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AFrl:
Conference, & Peace Process, War Process
AFrl's annual justice and
peace conference takes place in Kildare on 29th and 30th January 2000. The
title of the conference will be ‘Pathways to Peace in the new
Millennium’ and speakers will include Prof. John Maguire of UCC and
Denis Halliday. Further details from AFrl (Action from Ireland), Grand
Canal House; Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6, Tel. 01 - 4S68595/4968610;
Fax. 4969592, E-mail; afri@iol.ie
Meanwhile AFrl raised the issue in late November of the involvement of
Logicom, a major USA arms company, in the administration of the 'Walsh
Visa' programme whereby 12,000 young people from the border counties will
be given short term visas 'to develop skills and conflict resolution
abilities in a diverse, co-operative, peaceful and prosperous society'.
But Logicom is a major player in the international arms trade and
describes one of its main activities as ’providing exercise planning and
scenario development expertise for warfighter exercises worldwide'. While
USA spokespersons stressed that those accepted onto the scheme will be
involved in a wide spectrum of industries, AFrl rightly pointed out the
bizarre juxtaposition of an arms company administering a project to
encourage grassroots support for the peace process in Ireland.
Raytheon, another major USA arms company, which is setting up in Derry
was the subject of a seminar jointly organised by AFrl and Children in
Crossfire in October. At this seminar Paul O'Connor neatly contrasted the
welcome given to Raytheon from Nobel peace prize winners Hume and Trimble
with other recent Nobel peace prize winners, on landmines, East Timor, and
arms reduction - all areas where Raytheon has a negative record. Robbie
McVeigh at the same seminar pointed out the positive decision by Belfast
in 1792 not to become a slaving port (and yet it became a great industrial
city). Anyone wanting to get in touch with those working to oppose
Raytheon coming to Derry can get in touch with Peter Doran, 10 Clarendon
Street, Derry BT48 7ET, Tel./Fax. 01504 - 377970.
Glencree Millennium Peace
Wish Calendar
Glencree have produced a Millennium
Peace Wish Calendar as a commemoration of involvement in building peace
over 25 years. It contains personal peace messages from various political
figures (Mary, Bertie, Tony, Mo, David, Gerry, John, George, Ringo oops no
that should be John de - Ancient Editor) and various international peace
dates. Proceeds will go to support Glencree's programmes. Calendars are
available at £4.99 (add 50p per calendar for postage) to Glencree Centre
for Reconciliation, Development Office, 19/23 Exchequer Street, Dublin 2,
Tel. 01 - 662 0355 / 679 7148, or from the Glencree Centre, Glencree, Co
Wicklow.
Corrymeela Sundae
Sunday
Normally held on a Sunday close to
St Patrick's Day, Corrymeela Sunday is an opportunity for churches and
groups to focus on the call of the Gospel to live the future NOW, focusing
on what it means for peace in Northern Ireland and for each of us,
wherever we are. Corrymeela have produced a Corrymeela Sunday pack
containing resources and ideas. Details from Corrymeela Belfast office
Tel. 028 9032 5008 [new code] (Corrymeela House, 8 Upper Crescent, Belfast
BT7 1NT) or in Britain from Corrymeela Link at Tel. 0118 S26 1062 (PO Box
4829, Earley, Reading RG6 1GG). Web: www.corrymeela.org
Drawing Back from the Edge
Northern Ireland has much
experience of both violence and community responses to it. In this case
the Community Development Centre in north Belfast published ‘Drawing
back from the edge -.Commvnity based response to violence in North Belfast’
(57 pages, A5) written by Neil Jarman. It details work in diffusing
tension at a community level during the summer of 1998, particularly
through using a mobile phone network which enabled instant communication
both within and between activists in both communities, a simple idea which
is not necessarily so simple in practice but which was largely a
successful venture. The report is available from Community Development
Centre, 22 Cliftonville Road, Belfast BT14 6JX, Tel. 01232 - 284400, Fax.
284401.
Boasting- Faith and
Politics Group
Well, maybe the Faith and Politics
Group has something to boast about (I thought that was what happened to
walls in Norn Iron when the plaster came loose - Ed) with the latest in a
long line of thoughts on politics, history and religion. This time It's
‘Boasting - Self-Righteous Collective Superiority As A Cause Of Conflict’.
This expertly dissects both superiority as it is manifested locally and
Christian teaching in relation to it. ‘Holding on to beliefs about what
other believe despite their denials can have disastrous consequences’ as
the pamphlet says. 40 pages, A5, available from The Faith and Politics
Group, 8 Upper Crescent, Belfast BT7 1NT, price £2.50 (UK postage 40
pence).
National Peace Council: NI
Schools Pack, New Magazine
The National Peace Council (NPC) in
Britain has just issued a new pack on Northern Ireland for secondary
schools. Entitled ‘Northern Ireland: Roots of Convict, Routes To
Peace’ it is geared to the mid- to upper-secondary school student,
and attractively presented (78 pages, A4, cover price £9.99 but available
direct from the NPC at £7.99 including post in the UK). It has an
overview history, personal stories, peace/conflict exercises, extracts
from documents and a glossary. Available from the NPC at 162 Holloway
Road, London N7 8DD, Tel. (020)7 809 9666, Fax. 609 9777, E-mail: npc@gn.apc.org
(Note: new address and numbers). The NPC has also launched a new magazine,
‘Peace Movement’, the first special issue at 84 pages looks at
a variety of aspects of disarmament and conflict including ‘UK votes
against disarmament at the UN’, ‘Peace Movement’ is available at
£16 (£10 unwaged) for 10 issues (cheques to ‘NPC’) to the above
address...
Voice: No Biopatents
VOICE of Irish Concern for the
Environment's has been campaigning over the last several months on
biopatenting. An explanatory A3 sheet (folded leaflet) detailing the
issues on biopatenting is available: "With our history of famine,
when millions depended solely on a few varieties of the potato, Ireland
knows the perils of monoculture." VOICE is calling on the Irish
Government to support a five year suspension of article 27.3(b) of the
TRIPs (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) agreement to
allow substantial review of it and the development of alternatives. There
is also a ‘No biopatents’ card to send to the minister responsible.
VOICE is now (since August) at 7 Upper Camden Street, Dublin 2, Tel. 01 -
6618123, Fax. 8618114, E-mail: avoice@iol.ie
Web: www.voice.buz.org You can
subscribe to VOICE for £15, individual; £10, unwaged, £25, family, to
the above address.
Kurve Wustrow:
International Training For Nonviolence
KURVE WUSTROW in Germany is
organising another international training on Nonviolence in the Context of
War or Armed Conflict, from 23 June - 9th July 2000. The trainers will be
Jill Stemberg, Stella Tamang and Hagen Berndt. The training is
particularly intended for local peace, human rights and reconciliation
groups; people interested in nonviolent third party intervention;
exploration of educational approaches in crisis areas; people working with
refugees. The cost is DM1200 (reductions may be possible if needed
according to funds). KURVE Wustrow is a nonviolence training centre not
far from Hamburg and Hannover in northern Germany. Contact for booking
info: KURVE Wustrow, Kirchstr, 14, 29462 Wustrow, Germany. Booking
deadline: 15th March.
Patten: Community Dialogue
A Patten the back for Community
Dialogue whose latest leaflet is on the Patten policing report – ‘Patten
- What Do You Think?’ summarises the recommendations and questions
surrounding it in a couple of sides of A5. Community Dialogue, 373
Springfield Road, Belfast BT12 7DG, Tel: 028 - 90 329995, Web: www.commdial.org
An End of Year Editorial
The scale of the tasks facing us is
daunting, North and South, as we enter a new year and a new decade (to
mention no greater units of years!). But that should not hide the
achievements of recent years; a new, relatively agreed political structure
in Northern Ireland, and unprecedented prosperity in the Republic where
for the first time in centuries (!) there is no need for economic
migration abroad. By all means let us raise a glass of our favourite
beverage to celebrate and reflect. And then it’s back to work. In
Northern Ireland the real fight for a fair education system, inclusive
economic development and for pluralism and mutual understanding, is just
beginning, aside from many other issues.
In the Republic the struggle to inculcate world consciousness versus
consumerism, xenophobia and the EU fortress mentality has to continue with
renewed vigour. In both North and South there are real problems with
poverty, and the ubiquity of quick fixes in many fields will be felt (just
to take one small environmental example, will PVC windows be considered in
future the ‘asbestos’ of their time?).
In the North, ‘politics’ has to deliver for all the people, it has
to prove itself in the new Stormont era; in the Republic, following a year
which saw the related facts of ongoing political sleaze and the lowest
percentage voting in a by-election to the Dail, politics has to
re-establish itself as being about positive change and not private greed.
And coming nearer to some of the basics of nonviolence, the new era in
Ireland cannot be an excuse for being dragged further into the western
military-industrial complex and an inward looking rich man's (sic) club in
western Europe. The very term ‘politics’ has to be redefined to
include much more than what goes under the label of ‘party politics’.
Anyhow, here's to the new day dawning, end to lots more to celebrate in
the future… |
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