Truce talks provide hope for Somalia and Palestine

The Egypt-brokered truce deal between Israel and Hamas regarding the Gaza portion of Palestine continues to move forward, and the new peace initiative out of Somalia is providing hope and inspiration to many in Mogadishu and other war-torn regions of this beautiful African country.

Peace 2 All,

Yuya



Hamas officials in Egypt to discuss potential truce with Israel


CAIRO, Egypt: Top Hamas leaders opened discussions Sunday with Egypt's chief of intelligence to work out a truce between the militant group and Israel, officials said.

On Thursday, Israeli negotiator Amos Gilad was in Egypt to convey his country's position on the latest Egyptian proposal in talks that have dragged on for months.

The officials said Moussa Abu Marzouk and Mohammed Naser were discussing with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman these proposals.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

Both sides have set tough conditions for a truce.

Israel wants Hamas and Egypt to stop the smuggling of weapons into Gaza and to promise progress in the talks to release Cpl. Gilad Schalit, an Israeli soldier snatched by Palestinian militants two years ago.

Hamas, for its part, is demanding Israel lift a blockade of Gaza that has imprisoned most of the territory's 1.4 million residents and caused widespread shortages of fuel, electricity and commercial goods.

Israel virtually sealed off Gaza after Hamas violently seized control of the territory in June last year. Continued Palestinian attacks from Gaza into the Jewish state have prompted Israel to intensify the restrictions on the entrance of fuel and commercial supplies.

The new round of mediation comes amid reports that Israel has dropped an earlier demand to include the release Schalit in any deal.

Hamas and Israel refuse to speak to each other directly, preferring present their proposals through Egyptian mediation.

The negotiations are conducted under a shroud of secrecy in an undisclosed location outside Cairo.

A Hamas spokesman said Saturday that the group's delegation will not make any decisions immediately, Ayman Taha said "they will listen to what the Egyptians have to say and then return to consult with the group."


Full article at Hamas-Israel truce talks




World asked to Support UN-brokered Peace Deal for Somalia

The international community must help Somalia's rival factions implement a UN-brokered truce in the war-shattered east African nation, the UN special envoy for Somalia said.

In an interview, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah expressed optimism that the June 9 accord reached in Djibouti would bring a halt to more than 17 years of civil strife in the volatile Horn of Africa country.

"All Somali parties have initialed the agreement except two individuals who are regarded as terrorists by the UN Security Council and the Americans," said Ould Abdallah, who is accompanying UN chief Ban Ki-moon on a 24-hour visit to Saudi Arabia.

"Now the ball is in the court of the international community: The Europeans, the United States and the Arab League," he said on Saturday. "They must help the Somalis implement a ceasefire."

Full article at: Somalian Peace Treaty provides hope for Mogadishu


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Ontario Govt Legislature to hear prayers from many faiths; Beautiful

One has to be humble about where they live, but from a little hill near Toronto I can say I N I have much 2 give thanks for this week. Our federal government apologized to the Native community over the travesty that was the residential schools, and there was at least a sense that healing may be beginning. Now the Ontario Parliament will hear the Lord's Prayer plus an additional prayer from one of a range of popular global faiths, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism plus wondrous offerings (read below as soon as they are posted online) from Bhuddist, Native Canadian, Baha'i and Sikh worship liturgy. A non-denominational prayer and a moment of silence are also planned for the rotation.

Here are the prayers. I am elated that this Bhuddist poem made it in; the idea of our elected politicos hearing this and possibly relaxing a bit is crazy fun.

Peace 2 All,

Yuya Joe


Once I can find these online (they are in Toronto Star June 13), I'll post some samples and a link below.

Mugabe promotes war over democracy; time for AU to cut him loose

It's sad when a great leader becomes a despot ...


HARARE (AFP) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe raised the spectre of war on Friday by warning his staunchest supporters are ready to take up arms rather than let the opposition triumph in a June 27 election.

In comments carried by state media, the 84-year-old said veterans of the 1970s liberation war had told him they were ready to go into battle once more to avoid the prospect of Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai coming to power after the run-off in a fortnight's time.

Although Mugabe told supporters of his ZANU-PF party he did not want a return to war, he repeatedly raised the threat of conflict and warned voters against making a "mistake".

His remarks added to the fevered poll build-up after Tsvangirai was twice detained while campaigning Thursday and a top lieutenant arrested for treason.

Tsvangirai also saw his two campaign buses impounded on Friday in a move the MDC said was designed to cripple his campaign.

Meanwhile a group of 40 leading Africans, including ex-UN chief Kofi Annan and Mozambique's former president Joaquim Chissano, said in an open letter they were "deeply troubled" by reports of intimidation, harassment and violence.

Neighbouring Botswana said it was "deeply disturbed" by the unfolding events, summoning Zimbabwe's ambassador to Gaborone to protest the "unacceptable" detentions of the opposition top brass.

The Mugabe regime was also facing condemnation from the UN after warnings that some 500,000 Zimbabwean children are no longer getting urgent food and medical aid since charities were ordered to halt their work.



Full article at: Robert Mugabe threatens war against democratic opposition


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Fatah and Hamas talk truce; Abbas, King Abdullah, want Arab League role

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi King Abdullah and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Sunday agreed that the Arab League should oversee truce talks between Fatah and Hamas, a Palestinian diplomat said.

"The two sides agreed that all inter-Palestinian dialogue should take place under the supervision of the Arab League," Palestinian representative to Riyadh Jamal Shobaki told AFP.

King Abdullah and Fatah leader Abbas also discussed the status of US-backed peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians during Sunday's meeting in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, Shobaki added.

Abbas last week called for dialogue with Hamas, which ousted his loyalists from Gaza in June last year, breaking with his previous policy of rejecting any opening until the Islamists cede control of the territory.

Hamas responded favourably to Abbas's overture, raising hopes of reconciliation between the two sides although prospects of a peace deal with Israel before the end of the year look increasingly unlikely.

Saudi Arabia brokered an agreement between Fatah and Hamas in early 2007 that led to the formation of a Palestinian unity government but unbridled tensions between the two sides led to fierce fighting which resulted in the Gaza takeover only months later.

Abbas was late Sunday to travel to Cairo for talks on Monday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Shobaki said.


Arab leage role in Fatah-Hamas reconciliation talks



Fatah, Hamas: Senegal reconciliation talks reignite 'mutual respect'
By Reuters

Talks between Fatah and Hamas in the Senegalese capital Dakar this weekend had restored "an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect" between the Palestinian factions, a statement signed by both sides said on Sunday.

Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, offered his services in March as a mediator between the two parties, which clashed a year ago when Islamist Hamas militants ousted power from Fatah in the Gaza Strip in bloody coup.

A statement following the talks, which began on Friday, said Senegal would resume contact with both sides to organise future meetings with the aim of "reconciling the Palestinian family".
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"The Palestinian representatives ... thank the mediator for managing to restore an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect, which allowed them to discuss the fundamental interests of the Palestinian people," said the communique signed by Hikmat Zeid for Fatah, Emad Khalid Alamy for Hamas and Senegal's Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio.

Senegal's state news agency APS reported on Saturday that Wade had met individually with the Palestinian delegations. "The mediation would take place in seven stages," a presidential spokesman said.

Hamas ended more than 40 years of the more secular Fatah's ascendancy with a victory in parliamentary elections in 2006. Hamas fighters went on to rout Fatah forces and take over the Gaza Strip in June 2007.

Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman based in the Gaza Strip, said the daily arrest and torture of its members in the West Bank by security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah "did not prepare the atmosphere for dialogue."

"Hamas has taken steps (towards dialogue) and the president of the authority and Fatah movement in the West Bank are demanded to take similar steps to prove seriousness and concern and good intentions," he told Reuters.

Full article at: Hamas - Fatah talks restore trust and respect


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