Author Archive

February 26, 2010

As reported by the New York Times and other news agencies, India and Pakistan took a first step toward rebuilding confidence on February 25 after a wide-ranging New Delhi meeting between foreign secretaries of both countries that included discussions on terrorism, the Mumbai terrorist attacks, the disputed border region of Kashmir, and competing water claims.

The discussions between the senior diplomats were the first since India froze relations with Pakistan after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks in which Islamist terrorists targeted the India’s financial capital, killing 166 people.

India’s Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao characterized the meeting with her Pakistani counterpart, Salman Bashir, as useful, but noted it would be premature to restart broader bilateral discussions. However, the two sides agreed to keep talking informally.

“We have set out to take a first step toward rebuilding trust, and I believe my meeting with the Pakistan foreign secretary has constituted that first step,” Ms. Rao said.

Few expected any breakthroughs from the meeting, which were seen as a small step in restarting diplomacy between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

India broke off the formal “composite dialogue” after the Mumbai attacks. For months, India refused to resume dialogue arguing that Pakistan was not aggressively pursuing those responsible for the attacks and that it was doing too little to confront domestic terrorist groups that focus on India. Mr. Bashir expressed frustration with India’s depictions of Pakistan as an “epicenter” for breeding terrorism, describing his country instead as a victim of terrorist groups.

To read more on the resumption of India-Pakistan dialogue, click here

February 22, 2010 — The Summit Council mourns the passing of General Alexander M. Haig, Jr. (USA), the 59th Secretary of State of the United States, and a great friend of the Summit Council for World Peace, the Federation for World Peace, and of our founder, Rev. Sun Myung Moon. He died on February 20 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Alexander Haig was a four-star United States Army general who served as the first Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan, as White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, and as Deputy National Security Advisor under Henry Kissinger. He also served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe commanding all NATO forces. He also was President of United Technologies Corporation and a founding Board member of America Online. Haig graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1947 and served in both the Korean and Vietnam wars; he was a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star with oak leaf cluster, and the Purple Heart.

General Haig first spoke at one of our conferences when he gave a Special Address at the inaugural ceremony of the Federation for World Peace in August 1991. Before his prepared remarks, he offered the following comment:

This occasion gives me an opportunity to pay a belated debt of gratitude to the Reverend Moon, who at a time of great difficulty in my country, when confusion and animosity dominated the scene in the early 70’s, was a tremendous force for rule of law, for due process, and for brotherhood in my own country, and I am very, very grateful to you, Reverend Moon, for those contributions and for the continuing struggle that you have personally conducted in the interest of world peace and international brotherhood.

General Haig attended a number of other conferences of organizations founded by Rev. Moon, including the inauguration of the Youth Federation for World Peace, programs sponsored by the Washington Times Foundation, and the 1999 World Cultural and Sports Festival special convocation in Seoul on “Family Ethics and World Peace.” There, in an introduction to Rev. Moon, Haig described how their lives first intersected during the Korean War (in 1950, Haig was the aide to General Ned Almond, who commanded UN forces liberating northeastern Korea, which freed Rev. Moon from nearly three years in a North Korean prison camp in Hungnam; two months later, in Hungnam, Haig helped oversee the evacuation of UN forces and Korean civilian refugees fleeing Communist Chinese troops). Haig again praised Rev. Moon for his conciliatory approach during the Watergate crisis, and applauded his role in the downfall of communism.

People around the world deeply appreciated General Haig for the strength of his convictions and principles, and millions benefitted from his work and commitments which were not only for America but the world at large. Haig was a devout Catholic and his devotion to country, democracy, the rule of law, and family derived from his religious upbringing and life-long practice. His life and legacy were a gift of God to America and this troubled world.

February 16, 2010

According to the Wall Street Journal last week, Pakistan and India are likely to soon hold their first talks since the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. The likely venue and date would be New Delhi on February 25, attended by the foreign secretaries of each nation.

“We will go to Delhi with an open mind and steer the discussions towards a positive direction,” the Journal quoted Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, who will lead his delegation in the talks.

Bashir said the discussions would cover all issues concerning the two countries. India reportedly initiated the invitation to resume talks, but has only said that it is interested in discussing terror and other “relevant” issues.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs would not confirm that Feb. 25 had been agreed upon for the talks. The talks have been encouraged by the U.S. government, and hold out the potential of ending the prolonged diplomatic standoff between Pakistan and India.

Read the full Wall Street Journal article here

January 31, 2010

At the January 31 conclusion of the 40th World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, participants pledged to rethink, rebuild and redesign the global economy based on sustainable principles. The sense of the meeting, echoed by Lawrence H. Summers, Director of the US National Economic Council (NEC), was that the world was experiencing “a statistical recovery and a human recession.” “We are not out of the woods yet,” said Michael Oreskes, Senior Managing Editor of the Associated Press. “The recovery is still very fragile in many developed economies.” Principled leadership is key to stabilization.

“At the end, it’s an interdependent system,” said Josef Ackermann, Chairman of the Management Board and the Group Executive Committee of Deutsche Bank; Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum; and Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2010. “If you lose the support of society, you are not going to achieve your corporate objectives.” “If you have lost the trust of societies, you cannot just respond technically, you have to respond morally,” said Ackermann.

Rowan D. Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, United Kingdom, urged participants to take collective responsibility for the future by being individually responsible now. Living responsibly in the present means living within ecological limits to ensure the security of work and food. “Responsibility for the future means being responsible for a vision of humanity which excites and enlarges us,” he added.

Read a summary of this closing session as well as watch a webcast of it here

January 28, 2010

In his January 27 Opening Address at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said it will not be possible to emerge from the global economic crisis and protect against future crises if the economic imbalances at the root of the problem are not addressed. “Countries with trade surpluses must consume more and improve the living standards and social protection of their citizens,” he remarked. “Countries with deficits must make an effort to consume a little less and repay their debts.” The world’s currency regime is central to the issue, Sarkozy argued. Exchange rate instability and the under-valuation of certain currencies lead to unfair trade and competition, he noted. “The prosperity of the post-war era owed a great deal to Bretton Woods [established in 1944], to its rules and its institutions. That is exactly what we need today; we need a new Bretton Woods.” Sarkozy said that France would place the reform of the international monetary system on the agenda when it chairs the G8 and G20 in 2011.

The Republic of Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak, host of this year’s G-20 Summit in Seoul, said on January 28 that the November summit will explore ways to set up a “Global Financial Safety Net” to shield emerging economies from abrupt flows of international capital. Delivering a Special Address to international business leaders and top policymakers at the World Economic Forum, Lee stressed the ongoing global financial crisis that began in 2008 demonstrated the vulnerability of developing countries to sudden reversals in the flow of global capital and said preventive measures are urgently required. The South Korean leader also promised to step up efforts to reach out to non-members of the G-20, which has emerged as the premier forum for international economic policy cooperation, in an attempt to narrow the development gap.

Read the full text of President Sarkozy’s speech here: in English
Read the full text of President Sarkozy’s speech here: in French

Read the full text of President Lee’s address here

Jan. 21, 2010

The 40th anniversary of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, to be held January 26-31 in Davos, Switzerland, is a defining moment for world leaders as they meet under the theme “Improve the State of the World: Rethink, Redesign, Rebuild”. Over 2,500 leaders from more than 90 countries representing business, government, civil society, academia and culture will work together to address pressing challenges and future risks.

“Global multistakeholder cooperation lies at the heart of the Forum’s mission to improve the state of the world,” said Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. He said: “We have to rethink our values – we are living together in a global society with many different cultures. We have to redesign our processes – how do we deal with the issues and challenges on the global agenda? And finally, we have to rebuild our institutions.”

Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France, will deliver the opening address. Among world leaders participating are from Africa: Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of Tanzania, Morgan Tsvangirai, Prime Minister of Zimbabwe and Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa; from the Americas: Felipe Calderón, President of Mexico, Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada (Chair, 2010 G8 Summit), Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil and Álvaro Uribe, President of Colombia; from Asia: Lee Myung-Bak, President of the Republic of Korea (Chair, 2010 G20 Summit) and Li Keqiang, Executive Vice-Premier, State Council of the People’s Republic of China; and from Europe: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain.

Read the full WEF press release here

In Memoriam: H. E. Rodrigo Carazo (1926-2009)

December 10, 2009 — It is with great sadness that the Summit Council for World Peace announces the passing of the Co-Chair of its Board of Presidents, H. E. Dr. Rodrigo Carazo, President of Costa Rica (1978-82), who died yesterday in San Jose, Costa Rica at the age of 82.

President Carazo was not only a great patriot and statesman, but throughout his life was a relentless advocate of peace. He believed that peace depends on each and every one of us, and
considered spiritual and cultural achievements, as well as genuine love for one’s fellow man and the struggle for social justice, as the tools that can be used to sow peace and prevent violence. He emphasized that the main social mandate is to seek peace by all possible means.

During his term as President, in which he helped catapult Costa Rica to one of the leading nations for ecological tourism, he proposed the United Nations University of Peace, chartered in 1983 by the UN General Assembly, and he became its first rector. As he said at that time, “If you want peace, prepare for peace.” In recent years, he was very active in election monitoring missions in Latin America of the Carter Center, founded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

Dr. Carazo’s work of peace around the world could have won him the Nobel Peace Prize, but he never wished to promote himself or seek such honors. Just two months ago, he joined nine other former Latin American presidents in Lima, Peru, to warn against inequality, social exclusion and the arms race in South America, and propose solutions to the continent’s most pressing economic and social problems.

President Carazo was a great friend of the founders of the Summit Council, Reverend and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon, since 1980, and very involved in the Council’s work since its inception. In particular, Dr. Carazo traveled to Seoul in 1985 with 17 former heads of state and government to greet Rev. Moon with honor immediately after the latter’s unjust 13-month incarceration in the United States. Moreover, in 1992 and 1994, as Chairman of our International Commission for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, Carazo led delegations of former heads of state to North Korea, each time reinforcing a friendship and trust he established with the late President Kim Il Sung. In October 2008, he publicly advocated in Seoul the building there of a World Peace and Unity Temple that could be a common home for all the world’s major religions. In May this year, he led a special Summit Council program at our Washington headquarters on prospects for the improvement of U.S. relations with Cuba under the Obama administration.

President Carazo is survived by his beloved wife, Estrella, Co-Chair of our Board of Presidents, and four sons. Truly a giant among statesmen who endeavored for peace has left us. Our deepest hope is that his legacy of tirelessly pursuing the achievement of peace around the world will continue to inspire men and women in the years to come.

Dec. 3, 2009

The South Korean government plans to develop its border areas with North Korea into a center for inter-Korean cooperation, international peace and ecological protection. The plan was announced by the ROK Ministry of Public Administration and Security, which will designate the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) as an ecological preserve to protect rare wildlife and the natural environment. More than 3,000 rare species of animals and plants are found in the 907-square-kilometer heavily fortified border. The South Korean government plans to build a peace park, host a United Nations’ peace conference and establish an international peace-themed university near the DMZ.

Read the full article here

September 26, 2009

The G-20 leaders meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama, assessed the progress made addressing the global financial crisis and agreed to maintain steps to support economic activity until recovery is assured. They further committed to additional steps to ensure strong, sustainable, and balanced growth, build a stronger international financial system, reduce development imbalances, and modernize the architecture for international economic cooperation. The leaders designated the G-20 as the premier forum for international economic cooperation and agreed to have a G-20 Summit in Canada in June 2010, alongside the G-8 Summit, and in Seoul, Korea in November 2010. South Korea will chair the G-20 throughout 2010.

Read the Leaders’ Statement here.

September 24, 2009

Dr. Arnold S. Relman, M.D., professor emeritus of medicine and social medicine at Harvard Medical School, argues on the web site of Tikkun Magazine that President Obama cannot meet his criterion of signing a health care bill which does not add to the U.S. national debt unless health care reform includes eliminating the present profit motive from medicine. This includes licensing doctors so that they get a fixed salary rather than making profits from prescribing more tests, procedures and visits that increase their incomes. Relman, also a former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, explains in Tikkun why the reform that is needed must go beyond a “public option” so that it can eliminate the constant growth of medical costs. Tikkun states that Dr. Relman’s analysis is extremely important because it helps people understand why the current plan to expand coverage by mandating coverage — without creating a vigorous public option to lower costs, and without challenging the ability of health care providers to raise costs — will bankrupt the system and provide insurance companies and others with the argument that “we tried government intervention in health care and all it succeeded in doing is to raise the costs for everyone and eventually led to collapse.” The Summit Council believes Relman’s plan is an example of the “Just Third Way,” as featured on our page devoted to Economic and Social Justice

Read Dr. Relman’s full article here