Pax Christi International Newsletter Nr 118 1 November 2003

Pax Christi International Newsletter nr 118 – 1 November 2003

In this issue:

Personalia

Africa

Americas & Caribbean

Asia & Pacific

Middle East

Security, Demilitarisation and Arms Trade

Human Rights

Interfaith Dialogue

Representation

News from National Members

International Calendar

The International Council of Pax Christi International will meet in New Jersey, USA, 19 – 23 May 2004. The International Council is the highest governing body. Delegates come from the national sections, local groups, and affiliated organisations. Info:

Personalia

In memoriam Fr. Renato Stefani

Fr. Renato Stefani was a Catholic missionary priest who recently worked in Dili, East Timor. Earlier he was based in the Nagoya Diocese, Japan. In Japan, he created a Pax Christi group and he attended several international meetings of Pax Christi International. Fr. Renato passed away on October 6, 2003 in a car accident in East Timor along with 6 other people. In recent months he founded and worked in the church and community of Atsabe. Fr. Renato will be remembered for his selfless work, humility and charity. He participated in the third Asia-Pacific Consultation in Bangkok in 2001 and has been a long serving member in the Pax Christi community.

In memoriam of Sr. Christine Tan, RGS

In the 1980s Sr. Christine Tan was one of the co-founders of Pax Christi Philippines and was known there as a strong advocate for the poor in Pasay City, Philippines. Sr Christine attended the International Council of Pax Christi International in Kevelaar, Germany, in 1987. She answered God’s call to work with people in the slums and had been their voice on issues of peace, truth and social justice. Sr. Christine Tan came to the spotlight in recent years for her fearless letter to the Philippines Government. Her courageous exposé on irregularities in the government generated a huge impact in the ecumenical community and social movements. With her passing, the Pax Christi family has lost a committed worker.

Africa

Conference Examines European Role in Sudan’s Peace

On 24 June 2003, the European Coalition on Oil in Sudan (ECOS) held a conference in Brussels on Europe’s role in the Sudanese peace process, highlighting key issues of European concern such as insuring political dialogue and developing mechanisms that contribute to good governance, democracy and the respect of human rights. ECOS (www.ecosonline.org) unites over 80 Europe-based development and human rights organizations, including Pax Christi International, Pax Christi Austria, Pax Christi Flanders and Pax Christi Netherlands.

The conference, called “Sudan’s Road to Peace: The European Dimension”, was organized just as the European Commission was deciding on the resumption of aid to help the country recover from an extended civil war. Formal development assistance to the Sudan has been suspended since 1990, although the European Union has provided substantial humanitarian assistance to the victims of the war and natural disasters. In October 2002, however, the EU agreed that the return to normal relations should resume only when a peace agreement has been signed. Although some agreement is anticipated by the end of this year, progress toward a sustainable peace accord has been difficult.

The ECOS conference underscored the pivotal role of the EU when it comes time for a peace to be implemented. The EU holds dialogues with both the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the government of Sudan on human rights and governance issues. ECOS has also urged that European oil companies insure that revenues from oil exploitation are not used to fuel the brutal conflict. Instead, as one conference participant suggested, the presence of oil can provide an incentive for stability within the African nation.
Sudan, the largest and one of the most diverse countries in Africa, has been torn by civil war between the mainly Muslim North and the Animist and Christian South since independence in 1956. As well as involving several of Sudan's neighbours - including Uganda, Libya and Egypt - the civil war has proved costly, with the result that many Sudanese have been forced deeper into poverty. The report of the 24 June conference is now available on the ECOS website and at Ref. AF.39.E.03.

Pax Christi International Consultation in Kinshasa

On 13-20 May 2003, Pax Christi International member organisations in Central Africa met in Bukavu (DRCongo) to discuss future collaboration in the Great Lakes region and to plan the organisation of Peace Week activities in 2003. This event was also an opportunity to strengthen connections between groups in the region and to promote a sense of regional identity as Pax Christi in the Great Lakes.

One significant development at Bukavu was the designation of a group of six coordinators to be listening posts for Pax Christi in their respective sub-regions and to assist in planning for future actions. This group of “antennae” is made up of representatives of Pax Christi–related organisations in the DRC, Rwanda and Burundi who will regularly rotate this responsibility in collaboration with other groups in their sub-region. In late August the group met in Kampala (Uganda) to be updated on Peace Week preparations and to begin work on a common position paper on the Great Lakes conflict.

It was decided that the Central African groups would coordinate their Peace Week actions to take place during the first week of October to correspond to Peace Week observances in some European sections during the same period. Pax Christi Flanders had earlier received funds from the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support this initiative. Pax Christi Netherlands is also closely collaborating in the project.

On 28 October - 5 November, groups will again gather, this time at the Nganda Centre in Kinshasa (DRC), to dialogue, to train and to evaluate their participation in Peace Week 2003. This Consultation will also be the occasion for the release of the common position paper, including an analysis of the situation, proposed solutions and recommendations for action.

It is hoped that the Kinshasa event will also allow more opportunity to discuss the future of Pax Christi in the Great Lakes region as well as to lay the foundations for a future continent-wide Africa Regional Consultation probably in 2005. More info:

Peace Weeks in Central Africa

The wars of the last years in DR Congo and in the Great Lakes Region have already cost more than four million human lives and have brought with them uncountable violations of human rights. In a large part of the DRC and especially in the East, a generalised climate of injustice is settling in. The population has been abandoned to the atrocities of different rebel armies. Women are raped. Women and children fall under the gunfire of militias. The property of defenceless citizens is pillaged. Many young people are taken and made into child-soldiers or forced to work as slaves in the mines.

Partners of Pax Christi International in Africa wish to express their will for peace in this context of generalised threat, in collaboration with the local population and civil society as a whole.

In eight cities and regions of Central Africa, Peace Weeks have been launched according to the model of the Peace Week in Flanders, the Netherlands, Kosovo and elsewhere. The message of peace will be heard simultaneously in Bujumbura, Bukavu, Bunia, Butembo, Goma, Kikwit, Kinshasa and Kisangani. Due to the elections in Rwanda the regions of Busogo, Butare and Kigali will deliver their message of peace in the near future.

Through speeches, debates and marches for peace, but also through dance and music, sporting activities and prayer sessions, the partners of Pax Christi and the peoples of Central Africa together are publicly demanding the end of the wars in Central Africa as well as an end to human rights violations. This cry for peace goes beyond borders. It expresses the desire to build a new future in peace together. More:

Americas & Caribbean

School of the Americas Rally and Non-violent Direct Action

Join Pax Christi USA members from around the country on November 21-23, 2003 at the SOA Rally and Non-violent Civil Resistance Action to close the SOA/WHISC and to change oppressive U.S. Foreign Policy. Be sure to bring your Pax Christi banners and wear your Pax Christi t-shirts, buttons and hats. Join PCUSA for a gathering and panel discussion in the Presidential Room at the Howard Johnson's. For more information about the rally and other activities, visit www.soaw.org

Asia & Pacific

Justice and Peace Workers in Asia & Pacific

The Fifth Networking Meeting among Catholic Justice and Peace Workers in Asia took place in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 5 – 11 October 2003. Pax Christi International was invited as observer and represented by Fr. Paul Lansu of the International Secretariat. The theme of the 2003 meeting was “Respect: The Way To Tolerance and Non-Discrimination.” About 28 people from different countries participated in the programme. The meeting aimed at strengthening the church involvement in Justice and Peace issues and seek the proper action to protect and promote justice, peace and human rights at the national and the Asia & Pacific level. The group participated in a Peace Rally in Kurunegala where they met with bishops, priests, religious and people of the diocese.

Fr. Paul participated in a panel discussion about “Working on Religious Tolerance.” He prepared a paper on religious tolerance and fundamentalism which is available (ref.: RE.01.E.03). Paul also presented a “Written Contribution of Pax Christi International: Report on Asia & Pacific” (ref.: AP.14.E.03). The 6th Networking Meeting will take place in Lahore, Pakistan, February 2005. The theme will be “Pakistan in a Global Village.” More info Kata lee, ACPP-Hotline Asia, e-mail: .

Middle East

Launch of the Euro Mediterranean Youth Platform

The launching event of the Euro-Mediterranean youth platform took place in Malta, 18-20 September 2003. 120 representatives of youth organisations and NGOs from 35 countries, as well as representatives of the European Union institutions, participated in this event. The Euro-Med Youth Platform aims to bring together, in a more structured way, young people from the region in an environment of tolerance and mutual understanding. It facilitates networking and assists in the capacity building of organizations. It also aims at increasing participation, sharing of relevant information, and exchanging of good practice between youth organizations. This will be done through meetings, publications, the building of a database of youth organizations in the region, surveys, and facilitating independent networking between organizations that have common interests. Together with the Euro-Med Youth Programme, the Platform is an instrument being developed within the framework of co-operation in the youth sector between twenty-seven countries, parties to the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Agreement (Barcelona Declaration). It was the first time that representatives of the future EU member states participated in such an event, as they will join the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Agreement when becoming full members of the EU in 2004. Michael Roekaerts of the International Secretariat represented Pax Christi International in this event.

Overcoming Violence in Middle East?

The Middle East Commission of Pax Christi Germany is planning a seminar on “Overcoming Violence in the Middle East.” The seminar will be organised in close cooperation with the Evangelical Academy of Bad Boll, Germany. The dates are 10 – 12 December 2003. More info Wiltrud Rösch – Metzler,

Consultation Israel - Palestine

Pax Christi International is planning a visit to Israel and Palestine, 29 November – 3 December 2003. The aim of the visit is to have a consultation with different partners from Israel and Palestine with Pax Christi International. Round table discussions will be organised in Haifa, Jerusalem and Gaza. Delegates from peace movements, human rights and civil society organisations will be invited to discuss the present situation and the future of the region. Exposure visits will be planned for Ramallah and Bethlehem. The group will also have a meeting with H.B. Michel Sabbah, Patriarch of Jerusalem and President of Pax Christi International.

The delegation will consist of Evert Jan Grit and Marjolein Wijninckx (Pax Christi Netherlands); Giovanni Scudiero and Pat Gaffney (Pax Christi UK); Joseph Annunziata (Pax Christi USA), Emmanuel Lincot (Pax Christi France); Michael Roekaerts and Fr. Paul Lansu of the International Secretariat. More info: