BRAZIL: Dozens march through the streets of Rio to demand peace and promote nonviolence

Record ID: 349348

  • Title: BRAZIL: Dozens march through the streets of Rio to demand peace and promote nonviolence
  • Date: 20th December 2009
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS CARRYING SIGNS AND WEARING T-SHIRTS FOR WORLD PEACE (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) JULIA WADDINGTON, SIX-YEAR-OLD GIRL, SAYING: "Peace!"
  • Embargoed: 4th January 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVADDPKXYV7SYEBXOC0W7TZ7K03T
  • Story Text: Dozens of Brazilians marched in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday (December 19) to demand world peace and nonviolence.
    Wearing t-shirts and carrying banners, the activists marched along Rio's famed beaches.
    The protest was part of a series of marches that began in New Zealand on the United Nations' International Day of Nonviolence October 2nd and is slated to run for 90 days of consecutive marches.
    Organizer Marco Pantoja said the goal is to show the tremendous support that peace has across the globe and to convince governments to divert funds away from weaponry and into humanitarian causes.
    "We want to make it clear that most people want peace, not nuclear weapons," he said. We want at least one percent of what is spent worldwide on nuclear weapons-- which is more than one trillion dollars-- to be invested, for example, in eradicating world hunger among other things."
    Brazilian Alice Medina said she was optimistic that the march could help make people aware of the need to stand against violence and encourage them to make changes.
    "I deeply believe that the world can change, that people can wake up and construct a new reality," she said. "Copenhagen is a signal and the Worldwide March is another signal that we can achieve a new world."
    The marches are scheduled to conclude on January 2, 2010 in the Andes Mountains in Aconcagua, Argentina.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains identifiable children: users must ensure that they comply with local laws and regulations governing the publishing of this material.
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