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Dear Aung San Suu Kyi,
With great joy, I want to congratulate you on your victory in the parliamentary elections in your country. A person whose life has been remarkable as well as difficult, you are an inspiration to millions of people in many countries throughout the world. Your resilience and courage during the years of your imprisonment and isolation are truly admirable. All those who work for democratic change draw strength and encouragement from the fact that through all those years you have remained committed to your moral position and the abiding conviction that one must fight for justice and human rights using only peaceful, non-violent methods. This is an important lesson of combining morality and politics, so much needed in today's world.
I am confident that my joy is shared by many Nobel Laureates, who always showed solidarity with you during the years when you were persecuted. We started all our annual meetings with a demand for your release and the restoration of all your rights and used every opportunity available - both publicly and through various channels - to bring closer the day when you could return to normal life. It is encouraging that the leaders of the ruling regime have now heeded the voice of reason.
The recent elections are just a first step on the path of democratic change which, without doubt, will be difficult. I know it from Russia's experience. In this process, you will be playing a key role, which will require great strength and much time. I do hope, however, that you will be able to take part in the meetings and activities of the Nobel Peace Laureates Forum. We see our mission as helping to make sure that the processes unfolding in the rapidly changing global world evolve peacefully and bring about real improvements in the life of hundreds of millions of people. I very much wish that the voice of a person who has become a moral beacon for so many people should be heard everywhere.
I wish you strength and energy in your continuing work and in standing by your convictions and principles, and may the long-awaited changes that reflect the aspirations of your people become a reality.
With feelings of respect and friendship,
Mikhail Gorbachev
April 2, 2012
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EU COMMISSIONER GEORGIEVA AND FAO GOODWILL AMBASSADOR, ITALIAN FOOTBALL PLAYER ROBERTO BAGGIO SOUND THE ALARM ON THE SAHEL CRISIS WITH THE MATCH DAY AGAINST HUNGER (30 MARCH-2 APRIL)
How to win the match against hunger
How do you feel when you are hungry? Weak. Tired. Unable to concentrate, study, play or work. So what do you do? You grab something to eat.
It sounds so easy, but, one in seven people on this planet doesn't have anything to grab.... They have no money to buy or to grow food. They suffer from hunger.
This is what is now happening in the Sahel region of West Africa (Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad). People there are facing the consequences of a combination of drought, poor harvests and soaring food prices.
Nearly 16 million people are affected, half of which are at risk, the risk of dying from hunger. Five countries declared states of emergency and asked the world for help.
The most vulnerable are the more than one million children, many of them under two years of age. If these children do not get help in time, their mental and physical development will be stunted, even if they physically survive.
So, imagine, what about their dreams? Don't you think a child in the Sahel dreams about becoming another Seydou Keita from Mali, John Obi Mikel from Nigeria, or Alain Traore from Burkina Faso?
It is true that the EU and the UN are already active in the Sahel region trying to avert the worst. The European Commission has mobilised €123 million in humanitarian aid to help 6 million people escape starvation.
But even this will not be enough if we want avoid a repeat of the catastrophe last year in the Horn of Africa. We need more help, more attention and more awareness to save more lives.
This is why the European Commission has joined the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL) in the 'Professional Football Against Hunger' campaign.
Professional football has the power to mobilise the public awareness that we need.
During the 3rd European Match Day Against Hunger, from 30 March until 2 April, over 300 football clubs in 20 leagues across 16 European countries will dedicate their matches to the Sahel crisis, sending the message that urgent action is needed now.
They will reach millions of fans, from Glasgow to Goteborg, from Moscow to Madrid.
This is also why the two of us, a European Commissioner for humanitarian aid, and a professional footballer and FAO Goodwill Ambassador, have joined forces and appeal to you.
You can also reach out yourself. Join the team. Tell your friends, tell your colleagues. Sign the petition at endinghunger.org. Or you may donate a small amount to an aid organisation in your country that works in the Sahel. With as little as €20, one child can be brought out of hunger and malnutrition in a few weeks time.
It is important that we do not stay silent when our fellow humans are dying of hunger. Because the suffering of any human being diminishes all of us. It's our responsibility to speak up and help. Together we can save lives and win the match against hunger.
Roberto Baggio
Kristalina Georgieva (European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, Crisis Response and International Cooperation)
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Happy Birthday Roberto!
Join Facebook official page: ROBERTO BAGGIO FAN PAGE - OFFICIAL to comments and wish a very great day to, and year,to Roberto, but not only for Roberto...This year is a new grat year for Aung San Suu Kyi. She confirmed that she would run for a seat in the country's new Parliament in a by-election scheduled for April 2012 in which her party, the National League for Democracy, would enter the new political structure for the first time.
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On Friday her National League for Democracy said it would register to run in the as yet unscheduled by-elections.
The party boycotted the last polls in November 2010, the first in 20 years.
Meanwhile the US is to send Hillary Clinton to Burma next month, amid what President Barack Obama called "flickers of progress" in the nation.
Mr Obama spoke to Aung San Suu Kyi before deciding to send Mrs Clinton, who will be the first US secretary of state to visit in 50 years.
BBC South East Asia correspondent Rachel Harvey says the developments are being seen as endorsements of the steps taken by the military-backed but civilian-led government towards political reform.
'Unanimous decision'
The announcement followed a meeting of 100 senior NLD leaders in Rangoon.
"We unanimously decide that the National League for Democracy (NLD) will register according to party registration laws, and we will take part in the coming by-elections," a party statement said.
It boycotted the previous polls because of election laws that banned Aung San Suu Kyi - a former political prisoner - from running.
But this regulation has since been dropped, and Aung San Suu Kyi said she now wanted the party to contest all 48 seats left vacant in parliament by the appointment of ministers.
A spokesman for the NLD said it was likely that Aung San Suu Kyi would run for office. And the pro-democracy leader herself said she would do what she thought was necessary.
"If I think I should take part in the election, I will. Some people are worried that taking part could harm my dignity. Frankly, if you do politics, you should not be thinking about your dignity," AFP news agency quoted her as saying.
"I stand for the re-registration of the NLD party. I would like to work effectively towards amending the constitution. So we have to do what we need to do."
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United Nations Agency chiefs and top international personalities met today to celebrate World Food Day, whose focus this year is on the recent wave of food price swings which threatens to push millions more people into hunger.
"Food prices - from crisis to stability," was chosen as the World Food Day theme for 2011 following five consecutive years of unstable and often rising food prices, which currently stand close to record levels.
Commemorating FAO's founding in 1945, World Food Day is celebrated in at least 150 countries across the globe. This year it also marked the 60th anniversary of the Organization's move from its first seat in Washington to Rome.
In a message to the World Food Day ceremony at FAO headquarters, Pope Benedict XVI said that fighting famine and hunger required both immediate and long-term solutions.
Horn of Africa
In a clear reference to the crisis in the Horn of Africa, with famine declared in southern Somalia, the Pope said: "In the face of the death of entire communities due to hunger and the forced abandonment of people's lands of origin, immediate assistance is essential, but it is necessary also to intervene in the medium and long-terms so that international activity is not only responding to emergencies.
He described as "lamentable" the idea gaining ground that food was just merchandise and thus "subject to speculative movements".
Agriculture promoted economic growth, he declared: "Agricultural work should not be considered as a secondary activity, but rather as an object of all strategies for growth and integral development."
"Liberation from the yoke of hunger is the first concrete manifestation of the right to life," he added.
More investment needed
Inaugurating the ceremony FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf said that more than $80 billion of additional investment is required annually in agriculture and related activities to ensure food supplies for the world in 2050. Greater investment is the key to mitigating food price fluctuations and building poor people and nations' resilience, said, adding:
"The background to the devastating impact of soaring and volatile food prices on the livelihoods of the poor is 20 years of under-investment in agriculture and neglect of the sector."
The crisis in the Horn of Africa shows that both short and long-term responses are needed and that predictable financial resources are required to tackle the root causes of famine and food insecurity, Diouf noted.
Make it happen
"The world has the knowledge and financial means needed to ensure food security for all, and thus a more stable world. Now is the time to make it happen," he concluded.
Michelle Bachelet, former President of the Republic of Chile and current UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Women, said in a keynote speech that a significant cause of food insecurity is "the poverty and discrimination faced by women and girls, including women farmers".
"Since women are on the frontlines of food security, we need to put their needs and rights at the forefront of trade and agricultural policies and investments to move from crisis to stability," she declared.
Empowering women
"If the world is to meet the challenge of feeding people today and 9 billion people by 2050, we must invest in girls and women, who are key to food security... Empowering women and girls is key to progress in development, food security and improved nutrition," she added.
In a message read to the ceremony, Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and current Chair of the African Union, said that Africa and sub-Saharan Africa in particular is bearing the brunt of the food price crisis.
He identified the priorities for Africa as "improving productivity and competitiveness of small farmers, investment in agriculture and policies related to land tenure". He called for a spirit of national and international solidarity to reduce the number of people suffering hunger round the world.
Info ati: FAO
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Former football star and FAO Goodwill Ambassador, Roberto Baggio, today concluded his visit to Peru during which he experienced firsthand the support given by the European Union (EU) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to over 10 000 families affected by the floods that struck the Cusco and Puno regions of Peru in January 2010.
1993 European Footballer of the Year, Baggio, traveled to Peru as part of the "Professional Football Against Hunger" Campaign, a joint initiative of the Association of European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL), FAO and the Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission (ECHO). This campaign seeks to raise awareness of the unacceptable levels of hunger in the world.
During his visit to the Matinga and Quillihuay communities in the Cusco region on 11 May, Baggio met with small-scale farmers and alpaca breeders who have benefited from ECHO and FAO support. "The assistance given to these families has helped them to recover from the terrible tragedy they suffered," said the footballer. "I am happy to have spent time with them and to be a part of this joint effort between FAO and the European Union", he added.
Through the distribution of quality seeds, tools and veterinary medicines, the repairing of irrigation canals, the recovery of damaged land, and the provision of technical assistance, a FAO project funded by ECHO has allowed over 10 000 families to rebuild their livelihoods and agricultural and livestock production systems, lost during the January 2010 floods.
"The beneficiaries of this FAO project, funded by the Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission are small-scale farmers and livestock breeders who depend on their crops and animals to survive. This is one of Peru's poorest areas," said Alvaro De Vicente, in charge of ECHO's Office for South America.
"The European Commission considers its partnership with FAO as fundamental," added De Vicente. "Most of our funding in South America is destined to emergency response and food aid. FAO brings the key technical know-how that is essential for providing effective agricultural assistance to farmers, as well as important knowledge on how to protect and adapt crops, stabilize soil and manage water," he explained. "Our objective is, on the one hand to help the victims recover, and on the other to reduce future risks."
After returning from his visit to the Cusco region, Baggio spent time with children from Oscar Ibanez's Football School, in Lima where he demonstrated the football skills which have made him one of the sport's legendary figures.
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Roberto Baggio receives the 2010 Peace Award
Roberto speaks at the World Summit on Nobel Peace Laureates
Roberto with some survivors of the Hiroshima's tragedy
Others photos of the Summit:
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