May 2011 Colombia Peace Update | Fellowship of Reconciliation

May 2011 Colombia Peace Update | Fellowship of Reconciliation:

"May 9 - Following a four-day march from Cuernavaca to Mexico City, an estimated 90,000 protesters poured into the central plaza. The march was led by relatives of victims and convoked by the poet, Javier Sicilia, whose son was brutally assassinated in March. Protesters in the march demanded far-reaching changes in Mexico’s security policy and an end to the “war on drugs”. In speeches and documents they also called for political reforms to go the root of the alarming deterioration in public safety and well-being since President Felipe Calderón deployed the army in an offensive against organized crime in December of 2006."

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Netanyahu: Israel Ready To Make Painful Concessions; Palestinians Must, Too : The Two-Way : NPR

Netanyahu: Israel Ready To Make Painful Concessions; Palestinians Must, Too : The Two-Way : NPR:

"Many eyes were on Congress this morning as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint meeting of the House and Senate.

His speech came on the heels of the very public disagreement the Israeli leader has had with President Obama over whether Israel's pre-1967 war borders should be the basis (assuming there will also be mutually agreed-upon land swaps) for peace talks with the Palestinians.

We updated this post with highlights from Netanyahu's address. Be sure to hit your 'refresh' button to see our latest additions.

Update at 12:08 p.m. ET. At The End, Shades Of Reagan:

In a line that will remind many of President Reagan's 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall' quote, as he approaches the end of his address Netanyahu says to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas: 'tear up your pact with Hamas. Sit down and negotiate. Make peace with the Jewish state.'"

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UN-declared 'Palestine' means little--Benny Avni - NYPOST.com

UN-declared 'Palestine' means little--Benny Avni - NYPOST.com: "

The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot reported that Netanyahu tried to sell that ho-hum attitude to Obama during his Washington trip. But Obama is too attached to the 'international community' to buy it.

A group of international jurists wrote to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday, arguing that a General Assembly declaration of a Palestinian state would violate signed agreements, rendering it 'illegal.'

They're right, but Israel would do much better using its legal minds to highlight such treaty violations as Egypt's Sunday opening of the crossings into Gaza."

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Peace Update: Block Burmese JADE Act and Recent Policy Developments

Block Burmese JADE Act and Recent Policy Developments:

please click website above for complete Testimony of:

Joe Yun
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Testimony Before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs

Washington, DC

June 2, 2011

"First, let me start with the pressure side of our policy. We play a leading role in the international community in shining a light on the regime's dismal human rights record and signaling to Burmese authorities that the world is watching. We support an annual resolution at the UN General Assembly on Burma that draws attention to human rights abuses and calls for cooperation with the international community to achieve concrete progress with regard to human rights, fundamental freedoms and political processes. In 2010, this resolution passed by a higher vote margin than in any previous year. More recently, in March of this year, we supported the annual resolution on Burma at the UN Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Burma, Mr. Tomas Ojea Quintana. We continue to call upon the Burmese government to fully cooperate with Mr. Quintana, including by allowing him to visit the country again, which authorities are refusing. Secretary of State Clinton has also expressed our commitment to pursuing accountability for human rights abuses through establishing a commission of inquiry for Burma in close consultation with our friends, allies, and partners at the United Nations.
Coupled with this international pressure, we maintain extensive, targeted sanctions against senior leaders of the Burmese government and military, their immediate family members, their key supporters, and others who abuse human rights. We work closely with our key allies such as the European Union (EU) and its member states, Canada, Australia, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asian nations and others to encourage them to impose sanctions and to press the regime to make meaningful changes. We were pleased that in April 2011, the EU renewed its Common Position on Burma, which authorizes EU sanctions on key regime officials. U.S. sanctions are based on a series of executive orders and key legislation passed over the past 20 years, including the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 and the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta’s Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2008. Successive Administrations have cooperated closely with Congress to ensure that these restrictions, whether economic, financial or travel related, have the same purpose: that the United States will not allow the use of its resources to perpetuate abusive, authoritarian rule.

"The Block Burmese JADE Act of 2008 is the most recent piece of Burma-specific legislation and it constitutes an important component of the U.S. sanctions regime. There are several key aspects of the JADE Act, which is more than a ban on Burmese jade: it focuses on stopping anti-democratic activities in addition to preventing the regime from profiting from trade in precious gems.

The JADE Act includes provisions for financial sanctions and bans the issuance of visas for travel to the United States by former and present leaders of the regime, officials involved in the repression of human rights, other key supporters of the regime, and their immediate family members. These provisions complement already existing economic sanctions and travel restrictions."