Dear rn list, July 19
It is to be assumed that all of us on this list advocate using non-violence
in our social change work.
And I know many of us, me included, are convinced that non-violence is not
just for social change work, but for "security" in general. We know that
what ultimately protects our rights and freedoms is not how many bombs and
missiles and young people turned into soldiers our govenment has, but how
committed people are to using and defending their rights and freedoms.
We see resources dedicated to military security as wasted resources. Not
always entirely wasted, but they could be used so much better if they were
dedicated directly to building peace. For instance, during times of
disaster, such as an ice storm that left large areas of central Canada
without electricity last winter, military personnel patroled empty shops to
prevent looting, and distributed emergency kits. People were grateful and
many surely thought this showed how useful the military can be. But why
teach people to operate killing systems and, as an aside, train them to
handle emergency situations? It would be much smarter to train people
directly how to handle emergency situations and do other useful work.
One person who is working on developing the concept of unarmed security
building and peace-keeping is Hans Sinn, whose web site I advertised in an
earlier posting. I know I am not alone in finding the process of visiting
web sites annoying. So, I decided to copy Hans Sinn's home page below.
I also visited the nonviolence.org/Tranet/ (of Bill Ellis) web site. It can
direct browsers to a wealth of resources on a variety of topics, including
non-violence. Bill Ellis believes that more energy should be directed
towards positive endeavors. Instead of spending all our time exposing the
system's corruption, we need to spend more time actually building positive
alternatives. So, this web site can direct the browser to many positive
alternatives. There are far too many resources listed for it to be
reasonable for me to copy out the whole list. But the short list on "waging
peace" resources will fit in nicely with this posting.
all the best, Jan
from the Civilian Peace Service web site: superaje.com/~marsin/cps.htm
The Civilian Peace Service is an initiative to create a government funded
Civil Peace Service parallel to the armed forces. The CPS will field
volunteers who are trained in non-violent conflict management. The CPS will
be based on the organization and experience of NGO's with a proven record in
nonviolent conflict management, humanitarian aid, and the protection of
human rights and
the environment. The CPS is the further development of Gandhi's 1913 idea of
a Peace Army which the Shanti Sena (1922), the World Peace Brigade,
(1962-1964) and Peace Brigades International (1981 to present) have since
put into practice. The most advanced CPS proposals, including training
programs, exist in Germany.
QUESTIONS, COMMENTS AND REQUESTS FOR PAPERS ABOUT CPS CAN BE
DIRECTED TO:
•••@••.•••
For information about the Canadian position on the creation of a Civilian
Peace Service please contact:
The Honourable Lloyd Axworthy, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Or write to him at: House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1A OA6
asking for the Canadian position on Civilian Peace Service. His phone number
is: 613 995-1972
You can also write to: Mr. Francis Leblanc, Parliamentary Secretary to the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, House of Commons, Room 218 West Block, Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada, K1A OA6. The fax number is:613-992-0877
Three papers are available by email from Hans Sinn. Two are translations
from the German:
A proposal by the Evangelische Kirche in Berlin-Brandenburg for a Civilian
Peace Service.
This is the basis for discussion between Forum Civilian Peace Service and
representatives of the major German political parties for financial support
for the initial Phase I of a German CPS.
A critical examination of the Civilian Peace Service initiative by Ulrich
Frey, Director of Christian Action for Peace, an umbrella organization of
some 20 religious pacifist NGO's of the Civilian Peace Service
An article written by Hans Sinn giving a Canadian perspective on UN reform,
unarmed peace keeping and peace making, and the role of the NGOs.
OTHER INTERESTING LINKS
Peace Brigades International-Canada
Ziviler Friedensdienst
Pax Christi
Peace Brigades International
THE NONVIOLENCE WEB
update: May 27, 1998
****************************************************************************
from the nonviolence.org/tranet/ web site:
WAGING PEACE
PEACE BY ACCOMPANIMENT is a technique that works proves Liam Mahoney
and Luis Enrique Eguren in Unarmed Body Guards: International
Accompaniment for the Protection of Human Rights (Kumarian Press, 14 Okayed
Ave. West Hartford
06189-2127 USA; (800)233-5895; •••@••.•••; 1997; $21.95pb; Read the
reviews and buy it on Amazon.com). Grassroots citizens acting in the
Gandhi/King mode of nonviolence are bringing peace to troubled people, and
to troubled places around the world. Mahoney and Eguren have lived with
endangered men, women, and children in war torn and political torn countries
around the world. They use their own experiences from Haiti, Guatemala, Sri
Lanka, and El Salvador, Columbia and the Balkans and others to present both
the practical and the theoretical sides of this ground-breaking, peacemaking
technique. Here again Civil Society shows the power of we-the-people to
accomplish tasks beyond the capabilities of governments and the private sector.
INTERNATIONAL WORKCAMPS conducted again this year by Volunteers For
Peace (43 Tiffany Rd. Belmont VT 05730 USA; (802)259-2759;
Email:•••@••.•••>•••@••.•••; URL: www.vfp.org). For $15 you can get a
1998 International Workcamp Directory listing over 1000 workcamp
opportunities around the world in 70 countries. Whether you are building a
school in Zimbabwe or planting a garden in Harlem you will be working with a
multicultural multinational group of peace minded people. For a free
brochure write or e-mail your request.
SEARCHING FOR WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION, IN THE US, is a
project proposed by Libby Davies Member of the Canadian Parliament for
Vancouver, Canada, reports Peacework (American Friends Service
Committee, 2126 Mass Ave., Cambridge MA 02140 USA; (617)661-6130;
Email:•••@••.•••>•••@••.•••; URL www.afsc.org/nero/nepw.htm
