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An article from Bamada

At the festival of living together, the opening solemnity under the chairmanship of the Minister of Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Lassine Bouaré took place on January 17 and continues until January 22, 2020 in Timbuktu on the site of the monument of the flame of peace in Abaradjou.

The theme of this 4th edition is the “usefulness of heritage for the consolidation of peace”. It is a moment not only for reunion but also for cultural activities in the region of Timbuktu and culture of peace as a whole. It was born under the initiative of Salaha Maïga and funded by Munisma alone in 2016 and is hailed and supported by the authorities and the people of Timbuktu.

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(Click here for the French version of this article)

Can festivals help create peace at the community level?

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According to the governor of the Timbuktu region Ahmed Kouena the festival promotes respect for dialogue, exchange between young people in the region and those from elsewhere in view of creating links between them friendship, fraternity, strengthening unity and social cohesion, while preserving our cultural identity. The organization of this event gives hope to all ethnic groups.

This 4th edition according to Salaha Maïga has been a great challenge. On the one hand, the city itself was abandoned and served as a dumping ground; on the other hand, this locality of the region, named Abaradjou is considered as “red zone” a regular attack zone. It has been a success because all the challenges have been met.

Salaha is requesting help from the state and goodwill and sponsors for the next few occasions. Hee said that so far we have no official sponsor. ” He thanked the youth and the local, national and international authorities, armed groups and the people of Timbuktu who took it to heart to honor this noble initiative.

The initiative is conceived because the local populations and lives have been decimated by deadly attacks and inter-community conflicts, and it aims to promote respect, cohesion, reconciliation and peace between individuals, communities, regions and the country.

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An article from linfodrome

The citizen movement of artists called “The Peace Walkers” announced Tuesday, January 28, 2020, at the Maison de la presse in Abidjan-Plateau, the project “700 km of sporting march by Ivorian artists for peaceful elections in Côte d’Ivoire ”. On March 9, three artists, Famian Jay’rico, president of the NGO Côte d’Ivoire la belle, Boklay le Bobognard, leader of “actions caritatives’’” and Paul Mady’s, member of the UNESCO chair, will leave from Abidjan, on foot, from the district hotel, in the Plateau, to Korhogo where their journey should end at the town hall, on April 09, 2020. their slogan: “Yes to my voice, no to my life.”

The citizen movement of artists called ’The Peace Walkers’ in action for non-violent elections in 2020 (photo: AC)

“This march is a contribution to the prevention of electoral violence and promotion of the culture of peace for peaceful elections”, explained Atsé Christian, the project leader.

“On the threshold of this year 2020, the year of the presidential elections where the populations remain already frightened by the specter of a possible crisis … maintained by speeches marked by verbal violence and other aggressive remarks made by politicians as well as certain media, we artists from the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, committed voluntarily and socially, have decided to make our contribution to building this fragile thing that is peace and social cohesion, through an initiative called: “700 km to prevent electoral violence, 700 km to promote a culture of peace and social cohesion, 700 km for peaceful elections in Côte d’Ivoire in 2020,” said Atsé.

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(Click here for the original French version of this article.)

How should elections be organized in a true democracy?

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The singer songwriter Boklay le Bobognard explained that they are demonstrating through this march, a will for peace and peaceful elections. “We will give our bodies and our souls to get our message across,” he said. And he added: “The message that we want to send to the people and to all the political actors is that we have one country, one homeland. Do everything to preserve peace because without peace, there can be no concerts”.

Paul Mady’s stressed that this march must be considered as “a symbol because in 2002, the crisis started from the north of the Ivory Coast. So it’s as if we were to resume this same crisis in the south, to bring it out in the north. We don’t want to see this repeated,” he insisted.

Famian Jay’Rico Jay One noted that the march is “apolitical.” “We are addressing the Ivorian citizen, whoever he is, wherever he comes from. We decided to sacrifice ourselves physically for the Ivory Coast because we have to work together so that this country regains its identity,” he clarified.

The organizers of this walk have several objectives. Among other things, share with the population the concept of peaceful elections in view of the upcoming electoral deadlines, raise awareness among Ivorians and the authorities on the prevention of electoral violence, and advocate for inclusive elections. From Abidjan to Korhogo, the three artists and their staff will make stops in Yamoussoukro, Tiébissou, Djebonoua, Bouaké, Katiola, Tafiré and Ferkessedougou.

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A press release from EIN News Desk

The Minister of State and Chief of the Security Affairs of the President of Republic Pedro Sebastiãon Thursday [December 6] encouraged the African Union (AU), in particular its Peace and Security Council, to keep close coordination with the economic communities and regional mechanisms for the prevention, management and peaceful resolution to conflicts on the continent.,

[In Luanda, Angola}, Pedro Sebastião was speaking at the opening ceremony of the ministerial meeting of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), on behalf of Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço.  

He said that such coordination with regional mechanisms should promote national reconciliation and draw lessons from past and present processes.

It should also facilitate the exchange of experiences within the framework of the African peace and security architecture for the “silence of weapons by 2020”.
 
In view of the conflicts to continue topping the international agenda, the president’s aide defended combined efforts between the AU and the UN Security Council, as a privileged international body for the maintenance of international peace and security in order to gather resources for true solidarity between countries in response to the phenomena that still cause instability on the continent.

Among the conflicts that cause instability on the continent, he highlighted the problem of terrorism in the Sahel, Great Lakes and Horn of Africa regions.  

He recalled that it was precisely in the spirit of solidarity with the “brother peoples of the Great Lakes region” that Angola was invited to contribute to the mediation process, with a view to resolving the disagreement between Rwanda and Uganda.

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Can the African Union help bring a culture of peace to Africa?

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Angola’s effort to bring together these two brother countries  resulted in the signing of the Luanda Memorandum of Understanding.

Pedro Sebastião stressed in his speech that the culmination of the armed conflict in Angola, after three decades, is a living example that political will is the crucial element in achieving peace.  

In the specific case of Angola, he noted that inclusive dialogue played a decisive role in achieving lasting peace “which we carefully take care of for the maintenance of this acquired good with blood, sweat and tears.”
 
“Today we can assume that the culture of peace is a fact of life in our country,” said the Angolan leader, noting that the country is available to share its experience regarding peace and conflict management and help the countries of the continent in this matter.

The official noted, however, that Angolans are aware that peace in the country has also benefited from the valuable contribution of the African Union and its member states, where some of their children have paid with their life, highlighting the case of Maitre Aione Blondi Beye.

According to the head of the President’s Security Affairs, political stability and democracy can only be achieved through the creation of strong institutions and the adoption of behaviours that ensure the peaceful resolution to conflicts inherent in human societies.  

To him, democratic processes and inclusive systems of governance ensure the development of a national environment of stability, fostering the creation of a culture of peace.  

The most worrying cases for Angolan diplomacy and the AU’s PSC are those of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the tension in the Great Lakes region (involving Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda).
 
The official also referred to the latent conflicts  in South Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR), as example, where Angola is directly engaged in finding a solution.  

The PSC meeting is part of the peace-building strategy and the promotion of sustainable development.

The opening session of the meeting of the body gathered 80 entities, including 15 foreign ministers from the African Union (AU) PSC states.

Angola took over the presidency of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union on December 1.
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