Peace

An unprecedented meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 28-29, proved that wounds from the Vietnam War are still open and bleeding three decades after that conflict supposedly ended. It was the first International Conference of Victims of Agent Orange, and it attracted people from more than a dozen countries who are suffering the aftereffects of their exposure to Agent Orange, dioxin, and other toxic agents sprayed recklessly on Vietnam during the 10-year war.

HONOLULU (PAI) — Don Bongo is both mad and sad at his military and civilian boss, Donald Rumsfeld. Bongo, you see, wears two hats: In regular life, he is a federal civilian defense worker at Pearl Harbor, one of almost 800,000 nationwide, and a federal union member. But for the last six months, until Jan. 19, he was an engineer with the Hawaii National Guard, serving in Iraq.

ATHENS, Greece — During her recent visit to Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was met by thousands of protesters wherever she stopped. The demonstrations, which were organized by communist parties, trade unions and peace groups, included banners that read, “No to imperialists, murderers of the peoples!”

Hopes are high that Sudan’s western Darfur region is on the road to peace. The African Union announced on May 5 that an agreement to end the war in Darfur was signed between the Sudanese government and the Mani Arkoi Minawi faction of the Sudanese Liberation Movement, the largest by far of the three Darfuri rebel groups.

In the midst of the muddy controversies surrounding the U.S.-Iran nuclear crisis lies a larger struggle for control of the greater Middle East and Central Asian region.

WASHINGTON — Peace organizations hailed Senate enactment May 3 of an amendment by Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) that cuts off funds for construction of permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq while affirming that the U.S. does not seek “control over the oil infrastructure or oil resources of Iraq.”

NUEVA YORK — Fue como una caminata en un día perfecto de primavera, pero las 350.000 personas que caminaron por la Broadway, el pasado 29 de abril marchaban por el regreso de las tropas que están en Irak, por servicios de salud, educación, y por la reconstrucción de un país desbaratado por la guerra, los huracanes y las mentiras de Bush y Cheney.

Israel’s cabinet voted April 30 to lay temporary fencing around areas of Jerusalem where the West Bank apartheid wall has not yet been built. Ir Amim, an Israeli group that campaigns for Palestinian rights, said the fencing will disrupt the lives of thousands of Palestinians who enter the city every day for jobs, services or schooling.

NEW YORK — On a perfect spring day 350,000 people flowed down Broadway April 29, marching to bring the troops home from Iraq, for health care and education, to rebuild a nation torn by war, hurricanes and Bush administration lies.