaining the coordination and exchange of our ideas, proposals and efforts.

Signed by representatives of the rectors of 25 public universities working from regions including the Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia (UPTC); Universidad del Cauca; University of Nariño; Technological University of Choco; Popular University of Cesar; University of Guajira; Surcolombiana University; University of the Amazon; National University in its headquarters, among others.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Israel/OPT: Palestinian child activist Ahed Tamimi sentenced to 8 months in prison

. HUMAN RIGHTS .

An article from Amnesty International

The continued imprisonment of Palestinian child activist Ahed Tamimi is a flagrant attempt to intimidate those who dare challenge the circumstances of the ongoing occupation, Amnesty International said today after she was sentenced to eight months and a 5,000 shekels fine (around US$ 1,400) with a three year suspended sentence after entering into a plea deal at Ofer military court in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

17-year-old Ahed Tamimi was accused of aggravated assault and 11 other charges after a video showing her shoving, slapping and kicking two Israeli soldiers in her home village of Nabi Saleh on 15 December 2017 went viral on Facebook.

“By sentencing Ahed to eight months in prison the Israeli authorities have confirmed yet again that they have no regard for the rights of Palestinian children, and have no intention to reverse their discriminatory policies. Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Israel is a state party, the arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child must be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time,” said Magdalena Mughrabi, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and Africa.

“Today’s sentence is another alarming example of the Israeli authorities’ contempt for their obligations to protect the basic rights of Palestinians living under their occupation, especially children. Ahed Tamimi is a minor. Nothing she did warrants her continued imprisonment and she must be released immediately.”

(Article continued in right column)

Questions related to this article:

Rights of the child, How can they be promoted and protected?

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

(Article continued from left column)

Ahed was convicted on four of the 12 charges against her including incitement, aggravated assault and two counts of obstructing Israeli soldiers. Her mother Nariman was sentenced to eight months in prison in addition to a fine of 6,000 shekels (around US$ 1,780) and a three-year suspended sentenced for assisting in assaulting a soldier, obstructing a soldier and incitement. Ahed’s cousin, Noor Tamimi, was fined 2,000 shekels (around US$500).

“The Israeli authorities must stop responding to relatively small acts of defiance with such disproportionately harsh punishments. By ruthlessly targeting Palestinians, including children, who dare challenge Israel’s oppressive occupation, the authorities are neglecting their responsibilities under international law as an occupying force.”

Hundreds of Palestinian children are prosecuted every year through Israeli juvenile military courts. Those arrested are systematically denied their rights and subjected to ill-treatment including in some cases physical violence. There are currently approximately 350 Palestinian children in Israeli detention.

Background

Ahed Tamimi was arrested on 19 December 2017 after her mother, Nariman Tamimi, also a prominent activist, posted the footage of her altercation with Israeli soldiers online. Nariman Tamimi was arrested later that day, while Ahed’s cousin, Nour Tamimi, was arrested the following morning. Nour was released on 5 January pending trial, and was sentenced today to the time she had already spent in prison.

Ahed confronted the soldiers amid a demonstration in Nabi Saleh against US President Donald Trump’s recent decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The incident took place on the same day that one of Ahed’s other cousin, 15-year-old Mohammad Tamimi, was hit in the head at close range by a rubber bullet fired by an Israeli soldier and sustained serious injuries.

HUMAN RIGHTS, Mideast