Archive: July, 2011

From the field Kwoyelo’s trial and Uganda’s search for justice

Civil society organisations working for peace, justice and reconciliation in Uganda have welcomed the trial of former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) Colonel, Thomas Kwoyelo for atrocities he allegedly committed during the over two decade LRA insurgency in northern Uganda. Read more >>>

Commentary Local perspectives on memorialisation after violence

To the uninformed outsider there are no visible signs of what occurred in 1996. Deep in the interior of Bubanza province, north-western Burundi, the thick vegetation and rolling hillsides bear no obvious scars of violence or international crimes. Yet the people whose lives continue to be affected after more than fifteen years recall the events with vivid lucidity. The memory of one morning of violence that left more than 300 people massacred at the hands of the army has become the very thing that defines many hardships of the present, even (remarkably) for those not witness to the bloodshed. For the people of this tiny village, memory and the way it is dealt with is both a window to the past and a door to the future. Read more >>>

Sudan Briefing: 2011-07-25

Following the independence of South Sudan, Insight on Conflict will be producing a weekly round-up of the news. To subscribe to receive the updates via email, please contact joel[email protected] or complete the form below. Read more >>>

Commentary Stories of Peace challenge

The Peace Portal has recently launched the Stories of Peace Challenge. Too often we hear about war and conflict but not enough about the stories of initiatives effectively promoting peace and dialogue. The ‘Stories of Peace’ challenge promoted by the Peace Portal wants to give your stories the opportunity to get heard, and maybe even published. Read more >>>

Interview Bacha Khan: Lessons from the past

Ali Gohar, founder of Just Peace International in Peshawar, Pakistan, recently shared with us one of the inspirations for his work – the life story of Bacha Khan. A pacifist Pashtun leader from the early 20th century who strove to transform not just his own Pashtun society but the whole of India. He used rigorous nonviolence and drew hundreds of thousands of followers into his movement despite harrassment, assault and torture from the British colonial regime, and against the backdrop of being in a country ruled by a foreign regime. Read more >>>

Sudan Briefing: 2011-07-18

Following the independence of South Sudan, Insight on Conflict will be producing a weekly round-up of the news. To subscribe to receive the updates via email, please contact [email protected] or complete the form below. Read more >>>

From the field Mladic and Srebrenica, 16 years later

After nearly 16 years on the run, Ratko Mladić, the war-time Bosnian Serb general and most wanted ICTY fugitive, was finally arrested north of Belgrade. Indicted on 16 counts, including genocide and complicity in genocide, news of his surprise apprehension had an instantaneous reaction across the globe, with hundreds of journalists swarming to Serbia to provide first-hand insight. Whilst applauded by many, certain responses in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have revealed the extent to which the conflict in the former Yugoslavia lingers on – and the barriers that continue to prevent true reconciliation throughout the region. Read more >>>

Obituary: The tragic loss of peacebuilder Dekha Ibrahim Abdi

With enormous sorrow, we report the death of Peace Direct’s Patron, Dekha Ibrahim Abdi. Dekha and Peace Direct worked closely together in our early years, pioneering with Dekha a Rapid Response Fund which aimed to deal with conflicts in the northern part of Kenya, where a few days ago Dekha was involved in a serious car accident, which killed her husband and driver, and eventually led to her death as well. Read more >>>

Commentary Sudan: Listen to locals

The escalating crisis in South Kordofan reveals real limits to how much influence the international community can exert from outside Sudan. If we wish to prevent further deaths and assist over 70,000 refugees to return home safely, the international community urgently needs another way forward. Read more >>>

Sudan Briefing: 2011-07-11

Following the independence of South Sudan, Insight on Conflict will be producing a weekly round-up of the news. To subscribe to receive the updates via email, please contact [email protected] or complete the form below. Read more >>>