International issues

Last Wednesday, in Rome, Umberto Veronesi and Luisa Morgantini took part in the presentation of the World March for Peace and Non-violence which will reach the Italian capital on November 12th. A delegation will take part in the World Summit of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates the previous day in Berlin. Silo has been invited to speak.

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.

After Manuel Zelaya took refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Honduras, the de facto government unleashed a strong chain of increasingly violent actions. With tear gas and mustard gas, they leveled homes and offices of social organizations illegally arresting people. Meanwhile demonstrations of people mounted throughout countries in Latin America denouncing the violence.

After having participated in the Right to Food forum in Mexico, Olivier De Schutter, argued that “taxing food doesn’t seem to be a solution for combating the economic crisis”. He also said that “35 percent of the world’s children who die each year –equivalent to about 6.5 million – die as a result of malnutrition or related causes.”

Only hours after President´s Obama policy change to abandon the missile defence shield, iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said to NBC News´Ann Curry that Iran has no need for nuclear weapons. Three times in the interview, Curry asked Ahmadinejad if there were conditions that could push Iran to have a bomb, saying that there was no need for such weapons.

Barack Obama has abandoned the controversial Pentagon plan to build a missile defence system in Europe. The plan had long tensed the relations with Russia. It also represents an stategic shift to not threaten Iran but to go to the negotiations table instead. “Europe for Peace” and the Czech Nonviolent activism against the missile defence shield helped to get to this decision.

It is a very important gesture of détente and peace by President Obama and we want to highlight it and applaud it around the world. We support all efforts of the US President to advance towards global nuclear disarmament. We invite Obama to support the World March, something that has already been done by almost 20 National Presidents and Governments of the World.

Labour MP Martijn van Dam responded to remarks by US President Barack Obama that the number of nuclear arms in the world should be reduced. Two months ago the president signed an agreement with his Russian counterpart, Dmitri Medvedev, to work towards nuclear arms reduction. The governing Labour party thinks that the Netherlands can remove its nuclear devices from Dutch soil.

With the upcoming special session of the UN Security Council on September 24 approaching, Abolition 2000 calls on world leaders, “to focus attention and promote tangible steps that would reduce the nuclear weapons danger, and move decisively toward a nuclear-weapon-free-world, based on the UN Secretary General’s five – point plan.”

President Evo Morales visits Madrid in the next few days. Using this state visit, the Evo Welcoming Committee has organised a meeting with the President and thousands of Bolivians, Latin American immigrants and Spaniards, who will show their support for the Andean leader. This event takes place on Sunday 13, at 5pm, at the Cubierta de Leganés.