International issues

Zelaya has remained in the Brazilian embassy since defiantly returning to Honduras one week ago. Coup leaders have now given Brazil a ten-day deadline to hand over Zelaya or face the embassy’s closure. Brazil has rejected the ultimatum and says Zelaya will stay as long as he needs. On Friday, the UN Security Council passed a resolution condemning the embassy siege.

A number of testimonies of the situation suffered by the Mapuche nation in Chile were put forward at the 12th period of sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council, and Danielle Mitterrand, who was in Chile in April as part of a mission for the “France Libertés” Association, of which she is president, spoke out on the nation’s behalf.

The Members of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence have completed their first preparation event alongside 250 New Zealanders, among which were several important members of the Maori community. An excellent start for the Base Team! More than 250 people came to greet the International Team of the World March in the heart of Auckland.

The U.S.-drafted resolution called for further efforts to achieve “a world without nuclear weapons.” But critics of the resolution said it failed to include mandatory provisions that would have required nuclear weapons states to take concrete disarmament steps. The resolution also lacked any call on nuclear states to halt production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons.

Last Wednesday, in Rome, Umberto Veronesi and Luisa Morgantini took part in the presentation of the World March for Peace and Non-violence which will reach the Italian capital on November 12th. A delegation will take part in the World Summit of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates the previous day in Berlin. Silo has been invited to speak.

Through the initiative of the Governor of the State of Miranda, Venezuela, a wood was planted to mark the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. This initiative took place on the 21st of September and children and adults took part in the planting, representing different sectors of society, in a simple and moving action.

After Manuel Zelaya took refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Honduras, the de facto government unleashed a strong chain of increasingly violent actions. With tear gas and mustard gas, they leveled homes and offices of social organizations illegally arresting people. Meanwhile demonstrations of people mounted throughout countries in Latin America denouncing the violence.

After having participated in the Right to Food forum in Mexico, Olivier De Schutter, argued that “taxing food doesn’t seem to be a solution for combating the economic crisis”. He also said that “35 percent of the world’s children who die each year –equivalent to about 6.5 million – die as a result of malnutrition or related causes.”

Only hours after President´s Obama policy change to abandon the missile defence shield, iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said to NBC News´Ann Curry that Iran has no need for nuclear weapons. Three times in the interview, Curry asked Ahmadinejad if there were conditions that could push Iran to have a bomb, saying that there was no need for such weapons.

Barack Obama has abandoned the controversial Pentagon plan to build a missile defence system in Europe. The plan had long tensed the relations with Russia. It also represents an stategic shift to not threaten Iran but to go to the negotiations table instead. “Europe for Peace” and the Czech Nonviolent activism against the missile defence shield helped to get to this decision.