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.

Eyeless in Gaza

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article by Uri Avnery in Transcend.org

14 Apr 2018 – Write down: I, Uri Avnery, soldier number 44410 of the Israel army, hereby dissociate myself from the army sharpshooters who murder unarmed demonstrators along the Gaza Strip, and from their commanders, who give them the orders, up to the commander in chief.


A frame from the video of the sniper shooting a demonstrator

We don’t belong to the same army, or to the same state. We hardly belong to the same human race.

IS MY government committing “war crimes” along the border of the Gaza Strip?

I don’t know. I am not a jurist.

It seems that officials of the International Criminal Court believe that the acts of our soldiers do constitute war crimes. They demand an international investigation.

To prevent that, our army command proposes an Israeli military investigation. That is manifestly ridiculous – an army investigating itself about acts committed on direct orders of the Chief of Staff.

As was published in advance, sharpshooters were posted along the border fence and ordered to kill “ringleaders” of the unarmed protesters on the other side of the fence. The Gaza leadership had announced that these unarmed protests were to take place every week, after Friday prayers, until Naqba Day.

During the first two Fridays, 29 unarmed people were shot dead and more than a thousand wounded by sharpshooters.

For me this is not a judicial question. It is a crime, not only against the unarmed protesters. It is also a crime against the State of Israel, against the people of Israel and against the Israeli army.

Since I was a member of that army on the day of its foundation, I think that it is also a crime against my comrades and me.

THIS WEEK a short video, recorded by a soldier at the time of such an action, was widely seen in Israel [See link to video above].

It shows the action from the angle of a soldier who was obviously standing next to a sharpshooter. The sharpshooter sees the demonstrators from a distance of hundreds of yards. The hairs of his sights move at random, than settle on an individual. He shoots. The person drops on the spot.

A joyous cry “Yesh” is heard all around from unseen soldiers who have been watching. “Yesh” means “got him”, a jubilant yell, such as would accompany a hunter’s success in killing a rabbit.

Many hundreds of thousands of Israelis have seen this film by now, since it was shown for the first time on TV. Except for a few articles and letters to the editor (in Haaretz), there has been no protest.

This did not happen overseas, in some remote colony. It happened right next to us, 45 minute’s drive from my home.

The killer was not a hardened mercenary. He – and the joyous soldiers around him – were just ordinary youngsters, drafted at the age of 18 like most Jewish Israelis.

All of them were just “following orders”. (Remember?) We have not heard of one single case of a soldier refusing orders.

UNTIL TWO weeks ago, I had the highest respect for our highest officer, the Chief of Staff, Gadi Eizenkot. Surrounded by officers who are mere military technicians, he seemed an officer who, in spite of his unmilitary appearance, was well capable of upholding the dignity of the army against the punk who serves as Minister of Defense.

No more. Eizenkot has given the murderous orders. Why, for heavens sake?

(Article 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?

(Article continued from the left column)

Like the British in India and the white racists in the US, the Israeli government does not know how to deal with unarmed protest. It has never encountered it. It does not exist in Arab tradition.

By chance this week I saw the classic movie about Mahatma Gandhi. The British tried everything – they beat him and myriads of others into pulp, they shot thousands of others. When Gandhi and his followers suffered this torment and did not hit back, the British eventually admitted defeat and went away.

So did the white racist opponents of Martin Luther King in Alabama. A Palestinian follower of his came to this country at the beginning of the occupation and tried to convince his countrymen to try this method. The Israel army opened fire, and the Palestinians reverted to the armed struggle.

Not this time. The (violent) Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip calls on the population to try unarmed protest, tens of thousands follow. This can lead to unforeseen results. One of them is the sharpshooters’ order to kill more or less at random.

WHEN I stated publicly that I am ashamed, a reader accused me of hypocrisy. He cited from my two books about our (1948) War of Independence, in which I had described atrocities to which I was a witness.

Sure, there were atrocities (as in every war). The perpetrators were soldiers of all ethnic and social groups. But they were denounced by some of their comrades (also of all ethnic and social groups). Most soldiers were in the middle, following the most persuasive.

Now the picture is different. Not only is the shooting of the unarmed protesters, far from the fence, done by order, but there seem to be no other voices. The military and political leadership is united. Even in civilian society, voices against the mass murder are very few.

HOW DO the Israeli media react? Well, they don’t. This momentous event in Israel’s history is almost ignored.

Fortunately for the perpetrators, there are plenty of events to take our minds off them and their actions. President Bashar al-Assad has apparently used chemical weapons against his rebels. The Israeli media are having a feast. How awful! How barbarous! How Arab!

Then there is the problem of the 36,000 “illegal” (meaning non-Jewish) African workers who have entered Israel. The government wants to throw them out. Decent Israelis very properly want to prevent this. That is a full-time job. No time for the Gaza Strip.

And there is, of course, Holocaust Memorial Day, which happens conveniently this week. One can write endlessly about this awful chapter in our history. What is Gaza compared to this horrible event?

WHAT ABOUT our media?

The sorrowful fact is that the Israeli media have reverted to what they were in the early days of the state: an instrument of the government. It took my news magazine dozens of years to break that habit. For many years we had a decent press, with some wonderful journalists and broadcasters.

No more. A few are left, but the great majority of the press is now coordinated with the regime (“gleichgeschaltet” in German). Two minutes on Gaza. 20 minutes on what’s happening in Syria. 10 minutes for the latest (imaginary) outbreak of anti-Semitism in the British Labor Party.

Most of the journalists and broadcasters, honest and well-meaning people all, are not even conscious of what they are doing (or not doing). They are innocent of any other thoughts.

WHERE IS the “Left”? Where is the so-called “Center”?

They have not disappeared, as some lament. Far from it. A shift of some percent or a move of one of the small parties would suffice to topple Binyamin Netanyahu.

But they all seem to be paralyzed. Nobody dares to speak out against the killing, apart from some faint whispers. Even the many admirable groups of youngsters who fight against the occupation, each on some special sector, are silent about the Gaza killings.

No mass demonstrations. No huge protests. Nothing.

So we, too, are to blame. And perhaps more than others.

Please write down: I am guilty!

Mideast, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Global Anti-war Protests Against US-led Aggression in Syria

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from Telesur TV

Leftists and anti-war protesters took to the streets in many cities around the world over the weekend against to renounce and reject the U.S.-led assault against Syrian government structures with the support of France and United Kingdom.


Demonstrators protest after the missile strikes on Syria, outside the White House in Washington, U.S., April 14, 2018. Photo | Reuters

In the U.S. hundreds of protesters gathered in major cities, including New York City, Washington, Chicago and Portland. In Manhattan, people demonstrated in front of the Trump Tower to protest the president’s decision.

In Mexico City, activists met outside of the U.S. embassy and hung banners and flags on the protection fence to demand rights for everyone, regardless of their country of origin, and in rejection of the wall being built between Mexico and the U.S.

In Santiago de Chile demonstrators held a rally outside the U.S. embassy, waving Syrian flags and chanting slogans. They were confronted by the Chilean police and some protesters were arrested.

In London, members of the Stop the War Coalition (STWC) protested Friday outside Prime Minister Theresa May’s residence to demand she refrains from joining any attack on Syria. The protest was joined by people of several backgrounds, including Syrians residing in the United Kingdom.

The protesters read a letter signed by politicians, celebrities, academics and unionists, declaring that “further military intervention, as proposed by Trump, May, or Macron, is not the solution.”

Question for this article:

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

In Greece, thousands of people showed up for a rally organized by the Greek Communist Party in Athens to protest the attack on the Syrian government.
According to Greek police, between 6,000 and 7,000 people marched from Syntagma Square to the U.S. embassy, chanting anti-imperialist slogans. Anti-riot police blocked access to the embassy and protesters painted “Americans, murderers of people” in front of it. No clashes were reported and protesters left peacefully.

Dimitris Koutsoumbas, the head of the Communist Party in Greece, criticized Greek politicians for believing the U.S.’s “flimsy excuses about the use of chemical weapons” by Bashar Assad in order to attack Syria.
“The imperialists once again spill the blood of the local people. They destroy and splinter states by using fabricated evidence,” said Koutsoumbas.

In India, members of the Socialist Unity Center of India-Marxist (SUCI-M) and anti-war activists met Sunday in Kolkata to protest the airstrikes, and burned an effigy depicting Donald Trump, with sketches of Macron and May sticked to it.

Protesters held signs reading messages such as “rise up, protest against U.S. missile attack against Syria” and “”in protests against US missile attack on Syria.”

In Cyprus, left-wing activists also protested Sunday at the gates of the RAF Akrotiri, a British royal air force military base in an “overseas territory” in the Mediterranean island, near Limassol.

The United States, United Kingdom and France fired early Saturday over 100 missiles into Syria according to the Syrian government, Russia and the U.S. military. The Syrian army said that more than 70 missiles of the 105 fired at its structures were intercepted by its air defenses.

The United Nations Security Council rejected Saturday a resolution proposed by Russia seeking to condemn the U.S.-led attack in Syria. Only Russia, Bolivia and China voted in favor of the resolution.

Meanwhile global chemical weapons watchdog OPCW inspectors arrived in Syria Saturday and were due to try to reach the site of a suspected poison attack in the Syrian town of Douma in eastern Ghouta.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global

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?

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“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.


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Question related to this article:

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

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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