Region

Members of the Middle East team of the World March have now left Bethlehem following a visit yesterday to the occupied Palestinian territories. Along with them were representatives of the Holy Land Trust association of Bethlehem, a non-profit organisation that has worked for years for the nonviolent development of the Palestinian communities.

The first ever Legislative Bill for a Department of Peace in the Canadian Parliament was tabled on Sept. 30. The Bill calls for a Federal Department of Peace, headed by a Cabinet level Minister. This Department should coordinate and promote issues such as Nuclear Disarmament, Human and Economic Rights, Peace Education and Prevention of Violence in Canada.

On October 11th and 12th, the Middle East team of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence passed through Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Among the marchers was Giorgio Schultze, the European spokesperson for the March. The team met the Director of Music and Dance at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Municipal Councillor Margalit of the Meretz party.

The call for peaceful and nonviolent election in Basilan, Philippines took on a new face as local and international peace groups and government agencies launched the Zero Violence in 2010 Campaign last October 7 at the Basilan State College Gymnasium, Isabela City, Basilan. The launching coincided with the World March for Peace and Non-violence arrival to The Philippines.

One of the 2009 Right Livelihood Awards, also known as the Alternative Nobel Prizes goes to Alyn Ware, World March for Peace and Nonviolence Coordinator for New Zealand – Aotearoa, for “his effective and creative advocacy and initiatives over two decades to further peace education and to rid the world of nuclear weapons”.

Members of the base team marched alongside Bangladeshis in Dhaka. The event was organized within the framework of the University of the Capital by the association “World without Wars” and other members of the humanist movement. To mark the occasion, a press conference was held attended by some twenty journalists and numerous spectators.

“The Olympic Games symbolize the eradication of nuclear arms and world peace”, stated Tadatoshi Akiba, mayor of Hiroshima. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is investigating the potential candidacies for the 2020 Olympic Games of the two Japanese cities that suffered nuclear attacks in 1945 and left approximately 220,000 dead.

Indigenous movements throughout the world have called for a “Global Minga for Mother Earth,” which will take place October 12-16, 2009. Its purpose is a large-scale peaceful mobilization toward the United Nations in order to put an end to global warming. Also, during its stop in Bolivia, it will inaugurate the first Climate Justice Tribunal.

In front of the monument dedicated to the great Philippine national hero, pacifist José Rizal, Mayor Alfredo S. Lim declared Manila’s support for peace and non-violence and symbolically offered the keys to the city to Rafael de la Rubia, president of World Without Wars, organizer of the three-month-long march for peace that will circle the world.

US President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday less than a year after he took office with the jury hailing his “extraordinary” diplomatic efforts on the international stage. The President said he was “both surprised and humbled” by the Nobel Committee’s decision. The decision is seen as an encouregement towards peace efforts in his nine months office.