Region

The Brazilian President, in an official visit yesterday to Kazakhstan, advocated for international disarmament initiatives, including nuclear weapons.

The president of the World Peace Council, Socorro Gomes, in an exclusive interview for Pressenza talks about the current campaigns of her organization and demands the withdrawal of troops from invaded countries and the end to military bases.

United States envoy George Mitchell called Tuesday for a “prompt resumption” of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, saying regional support for President Barack Obama has boosted peace prospects.

*”We all share an obligation to help create the conditions for the prompt resumption and the early conclusion of negotiations,”* the special Middle East envoy said.

Mitchell, speaking at his first press conference in Washington since his appointment in January, gave no time-frame but hoped his preliminary discussions aimed at reviving the negotiations would conclude in a matter of weeks.

Adopted by the UN in 1996, the treaty can only come into force when 44 specific countries who at the time of negotiations had nuclear technology have ratified it. China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and the United States have yet to do so although during the US election campaign Obama said, “As president, I will reach out to the Senate to secure the ratification of the CTBT at the earliest practical date.”

On Capitol Hill, the Democratic House leadership is pressuring antiwar Democrats to support a $106 billion supplemental war funding bill. In May, fifty-one antiwar Democrats opposed an earlier version of the bill.

Former President Jimmy Carter has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of setting up new obstacles to peace with the Palestinians. On Sunday, Netanyahu said for the first time he could accept a two-state solution, but only if the new Palestinian state had no army and no control of its airspace and borders. Jimmy Carter spoke during a stop in Jerusalem.

Chomsky continues writing for Pressenza in an article in which he reflects on the direction of US policy in the Middle East.

The International Day of Peace, observed each year on 21 September, is a global call for ceasefire and non-violence. It is a time to reflect on the horror and cost of war and the benefits of peacefully resolving our disputes. This year, I will use this important day to ask Governments and citizens of the world to focus on the important issues of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

The month of June has brought sad news, as three members of the global movement against gun violence were on the Air France flight that went missing on 1 June while flying from Brazil to France.

The project to shoot a feature film about the life of the leader of the non-violent movement for the struggle for civil rights is an old dream of the director.