Moon Praised at UN Day of Families

The Baltic Review reports:

More than 400 UN diplomats, Ambassadors, NGO representatives, and faith leaders gathered at the United Nations Headquarters May 18, 2009 to celebrate the UN International Day of Families, in an event organized by the Universal Peace Federation and sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Guinea, with additional sponsorship from the Permanent Missions of Ethiopia, Iraq, Nigeria, Qatar, Sudan, and the African Union.

None other than Deepak Chopra gave the keynote address, and later Moon was praised by name:

…Closing remarks were given by Dr. Ki Heun Kim, Co-Chair of UPF. “It is important to note that for years, the UPF Founder, Dr. Sun Myung Moon, has stressed that we are in an age where the leadership of women is of paramount importance,” he said. “Moreover, all religions and traditions share the same core values, especially about the family. We need to learn from all of them if we are to establish a world of peace. This is why the UPF has summarized its message as one simple phrase,’One Family Under God.’”

Apparently there were events in 22 nations.

Finnish Christian Right Brings UPF to Parliament

The Baltic Review reports on a couple of UPF events at the Parliament of Finland:

…both events were organized by the Ambassador for Peace, Parliament Member and Lutheran pastor, Lauri Oinonen.

In the conference, the UPF had several presenters among the panellists, one from the Ministry of Education (Secretary General of Council of Youth Affairs), an Imam from Muslim faith, a representative from the Mormon church (Head of education dept.) and a panellist representing the UPF.

And at the second event

…There were about 90 people attended including Emeritus Bishop of Lutheran Church, Chairman of Jews Community in Finland, Chairman of Baptist Church of Finland, diplomats from various nations, members of ethnic groups, NGOs and women leaders.

We’re told that:

Finnish ministry of education is actively working out ways in order to support multicultural families to integrate smoothly into the Finnish society. The concept of “One Family under God” was introduced as a solution.

That was reported on 13 May.

Lauri Oinonen is a prominent Christian Right leader in Finland; a few days ago he was in the news for suggesting that allowing a gay or lesbian person to adopt the natural child of his or her partner might lead to the acceptance of bestiality. This is par for the course; a 2006 essay by Charles Silverstein in the book Ex-Gay Research tells us that Oinonen opposed civil unions for homosexuals  in 2001 on the following lines (p. 266, link added):

One of the main parliamentary religious opponents was Lauri Oinonen…He came out of Helsinki’s Parliament House to formally greet a self-proclaimed American prophet, Shirley Arnold, who then preached on Parliament’s steps…Oinonen said he regretted that some MP’s were now defending the registration of homosexuals when registration should have been enacted over ten years ago earlier to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The UPF’s founder, of course, holds eliminationist views on gays, who do not figure in the “One Family Under God” vision:

Gays will be eliminated, the three Israels will unite. If not then they will be burned. We do not know what kind of world God will bring but this is what happens. It will be greater than the communist purge but at God’s orders.

UPF and Politicians in Swaziland

From the Swazi Observer:

FORMER Minister of Health and Social Welfare Njabulo Mabuza has been conferred with the ambassador for peace award by the Universal Peace Federation (UPF).

Mabuza was awarded alongside former Principal Secretary Bremer Nxumalo and others. The awarding ceremony was held yesterday at the Tums George Hotel. Also present during the ceremony was UPF president Dr. Preston Hyun Ji-Nim Moon.

…UPF Swaziland chairperson and former Senate President Reverend Abednego Dlamini said in the global front, peace is fast disappearing and that conflict is increasingly becoming an option as opposed to peaceful engagement…

UPF in the UK

From a press release:

A recently-appointed “Ambassador for Peace” from the UK is to make an official visit to Pakistan this week. The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Cllr Abdul Rashid, will be visiting the troubled Asian Republic at a time of heightened political tensions. The official tour will include visits to the Punjab and Azad Kashmir provinces, where the Lord Mayor will meet high-ranking dignitaries and speak at events promoting greater understanding of British culture and commerce.

…The Lord Mayor was recently appointed as an “Ambassador for Peace” by The Universal Peace Federation – a UN-associated humanitarian organisation.

Of course, the UPF may be “UN-associated”, but it is better-known as being Moon-associated: “Ambassadors for Peace” receive a certificate signed by Rev. Sun Myung Moon, and the UPF exists promote Moon’s “One Family Under God” slogan.

Meanwhile, a UPF-sponsored event is due to take place in the House of Commons on 2 April, entitled “New Vision Amid the Economic Crisis“:

…We will hear from popular campaigns such as the Jubilee Debt Campaign that will remind the G20 nations of their previous commitments as well as discussing the principled changes the G20 should embrace in order to bring about the more equitable, stable and developed world that is closer to ‘one family under God’.

Speakers listed are: Nick Dearden (President: Jubilee Debt Campaign), Ruth Tanner (Campaign and Policy Officer: War on Want), Helen Tailor Thompson (Thare Machi Education), Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal (Former Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem), Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi (Secretary General: All India Organisation of Imams and Mosques), Moeen Yaseen (Executive Director: Global Vision 2000), Anil Bhanot (General Secretary: Hindu Council UK), and Dr. Thomas Walsh (International Secretary General: Universal Peace Federation).

I blogged on the London UPF “Global Peace Festival” – which included involvement from British politicians – here.

(Hat tip to a reader for some details)

UPF Organises “Donation Drive” in Malaysia

The New Straits Times reports on a fundraising campaign for the children of Gaza in Malaysia:

Organised by the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) of Malaysia and MRCS [Malaysian Red Crescent Society], Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, wife of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, yesterday launched the donation drive which started on Feb 25 and would end on May 12.

Also present were UPF Asia co-chairman Dr Lek Thav-eetermsakul; Malaysia UPF president Tan Sri Zaleha Ismail; and MRCS national chairman Tunku Tan Sri Shahriman Tunku Sulaiman.

MRCS distributed 10,000 donation boxes to schools while the National Unity and Integration Department distributed 5,000 donation boxes to kindergartens.

Back in October, Deputy PM Razak was “Guest of Honor” at a UPF “Global Peace Festival” leadership conference.

Rev. Moon Obamaballs

From the website True Parents:

While in Korea after the US presidential election, [Unification Church Bishop] Ki Hoon Kim felt strongly that America and Barack Obama immediately needed True Parents’ blessing. Thus, when he met with True Parents [i.e. Rev and Mrs Moon] in November 2008, he received True Father’s signature on a picture of Barack Obama at the 2003 True Family Values Awards’ Banquet.

(Thanks to a reader)

Israelis and Palestinians for Moon

From HometownAnnapolis:

Raymond J. Mas of Odenton, along with 13 other Americans, returned home Christmas Eve after a six-day tour – a bridge-building mission to the Holy Land…The trip was organized by the Middle East Peace Initiative…

Participants in the initiative’s peace-building conferences have included civic leaders of Israeli cities such as Yona Yahav, who is mayor of Haifa; Dr. Eliezer Glaubach, former Jerusalem city councilman; Sheik Aziz Bukhari, a Muslim leader in Jerusalem; Naila Kharroub, principal of Dar Al-Kalima High School in Bethlehem; and Abouna Hatoum, a Melkite Catholic priest from Nazareth.

“When the high-level Ambassadors for Peace continue to come from all faiths and all nations, it gives us strength to overcome all barriers. We feel the world is supporting our efforts to end violence and promote dialogue and understanding,” said Mr. Bukhari, whose family has lived in Jerusalem’s Via Dolorosa for 300 years.

The Rev. Hatoum said, “Ambassadors for Peace do not ‘talk’ about peace, we do the work of peace; we ‘do’ the peace.”…

President Ma Addresses UPF Conference in Taipei

Conference held at same place and time as WACL event

The Taiwan News reports from this weekend’s International Leadership Conference held at the Grand Hotel in Taipei, where Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou addressed ”more than 100 religious, political and academic representatives from 16 Asian countries and 300 local delegates” on the need for closer relations with China:

The 2009 International Leadership Conference is jointly sponsored by several nongovernmental organizations, including the Women’s Federation for World Peace, Taiwan, R.O.C., and the Universal Peace Federation, with an aim to provide a platform for countries to exchange views and discuss solutions to major issues.

The “Women’s Federation for World Peace” and the UPF are of course actually the same thing – fronts that exist to promote the religious message of Rev Sun Myung Moon.

Apparently there was some dissent at the meeting, as the Taipei Times reports:

Reverend William Luo, a pro-independence advocate who attended the conference, shouted: “No Justice” at Ma during his speech. Ma ignored the remarks and continued his speech.

Lou helps to run the Taiwan United Nations Alliance, which lobbies for Taiwan to drop its official “Republic of China” name and declare complete indepedence from mainland China; other Taiwanese Presbyterians are also active in this cause.

By happy coincidence (or maybe something more?), the conference was held at the same location and at the same time as the 2009 convention of the World League for Freedom and Democracy (WLFD), where President Ma also spoke. The WLFD carries a certain amount of baggage, and it was previously known as the World Anti-Communist League. WACL was founded in 1966 to bolster support for anti-Communist military rule in Taiwan and South Korea, and it soon attracted all kinds of far-right regimes and chancers looking for respectability on “anti-Communist” grounds. Rev Moon was associated with WACL for a while, and although he broke public links in 1975 (perhaps after failing to take it over), the Japan branch of the Unifcation Church remained a member and several Moon-linked persons were at the 1984 WACL conference in San Diego. The 1980s also saw WACL work with Moon’s CAUSA International in Central America on issues such as assisting the Contras (1).

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(1) Details in last paragraph taken from Scott Anderson and John Lee Anderson, Inside the League: The Shocking Expose of How Terrorists, Nazis, and Latin American Death Squads Have Infiltrated the World Anti-Communist League (1986).

Meet Ambassador Diasen

From the Philippines Information Agency:

Tabuk City, Kalinga (10 January) — Governor Floydelia Diasen.. was conferred last December 2008 during the 4-day global peace festival in Manila the title of peace ambassador by the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), an NGO with special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations that is working efforts to implement the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG).

An advocate of peace, Diasen’s PEACE agenda is parallel to the objectives of UPF that looks for ways in which the world can actually become a “global family” by bringing people together across the dividing lines of faith, ethnicity and national background. Best local peacekeeping practices and laudable achievements earned her the prestigious award.

“PEACE” here apparently stands for “peace promotion, educational growth, agriculture enhancement, culture and tourism development, environment and health.

New Malaysian Ambassadors for Peace

From Bernama.com:

Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Kamaruzaman Ampon is among the Ambassadors for Peace appointed by the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) here, Saturday…Other individuals appointed are Sepanggar Member of Parliament Datuk Eric Enchin Majimbun, Tawau MP Datuk Dr Chua Soon Bui, Kota Kinabalu MP Dr Hiew King Cheu, Silam MP Salleh Kalbi and Sabah MCA vice chairperson Datuk Agnes Shim Tshin Nyuk.