Politics

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 official list published Saturday of winners in elections to the Revolutionary Council of the Palestinian Fatah movement included 67-year-old Dr. Uri Davis, a Jerusalem-born Jew. He was elected number 31 of 80 members. When his name was announced, members in the auditorium of the Bethlehem school where the conference was being held, applauded long and loud. »

A legislative amendment already passed into Law by Congress would permit the Justice ministry to be renamed the Ministry of Justice and Peace, instead of Justice and Grace, its current denomination. In addition, the legislative amendment will create the National System for Promotion of Peace and Citizen Coexistence, an essential point of this model initiative for Latin America. »

In other Mideast news, the Israeli military has declared the shooting of an unarmed American peace activist “an act of war.” The activist, Tristan Anderson, was critically injured when Israeli soldiers fired a tear gas canister directly at his head in March. According to Anderson’s family this would mean that Israel’s government admits that it is at war with civilians. »

Iraqi’s government is backing a vote that could force an early US withdrawal. On Monday, the Iraqi cabinet said it would support holding a national referendum over the US-Iraqi Status of Forces Agreement. The agreement calls for a US withdrawal by the end of 2011. But if Iraqis reject the timetable, US troops would be forced to begin pulling out nearly one year earlier. »

The new Honduran regime has severed diplomatic ties with Argentina in response to the expulsion last week of Honduran ambassador to Buenos Aires, Carmen Eleonora Ortez Williams, because of her support for the military coup. A delegation from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is currently in Honduras to investigate mistreatment of Zelaya’s supporters. »

The election campaigns in Afghanistan have ended with mass rallies by a number of presidential candidates. Actual President Hamid Karzai and former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah lead the polls. To gain support of the Ayatollahs and Uzbek voters, Karzai approved a law against women’s right to refuse sexual demand of husbands and allowed the return of Abdul Rashid Dostum. »

The new president of the Moluccan government-in-exile says an independent Moluccan state is no longer its absolute priority. In an interview with the Nederlands Dagblad, John Wattilete says he is prepared to place the future of the islands in the hands of the people and if they no longer wish to fight for independence from Indonesia then "he would accept the consequences". »

Switzerland wants to reduce its army by one third within the next 12 years. Swiss Minister of Defence, Ueli Maurer said there are currently 120,000 professional Swiss soldiers and that that number must come down to 80,000. The number of reservists must also shrink from 80,000 to 40,000. Switzerland wants to place more emphasis on humanitarian missions to foreign countries. »

Thirteen years after the opening for signature, the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty has finally come into force with the twenty-eighth ratification by Burundi on 15 July 2009. This milestone follows efforts by the Institute for Security Studies and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, with the support of several other organizations. »