|
|
|
|
|
|
Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE July 12, 2005
|
|
| site design imagesparkle.com |
| August 19, 2003 |
Peace Museum and Peace Festival in San Hose |
|
| |
 |
| Learning about the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Arias Sanchez |
Founded in 1992, the Costa Rican Peace Museum tells the story of the difficult road to peace and the efforts to its military power. Through the visit, Peace Boat participants learnt about the 1948 declaration by the people of Costa Rica to beocme a country without an army.
In 1987, President Arias Sanchez was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for recognition of his peace brokering efforts in the strife-torn countries of Central America. Working with the leaders of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, Arias set dates for ceasefires between governments and rebel forces, ensured amnesty for political prisoners and scheduled democratic elections in these countries. His plan for peace in Central America came at a time when many of Costa Rica's neighbours were being torn apart by war and the countries determination to remain neutral was stretched to the limit. The proceeds of the prize were used to set up the Arias Foundation, one of whose projects is the Peace Museum.
On display in the museum, are the stories of the road to peace in the region, a rifle cut in half from the Nicaraguan President as a gesture of renunciation of war, and the framed letter confirming the awarding Nobel Peace Prize that was awarded to Arias Sanchez for his efforts. |
|
|
 |
| At the Peace Festival in San Jose, with (L-R) Chihiro Ito, Francisco Cordero, Maricruz Hildago, Paul Mason and Fumiko Amano |
In the capital city of San Jose, the Peace Festival brought together speakers and performers from all over Costa Rica and the world. Advisor to the Parliamentary Liberation Party, Francisco Cordero, opened the event by saying that it was "a special day for Japan and Costa Rica to consider Iraq." Congratulating Japan on its Article 9 - the renunciation of war - Francisco admitted that to change a constitution takes a long time, and that persuading other countries to follow suit would not be easy.
Chihiro Ito, a Japanese guest speaker on the Peace Boat and expert in Central American studies, compared the similarities of the Costa Rican and Japanese constitutions, and spoke of the irony of the US pressure on Japan to participate in a military capacity in the Iraq war, "even though they (the US government) were the main architects of Article 9, commonly referred to as Japan's peace constitution."
After the controversial "Contingency Laws" were passed earlier this year, undermining the integrity of Article 9, Japan sent troops to "assist" in Iraq. Chihiro regrets this threat to Article 9, and argued that these concrete and legally recognised commitments to peace in the two constitutions "are not only for the people of Japan and Costa Rica, but the whole world." |
| |
 |
| A veteran of the 1948 civil war in Costa Rica, talking of the "path to peace" |
A veteran of the 1948 Costa Rican civil war, representing a group that was taking part in the Peace Festival, spoke of the years since the conflict and the efforts to build peace, saying that "the Costa Rican way of thinking is the path to peace, not war."
Hiroshima survivor, Fumiko Amano, who was commemorated the 58th anniversary of the day her brother succumbed to the effects of the Hiroshima blast, thanked the veterans for their attendance at the festival, saying she was "happy to hear the message from survivors of a civil war now living in a country at peace." Fumiko went on to talk about the dangers of nuclear weapons still threatening the world today, including the cluster bombs and depleted uranium which continue to kill thousands in Afghanistan and Iraq every year. "Do not let a nuclear weapon become elevated to the status of gods," she said before the audience stood for a minute's silence to remember all the people killed in the different wars around the world. |
| |
 |
| One of the many talented performers at the Peace Festival |
Entertainers performing in the name of peace, included singers, dancers, actors, actresses, musicians, comedians, fire jugglers and a Brazilian dance troupe kicking and cart wheeling their way through a dramatic display of Capoeira - a traditional Brazilian martial art which blends fighting moves with African rhythms to create a spectacular performance artform. |
| |
 |
| Peace Boat participants onstage and singing |
After the performances, members of the audience and participants in the festival wrote peace messages and tied them to a tree donated by Peace Boat. In a rousing finale to the evening, Peace Boat's band, "Olive", took the stage with backing singers from the crowd to perform one last song before the study tour participants departed to the cloud forests of Villa Blanca to spend the night. |
| |
|
|
|
