GOOD NEWS SERVICE #15: NOV-Dec, 2009

Over the years, the message at Christmas and Hanukkah, in the midst of war and hatred, has been one for peace and good will for all. This issue celebrates a few of those individuals and groups who devote so much of their lives striving for both. One such person is Angela Pinchero, whose work for peace in the midst of violent conflicts in Sri Lanka and Sudan is briefly described in item #12, below.

1. ASTEROID ROTBLAT: NEW STAR IN THE HEAVENS

Dec. 7/09 via London Pugwash Office.
The International Astronomical Union has named an asteroid after Joseph Rotblat. He was a Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1995 for his efforts toward nuclear disarmament. A signatory to the 1955 Russell-Einstein Manifesto, Rotblat was  the guiding spirit of the Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs and helped prevent the  use of nuclear weapons during the Cold War.

Pan Zhenqiang, retired Chinese general and a member of the Pugwash branch in China, responded: “How  wonderful to know that Joe would always be watching us over the sky! This should inspire all of us to work even harder for a world free of nuclear weapons. I believe that is also his most cherished dream”.

2. 156 MORE CITIES  OF THE WORLD JOIN “MAYORS FOR PEACE”

During November 156 new members joined the movement of local authorities demanding the elimination of all nuclear weapons by 2020. As of December 1st Mayors for Peace counted 3,396 member cities and municipalities, in 134 countries and regions.  Of the new members 64 are from Japan, 33 from Costa Rica, 31 from Spain, 7 from Cameroon, 6 from France, 3 from Ecuador, and one or two from Australia, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzogovina,  Iran, Malaysia, Philippines, Portugal, UK and USA. Mayors for Peace is aiming at 5,000 members during the upcoming NPT Review Conference in May 2010.

3. NEW CLIMATE-FRIENDLY INNOVATIONS FROM SWEDEN, GERMANY AND SOUTH AFRICA

September issue, Good News Page of the CCPA Monitor:
Sweden: Sweden will soon become the first country to slap “climate-friendly” labels on food products. A small milk producer north of Stockhom is set to be the first company to sport the “climate certified” tag. It will do so by switching from chemical-based fertilizers to manure. The Federation of Swedish Farmers predicts that ‘it could lead to to as much as an 80% reduction in emissions from the country’s agricultural operations.
-- New Scientist

Germany.  The German government plans to build up to 30 offshore windfarms in the Baltic and North Sea, Environment Minister Tiefensee announced recently. He said that some 2,000 windmills should soon be producing 11,000 megawatts of electricity.  Germany’s lower House of Parliament passed legislation in August to increase the amount of power generated  by renewable energy sources, like wind and solar power, to 30% from the current 14% by 2020. “Investing in windfarms is better than keeping the nuclear plants running” said Tiefensee. “We believe in renewable energy and not in nuclear energy.”
-- Terra Daily

South Africa.  When the chickens at a family estate in Brenthurst refused to eat the new supply of corn they had been fed, it led to the discovery that their feed had been genetically modified to include a well-known weed and insect killer.

“This is a matter of serious concern” said the estate owner, Strilli Oppenheimer,  “I have now learned that not only has our corn in South Africa been GM-contaminated but that 96% of our soya-based foods have also been genetically modified. About her chickens’ refusal to eat the corn fed to them, she said, “My chickens are smart!”         -- Reuters

4. BELGIUM SLASHES DEFENSE SPENDING

Oct 13/09. Agence France-Presse:
Brussels. Belgium will slash military spending in the next three years,
and about 30 military installations could be closed. As part of the savings drive, the army would only have two combat brigades, or around 6,000 troops. The number of F16s fighter jets would fall from 60 to 54, with six planes being mothballed.

Belgian troops are deployed in Afghanistan, Kosovo, the DR Congo and Lebanon. Even before the cuts, Belgium was spending around 1.1 % of its GDP on defense, well below the two percent level sought by the NATO military alliance.

5. PNND COORDINATOR ALYN WARE TO RECEIVE RIGHT LIVELIHOOD AWARD

Oct 14/09.via the Global Security Institute, New York:
Alyn Ware, Global Coordinator for the Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation & Disarmament (PNND), will receive the 2009 Right Livelihood Award in recognition of “his effective and creative advocacy and initiatives over two decades to further peace education and to rid the world of nuclear weapons.” Other 2009 laureates include David Suzuki of Canada, Rene Ngongo of DR Congo and Catherine Hamlin of Ethiopia.

The Right Livelihood Award Jury gave the following motivation for its choice of laureates:  “Despite the scientific warnings about the imminent threat and disastrous impacts of climate change, and despite our knowledge about solutions, the global response to this crisis is still painfully slow and largely inadequate. At the same time, the threat from nuclear weapons has by no means diminished, and the treatable diseases of poverty shame our common humanity. The 2009 Award recipients demonstrate concretely what has to be done in order to tackle climate change, rid the world of nuclear weapons, and provide crucial medial treatment to the poor and marginalized.”
      Alyn Ware was a member of the team of scientists, lawyers and educators who developed the NWC, now adopted by the United Nations and with the support of 125 member States. He has also played a leadership role in developing the World Court Project.

6. ORDER OF CANADA RECIPENTS CALL FOR A NUCLEAR WEAPONS CONVENTION

426 recipients of the Order of Canada have called for international negotiations to achieve a Nuclear Weapons Convention – a verifiable treaty on the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons.  Their statement reads:  “We call on all member States of the United Nations – including Canada – to endorse and begin negotiations for, a Nuclear Weapons convention as proposed by the UN Secretary-General in his five point plan for nuclear disarmament.”

A Model Convention was presented to the UN in 1997 and has now been formally supported by 125 of its member-states. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a speech titled “Five Steps to a Nuclear-Free World”, stated that “all countries could consider negotiating a nuclear weapons convention, backed by a strong verification system.” The Canadian government, unfortunately, though supporting the NWC in principle, states that accepting it as a part of its foreign policy is “premature”.

7. GARDEN OF FORGIVENESS IN DOWNTOWN BEIRUT

Oct-Dec issue of Peace Magazine, by Janet Nicol:
The Garden of Forgiveness, a unique public park in downtown Beirut, has risen from the ashes of Lebanon’s sixteen year civil war. Despite political conflicts which threaten it, Alexandra Asseily, a Beirut resident, remains hopeful: “Many people are beginning to feel the necessity of some form of space, where reflection can take place. Many religious and political leaders now talk of reconciliation and forgiveness, whereas before, this was seldom the case.” Surrounding the area are three mosques and three cathedrals, reflecting the two dominant religions.
Tree-lined walkways, water fountains, sculptures and benches are all part of the blueprint. The ruins of several past civilizations are also carefully preserved on the ancient grounds.

But construction was halted when the Israelis invaded Lebanon in the summer of 2006, resulting in an almost total shut down of the centre of Beirut. The Garden is far from finished, she said, and it  is difficult to predict the date of completion until soldiers, now occupying a third of the park, move out. For more information from Peace Magazine, write: <office@peacemagazine.org>

8. AFRICA NOW A NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE-ZONE

Autumn/09. Ploughshares Monitor, Waterloo, ON, by
Ernie Regehr:  “The entry into force on July 15/09 of the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, also known as the Treaty of Pelindaba, was largely ignored by the world’s mainstream news media. That’s too bad. It is a significant development and a further nudge towards a world without nuclear weapons”.

The Treaty was agreed to in 1995. Since then, all 53 African states have signed on, due in part to the role of persistent civil society attention.  The treaty confirms provision of the Non Proliferation Treaty, including the pledge of all signatories not to develop, produce or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons, as well as the commitment to enter into comprehensive safeguard agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency, to verify each state’s non-nuclear-weapon status. Twenty-one states have yet to conclude such agreements.

The Treaty prohibits the testing of any nuclear explosive device and, in effect, fulfills the basic conditions of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty on the African continent.   It also prohibits the dumping of radioactive waste in Africa.

9. MORE WIND POWER  FOR ONTARIO

Nov./09 issue of the CCPA Monitor. From its Good News page, compiled by Elaine Hughes:  Ontario is planning a massive boost to its electricity grid, much of it from harnessing wind power. The grid is getting a $2.3 billion make-over as part o a three year effort that will created 20,000 jobs and bring more green electricity to homes and businesses across the province.
In all, 20 projects are slated to go ahead. Some will increase capacity or existing transmission corridors. Others involve construction of enabler lines that branch out from the corridors and tap into areas with rich wind and hydro potential.

“It’s an investment that will serve Ontario for decades”, said Energy Minister George Smitherman to a conference of the Canadian Wind Energy Association. “Ontario intends to be the continent’s leader in renewable energy.”   -- Toronto Star

10. WORLD COUNCIL OF  CHURCHES CALLS FOR NATO TO INITIATE NEW POLICIES FOR NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT

Oct 28/09. Geneva. From WCC General Secretariat:  The World Council of Churches, with the Canadian Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, have written to the NATO Secretary General, Prime Minister of Sweden, Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union, President Barack Obama of the USA and President Dimitry Medvedev of the Russian Federation. The letter

* Strongly affirms the joint statement by Presidents Obama and Medvedev on 1 April 2009 in London and the US President’s appeal for a world free of nuclear weapons on 5 April/09 in Prague.
* Looks to the US and Russia to take an important early step towards that goal in the new START follow-on agreement.
* Calls for NATO to respond in kind, with a clear endorsement of the new  call for a nuclear weapons free world and by deciding in NATO’s new Strategic Concept that nuclear sharing should be ended and US nuclear weapons based in NATO’s non-nuclear weapon  member states should be eliminated.
* Calls for the European Union to equally endorse the new call for a nuclear weapons free world in the EU Common Position for the 2010 NPT Review Conference, also reflecting that the EU includes two nuclear weapons states and four member states with nuclear weapons on their soil.
* Calls for Russia to address its vast number of tactical nuclear weapons and resume the hopeful process of unilateral reduction started in 1991 by both the US and the Soviet Union/Russia.

“We acknowledge the steps NATO has taken to reduce its reliance on nuclear weapons. We also welcome the commitment of the new German government to have all nuclear weapons withdrawn from its soil….Now is the time to continue the trend.”

11. MEDINA GOES GREEN

Dec 2009-Jan 2010. Medina, Saudi Arabia via the CPHA Monitor’s Good News Page, compiled by Elaine Hughes: Medina will be the first Islamic city to go green, the Grand Mufti of Egypt announced recently. It will launch a seven year plan to make the religion more environmentally friendly.
Sheikh Ali Gomaa said that Islam teaches its followers to protect the Earth.
The seven year plan starts with teaching about climate change in Islamic schools, using renewable energy in mosques, and encouraging green policies in places of pilgrimage.

Medina, the second holiest city in Islam, will go green by improving public transport, providing clean water from taps so pilgrims don’t continue using plastic water bottles, and printing the Koran on recycled paper. “It is a religious duty to safeguard our environment”, said the Sheikh. “Pollutants and global warming pose even greater threat than war, and efforts to preserve the environment could be the most positive way of bringing humanity together.”  -The UK Telegraph

12. CANADIAN PEACE WORKER IN  SRI LANKA NOW WORKS FOR NONVIOLENT PEACE FORCE IN SUDAN

Dec 12/09 Email from Angela Pinchero to Murray Thomson:
 Nonviolent Peace Force volunteer Angela Pinchero has left Sri Lanka after        six years of constant and often dangerous witnessing for peace between the combatants. She also survived the tsunami which wrecked the village in which she lived, and is now establishing the same program of violence- prevention teams in southern Sudan. “We have only 4 ½ months to set up the program with our Sudanese partners, and our work is seriously undermined by heavy weapons and changes in the political landscape… The Comprehensive Peace Agreement is meant to expire in 2011 with the referendum on independence in the South.”

When she completes her assignments there, Angela plans to research and write about non-violent courage and community cooperation by civilians affected by violence. These stories, of which she has first hand knowledge, include courage, sacrifice, risk, strategy and the impact of rural civilians who commit courageous non-violent acts in areas of conflict and extreme insecurity. These will include stories of community response to threats to an individual or members of the community..

Questions for exploration will include: What enables and sustains these people in their responses and activities? What influences do these actions have on the community where they live? How can such influence and impact be understood, recorded and extended by other programmes? And how can their actions be evaluated and safely shared?

      
                       
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           --  A Service of the Peace & Social Concerns Committee,
                Monthly Meeting of Friends, 91A Fourth Ave. Ottawa
                 Murray Thomson, Editor