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.

David Swanson Awarded 2018 Peace Prize of the US Peace Memorial Foundation

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

Report from the US Peace Memorial Foundation

The Board of Directors of the US Peace Memorial Foundation  has voted unanimously to award its 2018 Peace Prize to The Honorable David Swanson “whose inspiring antiwar leadership, writings, strategies, and organizations help to create a culture of peace.”


Video of presentation

Michael Knox, Chair of the Foundation, presented the award on August 26 at the Veterans For Peace 33rd Annual Convention held in St. Paul, MN.

In his remarks, Knox said, “Thank you, David, for dedicating your life to ending wars.  You are one of the most prolific writers, speakers, activists, and organizers for peace.  The breadth of your work is staggering.  You have enlightened us with books that are in the forefront of modern antiwar thought; and with speeches, debates, conferences, blogs, billboards, radio shows, online courses, videos, websites, and more innovative ideas than we can name.  We want you to know that your efforts are greatly appreciated, here and around the world.”

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Questions for this article:

Where in the world can we find good leadership today?

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Upon learning of the award, David said, “This wonderful honor is definitely having the impact on me that I imagine is intended, namely it is inspiring me to keep at it and work harder to advance the abolition of war and the development of peaceful behaviors and institutions.  Thank you for the pat on the back but also for the kick in the rear.  We have a long ways yet to go.”

In addition to receiving the 2018 Peace Prize, our highest honor, Swanson has been designated a  Founding Member  of the US Peace Memorial Foundation.  He joins previous Peace Prize  recipients Ann Wright, Veterans For Peace, Kathy Kelly, CODEPINK Women for Peace, Chelsea Manning, Medea Benjamin, Noam Chomsky, Dennis Kucinich, and Cindy Sheehan.  Nominees considered by the Board in 2018 included Daniel Ellsberg, Nancy Mancias, Colman McCarthy, Sharon Tennison, Sally-Alice Thompson, and S. Brian Willson.  You can read about the antiwar/peace activities of all recipients and nominees in our publication, the US Peace Registry.


The US Peace Memorial Foundation directs a nationwide effort to honor Americans who stand for peace by publishing the US Peace Registry, awarding an annual Peace Prize  , and planning for the US Peace Memorial  in Washington, DC.  These projects help move the United States toward a culture of peace by honoring the millions of thoughtful and courageous Americans and U.S. organizations that have taken a public stand against one or more U.S. wars or who have devoted their time, energy, and other resources to finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts.  We celebrate these role models to inspire other Americans to speak out against war and to work for peace.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, North America

Colombia: Fundación Escuelas de Paz: Illustrating the Art of Peace

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Special to CPNN from the Fundación Escuelas de Paz

The Colombian Government is moving forward in the implementation of the Peace Accord with the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force (FARC) political party and is working to secure a peace deal with the National Liberation Army (ELN). With the peace process in place, Colombia is setting an example to the world for peace and reconciliation after over half a century of armed conflict and severe violence. However, the government cannot alone bring peace to this nation.

That is why the Bogotá-based peace-building NGO, Fundación Escuelas de Paz (FEP) has been supporting peace development in Colombia since 2001. FEP plays a vital part in the emerging multi-level and multi-dimensional approaches to peace-making in Colombia by working with civil society, government, and foreign partners to discuss the importance of diverse paths to peace and promote programs that educate youths on peace-building through a multitude of projects.

FEP employs a range of actions such as research, publication, and peace-building projects, and works closely with conflict resolution field experts to support the fundamental principles of “Culture of Peace” to make peace a right and a responsibility for all citizens, especially for the new generation of Colombians. FEP operates through an interdisciplinary team that works in stimulating environments that strengthen youth networks, teachers, and schools of peace.

Every year, FEP designs and executes conflict resolution and reconciliation type projects. From May 2018 to December 2018, FEP is performing a project titled “Música, Arte y Memoria: Jóvenes del Meta transformando el tejido social” (Music, Art, and Memory: Youths of Meta transforming the social fabric), which is funded by USAID Human Rights Program and FEP. The project includes a series of eight workshops to teach peace-building skills to youths through the use of the arts. Today, recognition of the contributions of arts and culture to peace is real and quickly evolving. It is fueled not only by artist-peace-builders and cultural facilitators, but the interest is also increasing from practitioners of more traditional peacebuilding approaches, such as mediation, facilitation, negotiation, transitional justice, and human rights advocacy.

This year, FEP is getting help from two current graduate students, Valentin Castro and Evan Tueller. Valentin and Evan are both candidates in the Masters of Conflict Resolution Program at Georgetown University. Last December, both students received a fellowship through Georgetown University to go abroad during the summer and work with an organization on peacemaking themes. Valentin and Evan arrived in Bogota, Colombia on June 2, 2018, to begin their 10-week internship at FEP and help design their first peace-through-the-arts workshop for youths living in rural Colombia.

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Question related to this article:

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

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The project takes place in the Department of Meta in two small towns: Mesetas and El Castillo, territories once plagued by extreme violence and armed conflict. Valentin and Evan will help execute peace workshops and develop two products to leave behind with FEP: a video documenting the execution of the first workshop and a template for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) that FEP can use to analyze and measure their overall success better.

The goal of this project is for youth groups belonging to the municipalities of Mesetas and El Castillo to become peace ambassadors for their communities by carrying out non-violent collective actions using mediums such as art and music. Other essential themes within this project include education on human, civil, and political rights, and promoting responsibility and leadership roles at individual and group levels. Upon the completing these peace workshops, the follow-on intent is for the youths to use the skills and lessons learned to replicate and teach smaller peace workshops to other youth groups in their communities. This project will help influence and raise the competence of the young people of Meta as peace representatives on the issues of human rights, conflict transformation, peace-building, and intercultural dialogue.

The first peace-building workshop entailed two parts: one part in the morning and the second one in the afternoon. The first phase is titled “El Canto de Nuestra Memoria: Tu Cancion” (The Song from our Memory: Your Song) and the second half is “Desvelando tu lienzo interior a traves del arte, la danza y la creatividad” (Unveiling Your Inner Canvas through Art, Dance, and Creativity). The first half of the workshop uses music to help individuals understand themselves better by using the space to express themselves through musical instruments, vocal sounds, and dance. These techniques also help enable trust within the students since music is known to have the potential to bring people together. The second half of the workshop entails more dancing and concludes with designing a mural that exhibits how the students view the future in their community. Art is fundamental to the development of a child’s imagination because they cannot create nor achieve anything unless they imagine it first.

Our experience at FEP has been remarkable and eye-opening. The FEP team goes beyond being our colleagues—FEP is our family. Professor Amada Benavides is an excellent leader and seasoned professional with many years of experience in constructing peace. We feel lucky to have had the opportunity to work with the FEP team here in Bogotá and the remote regions of Mesetas and El Castillo. The internship with FEP surpassed our expectations and gave us a chance to work in the field and help execute these art peace-building workshops. This internship experience left us thinking of what Aristotle once said, “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”

We leave FEP and Colombia with a better understanding of how to achieve peace through the culture of the arts and with a new positive perspective of how Colombians are finding ways to make their tomorrow better.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

UNESCO recognizes Cortes de Baza (Spain) for Dialogue and Coexistence

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article from Granada Hoy (reproduced without commerical purpose)

On August 20, in the cultural week prior to the festivities of Cortes de Baza, Cortes de Baza received recognition as the first Municipality for Dialogue and Coexistence in Andalusia. This appointment arises after the full agreement of the City Council on July 27, where Cortes assumed the institutionalization of the Culture of Peace in the municipality.


Neighbors from Cortes pose next to the title that recognizes them as a Municipality for Dialogue and Coexistence.

The agreement concerns the joint project of the Unesco Center of Andalusia and the Institute of Peace and Conflict of the University of Granada (IPAZ) where the municipality assumes the provisions of resolution A/RES/67/104 (2015) of the General Assembly of the United Nations on the Promotion of Dialogue, Understanding and Cooperation among Religions and Cultures for Peace.

The agreement stipulates that diversity and plurality is an asset and that minorities, whether ethnic, linguistic, cultural or religious, should be recognized, with the aim of eliminating any form of racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance, in addition to look for the resolution of possible conflicts in a peaceful way.

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

Question for this article

The refugee crisis, Who is responsible?

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The agreement supports measures that promote tolerance, solidarity and coexistence with refugees, immigrants and displaced persons, as well as their social integration among other measures. It is the latter, a measure of special importance in recent days, where the arrival of people from other territories to our country is generating numerous debates on how to deal with this problem.

Under these premises and with the creation of the Intercultural Dialogue Table, organized on July 13, Cortes de Baza becomes the first Andalusian town with the recognition of Municipality for Dialogue and Coexistence.

The process of this recognition is carried out through the unequivocal demonstration that the locality assumes the aforementioned principles, through a municipal agreement as is also the case of the Altiplano municipality, where it was approved by unanimity of all political groups, and the creation of an Intercultural Dialogue Board, under the verification, advice and support of technicians and researchers from both the Unesco Andalusia Center and the IPAZ. It should be pointed out that the involvement of the City Council of Cortes de Baza as well as the teaching staff of the Colegio Santos Médicos in the locality has been fundamental.

The Intercultural Dialogue Board of Cortes de Baza is composed of people of different nationalities from Russia, Belgium, Romania, Colombia, Mexico, England, Dominican Republic, among others, as well as religious minorities such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Muslims or Orthodox Christians.

It should also be mentioned that of the 16 members that make up this Board, all but three are women, giving it a feminist and integrative vocation. This plurality is appreciated in a small municipality such as Cortes de Baza, which has a population of less than 2,000 residents.

Europe, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

English bulletin September 1, 2018

. . PROGRESS TOWARD PEACE . .

This month we look at progress toward peace (or lack of progress) in five major wars and military confrontations: Philippines; Colombia; Ethiopia and Eritrea/North and South Korea; and Israel/Palestine.

On July 27, Philippine President Duterte signed into law the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BOL) which aims to complete the peace agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the Southern Philippines. The agreement gives the Moro people greater autonomy in ruling their homeland in Mindanao.

Following the ratification of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, who chairs the Senate subcommittee on the BOL said “It’s a new dawn for Bangsamoro in Mindanao.” “The MILF and the MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) are ready to work with the Philippine Government especially in the conduct of the plebiscite that will be held around November.”

Four years of lobbying for the inclusion of peace education in the BOL was crowned with success. Under Article IX, the Education provision of the BOL, second paragraph says: “The Bangsamoro government shall institutionalize peace education in all levels of education” Some 6,000 new teachers are deployed in five southern provinces and they are now actively helping propagate interfaith solidarity among schoolchildren in support of the government’s Mindanao peace efforts.

Putting the new law into practice, in an historic solidarity event, the Philippine military and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) gathered together to celebrate the muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha.

Following two decades of hostile relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea, a joint peace and friendship agreement was signed by the two countries on 9 July in Asmara. At a rally that was organized by the communities of Eritrea and Ethiopia on 3 August, thousands of citizens of both countries expressed support to the historic agreement reached between President Isaias Afwerki and Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed to normalize relation. As a result of the agreement, there have been a series of reconciliation agreements with various armed groups, including the Oromo Liberation Front, the Amhara Democratic Forces Movement, and most recently reconciliation talks with the Tigray People’s Democratic Movement.

For years, the strife between Ethiopia and Eritrea weakened the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), in the region. Now, it is hoped that IGAD can play its role for for peace and cooperation, similar to that of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) which are relatively successful in reinforcing peace and stability as well as cooperation among their members.

For years now, we have followed the peace process in Colombia. Although the newly elected government in Colombia has opposed part of the peace accords at a national level, outoing President Santos considers that the “peace is irreversible” and there continues to be progress towards peace at the departmental level. In the Department of Bolivar, the project Ruta de la Paz, is promoting tourism and cultural development in regions and municipalities that were affected by the Colombian armed conflict. And in the Department of Caldas, teachers of public educational institutions, cultural managers, librarians, social leaders, police, members of the Red Cross and members of the municipal councils have become peace promoters through the diploma “Rural education as a scenario in peace building.”

Although Afro-Colombians have become disenchanted with the implementation of the accords in their region on the West Coast, they have continued to build peace in their own ways. Residents are creating local peace-building initiatives, and last year, the residents of Buenaventura and the surrounding area shut down the city in a civil strike, demanding a recognition of their rights.

This year we have followed the progress towards an eventual peace agreement and reconciliation between North and South Korea. Progress has been slow in recent months, but a peace summit is planned for the North’s capital of Pyongyang this month. It will mark the third meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Finally, we consider the long-standng conflict between Palestine and Israel which periodically erupts into open warfare. In the latest development, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has proposed a United Nations-led armed international mission to defend Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza from the Israeli army. Unfortunately, it seems that this cannot be achieved because of the veto power of the United States in the Security Council.

      

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY


A ‘new dawn’ for Mindanao’s Bangsamoro

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT



How Corporations ‘Bypassed the Politics’ to Lead on Clean Energy in 2017

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION



Petropolis-Peace celebrates one year and 400 mediations

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION


More Than 300 Newspapers Denounce Trump Attacks on the Press

WOMEN’S EQUALITY


Historic leap in Tunisia: Women make up 47 per cent of local government

HUMAN RIGHTS



Teachers, activists denounce U.S. immigration policies, attempt to deliver books, toys to detained children

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY



UN Chief Proposes Armed Peacekeeping Force to Protect Palestinians

EDUCATION FOR PEACE



Brazil: Culture of Peace will be the theme of a free lecture in Guarujá

d-disarmament

Historic leap in Tunisia: Women make up 47 per cent of local government

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from UN Women

Seven years after the 2011 Revolution and four years after the adoption of the Constitution, women now make up 47 per cent of the local council positions in Tunisia following the May 2018 elections. The dramatic increase in women members is the result of a 2016 electoral law that includes the principles of parity and alternation between men and women on candidate lists for all elections.


Ichrak Rhouma participated in the Political Academy Project. She was elected on May 6th, 2018 in Sidi Hassine council, Tunis. Photo: Aswat Nissa

In May, Ichrak Rhouma was elected to the Sidi Hassine Council in Tunis, the capital city. Prior to being elected, Rhouma participated in the Women’s Political Academy, a joint project by UN Women and the Tunisian women’s rights organization, Aswat Nissa (Women’s Voices). The Academy trained women candidates on local governance, missions and roles of municipal councils, as well as media relations. Rhouma says that the Women’s Political Academy “allowed us to deepen our knowledge on women’s rights in general, but also to learn new concepts such as gender-sensitive budgeting.”

In addition to the Academy, the project has conducted research on women’s expectations of municipal council’s activities in five regions across the country. The study’s results informed candidates’ electoral campaigns and shaped regional development planning.

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Question for this article

Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace?

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Prior to the 2018 elections in Tunisia, UN Women and its civil society partners conducted capacity building sessions and supported the updating of the gender-sensitive election observation manual. UN Women also provided capacity building to 75 election observers who were trained on the importance of women’s participation in elections and how to observe gender-related issues during the voting stages.

UN Women also supported the Tunisian League of Women Voters (LET) to run awareness-raising campaigns to increase voter participation, especially in the regions of Sousse, Bizerte and Nabeul, which had registered the lowest rates in 2012 elections.

“The objective was to invigorate a participatory democracy and political culture within women and youth. Our awareness campaigns trained and engaged young men and women who went door to door explaining the importance of women’s participation in the political scene,” explains Nejma Ben Kheher, Project Officer at LET.

Khedher added, “Now that we have this high number of elected women in local and regional councils, we hope to continue supporting them with targeted training, such as access to information or gender-responsive budgeting to help them succeed in their mission.”

“The increased women’s representation in the municipal councils offers an opportunity to impact territorial policies in Tunisia,” said Leila Rhiwi, UN Women Representative in Maghreb. “UN Women will continue supporting the councils to integrate gender concerns into their communal development plans that foster good governance and women’s leadership.”

Tunisia is one of the few countries in the world to establish the principle and practice of equal representation of men and women across candidate lists (horizontal parity – where women should head 50 per cent of candidate lists), as well as down the candidate lists (vertical parity – alternating men and women through the list), in its electoral law. While gender parity has been achieved regarding the municipal lists, according to the High Authority for Independent Elections, more work is needed to support horizontal parity, since women only made up 29.6 per cent of positions at the head of party lists.

Tunisia will hold its parliamentary and presidential elections in 2019.

Mideast, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Colombia: Where there once was war is now the Route of Peace

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article for El Tiempo

A family weekend to the beat of drums in San Basilio of Palenque, or to the rhythm of porro by the composer Lucho Bermúdez in El Carmen de Bolivar, and do not return home without bringing a hammock from San Jacinto.

These towns are part of the Ruta de la Paz, a strategy promoted by the the Ministry of Culture and the departmental government of Bolivar as part of the project ‘Bolívar si avanza’. The project promotes tourism and cultural development in regions and municipalities that were affected by the Colombian armed conflict. Today they are areas full of life, progress and courage, where the inhabitants show their natural beauty, share their cultural wealth and generate economic development.

The Route of Peace includes the municipalities of Santa Catalina de Alejandría, Turbaco, Arjona, San Basilio de Palenque (Mahates), María la Baja, San Juan Nepomuceno, San Jacinto, El Carmen de Bolívar, Magangué and Mompox. Here the traveler will find natural beauty and cultural wealth, such as the filigree artisans in Mompox, the magical port on the Magdalena River, whose renowned colonial architecture still breathes the spirit called Macondo by Gabriel García Márquez.

The route, as a tourist product, is articulated with the Caribbean Corridor that has been designed by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism to strengthen employment, productivity, competitiveness, sustainability, formalization, safety and education through the schools for tourism.

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

Question related to this article:

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

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In Magangué, for example, work has started at the José Francisco Chico Cervantes Cultural Center, under the project ‘Bolívar si avanza’ and Icultur. Here, 343 young people have begun their studies in different cultural programs, among which are vocal technique, piano, guitar, percussion, dance, theatrical performance and communication. All this with teachers hired by the Office of the Mayor.

Julio Rojas Cultural Center

One of the jewels of the Montes de María, a land full of folklore and traditional costumes, is San Juan Nepomuceno. It already has a cultural center named Julio Rojas Buendía, in honor of the famous musician and lawyer who was born in those lands on July 9, 1959 and died in Barranquilla on June 20, 2016, accordionist and twice the king of the Festival of La Leyenda Vallenata, in 1983 and 1994. The center was inaugurated two months ago by the Government of Bolivar and Icultur in an event attended by the director of the National Planning Department, Luis Fernando Mejía; the director of the National Federation of Departments, Carlos Felipe Córdoba, the mayor and other personalities.

As explained by the general director of Icultur, Lucy Espinosa Díaz, “this inauguration consolidates the Departmental Network of Music Schools in Bolívar, It was made with resources of the General System of Royalties (SGR), In general, there will be six cultural centers in Bolívar, of which four have already been established by the the departmental government and Icultur. The Municipalities of Santa Rosa de Lima, Magangué, Cicuco and now San Juan Nepomuceno already have a cultural center. Those of Regidor and Tiquisio remain to be established. Thus we have cultural infrastructure at the service of all in Bolivar, above all for children, who are the ones who hope to take advantage of these spaces for culture.”

Now the people of San Juan will be able to advance artistic vocational training in the programs of band music, accordion music, acoustic guitar, bagpipes, whistles and drums, folk dance and plastic arts.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Philippine troops, Muslim rebels mark Eid Al-Adha

. .DISARMAMENT & SECURITY. .

An article by Maecy Alviar for the Andalou Agency

In a historic solidarity event, the Philippine military and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) gathered on Saturday [25 August] to celebrate a Muslim holiday in the southern Philippines.  


Moro Muslims perform the Eid Al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) prayer at the orphanage opened by Turkey’s IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation in Cotabato, Philippines on August 21, 2018. ( Ahmet Furkan Mercan – Anadolu Agency )

Maminta Dimakuta, the mayor of Tagoloan Lanao, welcomed the government troops and the country’s largest Moro separatist group to the del Norte province, touting the harmonious relationship of Christians and Muslims in the town despite cultural and religious differences.

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Question for this article:

Can peace be achieved in the Philippines?

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Brig. Gen. Ramiro Manuel Rey and Col.Thomas Sedano, representatives from the soldiers’ side, expressed their gratitude to the town officials for organizing the celebration of the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha.

“I’ve long been dreaming of joining with MILF fighters in an event like this,” Sedano said, as quoted by GMA News.

The joint celebration also served to pay thanks for the milestone in the peace process in the southern Philippines, said Dimakuta.

The Bangsamoro Organic Law, the fulfillment of the 2014 peace deal between the national government and the MILF, was signed in June by President Rodrigo Duterte.

The measure for greater autonomy creates the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, a region with more political and fiscal powers including a bigger annual block grant equivalent to 5 percent of the total national internal revenue collection.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, East Asia

Eritrea hosts peace meeting between Ethiopia govt and Tigray ‘rebels’

. .DISARMAMENT & SECURITY. .

An article by Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban for Africa News

Eritrea on Tuesday [28 August] hosted reconciliation meeting between the Ethiopian government and a rebel group belonging to the far north Tigray region.  

According to Information Minister Yemane Meskel, representatives from Addis Ababa led by the Director of the National Intelligence and Security Service met with a delegation of the Tigray People’s Democratic Movement, TPDM.

Whiles the Ethiopian intelligence chief led the government team, the TPDM was led by its chairman Mokonen Tesfay.

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Question for this article:

Can peace be achieved between Ethiopia and Eritrea?

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This is a continuation reconciliation efforts led by Asmara between Addis Ababa, Ethiopian regional governments and rebel groups that have been based in Eritrea.

So far, Asmara has been the venue of meetings between Ethiopia and rebel groups from the Oromia and Amhara regions.

On August 16, representatives of the Amhara Region and the Amhara Democratic Forces Movement, (ADFM), signed a Reconciliation Agreement in Asmara today. The Agreement provided for the ADFM to pursue its political activities in Ethiopia through peaceful means.

In early August, Ethiopia and the Oromo Liberation Front, OLF signed a Reconciliation Agreement.The deal was reached between President of the Oromo Region, Mr. Lemma Mergesa & OLF Chairman, Mr. Dawd Ibsa.

It provided for i) termination of hostilities; ii) that the OLF will conduct its political activities in Ethiopia through peaceful means. The two sides also agreed: (iii) to establish a Joint Committee to implement the agreement. Foreign Minister Workneh Gebeyehu participated in the meeting.

Africa, DISARMAMENT & SECURITY

Uri Avnery, leader of the Israeli peace movement Gush Shalom, 1923-2018

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article by Rabbi Michael Lerner in Tikkun

Tikkun grieves and mourns the passing of the founder and leader of Israel’s peace movement, Gush Shalom, Uri Avnery.

Until the last moment he continued on the way he had traveled all his life. On Saturday, two weeks ago, he collapsed in his home when he was about to leave for the Rabin Square and attend a demonstration against the “Nation State Law”, a few hours after he wrote a sharp article against that law.

For several decades, Avnery was a columnist for Tikkun magazine, sharing his wisdom and insights with our Tikkun readers. When I met with him in Tel Aviv I found him to be a wise and passionate and sensitive human being, capable to seeing the humanity of the people who criticized him and capable of seeing the faults of his allies in both Israel and Palestine.

Avnery devoted himself entirely to the struggle to achieve peace between the state of Israel and the Palestinian people in their independent state, as well as between Israel and the Arab and Muslim World (See his article on on Israel’s Days of Shame). He did not get to the end of the road, did not live to see peace come about. We – the activists and supporters of Tikkun magazine, as well as the members of Gush Shalom as well as very many other people who were directly and indirectly influenced by him – will continue his mission and honor his memory.

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Questions for this article:

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

Where in the world can we find good leadership today?

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On the day of the passing of Uri Avnery, the most right wing government in the history of Israel is engaged in negotiations with Hamas. Ironically, the same kind of demagogic accusations which were hurled at Uri Avnery throughout his life are now made against right-wing extremist Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

In the history of the State of Israel, Uri Avnery will be inscribed  as a far-seeing visionary who pointed to a way which others failed to see. As Adam Keller, Avnery’s closest ally in Gush Shalom,  put it in a statement, some of whose words I’ve copied in this note, “It is the fate and future of the State of Israel to reach peace with its neighbors and to integrate into the geographical and political region in which it is located. As Avnery’s greatest opponents will ultimately have to follow in his footsteps – because the State of Israel has no other real choice.”

We in the Tikkun community and in our interfaith and secular-humanist-welcoming Network of Spirirtual Progressives, salute all those in Gush Shalom, in the remnants of the Israeli peace movement (tens of  thousands of whom demonstrated against the new “Nation State Law” which Avnery was on his way to protest), and to Jews and people of all faiths who continue to support those of us who insist that the path to safety and security for the Jewish people and for Israel is a path of generosity, repentance, open-hearted reconcialition, and justice for the Palestinian people and a deep respect for the humanity that continues to emerge in all people on this planet despite the forces of violence and repression that are temporarily in ascendency. It is in maintaining that vision that we can best honor the memory of this amazing and wonderful human being whose passing from our world we grieve today.

Mideast, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

UN Chief Proposes Armed Peacekeeping Force to Protect Palestinians

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article from Telesur TV

Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, proposed Friday [17 August] a United Nations-led armed international mission to defend Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza from the Israeli army.

The proposal was one of four laid out by Guterres in a 14-page report. Other options include providing a “more robust United Nations presence on the ground” with rights monitors and political officers, providing more humanitarian and development aid to “ensure the well-being of the population,” creating a civilian observer mission to be present in sensitive areas such as military checkpoints and Israel’s illegal settlements.

Guterres’ report is a response to a U.N. General Assembly resolution adopted in June by 120 states that condemned “Israel’s excessive and disproportionate use of force” against protesters in the besieged Gaza Strip in the context of the Great March of Return, and tasked Guterres with recommending an “international protection mechanism” for the Palestinians.

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Question for this article

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

(Article continued from the left column)

All of the options presented by Guterres seem unlikely according to observers and activists.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which sole mandate is to provide humanitarian and development aid to the millions of Palestinian refugees has been dramatically underfunded after the United States decided to slash its contributions to the U.N. body.

The United States cut US$300 million in funding for UNRWA earlier this year in an effort to pressure the Palestinian Authority into a U.S.-mediated dialogue with Israel. The PA refused a U.S.-mediated dialogue after U.S. president Donald Trump announced his intentions to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv, Israel’s capital city, to the occupied city of Jerusalem.
Trump moved the embassy on the eve of the Palestinian Nakba, which commemorated the over 700,000 Palestinians who had to flee their cities and towns after Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948.

UNRWA currently has a US$217 million budget shortfall.
U.S. attacks on UNRWA are far from over. Emails published this month by Foreign Policy magazine revealed Jared Kushner, Trump’s senior Middle East adviser, and son-in-law has been pushing to remove the refugee status of millions of Palestinians to shut down UNRWA.

Furthermore, Israel has refused to allow observer mission in flashpoints and has increasingly prevented human rights activists from entering the country. So it is unlikely it will give the U.N. a green light for this option.  

The armed option will require approval by the U.N. Security Council, in which Israel’s greatest ally, the U.S. has veto power.  

In the report, Guterres also criticised Israel’s expansion of illegal settlements saying it “continues unabated and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law,” and lamented the high number of Palestinian casualties since the Great March of Return began on March 30 arguing it “reflects an alarming trend of the use of lethal force by Israeli… forces against individuals who may not pose a threat of imminent death or serious injury.”

Guterres’ report comes as Gaza’s Health Ministry reported Friday two Palestinians were killed and 270 were injured by Israeli occupation forces during protests near the Gaza fence.

Mideast, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY