Humanist Movement condemns the killing of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan.
This act of violence is in unfortunate continuity of the violence that Pakistan is witness to over the last 60 years, ever since its formation.
The people of Pakistan are Peace-loving just like any human being across the globe.
We support the urge for Peace of the Pakistanis and are with them in this moment of serious crisis. We urge them not to give-in to violent situation and take up Non-violence as their response to these violent acts. We urge them to take personally responsibility of their nation and its people and working through Non-violence, bring a strong, peaceful and permanent change for their nation and its peace-loving people.
The Humanists, across the globe will support them in their struggle for Peace and Happiness for all Pakistanis.
Peace, Force & Joy!
Humanist Movement,
Sudhir Gandotra.
You don't need violence to shake the world
Treat Others As You Would Have Them Treat You
Humanist Movement www.humanistmovement.org
Humanist Party www.humanistparty.org
Saturday, 29 December 2007
Sunday, 2 December 2007
Bangladesh & the nineteenth century
The Humanist Movement is currently involved in active relief for the people of Bangladesh after the recent devastating typhoon. The ‘lifting’ of this article from the Sydney Morning Herald is intended to bring attention to the lack of basic Human conditions normally found in Bangladesh..
Whether it's from the heavens above or sanitation below, water is a constant source of danger to the people of Bangladesh, writes Larry Elliott.
Charles Dickens would have felt at home in the streets of Dhaka. The barefoot children waiting for their mothers and sisters to come home from the textile mills, the chimneys of the brick factories vaguely visible in the smog. And the stench.
Like Victorian London, the shanty towns of Bangladesh's capital reek of excrement dropped from makeshift hanging toilets perched precariously on bamboo stilts a couple of metres above the mire. Bangladesh is the object of the world's pity as it deals with the cyclone that killed more than 3000 people. Yet when the television appeals are over, when attention has switched to another country stricken by flood, famine or earthquake, the stench of raw sewage will remain. And it will still be the second-biggest killer of children after respiratory illnesses. Two hundred perish every hour as a result of living conditions that would cause an outcry if they occurred in the West, and should cause an outcry for being allowed to happen anywhere.
With its flushing toilets and mains drainage, it's hard to recall that London was once akin to Dhaka when it came to sanitation. The Great Wen, the fast-growing metropolis that was the hub of the British empire in the mid-19th century, could not cope with urbanisation. Cesspits overflowed into the homes of the poor and the Thames ran sluggish with raw sewage.
In 1858, a particularly hot summer, MPs got a whiff of the problem as the Great Stench, as it was called, wafted through the mother of parliaments. In less than three weeks, the government had commissioned Sir Joseph Bazalgette to develop a new sewerage system that prevented toilet waste from going into the river or accumulating near homes.
The results were instant. People stopped dying of cholera and typhoid and when there was an even larger investment in sanitation in the 1890s it produced the biggest drop in infant mortality ever seen in Britain.
That was then. Last week, the United Nations launched its Year of Sanitation to mark the fact that 2.6billion people - almost half the world's population - still live in insanitary conditions considered repugnant and intolerable by the Victorians.
Yet, perhaps because we in the West take clean water and sanitation for granted, providing septic tanks and U-bends have never quite had the emotional appeal of starving babies, HIV/AIDS patients and children desperate to go to school.
Sanitation is such a low priority that when the UN drew up its list of millennium development goals to be achieved by 2015, ensuring that the children of slum-dwellers in Dhaka could go to the toilet without endangering their lives did not feature among them.
After pressure from charities such as WaterAid, the UN later agreed to set a target for halving the number of people without access to clean water and sanitation but on current trends, the target will not be achieved until more than half a century later. Rich countries have promised to double assistance by 2010 but have yet to deliver - spending on water and sanitation has fallen.
WaterAid says much of the extra spending on education will be wasted if children with diarrhoea are too sick to go to school or if girls take one week off in a month because there are no facilities for them to menstruate with modesty.
Every dollar spent on sanitation leads to $9 of returns in health - a stupendous return on investment. Britain is one of the few countries to make a priority of water and sanitation and has supported the military-backed Government in Bangladesh in its attempt to provide 100percent access to sanitation, not by 2015 but by 2010.
It's a real challenge, not out in the rural areas, but in Dhaka, where the pressures of being one of the world's fastest-growing cities push the slums further and further out each year.
Abul Barkat, economics professor at the University of Dhaka, says what is happening in the city is not so much urbanisation as slumisation. He is sceptical about official figures showing that sanitation coverage has increased from 33percent in 2003 to 84percent today.
Paul Edwards, who works for the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund(UNICEF) in Bangladesh, agrees and notes that not all the toilets would qualify as providing decent sanitation since many lack a seal between the pit and the external environment. "But I'm fairly confident that there has been a shift in attitudes. People want to own their own toilets," he said.
The Bangladeshi Government's first attempt at increasing coverage for sanitation was a failure - it committed scarce resources from its budget, bought the sanitary hardware, delivered it across the country and then saw nothing happen.
Things only started to change once power was devolved to a lower level and communities were made aware of the benefits of sanitation, and every family, no matter how poor, was obliged to make a contribution, perhaps through free labour, to the installation of their own toilet.
Rich families subsidised poor ones and children were mobilised to put pressure on anybody who decided that the new-fangled latrines were no match for defecating in the open. In a village close to Jamalpur, a five-hour drive from Dhaka, there is now 100percent sanitation coverage.
Women, in particular, say having their own toilets has given them privacy, safety and better health for their children. Laily Begum, a mother of three, says: "The children used to suffer badly with diarrhoea. Now there is no diarrhoea, no sickness. In the past, many of us were frightened to go out when it was dark for fear of being attacked."
In the cities, the scale of the task is much more daunting. Dhaka has only one reticulated sewage treatment plant covering a quarter of the city's estimated 12million population. Chittagong, with the same size population as Chicago, doesn't have one at all.
The constant danger is of the water supply being contaminated by human waste, particularly since the country is vulnerable to weather patterns associated with climate change.
Jan Moller Hansen of the Danish embassy, says: "Dhaka is expanding faster than the ability of the city to cope. But it's not a lack of technical expertise, it's a question of policies, institutions and financial resources."
In Britain, action was sped up by demands from the private sector, but Mohammed Sabur, WaterAid's director in Bangladesh, says: "In Britain, the factory owners wanted healthy workers. Here, if 100 workers are sick, there are 200 to take their place. The only company likely to exert pressure for better sanitation is Unilever, so they can sell more soap."
That vacuum needs to be filled - by Western governments and by aid organisations - not just for Bangladesh but for all the even poorer countries in sub-Saharan Africa where sanitation is not a government priority. The alternative is to hold our noses and pretend it isn't happening.
Unsanitary statistics
2.6 billion The number of people worldwide who live in insanitary conditions.
200 The number of children killed every hour from water-borne diseases.
12 million The number of people in Dhaka served by one reticulated sewage plant.
84 percent Official figures of sanitation coverage in Bangladesh today.
Whether it's from the heavens above or sanitation below, water is a constant source of danger to the people of Bangladesh, writes Larry Elliott.
Charles Dickens would have felt at home in the streets of Dhaka. The barefoot children waiting for their mothers and sisters to come home from the textile mills, the chimneys of the brick factories vaguely visible in the smog. And the stench.
Like Victorian London, the shanty towns of Bangladesh's capital reek of excrement dropped from makeshift hanging toilets perched precariously on bamboo stilts a couple of metres above the mire. Bangladesh is the object of the world's pity as it deals with the cyclone that killed more than 3000 people. Yet when the television appeals are over, when attention has switched to another country stricken by flood, famine or earthquake, the stench of raw sewage will remain. And it will still be the second-biggest killer of children after respiratory illnesses. Two hundred perish every hour as a result of living conditions that would cause an outcry if they occurred in the West, and should cause an outcry for being allowed to happen anywhere.
With its flushing toilets and mains drainage, it's hard to recall that London was once akin to Dhaka when it came to sanitation. The Great Wen, the fast-growing metropolis that was the hub of the British empire in the mid-19th century, could not cope with urbanisation. Cesspits overflowed into the homes of the poor and the Thames ran sluggish with raw sewage.
In 1858, a particularly hot summer, MPs got a whiff of the problem as the Great Stench, as it was called, wafted through the mother of parliaments. In less than three weeks, the government had commissioned Sir Joseph Bazalgette to develop a new sewerage system that prevented toilet waste from going into the river or accumulating near homes.
The results were instant. People stopped dying of cholera and typhoid and when there was an even larger investment in sanitation in the 1890s it produced the biggest drop in infant mortality ever seen in Britain.
That was then. Last week, the United Nations launched its Year of Sanitation to mark the fact that 2.6billion people - almost half the world's population - still live in insanitary conditions considered repugnant and intolerable by the Victorians.
Yet, perhaps because we in the West take clean water and sanitation for granted, providing septic tanks and U-bends have never quite had the emotional appeal of starving babies, HIV/AIDS patients and children desperate to go to school.
Sanitation is such a low priority that when the UN drew up its list of millennium development goals to be achieved by 2015, ensuring that the children of slum-dwellers in Dhaka could go to the toilet without endangering their lives did not feature among them.
After pressure from charities such as WaterAid, the UN later agreed to set a target for halving the number of people without access to clean water and sanitation but on current trends, the target will not be achieved until more than half a century later. Rich countries have promised to double assistance by 2010 but have yet to deliver - spending on water and sanitation has fallen.
WaterAid says much of the extra spending on education will be wasted if children with diarrhoea are too sick to go to school or if girls take one week off in a month because there are no facilities for them to menstruate with modesty.
Every dollar spent on sanitation leads to $9 of returns in health - a stupendous return on investment. Britain is one of the few countries to make a priority of water and sanitation and has supported the military-backed Government in Bangladesh in its attempt to provide 100percent access to sanitation, not by 2015 but by 2010.
It's a real challenge, not out in the rural areas, but in Dhaka, where the pressures of being one of the world's fastest-growing cities push the slums further and further out each year.
Abul Barkat, economics professor at the University of Dhaka, says what is happening in the city is not so much urbanisation as slumisation. He is sceptical about official figures showing that sanitation coverage has increased from 33percent in 2003 to 84percent today.
Paul Edwards, who works for the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund(UNICEF) in Bangladesh, agrees and notes that not all the toilets would qualify as providing decent sanitation since many lack a seal between the pit and the external environment. "But I'm fairly confident that there has been a shift in attitudes. People want to own their own toilets," he said.
The Bangladeshi Government's first attempt at increasing coverage for sanitation was a failure - it committed scarce resources from its budget, bought the sanitary hardware, delivered it across the country and then saw nothing happen.
Things only started to change once power was devolved to a lower level and communities were made aware of the benefits of sanitation, and every family, no matter how poor, was obliged to make a contribution, perhaps through free labour, to the installation of their own toilet.
Rich families subsidised poor ones and children were mobilised to put pressure on anybody who decided that the new-fangled latrines were no match for defecating in the open. In a village close to Jamalpur, a five-hour drive from Dhaka, there is now 100percent sanitation coverage.
Women, in particular, say having their own toilets has given them privacy, safety and better health for their children. Laily Begum, a mother of three, says: "The children used to suffer badly with diarrhoea. Now there is no diarrhoea, no sickness. In the past, many of us were frightened to go out when it was dark for fear of being attacked."
In the cities, the scale of the task is much more daunting. Dhaka has only one reticulated sewage treatment plant covering a quarter of the city's estimated 12million population. Chittagong, with the same size population as Chicago, doesn't have one at all.
The constant danger is of the water supply being contaminated by human waste, particularly since the country is vulnerable to weather patterns associated with climate change.
Jan Moller Hansen of the Danish embassy, says: "Dhaka is expanding faster than the ability of the city to cope. But it's not a lack of technical expertise, it's a question of policies, institutions and financial resources."
In Britain, action was sped up by demands from the private sector, but Mohammed Sabur, WaterAid's director in Bangladesh, says: "In Britain, the factory owners wanted healthy workers. Here, if 100 workers are sick, there are 200 to take their place. The only company likely to exert pressure for better sanitation is Unilever, so they can sell more soap."
That vacuum needs to be filled - by Western governments and by aid organisations - not just for Bangladesh but for all the even poorer countries in sub-Saharan Africa where sanitation is not a government priority. The alternative is to hold our noses and pretend it isn't happening.
Unsanitary statistics
2.6 billion The number of people worldwide who live in insanitary conditions.
200 The number of children killed every hour from water-borne diseases.
12 million The number of people in Dhaka served by one reticulated sewage plant.
84 percent Official figures of sanitation coverage in Bangladesh today.
Thursday, 29 November 2007
The Humanist Movement & Bolivia - the Latin American Humanist forum
II Latin American Humanist Forum
Latin America United without Wars and Without Violence
Over the course of the 23rd, 24th and 25th of November 2007, in La Paz, Bolivia, humanist individuals and organisations met with representatives of governments, parliamentarians, political parties and diverse Latin American social movements. We value the joint work and the contribution of all those in the development of this Forum.
Prior to its inauguration, we were received in the sacred land of Tiahuanaco, a place where we celebrated an ancient ceremony in honour of Pachamama and the Father Sun. Then together we celebrated the Office, a ceremony of Silo’s Message. The local authorities honoured those humanists present and the spokespeople as distinguished guests in that place.
The Forum was inaugurated by the President of the Republic of Bolivia, Evo Morales Ayma and was broadcast live through the national television of the host country.
The work was divided into 18 tables that dealt with the following themes: Art and Integration; Women and Integration of the Peoples; Latin American Student Movement; Conflicts, Disarmament and World without Wars; Native Peoples; Immigrants and Latin American Integration; Strategic Energy: Human Rights, Disability and Development; Generation of Nonviolent Ambits; Health; Education; Human City, Alternative Economics; the Media; Spirituality and Religiosity; Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. The conclusions of this work will be included as an annexe.
Besides this, we held three panels about: “Nonviolent resolution of historical conflicts between nations”; “There will only be progress if it is by all and for all”; “Visions for a Latin America United, without wars and without violence”. The book The end of Prehistory, whose author is the Spokesperson for Humanism in Latin America, Tomás Hirsch, was also presented.
In parallel, a meeting of New Generations was held, together with meetings of the Centre of Cultures, the Community for Human Development and Humanist Parties of the region.
The Forum explicitly manifested its support to the people and government of Bolivia for the important processes of transformation that are being carried out, in order to achieve greater democracy and social justice in this country. Upon ending the Forum, with great joy we received the news of the approval of the new Constitution by the Constituent Assembly, which found the way to leap over all the difficulties met along the way.
Declaration of La Paz
The Bolivian process is an example for the entire continent and for the world. Universalist Humanism recognises a genuine coincidence with the principles of non-discrimination and nonviolence that drives the Bolivian Government, in the moment of carrying forward its revolutionary project. Bolivia is showing a path of liberation and humanisation for our peoples. The Latin American Humanist Forum commits to continue disseminating this courageous attempt to the whole world.
We are making our own, the proposal of President Evo Morales to include the renunciation of war as a constitutional article in all countries of the region. This gesture added to the attempt to recover the dignity of the Bolivian people through a methodology of active nonviolence, merits the Nobel Peace Prize.
Political-Social projects are emerging in Latin America that gives priority to the well being of its peoples above the dictatorship of macroeconomic demands. In this way, the recovery of natural and energy resources and the basic services of water, light and communications go exactly in this direction. The withdrawal from ICSID by the Bolivian Government is a measure that contributes to advance towards an improvement in the living conditions for its people and a decision that should be implemented in other Latin American countries.
The resolution of historical conflicts and progressive and proportional disarmament between countries of the region are fundamental themes for Latin American integration. Wars are not an initiative of the people but rather of economic interests that exploit them. The aspiration of Bolivia to have a sovereign sea route is one of the emblematic conflicts of the region and this Forum will continue collaborating decisively so that this country achieves this historical objective.
Regarding the environmental question, the Forum considers that it is necessary to construct regional legislation that puts a stop to the plundering actions of savage capitalism. Natural and energy resources are the raw material for the survival of peoples and assure their future; therefore they cannot be abandoned to the immediate ambition of profit. In the same direction, we will study the possibility to organise an international forum about global warming and the direct responsibility of speculative capital in this alarming global phenomenon.
The creation of constituent assemblies in Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela, to replace obsolete and antidemocratic Constitutions is a path to be followed by the other countries of the region. The Forum subscribes to the attempt by these countries to build a democratically agreed new institutional order, achieving through this legislative process, a social agreement of the majority and without exclusions.
Friends: this Forum has signified a great advance in dialogue, complementation and joint action between the peoples of our region. We invite all individuals, social, political and cultural organisations together with governments that would like to work to reinforce Latin American integration, under the sign of peace, sovereignty and freedom for all the inhabitants of our region, to the III Latin American Humanist Forum to be held next year in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
For all, Peace, Force and Joy
Latin America United without Wars and Without Violence
Over the course of the 23rd, 24th and 25th of November 2007, in La Paz, Bolivia, humanist individuals and organisations met with representatives of governments, parliamentarians, political parties and diverse Latin American social movements. We value the joint work and the contribution of all those in the development of this Forum.
Prior to its inauguration, we were received in the sacred land of Tiahuanaco, a place where we celebrated an ancient ceremony in honour of Pachamama and the Father Sun. Then together we celebrated the Office, a ceremony of Silo’s Message. The local authorities honoured those humanists present and the spokespeople as distinguished guests in that place.
The Forum was inaugurated by the President of the Republic of Bolivia, Evo Morales Ayma and was broadcast live through the national television of the host country.
The work was divided into 18 tables that dealt with the following themes: Art and Integration; Women and Integration of the Peoples; Latin American Student Movement; Conflicts, Disarmament and World without Wars; Native Peoples; Immigrants and Latin American Integration; Strategic Energy: Human Rights, Disability and Development; Generation of Nonviolent Ambits; Health; Education; Human City, Alternative Economics; the Media; Spirituality and Religiosity; Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. The conclusions of this work will be included as an annexe.
Besides this, we held three panels about: “Nonviolent resolution of historical conflicts between nations”; “There will only be progress if it is by all and for all”; “Visions for a Latin America United, without wars and without violence”. The book The end of Prehistory, whose author is the Spokesperson for Humanism in Latin America, Tomás Hirsch, was also presented.
In parallel, a meeting of New Generations was held, together with meetings of the Centre of Cultures, the Community for Human Development and Humanist Parties of the region.
The Forum explicitly manifested its support to the people and government of Bolivia for the important processes of transformation that are being carried out, in order to achieve greater democracy and social justice in this country. Upon ending the Forum, with great joy we received the news of the approval of the new Constitution by the Constituent Assembly, which found the way to leap over all the difficulties met along the way.
Declaration of La Paz
The Bolivian process is an example for the entire continent and for the world. Universalist Humanism recognises a genuine coincidence with the principles of non-discrimination and nonviolence that drives the Bolivian Government, in the moment of carrying forward its revolutionary project. Bolivia is showing a path of liberation and humanisation for our peoples. The Latin American Humanist Forum commits to continue disseminating this courageous attempt to the whole world.
We are making our own, the proposal of President Evo Morales to include the renunciation of war as a constitutional article in all countries of the region. This gesture added to the attempt to recover the dignity of the Bolivian people through a methodology of active nonviolence, merits the Nobel Peace Prize.
Political-Social projects are emerging in Latin America that gives priority to the well being of its peoples above the dictatorship of macroeconomic demands. In this way, the recovery of natural and energy resources and the basic services of water, light and communications go exactly in this direction. The withdrawal from ICSID by the Bolivian Government is a measure that contributes to advance towards an improvement in the living conditions for its people and a decision that should be implemented in other Latin American countries.
The resolution of historical conflicts and progressive and proportional disarmament between countries of the region are fundamental themes for Latin American integration. Wars are not an initiative of the people but rather of economic interests that exploit them. The aspiration of Bolivia to have a sovereign sea route is one of the emblematic conflicts of the region and this Forum will continue collaborating decisively so that this country achieves this historical objective.
Regarding the environmental question, the Forum considers that it is necessary to construct regional legislation that puts a stop to the plundering actions of savage capitalism. Natural and energy resources are the raw material for the survival of peoples and assure their future; therefore they cannot be abandoned to the immediate ambition of profit. In the same direction, we will study the possibility to organise an international forum about global warming and the direct responsibility of speculative capital in this alarming global phenomenon.
The creation of constituent assemblies in Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela, to replace obsolete and antidemocratic Constitutions is a path to be followed by the other countries of the region. The Forum subscribes to the attempt by these countries to build a democratically agreed new institutional order, achieving through this legislative process, a social agreement of the majority and without exclusions.
Friends: this Forum has signified a great advance in dialogue, complementation and joint action between the peoples of our region. We invite all individuals, social, political and cultural organisations together with governments that would like to work to reinforce Latin American integration, under the sign of peace, sovereignty and freedom for all the inhabitants of our region, to the III Latin American Humanist Forum to be held next year in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
For all, Peace, Force and Joy
Wednesday, 21 November 2007
New Humanism in the US - new levels of influence in the English speaking world..
North American New Humanist Forum:
thinking beyond borders
Final Declaration
In New York City on the 16th, 17th and 18th of November 2007, social, political and cultural organizations from Mexico, Canada and the United States met together with representatives from Africa, Europe and Latin America to launch the North American New Humanist Forum.
We began this process a year ago without a clear understanding of whether the region existed as more than a geographic and economic entity. We wondered if it would be possible to create a regional consciousness guided by the value of the human being.
On this journey, through profound dialogue and with an intentional search, we have seen:
· that our three countries share a long, common history and the daily lives of its people are already deeply interrelated.
· that we do not want to be defined by the actions of our governments, corporations or military but rather by the needs and aspirations of the people.
· that there is a growing recognition of the need to take control of this regional integration and change its direction.
In these days we have accumulated a great body of work in many spheres of human concern, which is a starting point for a North American process that will continue from here on.
From this work we can highlight the following proposals:
1. This region being the largest producer and supplier of weapons in the world, we demand the complete dismantling of the nuclear arsenal as an urgent need for the survival of humanity. As a first step we require that our countries adhere to the treaties that they have already signed.
2. Let’s bring down the physical and psychological walls that separate us. We want open borders for people, not just for goods and money. We demand an end to the “demonization” of those who are different and to the culture of fear which is used to manipulate and distract from a resolution of the region’s true problems.
3. We recognize the dark moments in our history. in particular the genocide of the indigenous people and the slavery of Africans. We must acknowledge the crimes committed, take responsibility and make amends for the suffering caused in order to achieve true reconciliation and move towards a common future as one family.
4. We must correct the current imbalance between labor and capital, where the expansion of capital is given priority regardless of its impact on the workforce that produces it. We value decentralized models which respect labor rights and we condemn free trade agreements such as NAFTA, Plan Puebla Panama, Plan Mexico and the SPP which reinforce this imbalance between labor and capital, widening the gap between rich and poor.
5. People have the right and opportunity to participate in the decision-making processes that affect them. Therefore we demand the expansion of voting rights to all residents regardless of citizenship and the enactment of laws of political responsibility. We cannot continue to allow governments to come to power through fraud!
Today, a new region is starting to take shape in our minds and in our hearts. We aspire to a North American Human Nation as a step on the way to the Universal Human Nation. For this work we count on the richness of our diversity and the spirit of the new generations that have captured the sensibility of these new times.
The union of our peoples from Mexico, Canada and the United States is not just the opening of the borders, but the common fight against discrimination and all forms of violence. This is the meaning of our construction; the overcoming of pain and suffering on earth.
thinking beyond borders
Final Declaration
In New York City on the 16th, 17th and 18th of November 2007, social, political and cultural organizations from Mexico, Canada and the United States met together with representatives from Africa, Europe and Latin America to launch the North American New Humanist Forum.
We began this process a year ago without a clear understanding of whether the region existed as more than a geographic and economic entity. We wondered if it would be possible to create a regional consciousness guided by the value of the human being.
On this journey, through profound dialogue and with an intentional search, we have seen:
· that our three countries share a long, common history and the daily lives of its people are already deeply interrelated.
· that we do not want to be defined by the actions of our governments, corporations or military but rather by the needs and aspirations of the people.
· that there is a growing recognition of the need to take control of this regional integration and change its direction.
In these days we have accumulated a great body of work in many spheres of human concern, which is a starting point for a North American process that will continue from here on.
From this work we can highlight the following proposals:
1. This region being the largest producer and supplier of weapons in the world, we demand the complete dismantling of the nuclear arsenal as an urgent need for the survival of humanity. As a first step we require that our countries adhere to the treaties that they have already signed.
2. Let’s bring down the physical and psychological walls that separate us. We want open borders for people, not just for goods and money. We demand an end to the “demonization” of those who are different and to the culture of fear which is used to manipulate and distract from a resolution of the region’s true problems.
3. We recognize the dark moments in our history. in particular the genocide of the indigenous people and the slavery of Africans. We must acknowledge the crimes committed, take responsibility and make amends for the suffering caused in order to achieve true reconciliation and move towards a common future as one family.
4. We must correct the current imbalance between labor and capital, where the expansion of capital is given priority regardless of its impact on the workforce that produces it. We value decentralized models which respect labor rights and we condemn free trade agreements such as NAFTA, Plan Puebla Panama, Plan Mexico and the SPP which reinforce this imbalance between labor and capital, widening the gap between rich and poor.
5. People have the right and opportunity to participate in the decision-making processes that affect them. Therefore we demand the expansion of voting rights to all residents regardless of citizenship and the enactment of laws of political responsibility. We cannot continue to allow governments to come to power through fraud!
Today, a new region is starting to take shape in our minds and in our hearts. We aspire to a North American Human Nation as a step on the way to the Universal Human Nation. For this work we count on the richness of our diversity and the spirit of the new generations that have captured the sensibility of these new times.
The union of our peoples from Mexico, Canada and the United States is not just the opening of the borders, but the common fight against discrimination and all forms of violence. This is the meaning of our construction; the overcoming of pain and suffering on earth.
Sunday, 4 November 2007
Pakistan..
http://www.humanist-international.org
The Humanist International denounces the emergency state decree imposed by Mr. Musharaf in Pakistan.
The Humanist International views with great concern the situation that is currently unfolding in Pakistan. The state of emergency imposes a clampdown on freedom of communication, expression, assembly ; the judges of the supreme court are being changed, all this of course puts fear among the people and compromises the current campaign for election in January.
You say you want democracy, but how can we trust in you, Mr. Musharaf? Since 1999, during 8 years, tell us what have you done so far to reestablish democracy in Pakistan? What have you done constructive for democracy? And tell us how long should Pakistani wait to reach it?
You say to the other democracies of the world that you need more time for transition, but why should your people wait more? Do you consider them dull? Do you believe that Pakistanis are not intellectually mature enough for democracy? Is that the proper way to consider your people, your country’s history and future ?
You say you want to win against terrorism. But you are still fighting an endless war in Waziristan with some few radical Islamist militants that your secret agencies and the USA have trained and armed.
If you want real democracy you have to respect the law and judgements of supreme court without controlling or influencing judges.
We want you to understand that you can’t hold back history and evolution - that, when you force something toward an end you produce the contrary. Do not listen to the voices so interested for their own power and business. Do not listen to the ones who are creating chaos and destabilizing all the regions of the world for their own reasons of super-control.
Education toward active non-violence is the only coherent way to achieve social change: change that is required to eliminate violence in all its forms from human society. Pakistan needs concrete acts:
- The ban of small weapons retained by civilians and paramilitary
- The guarantee of the respect of all creeds and religions
- No nuclear proliferation
- More funds to education and health programmes
We recommend that you listen to the old and wise voices of Pakistan. The voices that preach love, peace and tolerance, across the continent, from the profound in their hearts; without fears and without violence.
Work for your people, for your personal enlightenment and for the unity of your peoples. Then with these priorities the path of your actions going toward democracy will be clear and we can place trust in that good will. But today you have just deceived us all, the Pakistanis and the humanists of the world.
Signed:
Sudhir Gandotra
Spokesperson of Humanist International - Asia
The Humanist International denounces the emergency state decree imposed by Mr. Musharaf in Pakistan.
The Humanist International views with great concern the situation that is currently unfolding in Pakistan. The state of emergency imposes a clampdown on freedom of communication, expression, assembly ; the judges of the supreme court are being changed, all this of course puts fear among the people and compromises the current campaign for election in January.
You say you want democracy, but how can we trust in you, Mr. Musharaf? Since 1999, during 8 years, tell us what have you done so far to reestablish democracy in Pakistan? What have you done constructive for democracy? And tell us how long should Pakistani wait to reach it?
You say to the other democracies of the world that you need more time for transition, but why should your people wait more? Do you consider them dull? Do you believe that Pakistanis are not intellectually mature enough for democracy? Is that the proper way to consider your people, your country’s history and future ?
You say you want to win against terrorism. But you are still fighting an endless war in Waziristan with some few radical Islamist militants that your secret agencies and the USA have trained and armed.
If you want real democracy you have to respect the law and judgements of supreme court without controlling or influencing judges.
We want you to understand that you can’t hold back history and evolution - that, when you force something toward an end you produce the contrary. Do not listen to the voices so interested for their own power and business. Do not listen to the ones who are creating chaos and destabilizing all the regions of the world for their own reasons of super-control.
Education toward active non-violence is the only coherent way to achieve social change: change that is required to eliminate violence in all its forms from human society. Pakistan needs concrete acts:
- The ban of small weapons retained by civilians and paramilitary
- The guarantee of the respect of all creeds and religions
- No nuclear proliferation
- More funds to education and health programmes
We recommend that you listen to the old and wise voices of Pakistan. The voices that preach love, peace and tolerance, across the continent, from the profound in their hearts; without fears and without violence.
Work for your people, for your personal enlightenment and for the unity of your peoples. Then with these priorities the path of your actions going toward democracy will be clear and we can place trust in that good will. But today you have just deceived us all, the Pakistanis and the humanists of the world.
Signed:
Sudhir Gandotra
Spokesperson of Humanist International - Asia
Pakistan- a State of emergency..
In response to the declaration of a state of emergency in Pakistan, The Humanist Party has prepared the following form for all concerned people to submit to their local embassy/consulate...
The Humanist International condemns the latest outrageous situation in Pakistan
The latest announcement of the imposition of the state of emergency and suspension of the constitution in Pakistan removes the veil from the eyes of the world; where Pakistan was previously seen as a supposedly “benign” dictatorship necessary to fight a so-called “war on terror”, it can now be seen for what is always was: a dictatorship whose aim has always been to look after the interests of the President and the military.
This announcement has only one possible outcome; increasing fear in the people of Pakistan, increasing violence in the country and increasing tensions in the region as a whole; a region where Pakistan is one of two nuclear powers that are still in conflict over disputed territory.
The imposition of dehumanising living conditions on the Pakistani population must be ended immediately. To this end the Humanist International demands the following actions:
· The immediate removal of the state of emergency
· The convoking of all interested parties in the country to come together and plan a way out of the current disastrous situation
· As soon as possible, to announce a timetable leading to the holding of free, fair and multi-party elections, allowing all Pakistanis to take part and not impeding anyone from returning from exile to take part
· To revoke all draconian laws implemented in recent years and implement the rule of law that puts the value of human life in its rightful place at the heart of democracy
It is high time that the military withdraw from politics and take the role that is expected of them which is to defend the country from outside attack.
We call on all Pakistanis who hope for a better future to support democracy and insist on a non-violent transition from dictatorship to participative and real democracy. In the words of Gandhi, one of the great souls of non-violence; “there is no way to peace; peace is the way”
Signed:
The Humanist International condemns the latest outrageous situation in Pakistan
The latest announcement of the imposition of the state of emergency and suspension of the constitution in Pakistan removes the veil from the eyes of the world; where Pakistan was previously seen as a supposedly “benign” dictatorship necessary to fight a so-called “war on terror”, it can now be seen for what is always was: a dictatorship whose aim has always been to look after the interests of the President and the military.
This announcement has only one possible outcome; increasing fear in the people of Pakistan, increasing violence in the country and increasing tensions in the region as a whole; a region where Pakistan is one of two nuclear powers that are still in conflict over disputed territory.
The imposition of dehumanising living conditions on the Pakistani population must be ended immediately. To this end the Humanist International demands the following actions:
· The immediate removal of the state of emergency
· The convoking of all interested parties in the country to come together and plan a way out of the current disastrous situation
· As soon as possible, to announce a timetable leading to the holding of free, fair and multi-party elections, allowing all Pakistanis to take part and not impeding anyone from returning from exile to take part
· To revoke all draconian laws implemented in recent years and implement the rule of law that puts the value of human life in its rightful place at the heart of democracy
It is high time that the military withdraw from politics and take the role that is expected of them which is to defend the country from outside attack.
We call on all Pakistanis who hope for a better future to support democracy and insist on a non-violent transition from dictatorship to participative and real democracy. In the words of Gandhi, one of the great souls of non-violence; “there is no way to peace; peace is the way”
Signed:
Tuesday, 2 October 2007
Great People..
Humanize Asia
People of Asia - and active non-violence.
Complied in Hong Kong for 2 Oct 2007 Day of Non-Violence
Most striking and recent non-violent resistance organizations and people
active in providing non-violent alternates in Asia, that is, that have
made efforts to change things for the better in Asia using the active
non-violence approach.
Asia - Mario Rodríguez Cobos or Silo Born in Mendoza, Argentina, on
January 6th,1938. Does not profess any religion, nor is he affiliated to
any political party. He lives with his family in a small town near
Mendoza. Silo’s historic harangue, “The Healing of Suffering”, was given
on May 4, 1969. His ideas began to circulate more than three decades ago
in different parts of the world.
In the 1970s Silo was in Japan and the Philippines. In November 1981 an
Asian Tour took place, with 10,000 people gathered at Chowpatti Beach,
Bombay.
Active non-violence has been a fundamental tenet of Silo’s guidance.
Groups and organisations have formed throughout Asia under various
banners, all stemming from his activities in co-operation with members
of the Universalist New Humanist Movement.
Bangladesh - Khan Jahan local ruler and celebrated sufi saint. Khan
Jahan (popularly known as Khan Jahan Ali) was entitled Ulugh Khan and
Khan-i-Azam and flourished at Khalifatabad (Bagerhat) in the first half
of the fifteenth century AD when the later Iliyas Shahi Sultan
Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah was ruling at Gaur.
Khan Jahan, a noble under the Tughlaqs, seems to have come to Bengal
just after the sack of Delhi (1398) by Timur. He acquired the forest
area of the Sundarbans as jagir (fief) from the sultan of Delhi and
subsequently from the sultan of Bengal. He cleared up the dense forest
in the Sundarban area to set up human settlements, and soon got the
Masjidkur and adjacent areas on the eastern bank of the Kobadak suitable
for habitation through the untiring efforts of his deputies Burhan Khan
and Fateh Khan.
Local tradition ascribes to Khan Jahan the first Muslim colonisation of
a part of greater Jessore and Khulna districts. The titles Ulugh Khan
and Khan-i-Azam of Khan Jahan, as inscribed on his tomb, suggest that he
was not an independent freelancer but that he owed fealty most probably
to the Sultan of Gaur. He ruled over the pargana of Khalifatabad
stretching up to Naldi to the north of Narail.
Khan Jahan was a great builder. He founded some townships, built
mosques, madrasahs and sarais, roads, highways and bridges, excavated a
large number of dighis in the districts of greater Jessore and Khulna.
Besides his fortified metropolis of Khalifatabad (modern Bagerhat) he
built three townships, Maruli Kasba, Paigram Kasba and Bara Bazar. He is
said to have built a highway from Bagerhat to Chittagong, a twenty-mile
long road from Samantasena to Badhkhali, and a road running from
Shuvabara to Daulatpur in Khulna. The most notable of his architectural
monuments are Shatgumbad Mosque © 1450) at Bagerhat, Masjidkur Mosque ©
1450) at the village Masjidkur, his own tomb (1459) near Bagerhat and a
single-domed mosque attached to his tomb. Of the large number of dighis
and ponds excavated by him the most notable are the Khanjali Dighi
(1450) near his tomb and Ghoradighi (measuring 1500´x750´) to the west
of Shatgumbad Mosque. Khan Jahan introduced a new architectural style in
his buildings, which is named after him. The Khan Jahan style is seen in
a group of buildings in the greater districts of Khulna, Jessore and
Barisal. Khan Jahan who might have been an officer of the Gaur sultan
betrays in his buildings an affection for the Tughlaq architecture of
Delhi. This amply suggests his acquaintance with the Tughlaq style of
architecture and perhaps his earlier involvement in Tughlaq
administration.
Khan Jahan died on 25 October 1459 (27 Zilhajj 863 AH) and was buried in
the tomb built by himself. He is revered by people and numerous people
visit his tomb. An annual fair is held on the dargah premises in the
bright half of the lunar month in the Bengali month of Chaitra. [Muazzam
Hussain Khan]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh - Muhammad Yunus
Born June 28, 1940 in Chittagong, then British India. Today a resident
of Bangladesh - religious belief Islam - is a Bangladeshi banker and
economist. A former professor of economics, he is famous for his
successful application of the concept of microcredit, the extension of
small loans to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank
loans. Yunus is also the founder of Grameen Bank. In 2006, Yunus and the
bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, "for their efforts to
create economic and social development from below." He is the author of
Banker to the Poor and a founding board member of Grameen Foundation.
Aung San Suu Kyi: Burma/Myanmar - born 19 June 1945 in Yangon (Rangoon),
is a nonviolent pro-democracy activist and leader of the National League
for Democracy in Myanmar (Burma), and a noted prisoner of conscience. A
Buddhist, Suu Kyi won the Rafto Prize and the Sakharov Prize for Freedom
of Thought in 1990 and in 1991 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her
peaceful and non-violent struggle under a military dictatorship.
Her father, Aung San, negotiated Burma's independence from the United
Kingdom in 1947, and was assassinated by his rivals in the same year.
Suu Kyi was educated in English Catholic schools for much of her
childhood in Burma.
She continued her education at St Hugh's College, Oxford, and at the
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. She also
worked for the government of the Union of Myanmar. In 1972, Aung San Suu
Kyi married Dr. Michael Aris, a scholar of Tibetan culture, living
abroad in Bhutan. Two sons.
Political beginnings
In 1988 the long-time leader of the socialist ruling party, General Ne
Win, stepped down, leading to mass demonstrations for democratization on
August 8, 1988 (8-8-88, a day seen as favorable), which were violently
suppressed. A new military junta took power.
Heavily influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence, Aung
San Suu Kyi entered politics to work for democratization, helped found
the National League for Democracy on 27 September 1988, and was put
under house arrest on 20 July 1989. She was offered freedom if she would
leave the country, but she refused.
One of her most famous speeches is the "Freedom From Fear" speech, which
begins:
" It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts
those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who
are subject to it.
In 1990, the military junta called a general election, which the
National League for Democracy won decisively. Under normal
circumstances, she would have assumed the office of Prime Minister.
Instead, the results were nullified, and the military refused to hand
over power.
The country name: Criticism concentrates on the fact that the military
regime, not democratically elected, had no legitimacy to change the name
of the country. However, it should be remembered that the military
regime did not change the official name of the country in Burmese, but
merely changed the name of the country in English. Opposition leader 1.
Aung San Suu Kyi at first opposed the new name "Myanmar", pointing out
at the hypocritical justification of inclusiveness put forward by the
military regime. Opposition parties, although they oppose the English
name "Myanmar", do not oppose the official Burmese name Myanma, and no
opposition party is proposing to use the colloquial name Bama as the
official name of the country.
Cambodia - Yos Hut Khemacaro. Seeks peace building initiatives which
are grounded in the local Khmer culture and sees Buddhism as the sole
institution which cuts across the deep political divisions separating
Cambodians today. The tendency to see it as a passive religion has often
led its great potential to be overlooked by outsiders. Khmer Buddhism's
timeless message of non-violence and compassion offers an important
platform for promoting constructive social and political change in
Cambodia today.
Buddhism has always been much more than a religion in Cambodia: it is a
social doctrine encompassing all aspects of life. Most Cambodians
consider themselves Buddhists. The village-based monastic system which
developed over many centuries in Cambodia effectively linked
enlightenment with community involvement. Under the direction of monks,
wats (temple-monasteries) became not only religious centres but also
sources of popular education and social services. Buddhism, as a
consequence, became the main medium through which the Khmer language and
culture was transmitted, explaining why it remains intricately woven
into the current social fabric despite Cambodia's tumultuous past.
The Dhammayietra ('pilgrimage of truth') peace marches are the most
visible expression of Khmer Buddhism's condemnation of violence. The
'army of peace', as it came to be known, made its first historic journey
in 1992. A large party of refugees and monks from Cambodia and other
countries were led by the Venerable Maha Ghosananda on a four-week march
from the Thai border into Cambodia. By the time the army of peace
reached Phnom Penh, it was 1,000-strong and had attracted the world's
attention to Cambodia's problems.
This massive peace demonstration has become an annual event in Cambodia
and traverses some of the country's most insecure regions.
China - The Tiananmen Square Protest 1989 was for democracy in China
China - Rebiya Kadeer - born 1947 - because of her support for western
China's Uyghur ethnic group and is one of China's most prominent
advocates of women's rights. She has shown great courage in opposing the
Chinese authorities' repressive policies. She has said, ''I will
continue to speak out against China's persecution of not only the Uyghur
people, but also Tibetans, Mongolians, and the Chinese people themselves
until all of them can enjoy their rights and freedoms.''
Kadeer, who lived in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region -
Xinjiang is also known as East Turkistan - was jailed for eight years in
1999 on charges of endangering national security by giving state secrets
to foreigners. She was released early on ''medical parole'' in 2005 and
moved to the United States. Kadeer maintains she is a woman of peace,
but that is rejected by the Chinese authorities.
.
India - Gandhi - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. October 2, 1869 – January
30, 1948. a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian
independence movement. He was the pioneer of Satyagraha - the resistance
to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, firmly founded upon ahimsa
(non-harming) or total non-violence — which was one of the strongest
driving philosophies of the Indian independence movement and inspired
movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.
In India, he is officially accorded the honour of Father of the Nation
and October 2nd, his birthday, is commemorated each year as Gandhi
Jayanti, a national holiday. On 15 June 2007, the United Nations General
Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution declaring October 2 to be the
"International Day of Non-Violence."
India - Christian priest, Jesuit, Cedric Prakash, who has lived in
Ahmedabad for many years and who has seen the carnage left by rioting
before, including the 1968 Mumbai riots, those of 1969 throughout
Gujarat, and the Delhi anti-Sikh riots of 1984.
Until recently Prakash was the Director of Saint Xavier’s Social Service
Society, a small non-governmental relief organization working in some of
Ahmedabad’s many slums where he spearheaded a number of initiatives
aimed at promoting interfaith harmony. One of the most inspiring has
been the setting up of informal ‘peace committees’ whose primary job is
to counter inflammatory propaganda spread mostly by Hindu extremists and
designed to encourage violence against Muslims. As soon as a rumour
begins to circulate, the peace committees spring into action, holding a
community meeting in the slums to determine how the rumour started, by
whom and why. In this way the community meetings act as a safety valve,
allowing the local people to come together, ask questions and learn the
truth. With rumours travelling at lightning speed through the twisted
alleys of the city’s slums, the ‘myth busting’ work of the peace
committees is a potent antidote to the fears and mistrust that often
lead to violence. Now Prakash has set up his own organization, Prashant,
which means ‘all-pervasive peace.’
India - Asghar Ali Engineer - of the Dawoodi Bohra - was born in Bohra
priestly family (amil's family) on 10th March, 1939 in Salumbar,
Rajasthan (near Udaipur) where Sheikh Qurban Husain, his father, was an
amil at that time. Asghar Ali was given training in Qur'anic tafsir
(commentary), Tawil (hidden meaning of Qur'an) fiqh (jurisprudence) and
hadith (Prophet's sayings). He learnt the Arabic language from his
father and further developed it himself. He has studied all the major
works of Fatimi Da'wah by Sayedna Hatim, Sayedna Qadi Nu'man, Sayedna
Muayyad Shirazi, Sayedna Hamiduddin Kirmani, Sayedna Hatim al-Razi,
Sayedna Jafar Mansur al-Yaman and several others.
Mr. Engineer also acquired secular education besides religious one. He
graduated in civil engineering from Indore (M.P.) with distinction and
served for 20 years as an engineer in Bombay Municipal Corporation and
then took voluntary retirement to plunge himself into the Bohra reform
movement. He began to play a leading role in the reform movement
from1972 when the revolt took place in Udiapur. He wrote several
articles on the reform movement in the Seventies in the leading
newspapers of India such as The Times of India, Indian Express,
Statesman, Telegraph, The Hindu and others. He was unanimously elected
as General Secretary of The Central Board of Dawoodi Bohra Community in
its first conference in Udiapur in 1977 and has continued in the post
ever since. He devotes a great deal of his time for the reform movement
and has internationalised the reform movement through his writings and
speeches.
Mr. Engineer has also done a great deal of work on communalism and
communal violence in India since the first major riot in India in
Jabalpur in 1961. His work in this field is considered pioneering and in
recognition of his work Calcutta University conferred an honorary degree
of D.Lit. on him in February, 1983.
Dr. Engineer, as he is known since then, is also recognised as a
distinguished scholar of Islam and is invited for international
conferences on Islam by various governments and universities. Dr.
Engineer has lectured in several universities in USA., Canada, UK,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Germany, France, Thailand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Yemen, Mexico, Lebanon, Switzerland, Egypt, Tokyo, Uzbekistan, Moscow,
Leningrad etc. He has also lectured in all the universities throughout
India.
Dr. Engineer has received several awards on his work on inter-religious
understanding. He believes in showing equal respect to all religions and
he considers faith in religion as most vital for a meaningful life.
However, he does not believe in blindly accepting dogmas inherited from
the past. He believes in re-thinking issues and re-interpreting Islam in
keeping with the changed times. He is of the opinion that it is our
individual obligation to acquire Islamic learning and reflect deeply
rather than following any one blindly. See his Rethinking Issues in
Islam.
On India's Republic Day Dr. Engineer was given the National Communal
Harmony Award for 1997 by the Government of India in recognition of his
work for promoting communal harmony throughout the country. The award
carries a citation and Rs. one lakh in cash.
Asghar Ali Engineer - as scholar and activist - and Swami Agnivesh,
social activist, were jointly selected for the 2004 Right Livelihood
Honorary Award in recognition of their "unceasing work for social
justice and communal harmony."
Reading from the citation, Baron Jakob von Uexkull, Founder-Chairman,
Right Livelihood Award Foundation, said the award was given "for their
strong commitment and cooperation over many years to promote the values
of coexistence, tolerance and understanding in India and between the
countries of South Asia."
India - Vinoba Bhave, a follower of Gandhi. September 11, 1895 -
November 15, 1982. Considered as a National Teacher of India and the
spiritual successor of Mahatma Gandhi. He was associated with Mahatma
Gandhi in the Indian independence movement. In 1932 he was sent to jail
by the British colonial government because of his fight against British
rule. There he gave a series of talks on the Gita, in his native
language Marathi, to his fellow prisoners.
In 1940 he was chosen by Gandhi to be the first Individual Satyagrahi
(an Individual standing up for Truth instead of a collective action)
against the British rule. Bhave also participated in the Quit India
Movement.
Vinoba observed the life of the average Indian living in a village and
tried to find solutions for the problems he faced with a firm spiritual
foundation. This formed the core of his Cervidae (awakening of all
potentials) movement. Another example of this is the Bhadon (land gift)
movement. He walked all across India asking people with land to consider
him as one of their sons and so give him a portion of their land which
he then distributed to landless poor. Non-violence and compassion being
a hallmark of his philosophy, he also campaigned against the
slaughtering of cows.
Indonesia - Baku Bae - The Baku Bae movement in Indonesia brought
Christian and Muslim communities together by adopting bold conflict
resolution and
reconciliation methods. The initiators see these as a way of rebuilding
social capital and restoring trust through dialogue and community focus.
In 2000, as fighting between Muslims and Christians in Maluku,
Indonesia, spiralled out of control, peace activist Ichsan Malik began
knocking on militants’ doors. Neither side showed desire for
reconciliation.
Malik was confident his bottom-up approach would work, that the key was
to strengthen desire for peace at the grassroots (people actually
involved in, and affected by, the conflict) before getting the
authorities involved. That is the core idea of Baku Bae
(“Reconciliation”), a movement formed in 2000 that became one of the
most visible civil-society responses to the mass violence that broke out
in Maluku a year earlier. A five stage approach is used.
Japan - Makoto Oda, writer and peace activist who died July 2007 at the
age of 75. At the memorial service in Tokyo, Shuichi Kato, an
influential social critic, addressed Oda's picture on the altar, saying,
"You were and you still are a great campaigner who promoted the
anti-Vietnam War movement, fought for the establishment of a law to
support the victims of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake and engaged in
the recent pro-Constitution struggle."
Myanmar - Aung San Suu Kyi (Burmese: born 19 June 1945 in Yangon
(Rangoon), is a nonviolent pro-democracy activist and leader of the
National League for Democracy in Myanmar (Burma), and a noted prisoner
of conscience. A Buddhist, in 1991 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
for her peaceful and non-violent struggle under a military dictatorship.
Myanmar - National League for Democracy. They are the only party in the
country to engage in the political struggle by solely nonviolent means.
In 2000, they stated publicly that their foreign policy will include
introducing to parliament at the soonest possible time the accession of
Burma to the Mine Ban Treaty as a mater of national urgency.
Myanmar - Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan, carries a belief and hope for a
non-violent world. He is the South-east Asia coordinator of Nonviolence
International and Landmine Monitor researcher for the International
Campaign to Ban Landmines, the NGO which won the Nobel Prize for Peace
in 1997.
Nepal - Krishna Pahadi, a former chair of Amnesty International Nepal
and founder of the Human Rights and Peace Society; Dr Devendra Raj
Panday, former president of the anti-corruption organization
Transparency International-Nepal; Dr Mathura Prasad Shrestha, president
of Physicians for Social Responsibility-Nepal; and Shyam Shrestha,
editor of the political journal Mulyankan, are all leaders of the
Citizens' Movement for Democracy and Peace (CMDP). The CMDP has played a
key role in organizing pro-democracy demonstrations over the past year.
New Zealand- Parihaka
Parihaka is a small community in Taranaki region, New Zealand, nestling
half way between Mount Taranaki and the Tasman Sea.
It has less than 100 inhabitants today, but in the 1870s was reputed to
be the largest Maori village in New Zealand when it was the centre of an
important civil rights incident. It was there that the Maori Prophets,
Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu became involved in passive resistance to
the confiscation of Maori land by the New Zealand Government. Open
warfare had proved unavailing so Te Whiti developed a doctrine of
passive resistance such as the removal of survey pegs and the ploughing
up of access roads. This put the government in a quandary. It could not
use the justice system to stop the Maori obstruction because seizure of
the land had itself been illegal.
Several Taranaki tribes were affected by the Parihaka incident. Between
2001 and 2006, the New Zealand government provided redress and a formal
apology to four of those tribes, Ngati Ruanui, Ngati Tama, Ngaa Rauru
Kiitahi and Ngati Mutunga, for a range of historical issues including
Parihaka. Tens of millions of New Zealand dollars were provided as
redress to the tribes in recognition of their losses at Parihaka and the
confiscations.
Pakistan - Khudai Khidmatgar - an organization which name literally
translates as the servants of God. It represented a non-violent freedom
struggle against the British Empire by the Pashtuns (also known as
Pathans, Pakhtuns or Afghans) of the North West Frontier Province. The
movement was led by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, known locally as Bacha Khan
or Badshah Khan c. 1890 – 1988 The Peaceful Pathan - Leader of the
non-violent independence movement in British India's Northwest Frontier,
known as the Frontier Gandhi. Alternate name: Badshah Khan.
Philippines - José Rizal. Born June 19, 1861 and died December 30, 1896.
National hero. Place of birth: Calamba, Laguna, Philippines. Place of
death: Bagumbayan (now Rizal Park), Manila, Philippines. Major
organizations: La Solidaridad and La Liga Filipina
José Rizal was a Filipino polymath, nationalist and the most prominent
advocate for reforms in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era.
He is considered a national hero and the anniversary of Rizal's death is
commemorated as a Philippine holiday called Rizal Day. Rizal's 1896
military trial and execution made him a martyr of the Philippine
Revolution.
Rizal was a polyglot conversant in at least ten languages and a prolific
poet, essayist, diarist, correspondent, and novelist whose most famous
works were his two novels, Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. These
are social commentaries on the Philippines that formed the nucleus of
literature that inspired dissent among peaceful reformists and spurred
the militancy of armed revolutionaries against 333 years of Spanish
rule.
As a political figure, Rizal was the founder of La Liga Filipina, a
civic organization that subsequently gave birth to the Katipunan led by
Bonifacio and Aguinaldo. He was a proponent of institutional reforms by
peaceful means rather than by violent revolution. The general consensus
among Rizal scholars, however, attributed his martyred death as the
catalyst that precipitated the Philippine Revolution.
Here is Rizal speaking through his fictional character Father
Florentino: “...our liberty will (not) be secured at the sword's
point...we must secure it by making ourselves worthy of it. And when a
people reaches that height God will provide a weapon, the idols will be
shattered, tyranny will crumble like a house of cards and liberty will
shine out like the first dawn.”
Rizal's advocacy of institutional reforms by peaceful means rather than
by violent revolution makes him Asia's first modern non-violent
proponent of political reforms. Forerunner of Gandhi and contemporary of
India’s Tagore and China’s Sun Yat Sen, all four created a new climate
of thought throughout Asia, leading to the attrition of colonialism and
the emergence of new Asiatic nations by the end of World War II. Rizal's
appearance on the scene came at a time when European colonial power had
been growing and spreading, mostly motivated by trade, some for the
purpose of bringing Western forms of government and education to peoples
regarded as backward. Coinciding with the appearance of those other
leaders, Rizal from an early age had been enunciating in poems, tracts
and plays, ideas all his own of modern nationhood as a practical
possibility in Asia. In the Noli he stated that if European civilization
had nothing better to offer, colonialism in Asia was doomed. Such was
recognized by Gandhi who regarded him as a forerunner in the cause of
freedom. Jawaharlal Nehru, in his prison letters to his daughter Indira,
acknowledged Rizal's significant contributions in the Asian freedom
movement. These leaders regarded these contributions as keystones and
acknowledged Rizal's role in the movement’s foundation layer.
See: Austin Coates, Rizal: Philippine Nationalist and Martyr (London:
Oxford University Press, 1968) ISBN 019581519X
(Above compiled using the Rizal wikipedia entry.)
Philippines - 1986 - People Power Revolution. Many people have long
debated on how millions of people were able to topple a two-decade long
authoritarian rule with almost no bloodshed. The event was quite
unprecedented in Philippine history. It was probably the first time
millions of civilians came to the aid of the military, which had long
been an instrument of repression and terror.
Thailand - Sulak Sivaraksa: This global activist is Thailand's most
prominent social critic and activist, and one of the major contemporary
exponents of socially engaged Buddhism. For the last 30 years he has
combined provocative intellectual work with continual grassroots
organizing in Thailand. Founder of rural development projects as well as
many NGOs dedicated to exploring, in Thailand and internationally,
alternative models of sustainable, traditionally-rooted and ethically-
and spiritually-based development, Sulak also runs an organisation
called 'Spirit in Education Movement'.
Periodically, Sulak has been persecuted by various dictatorships that
have mostly ruled Thailand since 1932. In 1976, following a coup and the
deaths of hundreds of students, he was forced to stay in exile for two
years. In 1984, he was arrested by the government for lese-majeste
(defamation of the monarchy), but after an international campaign on his
behalf, he was released. In September 1991, he was again charged with
lese-majeste and also with defamation of the Army Commander, General
Suchinda Kraprayoon, for a speech given in Bangkok on 'The Regression of
Democracy in Siam'; Sulak went immediately into exile. In December 1992,
he returned to face trial. In the meantime, Sulak was nominated for the
Nobel Peace Prize in both 1993 and 1994, thereafter he won the 'Right
Livelihood Award' in 1995.
Sulak is a lawyer, teacher, scholar, publisher and a founder of many
organisations and an author of more than sixty publications.
Tibet - Dalai Lama or Tenzin Gyatso (born 6 July 1935) is the fourteenth
and current Dalai Lama. As such, he is often referred to in Western
media simply as the Dalai Lama, without any qualifiers.
The fifth of sixteen children of a farming family in the Tibetan
province of Amdo, he was proclaimed the tulku (rebirth) of the
thirteenth Dalai Lama at the age of two. On 17 November 1950, at the age
of fifteen, he was enthroned as Tibet's Head of State and most important
political ruler, while Tibet faced occupation by the forces of the
People's Republic of China.
After the collapse of the Tibetan resistance movement in 1959, Tenzin
Gyatso fled to India, where he was active in establishing the Central
Tibetan Administration (the Tibetan government in exile) and in seeking
to preserve Tibetan culture and education among the thousands of
refugees who accompanied him.
A charismatic figure and noted public speaker, Tenzin Gyatso is the
first Dalai Lama to travel to the West. There, he has helped to spread
Buddhism and to promote the concepts of universal responsibility,
secular ethics, and religious harmony. In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize.
Tony Henderson.
People of Asia - and active non-violence.
Complied in Hong Kong for 2 Oct 2007 Day of Non-Violence
Most striking and recent non-violent resistance organizations and people
active in providing non-violent alternates in Asia, that is, that have
made efforts to change things for the better in Asia using the active
non-violence approach.
Asia - Mario Rodríguez Cobos or Silo Born in Mendoza, Argentina, on
January 6th,1938. Does not profess any religion, nor is he affiliated to
any political party. He lives with his family in a small town near
Mendoza. Silo’s historic harangue, “The Healing of Suffering”, was given
on May 4, 1969. His ideas began to circulate more than three decades ago
in different parts of the world.
In the 1970s Silo was in Japan and the Philippines. In November 1981 an
Asian Tour took place, with 10,000 people gathered at Chowpatti Beach,
Bombay.
Active non-violence has been a fundamental tenet of Silo’s guidance.
Groups and organisations have formed throughout Asia under various
banners, all stemming from his activities in co-operation with members
of the Universalist New Humanist Movement.
Bangladesh - Khan Jahan local ruler and celebrated sufi saint. Khan
Jahan (popularly known as Khan Jahan Ali) was entitled Ulugh Khan and
Khan-i-Azam and flourished at Khalifatabad (Bagerhat) in the first half
of the fifteenth century AD when the later Iliyas Shahi Sultan
Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah was ruling at Gaur.
Khan Jahan, a noble under the Tughlaqs, seems to have come to Bengal
just after the sack of Delhi (1398) by Timur. He acquired the forest
area of the Sundarbans as jagir (fief) from the sultan of Delhi and
subsequently from the sultan of Bengal. He cleared up the dense forest
in the Sundarban area to set up human settlements, and soon got the
Masjidkur and adjacent areas on the eastern bank of the Kobadak suitable
for habitation through the untiring efforts of his deputies Burhan Khan
and Fateh Khan.
Local tradition ascribes to Khan Jahan the first Muslim colonisation of
a part of greater Jessore and Khulna districts. The titles Ulugh Khan
and Khan-i-Azam of Khan Jahan, as inscribed on his tomb, suggest that he
was not an independent freelancer but that he owed fealty most probably
to the Sultan of Gaur. He ruled over the pargana of Khalifatabad
stretching up to Naldi to the north of Narail.
Khan Jahan was a great builder. He founded some townships, built
mosques, madrasahs and sarais, roads, highways and bridges, excavated a
large number of dighis in the districts of greater Jessore and Khulna.
Besides his fortified metropolis of Khalifatabad (modern Bagerhat) he
built three townships, Maruli Kasba, Paigram Kasba and Bara Bazar. He is
said to have built a highway from Bagerhat to Chittagong, a twenty-mile
long road from Samantasena to Badhkhali, and a road running from
Shuvabara to Daulatpur in Khulna. The most notable of his architectural
monuments are Shatgumbad Mosque © 1450) at Bagerhat, Masjidkur Mosque ©
1450) at the village Masjidkur, his own tomb (1459) near Bagerhat and a
single-domed mosque attached to his tomb. Of the large number of dighis
and ponds excavated by him the most notable are the Khanjali Dighi
(1450) near his tomb and Ghoradighi (measuring 1500´x750´) to the west
of Shatgumbad Mosque. Khan Jahan introduced a new architectural style in
his buildings, which is named after him. The Khan Jahan style is seen in
a group of buildings in the greater districts of Khulna, Jessore and
Barisal. Khan Jahan who might have been an officer of the Gaur sultan
betrays in his buildings an affection for the Tughlaq architecture of
Delhi. This amply suggests his acquaintance with the Tughlaq style of
architecture and perhaps his earlier involvement in Tughlaq
administration.
Khan Jahan died on 25 October 1459 (27 Zilhajj 863 AH) and was buried in
the tomb built by himself. He is revered by people and numerous people
visit his tomb. An annual fair is held on the dargah premises in the
bright half of the lunar month in the Bengali month of Chaitra. [Muazzam
Hussain Khan]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh - Muhammad Yunus
Born June 28, 1940 in Chittagong, then British India. Today a resident
of Bangladesh - religious belief Islam - is a Bangladeshi banker and
economist. A former professor of economics, he is famous for his
successful application of the concept of microcredit, the extension of
small loans to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank
loans. Yunus is also the founder of Grameen Bank. In 2006, Yunus and the
bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, "for their efforts to
create economic and social development from below." He is the author of
Banker to the Poor and a founding board member of Grameen Foundation.
Aung San Suu Kyi: Burma/Myanmar - born 19 June 1945 in Yangon (Rangoon),
is a nonviolent pro-democracy activist and leader of the National League
for Democracy in Myanmar (Burma), and a noted prisoner of conscience. A
Buddhist, Suu Kyi won the Rafto Prize and the Sakharov Prize for Freedom
of Thought in 1990 and in 1991 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her
peaceful and non-violent struggle under a military dictatorship.
Her father, Aung San, negotiated Burma's independence from the United
Kingdom in 1947, and was assassinated by his rivals in the same year.
Suu Kyi was educated in English Catholic schools for much of her
childhood in Burma.
She continued her education at St Hugh's College, Oxford, and at the
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. She also
worked for the government of the Union of Myanmar. In 1972, Aung San Suu
Kyi married Dr. Michael Aris, a scholar of Tibetan culture, living
abroad in Bhutan. Two sons.
Political beginnings
In 1988 the long-time leader of the socialist ruling party, General Ne
Win, stepped down, leading to mass demonstrations for democratization on
August 8, 1988 (8-8-88, a day seen as favorable), which were violently
suppressed. A new military junta took power.
Heavily influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence, Aung
San Suu Kyi entered politics to work for democratization, helped found
the National League for Democracy on 27 September 1988, and was put
under house arrest on 20 July 1989. She was offered freedom if she would
leave the country, but she refused.
One of her most famous speeches is the "Freedom From Fear" speech, which
begins:
" It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts
those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who
are subject to it.
In 1990, the military junta called a general election, which the
National League for Democracy won decisively. Under normal
circumstances, she would have assumed the office of Prime Minister.
Instead, the results were nullified, and the military refused to hand
over power.
The country name: Criticism concentrates on the fact that the military
regime, not democratically elected, had no legitimacy to change the name
of the country. However, it should be remembered that the military
regime did not change the official name of the country in Burmese, but
merely changed the name of the country in English. Opposition leader 1.
Aung San Suu Kyi at first opposed the new name "Myanmar", pointing out
at the hypocritical justification of inclusiveness put forward by the
military regime. Opposition parties, although they oppose the English
name "Myanmar", do not oppose the official Burmese name Myanma, and no
opposition party is proposing to use the colloquial name Bama as the
official name of the country.
Cambodia - Yos Hut Khemacaro. Seeks peace building initiatives which
are grounded in the local Khmer culture and sees Buddhism as the sole
institution which cuts across the deep political divisions separating
Cambodians today. The tendency to see it as a passive religion has often
led its great potential to be overlooked by outsiders. Khmer Buddhism's
timeless message of non-violence and compassion offers an important
platform for promoting constructive social and political change in
Cambodia today.
Buddhism has always been much more than a religion in Cambodia: it is a
social doctrine encompassing all aspects of life. Most Cambodians
consider themselves Buddhists. The village-based monastic system which
developed over many centuries in Cambodia effectively linked
enlightenment with community involvement. Under the direction of monks,
wats (temple-monasteries) became not only religious centres but also
sources of popular education and social services. Buddhism, as a
consequence, became the main medium through which the Khmer language and
culture was transmitted, explaining why it remains intricately woven
into the current social fabric despite Cambodia's tumultuous past.
The Dhammayietra ('pilgrimage of truth') peace marches are the most
visible expression of Khmer Buddhism's condemnation of violence. The
'army of peace', as it came to be known, made its first historic journey
in 1992. A large party of refugees and monks from Cambodia and other
countries were led by the Venerable Maha Ghosananda on a four-week march
from the Thai border into Cambodia. By the time the army of peace
reached Phnom Penh, it was 1,000-strong and had attracted the world's
attention to Cambodia's problems.
This massive peace demonstration has become an annual event in Cambodia
and traverses some of the country's most insecure regions.
China - The Tiananmen Square Protest 1989 was for democracy in China
China - Rebiya Kadeer - born 1947 - because of her support for western
China's Uyghur ethnic group and is one of China's most prominent
advocates of women's rights. She has shown great courage in opposing the
Chinese authorities' repressive policies. She has said, ''I will
continue to speak out against China's persecution of not only the Uyghur
people, but also Tibetans, Mongolians, and the Chinese people themselves
until all of them can enjoy their rights and freedoms.''
Kadeer, who lived in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region -
Xinjiang is also known as East Turkistan - was jailed for eight years in
1999 on charges of endangering national security by giving state secrets
to foreigners. She was released early on ''medical parole'' in 2005 and
moved to the United States. Kadeer maintains she is a woman of peace,
but that is rejected by the Chinese authorities.
.
India - Gandhi - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. October 2, 1869 – January
30, 1948. a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian
independence movement. He was the pioneer of Satyagraha - the resistance
to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, firmly founded upon ahimsa
(non-harming) or total non-violence — which was one of the strongest
driving philosophies of the Indian independence movement and inspired
movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.
In India, he is officially accorded the honour of Father of the Nation
and October 2nd, his birthday, is commemorated each year as Gandhi
Jayanti, a national holiday. On 15 June 2007, the United Nations General
Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution declaring October 2 to be the
"International Day of Non-Violence."
India - Christian priest, Jesuit, Cedric Prakash, who has lived in
Ahmedabad for many years and who has seen the carnage left by rioting
before, including the 1968 Mumbai riots, those of 1969 throughout
Gujarat, and the Delhi anti-Sikh riots of 1984.
Until recently Prakash was the Director of Saint Xavier’s Social Service
Society, a small non-governmental relief organization working in some of
Ahmedabad’s many slums where he spearheaded a number of initiatives
aimed at promoting interfaith harmony. One of the most inspiring has
been the setting up of informal ‘peace committees’ whose primary job is
to counter inflammatory propaganda spread mostly by Hindu extremists and
designed to encourage violence against Muslims. As soon as a rumour
begins to circulate, the peace committees spring into action, holding a
community meeting in the slums to determine how the rumour started, by
whom and why. In this way the community meetings act as a safety valve,
allowing the local people to come together, ask questions and learn the
truth. With rumours travelling at lightning speed through the twisted
alleys of the city’s slums, the ‘myth busting’ work of the peace
committees is a potent antidote to the fears and mistrust that often
lead to violence. Now Prakash has set up his own organization, Prashant,
which means ‘all-pervasive peace.’
India - Asghar Ali Engineer - of the Dawoodi Bohra - was born in Bohra
priestly family (amil's family) on 10th March, 1939 in Salumbar,
Rajasthan (near Udaipur) where Sheikh Qurban Husain, his father, was an
amil at that time. Asghar Ali was given training in Qur'anic tafsir
(commentary), Tawil (hidden meaning of Qur'an) fiqh (jurisprudence) and
hadith (Prophet's sayings). He learnt the Arabic language from his
father and further developed it himself. He has studied all the major
works of Fatimi Da'wah by Sayedna Hatim, Sayedna Qadi Nu'man, Sayedna
Muayyad Shirazi, Sayedna Hamiduddin Kirmani, Sayedna Hatim al-Razi,
Sayedna Jafar Mansur al-Yaman and several others.
Mr. Engineer also acquired secular education besides religious one. He
graduated in civil engineering from Indore (M.P.) with distinction and
served for 20 years as an engineer in Bombay Municipal Corporation and
then took voluntary retirement to plunge himself into the Bohra reform
movement. He began to play a leading role in the reform movement
from1972 when the revolt took place in Udiapur. He wrote several
articles on the reform movement in the Seventies in the leading
newspapers of India such as The Times of India, Indian Express,
Statesman, Telegraph, The Hindu and others. He was unanimously elected
as General Secretary of The Central Board of Dawoodi Bohra Community in
its first conference in Udiapur in 1977 and has continued in the post
ever since. He devotes a great deal of his time for the reform movement
and has internationalised the reform movement through his writings and
speeches.
Mr. Engineer has also done a great deal of work on communalism and
communal violence in India since the first major riot in India in
Jabalpur in 1961. His work in this field is considered pioneering and in
recognition of his work Calcutta University conferred an honorary degree
of D.Lit. on him in February, 1983.
Dr. Engineer, as he is known since then, is also recognised as a
distinguished scholar of Islam and is invited for international
conferences on Islam by various governments and universities. Dr.
Engineer has lectured in several universities in USA., Canada, UK,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Germany, France, Thailand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Yemen, Mexico, Lebanon, Switzerland, Egypt, Tokyo, Uzbekistan, Moscow,
Leningrad etc. He has also lectured in all the universities throughout
India.
Dr. Engineer has received several awards on his work on inter-religious
understanding. He believes in showing equal respect to all religions and
he considers faith in religion as most vital for a meaningful life.
However, he does not believe in blindly accepting dogmas inherited from
the past. He believes in re-thinking issues and re-interpreting Islam in
keeping with the changed times. He is of the opinion that it is our
individual obligation to acquire Islamic learning and reflect deeply
rather than following any one blindly. See his Rethinking Issues in
Islam.
On India's Republic Day Dr. Engineer was given the National Communal
Harmony Award for 1997 by the Government of India in recognition of his
work for promoting communal harmony throughout the country. The award
carries a citation and Rs. one lakh in cash.
Asghar Ali Engineer - as scholar and activist - and Swami Agnivesh,
social activist, were jointly selected for the 2004 Right Livelihood
Honorary Award in recognition of their "unceasing work for social
justice and communal harmony."
Reading from the citation, Baron Jakob von Uexkull, Founder-Chairman,
Right Livelihood Award Foundation, said the award was given "for their
strong commitment and cooperation over many years to promote the values
of coexistence, tolerance and understanding in India and between the
countries of South Asia."
India - Vinoba Bhave, a follower of Gandhi. September 11, 1895 -
November 15, 1982. Considered as a National Teacher of India and the
spiritual successor of Mahatma Gandhi. He was associated with Mahatma
Gandhi in the Indian independence movement. In 1932 he was sent to jail
by the British colonial government because of his fight against British
rule. There he gave a series of talks on the Gita, in his native
language Marathi, to his fellow prisoners.
In 1940 he was chosen by Gandhi to be the first Individual Satyagrahi
(an Individual standing up for Truth instead of a collective action)
against the British rule. Bhave also participated in the Quit India
Movement.
Vinoba observed the life of the average Indian living in a village and
tried to find solutions for the problems he faced with a firm spiritual
foundation. This formed the core of his Cervidae (awakening of all
potentials) movement. Another example of this is the Bhadon (land gift)
movement. He walked all across India asking people with land to consider
him as one of their sons and so give him a portion of their land which
he then distributed to landless poor. Non-violence and compassion being
a hallmark of his philosophy, he also campaigned against the
slaughtering of cows.
Indonesia - Baku Bae - The Baku Bae movement in Indonesia brought
Christian and Muslim communities together by adopting bold conflict
resolution and
reconciliation methods. The initiators see these as a way of rebuilding
social capital and restoring trust through dialogue and community focus.
In 2000, as fighting between Muslims and Christians in Maluku,
Indonesia, spiralled out of control, peace activist Ichsan Malik began
knocking on militants’ doors. Neither side showed desire for
reconciliation.
Malik was confident his bottom-up approach would work, that the key was
to strengthen desire for peace at the grassroots (people actually
involved in, and affected by, the conflict) before getting the
authorities involved. That is the core idea of Baku Bae
(“Reconciliation”), a movement formed in 2000 that became one of the
most visible civil-society responses to the mass violence that broke out
in Maluku a year earlier. A five stage approach is used.
Japan - Makoto Oda, writer and peace activist who died July 2007 at the
age of 75. At the memorial service in Tokyo, Shuichi Kato, an
influential social critic, addressed Oda's picture on the altar, saying,
"You were and you still are a great campaigner who promoted the
anti-Vietnam War movement, fought for the establishment of a law to
support the victims of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake and engaged in
the recent pro-Constitution struggle."
Myanmar - Aung San Suu Kyi (Burmese: born 19 June 1945 in Yangon
(Rangoon), is a nonviolent pro-democracy activist and leader of the
National League for Democracy in Myanmar (Burma), and a noted prisoner
of conscience. A Buddhist, in 1991 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
for her peaceful and non-violent struggle under a military dictatorship.
Myanmar - National League for Democracy. They are the only party in the
country to engage in the political struggle by solely nonviolent means.
In 2000, they stated publicly that their foreign policy will include
introducing to parliament at the soonest possible time the accession of
Burma to the Mine Ban Treaty as a mater of national urgency.
Myanmar - Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan, carries a belief and hope for a
non-violent world. He is the South-east Asia coordinator of Nonviolence
International and Landmine Monitor researcher for the International
Campaign to Ban Landmines, the NGO which won the Nobel Prize for Peace
in 1997.
Nepal - Krishna Pahadi, a former chair of Amnesty International Nepal
and founder of the Human Rights and Peace Society; Dr Devendra Raj
Panday, former president of the anti-corruption organization
Transparency International-Nepal; Dr Mathura Prasad Shrestha, president
of Physicians for Social Responsibility-Nepal; and Shyam Shrestha,
editor of the political journal Mulyankan, are all leaders of the
Citizens' Movement for Democracy and Peace (CMDP). The CMDP has played a
key role in organizing pro-democracy demonstrations over the past year.
New Zealand- Parihaka
Parihaka is a small community in Taranaki region, New Zealand, nestling
half way between Mount Taranaki and the Tasman Sea.
It has less than 100 inhabitants today, but in the 1870s was reputed to
be the largest Maori village in New Zealand when it was the centre of an
important civil rights incident. It was there that the Maori Prophets,
Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu became involved in passive resistance to
the confiscation of Maori land by the New Zealand Government. Open
warfare had proved unavailing so Te Whiti developed a doctrine of
passive resistance such as the removal of survey pegs and the ploughing
up of access roads. This put the government in a quandary. It could not
use the justice system to stop the Maori obstruction because seizure of
the land had itself been illegal.
Several Taranaki tribes were affected by the Parihaka incident. Between
2001 and 2006, the New Zealand government provided redress and a formal
apology to four of those tribes, Ngati Ruanui, Ngati Tama, Ngaa Rauru
Kiitahi and Ngati Mutunga, for a range of historical issues including
Parihaka. Tens of millions of New Zealand dollars were provided as
redress to the tribes in recognition of their losses at Parihaka and the
confiscations.
Pakistan - Khudai Khidmatgar - an organization which name literally
translates as the servants of God. It represented a non-violent freedom
struggle against the British Empire by the Pashtuns (also known as
Pathans, Pakhtuns or Afghans) of the North West Frontier Province. The
movement was led by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, known locally as Bacha Khan
or Badshah Khan c. 1890 – 1988 The Peaceful Pathan - Leader of the
non-violent independence movement in British India's Northwest Frontier,
known as the Frontier Gandhi. Alternate name: Badshah Khan.
Philippines - José Rizal. Born June 19, 1861 and died December 30, 1896.
National hero. Place of birth: Calamba, Laguna, Philippines. Place of
death: Bagumbayan (now Rizal Park), Manila, Philippines. Major
organizations: La Solidaridad and La Liga Filipina
José Rizal was a Filipino polymath, nationalist and the most prominent
advocate for reforms in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era.
He is considered a national hero and the anniversary of Rizal's death is
commemorated as a Philippine holiday called Rizal Day. Rizal's 1896
military trial and execution made him a martyr of the Philippine
Revolution.
Rizal was a polyglot conversant in at least ten languages and a prolific
poet, essayist, diarist, correspondent, and novelist whose most famous
works were his two novels, Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. These
are social commentaries on the Philippines that formed the nucleus of
literature that inspired dissent among peaceful reformists and spurred
the militancy of armed revolutionaries against 333 years of Spanish
rule.
As a political figure, Rizal was the founder of La Liga Filipina, a
civic organization that subsequently gave birth to the Katipunan led by
Bonifacio and Aguinaldo. He was a proponent of institutional reforms by
peaceful means rather than by violent revolution. The general consensus
among Rizal scholars, however, attributed his martyred death as the
catalyst that precipitated the Philippine Revolution.
Here is Rizal speaking through his fictional character Father
Florentino: “...our liberty will (not) be secured at the sword's
point...we must secure it by making ourselves worthy of it. And when a
people reaches that height God will provide a weapon, the idols will be
shattered, tyranny will crumble like a house of cards and liberty will
shine out like the first dawn.”
Rizal's advocacy of institutional reforms by peaceful means rather than
by violent revolution makes him Asia's first modern non-violent
proponent of political reforms. Forerunner of Gandhi and contemporary of
India’s Tagore and China’s Sun Yat Sen, all four created a new climate
of thought throughout Asia, leading to the attrition of colonialism and
the emergence of new Asiatic nations by the end of World War II. Rizal's
appearance on the scene came at a time when European colonial power had
been growing and spreading, mostly motivated by trade, some for the
purpose of bringing Western forms of government and education to peoples
regarded as backward. Coinciding with the appearance of those other
leaders, Rizal from an early age had been enunciating in poems, tracts
and plays, ideas all his own of modern nationhood as a practical
possibility in Asia. In the Noli he stated that if European civilization
had nothing better to offer, colonialism in Asia was doomed. Such was
recognized by Gandhi who regarded him as a forerunner in the cause of
freedom. Jawaharlal Nehru, in his prison letters to his daughter Indira,
acknowledged Rizal's significant contributions in the Asian freedom
movement. These leaders regarded these contributions as keystones and
acknowledged Rizal's role in the movement’s foundation layer.
See: Austin Coates, Rizal: Philippine Nationalist and Martyr (London:
Oxford University Press, 1968) ISBN 019581519X
(Above compiled using the Rizal wikipedia entry.)
Philippines - 1986 - People Power Revolution. Many people have long
debated on how millions of people were able to topple a two-decade long
authoritarian rule with almost no bloodshed. The event was quite
unprecedented in Philippine history. It was probably the first time
millions of civilians came to the aid of the military, which had long
been an instrument of repression and terror.
Thailand - Sulak Sivaraksa: This global activist is Thailand's most
prominent social critic and activist, and one of the major contemporary
exponents of socially engaged Buddhism. For the last 30 years he has
combined provocative intellectual work with continual grassroots
organizing in Thailand. Founder of rural development projects as well as
many NGOs dedicated to exploring, in Thailand and internationally,
alternative models of sustainable, traditionally-rooted and ethically-
and spiritually-based development, Sulak also runs an organisation
called 'Spirit in Education Movement'.
Periodically, Sulak has been persecuted by various dictatorships that
have mostly ruled Thailand since 1932. In 1976, following a coup and the
deaths of hundreds of students, he was forced to stay in exile for two
years. In 1984, he was arrested by the government for lese-majeste
(defamation of the monarchy), but after an international campaign on his
behalf, he was released. In September 1991, he was again charged with
lese-majeste and also with defamation of the Army Commander, General
Suchinda Kraprayoon, for a speech given in Bangkok on 'The Regression of
Democracy in Siam'; Sulak went immediately into exile. In December 1992,
he returned to face trial. In the meantime, Sulak was nominated for the
Nobel Peace Prize in both 1993 and 1994, thereafter he won the 'Right
Livelihood Award' in 1995.
Sulak is a lawyer, teacher, scholar, publisher and a founder of many
organisations and an author of more than sixty publications.
Tibet - Dalai Lama or Tenzin Gyatso (born 6 July 1935) is the fourteenth
and current Dalai Lama. As such, he is often referred to in Western
media simply as the Dalai Lama, without any qualifiers.
The fifth of sixteen children of a farming family in the Tibetan
province of Amdo, he was proclaimed the tulku (rebirth) of the
thirteenth Dalai Lama at the age of two. On 17 November 1950, at the age
of fifteen, he was enthroned as Tibet's Head of State and most important
political ruler, while Tibet faced occupation by the forces of the
People's Republic of China.
After the collapse of the Tibetan resistance movement in 1959, Tenzin
Gyatso fled to India, where he was active in establishing the Central
Tibetan Administration (the Tibetan government in exile) and in seeking
to preserve Tibetan culture and education among the thousands of
refugees who accompanied him.
A charismatic figure and noted public speaker, Tenzin Gyatso is the
first Dalai Lama to travel to the West. There, he has helped to spread
Buddhism and to promote the concepts of universal responsibility,
secular ethics, and religious harmony. In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize.
Tony Henderson.
Wednesday, 15 August 2007
Oz 2007
This is year 2007, and our conventional neo-liberal politicians continue to fail to address their lack of respect for the Australian Aboriginal populace. Why?
The legislation over the 'Aboriginal communities problems' was a kneejerk reaction by our Federal govt to media exposure of a report on social standards in remote Aboriginal communities.
Its a hugely complex issue that needs much careful examination - we even have some Aboriginal community leaders saying it is a required move (the legal changes). I think the majority of Oz see it (the legislation) as a necessary evil - we're a bit of the 'nanny state' in mentality. Those of critical thought regarding human rights are well & truly in the minority. The immediate critical response was to state the obvious - It wont work 'from the top down' - the communities in question need consultation & this is, of course, true.
We have yet to see the impact of the legislation. Anecdotally, people are deserting the relevant communities when informed of an impending 'visit' and either returning later or moving elsewhere permanently. Like a lot of Oz law, its only as effective as its enforcement, and our relatively small population over this large continent often negates this. I believe that our conventional legal system is well equipped to resolve the more severe criminal problems (hard drug supply, alcohol supply to minors etc) – it is merely under equipped to deal with the cultural differences.
A plan requires implementation to gain the respect for non-violent, non self-destructive life in communities seriously affected by social breakdown. And to provide the ‘seeds’ for meaningful life to take hold for those denied as much, no matter what the racial background.
The Humanist Movement, through the Centre of Cultures, would like to see local forums organised for the highlighting of local issues, by local people. Without communal recognition, and consensus regarding problems there can be no concise action. The catalyst for this is in the communal discussion.
With Peace,
& Cheers!
Scott
The legislation over the 'Aboriginal communities problems' was a kneejerk reaction by our Federal govt to media exposure of a report on social standards in remote Aboriginal communities.
Its a hugely complex issue that needs much careful examination - we even have some Aboriginal community leaders saying it is a required move (the legal changes). I think the majority of Oz see it (the legislation) as a necessary evil - we're a bit of the 'nanny state' in mentality. Those of critical thought regarding human rights are well & truly in the minority. The immediate critical response was to state the obvious - It wont work 'from the top down' - the communities in question need consultation & this is, of course, true.
We have yet to see the impact of the legislation. Anecdotally, people are deserting the relevant communities when informed of an impending 'visit' and either returning later or moving elsewhere permanently. Like a lot of Oz law, its only as effective as its enforcement, and our relatively small population over this large continent often negates this. I believe that our conventional legal system is well equipped to resolve the more severe criminal problems (hard drug supply, alcohol supply to minors etc) – it is merely under equipped to deal with the cultural differences.
A plan requires implementation to gain the respect for non-violent, non self-destructive life in communities seriously affected by social breakdown. And to provide the ‘seeds’ for meaningful life to take hold for those denied as much, no matter what the racial background.
The Humanist Movement, through the Centre of Cultures, would like to see local forums organised for the highlighting of local issues, by local people. Without communal recognition, and consensus regarding problems there can be no concise action. The catalyst for this is in the communal discussion.
With Peace,
& Cheers!
Scott
Wednesday, 25 April 2007
Anzac Day
Today is ANZAC day, a day when we are to remember those who gave their lives in the defence of this country during war. Across Australia, many a dawn service was held in the memory of the fallen, thousands have marched in the cities and even more will engage in a ceremonial game of ‘two up’. It is a national public holiday.
For those with ancestors and relatives lost, it is a day of direct significance. Many people see their lost relatives & friends as ‘martyrs’ – lives given in the defence of the national values held so dearly. Many others not so directly involved also see the day from this perspective. The moniker ‘Lest We Forget’ is held high and mightily.
And this is where my confusion commences. ‘Lest We Forget’ is a great statement, but what are we to remember besides the individuals lost?
Certainly we should be remembering that it is a misdistribution of resources across the globe that causes the situations that lead to violent outcomes.
Certainly we should remember that it is the decision of the encumbered government regarding a nations participation in War.
Certainly we should remember that poverty, and all the deprivations that go with it are the causes of Fascism & Totalitarianism. WW2 would have never happened & Hitler would never have risen to power if the German populace was ‘comfortably well off’ post WW1. The whole human race is responsible for every violent act, every skirmish & every war.
Certainly we should remember that few governments seem to have learned the cost of war, in Human terms. ‘War’, has increasingly become a situation of ‘no winners’. Vietnam was unresolved & now the war in Iraq is in a similar situation. Our young men & women are simply ‘cannon fodder’ for our rulers.
Certainly we should take this day, and all it means, and project it into the future. Are we to continue using this most extreme form of violence in a world that has outgrown it?
Certainly we should understand that we are not ‘predisposed’, genetically or otherwise to the use of violence, and that it is certain that the world will find a future free of violence, one day.
Certainly we should work together to resolve the imbalance of resources. Certainly we should realise that we are all human, and we have but one planet to call home. We should look after both.
Certainly we should remove those people in positions of power & influence who fail to denounce violence, through ‘non-violent’ means. We do elect our governments, more or less. We do have some choice.
Vale to those who have lost their lives at the hands of other people through the futile violence of war.
Lest We Forget..
For those with ancestors and relatives lost, it is a day of direct significance. Many people see their lost relatives & friends as ‘martyrs’ – lives given in the defence of the national values held so dearly. Many others not so directly involved also see the day from this perspective. The moniker ‘Lest We Forget’ is held high and mightily.
And this is where my confusion commences. ‘Lest We Forget’ is a great statement, but what are we to remember besides the individuals lost?
Certainly we should be remembering that it is a misdistribution of resources across the globe that causes the situations that lead to violent outcomes.
Certainly we should remember that it is the decision of the encumbered government regarding a nations participation in War.
Certainly we should remember that poverty, and all the deprivations that go with it are the causes of Fascism & Totalitarianism. WW2 would have never happened & Hitler would never have risen to power if the German populace was ‘comfortably well off’ post WW1. The whole human race is responsible for every violent act, every skirmish & every war.
Certainly we should remember that few governments seem to have learned the cost of war, in Human terms. ‘War’, has increasingly become a situation of ‘no winners’. Vietnam was unresolved & now the war in Iraq is in a similar situation. Our young men & women are simply ‘cannon fodder’ for our rulers.
Certainly we should take this day, and all it means, and project it into the future. Are we to continue using this most extreme form of violence in a world that has outgrown it?
Certainly we should understand that we are not ‘predisposed’, genetically or otherwise to the use of violence, and that it is certain that the world will find a future free of violence, one day.
Certainly we should work together to resolve the imbalance of resources. Certainly we should realise that we are all human, and we have but one planet to call home. We should look after both.
Certainly we should remove those people in positions of power & influence who fail to denounce violence, through ‘non-violent’ means. We do elect our governments, more or less. We do have some choice.
Vale to those who have lost their lives at the hands of other people through the futile violence of war.
Lest We Forget..
Tuesday, 13 March 2007
Living Peace Sign
MARCH 17, 2003, the day George Bush gave Saddam Hussein 48 hrs to capitulate. The invasion of Iraq had begun..
The fact is that this 'declaration of war', is a disaster. It has been a proven failure, as is all war. Any solution that involves the intentional killing of people and the dismantling of society is a failure. It is a crude, stupid, violent, trashing of humanity.
The HUMANIST MOVEMENT has acknowledged the anniversary of this poorest of decisions, over the past three years, by the assembling of the LIVING PEACE SYMBOL. Thousands of people have gathered in formation in locations across the globe for a truly valid reason - the promotion of Non-Violence & Peace.
This Saturday, March 17, we will be assembling Sydney's first 'Living Peace symbol'.
In true Aussie style, we'll be 'going to the beach' and gathering at -
MANLY BEACH, SOUTHERN END, OCEAN SIDE, opposite Victoria Parade. It would, of course, be great to see you there - the more people, the bigger the symbol!
The time will be 12 midday. Wear something bright/colourful, for photographic effect.
With Peace..
The fact is that this 'declaration of war', is a disaster. It has been a proven failure, as is all war. Any solution that involves the intentional killing of people and the dismantling of society is a failure. It is a crude, stupid, violent, trashing of humanity.
The HUMANIST MOVEMENT has acknowledged the anniversary of this poorest of decisions, over the past three years, by the assembling of the LIVING PEACE SYMBOL. Thousands of people have gathered in formation in locations across the globe for a truly valid reason - the promotion of Non-Violence & Peace.
This Saturday, March 17, we will be assembling Sydney's first 'Living Peace symbol'.
In true Aussie style, we'll be 'going to the beach' and gathering at -
MANLY BEACH, SOUTHERN END, OCEAN SIDE, opposite Victoria Parade. It would, of course, be great to see you there - the more people, the bigger the symbol!
The time will be 12 midday. Wear something bright/colourful, for photographic effect.
With Peace..
Sunday, 11 March 2007
Manly Beach is the place!!
Amigos/Friends
We will meet at 12:00 midday, to assemble pretty soon after and disperse by 12:30 at the latest.
Southern End of Manly Beach, opposite Victoria Pde.
Wear bright coloured T-shirts, hats, etc.
No posters or signs. Just the people!
We will meet at 12:00 midday, to assemble pretty soon after and disperse by 12:30 at the latest.
Southern End of Manly Beach, opposite Victoria Pde.
Wear bright coloured T-shirts, hats, etc.
No posters or signs. Just the people!
Thursday, 1 March 2007
Worldwide Human Peace Signs' Day 2007
Wow... it's spreading. I can't wait for the day when the whole world is covered with little orange dots, or better, a time when there's no need for them.
Tuesday, 20 February 2007
Nuclear disarmament now! Before a bomb is used - afterwards it will be too late....
Humanists around the world are organising living peace symbols on Saturday the 17th March, 2007, to put pressure on world leaders to disarm all nuclear weapons arsenals. In Australia we will hold events in Sydney and Hobart. For more information see the links below or leave a comment and we'll get back to you...A WORLD OF PEACE
a planet without nuclear weapons
Across the world scientists, artists, soldiers, women and men, young and old alike are saying: war is a disaster! At the beginning of the third millennium, on a planet where nowhere is isolated any more and where it is possible to know in real time what is happening in far away continents, one question resounds in the hearts of all people of the Earth: what future is there?
The events of recent years show the same tendency: nuclear re-armament, the control of the planet’s resources at all costs, the use of violence to resolve international, regional and local conflicts. Governments change colour but not policies, wars occur at a sustained rhythm, the profits of the arms industry increase and the declarations of the politicians are increasingly empty and further away from reality.
Violence envelops the planet like a blanket and touches everyone, becoming part of daily life and poisoning people's hearts. The declarations of the USA and France sustaining the possibility to use nuclear weapons in a first strike against terrorism, leaves everyone dismayed.
People across the planet are demanding: let’s give peace a chance!
http://www.centreofcultures.org.au/ - www.peacebound.org
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)