Opinions

The Lebanese Ambassador to Argentina, Hicham Hamdan, highlighted the essential role that the press plays in achieving world peace. He also emphasized the importance of expanding nuclear nonproliferation agreements to all countries. Although the Middle East is deemed a “hot zone”, Hamdan believes that his country has made advances in overcoming violence.

In this article, the author analyses some of the factors that establish the “Bolivian Process”, led by President Evo Morales, as a peaceful, non-violent humanist process. A new revolutionary constitution that extends rights to more Bolivian citizens at home and abroad and Morales’ response to conflictive situation corroborate this assessment.

It is a very important gesture of détente and peace by President Obama and we want to highlight it and applaud it around the world. We support all efforts of the US President to advance towards global nuclear disarmament. We invite Obama to support the World March, something that has already been done by almost 20 National Presidents and Governments of the World.

Leading the fight for human rights, Councillor Ítalo Cardoso (PT-SP) declares allegiance to the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. “In my capacity as vice-president of the Human Rights Commission, Chamber of São Paulo, I was among the first to support the March, which I hope, wherever it passes through, finds people from all nations striving for peace and freedom”.

Seeing the manner in which South American governments have embarked upon a new unbridled arms race with unforeseeable consequences is regrettable. If, for the present, this hasn’t meant open warfare, tomorrow there will be others governing in the region who may use the purchases made now. Only the people can end this collective madness that has started to appear.

A study published by the University of Heidelberg reveals the gap between the media-generated image of war and the nature of the actual conflicts. Although the Second World War ended with great aspirations for world peace, since that time the total number of world conflicts has risen in a moderate, but constantly upward, curve.

In Australia we still fail to trust Aboriginal people to make critical decisions about their future. In Alice Springs we refuse to allow Aboriginal people to manage the promised new housing after two years of the Federal Government’s Intervention. The Intervention is the most ill considered Government policy inflicted on Aboriginal people since the Stolen Generation.

Chief Palestinian Negotiator, Saeb Erakat, said today, 25th August, that a just and lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis was possible. “International law and United Nations resolutions clearly outline how to resolve this conflict. The Road Map and the Arab Peace Initiative provide a clear way forward”, said Erakat.

The popular Chilean actor Benjamín Vicuña, one of the Latin American Ambassadors of UNICEF, will create a documentary about Haiti and, before it comes out, he said he looks “to achieve a more solidarious America.” The actor has been invited by the UN with the proposal of filming a documentary that will be exhibited throughout Latin America in September.

Lack of consensus between the participating countries on procedures related to the working agenda of the UNO Conference on Disarmament continues. The calendar to start the negotiations to prohibit the production of materials essential for the production of nuclear weapons is one of the questions that have led to this impasse.