ivan novotny

At the foot of Mount Aconcagua on the border between Argentina and Chile, there was a diverse and multicultural New Year celebration. A greeting in 18 languages was led by Silo: “For us and for all human beings, let us anticipate the embrace of Peace, Force and Joy,” read the final sentence of the message. Attending the event were about 1500 people.

On Saturday, January 2nd a grand finale of the World March for Peace will take place. It will begin at 18 hours (Argentine time), with the testimonies from the international team that did the planetary march. There will be a direct transmission through the internet. The international media that can not be present at the Park will also be able to do internet interviews.

Today, Cristina Fernandez welcomed the international team from the World March for Peace and Non-Violence in the presidential office. In the meeting, which lasted close to half an hour, they discussed international military conflicts and investment in weapons, among other topics. The activists said they felt very satisfied with the president’s reception.

The popular singer-songwriter, León Gieco, at the Festival for the 127th anniversary of the city of La Plata (capital of the province of Buenos Aires) wore the sweatshirt of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. At the “birthday” concert, held in Plaza Moreno, 10 other groups put on a show for an audience of a hundred thousand people.

Representatives of the honourable municipal council of Moreno, in the province of Buenos Aires, gave Silo the title of ‘Guest of Honour’ of the municipality. The authorities also invited the founder of Universalist Humanism to participate in a caravan for non-violence that will take place on December 27th and will pass through various spots in Moreno.

A report prepared by Marco Gandásegui, professor at the University of Panama and researcher associated with the CELA, demonstrates that the United States approved a military budget of 626 billion dollars in October 2009, the highest sum for a country in all of history. Alarming statistics and tendencies for a world that is on the brink of a possible nuclear tragedy.

With the help of well-known personalities from the world of culture, politics and media, the organization World Without Wars in Argentina held a dinner show at the Armenian Center of Buenos Aires, which had a full house: 400 people contributed to secure resources that will be used for the televised broadcast of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence.

The UN Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, Wilfried Lemke from Germany, proposed holding a football match between Palestinians and Israelis as a way of helping to resolve the long-standing conflict dividing the two peoples. The UN official claims that the sporting event could be held in Ramallah, the Gaza Strip or in Tel Aviv.

“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.

On Wednesday, October 7th, activists from the Humanist Movement entered the Obelisk, a national historic site located in downtown Buenos Aires, where they hung an orange banner almost 50 meters long with the logo of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, accompanied by orange pennants. The non-violent direct action was widely reported in local newspapers.