Capitalize on Disasters to Make Peace, Say Researchers

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http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/06/15/1891/

Capitalize on Disasters to Make Peace, Say Researchers
by Aaron Glantz

SAN FRANCISCO - A globally minded think tank is calling on governments and disaster relief organizations to work for peace when disaster strikes in conflict zones.

“If traditional diplomacy is unable to end a conflict then we have to look at different ways,” said Michael Renner, a senior researcher at the Washington, DC-based Worldwatch Institute, which this week issued a 57-page report titled “Beyond Disasters: Creating Opportunities for Peace.” 0615 01

“Disasters create a moment when opposing sides have a common goal of recovering,” Renner said. “Seizing on that is something that could make a really big difference.”

The Worldwatch report examines the effect of the 2004 tsunami on war-torn Sri Lanka and Indonesia’s Aceh province, where separatist rebels had battled government troops for decades. The organization also looked at fallout from 2005’s 7.6 magnitude earthquake centered in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, which left more than 70,000 people dead.

Among the three cases, Worldwatch said, only the international response to the tsunami in Aceh “served as a catalyzing shock that cemented the collective determination to make peace.”

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