| Desmond Tutu on Palestine " Whenever I am asked if I am optimistic about an end to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, I say that I am not. Optimism requires clear signs that things are changing - meaningful words and unambiguous actions that point to real progress. I do not yet hear enough meaningful words, nor do I yet see enough unambiguous deeds to justify optimism..." read |
Women Nobel peace laureates demand Myanmar's junta free Suu Kyi |
October 12: Al Gore wins the Nobel Peace Prize |
| October 2: Carter and Tutu on Elders Mission in Sudan A group of elder statesmen, including former President Carter and Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu, urged all sides in Darfur’s bloodshed to reach a peace deal as the delegation began touring the region Tuesday. read |
October 2: UN Envoy completes mission in Myanmar |
| October 1 : Hints of a vast, grim toll in Myanmar A must read article in the New York Times (free subscription required). read |
| Sept 23: Suu Kyi meets protesting monks Hundreds of demonstrating Buddhist monks marched past barricades to the home of Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, raising pressure on the junta by symbolically uniting their growing protest movement with the icon of Myanmar's long struggle for democracy. read |
| Sept 19: Desmond Tutu to head peace mission by world leaders to Sudan A council of peacemaking world leaders and Nobel laureates launched by former president Nelson Mandela is taking up Darfur as its first mission, with a trip to Sudan planned later this month, the organization said Monday. read |
| Aug 3: "Business shouldn’t be the government’s business.” Interview with Muhammad Yunus about the institution he founded in 1976, Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. Yunus won last year’s Nobel Peace Prize for ‘efforts to create economic and social development from below’. read |
| Aug 3: Ramos Horta 'will ask Gusmao to govern' East Timor's president Jose Ramos Horta has said he will ask a coalition led by his predecessor, Xanana Gusmao, to form a government on Monday if rival parties fail to end a deadlock over who should govern the tiny country. read |
Aug 3: China tightens controls on Tibetan Buddhists |
| July 18: Richard Branson forms a band of 'Elders' with Mandela, Carter, Tutu and others
Former South African president Nelson Mandela will be the leading figure in the "Global Elders", a group of "12 wise men and women" who will address global problems by offering expertise and guidance. As well as Mr Mandela and his wife, Graca Machel, the group comprises Desmond Tutu, the Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town; Jimmy Carter, the former American president; Mary Robinson, the former Irish president; Kofi Annan, the former secretary general of the United Nations; and Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel laureate economist and founder of the Green Bank in Bangladesh, where he is known as "banker to the poor". read |
| July 15: Peres, vowing peace, takes Israeli presidency Elder statesman Shimon Peres took office as Israel's ninth president Sunday, pledging to devote his seven-year term in the ceremonial post to his lifelong dream of Middle East peace. read |
| June 13: Shimon Peres Wins Israeli Presidency At 83, elder statesman Shimon Peres was chosen as Israel's ninth president Wednesday, saying he will work to unify the country and restore the dignity of the office. read |
| June 13: Tutu urges justice for Gaza town attack Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu urged Israel on Wednesday to prosecute soldiers responsible for the deaths of 19 Palestinian civilians in a shelling attack on a Gaza town last year. He also called on Palestinian authorities to hold accountable militants who fired rockets into Israel. read |
| May 30: Phillipine government urges Myanmar to release Suu Kyi The Philippine government led members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in calling on Myanmar's military leaders to reverse their decision to extend the house arrest of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a senior Philippine official said. read |
| May 30: Gorbachev criticizes U.S. missile defense system plan Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev criticized Washington's plans to deploy a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, saying it could threaten international security. read |
| May 28: Menchu in Fierce Guatemala Election Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu was proclaimed presidential candidate during a national assembly, amid weekend murders of political activists. read |
| May 28: Peres nominated for Israeli presidency Shimon Peres would restore "honour and respect" to the Israeli presidency, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared Monday when he announced that his 84-year-old deputy prime minister would stand as the Kadima party’s candidate. read |
| May 27: UN Secretary Repeats Call for Release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon repeated his call yesterday for the release of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi after the Burmese junta extended her detention once again. read |
| May 25: Shirin Ebadi: Iranian-Americans political prisoners An Iranian-American woman detained in Tehran is being held illegally and has been repeatedly denied access to an attorney, Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi told CNN on Friday. read |
| May 24: Myanmar extends house arrest for Suu Kyi Myanmar's military government on Friday extended the house arrest of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi for another year, defying an outpouring of international appeals for the Nobel Peace Prize winner's freedom. read |
| May 24:
Tutu recovers from prostate cancer Nobel Peace Prize winning archbishop Desmond Tutu said yesterday he was doing "quite well" following a recent article about the recurrence of his prostate cancer. "I am deeply touched by the expressions of concern and assurances of prayer for my recovery and I thank all concerned," Tutu said. read |
| May 24: Ban cluster bombs, urge six Nobel winners Jody Williams and five other female Nobel prize laureates yesterday urged civilians to press for the elimination of cluster bombs, which cripple children and others long after the fighting has stopped. read |
| May 23:
Security Council commends East Timor for peaceful elections. The U.N. Security Council commended the people of East Timor for holding peaceful presidential elections but expressed concern Wednesday over the volatile security situation in the tiny southeast Asian nation. read |
| May 23: Peres: Israel to Offer New Peace Initiative Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres said Sunday his government would offer a counterproposal to an Arab peace initiative to resolve the conflict with Palestinians. read |
| May 22: Nobel peace laureate Yunus calls for transformation of World Bank. Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus said Tuesday he hoped for a transformation at the World Bank — less than a week after the organization's current president Paul Wolfowitz announced he would resign. The World Bank should be turned into a "bank for the poor" with the aim of ultimately diminishing poverty worldwide, the Bangladeshi Nobel laureate and economist said at the German World Bank Forum. read |
| May 16: Leaders Demand Suu Kyi's release More than 50 former world leaders have signed a letter demanding Myanmar's military government free detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. read |
| May 15: Dalai Lama to abandon political function, focus on spiritual role The Dalai Lama announces his intention to abandon all political functions, retaining only his spiritual role. The decision renders moot all attempts by Beijing to politically condition the choice of the next Dalai Lama. read |
| May 15: Peres running for President Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres will run for president, his aides said. read |
| May 14: Kim Dae-jung pushes Seoul to pursue inter-Korean summit South Korea's former President Kim Dae-jung on Monday urged Seoul to pursue another inter-Korean summit apart from the situation surrounding North Korea's nuclear arms program and said it should take place by August to keep the momentum up. read |
| Article: Oscar Arias on the Middle East 19 years ago, the presidents of Central America tried to reach a peace accord that would end the civil wars ravaging our countries... Only by closing the back door, the door with the easy exit towards the war, did we discover the threshold of peace. Israel and Palestine have gone out that back door to war too many times...read |
| Kim Dae Jung on democracy and South Korea "Dialogue is something which one should pursue not only with countries you like but also with those you don't like. Oppression and sanctions will not be able to yield positive results. The U.S. needs to remember that former communist countries ushered in democratic systems not through a containment policy but through a peaceful approach and mutual cooperation." read |