Peace Is Promoted During King Forum

On the eve of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, the widow of the slain civil rights leader gathered with others in Atlanta to discuss how world leaders can promote reconciliation, from South Africa to Cuba to Iraq. “I think that when you look at conflict anywhere in the world . . . and you boil it down, it’s all about the same thing. It’s all about difference,” said Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume of Northern Ireland. “The answer to difference is to respect it, not to fight it.” Hume and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young, head of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission Desmond Tutu and King’s widow, Coretta, tried to get that message across at a discussion that often included themes espoused by King.