International

Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its foundation with a concert tour of Europe, during which it will visit some of Europe’s leading festivals and concert halls. This orchestra “represents an alternative model, based on the idea of equality, cooperation and justice for all, to the current situation in the Middle East”.

Thirteen years after the opening for signature, the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty has finally come into force with the twenty-eighth ratification by Burundi on 15 July 2009.
This milestone follows efforts by the Institute for Security Studies and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, with the support of several other organizations.

(IPS) – When U.S. President Obama presides over a meeting of world leaders in the Security Council on Sep. 24, he will provide a high profile political platform for two of the most sensitive
issues at the UN: nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament. Obama is expected to make his maiden appearance at the U.N. when he addresses the global summit on climate change.

After 14 years of political confinement the non-violent activist Aung San Suu Kyi, who was sentenced to another 18 months for an alleged violation of her house arrest, has chosen the freedom of coherence. She stated that she does not feel deprived of liberty since “in an authoritarian state, only the prisoner of conscience is truly free”.

Mayors for Peace Conference counted with the presentation of NGO projects and experience regarding nuclear disarmament. Rafael de la Rubia presented the proposals of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence together with members of different Japanese and international NGOs, as well as the Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to appeal against being sentenced to another one and a half years of house arrest. Her lawyer says the verdict delivered against her has no basis in law. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced his disappointment and said it appears that the junta wants to put Ms Suu Kyi out of running for next year’s elections.

A worldwide campaign for immediate action of the UN Security Council is being promoted after the Junta’s decision yesterday. After thirteen years of detention, Burmese pro democracy hero and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has just been condemned to another 18 months on trumped up charges with the purpose of keeping her out of running for next year’s elections.

(OneWorld.net) – Marking the 64th anniversary of the U.S. nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that killed over 100,000 civilians, a disarmament group celebrated a day of peace last week. The annual Sadako Peace Day ceremony was inspired by a young girl who died from leukemia as a result of the atomic bomb that hit Hiroshima in 1945.

Was I dreaming? It looked like I was inside a spacecraft. It was leaving, but something was holding back the launch. Everything started trembling . And, suddenly I woke up. Yes, I realized that I was dreaming and yet something was going wrong. I looked up to the roof and I noticed chandelier swinging overhead. There was noise of plates and objects were shaking and bouncing.

This talk was given by Dario Ergas on July 18th, 2009, to the Laura Rodriguez Foundation. It deepens on nonviolent responses, as a way of life, a search for the sacred, and the manifestation of what is truly human. It is mainly a moral act. Nonviolence is the force that will transform the world because I will transform myself in order to not become those with whom I struggle.