300 World Leaders Call for Peace and Interfaith Respect on Eve of Washington Times' 25th Anniversary

WASHINGTON, May 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 20 current and former heads of state and 50 international congressional and parliamentary leaders are among the more than 300 delegates of the International Leadership Conference gathered in Washington DC to discuss "American Leadership in a Time of Global Crisis." The conference, jointly hosted by the Universal Peace Federation and The Washington Times Foundation, are also among the guests of honor celebrating The Washington Times' 25th anniversary celebrations May 17, an event featuring the UPF Founder Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, George H. Bush, 41st President of the United States, and more than 1400 other dignitaries.

The conference was opened by H.E. Dr. Musa Bin Jaafar Bin Hassan, President of the 33rd Session of the UNESCO General Conference, who echoed the theme that the media has a strong role to play in making peace. "We have a duty to teach our children the traditions and the wisdoms of cultures other than our own," he said, "and The Washington Times has set a good example by its focus on faith and family." Hassan, a Muslim from Oman, modeled his own advice by ending his remarks with a quote not from the Qur'an but from the teachings of the Buddha.

"We want to encourage The Washington Times to more strongly include Africa in its strategic international coverage," said Dr. Ernest Shonekan, former President of Nigeria. " The media has a powerful role to play in promoting good governance.

The Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Jordan, H.E. Falak Suliman Jamani, spoke of her country's determination to play a leading role in the quest for peace in the Middle East. "We believe that it is urgent that moderate powers and figures, as well as civil society institutions should encourage Israel and the West to consolidate the peace campaign," she said. "At the same time we should focus on the anti-peace camp, which aims at undermining peace efforts." Through the Middle East Peace Initiative, the UPF has brought over 14,000 international peace delegates to 19 programs in Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon.

Dr. Gregory Stanton, president of Genocide Watch, spoke of the need for religious people to work together to overcome attempts to wipe out ethnic groups. "Genocide is a spiritual problem," he says, "because it denies the oneness of the human family." He called religious communities to promote dialogue and mutual trust, demand international intervention and protect victims.

Dr. Douglas M. Johnston, founder of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy, spoke on diplomacy via religion. "The West has little ability to deal with differences in religion in a hostile setting," he said. He attributed this to the exclusion of religion from the political calculus in the US and suggested faith-based diplomacy as the way to bridge this gap, capitalizing on the ability of religious leaders and institutions to build trust and transcend differences.

Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, the president of The Washington Times Foundation, said that the challenge facing all humanity today is whether we will heed the voices of extremism that ask us to see each other as strangers, or make the

effort to know each other as intimate family members. "That is the measure of true friendship," he said "that we say someone is my brother, my sister."

Despite its problems, America is still the nation best equipped to bring change, he said. "This nation is in a way the first experiment in interfaith, the first nation dedicated to the principle of freedom of faith for people of all religions," he said, "but it must move on from the idea of one nation under God to one family under God."

The founder of the Universal Peace Federation and The Washington Times, Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon will speak on the significance of the Pacific Rim Era and humanity's quest for peace at The Washington Times Anniversary celebrations at the National Building Museum this evening.

For more information: Michael Balcomb, Communications Officer, Universal Peace Federation, mwb@peacefederation.org, (914) 373 9671

Web site: http://www.upf.org/