BEIRUT, July 3 (AKnews) - The head of Lebanon's University for Non-Violence and Human Rights in the Arab World (AUNOHR) said a delegation from the university met Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and informed him about the principles of the university in addition to the main details of its visit to the Kurdistan Region.
Speaking to AKnews, Ugarit Yunan said: "The Lebanese president showed a positive attitude towards the idea of the university, saying that a non-violence culture will build the future of the region.
"Suleiman said that he included the culture of non-violence within his speech at the Arab summit held in Baghdad, as this culture is the only way to keep people within countries and reduce the immigration of intellectuals."
Member of the board of trustees of the university and university professor Dr. Abdul Hussein Shaaban said: "President Suleiman welcomed the idea and considered the presence of the university as a necessity. He previously said more than once that he supports the culture of non-violence.
"The Lebanese president talked about two issues. The first is that the world will not be able to achieve coexistence and citizenship under the rule of chaos and violence, while the second is that spreading the culture of non-violence is an important issue for cultural development. The meeting also discussed the role of media in spreading the culture of nonviolence.
"We also informed Suleiman about the details of our visit to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region and our meeting with senior intellectuals and cultural institutions there like the journalists’ syndicate and the University of Salahaddin and Kurdistan parliament. The university may be the base for the establishment of the institute of non-violence in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq."
The UNHOR delegation visited the Kurdistan Region in May at the invitation of Erbil-based Aras Publishers and AKnews agency and held meetings and seminars in the capital Erbil with the participation of many Kurdish politicians, intellectuals, journalists and students.
The university was founded in the Arab world in 2009 and has 50 students from six Arab countries, including Iraq, who are working on the preparation of theses for master's and PhD about topics related to the concepts of non-violence.
By Mahmoud Fakih
RN/DM/AKnews