South America

ABI – With a mass celebration on Friday in the Hernando Siles stadium, in which the president Evo Morales, authorities, students, artists, public figures and citizens in general will participate, Bolivia will join the “World March for Peace and Non Violence”, in a ceremony that will be replicated in at least a hundred countries.

Pacifists Without Borders (PWB), organizer of the World Peace Summit, and principal international guest speaker and former Director-General of UNESCO Federico Mayor Zaragoza, speak out against the “colossal” annual military spending throughout the world, half of which (1.2 trillion dollars) is attributable to the United States alone.

On 2 October in New Zealand a team of volunteers will start a trip of 160,000 km through 90 countries demanding total nuclear disarmament. Simultaneously, more than 300 events will take place at around 150 places around the world: from human peace signs in Iceland, Pakistan and Argentina to cultural festivals in India, Norway and Spain.

The Lebanese Ambassador to Argentina, Hicham Hamdan, highlighted the essential role that the press plays in achieving world peace. He also emphasized the importance of expanding nuclear nonproliferation agreements to all countries. Although the Middle East is deemed a “hot zone”, Hamdan believes that his country has made advances in overcoming violence.

In a place known as Chile’s Garden City, the community of Viña del Mar, world famous for its Song Festival and named the 2007 City of Peace, will come together along with numerous regional organizations, institutions, and artists supporting the World March for Peace and Non-Violence to celebrate its kickoff in New Zealand.

Through the initiative of the Governor of the State of Miranda, Venezuela, a wood was planted to mark the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. This initiative took place on the 21st of September and children and adults took part in the planting, representing different sectors of society, in a simple and moving action.

The Indigenous Peoples of Argentina have publicly expressed their support for the new Audiovisual Communication Services Law. The new legal framework recognizes their right to establish themselves as communication service providers and has as one of its objectives “the preservation and promotion of the identity and cultural values of the indigenous peoples.”

*“I’m doing it because I am convinced that this is the most wonderful demonstration in history since it is going to change the way we think about violence”*, according to Miguel Hirsch, who sets off this week to join the rest of the members of the international team of Marchers for peace and nonviolence who will travel for 90 days.

Through a public declaration broadcast through TV to the Ecuadorian people, President Rafael Correa let his endorsement and support be known for this planetary mobilisation for Peace that will arrive in Ecuador on the 18th of December and whose international delegation will be received in Plaza Grande, “heart of Quito” and witness to the great milestones in Ecuadorian history.

“As educators we are convinced that the education gap our popular classes suffer at the cost of increasing armament spending ends up creating violent and unjust environments”, declared Ignacio Suñol, national Director of Fe y Alegría, a Bolivian popular education movement involved in non-violent activities in 470 educational units.