Showing posts with label Reuters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reuters. Show all posts

Sunday, April 23, 2023

US embassy staff evacuated from Sudan amid fierce fighting (Sky News). RSF says US diplomats, families evacuated via coordination with US forces (Reuters)

Report from Sky News

Sunday 23 April 2023 03:07, UK - full copy:


US embassy staff evacuated from Sudan amid fierce fighting


US troops have carried out an evacuation of American embassy staff from Sudan's capital Khartoum as fighting rages for a ninth day, according to a senior White House official.


View original: https://news.sky.com/story/us-embassy-staff-evacuated-from-sudan-amid-fierce-fighting-12863980


[Ends]

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Reuters report also here


Report from Haaretz.com 

By Reuters [unverified]

Sunday 23 April 2023 03AM - full copy:


Sudan’s RSF says US diplomats, families evacuated via coordination with US forces


CAIRO, April 23 (Reuters) - Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said early on Sunday that a US forces mission consisting of six aircraft had evacuated US diplomats and their families from the country.


The operation was carried out through coordination with the RSF, it added.


(Reporting by Moaz-Alaziz and Mohamed Al Gebaly in Cairo; editing by Jonathan Oatis)


View original: https://www.msn.com/he-il/news/other/sudans-rsf-says-us-diplomats-families-evacuated-via-coordination-with-us-forces/ar-AA1acbfk 


[Ends]

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Report from CBS News

Story by Sophia Barkoff

Saturday 22 April 2023 8:52 PM - excerpts:


U.S. government personnel evacuated from Sudan


The details of the mission and the exact number of people evacuated was unclear. The Sudanese paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) tweeted that the US military used six plained to conduct the evacuations early Sunday morning. It was unconfirmed if diplomats from other nations were included. [...]


A U.S. diplomatic convoy flying the American flag was fired upon Monday while security attempted to bring Americans back to the compound. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called it a “reckless” and “irresponsible” act, and said that forces aligned with RSF  - a paramilitary group led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo - had likely taken the shots. […]

Full story: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-government-personnel-in-sudan-to-be-evacuated-sources-say/ar-AA1acfUV


[Ends]

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Report from Aljazeera.com
Sunday 23 April 2023 - excerpt:

US diplomats, families evacuated from war-torn Sudan, RSF says

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces claims that it coordinated the evacuation with US forces on Sunday. [...]


A US official confirmed to the Associated Press that US forces safely left Sudanese airspace after airlifting the embassy personnel out of the capital, Khartoum.


[Ends]
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UPDATE: 
SUNDAY 23 APRIL 2023 04:15 GMT UK 
REPORT FROM THE BBC HAS UPDATED ITS REPORT TO SAY:

The US military has evacuated American diplomats and their families from Khartoum, President Joe Biden has said.

"Today, on my orders, the United States military conducted an operation to extract US government personnel from Khartoum," he said in a statement.

Earlier Sudan's paramilitary army Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said six aircraft were used in Sunday's early morning mission, and that it had co-ordinated the evacuation with the US.

President Biden has not given details.

It is not clear how many people were airlifted. Mr Biden's statement said "we are temporarily suspending operations at the US embassy in Sudan".

He also thanked Djibouti, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia, saying they had been "critical to the success of our operation".


View original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-65363586


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Thursday, November 25, 2021

Sudan's Hamdok says investigation launched into violations against protesters

Here is a full copy of a report by Reuters

Reporting by Lilian Wagdy and Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Chris Reese and Aurora Ellis

Published at au.finance.yahoo.com

Tuesday, 23 November 2021, 10:36 pm

Sudan's Hamdok says investigation launched into violations against protesters


CAIRO (Reuters) - An investigation has been launched into violations committed against protesters since the military power grab on Oct. 25, Sudan's newly reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said, according to a statement from his office.

Hamdok's comments came during a meeting on Tuesday evening with a group from the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), the main civilian coalition opposing military rule. FFC had previously said on Sunday that it does not recognize any political agreement with the military leadership.

The group stressed during the meeting the importance of laying out a roadmap to implementing the political agreement, reversing all political appointments that took place after the military takeover and reinstating all those who were fired during that period, according to the statement.

Last week, protesters and a Reuters witness said they saw security forces chase protesters into neighbourhoods and homes to carry out arrests. At least 15 people were shot dead during the anti-coup protests, according to medics.

Hamdok and the group called for political prisoners to be released as soon as possible and for the right to peacefully protest to be respected.

Under the agreement signed with military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Hamdok, first appointed after the overthrow of former President Omar al-Bashir in a 2019 uprising, will lead a civilian government of technocrats for a transitional period.

The deal faces opposition from pro-democracy groups that have demanded full civilian rule since Bashir's ouster and have been angered by the deaths of dozens of protesters since the Oct. 25 coup.

FILE PHOTO: Sudan's then-Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, speaks during a Reuters interview in Khartoum


View original: https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/sudans-hamdok-says-investigation-launched-223629020.html

Tuesday, November 02, 2021

UK seeks urgent session of top UN rights body on Sudan

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: The penholder for 2021 in the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Sudan is the UK. Also, the US is the penholder for 2021 in the UNSC on South Sudan, Sudan/South Sudan, Sudan sanctions and South Sudan sanctions.  Source: List* of 2021 UN Security Council Chairs of Subsidiary Bodies and Penholders.

Over eighteen years have passed since I began this blog, Sudan Watch. In 2003 I couldn't find a map of Darfur on the internet. Today, when I look at these photos showing protests in Khartoum, many of the protestors look younger than this blog. All they've known is war. They deserve their voices to be heard and their protests to be heeded. They are the future.

The world wide web, invented and freely given to the world by Englishman Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has enabled the world to watch Sudan and South Sudan and to donate its hard earned cash to help to bring peace and prosperity to the two countries. God help anyone who does anything to harm Sudan’s prime minister Hamdok or his family or colleagues. The world will go mad.

Billions of people around the world wish that music could unite us all to make world peace. Everyone knows love is the most important thing. God bless all Sudanese people and bring them love and peace.

* https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/working_methods_penholders_chairs.pdf

Here is a full copy of a news report by Reuters

Reporting by STEPHANIE NEBEHAY; editing by GILES ELGOOD

Dated Monday, 1 November 2021 3:50 PM GMT UK

Britain seeks urgent session of top UN rights body on Sudan

Photo and caption: Protesters carry a banner and national flags as they march against the Sudanese military's recent seizure of power and ousting of the civilian government, in the streets of the capital Khartoum, Sudan October 30, 2021. Credit: REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin

Photo and caption: Protesters gesture and shout slogans as they demonstrate against the Sudanese military's recent seizure of power and ousting of the civilian government, in the capital Khartoum, Sudan October 30, 2021. Credit: REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin/File Photo


GENEVA, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Britain said on Monday that it had requested that the U.N. Human Rights Council convene an emergency session on Sudan following last week's military coup.


The request was sent to the president of the 47-member Geneva forum on behalf of 18 member states, more than the one-third required to convene a special session. It was backed by 30 countries with observer status, including the United States.

"The actions of the Sudanese military are a betrayal of the revolution, the transition & the hopes of the Sudanese people," Simon Manley, Britain's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, said in a tweet.

Last week, Sudan's military took power in a coup, detaining civilian officials and politicians, and promising to establish a new government of technocrats. The coup has been met with opposition and street demonstrations over the last week.

Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by Giles Elgood


View original:  https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/britain-seeks-urgent-session-top-un-rights-body-sudan-2021-11-01/

Sunday, May 09, 2010

SPLM alleges NCP plot to arm southerner militias - UN urged to check 'security violations' in south Sudan

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) has demanded an investigation into an alleged plot by the National Congress Party (NCP) to arm militias in the south aimed at disrupting the work of the North-South Border Demarcation Committee and obstructing South Sudan's self determination process.

Addressing the press in Khartoum on Sunday (9 May), SPLM Deputy Secretary General-northern sector, Yasir Arman said the NCP is hindering the south secession process "through technical ways".

The SPLM has requested that the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) launch the inquiry, calling on UNMIS to exercise its rights within its mandate.

Meanwhile, Head of the Technical Committee for North-South Border Demarcation, Abdulla Al Sadiq, has said that the committee will complete its work by November 2010. Sadiq stated that by then, borders will be demarcated from Central Africa to Ethiopia.

Al Sadiq told Radio Miraya that the final report of the Technical Committee will be raised to the presidency for approval ahead of the Southern Sudan referendum process in November.

Source: Radio Miraya, Sunday, 09 May 2010 - see copy below.

U.N. must verify north-south Sudan clashes: SPLM
From Reuters (Khartoum) by Opheera McDoom
Saturday, 08 May 2010 4:01pm EDT:
U.N. peacekeepers should be more active in monitoring violence in Sudan's south ahead of a key referendum in independence in eight months time, the oil- producing region's main party said on Saturday.

Senior Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) official Yasir Arman also said they had evidence President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's ruling northern National Congress Party was trying to destabilize the south by arming proxy militias in the semi- autonomous region.

"The United Nations should verify and should be present in all the places where there are violations of the security arrangements," Arman told reporters. "This is the mandate of the United Nations force here -- they should take this mandate... seriously."

The peacekeeping mission was deployed to monitor a 2005 north-south peace deal ending Africa's longest running civil war which claimed 2 million lives. A shaky ceasefire has mostly held with sporadic fighting kept in check through a high-level joint defense body between the former foes.

But last month clashes between the south's separate army (SPLA) and Darfuri Arab tribes along the disputed north-south border inflicted heavy casualties on both sides. And the SPLA accused a senior renegade commander of attacking an army base killing at least eight soldiers in Jonglei state last week.

The U.N. mission has not commented on the violence and a spokesman was not immediately available to comment on Saturday.

Arman said the NCP was using the Arab tribes to destabilize the south and delay the referendum.

"The government of south Sudan produced information that the NCP...are trying to destabilize the ..security in south Sudan," Arman said in a news conference in Khartoum.

He added SPLA renegade George Athor was receiving logistical support from outside the south, but did not specify from where.

Bashir's National Congress Party was not available to comment. During the civil war, Khartoum supported militias to oppose the SPLA, but the party denies this policy since 2005.

Most analysts believe the south is likely to secede in the January 9, 2011 plebiscite and fear a heavily armed population, ethnic rivalries and unresolved border disputes could destabilize any new nation and its neighbors, most of whom were dragged into Sudan's civil war.

Arman urged the NCP to reinvigorate a joint defense body to calm any north-south clashes and to allow the United Nations access to tense border areas.

"The United Nations, in particular the Security Council, should put an eye on Sudan and make sure that the security arrangements do not collapse," Arman said.

Sudan's north-south war has raged on and off since 1955, fueled by issues of ethnicity, ideology, religion and oil.

(Reporting by Opheera McDoom)
UN urged to check 'security violations' in south Sudan
From AFP (Khartoum) - Saturday, 08 May 2010:
A former rebel group on Saturday urged the United Nations to verify its charge that the government is arming militias and tribesmen ahead of next year's independence referendum for south Sudan.

"The United Nations should verify and should be present all over the place where there are violations of the security arrangement," Yasser Arman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) told reporters in Khartoum.

"This is the mandate of the United Nations forces here: they should take this mandate, we call upon them to take this mandate seriously and to verify all accusations from different sides."

"Verification is very important and is not happening," added Arman, whose name appeared on ballot papers in last month's presidential election, despite the fact he withdrew from the race ahead of polling day.

President Omar al-Beshir was returned to power in the election.

Clashes two weeks ago between Arabs of the Rizeygat tribe and southern military forces on the border between war-torn Darfur in west Sudan and south Sudan resulted in the deaths of 55 people.

Earlier, there was fighting between Misseriya Arab tribesmen and southern forces.

In both instances, southern forces accused the central government in Khartoum of arming tribes in a bid to destabilise the vast semi-autonomous south, where an independence referendum is due next January.

"We think there is a big game to destabilise the south from within and from without. From within through militias and other connections and from without in the name of certain tribes," Arman said on Saturday.

Sudan currently hosts two international peacekeeping forces.

The 10,000-strong United Nation's peacekeeping mission in Sudan (UNMIS) monitors the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the 22-year north-south civil war in 2005.

UNAMID is a joint United Nations and African Union force deployed in Darfur.

Peacekeepers in Sudan need Sudanese army permission to enter certain areas in the north and authorisation from the southern forces for the south, but sometimes such requests are denied.
SPLM alleges NCP plot to arm southerner militias
From MirayaFM - Sunday, 09 May 2010 19:40:
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) has demanded an investigation into an alleged plot by the National Congress Party (NCP) to arm militias in the south aimed at disrupting the work of the North-South Border Demarcation Committee and obstructing South Sudan's self determination process.

Addressing the press in Khartoum on Sunday, SPLM Deputy Secretary General-northern sector, Yasir Arman (photo, left), said the NCP is hindering the south secession process "through technical ways".

The SPLM has requested that the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) launch the inquiry, calling on UNMIS to exercise its rights within its mandate.

Yasir stressed that the vision of both the SPLM in the north and south is that of a new Sudan and called all southerners voluntary unity.

Meanwhile, Head of the Technical Committee for North-South Border Demarcation, Abdulla Al Sadiq, has said that the committee will complete its work by November 2010. Sadiq stated that by then, borders will be demarcated from Central Africa to Ethiopia.

The Technical Head added that the committee's work have not been disrupted by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) or Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), saying that both armies are only concerned about security issues.

Al Sadiq told Radio Miraya that the final report of the Technical Committee will be raised to the presidency for approval ahead of the Southern Sudan referendum process in November.

Meanwhile, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) has accused the National Congress Party (NCP) of arming militias in the south to impede the work of the North-South Border Demarcation Committee and also to obstruct Southern Sudan's self-determination process.

Addressing the press in Khartoum on Saturday, the SPLM Deputy Secretary General in northern sector, Yasir Arman, called on all parties to accept the outcome of the referendum results.

The Technical Committee on the Demarcation of 1956 Boundaries between Northern and Southern Sudan, had earlier announced the conclusion of the demarcation process in the Eastern Sector, which comprises of White and Blue Nile, Sennar, and Upper Nile States.

Click and listen to SPLM Deputy Secretary General -northern sector, Yasir Arman

Click and listen to Head of North-South Border Demarcation, Abdulla al Sadiq
Further reading

Editor of Sudanese newspaper Ajras AlHuriya charged with publishing false news
Radio Miraya - 09 May 2010
The Editor of Ajras AlHuriya newspaper, Alhaj Warraq was charged on Sunday with publishing false news and undermining the dignity of the state, an offence punishable by up to six months in jail. Faiz al-Silaik, Acting Editor-in-Chief of Ajras AlHuriya, a newspaper alleged to be affiliated to Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), said he considers the charge an attack on press freedom. [...]

SPLM calls for new alliance to support South Sudan referendum
Sudan Tribune - 09 May 2010
May 8, 2010 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) today called for the formation of a new political alliance to establish the New Sudan and to support southern Sudan right of self-determination. [...]

Sudan resumes demarcation of north-South border
Sudan Tribune - 29 April 2010
April 28, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese authorities have started the penultimate stage of North- South boundary demarcation, ahead of the expected referendum on southern Sudan self-determination. [...]

Abyei one year after the Roadmap
Radio Miraya - 09 June 2009

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Reuters: South Sudan's President Salva Kiir in first call for independence

From The New York Times
By REUTERS October 31, 2009 1:46 p.m. ET
South Sudan President In First Call For Independence
JUBA, Sudan (Reuters) - South Sudan's president on Saturday urged southerners to choose independence in a referendum if they wanted to be free, the closest he has come to calling publicly for the separation of the oil-producing region.

The south secured a vote on whether to break away from Sudan as part of a peace deal that ended more than two decades of civil war with the north. But until now, southern president Salva Kiir has stuck to the official line of building support for unity.

"When you reach your ballot boxes the choice is yours: you want to vote for unity so that you become a second class in your own country, that is your choice," he told a cathedral congregation in the south's capital Juba during a service to launch a prayer campaign for elections due in 2010 and the referendum in 2011.

"If you want to vote for independence so that you are a free person in your independent state, that will be your own choice and we will respect the choice of the people."

The comments will add pressure to the already troubled relationship between Kiir's Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the north's dominant National Congress Party (NCP).

Both sides promised to build up a campaign to make the unity of Sudan attractive to voters when they signed the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that settled the civil war.

Most southerners, embittered by the long war and the lack of development in the south since it ended, are widely thought to support independence. But their leaders had so far not gone as far as openly saying they want to split.

Southern independence is a highly sensitive subject, particularly in the north. The bulk of Sudan's proven oil reserves are in the south, while refineries and Sudan's only port are in the north.

No one from the NCP was immediately available to comment.

Two million people were killed and 4 million fled their homes between 1983 and 2005 as Sudan's north and south battled over differences of ideology, ethnicity and religion. North Sudan is mostly Muslim while southerners are largely Christian and followers of traditional beliefs.

(Reporting by Jose Vieira, writing by Andrew Heavens; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
UPDATE on Monday, 02 November 2009 UK GMT 9:16 AM:

South Sudan leader urges split

BBC News - ‎20 hours ago‎
Southern Sudan leader Salva Kiir has made his strongest call for full independence when the region's status is decided at a referendum due in 2011. ...

Friday, July 10, 2009

Reuters Handbook of Journalism - The 10 Absolutes of Reuters Journalism

The 10 Absolutes of Reuters Journalism

Always hold accuracy sacrosanct
Always correct an error openly
Always strive for balance and freedom from bias
Always reveal a conflict of interest to a manager
Always respect privileged information
Always protect their sources from the authorities
Always guard against putting their opinion in a news story
Never fabricate or plagiarise
Never alter a still or moving image beyond the requirements of normal image enhancement
Never pay for a story and never accept a bribe

Source: Reuters Handbook of Journalism

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Sudan: We wish the Reuters thing was webcast!!

More on Reuters' Darfur debate May 24 2007 - from Global Voices Online:
"Sudanese Thinker wishes the debate on Darfur was televised: “Told ya! I just wish this damn thing was freaking televized. I’m expecting a heated debate to go down especially since the Sudanese Ambassador to the U.N. is going to be present. I predict that he’ll get banged with many questions. It will be interesting to observe how he responds.
I’m tied up with many things at the moment but I’ll make time for this since I don’t want to miss it. Sudanese boys and girls in da house, blog your thoughts or drop a comment.”
Heh. Rock on Drima! Why no webcast? If there were a transcript, I'd mull over John Prendergast's commentary in the hope of getting some understanding of the rationale behind his warmongering stance on Sudan.
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UPDATE: Note Sudan Tribune article - "US presidential contender calls for military intervention in Darfur" - by Wasil Ali 22 May 2007.

UPDATE May 23 2007: The debate's started & being blogged at Jikomboe (hat tip May 24 2007 Global Voices Online must-read: Darfur: The Reality, the Agenda & the Proposed Solution)

And more re video available via Reuters at Global Voices Online � Join the Debate on Darfur 10am (EST) TODAY!

Sudan: Reuters' Darfur debate online May 24 2007

Back on track, thanks to The Blogger Team. Lots to catch up on. More later. Meanwhile, in New York starting 9.30am EST Thursday May 24 2007, Reuters' Darfur Newsmaker will be holding an online debate/Q&A session entitled "Dealing with Darfur - what’s at stake?"
List of Panelists:
- Paul Holmes, Reuters (moderator)
- Ann Curry, NBC News
- Hedi Annabi, Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping U.N*
-Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad, Sudanese Ambassador to the U.N
- John Prendergast, International Crisis Group
- Mia Farrow, Actor and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
- Lauren Landis, Senior Representative, Sudan, U.S. Department of State
Note, the above mentioned Sudanese Ambassador to the UN is featured in today's Sudan Tribune article by Wasil Ali entitled Sudan's envoy: Darfur "an issue for those who have no issue".

[* Reuters/Ed’s note May 24 2007: This post was updated to reflect Hedi Annabi has replaced Jean-Marie Guehenno, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, on the panel]

Further details at Global Voices Online.

UPDATE: Also today, The Sudanese Thinker blog (hi Drima!) urges fellow bloggers to "Join the Debate on Darfur on May 24".
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FAMOUS QUOTES

Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.
Malcolm Forbes

History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals and many copies.
Alexis de Tocqueville

Love Quote of the Day
The more you judge, the less you love.
Honore de Balzac

Famous Peace Quotes

Here below, I've starred two favourites and question marked four I don't understand:

Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

One cannot subdue a man by holding back his hands. Lasting peace comes not from force.
David Borenstein

The pacifist's task today is to find a method of helping and healing which provides a revolutionary constructive substitute for war.
Vera Brittain

?I don't know whether war is an interlude during peace, or peace an interlude during war.
Georges Clemenceau

*I think that people want peace so much that one of these days government had better get out of their way and let them have it.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Peace and justice are two sides of the same coin.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

You don't have to have fought in a war to love peace.
Geraldine Ferraro

?Even peace may be purchased at too high a price.
Benjamin Franklin

He that would live in peace and at ease must not speak all he knows or all he sees.
Benjamin Franklin

An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.
Mohandas Gandhi

It is easier to lead men to combat, stirring up their passion, than to restrain them and direct them toward the patient labors of peace.
Andre Gide

The pursuit of peace and progress cannot end in a few years in either victory or defeat. The pursuit of peace and progress, with its trials and its errors, its successes and its setbacks, can never be relaxed and never abandoned.
Dag Hammarskjold

Yes, we love peace, but we are not willing to take wounds for it, as we are for war.
John Andrew Holmes

Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it.
Thomas Jefferson

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
John F. Kennedy

?War will never cease until babies begin to come into the world with larger cerebrums and smaller adrenal glands.
H. L. Mencken

Fair peace becomes men; ferocious anger belongs to beasts.
Ovid

It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.
Eleanor Roosevelt

A peace is of the nature of a conquest; for then both parties nobly are subdued, and neither party loser.
William Shakespeare

Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.
Baruch Spinoza

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
Mother Teresa

?Peace begins with a smile.
Mother Teresa

Peace hath higher tests of manhood, than battle ever knew.
John Greenleaf Whittier

Source: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_peace.html via without reason