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Peace Prospects are doomed without Strong Peace Movement
A strong, unbiased, and continuous peace movement is essential to influence policy, prevent wars, and achieve justice-based global peace.
Key Takeaways
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Why did the USA withdraw from the JCPOAJoint Comprehensive Plan of ActionAn international agreement on the nuclear program of Iran reached in Vienna on July 14, 2015, between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States—plus Germany) and the European Union. agreement after all the hard work that had gone into clinching this? Why did the USA attack Iran in February this year without much of a justification beyond what the JCPOA would have achieved anyway? Having shown the wisdom to stop the war more recently why was it restarted to a significant extent in mid-July?
There can be several ways of answering these questions, but two things stand out. Firstly, these decisions have been very harmful for the USA, for Iran and for world peace. Secondly, it is unlikely that such harmful decisions would have been taken if a strong peace movement had existed.
Lack of people’s enthusiasm for such decisions and in particular for the Iran war is well-established, but there is inadequacy of organized efforts for channeling the anti-war feelings of people strongly and with continuity in such a way that these begin to impact policy in effective ways.
For the peace movement to become a more effective force for good, it needs to be unbiased. A peace movement that rightly condemns US aggressions but ignores Chinese ones will not be able to grow beyond its limited supporters for obvious reasons. Over a longer period, the peace movement must be seen to speak in unbiased ways, guided only by improving the prospects of peace, more notably, justice-based peace and disarmament, including minimizing the possibilities of any use of weapons of mass destruction..
Secondly, the peace movement must have continuity of visible presence and sincere work with deep commitment. The kind of efforts that involve only a one-day anti-war mobilization or other such largely symbolic initiatives will not take the peace movement very far.
The peace movement must work in transparent ways and must be willing to discuss and debate the stand it takes on various issues with patience, remaining firm in its principles and commitment, yet willing to admit mistakes and take corrective actions once there is wide realization.
There must be a large element of voluntarism in this. Although funds will have to be raised, preferably in the form of smaller donations, to support full-time activists, a big strength of the movement should be those who volunteer their time and efforts for the cause of peace.
An important way for the peace movement to grow with a large membership base is to integrate precepts and practices of non-violence in daily life, then in communities and finally all the way to international relations. Every day, millions of people are distressed, sometimes traumatized and physically injured, by various acts of violence in daily life—ranging from domestic aggression to school bullying to street and workplace violence. The peace movement must seek to heal this extremely painful wound of society by spreading the idea and concept of living life on the basis of non-violence in highly creative and beautiful ways. These efforts can reduce the distress of a very large number of people and in turn motivate them to contribute to the peace movement at wider levels too in various ways.
An important aspect of the peace movement is to resist various forms of injustice in non-violent ways. This also helps the peace movement grow steadily towards achieving justice-based and more durable peace in various contexts.
Once the peace movement is broad-based and is active with continuity, then it can also become a force for preventing wars and aggressions, or for stopping ongoing wars, beyond the enormous good it achieves in the daily internal life of a country and its people. Such a broad-based peace movement has the strength to influence policy and to mobilize people in large numbers for adequate length of time for non-violent protests against any decisions or impending, likely decisions to start avoidable wars that are likely to cause immense harm and distress. Additionally, the peace movement can make continuous efforts to increase the possibilities of worldwide reduction of violence, wars, and the arms race, in cooperation with the United Nations or other international organizations devoted to peace. or other international organizations devoted to peace. The peace movement can seek to influence the United Nations in such a way that it can become a more active and effective force for peace. The peace movement can also help to improve and increase the humanitarian assistance efforts, something which is desperately needed today.
Disclaimer:The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Rift.
