What to do? A proposal for Peace and Non-Violence in Latin America

Posted: 19 Dec 2009 05:05 PM PST
This proposal developed by Tomás Hirsch and delivered to the President of Ecuador, Mr Rafael Correa, comes from the Humanist Movement, as the World March for Peace and Non-Violence is approaching its final destination, arriving at Punta de Vacas, at the foot of Mount Aconcagua, on border between Chile and Argentina on 2 January 2010.

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The World March in Ecuador

On the bridge of Rumichaca, on the border between Colombia and Ecuador, international singing star Juanes and March spokesperson Rafael de la Rubia delivered the World March flag to the Ecuadorian singer Juan Fernando Velasco.

The World March in Colombia

From the first hour of the morning on December 16th, Colombia’s national television channels were announcing the arrival of the World March to the South American continent. At midday, immediately after landing, the team of marchers was taken to the Bogotá City Hall, where Mayor Samuel Moreno and his wife welcomed Rafael de la Rubia and Tomás Hirsch with affectionate words of appreciation. In noting that Bogotá calls for the rejection of the installation of American bases in Colombia, Moreno stated, “We have to progress urgently towards disarmament, without accepting our continent as a site for American military bases”.

The World March in Panama

On Sunday, the 13th of December, more than 40 organizations and institutions and eight thousand people took part of a march through the streets of Panama City. This big mobilization was a product of the joint effort headed by the Humanist Movement of Panama with the support of the Office of Casco Antiguo, the Mayoralty of Panama, the University of Panama, the Latin University, the Department of Education and the United Nations, among others.

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias receives the March

The current president of Costa Rica and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Oscar Arias, received in his residence to a delegation from the World March for Peace and Nonviolence headed by Rafael de la Rubia, Guillermo Sullings and Mario Gazel. The President received to the delegation accompanied by deputies Alexander Mora Mora and Edine Van Herold.

Latin American Parliament endorses the March

On December 7 in Panama, the XXV regular meeting of the Latin-American Parliament (Parlatino), composed of 22 countries, made a formal endorsement of the World March for the Peace and Nonviolence. In addition Palatino passed resolutions endorsing the Charter for a World without Violence and the Manifesto of the World March. The endorsements were realized through the efforts Costa Rican deputy Alexander Mora, who participated as a member of the team base of the March during its European leg.

World March Crosses US-Mexico Border

The binational "We Are One-Somos Uno" events in San Diego-Tijuana issued a call for a "zone of nonviolence" at the border and an end to walls in a statement "Overcoming the Walls that Block Humanity's Path to the Future". The early afternoon Thursday outdoor event was held within sight of the infamous border wall that 5,000 people have died trying to cross. There were about 60 people, with speaker Tony Robinson from the World March team and Tomás Hirsch, Latin American spokesperson for New Humanism.along with well-known immigration and peace activists, high school and UCSD students, and other Askings and testimonials.

Martin Sheen marches in support of Peace and Nonviolence on the day designated “Los Angeles day of nonviolence”

The World March for Peace and Nonviolence arrived on the US west coast, with events in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Red Bluff and San Francisco. In LA a March of over 500 people took to the streets in support of the global initiative passing through 100 countries to send a strong message to President Obama condemning his decision to increase US troop presence in Afghanistan.

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UN Secretary General Gives Enthusiastic Support to World March

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon received a delegation of the World March in New York and gave his enthusiastic support to this "nobel" effort. Both parties offered to find ways to work together in the task of abolishing nuclear weapons. The March organizers agreed to adopt the Secretary General’s 5-Point Plan as one of its official documents.

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Proclamation - City of Clearwater, Florida, December, 2009

Whereas, the World March for Peace and Nonviolence which started in New Zealand on October 2, 2009 and will conclude in the Andes Mountains on January 2, 2010 is the concerted effort of more than one million people from over 90 countries around the world who support the eradication of nuclear arms, war, and all forms of violence; and
Whereas, the issue of nonviolence represents the deepest hopes of all people and remains humanity's guiding inspiration. We all share a belief that if communities respect one another and unite in peace, we can eliminate the violence that has taken hold of our neighborhoods; and
Whereas, the City of Clearwater encourages all schools, organizations, places of worship and individuals across our city to work actively for nonviolence in our community and throughout the world.
Now Therefore, I, Frank B. Hibbard, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Mayor of the City of Clearwater do hereby proclaim the City of Clearwater's endorsement of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence.

Wind, rain and cold, not enough to deter Marchers for Peace and Nonviolence in New York City

The International Base Team of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence arrived in New York and marched with over 1000 people from Brooklyn to Manhattan to celebrate the start of the North American leg of the March. Later, in the evening Dr Bernard Lafayette, civil rights activist and nonviolence educator inspired the audience at the Riverside Church.

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Thousands Join World March Days in Canada

On November 19, 20, 21, various towns and cities in Canada celebrated "World March Days" with activities in support of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. These Days were meant to get everyone ready for the arrival of the WM Team on December 1.In Quebec, over 2500 students from different Gatineau schools formed a peace sign at the Nicolas-Gatineau Secondary School. In Sherbrooke, Tois-Rivieres and Montreal, other peace signs and walks also took place, bringing the number of young people involved in these days in Quebec to nine thousand. Up north in Whitehorse, a small team of Marchers climbed to the top of Grey Mountain and unfurled their peace banner, sending the message of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence to be carried by the four winds.

The cities of San Francisco,CA and Tarpon Springs, FL endorse the March

A resolution in support of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence was unanimously passed on November 17 by San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Mar, who introduced the resolution commented "I want to thank the organizers (of the World March) for recognizing the need to strengthen non-violence locally and globally and focus also on nuclear disarmament as well. I would urge my colleagues to support the resolution".

On the same day, the city of Tarpon Springs, Florida officially endorsed the World March For Peace and Nonviolence with a proclamation presented by Mayor Beverley Billiris. (see attached press release).

World March at the Scottish Parliament

Alexander Mora (from the Core team of the World march for Peace and Non-violence), Silvia Bercu and Jon Swinden (from the UK Coordination Team) have represented the World March for Peace and Nonviolence at the Scottish Parliament, lighting the flame of nuclear abolition that the march is carrying all over the world.

Reception in Rabat for World March

The World March for Peace and Nonviolence was welcomed to Rabat by Siba, a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and by Dermolini, the Secretary General for Youth. The meeting was held at the headquarters of the Popular Movement, a party which includes many former members of the resistance who chose peace as the only method for conflict resolution.

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Benedict XVI blesses the World March for Peace and Nonviolence

“Thank you very much. May God bless you all.” These were the words of Benedict XVI as he received the gift delivered to him by the delegation of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, which, having left Wellington in New Zealand on October 2, with numerous legs in Asia, the Middle East and Europe, arrived at Vatican City to be received by the Pope on November 11th

5,000 people joined the Base Team on November 14th

5,000 people joined the Base Team on November 14th as they marched along the Paseo del Prado to the Puerta de Sol, accompanied by musical groups and dancers from different countries, members of distinct political parties, neighborhood associations, university students, cyclists and up to a hundred different cultural and social organizations. Pau Segado, spokesman of the March for Spain, called on President Zapatero to withdraw Spanish troops from Afghanistan, and denounced the government’s “double game” of promulgating peace while selling weapons internationally.

The World March at the Nobel Laureate Summit

The World March was recognized in Berlin on Wednesday by the 10th World Summit of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. The occasion was marked by a speech by Silo, founder of Universalist Humanism and an acknowledged inspiration for the March. “For the first time in history an event of this magnitude has been put in motion by the participants themselves,” he said. “The true strength of this impulse is born in the simple act of one who, out of conscience, joins a dignified cause and shares it with others." (Read full text of talk) Through its spokesperson, Rafael de la Rubia, the March was officially presented with the Summit’s “Charter for a World Without Violence,” which it has committed to promote.

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Peace Torch welcomed to Scottish Parliament

The Peace Torch will be outside the public entrance at Holyrood from 13:00 hours, Tuesday 17th November. SNP MSP Bill Kidd has joined Minister for Parliament Bruce Crawford to welcome the World March for Peace and Nonviolence to the Scottish Parliament today, as the peace torch arrived at the Parliament at 13:00 hours

"Working Together" in Portland, OR

"Working Together" is a mural created in early October to celebrate the World March for Peace and Non-Violence. The product was 100% a student effort at DaVinci Arts Middle School in Portland, Oregon, which evolved in less than ten days, despite the cold wind and rain.Visual art students in Mary Morris's classes worked in collaboration with mural artist/director Joe Sneed and his assistant photographer Travis Stanton.
Students were given a framework for working together as a community of artists using their own silhouettes to create a quilt of abstract contour lines, shapes and complementary colors. A stencil of the symbol of nonviolence is woven through out. Joyfully, it will dress our courtyard facing our new music building, as a colorful reminder of what it means to work together, creating together, as communinty, the students that make our school special.
SEE PICTURE GALLERY

Thousands of People in Prague Called for Peace and Nonviolence

Prague, November 3, 2009. Thousands of people have gathered in Prague’s Wenceslas Square to participate in the biggest event in the country organized as part of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. It was the last and the biggest event that concluded a three day stay of members of the World March’s Base Team in the Czech Republic.

Stjepan Mesić, President of Croatia, receives World Marchers in Zagreb on their Balkans tour.

A delegation of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence Balkan team had a meeting with Stjepan Mesić, President of Croatia. During the meeting he was presented with the documents of the World March and asked to read and endorse the Nobel Laureates Charter for a World without Violence. "There's no one more in favour of peace than I am".

International meeting in Berlin with occasion of the 10° Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates

On November 11 the Nobel Peace Laureates will welcome a delegation of the World March in the City Hall of Berlin to present it with the Charter for a world without violence with the commitment to widely disseminate its proposals throughout the journey that began on October 2 in Wellington, New Zealand and will finish on January 2, 2010 in Punta de Vacas, Argentina.The moment of mayor attendance is the intervention of Silo, the founder of Universalist Humanism and the inspiration behind the World March, who will speak on the meaning of peace and nonviolence in the present moment..

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Tarja Halonen, President of Finland, receives the World March

Finnish President Tarja Halonen received a delegation of the World March for Peace and Non-Violence that had recently arrived from Estonia in the official presidential residence in Helsinki. Halonen expressed her public support for the March, saying, “The government of Finland supports the total elimination of nuclear arms”.

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PHOTO GALLERY

On October 2, events were held in 302 cities in 54 countries around the globe to celebrate the kickoff of the World March. Click on picture bellow to see selected photos of events from the US and from around the world.

Mayor Ruth Asmundson and the Davis City Council issued a “Proclamation In Support of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence”

DAVIS, CALIFORNIA – On October 20 Mayor Ruth Asmundson and the Davis City Council issued a “Proclamation In Support of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence” in a moving ceremony at the Council Chambers. Initiated by Councilman Lamar Heystek, one of the first to endorse the March in Davis, the Proclamation is an eloquent and moving synthesis of the spirit, intent and potential of this unprecedented worldwide mobilization - a unique opportunity for all human beings to stand up together and take every possible action to promote peace and nonviolence in our world today.

Trudi Richards and Jorge Espinet, Davis World March coordinators from the Community for Peace and Wellbeing, were joined by Merri Herman, Woodland High School counselor and coordinator of the Peer Mediators’ group, and two of her senior peer mediators, Gina Alvarado and Estevan Hernández, who have been active in the March since last spring, in receiving the Proclamation.

On behalf of the City Council, the Mayor urged all individuals and organizations in Davis, including schools and places of worship, to work actively for nonviolence both locally and worldwide, and encouraged all residents to go to the websites www.TheWorldMarch.org & www.worldmarchusa.net and endorse the World March. Everyone involved left the council chambers feeling buoyant and hopeful that this important step by the City of Davis will set a precedent and inspire other communities around the country and the world to do the same.

1000 candles for Peace in Hiroshima

1000 candles were lit today spelling out the demand “Nuclear Free Now!” The act was part of an event called NO NUKES 2020 organised by Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation; an organisation established in April 1998 by the City of Hiroshima to promote peace, and to consolidate the city's activities in peace promotion, globalization, and international cooperation.

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Hundreds protest in Kyoto against war, poverty and discrimination

"Collective action in Kyoto against War, Poverty and Discrimination" was the banner for hundreds of Kyoto activists demonstrating today. Women’s groups, anti US bases organisations, communists, anti-nuclear power organisations and organisations defending article 9 of the Japanese constitution were among those represented together with the World March for Peace and Nonviolence."

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The World March tours the Palestinian occupied territories

From Bethlehem, today we made a tour of the occupied territories to meet local people who are working in a non-violent way to change the situation together with the Palestinians from the Holy Land Trust association which carries out courses in nonviolence, training future political leaders and tourism policy.

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“Alternative Nobel Prize” for Alyn Ware, World March Coordinator for New Zealand – Aotearoa

One of the 2009 Right Livelihood Awards, also known as the Alternative Nobel Prizes goes to Alyn Ware, World March for Peace and Nonviolence Coordinator for New Zealand - Aotearoa, for “his effective and creative advocacy and initiatives over two decades to further peace education and to rid the world of nuclear weapons”.

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The Philippines gives the World March the largest human peace sign ever created

The World March for Peace and Non-Violence definitely experienced one of its emotional highpoints on the morning of October 7th. The base team members were invited to attend the formation, before their very eyes, of the largest human peace sign, executed to perfection by over 12,000 students from schools in the town of Lucena, in the south of the Philippines.

San Francisco KGO Radio host Pat Thurston interviews Chris Wells, US Spokesperson for the World March for Peace and Nonviolence on Oct. 4, 2009.

Listen to interview here

The WORLD MARCH FOR PEACE AND NONVIOLENCE began with a sonic boom (non-nuclear of course) at Brooklyn Lyceum on Friday, Oct 2, 2009. From show opener RED BARAAT's thunderous North Indian drums and brass intro to headliner EARTHDRIVER's mothership funk version of "We Want Peace on Earth", the Lyceum shook beneath the packed New York crowd's stomping feet.
Other performers included salsa great CHOCO ORTA, Brooklyn's own alternative rock band THE CITIZENS and the folk trio MAHINA MOVEMENT. World March spokesperson Chris Wells summed the event up well in his
midshow speech by saying "It appears the World March Rocks!"

World March for Peace is launched in Sao Paulo in conjunction with the Town Council’s voluntary arms surrender campaign

Midday Friday October 2nd, pedestrians in downtown Sao Paulo leaving their offices to have lunch were surprised by the breath-taking performance of mountain-climbers Bruno Sellmer and Fábio Cascino, who with the help of their young sons, scaled the façade of the Light Shopping Mall and unfurled a 30-meter banner to launch the World March for Peace and Nonviolence in Sao Paulo.

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An interfaith gathering of religious leaders gathered beside New York Harbor, facing the Statue of Liberty, at 8 am yesterday morning, offering prayers of support and protection for the international marchers for The World March for Peace and Nonviolence. The event was opened and closed with a ceremonial flute.
In all, ten short prayers were offered, some sung, others spoken, with representatives of numerous religious and spiritual traditions: Shinto, Sikh, Methodist, Christian Science, Unitarian Universalist, Mennonite, Islam, Hindu, Buddhist and Community of Silo’s Message. Chris Wells spoke as spokesperson of the March, as well as a member of September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows who had lost her brother on United 93. It was a beautiful and very moving ceremony for all who attended, and reminder of the commitment being made around the world in the next 93 days.

"On the 2nd of October 2009, the 140th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, the International Day of Nonviolence, in Oceania, in Wellington, we initiate the World March for Peace and Nonviolence," said spokesperson Rafael de la Rubia. "From this remote place, far from the centers of power we are initiating this worldwide action...We aspire that, in the same way the sun dawns on the new day for the planet here, a new day starts for all of humanity, with a world without nuclear weapons and without wars." (Read full text here.)

More than 250 people came to greet the International Team of the World March in the heart of Auckland, headed by their spokesperson Rafael de la Rubia, team coordinator, Marco Inglessis and members from 4 continents. They were gathered in the heart of Auckland in the presence of Maori chiefs and "Xena: Warrior Princess" star, Lucy Lawless. With distinctive body and face markings, the Maoris recalled the need to resolve conflicts through peaceful means and through coming together, the way the Maori people found the strength to defend themselves and demand their place within the nation of New Zealand under colonization.

For this occasion, they invited the crowd and the members of the base team to carry the famous peace dragon, “the Rainbow Dragon” made from the recycled sails of the Rainbow Warrior, the Greenpeace flagship that was sunk by the French secret service in 1985. Fortified by the chants and accompanied by musicians, the joyful procession set off through the city, stopping at symbolic sites of progress, human rights and liberties for the country such as a wall of water that commemorates the time that women won the right to vote in New Zealand, the first country in the world to grant this right, in 1893.

In the afternoon, the Marchers were welcomed by the “Te Puia” Maori community in the Whakarewarewa valley, source of hydrothermal energy, geysers and hot sprints and the cradle of Maori cultural heritage. Usually detached from all political subjects, the community has decided to endorse the World March, convinced of the good intentions of this initiative and the urgency of resolving the problem of constructing peace. The base team members participated in a ceremony representing the customs and traditions of the Maori people. “It was a magnificent entry into our subject, before the great official launch on the 2nd of October in Wellington”, said a delighted Rafael de la Rubia.

September 26: Base Team Welcomed in New Zealand!

Maori music was the central theme of an emotional ceremony in which the people of Aotearoa (New Zealand) received and welcomed the first arriving members of the World March base team on September 26 and became participants in the World March, opening a unique space to share culture, experience and projects of peace. The message given to the World March by KAMURANGI KI KAIPARA KAPAHAKA ROOPU, a Maorí folklore group, was: "Kia u, Kia Kaha, kia manawanmi. Ka puta, ka ora e," translated as "Be firm, be forthright, be hearty. You will emerge, you will achieve. You will succeed."

Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton endorse the World March

Cate Blanchett is an Australian actress and theatre director. She has won multiple acting awards, most notably two Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTAs, an Academy Award, as well as the Volpi Cup at 64th Venice International Film Festival. Blanchett came to international attention in the 1998 film Elizabeth in which she played Elizabeth I of England. She is also well known for her portrayals of the elf queen Galadriel in The Lord of the Ringstrilogy, Colonel-Doctor Irina Spalko in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator, a role which brought her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She and her husband Andrew Upton, a playwright, are currently artistic directors of the Sydney Theatre Company.

Financing the World March through donated miles

A letter aimed towards endorsers of the World March has been sent by the International Spokesperson for the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, Rafael de la Rubia, asking for people to donate miles to the team of people who will cover the 160,000 km of the World March. Miles can be donated through the internet in the official World March website........READ MORE

The continuous escalation of war worldwide

A study published by the University of Heidelberg reveals the gap between the media-generated image of war and the nature of the actual conflicts. Although the Second World War ended with great aspirations for world peace, since that time the total number of world conflicts has risen in a moderate, but constantly upward, curve.......READ MORE

JANE FONDA Endorses the World March

An Academy Award winning actress and international stage and screen star known for such films as “The China Syndrome” and “Coming Home,” Fonda now focuses much of her time on activism and social change – with much of her work devoted to environmental issues, human rights, and the empowerment of women and girls. She is a member of the Women & Foreign Policy Advisory Committee of the Council on Foreign Relations and in 1994 was named Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund.

Sarah Onyango "Obama" endorses the World March

Sarah Onyango "Obama", grandmother of the US President endorsed the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, welcoming the idea behind the it she prevailed upon others to support the initiative. She wishes everyone to “come together and take responsibility for transforming the world into a world without wars and a world with abundant openings of reconciliation and prosperity”.
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Peace Bed Draws Hundreds to Central Park

Pressenza New York, 2009-08-19 The humidity and temperature soared, but that didn’t stop hundreds of New Yorkers from giving peace another chance at the 40th anniversary of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s famous bed-in for peace this past Sunday in Central Park. Set up under two shady trees just steps from Strawberry Fields, a king-sized “peace bed” offered park visitors a cool place to sit with friends and family and share their concerns about nuclear proliferation and using violence as a means of settling conflicts.  READ MORE

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Yoko Ono and John Lennon's Bed-In, the organizing committee of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence held a "Bed-In for Peace and Nonviolence" in Central Park drawing hundreds of people to give peace another chance. People of all ages sat on the bed and expressed their feelings about peace and violence.

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Give Peace Another Chance:

World March for Peace and Nonviolence
Takes Yoko’s Bed-In Around the World

August 16th, at Cherry Hill Fountain Terrace (Just east of "Strawberry Fields", entrance on 72nd St, Central Park West)

SEE FLYER

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JODY WILLIAMS, Nobel Peace Laureate, endorses the World March
Ms. Jody Williams is the founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which was formally launched by six nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in October of 1992.

Ms. Williams has overseen the growth of the ICBL to more than 1,000 NGOs in more than sixty countries. She has served as the chief strategist and spokesperson for the campaign Working in a unprecedented cooperative effort with governments, UN bodies and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the ICBL achieved its goal of an international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines during the diplomatic conference held in Oslo in September 1997. MsWilliams was awarded the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the campaign she worked for, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL).

Dr. Cornel West endorses the World March.
One of America's most provocative public intellectuals, Cornel West has been a champion for racial justice since childhood. He burst onto the national scene in 1993 with his bestselling book, Race Matters, a searing analysis of racism in America, and is the author of 18 other books. West has taught at Union Theological Seminary, Yale, Harvard, the University of Paris, and is currently on the faculty of Princeton.

Daniel Ellsberg

Endorses the World March for Peace and Nonviolence.

A former US military analyst who precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of US government decision-making about the Vietnam War, to The New York Times and other newspapers.

The March has been endorsed by the Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque, a performance-art troupe that combines vaudeville glamour with magical blend of circus shenanigans, inter-active choreography, music and body art. http://www.lucentdossier.com/ 

ELAINE PAIGE

International musical theater star, has endorsed the World March:

“I support The World March for Peace and Nonviolence and its aims to bring their goals to the attention of everyone in the world. Wars and violence must be stopped and replaced with the needs of people worldwide such as food, clothing, shelter, healthcare and above all love” 

KITTY PIERCY
The Mayor of Eugene, OR, has endorsed the March.
"If there is one thing we have learned through the last election here in the USA, change can happen and what seemed impossible yesterday can become a reality when people are mobilized."

The President of the United Nations General
Assembly Miguel d’Escoto and International World March Coordinator Rafael de la
Rubia met on June 16 at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York to discuss
the objectives of the World March.

........................ read press release 

The Foundation of FC Barcelona, the current European Champions of Soccer, have endorsed the World March. The Barça Soccer Team won the Championship in May 2009. 

EDWARD JAMES OLMOS
Is a Mexican-American actor and director, who has appeared in such movies as “Blade Runner” and “Stand and Deliver” (for which he received an Oscar nomination) and in the TV series “Miami Vice” and “Battlestar Galactica.

Colombian Congress endorses the World March
The Colombian Congress endorsed the World March on May 27. The Colombian Legislature's backing of the international mobilization came from an initiative presented in the upper chamber by the parliamentarians Yolanda Pinto, Juan de Jesus Cardenas and Oscar Hurtado. A Senate spokesperson informed the press that a plenary session of Congress approved the participation of three senators and three representatives of Congress at the start of the World March in New Zealand. Besides this, the Legislature committed itself to offer support to the March during its time in the Colombian capital, planned for the 15th of December. The proposal was defended by senator Pinto, widow of Guillermo Gaviria, Governor of Antioquia assassinated several years ago by FARC forces together with his peace envoy, former Minister of Defence Gioberto Echeverri and eight members of the security forces that were being held as hostages in the Northeast of the country.

CINDY SHEEHAN
"I lost my son Casey to war. I know the pain and suffering such a loss entails. I support The World Marchfor Peace and Nonviolence in the hopes that other parents may not suffer as I have and that the countries victimized by these wars will not continue to suffer such losses."

EVO MORALES
"What more important cause than peace could there be?"
The President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, formalised his endorsement of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence in a meeting that took place with the Latin American spokesperson for Humanism, Tomas Hirsch.

.......................................... read more 

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez endorses the World March.
The March has also been endorsed by her husband, former President Nestor Kirchner, and has been declared an event of national interest by the Argentine Parliament. 

On April 4, 1967, at an event at Riverside Church in New York, Martin Luther King delivered his "Beyond Vietnam" speech, in which he detailed his moral objections to the war, clearly describing the connection between racism, militarism, and materialism and calling for America to pursue a "radical revolution of values." On April 4, 2009, tens of thousands of people around the country honored King's words in rallies and events that protested the continued funding of war and the military at the expense of health, education and other human needs. Read King's speech here.