Newsletter Archive
Scripture on Welcoming the Stranger:
Click
here.
"Christian Reflection on Iraq"–One
hour module to be used with groups of 10-25 individuals. Ideal for a
Sunday school class or any small group. The module can be adapted
for other faith communities and for secular audiences. The process
uses statements to create an opportunity for communication and
reflection on the call to be faithful Christians around the issue of
the war in Iraq. The module is especially suited to situations in
which group members differ on how to move to end the war, with a
goal to support a negotiated political solution to the conflict as
proposed by a Middle East expert. If you would like to request a
DACPA member to facilitate the session, or would like to participate
in a "train-the-trainer" session to deliver the module in your own
faith community, e-mail
Matthew-25@earthlink.net or call 214/333-7577.
Coming soon:
What did Jesus teach? Collection of Jesus'
sayings on economic and social justice.
The words of the prophets, companion to
"What did Jesus teach?" with words from the Hebrew prophets.
2007 "Christian Voters' Reflection Guide"
"Not
by might does one prevail." I Samuel 2:9
Waging Peace in Iraq: The Helsinki
Agreement
In the media,
there’s a saying, “If it bleeds, it leads.” War, death,
murder—those are top stories. How many times has peace been the top
story? A group of people sitting around a table reconciling
differences doesn’t suit the fast pace of today’s headline news.
How do you design flashy graphics to make negotiation exciting?
Of course, for all
the glitz, graphics and color, of today’s news, the stories
themselves—in the United States, anyway—are still as black and white
as a Roy Rogers Western, with good guys and bad guys clearly labeled
by the color of their hats, and no pesky shades of gray making us
think to deeply about the issues.
So what happens
when “bad guys” lay down their weapons and start talking about
peace? Sometimes, they mysteriously disappear from the airwaves, as
did the Irish Republican Army when they declared a ceasefire in 1997
and began supporting the Good Friday Agreement.
If you missed the
news story about the ex-IRA man who helped facilitate an agreement
in Helsinki among members of Iraq’s Shia and Sunni factions, you’re
forgiven for not keeping up—it was not a top story over here. In
fact, it didn’t make news at all. Unless your primary source of
news is BBC or CNN International, you probably haven’t heard
anything about the Helsinki Agreement.
In the 1970s,
Martin McGuinness was an IRA commander, and is now a Member of
Parliament for Mid Ulster and serves as Deputy First Minister in the
Northern Ireland Assembly. During the Good Friday Agreement
negotiations, McGuinness served as chief negotiator for his
political party, Sinn Féin.
This past summer,
Iraqi delegates were brought together by the John W. McCormack
Graduate School of Policy Studies at the University of Massachusetts
and the Crisis Management Institute, which was founded by Martti
Ahtisaari, former President of Finland.
Martin McGuinness
was asked to chair the meeting by Cyril Ramaphosa, who was an aide
to Nelson Mandela, and a chief negotiator in the effort to end
apartheid in South Africa.
Other participants
in the talks included Jeffrey Donaldson, a pro-British Member of
Parliament for Northern Ireland, ANC leaders Mac Maharaj and Rashid
Ismail; co-chair of the meeting was Roelf Meyer, who was Minister of
Defense under F. W. DeKlerk, and was Member of Parliament for the
pro-apartheid National Party.
It must have sent a
powerful message to the Iraqi leaders in attendance to see former
enemies—Northern Irish republicans and loyalists, South African ANC
and National Party—sitting together, sharing the stories of their
people’s struggles, outlining their own paths from violent
resistance to peaceful negotiation.
The four days of
talks (August 31 through September 3, 2007) lead to the following
12-point agreement, based upon the Mitchell Principles, outlined by
George Mitchell as the groundwork leading up to the Good Friday
Agreement:
Helsinki Agreement
1. To resolve all
political issues through non-violence and democracy.
2. To prohibit the use of arms for all armed groups during
the process of negotiations.
3. To form an independent commission approved by all parties,
its task being to supervise the process of disarmament of
non-governmental armed groups in a verifiable manner.
4. All parties will commit to accept the results of the
negotiations and no party can be subject to a threat of force from
any groups that reject all or part of any agreement reached.
5. To work to end international and regional interference in
internal Iraqi affairs.
6. To commit to protect human rights.
7. To assure the independence and efficiency of the legal and
justice systems, especially the constitutional court.
8. To ensure the full participation of all Iraqi parties and
blocs in the political process and agreed governance arrangements.
9. To take all necessary steps to end all violence, killings,
forced displacement and any further damage to infrastructure.
10. To establish an independent consultative body to explore
ways to deal with the legacy of the past in a way that will unite
the nation.
11. All Iraqi parties and blocs have to build Iraq and
contribute efficiently to support all the efforts that would make
the political process and Iraqi unity successful and to preserve its
sovereignty.
12. All
participating groups must commit to all of the principles listed
here as a complete system of rules.
Due to the fragile
nature of these first peace talks, the names of the Iraqi
participants have not been released, and there’s still a long way to
go before a lasting peace can be accomplished. Please keep the
Iraqi peace movement leaders in your prayers; if you’d like to learn
more about the Helsinki Agreement, turn off the TV and read a few of
these articles from the international and alternative press:
Iraq
: Helsinki agreement provides hope for the future
http://www.anphoblacht.com/news/detail/20563
Northern Ireland,
South Africa in Secret Iraq Peace Talks
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071015/hayden
NI figures boost Iraq peace talks
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/6977190.stm