"One" China Peace Accord faces opposing views in Taiwan

"President Ma proposed on Tuesday that Taiwan could negotiate a peace accord with China within 10 years on the preconditions of strong domestic support, the needs of the country and legislative supervision.

A DPP Central Standing Committee resolution yesterday said the proposal exposed Taiwanese to four serious risks — the sacrifice of Taiwan’s sovereignty, a change in the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait, the jeopardizing of Taiwan’s democratic values and damage to the nation’s strategic depth in bilateral negotiations — Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai said.

The initiative could make the cross-strait situation a “domestic” issue by agreeing to the “one China” principle, she said, as well as going to the negotiating table without a public mandate and a national consensus. She cited the 1951 peace deal between Tibet and China as an example of Beijing’s lack of credibility as a signatory. “China is not a democratic country to this day. We cannot afford to overlook the potential risks and instability [when signing a peace accord with China],” she said."

Peace proposal puts Taiwan at risk: Tsai - Taipei Times:
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Committee considering the Palestinian request for full UN membership

The Security Council president, Nigeria’s Ambassador Joy Ogwu, “will give an update on the progress done so far,” said another diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The discussions within the 15-member Security Council could last until the end of the October or beyond before the Palestinian request goes to a vote, diplomats say.

It takes nine votes in favor and no vetoes to approve a recommendation to the General Assembly for the admission of a new state.

The United States has said it would veto a vote in favor of admitting Palestine to the United Nations, arguing that a real two-state solution can only come from a deal reached with Israel through direct talks.

Washington has deployed intensive diplomatic efforts to prevent the Palestinians from getting nine favorable votes, so as to avoid having to cast a veto that would be damaging to US interests in the Muslim world.

If the Security Council bid fails, the Palestinians are expected to go to the UN General Assembly to seek observer state membership of the UN. They would almost certainly get a majority in favor."
Security Council meets on Palestinian membership: "
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On October 26th, Middle East "Quartet" (Russia, the U.S., the U.N. and the E.U.) will meet with the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority

The negotiations will be held in Jerusalem during which the mediators will try, yet again, to build a direct dialogue between the conflicting parties. The representatives of the Quartet will also hold separate meetings with the Israelis and the Palestinians. Peace talks between the two were suspended for over a year ago due to the resumption by Israeli of settlement activity in East Jerusalem and the West Bank."

Oct 18, 2011 01:03 Moscow Time

Middle East Quartet. Photo: RIA Novosti

Quartet to update talks: Voice of Russia: "'via Blog this'

World faiths, "a common path" to peace...

Two hundred non-Christian religious leaders will join the pope for a ceremony on October 27 that is being boycotted however by the influential Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, the Vatican said.

Pope Benedict XVI is hosting the event in favour of world peace, which was started by his predecessor John Paul II in Assisi, the birthplace of St Francis, and a variety of faiths will be represented including Islam. Among the spiritual leaders attending will be Baha'i, Buddhists, Confucianists, Hindus, Jains, Jews, Sikhs, Taoists and Zoroastrians, joining 100 Christian leaders, Vatican officials said at a news conference on Tuesday. A total of 69 Muslim leaders will also be present from 19 countries including Iran and Saudi Arabia, said Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, head of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace."
AFP: World faiths to attend Vatican ceremony: "
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“In many instances where there is an ongoing conflict, you are fighting and looking to talk,” Hillary Clinton

South Asian News Agency | US open to Afghan peace deal including Haqqani: "US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday signaled the United States remains open to exploring a peace deal including the Haqqani network, the group that US officials blame for a campaign of high-profile violence that could jeopardize Washington’s plans for withdrawing smoothly from Afghanistan.

“Where we are right now is that we view the Haqqanis and other of their ilk as, you know, being adversaries and being very dangerous to Americans, Afghans and coalition members inside Afghanistan, but we are not shutting the door on trying to determine whether there is some path forward,” Clinton said when asked whether she believed members of the Haqqani network might reconcile with the Afghan government.

“It’s too soon to tell whether any of these groups or any individuals within them are serious,” she said in an interview .

Inclusion of the Haqqani network in a hoped-for peace deal — now a chief objective in the Obama administration’s Afghanistan policy after a decade of war — is a controversial idea in Washington."

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"War Redefined," includes interviews with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her predecessors Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice

The brutally powerful PBS documentary "Women, War & Peace" is not easy to watch, but it is an important testament to unthinkable events in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Colombia and Liberia. And to positive steps being taken in the name of humanity, justice and peace.

A recurring theme of the series is that modern wars are not fought by trained national armies so much as by gangs, undisciplined insurgent groups, armed with improvised weapons and reduced to barbaric behavior. Women have become primary targets, being systematically raped, and ultimately "emerging as critical partners in brokering peace and as leaders in forging new international laws governing conflict.""
PBS airs "Women, War & Peace" - The Denver Post: "
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Pakistan Taliban considers peace talks: report | Reuters

Pakistan Taliban considers peace talks: report | Reuters: "Pakistani leaders said after an all-party meeting attended by top military and intelligence officials last month they would seek reconciliation with militants to end an insurgency.

And Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani was quoted by newspapers as saying the government was ready to talk peace.

"Our shura (council) will decide whether and when can we enter into talks with the government, with the military," the Express Tribune quoted Maulvi Wali-ur-Rehman Mehsud, deputy leader of the Pakistani Taliban, as saying.

"But I think we would like to involve countries we trust ... they are in the Arab world. Let's say Saudi Arabia."

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or Taliban Movement of Pakistan (TTP), which is close to al Qaeda, was formed in December 2007 as an alliance of Pakistani militant groups to attack the Pakistani state.

It has been blamed for many of the suicide bombings across Pakistan.

Several army offensives against the group's strongholds on the Afghan border have failed to weaken its campaign. Thousands of Pakistani soldiers, policemen and civilians have been killed in the conflict."

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