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.

Ivory Coast: 46 community leaders from Bondoukou trained in the culture of peace and conflict prevention

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . . .

An article by Prince Beganssou in Afrik Soir (translation by CPNN)

A workshop to strengthen the technical capacities of social actors and community leaders on the culture of peace, prevention and management of conflicts in the locality of Bondoukou was held on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at the prefecture of the said city. Organized by the Ministry of National Cohesion, Solidarity and the Fight against Poverty (MCNSLP) through the National Social Cohesion Program (PNCS), this event brought together forty-six social leaders for a day of intense training

The main objective of this workshop was to equip social actors and leaders with the necessary theoretical and practical knowledge in the areas of peace culture, conflict prevention and management. In particular, this initiative aims to consolidate peace and promote social cohesion in the locality of Bondoukou, in anticipation of the 2025 electoral deadlines.

The presence of the prefect of Bondoukou, Andjou Koua, and the Director General of the PNCS, Houssou Konan, as well as other important personalities, testifies to the State’s commitment to promoting peace. In their speeches, they highlighted the crucial importance of such initiatives for the well-being of communities and the sustainable development of the region.

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

Questions related to this article:

Can a culture of peace be achieved in Africa through local indigenous training and participation?

“Madam Minister thanks all social actors, in particular community leaders and neighborhood leaders who continually work to strengthen links between different social strata. Madam Minister also expresses her full commitment and deep recognition and above all she invites all stakeholders to appropriate the notions of peace, the fight against hate speech, and to use all the mechanisms that the trainer shared during this workshop to guarantee lasting peace in Gontougo”, underlined the Director General of the PNCS.

Participant engagement

The participants, made up of young people, women’s associations, traditional chiefs and community leaders, actively took part in this workshop. Their commitment demonstrates the collective desire to strengthen local conflict prevention and resolution mechanisms to guarantee lasting peace in Bondoukou.

In order to concretize and promote the values of peace, a new workshop is planned for Tuesday March 26 in Bongouanou. This will focus on strengthening the technical capacities of social actors and leaders in the management of rumors, the prevention and the fight against hate speech.

The capacity building workshop in Bondoukou marks an important step in promoting peace and social cohesion in Côte d’Ivoire. These efforts are essential to building more peaceful and resilient societies, and demonstrate the continued commitment to a better future for all.

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“We should focus on the culture of peace”: 25th demonstration in Bourges (France) for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article by Marie-Claire Raymond in Le Berry (translation by CPNN)

A new demonstration took place this Saturday March 30, in Bourges, against the war in Gaza, at the call of the Cher Collective. This was the twenty-fifth gathering, and it brought together between 80 and one hundred people committed to defending “lasting peace in Palestine”.

Among the comments was the regret that the “go to war” spirit has been brought to the fore in France: “For this, we waste our finances and we justify military budgets, we prepare to mobilize troops and we put the resources into military industry. Instead, we should focus on the culture of peace. »


(Article continued on the right column)

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

Question for this article:

Does military spending lead to economic decline and collapse?

How can a culture of peace be established in the Middle East?

(Article continued from the left column)

Franck Carrey, president of the international solidarity association Medina, called for “an immediate and definitive ceasefire. And unconditional access to humanitarian aid for the inhabitants of Gaza. »

“A month ago, we set up a mobile psychological support team for children,” he adds. We had a lot of trouble finding the psychologist and the facilitators. We have problems transferring funds to pay salaries. Schools are used for emergency accommodation and no longer for teaching. Politically, we must achieve a just and lasting peace. »

The Cher collective brings together twenty organizations: Attac18, CCFD-Terre Solidaire, CNT-SO, FSU, Ki-6-Col’, La Cimade, the Vigilance Committee-Madera, the LDH section of Bourges, LFI18, Medina, MJCF18, Peace Movement, NPA18, Palestine18, PCF-Fédération du Cher, PCOF18, POI, Solidaires18, UD-CGT du Cher and the Libertarian Communist Union.

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A joint statement for peace by 31 Israeli human rights organizations

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article from Breaking the Silence

We, members of the undersigned human rights organizations in Israel, are shocked and horrified in these dreadful days.

Hamas’ horrific crimes against innocent civilians – including children, women, and the elderly – have shaken us all, and we are struggling to recover from the unbearable sights and sounds. Some of us were in the Israeli communities on the Gaza border during the assault; many of us have family, friends, and colleagues who endured and are still in the midst of the harrowing events; and we all know people who were murdered, injured, or abducted. It will take time to fully understand the implications and consequences of Hamas’ heinous attack, for which there can be no justification.

Most of our teams include Israelis and Palestinians; therefore, some of us have relatives and colleagues in Gaza currently living under the ongoing assault of the Israeli military. Children, women, and the elderly are being indiscriminately attacked with nowhere to hide.

Even now – especially now – we must maintain our moral and humane position and refuse to give in to despair or the urge for vengeance. Keeping our faith in the human spirit and its inherent goodness is more vital than ever. One thing is clear: We will never surrender our belief in humanity – even now, when doing so is more challenging than ever.

Having always opposed the harming of innocent civilians, it remains our duty in these terrible times – as we count our dead on the Israeli side and worry about wounded, missing, and abducted loved ones, and as bombs are being dropped on residential neighborhoods in Gaza, wiping out entire families with no possibility of burying the dead – to raise our voices loud and clear against the harming of all innocent civilians, both in Israel and Gaza.

(article continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

How can a culture of peace be established in the Middle East?

(article continued from left column)

We call for the immediate release of all hostages and an end to the bombardment of civilians in Israel and in Gaza. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach civilian populations, medical facilities and places of refuge must not be harmed, and vital resources such as water and electricity must not be cut off. The killing of additional civilians will not bring back those who were lost. Indiscriminate destruction and a siege harming innocents will not bring relief, justice, or calm.

As individuals working to promote human rights and who believe in the sanctity of life, we urgently call for an end to all indiscriminate harming of civilian lives and infrastructure. We call for negotiations and all possible action to be taken to bring about the release of the hostages – while prioritizing the civilians held by Hamas. It is the only humane and rational thing to do, and it must be done now.

Mothers Against Violence | Itach Ma’aki – Women Lawyers for Social Justice | Amnesty International Israel | BIMKOM – Planners for Planning Rights | B’Tselem | Gisha | The Association for Civil Rights in Israel | Public Committee Against Torture in Israel | Parents Against Child Detention | Hamoked – Center for the Defence of the Individual | Zazim – Community Action | Haqel – In Defense of Human Rights | Yesh Din | Combatants for Peace | Mehazkim | Machsom Watch | Women Wage Peace | Akevot Institute for Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Research | Standing Together | Ir Amim | Emek Shaveh | The Parents Circle-Families Forum | Rabbis for Human Rights | Physicians for Human Rights–Israel | Breaking the Silence | Torat Tzedek | A Land for All – Two States One Homeland | Academia for Equality | Your Neighbor As Yourself | Kerem Navot | Other Voice

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ASEAN Tourism in the 2025 International Year of Peace and Trust

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Imtiaz Muqbil from eTurboNews (with links added by CPNN)

With brutal wars raging every day, it’s an interesting move for the UN to declare 2025 the International Year of Peace and Trust. ASEAN Tourism sees a window of opportunities.

2025 will mark the 80th anniversary since the end of World War II and the approval of the UN Charter, a good time to reflect on the state of the world since then.

The UN General Assembly has proclaimed 2025 the International Year of Peace and Trust (IYPT), and called for a fullscale mobilization of efforts to build sustainable peace, solidarity and harmony via political dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation amongst nations and peoples.

ASEAN 2025

Within ASEAN, 2025 will mark the 50th anniversary since the April 1975 end of the Vietnam War and the last year of the “ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together” master blueprint. That gives the ASEAN tourism, the Industry of Peace, a golden opportunity to take the lead in putting Peace at the heart of the future development agenda, assert the “centrality” of ASEAN, counter efforts to sow socio-cultural divisions and raise the definition of “sustainability” to a whole new level.

Approved on 21 March 2024, the UNGA resolution encourages all UN Member States, UN and other international, regional and subregional organisations, as well as civil society, the private sector, academia and individuals, to “disseminate the advantages of peace and trust, including through educational and public awareness-raising activities.” It invites the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the UN’s Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs to facilitate the implementation of the International Year.

Turkmenistan has proposed hosts an International Forum of Peace and Trust in December 2025, as a culminating event for the Year.

The resolution was sponsored by Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China, Djibouti, Germany, India, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Lesotho, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Morocco, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Singapore, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu and Venezuela.
(continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

How can tourism promote a culture of peace?

(continued from left column)

UN Sustainable Development Goals

The move is in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals agenda as well as the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace.

The first UN Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace was adopted by the UNGA in October 1999, exactly 25 years ago next year. In September 2019, the UNGA declared 2021 the first International Year of Peace and Trust. Another resolution in July 2022 declared that IYPT would be held every five years.

Reaffirming the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, especially the determination to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, the resolution notes that sustainable development, human rights, peace and security are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. It:

The Six pillows of Peace and Trust

1) Acknowledges that peace and trust entail accepting differences and having the ability to listen to, recognize, respect and appreciate others, as well as living in a peaceful and united way,

2) Recognises that peace not only is the absence of conflict, but also requires a positive, dynamic participatory process where dialogue is encouraged and conflicts are solved in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation,

3) Recognises the urgent need to promote and strengthen preventive diplomacy and peaceful prevention of conflicts through multilateralism and political dialogue.

4) Emphasises the role of women and youth, children and older persons, especially the active participation of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in activities promoting a culture of peace, including in post-conflict situations.

5) Recognises the importance of advancing equality, tolerance, human development, and promoting human rights, as well as investment in education to promote respect, reconciliation, and a culture of peace and non-violence,

6) Encourages the involvement of civil society organizations worldwide.

Windows of Opportunities for ASEAN Tourism

With escalating geopolitical conflicts and socio-cultural-ethnic polarisation posing a clear and present danger to the safety, security, and stability of Travel & Tourism globally, the IYTP opens a clear window of opportunity for the industry to rethink, refocus and reprioritize its future agenda.

(Editor’s note: The rest of this article is available only by subscription. It begins with the phrase “ASEAN tourism is well placed to take the lead for several reasons:”)

FIJCA 2024: JAZZ as an instrument of social cohesion in Ivory Coast

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from Africa Radio (translation by CPNN)

“Jazz, youth of Ivory Coast and culture of peace” is the theme chosen for the 2nd edition of the International Festival of Jazz and African Cultures (FIJCA) which will be held from April 27 to May 1, 2024 in the Jessie Jackson sports complex of the commune of Yopougon .


March 18, 2024 at 1:23 p.m. by Juliette Abwa V/ Africa Radio Abidjan

Initiated by Constant Boty, this event is intended to be a tool for intercultural connection highlighting several disciplines: cultural and creative industries, literature and sport. The FJCA is not only a world-renowned musical event but is above all a cultural, educational and economic beacon.

In view of the electoral deadlines of 2025, the International Festival of Jazz and African Cultures positions itself as a means of raising awareness among young people about democracy, civic and citizen engagement in order to arouse in them the need to constitute themselves as agents of peace for a democratic, peaceful and prosperous Ivory Coast, a guarantee of all development. Hence the relevance of this year’s theme: “Jazz, youth of Ivory Coast and culture of peace”.

(Article continued in right column)

(Click here for the French original of this article)

 

Question related to this article:

What place does music have in the peace movement?

(Article continued from left column)

For Constant Boty, Commissioner General of the FJCA, the objective is to strengthen Peace and social cohesion, while encouraging the civic participation of young people and the empowerment of women. In addition, the festival will highlight the rich Ivorian cultural diversity with its many ethnic groups, create a bridge of cooperation between Ivorian youth and those of other countries, raise awareness among young people about a culture of peace in order to contribute to the animation and preservation of the historic town of Grand-Bassam, a UNESCO cultural heritage site.

Mame Oumar Diop, head of the UNESCO office in Abidjan, expressed her satisfaction with this initiative, emphasizing the ability of jazz to promote peace, dialogue and cooperation between peoples. The 4 days of the Festival will be include conferences, training workshops, Master-classes, tourist visits, sport, arts, with relaxation areas, concerts and games.

International artists will include Tatev, Tom Luer, Dj Logic from the USA, Guillaume Repain, JB Moundele, Le Petit Grain, Johanna Welter from France and Bassekou Kouyaté; John Kiffy, Kamikaz du Zouglou, Fitini Tecnick Le Créateur, INSAAC Jazz Ensemble, Yakomin, Jahelle Bonee, Yedidia and many others.

This new edition will headline Benito Gonzalez, a two-time GRAMMY Award-nominated pianist and contemporary jazz master who combines a long line of American jazz traditions with rhythms from around the world.

More than 3,000 people per day are expected to attend the festival with effective mobilization of all the populations of Abidjan, particularly young people.

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Peace Wave 2024

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Announcement from World Beyond War

International Peace Bureau  and World BEYOND War  will hold the third-annual 24-hour peacewave on June 22-23, 2024. This will be a 24-hour-long Zoom featuring live peace actions in the streets and squares of the world, moving around the globe with the sun. There will be a live Q&A section on Zoom for the last 10 minutes of each hour

This Peace Wave will happen during the RIMPAC war rehearsals in the Pacific and just prior to protests of NATO’s meeting in Washington in July.



The Peace Wave supports work for global peace and opposes military buildup including alliances like NATO, its partnerships around the globe, and related alliances such as AUKUS.



The peace wave will visit dozens of locations around the globe and include rallies, concerts, production of artworks, blood drives, installation of peace poles, dances, speeches, and public demonstrations of all variety.


Watch all 24 hours below in twelve 2-hour parts:

Part 1
(13:00 to 15:00 UTC):
Part 01.1: (13:00 to 14:00 UTC) UK, Ireland, Portugal (European)
Part 01.2: (14:00 to 15:00 UTC) Ghana, Liberia, Morocco, DR Congo, Cameroon, Angola

Part 2
(15:00 to 17:00 UTC): South America / América del Sur – Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela

Continued in right column)

Questions related to this article:
 
How can we be sure to get news about peace demonstrations?

(Continued from left column)

Part 3
(17:00 to 19:00 UTC): USA and Canada (Eastern Time Zone)

Part 4
(19:00 to 21:00 UTC): Mexico and Central America

Part 5
(21:00 to 23:00 UTC): USA and Canada (Pacific and Mountain Time Zone)

Part 6
(23:00 to 01:00 UTC): USA (Alaska and Hawaii) and Guam

Part 7
(01:00 to 03:00 UTC): Australia, New Zealand

Part 8
(03:00 to 05:00 UTC): Japan and South Korea

Part 9
(05:00 to 07:00 UTC): Philippines, Vietnam and Myanmar

Part 10
(07:00 to 09:00 UTC): Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan

Part 11
(09:00 to 11:00 UTC):
Part 11.1: (09:00 to 09:45 UTC) Afghanistan, Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan
Part 11.2: (09:45 to 10:30 UTC) Israel, Palestine, Turkey, Syria
Part 11.3: (10:30 to 11:00 UTC) East Africa (Egypt, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Kenya, S. Africa)

Part 12
(11:00 to 13:00 UTC):
Part 12.1: (11:00 to 12:00 UTC) Central Europe and Scandinavia
Part 12.2: (12:00 to 13:00 UTC) Ukraine, Russia and Baltic States

(Editor’s note: Zoom videos from the 2023 Peace Wave are available on this website )

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France: Speech by Jean-Luc Melanchon on the force of action for peace

. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION .

Text transcribed from the video of the speech by Melanchon (transcribed and translated by CPNN)

My friends! “La force!” The force makes force. It’s a lesson from the trade unions. The force you see gathered here did not fall from the sky, was not granted as a favour. It was conquered by the commitment of free conscience that decided to break with all the other organised frameworks and make something new. That force is capable of raising the clamour that you have just heard here, which allows us to regain our energy. (. . .) That force is capable of engaging the new generation. That force is the people. We are the forward detachment. That force is a collective intelligence. Yes, we love electoral campaigns, because they suddenly make us consciously engaged
(. . . )


(Click on photo to enlarge)

We advance to meet our sovereign that is universal suffrage. We advance to meet that magical moment which moves every democratic conscience, every republican conscience, in the secret of the voting booth, the magnificent magic where no one has less power than another person because of their wealth. Where no one has less power than another person because of their religion or skin colour.

The right to vote ! Magnificent ! The free community, the free heart, the free conscience, in equality, in liberty, in fraternity. The right to vote is not only a citizen’s duty, it’s a dignity. And for all that, it is a power. A terrible power! A power that all the rulers fear because of the strength it gives to the most humble among us. That power that allows us to say with Angela Davis: “I will no longer accept. I will not accept the things that I could not change. I will change the things that I can no longer accept. ”
(. . .)
This is the first time that your ballot makes you the arm of Jean Jaures, as it started from his chest: if you do not want war, vote Insoumis!
(. . .)
We have passed from a Europe of social programs to a Europe of permanent austerity, of massive unemployment, of debt accumulated in its countries without any help from the Central European Bank which holds a large part of it and which increases interest rates so that the people, once again, must suffer even more.

At that time they told us at every election time, when there was the Soviet Union, that we were threatened by the tanks of the Red Army which were 48 hours from Paris. Now, the Union is no longer Soviet, it is content to be Russian, but the tanks are still there, it seems, and once again they are appearing in the electoral program.

So we have moved from the Europe of peace at the time of the Soviet Union to the Europe of war today and the war economy. This is what they have done to the great dream that the founding fathers had bequeathed to them. The question is not what we are going to do with this Europe, but how the people will be able to emerge from the permanent economic crisis in this Europe, from the logic of exploitation as the only adjustment variable to lower the price of labor. How will people be able to emerge from an ecological crisis caused and amplified by the European Union, which places no limits on the use of pesticides, which is not interested in the disastrous consequences for public health and which is incapable of holding its objectives in relation to climate change. Finally, a Europe incapable of making its mark in the world’s geopolitical crisis. This is the bottom line. This is the summary of what we have to do.

The world order is changing. The dominant power of the previous period, a power that believed for a time that it was the only one in the world, the United States of America, is today faltering, while another power is rising, what is called, unfairly but finally, let’s use this term, the Global South. It is the BRICS that are rising. They call us the “Westerners”. It seems that they mean us, but we, the French, are not so much “Westerners” as that, for we are present on every continent in the world. So please count us in a separate category: universalist, creolized, French.

Peace is at stake when the geopolitical order changes, because those who dominate want to continue to dominate and those who would like to dominate strive to find their place in a new domination. So more than ever, we must be the France aligned with the non-aligned. If we want to be useful, we must be France in the exclusive service of peace. If we want to be useful to universal humanity.

As usual we hear the braying of those who return with the memory of their own turpitude, they who capitulated as it was Munich, come to reproach us for saying that it is useless to expose ourselves to a war on the continent. Don’t think this is a threat in a vacuum! War results from the conditions that make it possible and necessary for some, but still war results from the inability of leaders to control their engagements. It was the assassination of an archduke that began the First World War. Today we are closer to the political conditions of the First War than those of the Second, when it was just and legitimate to arm ourselves to defeat the Nazis.

But this time it is a strange situation for France, a nuclear power, to be governed by people who are capable in a Council of Ministers of talking about an incident at Sciences Po and sending the Prime Minister there to change the situation and making a big deal out of something that never happened. But at least we can say that it produced something magnificent. Thirty-three students said “We are Jewish, and we will not allow our Jewishness to be used to suppress Palestinian rights.” Thank you young people, thank you a thousand times, thank you a million times, because this is the France that does not want its children to be sorted by their religion but only distinguished by their debate and their opinions.

To vote for the Insoumis is to vote for the unity of our republic, a vote that does not point the finger at any one religion or skin color.

(Article continued in the column on the right)

(Click here for the original version in French)

Questions related to this article:

Where in the world can we find good leadership today?

How can parliamentarians promote a culture of peace?

(Article continued from the column on the left)

We must open the path to peace. Maybe some of you say that this path, yes, yes, well, okay, we understand, it is peace, but it does not exist, Mr. Mélenchon, the proof is that there is a war. Well, when there is a war, there is only one thing to do, and that is to stop it. And the question to ask is whether it is possible. Well all the elements are there.

For example, in Gaza, it is not true that we cannot stop the war and the massacre. It would be enough for the United States of America to stop supplying Mr. Netanyahu’s government with weapons. It would be enough for France to stop doing it. It would be enough for the European Union with the deputies you are electing to be there to say STOP! Enough! We are breaking the coalition and cooperation contract with Israel! We demand the judgment of war criminals, ALL war criminals, because we do not distinguish between them.

Regarding Gaza we are not proposing any other utopia than this: apply the international law that you voted for. Cease fire immediately and permanently! Implementation of UN resolutions. End of colonization! What’s extraordinary about that? It’s the same thing that we’ve been repeating for so many years. But then if we repeat it for so many years we tell them, at least respect the law, at least the international law that you have established!

The same goes for Ukraine. If we are not there to say a path exists, who is going to do it? There are people who will tell us “we have to arm ourselves, we’re going to do this, we’re going to do that!” Do what? Leading us straight to war? For what result? Only one result, massive destruction, death, death, more death!

War can produce nothing else except deaths, victims, desolation, destruction! War is the failure of the human condition. War is the failure of civilization. War! War will never produce anything other than war again! Always war, more war!

With regard to Ukraine peace is possible on the condition that we understand one thing, that fiinally there can be no other outcome than a situation where there is no neither victor nor vanquished. Peace must give each of the two parties mutual guarantees.

I heard a journalist choke up, “Mélenchon said mutual guarantees!” This ignorant person did not know that the word had been used by Mr. Macron himself ! The guarantees must be mutual between whom? The fighters, of course. Obviously the guarantees are mutual.

Once this principle has been established, then it is obviously necessary to enter the path of peace through concrete measures which suit both parties, such as the protection of nuclear power plants, which would lead instantly to the creation of demilitarized zones. The Ukrainian Parliament has requested this guarantee,, and the Russians have not said they are opposed to it.

And once we enter into this logic, then we enter into the logic of the ceasefire! And if there is a ceasefire, then we can discuss border security. Now little by little I see them coming to understand; it always takes them time to admit that we are right. With regard to a conference for border security, there is no need to invent structures. They already exist through the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Its conference on security in Europe was concluded in 1975, that is to say in the middle of the Cold War between two blocs that were preparing, if necessary, to destroy the world since they had the possibility of destroying it 16 or 17 times, which makes least 16 or 15 times too many.

A security conference obviously would lead to negotiations and from what President Macron told to Manuel Bompard, the Russians are ready for a ceasefire, but it’s to replenish their potential. Maybe so, but that’s what it takes. And when we start the ceasefire, well we don’t have to think about resuming the war.

Secondly, he told Manuel Bompard that President Zelensky was ready and knew that in the end he would have to accept a consultation of the populations affected by the borders. It’s clear from simple common sense that what was true before the war is perhaps no longer true now that the war has taken place, and that some who were originally on one side may now feel more on the other.

As soon as we agree to the ceasefire, as soon as we agree to the referendum of the populations concerned, as soon as we agree to demilitarize everything surrounding the nuclear reactors nuclear, then what is the obstacle to peace?

France may object that Mr. Putin is not a reliable interlocutor. But the effort must still be made. It must be brought before public opinion.

Threatening to send troops, saying that there are no limits, mentioning France’s nuclear capacity and claiming to extend it to all the nations of Europe, this is absurd ! Imagine a button which gives access to the use of the nuclear bomb, with 28 fingers on it! What is the meaning of such an idea? None! Whom is it supposed to frighten? The supposed adversary, thereby forcing him into a situation of response?

This is how the president has managed to create an indescribable mess, already with his own allies, but also with the adversaries because we already have Putin’s response. As for Mr. Putin, of course he is a dangerous head of state because he is a head of state involved in the question of peace and war! He therefore does in his domain what he believes to be his duty just as we ourselves do what we believe to be our duty.

We must talk peace! We must vote for peace! PEACE! PEACE! PEACE! That is our vote! Peace in Gaza! Recognition of the State of Palestine! Punishment of war criminals! Peace in Ukraine. PEACE! That’s why we have to vote ! It’s the vote that gives us force.
(…)
To conclude, I cite “Le Petit Prince,” that I suppose many of you have read. This is a citation for you. Listen carefully and reflect on it, because it is profound. “You see, in life there is no solution. There is only the forces on march. You must create them, and then the solutions will follow.” “Bon courage!”

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Search for Common Ground in Israel and Palestine

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

Excerpts from the webpage and videos of Search for Common Ground

Our CEO, Shamil Idriss, is currently in the heart of Jerusalem (featured here in front of the Damascus Gate), meeting with our team on the ground and other key figures. He filmed several videos to provide a few updates on the critical work happening there, and you can click the button below to view them.

Video 5. Click on image to see the video

° video 1 with an update on the work we have been doing in Israel and Palestine, including our work in Gaza with hygiene kit distributions and how we are supporting pregnant women.

° video 2 with a bit of good news in our inter-religious work in the middle of the dark situation. “We’ve been working on interfaith education for tolerance and respect for seven years now, and for the first time one of the municipalities where we work has decided to integrate the program into their planning and budget.”

° video 3 describing the look and feel on the ground and how people are affected by the war. For Israeli Jews the images of the hostages are on banners everywhere making it hard for people to imagine a secure future side by side with Palestinians. The Arab Israeli population are feeling very much under threat and traumatized by the images from Gaza.

(article continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

How can a culture of peace be established in the Middle East?

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° video 4 on how Search is working with women to take a more significant role in the peace process right now. “We’ve been working with a really powerful and growing community of women leaders, including activists, lawyers, former Knesset members, former Palestinian ministers in Jerusalem, Ramallah and Tel Aviv working to ensure that they are not left out of whatever peace process that will have to come out of this war. We are supporting them as they develop their own thinking and strategy for how to accelerate and influence that kind of peace process. It’s well known that peace processes that involve women last much longer and are more viable.”

° video 5 on why Shamil is in Israel to support the work on the ground and help gain more support to continue this necessary work. “I am here to support our team and maybe open a few doors for potential partners and donors. But mostly so I can be more informed when I appeal to our supporters in the States and elsewhere to support the work of peacebuilders here. Solidarity is understandable, but It’s very clear that the end of this war and the prevention of future such wars won’t come simply through solidarity. It’s going to have to come through peacebuilding. Inter-communal solidarity has to be built, even if it is unimaginable right now. The people we’ve been talking to, a former foreign minister, a former prime minister, former ministers in Ramallah, and grass roots activists as well, they recognize that the only way out of this is through a legitimate peace process ad the building of trust. So when I speak to our supporters I can can effectively appeal that in addition to any solidarity with your own community, that you support the peacebuilders here across both Palestinian and Israeli society.

We hope these videos offer a reminder that there’s nothing abstract about your partnership, that it’s issuing into real relief and peacebuilding for real people, right now.

Your commitment to peacebuilding is invaluable. Would you join us in supporting this work on the ground?

Additionally, if you’re particularly interested in peacebuilding in the Middle East, don’t miss our upcoming virtual conversation with Shamil on Thursday, March 21 at 2 p.m. ET. He will delve deeper into the situation on the ground and discuss the pathways to peace in Israel/Palestine. click here for the video

Thank you for your continued support and dedication to building a better world.

Greta Thunberg, 40+ Other Climate Activists Block Entrance to Swedish Parliament

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Thor Benson in Common Dreams ( licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

Greta Thunberg and over 40 other activists blocked  the entrance to the Swedish parliament on Monday, demanding action on the climate crisis.

The activists held signs that said “Climate Justice Now,” and Thunberg expressed her dissatisfaction with how the Swedish government is handling the global emergency.

“Sweden is unfortunately not unique in completely ignoring the climate crisis, not treating it as an emergency at all. But actively trying to greenwash, deceive, and lie in order to make it seem like they are doing enough and that they are moving in the right direction, when in fact the exact opposite is happening,” Thunberg said.

Thunberg went on to say that Sweden is “very good at greenwashing,” even though the country has “very high emissions per capita.” She said the country cannot claim to be a climate leader.

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Question for this article:


Are we seeing the dawn of a global youth movement?

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)

“The climate justice movement has for decades tried to get our message across, and scientists and the most affected people have been sounding the alarm for even longer than that,” she said. “But the people in power have not been listening. They have been actively ignoring and silence those speaking out.”

Thunberg has faced  the risk of going to jail over her climate protests repeatedly in recent years, and she has continued  to sound the alarm that countries are not doing enough to fight the climate crisis.

The Swedish government has been facing intense criticism recently for enacting policies that will likely increase its carbon emissions. Thunberg vowed to continue her resistance to such policies.

“The climate crisis is only going to get worse and so it is all our responsibilities, all of those who have an opportunity to act must do so. We encourage everyone who can to join us and to join the climate justice movement,” Thunberg said.

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Kremlin, NATO at odds over pope’s call for Ukraine to show ‘white flag’ and start talks

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article by Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Gray in Reuters reprinted by permission

 The Kremlin on Monday(March 11) said a call by Pope Francis for talks to end the Ukraine war was “quite understandable”, but NATO’s boss said now was not the time to talk about “surrender”.


Rescuers work at a site of a residential building heavily damaged during a Russian missile attack, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine January 23, 2024. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Vatican ambassador, known as the papal nuncio, to express its “disappointment” with Francis’ comments in an interview recorded last month that Ukraine should have “the courage of the white flag” to negotiate an end to the conflict.

The ministry said the pope’s comments “legalise the right of might and encourage further disregard for the norms of international law”.

In an attempt to defuse the situation and clarify Francis’ remarks, his second in command at the Vatican said in a newspaper interview on Tuesday that the first condition for any negotiations is that Russia should halt its aggression.

As the West grapples with how to support Ukraine and the prospect of a sharp change in U.S. policy if Donald Trump wins November’s presidential election, Putin has essentially offered to freeze the battlefield along its current front lines, a premise Ukraine rejects.

“It is quite understandable that he (the pope) spoke in favour of negotiations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

He said President Vladimir Putin had repeatedly said Russia was open to peace talks.

“Unfortunately, both the statements of the pope and the repeated statements of other parties, including ours, have recently received absolutely harsh refusals,” Peskov said.

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

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Russia says it sent its troops into Ukraine in February 2022 in a “special military operation” to ensure its own security. Kyiv and the West decry it as a colonial-style war of conquest.

Moscow’s offers to negotiate have invariably been predicated on Kyiv giving up the territory that Moscow has seized and declared part of Russia – more than a sixth of Ukraine.

THE KREMLIN: A WESTERN MISCONCEPTION

Peskov said Western hopes of inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia were “the deepest misconception”, adding: “The course of events, primarily on the battlefield, is the clearest evidence of this.”

But NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said negotiations that would preserve Ukraine as a sovereign and independent nation would only come when Putin realised that he would not win on the battlefield.

“If we want a negotiated, peaceful, lasting solution, the way to get there is to provide military support to Ukraine,” he told Reuters at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Asked if this meant now was not the time to talk about a white flag, he said: “It’s not the time to talk about surrender by the Ukrainians. That will be a tragedy for the Ukrainians.”

He added: “It will also be dangerous for all of us. Because then the lesson learned in Moscow is that when they use military force, when they kill thousands of people, when they invade another country, they get what they want.”

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said the nuncio, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, had been told the pope “would be expected to send signals to the world community about the need to immediately join forces to ensure the victory of good over evil.”

Ukraine wanted peace, it said, but one that was fair and based on U.N. principles and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s peace plan.

Zelenskiy said on Sunday the pontiff was engaging in “virtual mediation” and his foreign minister said Kyiv would never capitulate.

Zelenskiy, who signed a decree in 2022 ruling out talks with Putin, said last week Russia will not be invited to a peace summit due to be held in Switzerland.`

Zelenskiy’s peace plan calls for a withdrawal of Russian troops, a return to Ukraine’s 1991 borders, and due process to hold Russia accountable for its actions. Russia says it cannot hold any talks under such a premise.