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Register Now for Grassroots Nonviolence Training

Grassroots Advocacy Training Day (March 7-8th) is the perfect opportunity to build your skills as an activist and make an impact on US Israeli-Palestinian conflict policy.  This event will be located at American University in Washington D.C where peace-builders will gather to demand an end to Israel’s siege in Gaza.

Click here for more information.

Click here to register.

Apply for the Fletcher Summer Institute

The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict is now accepting applications for the Fletcher Summer Institute for the Advanced St

udy of Nonviolent Conflict at Tufts University.  This week long program will run at the end of June and feature a variety of scholars from around the world. Nonviolence International encourages anyone interested to apply.

Click here to view the flyer.

Click here for more information and to download application.

Andres Conteris Available to Speak in Washington D.C. in March

Andres Conteris, the Nonviolence International director of the Latin America programs, is planning on coming to Washington DC around

March 15th will be available for speaking engagements for two to three weeks. If you have any interest in hosting him to give a detailed account of his experience in Honduras, talk about his mission as a whole or fund future endeavors, please contact us at info@nonviolenceinternational.net.

Mubarak Awad’s Speaking Tour

Nonviolence International is planning a North American speaking tour for Mubarak Awad in May and June 2010.  If you would like to host him for a speaking or fundraising event please contact us at info@nonviolenceinternational.net.

2010 El-Hibri Peace Education Prize Now Accepting Nominations

The El-Hibri Peace Education Prize recognizes outstanding peace educators based in the United States by awarding $10,000 annually to an individual or organization making valuable contributions to peace education and social justice in the Middle East.

We are currently accepting nominations until June 6, 2010.

Click here for more information.

Refusing to be Enemies: Palestinian and Israeli Nonviolent Resistance to the Israeli Occupation

Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta’s new book Refusing to be Enemies: Palestinian and Israeli Nonviolent Resistance to th

e Israeli Occupation, presents the viewpoints of many nonviolent activists in Israel and Palestine as they discuss their struggle and hope for change in the future. This includes contributions from NI board members Mubarak Awad, Sami Awad and Jonathan Kuttab.

For full text of publisher’s blurb click here.

Update from Honduras
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For the last two weeks Andres Conteris, the Director of the Americas Program for Nonviolence International, has been living inside the Brazilian Embassy in Honduras with ousted president Manuel Zelaya. He speaks frequently with Democracy Now! on conditions within the Embassy, as well as in the country. Andres gives us a very real picture of the tense situation and efforts to reverse the coup d’etat. To see the latest interviews with Andres follow these links!

Internal Pressure Forces Honduran Coup Regime to Reverse Civil Liberties Crackdown, But Repression Continues

Report from Honduras: Ousted President Manuel Zelaya Returns to Honduras in Defiance of Coup Government

EXCLUSIVE: Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya Speaks from Nicaraguan Border on Who’s Behind the Coup, His Attempts to Return Home, the Role of the United States and More

Check out our training manual for defense against coup d’etats!

Written by Richard K. Taylor, the manual is one of the resources Nonviolence International is using to assist the resistance to the Coup D’etat in Honduras.

Training Manual for Nonviolent Defense Against the Coup D’etat Added under the Resources Section


Focus on Burma

Democracy advocate and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s recent call to trial by the Burmese government has led to a global outcry against the oppressive military regime.  People all over the world have been rallying in support of the leader and her cause. OnMonday, May 18, 2009 Nonviolence International (NI) joined in the fight, co-sponsoring a protest with the U.S. Campaign for Burma (UCSB).

About 50 people including three NI staff members gathered in front of the Burmese Embassy in Washington, D.C. to show their support.

They waved posters of Suu Kyi and shouted, “Free, free, freeBurma! Free, free Aung San Suu Kyi!”.  Attendees took turns speaking to those inside the embassy through a bullhorn, demanding that they put pressure on officials inBurma.

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“We hope to get the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s only hope to democracy. Her house arrest term ends in two weeks and the junta is only looking for ways to keep her away,” said Co-chair of USCB Tin Maung Thaw. Rally attendee George Heine agreed, “To put her down for further detention is a very low down scheme”.  Human rights advocates and Suu Kyi’s lawyer believe that the Burmese junta is using this as an excuse to keep the popular pro-democracy leader away from the Burmese population until their puppet candidates are elected to office in the upcoming 2010 Burmese election.
The group later protested outside the White House, and were greeted by over 200 Tamil Sri Lankans, who were there protesting the killing of Tamils by the hands of the Sri Lankan government.
Nonviolence International Southeast Asia has also been continuing their work inBurma with their recent publication, Speaking Truth to Power: The Methods of Nonviolent Struggle in Burma. The goal of the publication is to introduce to the general public the methods of strategic nonviolent political struggle being used to oppose and undermine the military rule inBurma/Myanmar.

The publication focuses on the activists of central Burma, who conducted a primarily nonviolent campaign in order to gain access to the country’s political life. They were democratically elected to seats in the 1990 elections, but the military junta has blocked them from assuming power. The publication documents over 34 methods of nonviolent action the activists have employed while revealing the story behind the human rights reportson Burma.

To download the publication click here!

How can Nonviolence International supporters help?

There is an urgent need to translate this fabulous publication into Burmese, making it accessible to the general Burmese public. We need $7,000.00 to translate publish and distribute it. Donate now and help empower Burmese citizens to end their military dictatorship!

NI Goes to Oslo
In May 2009, Nonviolence International founder, Mubarak Awad, travelled to Oslo, Norway for a conference held by the Norwegian Peace Foundation. Dr. Awad joined officials from the Norwegian government, members of various NGO’s, professors on the Middle East, and Norwegian university students to discuss the 1993 Oslo Accords (also known as the “Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements”).
The conference examined the successes and failures of the 1993 Accords, and explored where the declaration stands in today’s political situation. Throughout the three-day conference pro-Israeli and Palestinian speakers offered their views on the conflict. However, due to technical issues the other Palestinian speakers were unable to obtain travel permits to the country, leaving Dr. Awad in charge of discussing the Palestinian viewpoint.
During the conference Dr. Awad gave lectures on nonviolent strategy and action, conflict transformation and peace-building, the prospects for nonviolent resistance in Palestine, and the first Intifada. He explained how the nonviolent approach of the Intifada created a positive worldwide image for the cause, and gained support that would have been impossible to achieve through an armed struggle.
He had several interviews over the course of the weekend by students, NGO’s, and the Norwegian National Radio in which he discussed the Intifada and how Palestinians can still use nonviolent methods as an effective force against the Israeli occupation.
Dr. Awad also led a roundtable dialogue highlighting the five main reasons the 1993 Oslo Accords failed to create a lasting peace. They were:
  • The document was originally kept secret from the Palestinian public, thus making them suspicious of the document in general, and the fact that the government could work towards peace without the knowledge of the people.
  • The majority of Palestinian citizens were in favor of a separate conference that was going on at the same time which was committed to a discussion of the occupation.
  • The Palestinian leadership in Tunisia felt that the push from the Oslo Accords to make Israel and the United States recognize the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was enough to eventually reach a two-state solution.
  • Israel’s continued construction of settlements in Palestinian territory, the division of Palestinian land into segments by Israel and the installation of road checks within this space, and the destruction of Palestinian economy to the point that unemployment was raised to more than 40% contributed to a general lack of support for the Accords.
  • The Palestinian public became increasingly frustrated with the PLO due to financial corruption, and a lack of governance and adherence to civil society and human rights. This led to increased support for Hamas, an Islamic group, rather than keeping the secular PLO in leadership.
Dr. Awad wishes to thank the Norwegian government for their continued effort with this difficult conflict, and asks them to keep supporting civil society and including the Palestinian people in the process