A Condolence Message on the Passing of Dr. Benjamin B. Ferencz
OBITUARIES, 17 Apr 2023
Dr. Surya Nath Prasad – TRANSCEND Media Service
Dr. Benjamin B. Ferencz (Photo by Brooks Kraft/ Getty Images)
I shocked to hear the news of the passing of Dr. Benjamin B. Ferencz, on 7 April 2023, at the age of 103 and express condolences to his family members.
I, Dr. Surya Nath Prasad, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Peace Education: An International Journal, and on behalf of the Members of Editorial Board of the Journal pray to the almighty God to grant eternal peace to the departed soul, and courage to his family members to bear the irreparable loss.
Dr. Benjamin B. Ferencz was the Prosecutor, The Nuremberg War Crimes Trial Against Nazi Extermination Squads, and he was Director, War and Peace Foundation. He was active member of the Editorial Board and Contributor to the Journal.
Dr. Ferencz was one of the advocates for a permanent and independent International Criminal Court (ICC). His effort was “to replace ‘the Law of Force’ with ‘the Force of Law’”, and his motto was “Law, Not War”. But the Force of Law requires justice in its base, otherwise it will be Law of Force made by its handlers under whom the governance would be. And the Law of Force is obviously Unjust Law. Here I would like to mention the names of a few persons, viz. Jesus Christ, Socrates, John Huss, Giordano Bruno, A great Quaker Thomas Garret, Mahatma Gandhi, Advocate Bram Fischer, who fought against unjust laws and were punished. Dr. Benjamin B. Ferencz’s name deserves to be added in the list of the names just mentioned who fought for unjust laws, though he was unpunished longer warrior for his mission to replace ‘the Law of Force’ with ‘the Force of Law’ to the benefit of all mankind everywhere. However, in all these affairs, the missing point is Universal Education or Universal Peace Education, that is basic or fundamental, and it is mother of Justice and Law and grandmother of Peace. Unless everybody leaving none, there is no hope for ‘Force of Law’, and people or masses will remain be victims of ‘Law of Force’ implemented by one or a few persons.
Dr. Benjamin B. Ferencz has proved wrong the forecast of a popular Chinese Saint’s saying: “Grain takes 1 year to grow, a tree takes 10 years to grow, and a man (a human being – a man or a woman) takes 100 years to grow. But Dr. Benjamin B. Ferencz died at the age of 103 years by living his active, creative, and healthy life perpetually. And his demise at the age of 103 also proves the prophecy of the author of these lines that a man or a woman can live for a longer period being perpetually healthy.
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Dr. Surya Nath Prasad, Former President, Executive Vice President & Secretary-General of the International Association of Educators for World Peace (IAEWP); associate professor of education emeritus, the Graduate Institute of Peace Studies, Kyung Hee University, Republic of Korea. Founder and editor-in-chief of Peace Education: An International Journal. dr_suryanathprasad@yahoo.co.in
Tags: Benjamim Ferencz, Crimes against Humanity, Germany, ICC, Nazism, Nuremberg Trials WWII, Obituary, WWII, War crimes
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 17 Apr 2023.
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