Avoid Conflict By Becoming Political

There was a major step towards world peace yesterday in Nord-Kivu, Africa when two major frenimies decided to shake hands and set up some ground rules for each other. The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a peace deal with Tutsi rebels by making the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) a political party.

In this way, the 'former' rebels, must conduct business in a political way rather then attacking civilians or threatening the government.
Former President of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo congratulates saying, "..the culture of peace (was met) and not that of violence."

CNDP has agreed to release former members that are held captive, respect the institutional order of the Republic and to listen to the people of the local police force.

Goma is the regional capital of the Nord-Kivu region, which in 2008 was the scene of fierce clashes between the army and the rebels in which the CNDP made some major advances. The CNDP was previously led by renegade Tutsi general Laurent Nkunda but in January of this year its leader went over to another side. Since the disloyalty of the CNDP leadership and the arrest of Nkunda in Rwanda in January the situation in Nord-Kivu has stabilised. Africa News.

Peace In Africa : It Starts With The Kids

Burundi's rebel group the National Liberation Force (FNL) has declared a peace policy directed at ending a 15 year long conflict with Bujumbura, Africa (north of Rwanda). The groups' first action taken since pronouncing peace, just this past Saturday, is to release its' child soldiers by the end of January!
"The FNL have pledged to let go of the children among their fighters immediately and unconditionally, by January 30th at the latest," reports African Union special envoy Mamdou Bah.
It has been addressed that there are thousands of child soldiers, either enlisted or enslaved, in the country of Bujumbura. The FNL has also pledged to begin demobilizing and disarming by that same time.
This situation has set the bar for the accomplishments that could be made for World peace in the upcoming year. Two rivals, settling their differences to overcome evil in light of a better life. My birthday is January 31st and I could not ask for anything more then thousands of children getting their childhoods back and peace brought to a country that has left 300,000 dead since the 90s. I am curious to see how this transition will be for these kids. If they do actually quit the harsh life of war or if they have become so familiar with this lifestyle that they actually return. I hope its not the latter. Either way I will keep you posted. Source.

The Force Is Weak Without A Millennium Falcon

Without the aid of more helicopters, the UN-African Union peacekeeping mission to Darfur may fail, a top U.N. official has said. The 26,000 members of security, named The Force, are setting to bring stability to the region after over 4 years of continuous conflict. The Force though remains flightless as the deployment date draws near.
Jean-Marie Guehenno, head of the UN peacekeeping department, told reporters The Force needed six attack helicopters and 18 transport helicopters in order to make the mission a success.
That, unfortunately, is not the only commitment problem the peacekeeping mission has. The Sudanese government has yet to authorise the actual make-up of The Force members.
They want The Force to consist mainly of African troops and continues to be upset that peacekeepers from Thailand, Nepal and Norway have been added to The Force.
BBC Africa editor David Bamford says, "..it seems Western countries have been slow in providing the equipment because they lack confidence in the control structure of the joint force.." Source.

Can Countries Cooperate for Conservation?

Representatives of Europe gathered together in Prague on Monday to discuss if a "nuclear energy renaissance" is possible in order to cut the European Unions dependence on exported energy. France, Finland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Italy and the Baltic countries were all called upon to support the "nuclear energy renaissance."
Partakers assembled at the European Energy Forum to discuss a common energy proposal and come up with a plan on ideas for 2020 as well as commercial cooperation with Russia. But the main concern?
"It is all a question of knowing if European countries truly want to cooperate," French foreign ministry representative Patrice Allard said.
World Peace in the form of energy conservation; I love it. The conference ended last night after 30 energy experts from various countries around Europe presented and debated a list of growing issues. There is no word yet on how the overall result of the conference went. I'll be sure to post as soon as I discover. Source.
Do you know how it all went down? Kady@SaveTheWorldorElse.com