The Palestinian Hunger Strike: “Our chains will be broken before we are..”

. HUMAN RIGHTS .

A blog by Richard Falk

On April 17th at least 1500 Palestinian prisoners launched a hunger strike of indefinite duration, responding to a call from Israel’s most famous Palestinian prisoner, Marwan Barghouti. It also happens to be that Barghouti is the most popular political leader, far more liked, trusted, and admired that the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. Barghouti is serving a series of lifetime terms for his alleged role in directing an operation during the Second Intifada in which five Israelis were killed.


Palestinian activists stand around a mosaic portrait of political prisoner Marwan Barghouti near an Israeli military installation in the West Bank city of Ramallah. File photo: Nasser Shiyoukhi/AP

Barghouti who has been in prison for fifteen years, gave his reasons for the strike as “torture, inhumane and degrading treatment, and medical negligence,” as well as a failure to abide by international legal standards pertaining to prison conditions during a military occupation. Even the normally timid International Committee of the Red Cross acknowledged prisoner demands by issuing a public statement asserting that the denial of family visits and moving Palestinian prisoners and detainees outside of the occupied territory to Israeli jails were violations of international treaty norms set forth in the Fourth Geneva Convention governing belligerent occupation.

Because Barghouti expressed his grievances in an article somewhat surprisingly published by the NY Times on April 16th. Surprising because the Times, an influential media outlet, has over the years been reliably deferential to the Israeli rationalizations for Israeli contested policies and behavior. It turns out that the newspaper was nervous about this departure from its normal operating mode. Barghouti’s piece only appeared in its international edition, and had a qualifying editorial note appended: “This article explained the writer’s prison sentence but neglected to provide sufficient context by stating the offenses of which he was convicted. They were five counts of murder and membership in a terrorist organization. Mr. Barghouti declined to offer a defense at his trial and refused to recognize the Israeli court’s jurisdiction and legitimacy.” [italics in the original]

In retaliation for daring to publish this opinion piece Barghouti was severely punished. He was immediately placed in solitary confinement, has not been allowed to change his clothes for the past month, and is inspected by prison guards four times a day.

The notorious Canadian ultra Zionist media watchdog, Honest Reporting, explains on its website that its goal is “defending Israel from media bias.” Honest Reporting expressed its outrage by condemning the NY Times for opening its pages to a convicted Palestinian ‘terrorist.’ It is Orwellinan to so describe Barghouti, a political leader courageously defending his people against an unlawful and oppressive occupation that is approaching its 50th anniversary, and is now best understood as a crime against humanity taking the form of apartheid victimizing the Palestinian people as a whole, and not just those living under occupation. If the Honest Reporting was indeed honest it would expose the pronounced media bias in the West shielding Israel from international accountability and obscuring the severity of Palestinian grievances under international law and morality.

The world media treatment of this massive Palestinian strike is typical, although nevertheless disappointing. It gives meager attention to the dramatic character of such a prison protest that has continued for over a month, stimulating many solidarity demonstrations throughout occupied Palestine, a sympathy 24-hour hunger strike by South Africans including the prominent Deputy President Cyril Rhamaposa, and widespread shows of support throughout the Palestinian diaspora. The reaction of the Palestinian Authority has been evasive, with Abbas giving a token show of public support for prisoner goals, while letting it be known privately that he hopes the strike will end as soon as possible.

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Question for this article

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

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The behavior of the Israeli Prison Service is an indirect confirmation of prisoner discontent. In a sadistic taunt, Israeli settlers were allowed to have a barbecue in the parking lot in front of one of the prisons, apparently mocking the hunger strikers with the pungent aroma of meat being grilled. Worse than this, a fake video was distributed by prison official purporting to show Barghouti having a snack in his cell. This effort to discredit the strike and its leader has been angrily denied. Khader Shkirat, Barghouti’s lawyer, explained that there was no way food could be smuggled to someone in solitary, especially with frequent room searches. It was finally conceded by prison officials that food was delivered to Barghouti’s cell by prison guards trying unsuccessfully to tempt him to break the fast. Barghouti on his side responded via his lawyer, “I plan to escalate my hunger strike soon. There is no backtracking. We will continue until the end.” Barghouti, 58, has according to the last report has lost 29 pounds since the start of the strike, and now weighs 119, planning to refuse even water.

Even if this dire commitment is not carried through to a potentially grim finality it will not tarnish the significance of what has been undertaken, and the great reluctance of the world to focus its attention on such a display of nonviolent martyrdom. This is not the first Palestinian prison strike motivated by abusive prison conditions and instances of administrative detention, arresting and jailing without any formal charges. But it appears to be the most consequential due to the participation of Marwan Barghouti along with so many other Palestinian prisoners as well as producing many displays of solidarity beyond the prison walls.

As Ramzy Baroud has pointed out in an Al Jazeera article published on May 10, 2017, the strike, although putting forth demands relating to prison conditions, is really a reflection of the underlying ordeal, what he refers to as “the very reality of Palestinian life”; it is above all “a call for unity against factionalism and Israeli occupation.” The distractions created by the Trump presidency, Brexit and the rise of the European right-wing, and turmoil in the Middle East have given Israel’s leadership the political space to push their expansionist agenda toward an imposed outcome of one Jewish state imposing its will on two distinct peoples. Such an endgame for this version of colonialist displacement and subjugation of the indigenous majority population will extend Palestinian suffering in the short-run, but will over time undermine Israeli security and stability, and bring the long Palestine nightmare to an end.

The British leadership finally appreciated their own interests, forging a political compromise in Northern Ireland in the form of the Good Friday Agreement, which while fragile and imperfect, has mostly spared Catholics and Protestants further bloodshed. Will the Israeli and U.S. leadership grow responsive to the moral and legal imperatives that call for a sustainable and just peace between these two peoples before the political imperative of such an essential outcome assume more menacing forms?

Against all expectations, the South African leadership did eventually become so responsive, but only after enough pressure was exerted internally and internationally. The South African leadership produced a new dawn by releasing its prime ‘terrorist’ inmate, Nelson Mandela, from prison, and the rest is history. Marwan Barghouti is clearly available to play such an historical role in relation to Israel. It will be a tragedy if Zionist ambitions and American led geopolitics preclude this from happening! The road to peace for Israel is the similar to the road to peace for apartheid South Africa: dismantle the apartheid regime that now dominates and discriminates against the Palestinian people on a systematic and totalizing basis. Such a projected future may seem a dream, but dreams can be made to come true through the dynamics of a struggle for justice. If so, we may look back on Barghouti’s hunger strike as the beginning of a winning Palestinian endgame.

It is important that we appreciate that a hunger strike is not only a pure form of nonviolence, but is also a self-inflicted sacrifice by those who seek to exhibit their opposition to the existing state of affairs in this manner, hoping to create conditions that produce change. It is an extreme type of resistance that in its essence is an appeal to the conscience and compassion of its opponents and public opinion generally. As Gandhi found out in racist South Africa, if that conscience and compassion are not sufficiently present within a given society such tactics are futile, and violent resistance becomes the only alternative to submission and despair. Israel has been repeatedly challenged by the Palestinians to do the right thing, but responds increasingly by treating all of its adversaries as ‘terrorists’ regardless of their behavior, while itself continuing to defy international law thereby denying the most fundamental rights to the Palestinian people and repeatedly relying on excessive force to safeguard its dominance.

HUMAN RIGHTS, Mideast

Swiss vote in in favor of gradual nuclear phaseout

. .. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT .. .

An article from Deutsche Welle

Switzerland held a referendum on Sunday on the government’s planned transition from the nuclear power provided by the country’s aging reactors to renewable energy sources. The majority of voters supported the shift, with 58.2 percent voting in favor of the referendum, according to the final tally. Only four of Switzerland’s 26 cantons votes against the overhaul to renewables.


The Fukushima disaster caused several countries, including Germany, to rethink nuclear energy

Most voters had already cast their ballots by post over the past few weeks.
The Swiss government decided to gradually phase out nuclear power after the disaster in Fukushima, Japan, in 2011, where there were three nuclear meltdowns at a plant after a tsunami caused by an earthquake. Berlin took a similar step after the disaster by announcing the phaseout of nuclear power in Germany.

Switzerland’s so-called Energy Strategy 2050, spearheaded by Energy Minister Doris Leuthard, who is also the current Swiss president, involves decommissioning Switzerland’s five reactors as they reach the end of their safe operational lifespan. Currently, they produce around a third of the country’s electricity.

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Question for this article:

Are we making progress in renewable energy?

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More renewables, more efficiency

Although the plan does not lay down a clear timetable for phasing out the plants, it does envisage increasing reliance on hydraulic power and solar, wind, geothermal and biomass energy sources, as well as reducing energy consumption and improving energy efficiency.

Its targets are ambitious, with the aim being to cut the average energy consumption per person per year by 43 percent by 2035 as compared with levels in 2000.

Last year, Swiss voters rejected a call to accelerate the decommissioning of the plants, a move that would have seen three of the five reactors closing this year.

‘Cold shower’ claim

The government’s energy strategy is supported by the Swiss parliament, with the exception of the country’s largest political party, the right-wing populist Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which called for Sunday’s referendum.

The SVP has criticized the plan, saying it would cost up to 3,200 Swiss francs (2,934 euros, $3,288) per four-person household per year in additional energy costs and taxes. The government rejects the claim, estimating the additional cost per household will be at 40 Swiss francs more per year.

Europe, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Draft UN nuclear weapon ban released

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from ICAN, the International Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons

The first draft of the United Nations treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons was released in Geneva, Switzerland, on 22 May. Elayne Whyte Gómez, the Costa Rican ambassador who is presiding over negotiations of the historic accord, presented the text to diplomats and members of civil society, before answering questions from the media.

The draft was developed on the basis of discussions and input received during the first round of negotiations, held at the UN headquarters in New York from 27 to 31 March 2017, with the participation of 132 nations. The negotiations will resume on 15 June and continue until 7 July, with the draft as the basis.

ICAN welcomes the release of the draft as an important milestone in the years-long effort to ban these indiscriminate weapons of mass destruction in light of their inhumane and catastrophic impacts. Once adopted, the treaty will constitute an major step towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

The draft provides a solid basis for a strong, categorical prohibition of nuclear weapons. ICAN expects further constructive debate on certain provisions as the process moves forward, and will be campaigning to ensure the strongest possible treaty. We are confident that the treaty can be agreed by 7 July.

“We are particularly happy that the text is rooted in humanitarian principles and builds on existing prohibitions of unacceptable weapons, such as the conventions banning biological and chemical weapons, anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions,” said Beatrice Fihn, the executive director of ICAN.

Nuclear-armed and nuclear alliance states should engage constructively in these discussions, she said. “Whilst they will be able to join the treaty once it has been agreed, failure to participate in the negotiations undermines their claims to be committed to a world without nuclear weapons.”

“Nuclear weapons are morally unacceptable. They are intended to kill civilians indiscriminately,” Ms Fihn said. “Their continued existence undermines the moral credibility of every country that relies on them. A treaty to ban them, as a first step towards their elimination, will have real and lasting impact.”

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

Question related to this article:
DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global, United Nations,

World Environment Day 2017

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from World Environment Day

‘Connecting People to Nature’, the theme for World Environment Day 2017, implores us to get outdoors and into nature, to appreciate its beauty and its importance, and to take forward the call to protect the Earth that we share.


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World Environment Day is the biggest annual event for positive environmental action and takes place every 5 June. This year’s host country Canada got to choose the theme and will be at the centre of celebrations around the planet.

World Environment Day is a day for everyone, everywhere. Since it began in 1972, global citizens have organized many thousands of events, from neighbourhood clean-ups, to action against wildlife crime, to replanting forests.

This year’s theme invites you to think about how we are part of nature and how intimately we depend on it. It challenges us to find fun and exciting ways to experience and cherish this vital relationship.

The value of nature

In recent decades, scientific advances as well as growing environmental problems such as global warming are helping us to understand the countless ways in which natural systems support our own prosperity and well-being.

For example, the world’s oceans, forests and soils act as vast stores for greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane; farmers and fisher-folk harness nature on land and under water to provide us with food; scientists develop medicines using genetic material drawn from the millions of species that make up Earth’s astounding biological diversity.

Billions of rural people around the world spend every working day ‘connected to nature’ and appreciate full well their dependence on natural water supplies and how nature provides their livelihoods in the form of fertile soil. They are among the first to suffer when ecosystems are threatened, whether by pollution, climate change or over-exploitation.

Nature’s gifts are often hard to value in monetary terms. Like clean air, they are often taken for granted, at least until they become scarce. However, economists are developing ways to measure the multi-trillion-dollar worth of many so-called ‘ecosystem services’, from insects pollinating fruit trees in the orchards of California to the leisure, health and spiritual benefits of a hike up a Himalayan valley.

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Question for this article:

Despite the vested interests of companies and governments, Can we make progress toward sustainable development?

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Hit the park

This year’s World Environment Day is an ideal occasion to go out and enjoy your country’s national parks and other wilderness areas. Park authorities in some countries may follow Canada’s example and waive or reduce park entry fees on June 5 or for a longer period.

Once you are there, why not set yourself a challenge (seek out a rare mammal, identify five butterflies, reach the remotest corner of the park). Record what you see, and send us a photo of yourself and/or your discoveries so we can post it on our digital channels and encourage others to go exploring too.

You could join the growing number of citizen scientists. More and more smartphone apps help you log your sightings and connect with others who can identify the species. The records feed into conservation strategies and map the effects of climate change on biodiversity.

Nature up close

Connecting to nature can involve all the physical senses: why not take off your shoes and get your feet (and hands) dirty; don’t just look at the beautiful lake, jump in! Take a hike at night and rely on your ears and nose to experience nature.

You can also connect with nature in the city, where major parks can be a green lung and a hub of biodiversity. Why not do your bit to green the urban environment, by greening your street or a derelict site, or planting a window box? You could put a spade in the soil or lift a paving slab and see what creatures live beneath.

Wherever you are, you could vow to pick up 10 (or 100) pieces of trash, or take inspiration from the citizens of Mumbai, India, and organize a mass beach clean-up.

Your activity doesn’t have to take place on 5 June itself. UN Environment, for instance, will soon begin testing your knowledge and raising your appreciation of a healthy environment with competitions and online quizzes and provide a whole menu of ideas to help you celebrate the day.

In the age of asphalt and smartphones and among the distractions of modern life, connections with nature can be fleeting. But with your help, World Environment Day can make clearer than ever that we need harmony between humanity and nature so that both are able to thrive.

Check this space in the coming weeks for details of this year’s campaign, and please sign up  to receive all of our updates in the run-up to World Environment Day 2017.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)
 

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Abolition 2000 Annual Meeting: Supports Women’s March. Calls for Nuclear Risk Reduction

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from Abolition 2000

Abolition 2000 held its 22nd Annual Assembly on May 1 as governments arrived in Vienna for a 2-week conference on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament; the 2017 Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT Prep Com).


(click on photo to enlarge)

Abolition 2000 members from around the world discussed the current political environment; a time of great uncertainty and concern about the risks of nuclear war, but also the opportunities for progress that are emerging, such as the UN negotiations for a nuclear prohibition treaty and the 2018 UN High Level Conference on Disarmament.

There were dynamic reports on Abolition 2000 projects, working groups and affiliated campaigns, including De-alerting and nuclear risk reduction, Don’t Bank on the Bomb, Economic Dimensions of Nuclearism, ICAN, Interfaith action, International law and nuclear weapons, Mayors for Peace, Missile control, Nuclear Weapon Free Zones, Nukes Out of Europe, Parliamentary Outreach, Peace and Planet, UNFOLD ZERO and Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space. (To join a working group contact info@baselpeaceoffice.org).

New working group

The Assembly established a new working group to build support from civil society and governments for the United Nations High Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament, which will take place in 2018. This follows on from successful UN High Level Conferences on Sustainable Development (2015) which achieved agreement on 17 Sustainable Development Goals, Climate Change (2015) which achieved the Paris Agreement and Refugees and Migrants (2016) which achieved the New York Declaration.

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Question related to this article:

Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

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Action statements

The participants at the assembly adopted a statement alerting governments and civil society to the risks of nuclear weapons being used by accident, miscalculation or even by intent. The statement calls on governments to take all nuclear weapons off alert, and adopt additional measures to reduce the risks of nuclear weapons being used pending their elimination.

The Assembly also gave support to an exciting Women’s March and Rally to Ban the Bomb which will be held in New York on June 17, during the United Nations negotiations for a nuclear ban treaty. The March and Rally will bring together people of all genders, sexual orientations, ages, races, abilities, nationalities, cultures, faiths, political affiliations and backgrounds to support the negotiations. Abolition 2000 has contributed financially to the march, and member organisations are promoting the March and associated events including a conference in New York on June 18 entitled No Nukes, No Wars, No Walls, No Warming, organised by Peace and Planet.

Abolition 2000 dynamic new website

The Abolition 2000 Annual Meeting was happy to note the recent launch of the newly designed abolition 2000 website which is available in English and Spanish, and shortly in French. Expressions of interest in working on other languages should be sent to Tony Robinson tonymrobinson@gmail.com. The Assembly also affirmed a Global Council of over 60 nuclear disarmament activists from around the world, and a coordinating committee of 12 members.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global

Latest News from International Cities of Peace

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

Newsletter May 2017 from International Cities of Peace

The following are new cities of peace this quarter!

Mathare, Kenya

They know her as “Mama”. Dedicated teacher Emily Makokha founded the Motherway Education Center, and now she and colleagues such as Michael Ochieng Nyawino have established Mathare, Kenya: City of Peace. Mathare is a slum area in Nairobi with 180,000 people, many in great poverty and need. “Mama” has followed her passion for delivering education to this at-risk area. The group’s objectives are amazing, generous, practical, and will bring much peace to a very needy part of Kenya.
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 Jenin, Palestine

IN PALESTINE, a gift to us all. We celebrate a city in northern Palestine as our first City of Peace in that part of the world. Jenin is the home base of Youth Initiative for Peace with leader Osama Rbayah saying, “we work to educate young people and all people in the importance of peace in their lives and we announce Palestine state peace to be the peace springboard to all the world… all the world deserve to live in peace.” The announcement came on Christmas morning — Peace, Om Shanti, Salaam, Shalom — and all of us at International Cities of Peace wish you peace this year and offer good news about a rising grassroots movement to educate rather than retaliate.
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Durango, Mexico

What better motto could a city of peace envision: “IN THE DEFENSE OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES TRAINING FOR WORK AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT.” Generous of spirit and tireless in her work, Francis Francisca Fernandez and her colleagues have now established Durango City, Mexico as the 154th City of Peace. Francis is President at Federacion De Mujeres Trabajadoras De Oficios Varios Ac, an organization that provides food, medical attention and human rights advocacy for adults and children. I’m not sure how she stretches herself so far, but the photos and stories of her work are extensive and heartfelt. Her vision for the future is an example of how to ensure a person-to-person culture of peace.
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Herat, Afghanistan

Welcome Abdul Bari Zarifi and his colleagues who have established — through their amazing work in education and human rights — the 3rd largest city in Afghanistan as a city of peace. Profound news! They have formed the Afghanistan 3rd Generation for Human Rights (AGHRO) and have been working for women’s rights, education for children and providing basic necessities. A sophisticated program that might amaze and alter your view of this beleaguered country. Here is their mission in the director’s words: “We felt the pain of war and we know the real necessity and meaning of peace. We are living in the middle of a war zone. Every day hundreds of our people are killing and being killed in front of our eyes. We want to put an end to this killing. We want to bring the voice of our people to the world, saying the Afghan nation wants peace. Afghans need constructive help to make peace a reality.”
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 Banjul, The GAMBIA

Amidst the recent crisis in Gambia where a President would not give up power, peace prevailed due to the demand of the people for democracy. Welcome to Cheikh Top, who with other citizens of the Gambia have created Banjul: City of Peace. Their initiative Peace December “is our way of shining a more proverbial light into the darkness of winter by creating programming aimed directly at combating the darkness within our society. Instead of the darkness of violence, hatred and intolerance, we hope to promote the light of peace, respect, and diversity.”
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Question related to this article:

 
How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

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Kasonga-Lunda, D.R. Congo

Welcome to Saki k Jean Claude and his colleagues who have established Kasongo-Lunda, D.R. Congo as a city of peace. “Confronted with conflicts, divisions, regionalism, wars, violence of all kinds, endemic corruption,” said Jean Claude “we decided to create the Cercle des Jeunes Leaders pour la Paix(Circle of Young Leaders for Peace), CJLP in June 2008 in Kinshasa. A non-governmental organization (NGO / NPO involved in various fields PEACE, GENDER, GOVERNANCE, MANAGEMENT OF CONFLICT PREVENTION AND RECONCILIATION & NON-VIOLENCE, HUMAN RIGHTS AND RURAL AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (training, education, rehabilitation, supervision, safety food, community development, strengthening the technical and organizational capacity).Our actions for peace are carried out with several other independent, denominational and non-denominational organizations.”
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 Lafia, Nigeria

Free HIV/AIDs testing, dialogues on ethno-religious conflicts, youth training — extraordinary real, on-the-ground peace work! Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State in Nigeria is now a city of peace due to the work of Emmanuel Peter Dadean and his colleagues. With extensive peace-building program, the Foundation for Peace and Meditation is a non-partisan and non-religious service group that helps adults and youth throughout the community. Dadean has a Masters in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution from the National Open University of Nigeria. Welcome to Dadean and fellow Nigerians. Build the peace in Africa!
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Amsterdam, The Netherlands

AMSTERDAM, 159! The Netherlands has a long legacy of peacemaking, and now Amsterdam’s Mayor and Council has officially declared as an International City of Peace. Thanks to Mayor Eberhard van der Laan (a Mayor for Peace) as well as peace ambassador Catharina van Staveren who facilitated the Proclamation. Self-proclaiming as a city of peace is a powerful way for the large cities of the European Union to elevate their legacies of peace and to prevent the inaction that led to centuries of war. Remember history, yes, but to take action for peace is needed now more than ever. Please welcome and glorify the Netherland’s and the City of Amsterdam’s great legacy of safety, prosperity and quality of life!
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 Mambasa, D.R. Congo

This movement is definitely changing our future, especially in Africa! We welcome Aimé Waka and the students of the Bankoko Institute as well as the citizens of Mambasa who have established their community in D.R. Congo as a city of peace. Waka is headmaster at the Institute and has a vision to form four peace clubs with 72 schools peace leaders. They hope to train and provide peace education for 1600 students — what an impact that will make on the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Islamabad, Pakistan

Welcome to Ambassador Rubina H. ALi and her colleagues of the Global Learning Trust, a multidisciplinary NGO/Trust which started its operations in Gawadar and later on expanded its operations with headquarters in Islamabad. “Our mission is to help build a vibrant community by providing accessible, Educational and Health Programs in an area that can enhance the quality of life for global citizens. We would foster services and activities that will encourage connections among neighbors and inspire civic involvement.” Take a look at the extensive work for peace as they courageously declare Islamabad as a peace city.
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Berlin, Germany

 Welcome to Margret Hoffmann, Sandra Schiermeyer and all the citizens of Berlin, Germany, our newest City of Peace. Margret and her colleagues are from Clans of Peace, a movement dedicated to finding common purpose in healing, community, conscious business, and unity. Germany’s capital is the second most populous urban area in the European Union. Botanical gardens, Sanssouci, Punk music, 138 museums, Berlin is where John F. Kennedy said “Ich bin ein Berliner!” and 26 years later the Wall came down! Celebrating and emphasizing the rich history and legacy of peacebuilding will inspire Berlin’s future generations.
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DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, global

Germany Breaks Record: 85% of Energy Comes From Renewables Last Weekend

. .. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT .. .

An article by Lorraine Chow for Ecowatch

Germany’s “Energiewende”—the country’s low-carbon energy revolution—turned another successful corner last weekend when renewable energy sources nearly stamped out coal and nuclear.

Thanks to a particularly breezy and sunny Sunday, renewables such as wind and solar, along with some biomass and hydropower, peaked at a record 85 percent, or 55.2 gigawatts, and even came along with negative prices for several hours at the electricity exchange.

Conversely, coal use was at an all-time minimum. According to DW, on April 30, coal-fired power stations were only operational between 3 and 4 p.m. and produced less than eight gigawatts of energy, well below the maximum output of about 50 gigawatts.

“Most of Germany’s coal-fired power stations were not even operating on Sunday, April 30th,” Patrick Graichen of Agora Energiewende told RenewEconomy. “Nuclear power sources, which are planned to be completely phased out by 2022, were also severely reduced.”

Graichen added that days like Sunday would be “completely normal” by 2030 thanks to the government’s continued investment in the Energiewende initiative.

Following the Fukushima disaster in Japan, Germany announced in May 2011 that it plans to phase out nuclear and shut down all its nuclear power plants by 2022. That Sunday, nuclear power plants reduced their output from 7.9 to 5 gigawatts.

Germany’s ambitious energy transition aims for at least an 80 percent share of renewables by 2050, with intermediate targets of 35 to 40 percent share by 2025 and 55 to 60 percent by 2035.

Question for this article:
Europe, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Nonviolence Charter: Progress Report 10 (Apr 2017)

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article by Robert J. Burrowes, Anita McKone & Anahata Giri for the Transcend Media Service (abbreviated)

Dear fellow signatories of the Nonviolence Charter, How are you all? And welcome to our most recent signatories and organizations!

This is the latest six-monthly report on progress in relation to ‘The People’s Charter to Create a Nonviolent World’ together with a sample of news about Charter signatories and organizations.

Our collective effort to build a worldwide consensus against the use of violence in all contexts continues to make progress, even against rather overwhelming odds!

charter

Since our last report on 18 October 2016 – which Antonio C. S. Rosa kindly published in the TRANSCEND Media Service Weekly Digest – we have gained our first individual signatories in another five countries – Azerbaijan (Nigar Rasulzade), Paraguay (Fernando Juan Cabrera Tarragó), Vietnam (Greg Kleven), Iran (Professor Manijeh Navidnia) and Venezuela (Antonio Gutiérrez Rodero) – a total of 101 countries now. We also have 109 organizations/networks from 35 countries. If you wish, you can see the list of organizational endorsements on the Charter website.

If you wish to see individual signatories, click on the ‘View signatures’ item in the sidebar. You can use the search facility if you want to look for a specific name.

The latest progress report article ‘International Collaboration to End Violence’ was recently distributed to many progressive news websites: it was published by a number of outlets in 14 countries, thanks to very supportive editors (several of whom are Charter signatories: special thanks to Antonio Rosa at TRANSCEND, Gifty Ayim-Korankye at ‘Ghana web Online’, Korsi Senyo at ‘Awake Africa’ and Pía Figueroa at ‘Pressenza’). If you like, you can read the article in English and Spanish, the latter translated by signatory Antonio G. Rodero in Venezuela, on ‘TRANSCEND’.

If you feel inclined to do so, you are welcome to help raise awareness of the Nonviolence Charter using whatever means are easiest for you: email, articles, Facebook, Twitter…. Thanks to Anahata, the Nonviolence Charter is on Facebook and it has links to some useful articles.

You may remember that in previous Charter progress reports we have reiterated our promise to report on those of you about whom we know less by asking you to send us some information about yourself and the reminder that you don’t have to be world famous to be valued here. Well, the good news is that, once again, a number of people responded and, in addition, we did some more research ourselves. However, as we continue to find, extraordinary people seem to invariably consider themselves ‘ordinary’. So, irrespective of how you consider yourself, we would love to hear about you for the next report!

In addition to those signatories mentioned in the article ‘International Collaboration to End Violence’ cited above, here is another (inadequate) sample of reports of the activities of ‘ordinary’ people and organizations who are your fellow Charter signatories.

So first: A couple of recent websites for those of you who are interested in nonviolent strategy for your campaign or liberation struggle (and now with photos of several Charter signatories):

Nonviolent Campaign Strategy

Nonviolent Defense/Liberation Strategy

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Question for this article:

Can peace be guaranteed through nonviolent means?

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[Editor’s note: Here are a few of the news items from individual signatories of the Charter. For all of the news items, go to the original article here

Sadly, Professor Glenn D. Paige, inspirational founder of the Center for Global Nonkilling in Honolulu passed away, after a struggle with declining health, on 22 January 2017. Communications with Glenn and Glenda in the final days revealed a man at peace with himself after a lifetime of effort to end killing. Rather than publishing a tribute written by someone else, you are welcome to read the text of Glenn’s acceptance speech when receiving an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Jagran Lakecity University in Bhopal, India in December. Your inspirational example will not be forgotten Glenn.

Our first signatory in Iran is Professor Manijeh Navidnia, professor of sociology at the Islamic Azad University in Teheran. The focus of much of Manijeh’s research is security studies. You can read a little about her and some of her research articles here. Welcome Manijeh! . . .

Antonio Gutiérrez Rodero is our first signatory in Venezuela. . . . ’In Venezuela we are now living a very hard time. I think we are really paying the price for having rebelled against the American-Zionist Empire interests and we are “guilty” of possessing and wanting to preserve for our people the largest oil reserve on earth, in addition to other mineral resources, water, climate, landscapes and biodiversity. Violence harasses us on all fronts, particularly the media. The opposition, in defense of the interests of US corporations, violently fights against the pro-socialist government of Nicolas Maduro.’ . . .

Sovannarun Tay has almost completed the Khmer translation of the Nonviolent Defense/Liberation Strategy website as part of his effort to raise awareness of the potential of nonviolent strategy to liberate Cambodia from its dictatorship. If you fancy your Khmer, you can see his translation here. . . .

We asked Greg Kleven, our first signatory in Vietnam, for some information about himself. Continuing the tradition of great people signing the Nonviolence Charter, here is what Greg wrote: ‘My name is Greg Kleven and I am a 68 year-old American living and teaching English in Viet Nam. I was 18 years old when I was here as a soldier in 1967 and thought that what I was doing was right. But after a few months in country I realized that I had made a huge mistake. The war was wrong and I should never have participated. After I went home I had a hard time adjusting back into society. I couldn’t get the war out of my mind. In 1988 I came back to Viet Nam as a tourist and realized I had a chance to make up for what I had done. For the next two years I helped organize return trips for veterans who wanted to go back and see Viet Nam as a country, not a war. In 1990 I started teaching English in Ho Chi Minh City and have been doing it ever since. I admire your work in trying to establish a nonviolence charter that can some day put an end to all wars and violence in the world. I have forwarded your website to some friends and hope that they will sign. Keep up the good work. Hoa binh (peace), Greg’. . . .

Working in extraordinarily difficult circumstances in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Christophe Nyambatsi Mutaka is the key figure at the Groupe Martin Luther King. The group, based in Goma in the east of the country in Central Africa, promotes active nonviolence, human rights and peace. They particularly work on reducing sexual and other violence against women.

Also based in Goma, the Association de Jeunes Visionnaires pour le Développement du Congo headed by Leon Simweragi is a youth peace group that works to rehabilitate child soldiers as well as offer meaningful opportunities for the sustainable involvement of young people in matters that affect their lives and those of their community. . .

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, global

Brazil: Compaz and Londrina Pazeando promote music festival

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article from Bonde News

The Londrina City Culture of Peace Council (Compaz), in partnership with the NGO Londrina Pazeando, is promoting the 1st Music Festival, which will take place during the 13th Night of the Culture of Peace. The festival will be on September 28 at 7 pm at the New Alliance Church, at Rua Cuiabá, 48, at the corner of Rio Grande do Norte, in the center.


Image from the Londrina Culture of Peace Night in 2010

To participate, interested parties will be able to send lyrics and songs in any rhythm including sertanejo, pop, rock, hap, pagode and others, as long as they promote the culture of peace and restorative justice. The intention is for children, adolescents and adults to compose lyrics and melodies that encourage respect among people, cooperation among nations, an end to prejudice and discrimination between class, gender and race, and to promote dialogue as a solution for conflicts and the end of violence.

To this end, the council is inviting students from public and private schools to participate, as well as poets and singers from the city. There are three categories: children (children up to 12 years old can participate); adolescents (12 to 18 years of age) and adults (people over 18 years).

Individuals up to the age of 18 may enroll in schools, through the Municipal Education Department, the Regional Education Center and SINEPE. Adults should enroll at Compaz, at the headquarters of Sincoval, located at Rua Governador Parigot de Souza, 220.

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(Click here for the Portuguese version of this article)

Question related to this article:

 

How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

What place does music have in the peace movement?

(article continued from left column)

“We hope the festival will stimulate reflection and behavior change in relation to the culture of nonviolence, because, often in our own day-to-day lives, we maintain actions and speeches that come from the violent, war-like culture. With this in mind, we are making the first music festival, which will take place during the 17th Municipal Peace Week, “explained the secretary of Compaz and coordinator of Londrina Pazeando, Luís Claudio Galhardi.

To register please read carefully the regulations posted on the website www.londrinapazeando.org.br, fill out the registration form and record the unpublished song, up to 5 minutes on CD or DVD, which must be delivered when you sign up before July 31.

A technical commission will evaluate the best songs that have been submitted and they will be performed during the Festival. The bands and musicians will have their performances recorded and posted on the channel of the Londrina Pazeando organization, on You Tube. They can also be used by the Movement for Peace in the dissemination of actions for the development of a culture of peace.

Those interested in participating can access the inspirational support material available on Londrina Pazeando’s website and on the You Tube channel by clicking on “Music Channel”.

During the festival, participants will also be able to watch the release of the music video of the Movement for Peace, with lyrics by Tinho Lemos and the performance by several singers from the city.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Colombia: A boost to implementation of the Peace Accords. National Congress for Peace

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article by Hernán Camacho in Seminar Voz

More than 300 organizations in 18 departments signed on to the National Pact for Life and Peace.

It was more than just a peace initiative. The National Peace Congress, held between 27 and 29 April, became a mobilizer of a vision that can ead us along the path towards a stable and lasting peace. The expectations of the social organizations that convened the Congress were fulfilled, the agenda of new mobilizations and peace initiatives is already being confirmed, and most importantly, those attending the Congress signed the National Pact for Life and Peace.


Closing of the National Congress of Peace in the Place of Bolivar in Bogota.
Photo NC News.
(Click on photo to enlarge)

It was more than just a peace initiative. The National Peace Congress, held between 27 and 29 April, became a mobilizer of a vision that can ead us along the path towards a stable and lasting peace. The expectations of the social organizations that convened the Congress were fulfilled, the agenda of new mobilizations and peace initiatives is already being confirmed, and most importantly, those attending the Congress signed the National Pact for Life and Peace.

This pact is a commitment that describes the current reality of the implementation process of the Havana agreement, and the peace process in Quito with the ELN. But it also draws on what is happening today in the territories where there are conflict scenarios, Transition Areas of Normalization and in the territories where the Farc was present. A Pact for Life calls us to take the weapons out of national political life and to promote reconciliation among Colombians.

Difficulties

This was said in Bogota by the secretary general of the Colombian Communist Party, Jaime Caycedo, who attended the regional peace congress that was held at the Minuto de Dios University, on Friday, April 28: “Taking the weapons out of politics involves not just the insurgency, but those sectors that are based on paramilitarism and maintain a war against the forces of the left that propose an alternative to a corrupt and patronizing country, “said Caycedo.

And the concern, which the participants of the initiative mostly pointed out in the regional meetings, refers to the increase of the paramilitary presence in each one of the departments of the country. The main concern is in Chocó, Antioquia, Cesar, Meta, Caqueta, among others. Testimonies such as those of settlers in Cacarica and Urabá Antioquia, warn that there are paramilitary forces present with the approval of official troops. “The Army is paralyzed.”

Timing of renegotiation

But paramilitarism was not the only topic of discussion in the long days. For Senator Iván Cepeda of the Democratic Pole, the Peace Congress should mean a boost to the implementation process and attention to lost time and putting legislative initiatives on the fast track.

“The processes of renegotiation of the agreements need to be finished and that the legislative process for integral agrarian development should be initiated immediately,” said Cepeda, who invited the candidates and candidates for the Presidency of the Republic to Respect and commit to the signed peace accords.

The United Nations, represented by its resident Martin Santiago Herrero, said that his presence at the Peace Congress is a sign of the will of the international community to accompany each of the initiatives that contribute to the realization of peace.

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(Click here for the original Spanish version of this article

Question related to this article:

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

(Article continued from left column)

“Peace is an opportunity for transformation and change in those regions that have suffered from the conflict. But experience also shows that the first 18 to 24 months are the most important in the implementation of the agreements. All efforts are necessary, “said Santiago.

The UN is concerned about three worrisome issues to consolidate peace. On the one hand, to safeguard the lives of human rights defenders and some cases of death to ex-combatants of the FARC and their families; On the other hand, the presence of criminal successor groups of the paramilitaries, and the need to advance the peace process with the ELN.

The intervention of Roberto Menéndez, Head of the Mission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia of the OAS, was in the same vein. “The Peace Congress motivates the efforts made by the national government, insurgencies, communities, women, indigenous peoples, Afro peoples, workers and the people in generating them out of the tragedy of the conflict. But we must recognize that the Congress that boasts of having different visions of peace, “said Menendez.

Regional peace

For Green party leader Ángela María Robledo, the Peace Congress revealed that peace has a regional focus: “We are here to continue to accompany implementation and give unconditional support to the ELN peace talks. We have to take the weapons out of politics, we must strengthen the rule of law and we must focus on peace in the regions to transform the lives of the Colombians of the deep Colombia, “said Robledo.

The guerrilla commander Iván Márquez made an appearance and expressed his gratitude for the invitation to the FARC-EP. From the rostrum he noted: “The peace agreement of November 24 signed at the Teatro Colon, are more than 310 pages. It is the birth certificate of a transforming power that in the hands of the people and statesmen with vision, can be used to fill our homeland with humanity, inclusion, respect for the other and social justice. It is urgent to activate the great national political agreement mentioned in the introduction of the agreement that defines the reforms and institutional adjustments to address the challenges that peace demands by imposing a new framework of social coexistence, “said Márquez.

The fulfillment of the agreement that Iván Márquez demands, was reiterated by Commander Victoria Sandino, who denounced the lack of advances in the process of implementation of the agreements in the Congress and in the Transitional Areas of Normalization. “We are building a conflictive peace, starting with the situations of the paramilitary phenomenon unleashed throughout the national territory. They are killing the comrades and relatives. Peace can not be possible in the midst of death, “said Sandino.

Government

Another of the attendees was the ex-mayor of Bogotá Rafael Pardo, who noted that the next step in the implementation process will be the ambitious economic plan that should establish agricultural points to replace illicit crops. “May is the key month for implementation. These are major challenges, as the FARC must finish the arms embargo and the Government must present the Framework Implementation Plan, which has to do with points one and four for the next 15 years. This framework will regulate local and national development plans for the next three five-year periods and how they are to be executed. For this, it will be the Council for Economic and Social Policy who will set the budgetary frameworks for the agreements, “said Rafael Pardo who is now serving as post-conflict minister.

At the end of the day the conversation turned to the question: How is the process going with the ELN? The participants were Alberto Castilla as moderator, Juan Camilo Restrepo, chief negotiator of the Colombian government in Quito and guerrilla chief Eduardo Martínez, of the ELN. They stressed the importance of the participation of local communities because they are the ones that today suffer the war. “We will continue at the table, ready to advance in the path of difficulties, but with everyone involved,” said Eduardo Martinez.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America