MINISTERS FETED BY PEACE LEADER
JAMAICA, NY — The top Environmental Ministers of Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Ghana took a break from their Earth Summit + 5 meetings at the United Nations on June 26 to visit peace advocate Sri Chinmoy and accept awards on behalf of their countries.
Sri Chinmoy honored the Ministers at a special banquet and presented their countries with an environmental and peace award on behalf of ‘Sri Chinmoy: The Peace Meditation at the United Nations’, which he leads.
“I cannot find the right words to ... acknowledge the honor done to my country,” declared J. E. Afful, Ghana’s Minister of Environment, Science and Technology. “I am deeply touched by this wonderful gesture and I accept the award in all humility ...”
The Bangladesh Minister for Environment and Forests, Mrs. Sajeda Chowdhury, voiced a similar sentiment. Speaking through a translator, she said, “I find peace when I come here,” and said she hoped Sri Chinmoy and the Meditation Group “will continue with your message of peace and love for all the people of the world.”
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Environment and Tourism, Chen Chimutengwende, also was “very touched,” he said. The Minister had met Sri Chinmoy a year and a half ago in Harare, when the peace advocate had visited President Mugabe.
“We in Zimbabwe recognize the good work you are doing in the United Nations and internationally in promoting love and peace,” he declared.
Representatives from Sweden, the Bahamas and Moldova also attended the banquet and received awards from Sri Chinmoy.
Published in Anahata Nada, Volume 26, April-August 1997