Indonesian forces have started to leave Aceh province. This was done as a goodwill gesture towards the rebels who are set to begin a disarmament of their forces.
Previously on Things, Peace in Aceh Province.
Category Archives: Peace
Brazil Disarms, Fewer Deaths
The government of Brazil launched a disarmament campaign in 2004 that pays compensation to those who turn in their weapons. No questions were asked where/how they got their weapons. At one point someone handed in a high-calibre machine gun that could shoot down planes.
As a result of this campaign there have been fewer deaths as a result of gun violence. Gun deaths have fallen by more than 8% in 2004, the first time the death rate has fallen in 13 years. 443, 700 guns have been collected.
Pentagon releases pictures
A Pentagon General told BBC “If we lose America, we lose the war, †and this seems to be happening already. 
Ralph Begleiter is a professor at the University of Delaware. Some time this year he brought the US Defence Department to court in order to force it to publish pictures of coffins coming home from Iraq.
The Pentagon then published 700 pictures, and this – together with the increasing number of deaths and a lot of resistance from victims’ families – had a big impact in American public opinion about the Iraq war. As American soldiers’ casualties have reached 1850, American public support for the war has dropped to about 40%.
Thanks again to BBC news for the information and picture.
India Providing Aid to Afghanistan
The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, sees that stability is needed in Asia, and one way that India can help keep things stable is by helping Afghanistan more. Already New Delhi ranks in the top six contributors to Kabul.
On a recent visit to Kabul, Singh noted that more reconstruction is needed and has said publicly that India will continue to help Afghanistan as well as further their economic and political ties.
North Korea May Drop Nuke Program
North Korea is reported to be willing to stop its nuclear program. 
They will continue to make use of nuclear reactors, although the Bush administration is demanding they stop that too.
International talks have been more successful than previously thought and are moving along rather amiably. The North Koreans and Americans have been using diplomatic channels to create a good atmosphere for the upcoming talks.