{"id":44213,"date":"2014-07-07T12:00:01","date_gmt":"2014-07-07T11:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=44213"},"modified":"2015-05-05T21:33:43","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T20:33:43","slug":"my-thoughts-on-nobel-peace-laureate-mairead-maguires-speech-on-6th-june-2014-in-sarajevo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2014\/07\/my-thoughts-on-nobel-peace-laureate-mairead-maguires-speech-on-6th-june-2014-in-sarajevo\/","title":{"rendered":"My Thoughts on Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire\u2019s Speech on 6th June, 2014 in Sarajevo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ref. — Peace Movements\u2019 Common Vision: The Abolition of Militarism, by Nobel Peace Laureate<\/em> Mairead Maguire \u2013 <\/strong>Keynote address at Sarajevo Peace Event, 6 June 2014<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Dear Mairead Maguire,<\/p>\n

First of all, I think that to say \u201cthe assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo led to the start of the First World War in l9l4,\u201d gives the impression that, had the assassination not taken place, we would have never had World War I. The big \u201cwar to end all wars\u201d was planned for years and I can assure you, if Ferdinand had not been assassinated, even if he had never existed, we would have had World War I.<\/p>\n

In 1906, Leo Tolstoy, on witnessing the mad Rat Race in the military industry, the accumulation of weapons, missiles, bombs, tanks, air-fighters, warships, etc, warned: \u201cthis is pure madness and it can only lead to one thing: a big international armed conflict\u201d. He explained \u201cif factories don\u2019t sell their products and make sure they are used, so that clients buy again, they\u2019ll be in great trouble\u201d<\/p>\n

Quite correctly, Mairead Maguire continues with \u201cWhat started here in Sarajevo was a century of two global wars\u201d. Yes, \u201ctwo global wars\u201d, to which she adds \u201ca Cold War, a century of immense, rapid explosion of death and destruction technology\u201d. In Mairead Maguire\u2019s place, I would have indicated that the Cold War was only the name given to the many \u201cwars by proxy\u201d fought between 1945 and 1990. Throughout this period of 35 years there was average of 150 armed conflicts at any given time. These wars were essential for what Ms Maguire calls \u201c\u2026a century of immense, rapid explosion of death and destruction technology\u201d.<\/p>\n

Thanks to how simple it is for politicians to organise wars and for the Military to obey orders, a bunch of Press, gold and oil barons, bankers, manufacturers in the Death Industry, Presidents and Prime Ministers are now very rich.<\/p>\n

Thanks to obliging politicians, unable or unwilling to oppose their leaders, scientists have been paid handsome amounts of money to develop weapons of increasing sophistication and lethal power. This is what Ms Maguire calls \u201cdestruction technology\u201d, made possible by the innocent and gullible masses, which put all their energies into anti-nuclearism campaigns.<\/p>\n

Mairead Maguire also said \u201call extremely costly and extremely risky\u201c, as if costs and risks were of politicians\u2019 concern. Politicians will only worry about costs the day we have a Law \u201cWhen a politician wishes to have a war, he must finance it himself, with his personal money\u201d. Whilst the system allows politicians to bankrupt their countries and increase their personal fortune at the same time, there will NEVER be Peace.<\/p>\n

Same with \u201crisks\u201d. If the Law said \u201ca politician who wishes to declare war on another country must fight it himself, (instead of sending Armies to kill and die) that will be a REAL risk. I\u2019m sure we wouldn\u2019t have many wars.<\/p>\n

As it is, politicians are only favoured by wars. Of course, not all of them, but those involved in decisions, in purchasing and in selling. Politicians and diplomats involved in \u201cpromoting\u201d their country\u2019s war products, have NO OPTION. They must recommend bomb makers, introduce them to new clients. With wars they can never lose.<\/p>\n

Politicians, diplomats or top military I speak to, all react the same way when they hear me advocate for a Weapon free world: \u201cAre you mad, Alberto?\u201d are their first words. They then proceed to explain how the military \u201cbusiness\u201d is too good for them to consider abandoning it.<\/p>\n

Ms Maguire talked about \u201cthe peace movement in the last three decades before the break-out of WWl.\u201d, telling us politicians, writers, Kings, Emperors, etc, were all for Peace. It seems to me, she believes Governments listen to what people want and\u2026.do it. In fact, the same happened before World War II and is happening now. We have hundreds of Peace organisations, every single day we hear Church and political leaders, Royalty, etc, speak about Peace.<\/p>\n

Ms Maguire actually said \u201cThe great strength of the Movement was that it did not limit itself to civilizing and slowing down militarism, it demanded its total abolition.\u201d Why then, didn\u2019t Governments abolish militarism? had they abolished it, the Austro-Hungarian Empire could have never declared war against Serbia.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, to make the world believe that \u201cbecause the Austro-Hungarians decided to attack Serbia\u201d, there was a valid reason for a World War, for so many other countries entering the game, that is something that I shall never believe.<\/p>\n

Mairead Maguire says \u201cpeople are tired of armaments and war because they have seen that they release uncontrollable forces of tribalism and nationalism.\u201d This statement is very misleading. Armaments DO NOT \u201crelease uncontrollable forces of tribalism and nationalism\u201d. Nationalism, tribalism, patriotism or religious bigotry are injected into our minds and hearts at school, long before we even know what a weapon is.<\/p>\n

Maguire says \u201cThese are dangerous and murderous forms of identity\u201d, but, in my opinion, they are not. 95% of soldiers going to war have no \u201cmurderous form of identity\u201d. They are simply obeying orders.<\/p>\n

Among the steps to be taken for a better world, Maguire suggests \u201cwe need to acknowledge that our common humanity and human dignity is more important than our different traditions.\u201d How come, for an Irish woman, she does not realize that sharing humanity and traditions cannot prevent conflict. Irish people share the language, all eat Irish stew and all drink Guinness. But \u201cbusiness\u201d, money and power, of politicians and Church leaders, cancels all that harmony.<\/p>\n

Look at the Spanish Civil War. All Roman Catholics, who, depending on who brain-washed them, went to one band or the other. Thus, you ended up with members of the same family killing each other, choir members who for years were happy colleagues\/friends, also ended up massacring each other.<\/p>\n

Maguire says \u201cWe need to recognize our life and the lives of others are sacred and we can solve our problems without killing each other.\u201d as if politicians didn\u2019t know that. \u201cWe need to accept and celebrate diversity and otherness\u201d. But this we do already. I never heard of a war started because one group eats pork and the other doesn\u2019t, or because one group drinks wine whilst another group has a ban on it. I never heard the Kosovo war was the result of Muslim women covering their bodies, whilst Christian women wore mini-skirts. Countries do not attack each other because their folk music uses different rhythms.<\/p>\n

Maguire says \u201cwe need to heal the \u2018old\u2019 divisions and misunderstandings,\u201d without saying \u201chow\u201d. Is she proposing one religion only? Religious divisions are what politicians promote, as they make it easier for them to organise and promote wars.<\/p>\n

Maguire says \u201cWe are also challenged to build structures through which we can co-operate and which reflect our interconnected and interdependent relationships.\u201d But this is EXACTLY what leading politicians and diplomats do. They are extremely well \u201cinterconnected\u201d. Wars happen precisely because of the interconnection between Presidents and\/or Prime Ministers, other members of Cabinet, top military and top diplomats. Wars happen because of agreements between Governments and Banks.<\/p>\n

Maguire says \u201cThe vision of the European Union founders to link countries together, economically in order to lessen the likelihood of war amongst the nations, is a worthy endeavour.\u201d This is another misleading piece of information. Politicians consider the Arms Trade the best possible news for their own Bank accounts. This means the \u201ceconomic link\u201d is the mutually benefiting military contracts. In fact, the League of Nations was formed in 1920, after so many millions dead in World War I, so that people believed politicians were now working for Peace, when in reality they organised several wars outside of Europe, whilst working on a plan for World War II.<\/p>\n

Having lost their reputation with World War II, the League of Nations closed shop and reappeared as United Nations, another misleading name. They are \u201cUnited\u201d yes, united in promoting wars and abuse of Human Rights, to which they added another fabulous business: the Refugees Industry.<\/p>\n

Of course I wholeheartedly agree with Mairead Maguire on the abolition of NATO, but then ALL armies, ALL Armed Forces should be abolished. Then Ms Maguire will not need to utter these ominous words: \u201cThe UN should actively take up its mandate to save the world from the scourge of war.\u201d because the UN wouldn\u2019t exist. In fact, the UN was created, as I said before, so that we can \u201ccontinue\u201d to have wars.<\/p>\n

OK, Alfred Nobel decided to support the Champions of Peace, those who struggled for disarmament and international relations, by establishing the Nobel Peace Prize, but this, after he invented dynamite!! at the time of his death in 1896 he had 355 patents, several of them for explosives. It was a case of \u201clike father, like son\u201d, as Immanuel Nobel, Alfred\u2019s father, designed the naval mines consisting of submerged wooden casks filled with gunpowder<\/p>\n

All of you who have read me over the years will know that the \u201cleitmotiv\u201d of my life has always been, is and will always be \u201ca demilitarised world\u201d. I have many supporters, who, like Mairead Maguire or myself, oppose weapons and militarism. However, this is far from enough. How can we educate children for them to become anti-military adults, if the Education Minister\u2019s brief (political brief) is to create a society of young men and women attracted to violence , whose choice of career on leaving school will be: enlisting in the Army, Navy or Air-Force?<\/p>\n

Why do Governments promote the outdoor game \u201cPaint-Ball? why do so many businesses go bankrupt, but never a bomb manufacturer?<\/p>\n

Maguire says we \u2013 the Peace lobby – must \u201coffer an alternative to militarism\u201d but she doesn\u2019t offer one. What does she propose we do with the many millions employed in the military industry, from scientists working in research to makers of soldiers\u2019 uniforms and torture kits?<\/p>\n

She says \u2013 which is absolutely true \u2013 that \u201cthe spirit of men and women is to love and be loved and solve our problems through co-operation, dialogue, non-violent conflict resolution.\u201d. But Bush and Blair and all politicians in the world know this !!!!! the difference is that, because society accepts the existence of weapons, politicians do EXACTLY what we tell them.<\/p>\n

I explain. \u201csolve our problems through co-operation\u201d. Politicians co-operate on solving their problems all the time. Trouble is, their problems are not the same as ours. Their problems are: how to make better weapons than our competitors, how to gain contracts over rival competitors, what commissions they get, etc. This is what politicians call \u201cdialogue\u201d and it is always of a non-violent nature. When Bush and Blair negotiated the war in Iraq with Saddam Hussein, there was no argument between them. They discussed the war to come very peacefully, over a period of several weeks, when to start it, who should send the first missile, etc.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t like the sound of the following words uttered by Mairead Maguire\u2019s: \u201cwe shall be inspired and energized to pursue our different projects, be it arms trade, nuclear, non-violence, culture of peace, drone warfare, etc.,\u201d How can we be working for Peace and the Arms Trade at the same time?<\/p>\n

In the following phrase \u201cwe can agree to work that all countries come together in an Agreement to abolish all weapons and war\u201d, the word \u201cwar\u201d is unnecessary, as with the abolition of weapons, war would never be possible.<\/p>\n

To me, as much as I agree with Mairead Maguire\u2019s emphatic call for a world without weapons and admire her for making this call, I feel that her suggestions for action are insufficient. It is not enough to shout in all directions \u201cI don\u2019t want a militarized world\u201d! whilst the games we buy for our children and grandchildren, the films they watch on television, the teaching at schools of Nationalism, Patriotism, Religious superiority, etc, etc., are all promoting violence and a militarized world.<\/p>\n

To transform the world, children should not only be taught a list of wars, with names of battles, number of deaths, names of \u201cheroes\u201d (the ones who killed the most), etc. Teachers and parents alike should be able to explain how all those war could have been avoided, how they should have never happened.<\/p>\n

_____________________________<\/p>\n

Alberto Portugheis is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment. By profession a concert pianist and pedagogue www.apion.org.uk\/tapsim<\/a>,\u00a0he\u00a0is an\u00a0active peace campaigner, whose anti-military stance \u00a0earned him\u00a0a nomination\u00a0\u00a0for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize.\u00a0As a result,\u00a0Portugheis wrote,\u00a0\u201cDear Ahed\u2026..The Game of War and a Path to Peace\u201d\u00a0– a book that has received critical acclaim http:\/\/www.dearahed.co.uk<\/a>.\u00a0He contributes regularly to Twitter and has many followers.\u00a0Some of his thoughts, ideas\u00a0and reflections,\u00a0which express only the desire \u201cto make people think\u201d and not take for granted what they read, \u201cno matter where\u201d, can be found in his blog http:\/\/portugheis.livejournal.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As much as I agree with Mairead Maguire\u2019s emphatic call for a world without weapons and admire her for making this call, I feel that her suggestions for action are insufficient. It is not enough to shout in all directions \u201cI don\u2019t want a militarized world\u201d! whilst the games we buy for our children and grandchildren, the films they watch on television, the teaching at schools of Nationalism, Patriotism, Religious superiority, etc, etc., are all promoting violence and a militarized world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-transcend-members"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44213\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}