Press Release September 25, 1998
Swiss President
Flavio Cotti takes Torch of Hope
The Swiss Peace Candle, welded of weapons, stands in
the middle of Berne, the capital of Switzerland, at the "Kornhausplatz".
It was brought there on Friday, Sept. 11, 1998, for the big feast
for Switzerland's 150th bithday. It is about three meters high.
The basic structure are cannon barrels donated by the Swiss Military
Department, there are twisted guns and other parts of weapons.
There is also a sculpture of a prisoner inside it who cries for
freedom. On top there is a tank with a big wick which is so strong
that it also burns in rainy weather. For the time of the three
days feast, the sculpture in the form of a candle was lit.
The Swiss TV reported about the candle; the young representatives
of the Global Initiativeand the artist were interviewed, and some
newspapers and the radio reported as well. On the second day of
the feast, President Cotti visited the candle. He was photographed
by some news agencies (keystone) and the press in front of the
sculpture and it was reported in the media that he found this
work of art "a good idea".
On the following weekend, the committee of the Global Initiative
presented the "Torch of Hope" to Mr. Cotti at an NGO
conference. Four of the five members are under 20 years old. The
torch of hope has been held by the pope, the Dala Lama and many
presidents of this planet and has especially been sent to Switzerland
from California for this occasion. Vice President David Schmitter,
17, has written a scene for the presentation of the torch. David
played the role of a fool who introduced the torch. An optimist
and a cynic gave their commentaries concerning hope, and in the
end Mr. Cotti took the torch. He promised that he will light the
candle in Berne with it. This will happen soon, and preparations
are made to create a meaningful ceremony at this occasion.
The Global Initiative co-operates with Alan Moore of the Butterfly
Gardeners Association (BGA) in California for the important project
of presenting the "World Peace Candle" to Mr. Kofi Annan,
Secretary General of the UN, on Saturday, 10th July 1999. It is
planned that one of the young representatives of the Global Initiative
will come to New York at this occasion.
The UN is asked to provide a room for this candle. This candle
which has been bought in 1995 by Dr. Roland Schutzbach, the founder
of the Global Initiative, and his daughter Franziska Schutzbach,
shall be lit as soon as there are no more nuclear weapons on this
earth.
It is about 70 cm high and made of metal and glass.
Dear Alan,
Besides this text we have photos of the Peace Candle in Berne
with members of the committee and the torch of hope. If you send
me your postal address, I can send you some of these pictures.
There is no photo of the world peace candle yet. As I said, there
are some articles in Newspapers, but in German. Please contact
me per EMail today so that we make sure the communication works
again.
A big thanks for your work!
With your reports and activities, we have more credibility,
and we think we can apply for a grant concerning the trip to New
York. So it seems more possible than before that one of our youngsters
can come...
Roland
Roland Schutzbach
Fauggersweg 39
3232 Ins, Switzerland
Tel +41 32 313 2458