Thin Ice.

The ceasefire instituted by the IRA in the conflict between Catholic republicans and Protestant Ulstermen is a major new development. It is too early to see if it will lead to a lasting peace, but it is very much to be hoped that it will end what has at times seemed like an interminable war of religion. This is the best glimmer of light in more than twenty years of conflict.

The Association of Irish Humanists, a member of IHEU, have commented that:

The IRA ceasefire opens a window of opportunity for the negotiating of a just and lasting peace in Ireland. The Association of Irish Humanists welcomes this development and urges politicians on all sides both in Ireland and Britain to bolster and advance the process.

The British Government must play an active role in promoting political reform in Northern Ireland, whilst we in the Republic must continue to build a more pluralist society founded on the humanist values of tolerance and equity. If genuine goodwill prevails it should be possible for long term solutions to be advanced in the various fora for peace now being initiated.

Humanists in Ulster have also reacted to the new situation, writing in an editorial of The Humanist (Ulster):

Humanists are optimistic and hopeful that there is sufficient pressure on the IRA to ensure that it keeps its word and that the Government cannot compromise its integrity by arranging secret deals. Our hope is that there will be gradual progressive change in society here until it reaches something like normality again.

Dr Henry Morgentaler, a leading doctor in Canada, who has fought for women's right to choose an abortion, has been prevented from operating in a new clinic in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Dr Morgentaler has been honoured by humanists for his courageous work in this field.

The IHEU, while in Toronto for its annual meeting, condemned the New Brunswick provincial government for denying its citizens their abortion rights. In a statement IHEU 're-affirmed its support for a women's right to abortion and expressed its dismay that the Provincial Government was contravening the Canadian Supreme Court's 'Morgentaler Decision' of 1988. This historic decision was gained by Dr Morgentaler after years of fighting restrictive abortion laws, during which he was put on trial four times and served a prison term, despite always being acquitted by juries'.

IHEU Co-President Jane Wynne Willson commented: 'Thanks to Henry Morgentaler's heroic moral crusade for the right to abortion, most Canadian women now have access to safe abortion clinics. Reactionary male politicians must not be allowed to deny the women of New Brunswick their right to control their own bodies.'

At the IHEU Board meeting in Toronto, July 1994, six new organisations were accepted as members. These were the Polish Freethinkers Society, Humanism and Solidarity - an organisation in Zaire, the Bihar Rationalist Society from India, the Ulster Humanist Association from Northern Ireland, the Italian Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics, and Human Horizons -- a television and radio production company set up in Britain to create humanist material for the media.

In June 1994, the International Parliament of Writers was formed - with the aim opposing censorship, tyranny and injustice. The First President was Salman Rushdie.

The Parliament sat for the first time in Lisbon, September 1994. Salman Rushdie said:

We are miners and jewellers, truth-tellers and liars, jesters and commanders, mongrels and bastards, parents and lovers, architects and demolition men. We are citizens of many countries: the finite and the frontiered country of observable reality and everyday life, the united states of the mind, the celestial and infernal nations of desire, and the unfettered republic of the tongue.

Together they comprise a territory far greater than that governed by any worldly power; yet their defences against that power can seem very weak. The creative spirit.., is all too frequently treated as an enemy by those mighty or petty potentates who resent the power of ours to build pictures of the world which quarrel with, or undermine, their own simpler and less openhearted views. The best of literature will survive.., but we cannot wait for the future to release it from the censor's chains.

The Humanist and Ethical Association of Bangladesh have published a booklet entitled Human Rights and Development Review. It contains articles on Eastern Humanism, Women's Movements in Bangladesh, Legal Recognition of Women's Rights in the Development of Bangladesh. The conclusion was an account of the activities of the Humanist and Ethical Association of Bangladesh.

The President, Dr A. B. M. Mafizul Islam Patwaft, attended a regional meeting of Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok. He said that the HEAB 'has been working for a number of years for insurance of democracy, rule of law, independence of judiciary, human rights and fundamental freedoms and humanism in the context of the third world in general and Bangladesh in particular'.

He added that the HEAB Categorically denounces anti-democratic activities in the region, demands freedom from hunger and poverty, demands the equal distribution of the blessings of science and technology, and calls for equal rights and legal status for men and women.

The Rational Calendar has been produced by Stan Stokes in Australia. Each day of the year is marked with a birthdate of a famous humanist. He uses the dating A.L. and M.E: this system relates to the International Declaration of Human Rights becoming law in 1976. M.E. stands for Mondo Erao ('world era' in Esperanto) and A. L. stands for Antau [,ego ('before the law' in Esperanto).

There is information on Freethinking, Thinking, and so on, and an alphabetical list of freethinkers.

The calendar is available for the equivalent of A$10 from P.O. Box 189, Geebung, Brisbane, Queensland 4034, Australia.

The World Environment Day was celebrated with a Seminar at the Atheist Centre, Vijayawada, India on 5 June 1994. 'The interrelationship between the growing environmental problems and the population growth in India was discussed. In order to achieve poverty alleviation, the control over population is a must.'

'Environmental protection will become a reality when all the people start thinking about the problem. The growth of social outlook is a must. As knowledge is power, the awareness among people about environment would lead to action .... The environment cannot be protected by mere governmental measures. It is the participation of the people that makes all the difference.' (The Atheist, July 1994)

The President of the Humanist Society of Victoria has written that for the future of humanism 'we need to reassess the shift in public interests, the attitudinal change in ways of being communal, as well as methods of communicating. The three 'rs': reading, radio and religion have been forced to compete with TV, video tapes and computers, all part of the information superhighway.

'In search of a simple, clear alternative I would suggest that our policy effort should centre on three 'Es': education, ethics and the environment. These three 'Es' can be expanded to cover:

Education -- in critical thinking

Ethics -- without reliance on the dogma associated with religion

Environment -- based on the knowledge that our one life is inter-

related to all other living creatures.'

Positive Atheism for a Positive Future

World Congress 6/7/8 January 1996 at the Atheist Centre, Vijayawada, India. Further details from Lavanam, Atheist Centre, Benz Circle,

Vijayewada 520010, Andhra Pradesh, India

Phone: +91 866 472330

Fax : +91 866 473433

A new network for Spanish-speaking humanists has just been established. The 'Ibero-American Humanist Commission' aims to encourage conferences, publications, groups or any other projects, that help promote:

- a humanist view of society

- the defence of human rights, freedom and dignity of the individual

-- science and reason.

If you are interested, please contact the Commission coodinator, Jesus Puertas Fuertas, at: Doctor Homo 18, 40 dcha., E-50004 Zaragoza, Spain

Quedo a la espera de su contestacion.