*** THE THIRD E-SYMPOSIUM ON CONFLICT PREVENTION ***

You are invited to participate in an online e-Symposium on Conflict Prevention, sponsored by the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention and the Japan Times, with the support of the Tokyo Club.

Theme: Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?

How Can Peace Be Achieved in Palestine, Chechnya and Other Conflict Zones?

Dates: Thursday 22nd May to Friday 30th May

Times: 24 hours a day for nine days at the end of May

Place: Entirely on the Internet at http://www.dwcw.org/3rd_e-symposium/

The third e-Symposium is underway, with Presentations and Comments taking place on Thursday and Friday. The Open Public Discussion Session started yesterday and will run until the end of Wednesday 28th May.

The Presentations have covered a wide range of topics, including:

Dr I William Zartman (USA), Director of the Conflict Management Program at the Paul H Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, discussed the topic of Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? Peacemaking in the Middle East, focusing on the centrality of negotiation.

Mr Ioan Mircea Pascu, the Minister of Defense of Romania presented a short overview entitled Conflict In The International System, arguing that the `current international system is not equipped with the right mechanisms allowing for new realities` which include terrorism and failed states.

Reverend Terasawa Junsei from Japan talked about Chechen genocide and proposed a `Vision of New Global Non-Violence.`

H.E. Hoj-Ahmed Noukhaev, former First Deputy Prime Minister of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria gave a dynamic Presentation titled `Traditionalism-A Simple and practical Solution to Conflicts in Chechnya and Palestine.`

The Comments on the Presentations and the theme in general were also very thought provoking. They included:

Mr Zoughbi Zoughbi, the Director of the Wi'am Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center, who proposed hope as the remedy to violence; Russia$B!G(Bs Dr Mara Ustinova, who discussed `Conflict Learning and Conflict Settlement: the Case of the Chechen-Russian Conflict`; and National Economist in the Botswana UNDP office, Mr Sennye Obuseng, who focused on the Palestine-Israel conflict in `Negotiation, Mediation, Concessions and Liberty`.

The Presentations and Comments have been available for viewing since the opening day of the e-Symposium, Thursday May 22nd. Those interested are invited to submit their own contributions concerning the panelists` papers and the main theme (see above) in the Open Public Discussions Session (III) from Saturday 24th May. From this day until the end of Wednesday 28th May (11pm Japanese time), contributions and comments will be accepted and uploaded within minutes in order to facilitate full-scale, round-the-clock global discussions online concerning ways to achieve peace in Palestine, Chechnya and other conflict zones.

We also invite you to register at http://www.dwcw.org/3rd_e-symposium/

(While registration is not necessary for participation, registrants will be kept up-to-date with daily dialogue summaries)

Inquiries can be directed to Deborah Sharp at the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention ([email protected]).

Please forward this information to all colleagues, friends and mailing lists that might find this event of interest. The more people that participate, the greater the success will be for conflict prevention.