A real sanctuary for swans, wild geese, ducks and sea gulls, Bruce park is a peaceful place to visit in Greenwich, Connecticut. I enjoy the afternoon sitting on a bench along side of the lake watching 3 swans floating by gently searching for under water weeds and plants to eat. Walking around in the park I saw several groups of wild geese flying in from somewhere to rest and search for food on the green grass lawn near the edge of the lake. Since the park is quite close to the sea, I was looking for sea gulls but did not find them. But I found many kinds of small birds flying around the area. The white gazebo situated in the middle of a big lawn is a gift from the Hortulus Garden Club. It gives the passerby a shelter to get away from the hot summer Sun. In front of the Gazebo, red, pink and yellow roses scattered all over the lawn. The fragrance of those roses attracts swarms of bees and small insects. There are picnic areas and winding paths up and down the hills for skate boarding and bicycling, and also a separate for jogging and walking for exercise.. About 100 acres of this park area are gifts to the town from a wealthy textile merchant, Robert M. Bruce in 1908. He designated his house located in the park for a Natural History, Historical and Art Museum. The only way to go to Bruce Park is by car. From New York City, I took 1-95 Northbound. turn out at Exit 3, then right onto Arch Street, and to Museum Drive. Turn left onto Davis Avenue to go into the park area.
I admire the UN Secretary General for his courage and determination in making another visit to Myanmar tomorrow. After the failure of many previous UN missions to Myanmar to get a dialogue going between the Military Government and the opposition leaders, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon wants to persuade the military government once again to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi in order that the national election, which they plan to conduct next year, will be considered as credible in the eyes of the United Nations and the international community. On the same day of Mr. Ban Ki-moon’s arrival, the Court resumes the meeting, that was earlier postponed, on Aung San Suu Kyi to make a final decision on her case. Many people do not have much hope for her release at this time, saying that the generals are afraid of her and do not want her to have anything to do with the next election. I hope to see a success of the Secretary-General difficult mission. After all these years of campaigning to free her, it will be nice to see that miracle can happen, that Aung San Suu Kyi is finally free and out of jail.
At Trieste, Italy, the High-level representatives of the Russian Federation, the European Union, the United States and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, known as the “Quartet”, issued a common statement on Middle East Peace at the end of their meeting on 26 June. This Statement covers the calling on Israel and the Palestinians to implement their obligations under past peace agreements, called the “Road Map”. It affirms that unilateral actions taken by either party cannot prejudge the outcome of negotiations, and will not be recognized by the international community. Israel was asked again to freeze all settlement activities, including natural growth. The outposts that Israel erected since March 2001 have to be dismantled. Israel’s provocative actions in East Jerusalem, including home demolition and evictions also have to stop. The “Quartet” asks the Palestinian Government to continue to improve law and order, to fight violent extremism, and to enhance its efforts to build the institutions of the future Palestinian State. Both the Israeli and the Palestinians have to stop incitement and violence against civilians. The “Quartet” supports dialogue among all States in the region and the Arab peace initiative. Expressing serious concern at the humanitarian and human rights situation of the civilian population in Gaza, the “Quartet” called for the unimpeded provision and distribution throughout Gaza of humanitarian assistance, including food, fuel, and medical treatment. Even if the “Quartet” recognized that Israel has “legitimate security concerns”, to safeguard it is going to be difficult. Not because of action by the Palestinians but because of Israeli’s own action in continuing of aggressive behavior towards civilian population in Gaza and the West Bank. Not only that, the fact that Israel is one of the eight states (US, Russia, China, Britain, France, India, Pakistan, Israel) that hold large amount of nuclear weapons in its arsenals, the Arab countries see that as a threat to them. Arab countries have “legitimate security concerns” as well. Agenda for peace in the Middle East has to include action by countries that are members of the “Quartet” to stop selling more arms to Israel and to apply economic sanction, when Israel does not comply with the UN Security Council Resolutions 242,338,1397,1515 and 1850, and the ruling of the World Court on the illegitimacy of all Israeli settlements in the occupied Arab territories.
I am glad that we live in a time that I can follow international scientists in the explorations of the Universe by just sitting in front of my computer. The images sent to us from various space missions are spectacular – beautiful beyond description! The most recent images from the Cassini-Huygens, a joint mission of the European Space Agency, the Italian Space Agency and NASA, are those of Saturn, the second largest planet in our Solar System. We can see the planet itself composed of layers of icy rings surrounded by more than 60 moons. Each of the close-up pictures shows us more than its beauty, but all the detailed elements of which Saturn are made. After five years of explorations, scientists have produced us visual evidence that Saturn rings are made of trillions of moving icy particles and that one of Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, has liquid water beneath its surface. When there is an ocean underneath of Saturn moon, scientists says, there is a possibility that life exists there. To celebrate the International Year of Astronomy, the Saturn Exhibit is opened free to the public on 22 June at the Royal Observatory, the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London. It will continue until the end of August. I am thankful to Kathryn Westcott and Phil Coomes who produced an audio-slideshow: Splendour of Saturn for me to see those Saturn fantastic images without having to travel to England. A virtual exhibit can also be seen in the comfort of our own home. But for those who live in North America, the Saturn exhibit is on now at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Washington D.C.
I am glad that there is a new park just opened in lower West-side of Manhattan – an usual park created by landscape artists on an elevated railroad track above the meat packing district, between the Southernmost blocks of Chelsea and 20th street. To surprise me, my son took me for a Sunday stroll in Manhattan but he did not tell me where we were going. Just sheer luck, I brought along a camera with me. It was spectacular entry when the elevator door opened. I saw Highline Park for the first time – a park in the sky full of colorful flowers planted between the tracks. This is a gigantic environment and conservation project aimed to rescue the old West-side railway from demolition. It was based on a dream of two men: Robert Hammond and Josh David. They receive funds and other support from over 1,500 people who called themselves “Friends of the High Line”. Mayor Bloomberg and New York City administration joined in this creative endeavor to make the dream come true – making the city livable in a healthy environment. Thanks to them, we have a new place to relax in the middle of the hectic life of New York city. They have succeeded in transforming a broken down railway track into a long smooth path of concrete and wooden planks, with sun deck, amphitheater, long stylized sitting benches. We walked along the path above ground admiring newly planted flowers and trees and grass, artistically grown between the railway tracks and cement planks. Wooden steps are made along the path so that people can sit, zip a drink and eat a boxed lunch while watching sunset on the bank of the Hudson River. The park is opened free to the public but not to bicycles, roller blades, dogs, or cats. It is kept clean for pedestrians only, which I very much appreciated. While strolling, I took several pictures of the plants and flowers shooting up between railway track, the total view of the garden and it’s surrounding city blocks with the street below. Sunday walk in Highline Park on a clear day in Manhattan is a memorable experience for me that I want to share with everyone. I hope that you enjoy seeing some of the pictures that I took last Sunday.
Google Earth and UNHCR are collaborating again in an exciting new Internet program to let people in all parts of the world who are interested in refugee issues, to take a virtual tour in visiting refugee camps around the world, starting in Asia and then move on to another camps in Africa etc. This is the same as travel on the Google Map, for those who regularly use Google map to find their home town and city. On the trip, one can make a stop, linger and move around refugee camps to see how refugees cope with their life in the dry land of the Middle East and Sahara desert, to the foothills and valleys of the Himalaya Mountain, and then continue on to the tropical rain forest of South-East Asia. UNHCR has just launched this new innovative program on June 17. which can be seen now on Google Lat Long blog. The program will be available later at the official website of UNHCR. Another new innovation that I want to mention, is the “VSee”- video-conferencing that UNHCR will use as interactive tool of communication between people interested in refugee issues, officials/workers at refugee camps, and the refugees themselves who are living at various regions. I hope that the dialogue will create a better understanding of life at refugee camps and, as a consequence, gain more support and funds to enable UNHCR to help more than 42 millions refugees who were forced to flee their homes, separated from families because of tribal and religious conflict, war and persecution. UNHCR invites submission of video recordings, text messages and tweets from users around the world to a live feed on Saturday June 20 from 9 a.m to 9 p.m United States Eastern Standard Time (2 p.m to 2 a.m GMT) to commemorate World Refugee Day. The refugees need all the help they can get from all of us. Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that the amounts needed to rescue people are less than what is needed to rescue banks.
The interconnection between clean water in the ocean and the vibrancy of sea-living creatures can be seen in the eight-parts PBS television series, The Shape of Life, produced by Sea Studios Foundation for National Geographic Television and Film. The production team, headed by Mark Shelly, used macro and underwater filming equipment and high definition imaging to tell the story of the great diversity of animal life in the ocean. Scientists and film makers brought to world’s attention the life of small size animals such as sea stars, sea urchins, jelly fish and showed their struggle for survival under water. They cannot stay alive if the water of the oceans is polluted. Earlier this month, on 8 June when celebrated the World Ocean Day, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned us of the terrible toll human activity exacted on the world’s oceans and seas. Human beings are destroying the vulnerable marine ecosystem by throwing garbage and toxic chemicals into the rivers and the seas, damaging ocean’s health. Under the leadership of UNEP, governments and non-governmental organizations around the world worked together to clean-up their beaches, and got rid of marine litters to maintain the cleanliness of the oceans. Worthy of mentioning here is the action of twenty-one countries around the Mediterranean, and the European Union that approved a new law last year to prohibit the dumping of garbage from ships into the sea. Countries in the Caribbean also tried to reduce municipal pollution by improving the waste water management, and eliminated persistent organic pollutants. Northwest Pacific countries took action on biodiversity conservation to protect, manage and develop marine and coastal environment. They organized a series of seminar and workshop to raise public awareness to reduce marine litter. The Kenya’s project, “A Wetland-lagoon System for Wastewater Management” helped to keep the ocean clean. Since the Oceans covers more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface. I think that it is our responsibility to take action and keep it healthy and clean. Survival of all lives on earth depends on it. One action any one can take is to support and join the Annual International Coastal Cleanup campaigns that are being organized by more and more countries around the world.
We have good news. On 12 June, the government of Chad released 84 child soldiers to UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund. These were children, age 14-15, who were captured with rebel unit. The success in releasing child soldiers came about after a long negotiation between the UN and the Government. When an agreement was reached with UNICEF, all the children associated with the armed forces and rebel groups were then returned to the community and family. Last year, the UN Secretary-General sent his Representative to Chad to try to get government’s commitment to allow UN verification team to visit detention centers, training camps and other military facilities. A commission was set up between UNICEF and the Government to carry out verification visits. The two-years effort succeed in releasing 555 child soldiers to UNICEF. Abusing children by forcing them to become soldiers have been going on for some time in many parts of the word. When I was working with UNICEF Regional Office for East Asia in the 60’s, we were involved in meetings and discussions about what to do when children were used as soldiers in Cambodia towards the end of the Vietnam war. At that time, UNICEF did not have an authority or a program to deal with the problem of child soldiers. The situation to day has changed. We have a Task Force on Children and Armed Conflict set up at UN headquarters. And to promote and protect the rights of children, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sent a report to the 63rd Session of the General Assembly and the Security Council on Children and Armed Conflict. The report covered armed conflicts, not only in Chad, but also in Georgia, Uganda, Congo, Ivory Coast, Haiti, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Myanmar, Southern Thailand, Sri Lanka, Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. The Secretary-General called on the Security Council and judicial system to step up action in the fight to end the abuse of children in those conflict zones and around the world.
It is wonderful to see Iranian women express their opinions about politics and participate actively in the campaign for the next President of Iran in the up-coming election that is scheduled for 12 June. Although there is no female candidate running for this election, women of all ages, particularly, young male and female students are speaking out publicly in support of one candidate or the other among the all three male candidates who challenge President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who himself also has quite a number of black-veiled female supporters. I am following closely this campaign and the candidacy of Mir Hossein Mousavi, President of Iranian Academy of Art and former Prime Minister because he has openly supports women’s right. His wife, Zahra Rahnavard, former Chancellor of Azahra University and political advisor to former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, speaks publicly on women’s issues and campaign along side of her husband. Although Article 3 of the Iranian Constitution guarantees free education to all men and women, and ends all forms of “undesirable” discrimination, Mousavi emphasizes the importance of reforming laws that are unfair to women. Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the few countries not party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), of which 90 percent of the members of the United Nations are party to. If Mousavi wins this election, we can expect to see a big change in how the country is organized and run, especially on the women’s front. Women expects that he would fulfill his campaign promise and put forward a bill to amend laws that are judged to be at odds with the spirit of Iran’s constitution, to correct discriminatory and unjust regulations against women. If Mousavi wins we can also expect to see new legal measures in Iran to help end violence against women. And, who knows, we might even see that Iran joins in and become the number 186th country that is party to CEDAW.
Under the leadership of Judge Richard Goldstone of South Africa, the 15 member-team has just completed its fact-finding mission to assess the damage inflicted by the Israeli on the Gazans during the latest crisis in Ghaza. The 15-member team met and talked with many victims and witnesses, members of the non-governmental organizations and United Nations staff to ask them questions about what happened during the military operations and the possible violation of human rights during the 22-day war ended in January 2009. The team also investigated the effect of bombing and shelling done to the people living in Gaza by the Israeli Army that sent war planes and tanks into the populated areas to chase after the Hamas leaders, destroying public buildings, schools, hospitals and homes of the their families that ended up killing 1,417 Palestinians, 926 civilians, the majority of which were women and children. Hamas government cooperated with the investigation team, but the Israeli government did not. The Israeli government refused to give visas to team members to cross from Israel into Gaza. The team had to enter Gaza through Egypt for this mission. In fact, they were against any investigation by outside team. Israeli authority did their own internal investigation, especially on the international accusation that the Israel Army used artillery shells containing white phosphorous that produced severe burned to the people as seen in many press/media reports and photos, which they denied. Judge Goldstone said that he will hold two days public hearings this month in Gaza. He also wants to hold similar hearings in Israel, if the government agrees to it. I am waiting to read the final report of the mission which will be presented to the United Nations in August. (Judge Goldstone is former Chief Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda).
