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This month's
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2001 Annual report now available Go...
Stories
and Strategies:
Nonviolent resistance and social change
War Resisters International
Triennial Conference, Dublin City University
3 - 10 August 2002
For further details click
here |
Globalisation’s implications
Saturday 23rd February sees a
conference on 'Globalisation - Implications for the Developed and
Developing World' organised by the Dublin Monthly Meeting Peace
Committee of the Religious Society of Friends (i.e. Quaker Peace
Committee). It's taking place in the University Industry Centre of UCD,
Belfield from 9.30 am (registration) until 4.00 pm. The chair is Carmel
Foley and input will be provided by Neville Keery, Barry Coates, Prof
Kevin O'Rourke, Mary Banotti MEP and Maura Leen; topics include
definitions, historical analysis, a UN perspective, an EU view, and
analysis of Ireland and globalisation. So how do we ensure that the new
global order is a just one? The conference fee is 30 Euros including a
light lunch, or 15 Euros unwaged. Bookings (with cheques payable to 'DMM
Peace Committee') to; Claire Counihan, Globalisation Conference, Swanbrook
House, Bloomfield Avenue, Donnybrook, Dublin 4. Phone 086 - 3702421,
e-mail counihanclaire@hotmail.com
Democratic Dialogue
Democratic Dialogue was formed in 1995 as a think tank to reflect on
critical issues confronting the people of Northern Ireland and to
facilitate political progress. It works in a variety of ways, including in
collaboration with other institutions, and engages in debate on economic,
social, cultural and political issues. As well as engaging in various
forms of debate and dialogue it produces papers and reports on major
issues; these are all available on the website or can be ordered as paper
copies at £1 for papers, £7.50 for reports to individuals (£4 unwaged),
plus 10% post and packaging. The last two reports, which both appeared in
2001, are; No. 13 'Future policies for the past', ed. Brandon
Hamber, Dorte Kulle and Robin Wilson, an exploration of the fraught issue
of victims and how the 'troubled' past should be remembered; No. 14 'No
welcome here? Asylum seekers and refugees in Ireland and Britain' ed.
Colin Harvey and Margaret Ward., aiming to inform and advance practical
proposals for a multi-cultural society. Democratic Dialogue, 53 University
Street, Belfast BT7 1FY, phone 028 - 90 22 00 50, fax 90 22 00 51, e-mail info@democraticdialogue.org
and the website is http://www.democraticdialogue.org
West Papua Action
West Papua Action is a solidarity and campaigning initiative which
began at the start of 1996 (when it was launched by Carmel Budiardjo of
Tapol) and works at a variety of levels to bring awareness and concern to
the question of West Papua. Speakers and resources are available on
request. It produces a newsletter, 'West Papua News', plus e-mail
news, and has published the booklet 'West Papua in the Global
Community'. West Papua, the western half of New Guinea, is five times
the size of Ireland but contains over 240 different tribal peoples with
their own language and culture - about 1 million indigenous Papuans speak
15% of the world's known languages! After the end of Dutch colonial
control, international negotiations among world powers led to West Papua
coming under Indonesian control in 1963 and a staged referendum was held
in 1969 - but in all this the people had no free say on the matter. As
well as the interests of Indonesian settlers there are substantial forest
and mining interests (it contains some of the last great surviving virgin
rainforest). West Papuan moves for independence are countered by
Indonesian repression and assassination, e.g. of Theys Eluay in November.
Since December West Papua Action has been based at 134 Phibsboro Road,
Dublin 7, phone 01 - 882 7581, fax 882 7576, e-mail wpaction@iol.ie,
and the well presented website is at http://westpapuaaction.buz.org
Pens for Peace
'Pens for Peace' is a new book from the Irish Peace Institute
in Limerick, edited by Noel Flannery and Matt Cannon. It is a rich
tapestry of nearly fifty short contributions of a few pages each on the
theme of peace, particularly in relation to the island of Ireland but with
some looking further afield or more generally. It includes a variety of
well known names (Fraser Agnew, Bertie Ahern, May Blood, Peadar Cremin,
John Cushnahan, Ruth Dudley Edwards, Robin Eames, Seamus Heaney, Enda
McDonagh, David Norris, David Trimble, to pick just some) and others less
well known but with this variety there is bound to be something to excite
or infuriate you (or to get your interest, like Mark Patrick Hederman's
piece being titled 'I Hate Peaceniks' - the first sentence indicates it
comes from a T-shirt before he moves on to an intriguing tale of what has
passed for dialogue in Ireland) The book runs to 256 pages (A5) and is
excellent value priced at 10 Euros. ISBN 1- 874653-64-X. The Irish Peace
Institute is at University of Limerick, Limerick, phone 061 - 20 27 68,
fax 20 25 72, and website http://www.ul.ie/ipi
CRTLC move
The Community Relations Training and Learning Consortium have moved
their office base from Dungannon up the motorway to Belfast. Until the end
of March they are at temporary accommodation; 5th Floor, Howard House, 1
Brunswick Street, Belfast BT2 7GE where their phone number is 028 - 90 33
28 33. E-mail addresses still active are info@crtlc.org
and elaine@crtlc.org
FOR Zimbabwe appeal: monitoring the election
The worsening human rights and humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe has
been evident to anyone opening a newspaper or listening to news over the
last couple of months. Nhamo Sithole, chairperson of FOR (Fellowship of
Reconciliation) Zimbabwe reports that they have now trained 1200 monitors
to monitor the elections nationwide which are due on 9th and 10th March.
At the moment there are only the financial resources to deploy half the
monitors they have available so they are urgently seeking a very modest
amount (US$15,000) to pay for deployment of the monitors and some mobile
phones. If you can help, or suggest funding sources, contact aki@utande.co.zw
or makios@yahoo.com.
Information via IFOR office, Alkmaar, website www.ifor.org
Still there across the eastern water
The National Peace Council in Britain came to a natural end in 2000,
and with it the Northern Ireland Working Group made up of various peace
groups which interacted with the peace and political sectors in Northern
Ireland for many years. However there remains an interest in this arena,
despite something like 'A Friendship Course of Action', a
pen-friend and e-mail idea started by this writer, which did not take off
indicating that there was perhaps no need for it. Your friends across the
water, while still involved in other projects, are still around and ready
to respond if needed. Denise Moll, West Byfleet, Surrey, tel/fax 01932 -
343614, e-mail dmnewle@waitrose.com
[Ed: The Northern Ireland based peace and reconciliation group with
the biggest presence in Britain is the Corrymeela Community. Its British
office is at; PO Box 4829, Earley, Reading, England RG6 1XX, phone 0118 -
926 1062, e-mail corrymeelalink@btinternet.co.uk]
Peace News on line
'Peace News', the international English language quarterly publication
'for nonviolent revolution', published in association with the WRI/War
Resisters International, is now on line including the current issue and
some back issues (along with a sample issue of the British PN monthly, 'Nonviolent
Action'). Visit http://www.peacenews.info
PN is available on subscription at £10 in the UK or joint sub with
Nonviolent Action £15; Euro rate is 25 Euros outside the UK. Peace News,
5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX. e-mail peacenews@gn.apc.org
Lifelines Ireland
Lifelines Ireland, an apolitical, non-religious organisation, has been
in operation since 1991 and befriends people on Death Row in the United
States, Zambia and the Caribbean through letter writing. A newsletter is
produced with information from prisoners and news about the death penalty
around the world. Subscriptions are 15 Euros (8 Euros unwaged).
Correspondence Secretary: Laura Milligan, 58 Rathvilly Drive, Finglas,
Dublin 11. Website: http://homepage.eircom.net/~lifelines/Lifelines.htm
Non-Violent Resistance Network (NVRN), Britain
If you're interested in keeping in touch with the nonviolent
resistance to war and armaments in Britain, the Non-violent Resistance
Network of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament produces a useful
newsletter every two months (available on donation basis). NVRN, 162
Holloway Road, London N7 8DQ, ph. 020 - 7607 2302, e-mail Irendnvrn@supanet.com
and web http://nvrn.org
The coordinator is David Polden.
Death of Jerry Tyrrell
We very much regret to record the death of Jerry Tyrrell of Derry,
peacemaker and gentle man, on 16th December, from cancer.
Jerry
Tyrrell 1950 - 2001
To die from cancer
aged 51 with a loving partner, Jo, teenage children, Jack and
Sophie, and father, Jack, still alive, is a tragedy, a human
tragedy. But there was also an intense feeling of celebration at
Jerry's funeral on 19th December; celebration of a lovely, together
guy and celebration of what he achieved in his life. The sharing at
the Quaker meeting for worship, which filled Magee College's Great
Hall in Derry to overflowing, covered in a very moving way the
different facets of Jerry's life. The depth of affection for Jerry
from the people of Derry and further afield was crystal clear.
A large crowd went on to the cemetery in the Creggan and then
back to Magee afterwards. At the graveside nature provided its own
stunning tribute; a shaft of light came over the hill as the drizzle
came down, and a complete double rainbow united the two sides of
Derry/Londonderry - beat that for symbolism if you can.
Jerry came to what became his adopted and adoptive city of Derry
in the early 1970s from England as part of what was a small and
largely English peace community associated with the Fellowship of
Reconciliation (FOR). The Troubles still raged and it was a brave
and unusual move. One day members of the community returned to find
British soldiers searching their files; the explanation was that one
of the squad was leaning against the front door, which opened, so
they decided to look around!
Jerry was associated particularly with three organisations
(though he was involved with more). Holiday Projects West was his
first major working involvement in Derry, a teenage community
relations scheme which was pioneering in its type. Later he worked
for, and set up, the Quaker Peace Education Programme (QPEP) which
later transmogrified into the EMU Promoting School Project (writing
about which I adapted an RTE radio advert for a cattle drench,
"a quare name but great stuff"). These latter two projects
did pioneering work in schools, particularly but not exclusively in
the north-west of Northern Ireland, including affirmation and peer
education. Jerry was also involved in the early development of
mediation in Northern Ireland. At Jerry's funeral one woman spoke
movingly on how she was involved as a young person in the teenage
schemes with Jerry in Holiday Projects West, and now her daughter is
involved in peer education in her primary school through the EMU
Promoting School Project, work which is now integrated into the
school and will continue.
The various annual and other reports from these projects show the
depth of work and reflection which took place. As action research
projects the point is to develop and be critical. Those involved in
the community relations, peace, reconciliation and related fields
know that 'achieving peace' in Northern Ireland is not a simple
matter. Even building up small aspects of that overall solution
could be complex in itself. But it was to this detailed work is that
Jerry Tyrrell devoted his working life.
I'll miss Jerry even if I only met him on an occasional basis,
and I will miss the craic and banter in our phone calls. He was a
gentle giant with a great sense of humour. May he rest in the peace
which he himself fostered.
Rob Fairmichael |
Other organisations please copy (duplicator) - INNATE is
searching for the use of a copy duplicator in Belfast once or twice a
month to produce this newssheet, and occasional leaflets, please contact
as below.
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