Good News Agency – Year II, n° 2
Weekly - Year II, number 2 –
26 January 2001
Managing Editor: Sergio Tripi,
Ph. D.
Rome
Law-court registration no. 265 dated 20 June 2000.
Good News Agency carries positive and constructive news from all over the world relating to voluntary work, the work of the United Nations, non governmental organizations, and institutions engaged in improving the quality of life – news that doesn’t “burn out” in the space of a day.
Good News Agency is distributed through internet to over 1,200 editorial offices of the daily newspapers and periodical magazines and of the radio and television stations with an e-mail address in 16 countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and it is available in its web site:
It is a free of
charge service of Associazione Culturale
dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà Mondiale, a registered non-profit
educational organization chartered in Italy in 1979. The Association operates
for the development of consciousness and supports the activities of the Lucis
Trust, the U. N. University for Peace, Radio For Peace International, The Club
of Budapest and other organizations promoting a culture of peace in the ‘global
village’ perspective based on unity within diversity and on sharing. Via
Antagora 10, 00124 Rome, Italy. E-mail: s.tripi@tiscalinet.it
Contents:
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International Legislation
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Health
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Disarmament
and Peace
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Environment and Wildlife
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Economy
and Development
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Culture
and Education
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Solidarity
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“TOWARDS A NEW CIVILIZATION”: AN INTERVIEW WITH MIKHAIL
GORBACHEV
(TOP)
Argentine
court prohibits ship carrying nuclear waste from entering its waters
12 January - The Federal Court
of Appeals in Buenos Aires ruled on Wednesday that the Argentine government
should take steps to prohibit a British-flagged boat carrying nuclear waster
from entering the country's waters.
Citing the possibility of “irreversible” damage to the public health and the environment, the
three judges of the Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling and stated
that such action is required of the government. The court supported its ruling
with the international law, which seeks to protect the environment and public
affairs of countries around the world, including Argentina.
The ruling comes as the Japanese nuclear freighter “Pacific Swan” sits inside Argentina’s 200 mile economic zone waters, waiting to sail on
its route through the waters off Cape Horn. The ship carries 192 blocks of
highly radioactive nuclear waste, the equivalent of 96 million curies of
radioactivity.
The plutonium nuclear waste
found on the ship comes from Japanese nuclear fuel that is produced in French
state-controlled COGEMA La Hague reprocessing plant.
By Soo Yeom Kim © Earth Times News Service
http://www.earthtimes.org/jan/environmentargentinecourtjan12_01.htm
Nations
agree use of DDT to fight malaria exceeds risks
10 January - Canada and 121
other countries negotiated a landmark anti-pollution treaty late last year, and
bargained DDT right off the list of immediately banned poisons. The treaty is
all the better for that. DDT is a widespread and pernicious menace, and must be
banned completely. But not yet.
The insecticide DDT is one of the 12 nasty chemicals
addressed by the new global treaty on POPs or persistent organic pollutants.
The treaty, once in force, would subject most of these poisons to an immediate
ban. DDT was exempted, after long argument and only for the control of malaria,
until cheap, effective and safer alternatives can be developed.
Notwithstanding DDT's dreadful dangers, the POPs treaty represents a fair compromise for the moment. What's needed now is well-funded research, to find better strategies against malaria and the suffering it causes.
By Jean Lebel © Earth Times News Service
http://www.earthtimes.org/jan/healthnationsagreeusejan10_01.htm
(TOP)
Israeli - Palestinian
Conference for the Promotion of the Culture Of Peace
The latest activity at
IFLAC: PAVE PEACE was a weekend
Conference of Jews and Arab/ Palestinians,
on "The Importance of the Culture of Peace in the Middle East
Nowadays," at Zichron
Yaacov, on January 12 and 13. The constructive debate showed the
determination of the participants of both sides to contribute to identify ways
to solve the present crucial situation. The program included panels, workshops
and roundtable. One of the major Resolutions of the Conference was that
the wide media “such as CNN, NBC, BBC, and Satellite should, like the Good
News Agency from Italy and the Positive News paper from England, report
on the positive aspects too, and not only on the negative aspects of the
current situation in the Middle East such as shootings and the
Intefada”.
Further information on the Jewish - Arab collaboration at IFLAC through meetings, conferences, and common celebrations for the promotion of the Culture of Peace in the Middle East are available on: http://tx.technion.ac.il/~ada/home.html
(TOP)
(12 January) An FAO emergency
project in Mozambique is providing farmers with the seeds and tools they need
to start growing food again after flooding from last year's violent cyclones
wiped out crops and livestock. The damage was worst in seven southern and
central provinces, where about 25 percent of the planted crop was lost, or 6
percent of the national total.
While farmers wait for flood waters to fully recede,
the FAO project, which is funded by the Italian Government, is helping them to
grow subsistence crops. "We are distributing almost 3 500 tonnes of
seeds and 400 000 hand tools to over 100 000 farming families,"
explains Bruno Musti, FAO Emergency Team Leader. An association of NGOs is
helping to distribute these farming kits quickly and efficiently.
http://www.fao.org/news/2001/010101-e.htm
IFAD to assist a usd 41.77 million food security project in the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Rome, 11 January 2001 – A USD 41.77 million project the ‘Uplands Food Security Project’ in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, will receive a USD 24.44 million
loan from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). A loan
agreement was signed today at the Fund’s Headquarters by H.E. Kim Hung Rim and John Westley,
Vice - President of the Fund…
Project beneficiaries will be approximately 18 000
households, comprising some 76 000 individuals, in the 46 low-income,
food-insecure cooperative farms. About 36 000 among them are
workers/shareholders in the cooperative farms, 56% of whom are working women.
http://www.ifad.org/press/2001/01-01.htm
Cambodia to receive IFAD support for a rural development project worth
Usd 22.85 million
Rome, 11 January 2001 – A USD 22.85 million project the ‘Community-Based Rural Development Project’ in the Kingdom of Cambodia, will receive a USD 10
million loan from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). A
loan agreement was signed today at the Fund’s Headquarters by H.E. Keat Chhon, Senior Minister,
Minister of Economy and Finance and John Westley, Vice - President of the Fund…
The target group includes 77 400 poor households
living below the poverty line of USD 112 per year. It is expected that at full
development about 49 600 families will benefit directly from this project.
http://www.ifad.org/press/2001/01-02.htm
Wind farm in the USA
(11 January) The border of Washington and Oregon will
soon be home to the world's largest wind farm, producing enough power for
70,000 homes in 11 Western states. The wind-power company FPL Energy of
Florida is beginning construction of the 450-turbine, 300-megawatt project next
month and hopes to have it on-line by the end of the year. Oregon-based
PacifiCorp has pledged to buy power from the farm for at least 25 years.
Enviros, some of whom helped site the project to avoid bird flyways, are giving
the project a big thumbs up.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/SeattleTimes.woa/wa/
http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/imho/imho082100.stm
New technology for future cars
(9 January) At the annual Detroit auto show today,
Ford announced plans to introduce a new technology to Ford Explorers in 2004 to
raise their fuel efficiency 42 percent, from 19 to 27 miles per gallon.
The electric technology, which will cost willing buyers less than $1,000 extra,
will boost fuel efficiency and lower emissions by automatically shutting down a
gasoline engine when the vehicle stops and then restarting it when the driver
steps on the accelerator. Meanwhile, General Motors says it will begin offering
a wide range of vehicles powered by hybrid gas-electric engines in 2004.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/09/business/09AUTO.html
http://www.latimes.com/business/20010109/t000002319.html
http://www.pioneerplanet.com/business/biz_docs/036415.htm
World
Social Forum – Porto Alegre, Brazil, 25-29 January
The World Social Forum will be
a new international arena for the creation and exchange of social and economic projects
that promote human rights, social justice and sustainable development. It will
take place every year in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil, during the same
period as the World Economic Forum, which happens in Davos, Switzerland, at the
end of January.
The World Social Forum will
provide a space for building economic alternatives, for exchanging experiences
and for strengthening South-North alliances between NGOs, unions and social movements.
It will also be an opportunity for developing concrete projects, to educate the
public, and to mobilize civil society internationally. The World Social Forum
developed as a consequence of a growing international movement that advocates
for greater participation of civil societies in international financial
institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and
the World Trade Organization (WTO).
http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/ingles/forum/Amanifesto.htm
Thousands
in Northwest to benefit from wind power
11 January - While power
shortages in California are making headlines, PacifiCorp, a Pacific Northwest
power company Wednesday announced plans to build a wind-powered electricity
generation complex large enough to supply 70,000 homes per year.
The project should be on line within a year, according
to a company spokesman. The 450-turbines will be put on local farms on the
Washington-Oregon border southwest of Walla Walla, Wash, according to a
PacifiCorp spokesman, and generate some 300 megawatts of electricity.
The complex, called the Stateline Wind Generating Project, will create an average of 150 construction jobs, with a peak need of some 350 workers, PacifiCorp said.
By Robert E. Sullivan © Earth
Times News Service
http://www.earthtimes.org/jan/businessthousandsinjan11_01.htm
Involving
business in conflict resolution
Tel Aviv, 14 January -- On the
eve of the upcoming World Economic Forum at Davos, Haim Roet, initiator of
"Business for Global Stability", has issued a dramatic challenge from
his home in Jerusalem in midst of the current Mideast crisis, to Prof. Schwab,
Chairman of the Forum to channel the expertise and experience of the business
community in helping to facilitate peace. Roet (who has maintained contacts
with Forum executives over the past few years) points out that "the
business community not only has a stake in a global world, but it has much
assistance to offer in conflict prevention, management and resolution..."
and that various forums including the Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum,
New York City University and the State of the World Forum have raised the issue
in conferences conducted over the past year.
In essence, the concept envisaged by Marcello Palazzi, (co-founder of Progressio Foundation, initiator of recent United Nations World Business Forums, the First Enterprise Summit of the State of the World Forum, and the Millenium Enterprise Summit), and Haim Roet, (former analyst at the World Bank and founder of several associations to advance quality management and tolerance) would take globalization an important step further by involving the business sector in war and peace issues such as conflict prevention, resolution and the peace process.
By Shoshana Bekerman © Earth
Times News Service
http://www.earthtimes.org/jan/businessinvolvingbusinessjan14_01.htm
(TOP)
WFP to feed more afghan refugees in Pakistan
Islamabad - 11 January 2001 -
The World Food Programme today announced that it will help feed 60,000 newly
arrived Afghan refugees in Pakistan in 2001, more than double the number of
refugees it has been helping only six months ago. "The WFP has been
struggling to feed more Afghan refugees since late September when renewed
fighting in the northeast of Afghanistan took its toll on a population already
suffering from the worst drought to hit this country in decades," said
Mike Sackett, WFP Regional Manager for West and Central Asia region.
The UN food aid agency is already providing monthly
food rations to about 57,000 refugees in two camps near Peshawar, Pakistan, and
under this new operation it plans to continue feeding them for up to another 12
months. "The new operation, which will bring more than 12,000 tons of food
to the poorest 60,000 refugees at a total cost of US$ 4.87 million, will help
the Government of Pakistan cope with this mounting burden," Jeff
Taft-Dick, WFP Deputy Country Director in Pakistan, said.
http://www.wfp.org/prelease/2001/011100.htm
El Salvador earthquake: WFP launches emergency operation
WFP has approved an initial emergency aid package of
US$200,000 aimed at helping survivors of the devastating earthquake that struck
El Salvador on January 13.
With the President declaring a state of emergency and
appealing for international aid, WFP El Salvador has met the United Nations
Disaster Management Team to co-ordinate the overall response to the emergency.
WFP El Salvador has been in the forefront of the
initial response, co-ordinating relief and aid for survivors with the National
Emergency Committee. The Programme has already set up emergency food
warehouses. Precooked rations are being distributed in the worst hit
areas of Santa Tecla, Comasagua, the department of La Libertad and in
Ahuachapan.
Israel
and the occupied/autonomous territories: ICRC distributes food parcels in
Hebron
(11 January) Families who have
been worst hit by the strict curfew imposed on Palestinian residents of Hebron
for the last three months have been receiving food parcels as part of an
ongoing distribution programme organized by the ICRC and the Palestine Red
Crescent Society.
In all, around 2,500 families
will receive a one-off food parcel donated by the Kuwait Red Crescent Society
and containing basic provisions such as rice, sugar, and oil. The distribution
began last week and is expected to take about 10 days.
http://www.icrc.org/icrceng.nsf/
UN agencies join forces to assess needs of quake victims in El Salvador
17 January – A United Nations inter-agency mission began its work
today in El Salvador, where it is assessing the emergency needs of thousands of
people affected by last Saturday's devastating earthquake near the capital, San
Salvador.
Working closely with the UN Disaster Assessment and
Coordination team and the Government of El Salvador, the team aims to quantify
the level of needs and the number of beneficiaries, a UN spokesman told the
press in New York.
Meanwhile, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) is mobilizing to assist national authorities in coping with the
earthquake's effects on the agricultural sector. In cooperation with the
Ministry of Agriculture and other agencies, the organization is helping to
identify the needs of farmers affected by the disaster and provide the
assistance and resources needed to get them back on their feet, the spokesman
said.
To meet the immediate food needs of the disaster
victims, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is preparing to launch an emergency
appeal to help up to 200,000 people left without homes or belongings, according
to a statement released today at the agency's headquarters in Rome.
http://www.un.org/News/dh/latest/page2.html#12
(TOP)
WHO launches mental health 2001 campaign
10 January 2001 - In a bid to focus attention on the
stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health, the World Health
Organization (WHO) is launching a year-long campaign on mental health. WHO is
daring governments, health professionals and people from all walks of life to
rise to the challenge posed by mental and brain disorders.
The issue will be put before the annual gathering of
WHO’s 191 Member
States during the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May 2001. Four ministerial
round tables will discuss poverty, discrimination, gender and human rights
aspects of mental health. The winners of WHO’s global school contest on mental health will also be
invited to read their winning essays before the WHA.
World Health Report 2001 will cover topics such as the
prevalence of mental health disorders, the organization and financing of mental
health programmes, the treatment gap, prevention strategies and projected
trends for the future.
http://www.who.int/inf-pr-2000/en/pr2001-01.html
Supporting Cameroon's Fight Against HIV/AIDS
Washington, January 11, 2001 - Millions of Cameroonians affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic will
benefit from a US$50 million credit approved by the World Bank's Board of Directors.
The Multi-Sectoral HIV/AIDS Project will help strengthen the capacity of local
communities to design and implement action plans for HIV/AIDS and also support
the design and implementation of sector specific HIV/AIDS strategies.
To respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Cameroon, the
government developed a National Strategy for the fight against HIV/AIDS last
year with the help of UNAIDS. Only three months after the prime minister
launched that strategy on September 12, 2000, the government submitted a
detailed proposal to the World Bank for scaling-up existing efforts at
prevention and treatment, and ensuring nation-wide coverage. This project is
part of the bank's Multi-country HIV/AIDS Program, which is supporting the
emergency response to the epidemic in an increasing number of countries in the
Africa Region.
http://wbln0018.worldbank.org/news/pressrelease.nsf/
Sierra Leone: ADB grants US $500,000 to fight malaria
(12 January) The African Development Bank has agreed
to a grant of US $500,000 for Sierra Leone's anti-malaria programme, the
state-owned news agency, SLENA, reported.
Of this amount, $258,400 will be used to buy
anti-malarial drugs, $110,000 for mosquito nets, $52,300 for insecticides,
$58,800 for spraying equipment and $5,000 for physical contingency. The agency
did not say how the remaining money would be used.
The grant agreement, which forms part of the bank's
Humanitarian Emergency Relief Support Project in post-conflict situations, was
signed on Friday in Abidjan.
(EVANSTON, Illinois, USA) Seventy Rotary volunteers
from the United States and Japan left for New Delhi, India, the week of 15
January 2001 to prepare for a nationwide polio immunization campaign — India's final push against the disease.
India, which hosts 70 percent of the world's polio
cases, is making rapid progress toward the final interruption of poliovirus
transmission. At the end of 2001, it is hoped that India will reach "zero
case status".
On 21 January 2001, Rotary volunteers from
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Bakersfield, California, USA; Riverside,
California, USA; and Aomori, Japan, joined Rotary club members in India to
administer the polio vaccine to more than 150 million children throughout the
country in a single day. The national immunization day (NID) will be followed
by a door-to-door "mop up" campaign, with volunteers moving from
house to house to ensure that no child has been missed.
Rotary's PolioPlus program represents the largest
private-sector support of a global health initiative. To date, Rotary has
contributed US$402 million to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. By 2005,
Rotary will have committed nearly US$500 million.
http://www.rotary.org/press/releases/86.htm
(TOP)
Hong Kong: car free zone
(10 January) Hong Kong plans to create car-free zones in
parts of its central business district to improve the city's air quality.
Just this week, high pollution levels prompted government officials to urge
people with respiratory and heart problems to stay indoors. Late last
year, the city legislature more than doubled the penalty placed on dirty cars
to $128. Elsewhere on the Hong Kong enviro radar, the city's high court
sided with the government and ruled yesterday that a 145-acre valley that is
home to more than 70 species of dragonflies should be kept off-limits to
development.
http://www.cnn.com/2001/NATURE/01/08/environment.hongkong.reut/index.html
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=9477
(10 January) Federal conservation laws have cut the
rate of wetland loss in the U.S. by about 80 percent, according to a report
released yesterday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Between 1986
and 1997, the report said, the lower 48 states lost an average of 58,500 acres
of wetlands a year, compared to 290,000 acres a year from the mid-1970s to '80s
(when there were many more wetlands acres left to destroy). The report noted
that the goal of no net loss of wetlands has yet to be met. It said
development, farming, and forestry projects accounted for most of the remaining
loss of wetlands.
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/doc/1047/1:POLITICS32A/1:POLITICS32A0109101.html
http://wetlands.fws.gov/bha/SandT/SandTReport.html
Cameroon: Experts to treat volcanic lakes
(12 January) A team of 10 environmental experts have
begun work to release toxic gas from the volcanic lakes of Nyos and Monoun, AFP
reported on Tuesday. The scientists -
from the United States, Japan and France - will build a filtering device to
release the carbon gases slowly into the atmosphere. Over the next three to
five years, the team will install a mechanism that will eliminate all risks of
future toxic gas accidents, AFP reported. A build-up of toxic gas within the
lakes was released into the atmosphere in 1984 and 1986. In the 1986 Lake Nyos
incident 1,600 people were killed. The lake lies 500 km west of Yaounde, the capital of 1.2 million
residents.
(TOP)
UNDP aids Pakistan’s election operations and women’s political participation
Two Government Ministers and Pakistan's elections
chief joined UNDP in launching a new initiative to modernize electoral
operations and promote women's political participation at a ceremony in last
month in Islamabad.
The United Kingdom and Norway are providing $1.8
million and $1.4 million respectively to support the UNDP-managed project.
The initiative will help the Election Commission of
Pakistan revamp its operations and improve electoral management. It will also
support civil society organizations in awareness raising and other activities
to promote greater participation of women in the electoral process.
"Electoral assistance and women's participation
in decision making are important areas of the country cooperation framework of
UNDP," said Onder Yucer, UNDP Resident Representative. "We are
encouraged by the Government's decision to implement the local bodies elections
starting and by the decision to reserve 33 per cent of union council seats for
women."
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
Japan funds Unesco/Keizo Obuchi Programme of Fellowships for young
researchers
Paris, January 10 (No.2001-1) - Japan will finance -
through new funds-in-trust dedicated to capacity building of human resources -
the UNESCO/Keizo Obuchi Research Fellowship Programme that will award 20
fellowships of US$7,500 each to young researchers over 2001 and the same amount
in 2002.
The programme - named after late Japanese Prime
Minister Keizo Obuchi known for his commitment to development issues who died
in May 2000 - will award fellowships to researchers active in one of four
fields: the environment, inter-cultural dialogue, information and communication
technologies and peaceful conflict resolution. The programme will cover a
period of three and a half years and
will involve a total of nearly US$396,000.
http://www.unesco.org/opi/eng/unescopress/2000/01-01e.shtml
Opening of exhibition of contemporary Georgian painting
Paris, January 15 (No.2001-03) - UNESCO
Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura praised the “excellent collaboration” between UNESCO and the Republic of Georgia as he
opened an exhibition of contemporary Georgian painters, 21 Artists for the 21st Century at Organization H.Q.
Mr Matsuura spoke of the regional Caucasus project
initiated by President Edward Shevardnadze. The project, which includes
Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, “aims to establish a climate of political
reconciliation and good relations between these States and to open new avenues
of co-operation between this area of the Caucasus and UNESCO”. He also spoke of the establishment of a network of
educational institutes and science academies in the three countries as well as “other instances of co-operation concerning heritage
and biosphere reserves.”
http://www.unesco.org/opi/eng/unescopress/2000/01-03e.shtml
UNESCO
launches educational programme for refugee-children
Columbia, 18 January – About
40.000 refugee-children from the internal conflict that is covering Columbia
with blood will be able to continue their studies thanks to an educational
programme financed by Unesco. The UN agency committed itself with the ministry
of education of that Country to start a programme that will involve first the
communes of Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena, Cali, Bucamaranga, Barrancabermeja,
Valledupar, and Montena. The initiative includes also the training of teachers
and a literacy programme for adults, through the creation of community schools
where the same refugees will be involved.
Program trains volunteers for
relief projects in Mozambique
13 January - Campus California
Teacher Group, a US newly-organized non-profit organization, has launched a
program to train volunteers for rural work in Mozambique.
The 14 month program includes six months of training in the woods of northern California and six months on the ground in Mozambique helping rural farmers with disease control, latrine building, AIDS prevention and some English language instruction. The final two months are to be spent in the United States drumming up support for the program by, among other things, showing off the pictures snapped back in Africa.
The course costs $3,800 and
includes air fare both ways, according to program director Tomas Lindstrom. He
said scholarship money is available.
About two thirds of the first
training group, starting in March, are on scholarship, he said.
Lindstrom said details are
posted on the group's website: www.cctg.org
By Robert E. Sullivan © Earth
Times News Service
http://www.earthtimes.org/jan/developmentprogramtrainsjan13_01.htm
“TOWARDS A
NEW CIVILIZATION”
(TOP)
After leaving political
responsibilities, Mikhail Gorbachev set
up the Gorbachev Foundation, which carries out scientific research on the fundamental
tendencies of world development. As President of the Foundation, he appreciates
the role of Good News Agency in the creation of a more aware public opinion and agreed to give an interview to its Publisher and Editor, Sergio Tripi, on
these themes and on Good News Agency’s initiative to promote a deontological
code of the media.
Sergio Tripi: Why does the
western world still today, after the fall of the Berlin wall, spend 30-40 times
more on arms than on official assistance to development?
Mikhail Gorbachev: The answer is on
the whole simple, because social and
national egoism unfortunately prevail over ideas of humanism, solidarity and
love for one’s neighbour. Arms are a very profitable business and aid to
countries in need does not bring immediate profits. Although, if one looks at
the problem in rational terms, it is clear that, if the problems of development
and eliminating poverty are not resolved, the whole world, including the west, will find that it has to
face extremely difficult trials in the very near future.
S.T. Which threat is
more serious for humanity, that originating from the environmental impact of
human activities which are out of control, or the devastating consequences of
the absurd economic imbalance between the North and South of the world? And
which threats are, in their respective spheres, the most dramatic and pressing?
Mikhail Gorbachev: Each is as bad
as the other. In the twenty-first century environmental questions will cause
ever greater problems and difficulties for everyone. Think, for example, of the
warming up of the climate which has already caused real disasters. And this is
only the beginning. The South of the world, especially Africa, has become an
ever vaster area of humanitarian catastrophe.
An aggravation of this catastrophe would have fatal consequences for
millions of people in the South of the world. And at the same time it would
start conflicts of various kinds, new waves of uncontrolled migration and
phenomena, not excluding wars, of a vast scope.
I would like to underline particularly the fact that both the threats
are essentially connected. The very wretched situation of the South constitutes
one of the causes of the environmental crisis. The insufficiency of aid to
development on the part of the advanced countries is accompanied frequently by
the transfer from North to South of ecologically harmful products and all this
makes both the difficulties of the
South and the environmental crisis worse.
S.T. How much time
does humanity have to face these threats? What are the main obstacles which
block the individual and social changes necessary to accelerate an inversion
of the trend?
Mikhail Gorbachev: When the
scientists, in the first place those of the Club of Rome, began to raise the
alarm regarding the environmental threat, the possibility of a crisis of
energy, etc. - this happened not so long ago, in the sixties of the century
which has just ended - they were criticized by everyone. Especially by those
who, for profit, were interested in continuing the predatory exploitation of
nature and the dissipation of the resources of the Planet. That was a very
short time ago, and today any reasonable person recognizes that those
scientists were right.
It is difficult to foresee the precise timing of catastrophic,
irreversible changes in nature and the exhaustion of different types of
resources; in fact, on the one hand science goes ahead and new possibilities
and new resources are opened up and, on the other, the consequences of the
“supremacy” of man over nature turn out, ever more frequently, to be more
destructive than they seemed to be a short time ago. In any case, even the most
optimistic forecasts are a cause for concern.
The irreversible changes in nature, the alteration of the balance
between biosphere and technosphere are there for all to see. To turn back is
now in many cases impossible. Today the situation is such that we have to
understand how to avoid new catastrophes. In any case, the twenty-first will be
the century which will severely test the solidity and the survival of our
civilization. We must not forget this.
S.T. In this context,
what contribution do the activities of the Foundation which carries your name
make?
Mikhail Gorbachev: Ours is essentially a Foundation for
scientific research. We deal with the study of the fundamental tendencies of
world development, including, naturally, the above-mentioned aspects. Our
conclusion is that humanity must change structurally and go towards a new
civilization which is peaceful and human and which guarantees development to
all, in the first place to those who need it, a civilization which is, in the
full sense of the word, ecological. You are right, profound changes are needed
on the individual and social level. From this comes the slogan of the
Foundation: towards a new civilization. Our activity, I hope, stimulates a
process of acquiring knowledge and of taking concrete steps for their
application. This means that our work is useful.
S.T. What is the most
promising evidence of the undeniable change which is taking place, of which the
most significant sign is represented by an army of many tens of millions of
people who make voluntary service their reason for living?
Mikhail Gorbachev: In effect, the
non-governmental forces, those volunteers who, without sparing their energies,
participate in actions of assistance to developing countries and to their
peoples and who participate in environmental movements today carry out a more
effective role than that played in many interventions carried out by
governments. In general the activity of the non-governmental organizations,
including the millions of volunteers of different countries, social groups and
religions, is becoming increasingly a visible and serious force. Their attempt
to assist the state structures, as well as the entrepreneurial spheres, and to
recognize the character and the danger of today’s situation, and to act in
consequence, deserves every possible support.
S.T. Why are the media still not sufficiently aware
of this formidable social expression of voluntary service? What evidence will
make them more attentive to this profound social transformation, still not
predominant but nevertheless always growing?
Mikhail Gorbachev: The means of
mass information are not all alike. There are many which reserve ever greater
attention for this new and growing phenomenon
In essence, however, the principal mass media - you are right - for the
moment “do not notice” what is happening in the consciousness and social action
of the voluntary service. Evidently the answer is to be sought in the ownership
of these mass media and in the interests which they express.
S.T. Do you think
that a deontological code of the media, of which our Good News Agency is a
promoter, a code which underlines the responsibility of the media in the
information and balanced formation of public opinion, can be received by the
media to the point of accelerating their readiness to consider positive news as
worthy of as much attention as negative news?
Mikhail Gorbachev: I think that a
code of this type is without doubt useful. At the second Forum of the Nobel
Peace Laureates in Rome, among the points in the order of the day was in fact
examined the question of the responsibility of the mass media for the situation
of the “third world”. The closing communiqué of the Forum says in particular:
“The modern system of the mass media is living an unprecedented crisis which
prevents it from giving to the people of the planet a correct and true picture
of the situation”. Later on it is underlined in the communiqué that the roots
of this crisis are in the subordination of the policy and action of the
information and communication community to powerful economic interests.
I think that the code, of which your agency is the promoter and
supporter, can favour the improvement of the present situation. But obviously
it is difficult to foresee to what extent and in what period of time the mass
media will receive the advice contained in it. Let’s be hopeful!
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Next
issue: 9 February.
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