{"id":14099,"date":"2018-11-06T13:30:35","date_gmt":"2018-11-06T18:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=14099"},"modified":"2020-03-15T09:44:40","modified_gmt":"2020-03-15T13:44:40","slug":"nonviolence-charter-progress-report-13-october-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=14099","title":{"rendered":"Nonviolence Charter: Progress Report 13 (October 2018)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

EDUCATION FOR PEACE . <\/p>\n

An article by Robert J. Burrowes, Anita McKone & Anahata Giri for Transcend Media Service<\/a> (abbreviated)<\/p>\n

At the time of today\u2019s report, we have signatories in 105 countries with our first signatory, Peter C.S. Kim, in South Korea since the last report. We also have 114 organizations\/networks from 36 countries. If you wish, you can see the list of\u00a0organizational endorsements\u00a0<\/a> on the Charter website.<\/p>\n

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If you wish to see individual signatories, click on the \u2018View signatures\u2019 item in the sidebar. You can use the search facility if you want to look for a specific name.<\/p>\n

The latest progress report article \u2018Gandhi\u2019s Despair and the Struggle for Truth and Love\u2019 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\u00a0Antonio C. S. Rosa,\u00a0Gifty Ayim-Korankye,\u00a0Korsi Senyo\u00a0and\u00a0P\u00eda Figueroa\u00a0). If you like, you can read the article in English here \u2013\u00a0‘Gandhi\u2019s Despair and the Struggle for Truth and Love\u2019<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 and, thanks to its translation into French by Charter signatory Edith Rubinstein in Belgium, here:\u00a0‘Le d\u00e9sespoir de Gandhi et la lutte pour la v\u00e9rit\u00e9 et l\u2019amour<\/a>\u2019. . . .<\/p>\n

Anyway, here is another (inadequate) sample of reports of the activities of individuals and organizations who are your fellow Charter signatories.<\/p>\n

Given that dysfunctional parenting is ultimately responsible for the behaviour of those individuals \u2013 including political, corporate, military and religious leaders \u2013 who generate and perpetuate violence, a number of Charter signatories are now making\u00a0‘My Promise to Children<\/a>\u2019\u00a0so that we start to produce a higher proportion of functional individuals who know how to powerfully resolve conflicts in their lives without resort to violence. Still other signatories are now prioritizing their own recovery from childhood violence by\u00a0‘Putting Feelings First<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n

Some signatories are developing more sophisticated nonviolent strategies to deal with peace, environment and social justice issues more effectively, or so they can be more strategic in their liberation struggle. If you are interested in nonviolent strategy for your campaign or liberation struggle, these websites (which include photos of several Charter signatories) will be helpful:<\/p>\n

Nonviolent Campaign Strategy<\/a><\/p>\n

Nonviolent Defense\/Liberation Strategy<\/a> . . . . <\/p>\n

Since the last report in April, we finally made time to accede to various requests over the years to revise the Charter by adding to it certain issues that some signatories believed to be important. So, the revised (and updated) Charter is now posted\u00a0here\u00a0<\/a> with the Spanish translation, again kindly done by Antonio Guti\u00e9rrez Rodero in Venezuela,\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, you will find nothing objectionable about the update but please advise us if you do.<\/p>\n

So to the report . . . . <\/p>\n

Further to the report last time of their original three \u2018lists of 100\u2019, recognizing some of the many fine peace and justice leaders around the world, Charter signatory Professor Kathleen Malley-Morrison and her colleague Professor Anthony J. Marsella researched the efforts of many other fine activist leaders to compile a fourth list which has now been published. You can see the names of the people they decided to recognize, including many Charter signatories, in these four lists here:<\/p>\n

1. \u2019In Pursuit of Peace and Justice: 100 Peace & Justice Leaders and Models<\/a>‘.<\/p>\n

2. \u2019In Pursuit of Peace and Justice: 100 Peace & Justice Leaders and Models (List #2)<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n

3. \u2019100 Living Peace and Justice Leaders and Models (List #3)<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n

4. \u2019100 Living Peace and Justice Leaders and Models (List #4)<\/a>\u2019, 6 Aug 2018.<\/p>\n

Once again, thank you for all your work compiling these lists and recognizing some fine activist leaders Kathie and Tony.<\/p>\n

In addition to this work, however, Kathie maintains her own website\u00a0‘Engaging Peace<\/a>\u2019\u00a0on which her own thoughtful articles appear, as well as her commentary and\/or questions designed to encourage reflection, on articles by guest authors published on her site. . . . <\/p>\n

In Afghanistan, the\u00a0Afghan Peace Volunteers, mentored by Dr Teck Young Wee (Dr Hakim) continue their inspirational work in extraordinarily difficult circumstances to bring sustainable peace to Afghanistan and the world. Two of Hakim\u2019s recent articles will give you a clear sense of their exceptional work and vision:\u00a0\u2018In Afghanistan, our need to rethink the institution of war\u2019\u00a0and\u00a0\u2018Loving Rashid so he won\u2019t become a \u201cterrorist\u201d\u2018.<\/p>\n

On the International Day of Peace (21 September), the Afghan Peace Volunteers organized a youth conference \u2018Love in Action Brings Down Borders and Restores the Environment\u2019 in Kabul. As part of their vision to build #GEN \u2013 a Green, Equal and Nonviolent world \u2013 representatives from all of Afghanistan\u2019s provinces were invited with the intention to create an atmosphere of friendship and trust. \u2018Holding this conference requires great courage in this time of almost daily bombings and attacks. The APVs show real leadership in nonviolence, including environmental restoration, and improving food security, despite the increasing violence.\u2019 For a report on this conference, see\u00a0‘Afghan youth change their minds about peace<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n

While being hosted by the Afghan Peace Volunteers in Kabul, Kathy Kelly wrote two delightful accounts of the Pashto men in Afghanistan who walked 400 miles from Helmand to Kabul while calling on warring parties in Afghanistan to end the war. Didn\u2019t catch this in the corporate media? Surprising! So how did the Afghan peace walkers go? Find out in Kathy\u2019s articles\u00a0‘Digging Deeper<\/a>\u2019and\u00a0‘A Mile in Their Shoes<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n

As always, of course, Kathy continues her nonviolent activism to end war, resulting in her arrest and imprisonment fairly routinely. Fortunately, she evocatively documents her efforts on behalf of those on the receiving end of western military violence, however and wherever it manifests. For articles and actions focusing on Yemen in which Kathy and Voices for Creative Nonviolence were involved, you will find these items sobering:\u00a0‘U.S. Is Complicit in Child Slaughter in Yemen<\/a>\u2019\u00a0and\u00a0\u201934 Backpacks \u2013 an ongoing commemoration of Yemeni children killed on August 9<\/a> \u2032.<\/p>\n

Kathy was also among those arrested, along with fellow Charter signatories \u2013 Joy First, Malachy Kilbride and Phil Runkel \u2013 at a nonviolent action, organized by the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, to draw attention to the plight of the people of Yemen under bombardment by US weapons supplied to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners. You can read a little about their action and Kathy\u2019s court statement here:\u00a0‘A Courtroom Appeal for Yemen<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n

Another of those arrested, Phil Runkel, works at Marquette University where he has served since 1977 as archivist for the papers of sainthood candidate Dorothy Day. There is an account of an earlier action taken in 2016 by Phil, written by Joy, here:\u00a0‘Phil Runkel, Dorothy Day Archivist and Activist, Found Guilty of Trespassing in Wisconsin<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n

Professor Chandra Muzaffar is President of JUST International \u2013 the\u00a0International Movement for a JUST World<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 based in Malaysia. Chandra routinely writes insightful commentary on Malaysian and world affairs. A recent notable article, titled\u00a0‘Syria: A False Flag Operation Thwarted?<\/a> \u2019, described revelations by the Syrian and Russian governments that \u2018may have thwarted a British-backed plan to stage a \u201cfalse flag\u201d chemical weapons attack in Idlib province that would have forced the US to launch a missile and air assault on Syria\u2019. Given that previous false flag events in Syria have been used to justify military attacks on the country, exposure of this plan prevented another such assault. . . . .<\/p>\n

Zakia Haddouch in Morocco continues to report the extraordinarily difficult circumstances of people in that country as she and other activists continue their various struggles to bring some semblance of justice to Moroccan affairs. One prominent issue is the ongoing debate in relation to \u2018the forced military service (for both young female and male subjects and I don\u2019t say citizens). It was lately decreed by the king. So, some say it\u2019s good because the military service will \u201ceducate\u201d young people. Some think it\u2019s just the regime\u2019s manoeuvre to enroll young contestants and activists, especially from regions like Rif.\u2019 In Zakia\u2019s view, the whole thing is wrong \u2018starting from the way it was enacted (without going through the Parliament) and the timing (during the holidays) and finally the intention (despotic and war-oriented)\u2026\u2019.<\/p>\n

Another struggle is taking place in the wake of the death of Mohcine Fikri on 28 October 2016, who was crushed to death in a rubbish truck trying to recover merchandise confiscated by a policeman. Following this event, Hirak (literally \u2018The Movement\u2019) was born and it quickly mobilized widespread support for its vigorous protests. While most of Hirak\u2019s concerns are about local issues, it draws upon a national repertory of nonviolent actions fueled by the experiences of activists around the country. Between October 2016 and May 2017, and faced with social unrest of an unprecedented vitality which increasingly challenged him personally, Mohamed VI remained silent. However, when Hirak leader Nasser Zefzazi \u2013 who has never failed to stress nonviolence and advocate self-restraint \u2013 interrupted a sermon on 26 May 2017 in which an imam claimed the social movement was tantamount to a \u2018fratricidal struggle or even civil war within Islam\u2019, the government took this pretext to clamp down on Hirak. <\/p>\n

(continued in right column)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Question for this article:<\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
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Can peace be guaranteed through nonviolent means?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

(continued from left column)<\/p>\n

Many activists were jailed \u2013 over 200 so far \u2013 and demonstrations are now systematically broken up. Zefzazi was among those arrested (on 29 May 2017) and, along with other members of Hirak, subsequently jailed for 20 years. The repression has nipped in the bud any hopes for resolving the crisis. For good accounts of the above, Zakia suggests these two articles:\u00a0‘Rif Crisis Reveals Failure of Development in Morocco<\/a>\u2019\u00a0and\u00a0‘Moroccan Protest Leader Is Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n

In relation to her own ongoing case, outlined in the previous report (see link above), Zakia notes that she hasn\u2019t received notification of the appeal verdict against her so she cannot go to the supreme court yet. She is still waiting \u2018with high spirit because I believe in my just cause and I\u2019m determined to go to the end\u2019. In sincere appreciation Zakia!<\/p>\n

Ella Polyakova and her colleagues at the\u00a0Soldiers\u2019 Mothers of Saint-Petersburg\u00a0<\/a> in Russia continue their fine work to defend the rights of servicemen and conscripts by making sure that individuals are equipped with knowledge of their rights, the law and all relevant circumstances to be able to take responsibility for defending themselves from abuse. . . . <\/p>\n

And just to show that activism is sometimes a family affair and perhaps even a multi-generational family affair, how about this action? Martha Hennessy, whose grandmother was Dorothy Day, wrote an evocative\u00a0‘Earth Day Reflection from a Georgia Jail<\/a>\u2019\u00a0where she was imprisoned with fellow nonviolent activist and Charter signatory Elizabeth McAlister (whose husband was the late Phil Berrigan). Martha and Liz, together with five other activists, had taken part in the Kings Bay Plowshares action for the reasons outlined in the article\u00a0‘Trident: Illegal and Immoral: \u201cThe ultimate logic of Trident is omnicide<\/a>\u201d’. In deep appreciation of your inspirational commitment Martha and Liz. . . . .<\/p>\n

David Polden continues to publish his fine \u2018Non-Violent Resistance Newsletter\u2019 every couple of months, with news on nonviolent resistance both in the UK but also around the world, particularly Europe and Palestine. Unfortunately, despite our entreaties, David\u2019s Newsletter is not online but you are welcome to contact him at if you wish to be added to his email list. Well worth it, in our view. . . . .<\/p>\n

For yet another visionary initiative, David Steinman is the Project Director of\u00a0World Liberation Radio\u00a0<\/a> which has begun a crowd funding campaign for a demonstration project \u2018proving nonviolence can be taught to oppressed populations around the world by radio\u2019. You can find out more about David\u2019s fine initiative on the website above and please consider supporting his crowdfunding campaign too. Great idea David!<\/p>\n

Many of you no doubt followed the progress of the recent international Freedom Flotilla Coalition boats attempting to sail into Gaza in Israeli-occupied Palestine. Whether or not you did, however, Elizabeth Murray was on the refurbished Norwegian fishing vessel and international solidarity boat \u2018Al-Awda\u2019 so you will find out a little about the flotilla and what it was intent on doing from her account of\u00a0‘The Next Boat to Gaza<\/a>\u2019. Good on you Elizabeth for so courageously supporting our Palestinian friends. . . . <\/p>\n

The Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space held their annual conference at Oxford in the UK in June 2018. You can see some\u00a0photos of fellow activists you might know <\/a> and read Bruce Gagnon\u2019s brief \u2018Report on GN confab in Oxford, England \u2013 next 2019 meeting in Russia\u2019\u00a0here.
\nIn August the Global Network also produced a short video\u00a0‘Just Say NO To Space Force<\/a>\u2019. . . . <\/p>\n

P\u00eda Figueroa in Chile is Co-Director of\u00a0‘Pressenza International Press Agency<\/a>\u2019, which \u2018feeds media every day for free with news, opinions, interviews and contributions regarding peace, nonviolence, disarmament, human rights, nondiscrimination and humanism in eight different languages, thanks to the volunteer work of more than 100 people based in 25 different countries.\u2019 . . . .<\/p>\n

\u2018Next November Pressenza celebrates 10 years, a milestone that we will celebrate decentrally in more than 40 places in the world, especially in Asia where we are trying to organize new editorial offices. Personally, I will be visiting China for the first time in order to participate in October in the Media Forum organized by CCTV+ in the city of Chongqing.<\/p>\n

\u2018Social organizations that want us to publish their Press Releases and columnists that contribute with their nonviolent analysis are very much welcome.\u2019 Contact P\u00eda Figueroa Thanks a lot P\u00eda for your unfailing support. . . . <\/p>\n

West Papuan solidarity activist Dr Jason MacLeod continues his work in support of the nonviolent struggle to liberate West Papua from Indonesian occupation. Jason\u2019s 2015 book\u00a0Merdeka and the Morning Star: civil resistance in West Papua\u00a0<\/a> carefully describes the evolution of the West Papuan resistance to three successive occupying countries over more than a century.<\/p>\n

Jason continues to work with Pasifika, a small organisation involved in strengthening the capacity of nonviolent resistance movements through the provision of training and education, action research and small-scale support of local nonviolent initiatives. . . . <\/p>\n

Our friends at\u00a0CND Cymru\u00a0<\/a> continue their campaign with like-minded souls both in Wales and around the world \u2018for peace, environmental and social justice and to rid Britain and the world of all weapons of mass destruction\u2019. In the latest edition of their magazine\u00a0‘Heddwch<\/a>\u2019, which is full of news of their activities, Jill Gough\u2019s article \u2018Army crashes fifth drone\u2019 reports that yet another military drone recently crashed in a civilian area where, apparently, the primary military threat to the UK that afternoon was the local school sports. I guess we should be glad it was only a drone, which in this case didn\u2019t kill anyone or cause significant damage, rather than a nuclear weapon! . . . .<\/p>\n

Korsi Senyo is the Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Peace Building in Ghana and a prominent peace and civil rights advocate in Africa. At the invitation of H.E Benjamin Mkapa, former President of Tanzania, Korsi was in Tanzania to speak at the 2018 Africa Leadership Forum on \u2018Africa in the Global Peace and Security Architecture \u2013 Overcoming gridlocks to peace\u2019. . . . Korsi presented a strong case on how regional blocs across Africa must support research initiatives that will help to better understand the major causes of conflict on the continent and devise practical solutions to these challenges. You can read more about Korsi and his fine team on the AFCOPB\u00a0website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dr John Tierney in the USA offers a range of resources designed to teach children \u2018how to act peacefully\u2019 while inspiring and enabling teachers to teach peacemaking skills but also encourage all of us \u2018to see and celebrate the role that young peacemakers can have in changing their own lives, their schools, communities, and the world at large. . . . You can read more about John\u2019s approach and access the resources he makes available on his website\u00a0The Peaceful Educator<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sami Awad, who is Director of the\u00a0Holy Land Trust\u00a0<\/a> . . . . . and other friends at the Holy Land Trust continue their exceptional work to create a just and peaceful Middle East. For example, their Peace Research & Learning Center \u2018fosters analysis of fundamental issues and structural problems in Palestine and Israel. Researchers utilize various methodologies in the field of social sciences to focus on themes of nonviolence, non-linear thinking, trauma healing, and to propose solutions to such issues. The Center attract researchers in multidisciplinary fields, and promote trans-disciplinary international joint research in Palestine. Research results derived from the Center are not only to be announced in the research community, but also to be announced as proposals to the society and the government\u2019 . . . .<\/p>\n

Graham Peebles, whose longstanding interest in the Horn of Africa has given him much opportunity to study the region, recently reported what is happening in Ethiopia. \u2018As a result of the peaceful protest campaign that started in 2015, political change is at last underway in Ethiopia, and a feeling of optimism is beginning to pervade the country. The new Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, deserves much credit, but it was the actions of thousands of people who took to the streets calling for change that has forced the government to act. All those who marched in defiance of the ruling party displayed great courage and relentless determination. They risked their lives and liberty in standing up to tyranny; they are the heroes of the day, and we should salute them all. . . . For the full account, see Graham\u2019s article\u00a0‘A Time of Hope for Ethiopia<\/a>\u2019. . . . .<\/p>\n

Dr. Ayo Ayoola-Amale in Ghana reports on the 32nd Triennial International Congress of WILPF held in that country. The\u00a0Women\u2019s International League for Peace and Freedom\u00a0<\/a> (WILPF) is an international NGO established in 1915 with National Sections covering every continent. The recent conference was held on 20-22 August 2018 at the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy on the vast campus of the University of Ghana in Ghana\u2019s capital city of Accra. The conference brought together women from around the world.<\/p>\n

\u2018On the first day of Congress, WILPF welcomed five new Sections and nine new Groups. This congress saw an African \u2013 Nigerian born Joy Ada Onyesoh \u2013 become WILPF\u2019s first African President, along with newly elected vice-presidents and other key officers. There were several group discussions across a number of key thematic issues. The 32nd congress was held within its theme \u201cBuilding a Feminist Peace Movement\u201d. The Congress voting delegates approved the framework of the proposed International Program for 2018-2021, which includes emphases on environmental concerns and issues integral to human rights activism around the world, it calls for an end to violence in all forms as it broadly outlines the approach to be undertaken internationally and by all sections, groups, and members. WILPF advancing feminist peace requires making known and working to abolish the root causes of violence, systems of oppression and their interconnection, including militarization, patriarchy, and neoliberalism. The Feminist Peace Movement in Africa Forum was held, looking at the historic and current realities of women working for peace across Africa, especially locally within conflict-affected communities. The root causes of violence and feminist work for social transformation, economic justice and peace was explored during this special forum.\u2019 . . . .<\/p>\n

\u2018This historic congress and conference, the first WILPF international congress held in Africa after 103 years was a very successful and memorable event with great classic music from almost every country in Africa, traditional drumming and dance troupes, Poetry, Storytelling, art and craft. . . . .<\/p>\n

From 21 August to 9 September, prisoners in 17 states of the USA went on strike to protest inhuman living and working conditions and to promote ten basic demands. Although the formal strike is over, some prisoners are being retaliated against and others are continuing to strike. In a recent podcast for \u2018Clearing the FOG\u2019, Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese spoke with Amani Sawari, a prisoners rights activist, about the strike, the demands and how we can all provide support to finally end legalized slavery in the United States. You can listen to the interview here:\u00a0‘The National Prison Strike Isn\u2019t Over<\/a>\u2019. . . .<\/p>\n<\/piaf><\/davidtrpolden><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EDUCATION FOR PEACE . An article by Robert J. Burrowes, Anita McKone & Anahata Giri for Transcend Media Service (abbreviated) At the time of today\u2019s report, we have signatories in 105 countries with our first signatory, Peter C.S. Kim, in South Korea since the last report. We also have 114 organizations\/networks from 36 countries. If … Continue reading Nonviolence Charter: Progress Report 13 (October 2018)<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,76],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-14099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education-for-peace","category-global","tag-global"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14099\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}