Global Network for Nonviolence

Difficulties in some GNN members' plans for Sept. 21st

2007-09-21T22:11:26Z

Greetings to all our friends on the UN's designated International Day of Peace! Several GNN members around the world had planned to mark the International Day of Peace with activities and events designed to inject a strong "pro-nonviolence message" message into the commemoration. We are awaiting reports of those activities, to post news of them here. Meanwhile, though, two sets of these plans have had to be suspended or postponed due to the very challenging events in the regions in which our members work:

Kisai Occidental province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

outbreak of the very lethal Ebola virus in the province,

Kathmandu, Nepal

Photo.Circle

Nepal is currently struggling to escape from many years of deeply-rooted political violence. Sagar had done a lot of preparations for the "International Day of Peace" events in Kathmandu-- and will certainly be working with his circle of contacts to keep the flame of nonviolence alive for the future. In the meantime, he advises us that to follow the developments in his Himalayan country, we can visit these websites:

www.ekantipur.com www.nepalnews.com www.nepalitimes.com Regarding the very serious Ebola outbreak in DRC, our friend there writes:

Dear friends, I am sorry, I have not been able to communicate with you all this while. You must have heard the sad news: Kasai Occidental is seriously affected by the deadly Ebola hemorrhagic fever. So far over 380 cases including 172 deaths have been reported in two endemic areas of the province. My Office is located some 250 km from those areas, and in the last two weeks, I have been very busy with the enforcement of precautionary measures... We are still far from the dangerous zone but we can only be safe if we restrict movements of people and goods from the affected areas to the provincial capital. Experts of the Atlanta-based Centre for Disease Control arrived here yesterday to conduct rapid diagnoses for suspected cases, which can spread like wild fire at any time. Medical and security advisories have reduced all [activities.] ... We must quarantine ourselves in order to avoid the epidemic. As a result, there won’t be any International Peace Day celebrations in this region this year... As you know, it is really sad because 21st September is my birthday. Imagine what it means to be quarantined on a birthday. Even my leave plans have been cancelled. We had planned a series of interesting events with several local NGOs. They have been postponed sine die. Dear friends, Please pray for us as we continue our difficult job ... in this country. We have been through a series of hurdles including war, but death has never been so close in the last four years or so. You just have to shake hands with an infected individual to catch the deadly disease. You will find a lot of information on this very contagious disease on the Internet... Take good care of yourself as you celebrate International Peace Day. Peace! If readers would like to send messages to our friend in DRC and his colleagues, or to Sagar in Nepal, please do so through the "Comments" section here.

Report on recent GNN workshops on nonviolence in Amman, Jordan

2007-09-18T03:28:03Z

In June, as part of GNN's commitment to trying to inject an intentional "nonviolence message" into commemorations of the 40 years of Israel's occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and Golan, Co-chair Neven Bondokji organized two half-day workshops on the topic of nonviolence for Jordanian and refugee youth in Amman, Jordan. (The refugees were Iraqi nationals, survivors of some of the worst violence in today's world who are among the two million Iraqis currently living as refugees in Jordan and Syria.) For more details of GNN's mobilization around the June commemorations, click here. Neven wrote a great report on the workshops in Amman. You can read the full text of that here. It starts like this:

"Non-Violence: The Ignored Option" Workshops on 10 & 15 June 2007 Amman- Jordan

Workshop Agenda

Here is Neven's summary of the results of the questionnaires she used at the beginning and end of the workshops:

At the beginning of workshops, most participants defined violence in forms of physical and verbal violence. Almost 90% of female participants defined violence to include verbal violence. Around 35% of participants referred to structural violence that deprives them from certain rights. In defining non-violence at the beginning, 15% said they don’t know; 45% defined it as dialogue or talking to the "other" while 30% defined it as trust and peace. After the workshops, participants defined non-violence as a method that builds peace and trust. Many referred to some means or elements of non-violence to define it. Around 40% of participants said more awareness sessions or campaigns on non-violence must be organized. ... Anyway, do go read the whole text of her report. Great job, Neven!

Report from June 5-10 events in Tantur, West Bank

2007-09-09T21:05:35Z

We're sorry our reports from the events that GNN people organized and participated in around the June 5 anniversary of 40 years of Israel's occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and Golan have been a little delayed. Below, find the first of these-- from GNN co-chair Hagit Tarnari. We hope to get a couple more good ones up here in the coming days... Also, following some changes in administering the site, we intend to have it be much more timely and useful over the months ahead. We apologize that it was shut completely down for a few days in late August. Bear with us! Check back often! And send any suggestions you have for the site to webmaster@www.gn-nonviolence.org.)

Description of Israeli-Palestinian events to mark 40 years of Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza

by Hagit Tarnari

See some photos of the events here.)

There has never been a public concert or anything close to what we arranged there in Tantur, on the slope overlooking Bethlehem, the wall, one of the checkpoints to and from Bethlehem. You can see Bethlehem in the background of the stage, both at day time and at night.

Tantur is located on a hill belonging to the Vatican. I think that legally it is not Israel. It is part of the Vatican state and is now on the Israeli side of the wall. Palestinians need permits to enter this area. With the help of IPCRI and especially Yael Shalem, we managed to issue hundreds of permits for Palestinians who registered through phone and internet.

But the permits arrived from the IDF only a day or two before the events, and we could not distribute them on time for most people. We arranged for busses to take the Palestinian friends, but eventually, not that many managed to make it. Those who did enjoyed very much. It was an uplifting hopeful ending for a week of commemorating hard memories for Palestinians, and impossible present for both Palestinians and Israelis...

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All the artists that performed in Tantur did it for a small fee, except one, who we thought would attract much larger crowds.

Hagit Tarnari, GNN's co-chairperson, was orchestrating the line-up for the Tantur events, including the screening of films, which included Encounter Point, presented by Joline Makhlouf, the producer of the film and a GNN member. The movie was followed with a Question and Answer session from the audiance conducted by the Israeli and Palestinian members from the "Beraved Families Forum". One of the speakers at the event was Sheikh Abdul-Aziz al-Bukari who is also a GNN member.

For the Full Schedule of the event see here.

The entire week of the June 5'th was full with joint Israeli-Palestinian activities calling for the End of Occupation, Two States for Two People, One Peace.

Keeping hope alive for Peace/Salaam/Shalom in a Nonviolent World.

Hagit Tarnari.

Here is a photo of Broza Ud and G-town in Tantur:

Here are Suli and Itamar from Combatants for Peace, :

Here is GNN member Joline Makhlouf, introducing the film she helped make, "Encounter Point", along with IPCRI's Gershon Baskin:

And here is a broad view of the event at night, with the lights of Bethlehem in the background (and a grape-vine artistically draped in the foreground.):

Call for nonviolence-focused actions on Sept. 21 Internat'l Day of Peace

2007-09-03T14:41:55Z

Dear friends of GNN,

Greetings! I write to congratulate all of you for your sustained encouragement and interest in Global Network for Nonviolence over past few months of its existence. It is due to this support that GNN has become a reality and a guiding force for many of us who believe in nonviolence; to be active and be heard.

As you know, in February three activities were endorsed for 2007. I am glad to share with you that two of the three activities were successfully implemented. The official GNN website www.gn-nonviolence.org is set up, though it is currently undergoing some redevelopment and updating-- check back regularly to see our improvements! Also, numerous GNN members took part in or helped organize activities around the June 5th anniversary in their respective locations. We will be uploading some reports of these events onto the website in near future.

The third and the final activity planned for this year is to observe the International Day of Peace on September 21. As we draw closer to the day, I urge all of you to mark this day in your best possible capacity with a message of nonviolence. In this process, GNN encourages active information exchanges amongst the members. Additionally, if you would like to see some coordination amongst the friends of the network be established for the purpose, please let us know. The Steering Committee will do its best to help you help each other into the meaningful observance of this day. Likewise, your programs can be listed in our website so that more people can learn about it and partcipate.

Lastly, as you prepare to observe the International Day of Peace, I wish you all the best and look forward to hear from you.

best regards,
Sagar Gurung
Secretary
Global Network for Nonviolence

GNN: Who we are!

2007-09-02T21:33:20Z

Video made at the October 2006 organizing conference.

The *Global Network for Nonviolence* was established in early 2007 by individuals who participated in a course on Nonviolent Approaches to Conflict Resolution, Peace Building and Reconciliation that was held at the United Nations University’s International Leadership Institute (UNU-ILI) in Amman, Jordan, in October 2006. This course brought together for four days in Amman some 55 people from South Africa, Russia, Pakistan, India, Uganda, Cameroon, Burundi, the USA, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Israel, Palestine, other Middle East countries, and more.... This course was our starting-point; it created a fertile ground for people who decided to work together as a group despite our widely scattered locations. So we decided to institutionalize the group. Group members elected a Steering Committee which is committed to democratic and accountable governance. h3. The Steering Committee members are: * Neven Bondokji (Jordan) and Hagit Tarnari (Israel), co-chairs * Sagar Gurung (Nepal), secretary * Michael Simmons (USA), webmaster * David Foncho (Cameroon) and Zoughbi Zoughbi (Palestine), members This group then co-opted onto the Committee Jairam Reddy (South Africa) to serve as treasurer and Helena Cobban (USA and Britain) as fundraising director. Dr. Reddy’s position as Director of UNU-ILI is a symbol of our continuing good relationship with UNU-ILI. Group member Linda Carranza also agreed to act as GNN’s web management advisor. The Steering Committee held its first meeting in Amman at the end of February 2007, with the help of the Friedrich Nauman Foundation and the Foundation for Middle East Peace. We agreed on the Mission Statement, Bylaws, Key Decisions, Initial Activities and the name of the group –

We Are: GNN -- the Global Network For Nonviolence!

We believe in the power of nonviolent approaches and actions in order to create a positive, caring world. We are inspired by the work and contribution of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and others. We wish to raise awareness, share knowledge, encourage, support, promote and contribute to the same mutual goal. Our strength is in our unity and our global diversity.

Detailed schedule of some commemorative events

2007-05-07T09:00:50Z

One of our members has provided details on the following events to commemorate the 40th anniversary of June 5, 1967: 5 June: Anata, Big Gathering – 40th anniversary of Israeli Occupation "Together to Ending the occupation, Two states, Two people" – under the auspices of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas We wish cordially to invite you to attend the public festivals commemorating the 40 th anniversary of Israeli Occupation of 1967. The event will include prominent Palestinian, Israeli and International Peace activists highlighting the Palestinian desire for peace through presentations, activities, music and traditional Dabka. The event will start at 17:00, June 5th, in Anata. The organizers expect more than 1,000 people. The schedule: 16:30 Music, scouts marching through Anata to event site 17:00 Opening of ceremonies (moment of silence, lighting of 40 torches, etc) Speakers: MC, Mayor of Anata Campaign's Speaker Gibril Rajoub Israeli Speaker (not finalized) 18:00 Theatre—Palestinians and Israelis together Speakers: Representative from the European Council MP Mohammad Barake President Jimmy Carter video speech Dabka Performance 19:00 Speakers: Combatants for Peace- Guy Elhanan & Sema Ahed Bereaved Families Forum 19:30 Israeli Singer David Broza 20:00 Closing Ceremonies (There may be changes in the program.) Transportation: Tel Aviv –Central Rail station (Arlozerov) at 1 4:45 Jerusalem – Binianei Hauma at 15:40 or at the UN Headquarters on Road Number 1 (Mandelbaum Gate), at 16:00 For transportation confirmation and general information please contact: Itamar Shapira itamarshap@gmail.com (there's more!)]]> 7 June: Tul Karem, Big Gathering – 40th anniversary of Israeli Occupation "Together to Ending the occupation, Two states, Two people" - – under the auspices of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas We wish cordially to invite you to attend the public festivals commemorating the 40th anniversary of Israeli Occupation of 1967. The event will include prominent Palestinian, Israeli and International Peace activists highlighting the Palestinian desire for peace through presentations, activities, music and traditional Dabka. The event will start at 17:00, June 7th, in Both sides of the green line in the village of Nazlat Issa near Baka al Gharbiya Transportation: Jerusalem – Binianei Hauma, at 14:45 Tel Aviv –Central Rail station (Arlozerov) at 15:45 For confirmation and further Information please contact:: Itamar Shapira itamarshap@gmail.com
8 June: Tantur, Big Gathering Palestinian-Israeli On Friday, we (Combatants for Peace) will take part, together with other Israeli and Palestinian movements and organization in a special event, commemorating 40 years of occupation. The event will take place in Tantur center, near Bet Gala, and will include many activities and artists performance from 17:30 (David Broza, Sheva and many more). Itamar Shapira and Sulaiman Khatib, Combatants for Peace's coordinators, will speak and tell their personal stories. From 16:00 we will hold discussion and dialog circles between the group members and other guest, Families and friends are most welcome. Transportation: Will be determined soon... For information and confirmation: Yanay Israeli Yanayisraeli@gmail.com 9 June: Tel Aviv, Big Demonstration – Against the occupation and for a just peace On Saturday, 9.5, 18: 45 , we will hold a big demonstration in Tel Aviv (Starting from Rabin square). Coalition of organizations, movements and left parties protesting against the occupation and for a just peace. By that we will be joining to the international protest day against the continuous occupation of the Palestinian people.

Forty years of military occupation rule in the West Bank, Gaza, and Golan--it's enough!

2007-05-07T09:00:00Z

June 5, 2007 marks the 40th anniversary of the start of the Arab-Israeli war of 1967. That war was an episode of significant physical violence, in which some 16,000 people lost their lives, and hundreds of thousands of people fled their homes. The June 1967 war also brought under the control of the Israeli military considerable stretches of land—in the Palestinian areas of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza, in Egypt's Sinai region, and in Syria's Golan. The populations of those areas thenceforth had to live under the rule of a foreign military occupation force. Rule by foreign military occupation is an affront to the ideals of democracy and human dignity, including the idea that governments gain their legitimacy primarily from the consent of the governed. It is also a clear example of administrative violence, which is wielded by the (completely unaccountable) occupation authorities against the 3.5 million indigenous residents of the occupied areas, denying their ability to exercise their normal human rights and severely limiting the ability of their communities to flourish. In Sinai, foreign occupation rule ended with the implementation of the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, under which Israel withdrew completely from Egyptian territory in return for a full peace and the demilitarization of most of Sinai. But in the West Bank, Gaza, and Golan, the indigenous residents of these areas have continued to live under occupation to this day. In addition, over the course of this 40-year-long occupation, successive governments in Israel have systematically settled some 400,000 Israeli civilians in the occupied areas of the West Bank, and some 17,000 in Golan, in clear infringement of international law. Israeli governments have given considerable support to these settlers, including through the expropriation of Palestinian (or in Golan, Syrian) land and other resources, the provision of subsidies to the settlers, the creation of a discriminatory system of Israelis-only highways in the West Bank, and the erection of the large barrier that snakes through the West Bank, cutting Palestinian communities off from each other or from their own lands and stifling the possibility of normal economic life or livelihoods for most Palestinians. 40 years of military occupation: It's enough!

h3. Links to sites with events calling for 'An End to Israeli occupation' on or near June 5, 2007, the 40th anniversary of the occupation of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), Gaza, and Golan. (Please note that these sites are fairly frequently updated. Most of the events and locations listed have a contact person listed. Please be in touch with these contact people for further details.) * "US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation":http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?list=type&type=162 -- Washington, DC, June 10 and 11: Protest, teach-in, and lobby day organized by this nationwide coalition, under the slogan "The World Says No to Israeli Occupation!" * The "June 5th Initiative":http://www.june5.org/?page_id=4, of the Israeli-Palestinian Center for Research and Information (IPCRI) -- various events listed in Israel, Palestine, Paris, Washington DC, and elsewhere between June 5 and June 14, under the slogan "Two States, Two Peoples, One Peace." * The "40 occupation":http://www.kibush40.org/wordpress/ website (Israel) -- various events listed on this website affiliated with Israel's Gush Shalom (the Peace Bloc) * "Combatants for Peace":http://www.combatantsforpeace.org/event.asp?lng=eng – information on events in Israel and Palestine organized by this organization, and others.
* Events organized by "Wi’am Centre":http://alaslah.org/ include vigils, church services, documentary film screenings, drawing workshops for children, and other activities. ]]>