Corrymeela 40 years on the go in
2005 The Corrymeela Community will have
its 40th birthday in 2005 (and its founder, Ray Davey, is
90 years old in January) so various events will mark that
landmark, including Corrymeela Sunday which is celebrated
in March; a special conference, concert and Corrymeela Sunday
service will take place in London on 12th and 13th March,
further details at www.corrymeela.org. Meanwhile, the Corrymeela
Singers have laid down their baton or songsheet after about
thirty years of performing. You can become a 'Friend of Corrymeela'
(and receive Corrymeela 'Connections' magazine 3 times a year)
for an annual subscription of (minimum) £24 a year (£12
unwaged) to Corrymeela, 8 Upper Crescent, Belfast BT7 1NT,
phone 028 - 90 50 80 80, e-mail belfast@corrymeela.org
and web http://www.corrymeela.org
Third time unlucky for
Mary Kelly
In her second or third trial, depending on how you count it,
for the one disarmament action on a USA war plane at Shannon
airport, Mary Kelly was found guilty of criminal damage at
Ennis Circuit Criminal Court at the end of October by 10 -
2 votes in the jury. She faces sentencing by Judge Carroll
Moran on 1st December. Judge Moran refused to allow expert
witness accounts including from former UN assistant general
secretary Denis Halliday, Daniel Ellsberg, and others, claiming
"I did not want this case to degenerate into a political
debate" and that it was not the place to consider
the legality of the war in Iraq; he halted Edward Horgan's
evidence and dismissed it as irrelevant [See editorial in
e-mail and web editions] Further information, including requests
for financial support, can be found on Mary Kelly's trial
website http://www.freewebs.com/mary_kelly
Banshees at Shannon
Meanwhile at 2am on Halloween, October 31st, two peace activists
dressed as banshees entered the confines of Shannon Airport;
Zelda Jeffers and Elaine O'Sullivan, of the pacifist Catholic
Worker Movement, constructed a shrine to the war dead near
the runway. The two women, wearing Iraqi mourning dress, read
out the names of U.S. military and Iraqi dead. They were arrested
after nearly five hours on 'suspicion of criminal damage'
and subsequently charged with breaching airport regulations,
to appear in Court in Ennis on 18th November. See http://www.geocities.com/dublincatholicworker
for info on Catholic Worker and the Indymedia site at http://www.indymedia.ie
for news of the event, or phone 087 - 9184552.
The Local Planet The Local Planet is a new nationwide newspaper. It
will focus on sustainability and its practical and aspirational
impact on our lives, businesses and most importantly our planet.
Sustainability is a much bandied word. Sustainable
development? Who's using the words? In the Local Planet we
will sift through the jargon to bring out what is really part
of the path towards real living sustainability.
We cover all possible aspects of the quest for an ethically
sustainable life and work.
Collectively we need to engage with our own
individual responsibility as consumers. If we consume then
we drive the very market forces that we blame for eroding
our social and community structures and natural environment.
Facing up to this and undertaking to make moves to change
our way of consuming and becoming conscious of how we impact
on markets is the task that lies ahead for all. Many warn
that this obligation will confront us sooner than we imagine,
be it oil and water shortages, or increasingly unpredictable
weather conditions. By acting now in small positive steps
perhaps we can ward off the worst of these scenarios and become
a part of the global solution. There are many questions and
issues, and few perceived desirable solutions! We have to
start and move from the idealistic to the feasible and practicable.
The Local Planet offers a nationwide forum for this process.
The Local Planet is funded through advertisment
revenue and does not receive any grants or subsidies. Published
initially biannually, first issue mid November 2004., available
widely at €2 in newsagents. Contact us for submission
deadlines and advertising rates. We welcome articles, suggestions
and feedback. Contact us at cr@irishforests.com
or the Local Planet c/o The Print Factory, The Fivealley,
Birr, Co. Offaly, phone 0509-33119.
Amnesty International
- Republic and Northern Ireland In the Republic: Amnesty aim to collect at least 20,000
handprints to send a strong message to the government that
violence against women must end. For more information please
see the website where you can also download action materials.
For Candle Day on 10th December, Amnesty need volunteers to
organise street stalls to sell candles and distribute Action
Cards in all parts of the country, and volunteers to organise
sales in their workplace, school/college, etc. For more information
see http://www.amnesty.ie/content/view/full/743/
or if you can help please email: candle@amnesty.ie
The 'Stop you're killing me!' Amnesty International
Comedy Festival will be held in Vicar Street from 28th to
30th November; you can buy tickets on the AI website at http://www.amnesty.ie
AI, 48 Fleet Street, Dublin 2, phone 01 - 677 6361.
In Northern Ireland: AI-UK Director Kate Allen
will address the issue of Guantánamo Bay and the 'war
on terror' on Saturday 20th November, 4:30pm - 5:15pm at Clanmil
Housing, Northern Whig House, Waring St, Belfast.; the event
is free and open to the public (this will be part of the AI
Northern Ireland conference that day). The speaker at the
Amnesty International Annual Lecture 2004 will be Helen Bamber,
founder, Medical Foundation for the Care of the Victims of
Torture with the topic 'War¸ women and terror';
this takes place on Thursday 9 December, 7:30pm in Queen's
University Belfast, Peter Froggatt Centre, Room G06. On Tuesday
30th November there is a morning seminar on the AIDS pandemic.
Further details from Amnesty International
397 Ormeau Road, Belfast BT7 3GP, phone 028 9064 3000, fax
028 9069 0989, e-mail patrick.corrigan@amnesty.org.uk
and web http://www.amnesty.org.uk/ni
Centre for Global Education,
Belfast - new name and address
The Centre for Global Education is the new name for the Belfast
One World Centre, and there is a new address, 9 University
Street, Belfast BT7 1FY (previously Lower Crescent). The e-mail
address is now info@cge.uk.com
but other contact details remain the same, e.g. phone 028
- 90 24 18 79. The website will be relaunched soon.
Burma / Action Ireland
October 2004 may yet prove a significant month in European
Union (EU) relations with Burma. It began with thousands of
people throughout the world expressing their admiration for
Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel peace laureate, Freewoman of Dublin
and leader of Burma's non-violent democracy movement. It ended
with uncertainty over her safety and an admission from An
Taoiseach that despite a policy of engagement with the regime,
"not a semblance of progress" had been made
on issues of political, human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The month had begun brightly, with the results
of a Time magazine on-line poll to determine "Asia's
Hero for 2004". Twenty nominees attracted nearly
100,000 votes and Aung San Suu Kyi topped the poll with 40%
of votes cast. Further welcome news followed when Ireland's
new Foreign Minister, Dermot Ahern, put on hold a plan to
exchange ambassadors with Burma, following the controversial
decision by his predecessor earlier this year to establish
diplomatic relations with the regime.
Then came the body blow of the ASEM summit in
Hanoi. ASEM (the Asia-Europe Meeting) is an informal process
of dialogue and cooperation between EU and Asian states, to
address political, economic and cultural issues. EU leaders
came to Hanoi knowing that their Asian counterparts would
press for Burma to be admitted to ASEM along with Laos and
Cambodia and had threatened to block reciprocal membership
for the ten new EU nations. Despite the pleas of Burma's democracy
movement and international NGOs, EU leaders capitulated and
agreed to Burma's membership. In so doing, they set aside
three pre-conditions on membership, agreed under Ireland's
EU Presidency, among them the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Those among the EU's leadership who expected
their largesse at ASEM to produce a show of good faith from
the regime were soon to be disappointed. The junta wasted
little time in snubbing those who had granted them legitimacy
and had put faith in this brutal regime's hollow commitment
to progressive reform. Senior General Than Shwe, the military
supreme who heads the junta, acted quickly to replace the
two remaining civilian members of his cabinet with military
officers. Within days he had also ousted 'moderate' Prime
Minister, Khin Nyunt, in favour of Soe Win, a military hardliner.
Soe Win is widely considered to have ordered the violent attack
on Daw Suu Kyi's convoy of vehicles in May 2003 that led to
her current period of detention.
While high politics was played out at ASEM,
two of Burma's iconic political prisoners reached grim milestones.
While Aung San Suu Kyi, began her 10th year in detention since
1989, student activist Mhin Ko Naing spent his 15th consecutive
birthday in solitary confinement. Organiser of peaceful nationwide
demonstrations in the pro-democracy uprising of 1988, Mhin
Ko Naing has spent his entire adult life in prison. Part of
the tragedy of Burma under the generals is that these are
only two of an estimated 1350 political prisoners languishing
in Burma's jails.
October 2004 may yet prove significant in Burma's
fortunes, but only if EU leaders acknowledge that 'engagement'
with Than Shwe and his handpicked gang of vicious killers
has failed. Burma watchers have long understood that strength
is all the junta respect. The fear now is that the EU's reluctance,
demonstrated at ASEM, to act meaningfully on its stated commitment
to human rights and democracy for Burma will encourage the
hardliners to take further measures against those in the democracy
movement and place Aung San Suu Kyi in further jeopardy. The
EU must look again at the demands from Burma's legitimate
representatives to implement comprehensive trade and investment
sanctions against all Burmese companies controlled by the
regime. Nothing less has any hope of bringing them to negotiate
a transition to a democratic future for Burma's courageous
and long-suffering people.
[A counter for Aung San Suu Kyi's time in
detention now appears on the home page of the INNATE website.]
Green house gutted
On Monday 25th October, Ireland's first cob house was destroyed
in a fire. The house was being built by Rob and Emma at The
Hollies Centre for Practical Sustainability. Arson is suspected,
and Gardaí at Ballineen are conducting an investigation.
The Hollies was established near Enniskean, Co Cork, in 1999,
and since then, over 1,000 visitors have attended courses
on various aspects of environmental building, gardening, conflict
resolution, alternative energy and other environmental subjects.
The Centre has achieved international recognition for its
work in training and promotion of environmental building systems.
A major part of this ongoing work has been the construction
of houses for the two families who founded the centre. These
houses pioneer construction techniques that will provide comfortable
living conditions for future generations when Kyoto obligations
and dwindling oil supplies make oil-fired central heating
a part of our history. To demonstrate our concern at this
difficult time, friends and supporters have set up a special
bank account to receive financial donations. Proceeds will
be given directly to The Hollies to be used as they see fit.
Contributions, however large or small are very welcome. The
account name is "Friends of the Hollies"
at AIB, Bantry, sort code 93-60-14, the account number is
04780077. You can also send cards or notes to Rob, Emma, Thomas,
Ulrike and their families at The Hollies, Castletown, Enniskeane,
Co.Cork or e-mail them at thehollies@eircom.net
Policing, Justice, Rights
@ Meath Peace Group
Meath Peace Group will hold a public talk "Policing,
Justice and the Bill of Rights" on Monday, 29th
November next in St Columban's College, Dalgan Park, Navan,
Co. Meath, at 8pm. Speakers to be confirmed nearer the date.
For further details contact: Julitta Clancy, phone 01-8259438
or email meathpeace@hotmail.com
Pax Christi - Justice
for Africa, Peace Mass
Towards a Just Future for Africa is the title of a meeting
on Tuesday 23rd November at 7.30 pm in Marianella, 75 Orwell
Road, Dublin 6 (admission free); speakers are Bishop Kevin
Dowling of the Justice and Peace Department of the Bishops'
Conference in South Africa, Eamonn Meehan, and Paul Lansu,
chair will be Bishop Raymond Field. Bishop Dowling and Paul
Lansu will also speak at a panel discussion in Derry at Oakgrove
College at 10.30 am; contact John Harkin at Oakgrove College
for details. That evening, Thursday 25th November at 7.30
pm, Bishop Dowling will speak at Queen's University Catholic
Chaplaincy, 28 Elmwood Avenue, Belfast, everyone welcome.
There will be a special Pax Christi Peace Mass
celebrated by Bishop Raymond Field at Rathmines Church, Dublin
on Sunday 12th December at 6 pm to remember all those killed
in wars over the past year.
Pax Christi, 52 Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6, phone 01 -
496 52 93, fax 496 54 92, e-mail paxtdc@indigo.ie
Amma visits Ireland
Indian spiritual and humanitarian leader Amma ('Mother' -
full name Mata Amritananda Mayi) is visiting Ireland on 13th
and 14th November with events at the RDS, Merrion Road (Anglesea
Road entrance), Dublin, taking place from 10 am until late
each day. Amma was given the prestigious Gandhi-King Award
for Non-Violence at the United Nations in Geneva in 2002 and
is particularly known for her speeches on peace and religious
differences. Born in a small fishing village in India, she
teaches that all religions lead to God, and that love and
compassion are universal. See www.ammairelkand.org
for full details or e-mail info@ammaireland.org
Network for Peace conference
in Britain
Current Conflicts: Peace Movement Responses is the title of
a conference organised by the Network for Peace in Britain.
It's on Saturday 27 November 2004, from 10.00 a.m. - 5.30
p.m. at Cross Street Unitarian Chapel, Manchester, chaired
by Rae Street, Vice-chair of CND. The fee for the day is £5
or £3 concession. Network for Peace, 5 Caledonian Road,
London, N1 9DY, phone 020 - 7278 3267, fax 020 - 7278 0444,
e-mail nfp@gn.apc.org
and web http://www.networkforpeace.org.uk
Kilcranny House courses
Kilcranny House, Coleraine, has a variety of courses just
started including Intermediate Level Conflict Resolution and
Mediation Skills with Michael Doherty, and Community Tutor
Training with Wendy Waring of the WEA.. Forthcoming is a seminar
on flags and murals, on Tuesday 30th November 10.00 - 4.00.
This is one of a series of seminars and workshops supported
by the IFI Community Bridges Programme and delivered by Kilcranny
House as part of its Community Relations Innovative Support
Project. For more information contact: Julie Robinson, Kilcranny
House, 21 Cranagh Road, Coleraine, BT51 3NN. Phone 028 7032
1816, fax 028 7035 4233 and e-mail info@kilcrannyhouse.org
Feasta: Resource wars...or
a fair future? / Review / Learning kit
Feasta's annual lecture will be given by Dr Wolfgang Sachs,
a Senior Fellow at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Energy,
Environment, in Germany, where he leads two projects, "Globalization
and Sustainability" and "Environment and
Fairness in the World Trade Regime". In his talk,
he will survey resource conflicts around the world from the
twin perspectives of fairness and justice. 7.45 pm sharp,
Thursday 18th November Yeats Room, Mont Clare Hotel at Merrion
Square, Dublin 2. Admission: Members €5, Non members
€7 Students €3.
A 300-page bumper issue of the Feasta Review
will be published in November on the theme of "Growth:
The Celtic Cancer, The Human Cost Of The Global Economy";
the issue's theme is the elimination of the human cost of
economic growth and globalisation. FEASTA's Education Working
Group is developing an innovative mixed media "Community
Learning Toolkit" of study materials on sustainability
for use by organisations or groups of friends who might wish
to meet together regularly to explore and discuss the topic
together as a prelude to some form of action. The kit will
have material for ten meetings and will cover the work of
FEASTA including energy, peak oil, climate change, and money
systems. If you are involved with a local group that would
be interested in using this resource or interested in forming
a local group in your area please contact mailto:communication@feasta.org
Membership of Feasta is €20 a year, €10 unwaged,
there are also group membership rates. FEASTA: The Foundation
for the Economics of Sustainability,
159 Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6, phone 01 - 4912773, mobile
087-6340697, e-mail mailto:feasta@anu.ie
and web http://www.feasta.org
IFOR launches International
Reconciliation (IR)
'IR' is the new magazine of IFOR, the International Fellowship
of Reconciliation. Each issue will be produced by an IFOR
national branch (the first one a joint edition with USA FOR's
'Fellowship', looking at 'Muslim Renaissance') and
there will be 4 editions a year. Subscriptions are €20
or UK£12.50. IFOR, Spoorstraat 38, 1815 BK Alkmaar,
Netherlands, phone +31 72 512 3014, e-mail office@ifor.org
and website http://www.ifor.org
Belfast networking group of INNATE meets
the following dates; Mondays 15th November, 13th December,
at 7.30 pm in 7 University Avenue. Anyone interested
welcome, queries to 90 64 71 06.
Nonviolent
News is usually produced 10 times a year (on
paper) and extended e-mail and web editions
Subscriptions for the printed edition
are; UK£5 or €8 minimum
(£3 or €5 unwaged or you
can have Nonviolent News e-mailed (suggested donation
£2 or €3 minimum).
Additional donations welcome and vital
to keep INNATE afloat. Submissions are welcome - the
deadline for the next issue is noted on the left.
You can browse through previous issues
from the menu on the left.
