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Peace Proposal for the
Year 2000
Soka Gakkai International
(SGI) President Daisaku Ikeda
released his annual peace proposal on January 26, 2000,coinciding with
the 25th anniversary of the founding of the SGI. In "Peace Through
Dialogue: A Time to Talk--Thoughts on a Culture of Peace," Mr.
Ikeda proposes the immediate establishment of an international conflict
resolution committee within the United Nations system to help assure the
application of international human rights and humanitarian law in conflict-plagued
regions.
To prevent regional and internal conflicts from escalating
into large-scale, protracted violence through the early initiation of
dialogue and negotiation, the committee would hold public hearings so
that all concerned parties could meet each other face-to-face in an open,
neutral setting.
Noting that conflict is often rooted in the illusion
that superficial differences are insurmountable and permanent, the SGI
president asserts that human beings are capable of overcoming their discriminatory
tendencies, and that such inner change in individuals is the key to creating
a solid global culture of peace.
In the proposal, Mr. Ikeda calls for a global "Marshall
Plan" to eliminate poverty, funded through reductions in military
expenditures. He also urges the UN to place "UN Embassies" in
each country and proposes the creation of a "Northeast Asia Peace
University" to promote exchange, interaction and confidence-building
in the region.
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