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An Ecological and Anthropological
Approach to Dafur A Wall of Protection What Abu Mazen
is Thinking The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly The Millennium Vision |
Vol. XX, No. 1 Fall, 2005
Nonviolent Change Journal helps
to network the peace community: providing dialoguing, exchanges of ideas,
articles, reviews, reports and announcements of the activities of peace
related groups and meetings, reviews of world developments relating to
nonviolent change and resource information concerning the development of
human relations on the basis of mutual respect. LETTERS: DIALOGING An Ecological and Anthropological Approach to Dafur Rene Wadlow: Dear
Colleague, I would like to raise
briefly with you the need for an ecological and anthropological contribution
to the settlement of the on-going violent conflict in the four Sudanese
provinces of the As the representative of the Association
of World Citizens, a non-governmental organization, to the United Nations, The 61st session of the UN Commission on
Human Rights, which terminated on 21 April 2005, focused on the massacres,
deliberate destruction of villages and agricultural infrastructure, the rape
of women and girls, refugees, and the internal displacement of populations in
the The Commission resolution also put an
emphasis on preparing now for post-conflict reconstruction and
ecologically-sound development based on "promoting the peaceful social
coexistence between the different tribes in Thus, planning for post-conflict
reconstruction and ecologically-sound development needs to be started now
drawing upon the ideas and insights of a wide circle of those concerned with
the ecology of dry areas such as This need for
"peaceful social coexistence" is true for I believe that
proposals concerning ecologically-sound development in the I hope that you will share this request
with those you know working on ecological and pastoral-agricultural
relations, as well as with government agencies so that we can bring together
research and insights to contribute to a transformation of the The over two million people displaced
and the 300,000 killed will leave deep scars on Sincerely
yours, Rene Wadlow,
Wadlowz@aol.com ______________________________________________________ A Wall of Protection Rajmohan Gandhi Source: The Common Ground News Service
(www.commongroundnews.org), July 1, 2005. Distributed by the Common Ground News
Service with permission to publish. On visits to Muslim-majority nations and
in interactions with Muslim citizens elsewhere, I am often surprised at a
lack of knowledge about real Muslim heroes. One such was Abdul Ghaffar
Khan of Pakistan‚s North-West Frontier Province, better known as Badshah or Bacha Khan, who died
in 1988 in One of his greatest achievements was to
create the Khudai Khidmatgars,
or the Serving Volunteers of God, a nonviolent army that for fifty years
delivered the message of autonomy, unity, equality and self-reliance to the Pashtuns and non-Pashtuns of
the NWFP. A devout Sunni Muslim who also cherished
the pre-Islamic past of his land and proudly took guests to the Bamiyan Buddhas, Badshah Khan sent a son and, more significantly, a
daughter to study in the West in 1931. Also, he was a close friend and
political associate of my grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi. Thrice in the late
1930s he hosted Gandhi in the NWFP, and it is a remark that Gandhi made there
in October 1938 that I would like to present in regard to Palestine/Israel
today. Referring, in the town of Tank, to Hindu
and Sikh minorities living amidst Muslim majorities in the NWFP, Gandhi asked
the Pashtun Muslims to" become a living wall
of protection to their [non-Muslim] neighbors." Added Gandhi: "A
small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their
mission can alter the course of history." (Speech of 31 October 1938
reported in Harijan, 19 November 1938) A wall of protection was what Badshah Khan also desired for minorities, and what he and
Gandhi again and again asked India‚s majority Hindus to offer to their Muslim
neighbors. The walls that today disfigure the Holy
Land, encircling and confining Arabs in their own lands and dividing them
from one another, reminded me of the different wall that Gandhi and Ghaffar Khan, whose wife Nambata
lies buried in Let me attempt to describe this
different wall that Arabs and Muslims generally may seek to build today
around the state and population of Firstly, as distinct from the concrete
walls that confine many Arabs today, this Muslim wall will be a human wall,
consisting of numerous individuals believing in it. Secondly, it will be a long,
crescent-shaped wall, running from Thirdly, it will be a confident wall,
for the Muslims constituting it will be confident about the justice of the
Palestinian demand for a fully independent Fourthly, it will be a resolute wall, for
the Muslims forming it will never yield their determination to secure a fully
independent Fifthly, it will be a nonviolent wall,
for those forming it will not bear any lethal arms, nor harbor any intent to
kill Jews or Israelis. Finally, it will be a wall of
protection, and Muslims forming it will pledge themselves to protect every
innocent Jew or Israeli, drawing inspiration from past periods when Muslim
rulers and citizens protected Jews, according them
rights not then available to Jews in Christian lands. Many Arabs and other Muslims
individually share these characteristics and thus already constitute a
slender, fragile and invisible fence of protection. The question is whether
it can become a thick, strong and visible wall. There are at least three reasons why
the concept of such a wall should not be rejected out of hand. One, since
world intervention in respect of Palestine/Israel is not working,
solutions will need to grow from the region. Two, since the world is not free
from anti-Semitism, Muslims may wish to take the lead in ending it. Three,
the concept will remind Muslims of the confidence and tolerance existing in
their past. As Gandhi said, "A small body of
determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter
the course of history." The mission today is peace and justice in
Palestine/Israel. Rajmohan
Gandhi, a former member of the Indian Parliament and grandson of Mahatma
Gandhi, teaches at the ______________________________________________________ What Abu Mazen Is Thinking Uri Savir Source: The Jerusalem Post (www.jpost.co), July 27,
2005. Distributed by the Common Ground News
Service with permission to republish. Some years ago, before Ehud Barak was prime minister,
he was asked the hypothetical question: What would you do if you were a young
Palestinian living under Israeli occupation?
Barak replied with surprising candour. He would most likely join one of the
organizations fighting the occupiers. Indeed, whether to fight a war - or to
make peace - it is imperative to understand the mindset of the enemy, to
place oneself in the shoes of the "other." These days, many within our borders, and
beyond, are wondering why PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is not taking
more forceful measures against the Hamas and
Islamic Jihad terror organizations. But what would you do if were you a
Palestinian Authority decision-maker? To understand the actions and reasoning
behind the Palestinian leadership's assessments, I try to put myself in Abu Mazen's unenviable shoes. Having made Abu Mazen's acquaintance a dozen years ago, knowing and
appreciating him on an individual level, here's what I think he's thinking: - Why should I play into - Hamas represents a legitimate electorate and embodies a
significant portion of Palestinian public opinion. Disarming this group of
"terrorists" could lead to a full-fledged civil war, resulting in
tragedy and bloodshed. - Terrorism is absolutely criminal and also
detrimental to the Palestinian people. However, both the Israelis and the
international community have short memories - the Palestinians have
experienced the deaths of many more innocent Palestinians, including women
and children, vis-à-vis the Israelis, rather than vice versa. - The
Palestinian Authority has uncompromisingly committed itself to its road map
obligations, including confiscating illegal weapons and uprooting terrorist
infrastructures. - Yet - - Given - Hizbullah tactics gained momentum in the quid pro quo
stakes within the Israeli government in terms of prisoner release and
withdrawal to 1967 lines; perhaps Hamas can
tactically serve the same purpose. - - Israelis are
demanding a Palestinian Altalena - on one level I
agree, however, only on the same terms as - - Anyway, I am
hoping to generate calm through dialogue and by bringing Hamas
into the Palestinian political framework, maybe by promising them a future in
the political arena. THESE CONSIDERATIONS cause great
hesitation in fully confronting the violence of the Palestinian organizations
as demanded by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and other Israelis. But Abbas also has countervailing interests to consider: On the other hand... - Although Hamas is killing Israelis, its real interest is to take
the reins of a future - After
September 11, Islamic-driven terrorism has become the number one enemy of the
- - Given these
strategic interests, and our belief that partnership with the - The initial
considerations are important, but the Palestinian Authority must think strategically
for our nationalist desires to reach fruition For now, I can only imagine Abu Mazen's rational deliberations. I hope I am correct in my
assumptions. But ultimately it is up to him as the Palestinian leader to
arrive at these conclusions. As far as the Israeli government is
concerned, we should not only impose conditions on the Palestinian Authority,
but create dialogue on these issues and together foster a joint vision for
our long-term peace and Uri Savir is
president of the Peres Centre for Peace. ______________________________________________________ The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Khaled Duzdar This
commentary is one of a series of articles of views commissioned by the Common
Ground News Service (www.commongroundnews.org) in partnership with Al-Hayat
newspaper and reprinted by other regional news and media outlets, as part of
a series of views on "Enlarging the Window of Opportunity?"
distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews). The good is when the Israeli and
Palestinian leaderships share common interests to put an end to violence and
conflict. It is when they seriously seek a fair and just peace aiming to put
an end to violence and suffering. It is when they seek to reach a better life
for their people. It will happen when they successfully reach a two-state
solution, living side-by-side in peace. The good is also when they reach a
solution for the complicated issues concerning the refugees, final borders
and The bad is what we are facing today - an
impasse. The bad is when the relations between the two leaderships
deteriorate day-by-day. It is when we hear accusations between senior
officials on both sides everyday, and when the international community stands
on the sidelines watching as the frustrations build up and the hopes for
peace dissipate. The bad is when we believe that the current frozen political
process will last for ever, while the extremists are gaining more support on
both sides. The bad is when the Road Map is not being implemented and the
international community represented by the Quartet is not fulfilling its role
in observing, monitoring and guiding its implementation. The Road Map might
not be the perfect tool, but it is the only available one. The Bad is when the Road Map is modified
unilaterally by the parties. It is when The ugly is when the US President fails
to lead a peace process and fails to put pressure on Israel to live up to its
commitments in the Road Map. The ugly is the realization that we are heading
towards another round of unnecessary and futile violence because people are
frustrated by the lack of political achievements. It is ugly when people lose
their belief that peace is even a possibility for which they can hope. The
ugly is when the real, recent achievements of the Palestinian Authority and
President Abbas are not met with equivalent steps
by The disengagement won't achieve peace
neither will it advance the relations between the Palestinians and The ugly is when the silent majority
remains silent, not raising its voice. The ugly is when the extremists gain
more and more public sympathy yet they offer even less hope of peace and
calm. It is bad and ugly when we fail to learn
the lessons of the past. The last failure led to the outbreak of the second intifada and it will be even uglier if a current failure
will cause the eruption of the third intifada. It would be good if the peace camps on
both sides would move and take actions. They are the only forces that can
make their leaderships change policies. The Palestinians are heading into
parliamentary elections, a change of the balance of forces might occur. The
silent majority shouldn't stay silent, they should speak loudly. The
Palestinian voters should impose a peace agenda on the candidates; it should
include a plan for solutions to end the conflict. We have seen too much of the bad and the
ugly; it is time for some of the good to come our way. Khaled Duzdar is the
Palestinian Co-Director of the Strategic affairs Unit at IPCRI. ______________________________________________________ The Millennium Vision Bill Gellermann The following vision was developed
by 1,350 representatives of over 1000 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
and other civil society organizations from more than 100 countries who
gathered at UN headquarters in "Our vision is of a world that is
human-centered and genuinely democratic, where all human beings are full
participants and determine their own destinies. In our vision, we are one
human family, in all our diversity, living on one common homeland and sharing
a just, sustainable and peaceful world, guided by universal principles of
democracy, equality, inclusion, voluntarism, non-discrimination and
participation by all persons, men and women, young and old, regardless of
race, faith, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity or nationality. It is
a world where peace and human security, as envisioned in the principles of
the United Nations Charter, replace armaments, violent conflict and wars. It
is a world where everyone lives in a clean environment with a fair
distribution of the earthís resources. Our vision
includes a special role for the dynamism of young people and the experience
of the elderly and reaffirms the universality, indivisibility and
interdependence of all human rights - civil, political, economic, social, and
cultural." When people throughout the world are
aligned based on a widely shared vision, their ability to cooperate will be
significantly increased. The vision described above may be such a vision.
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