Verdensmarsjen for fred og ikkevolds erklæring vedrørende president Obamas annonsering av økt antall soldater i Afghanistan

Ettersom Verdensmarsjen for fred og ikkevold ankom New York, USA, dagen før president Obamas tale ved US Military Academy ved West Point, New York, hvor man forventet at Obama skulle annonsere sin Afghanistan plan skrev man en erklæring i regi av Verdensmarsjen for fred og ikkevold:

Erklæring:

The World March has five main proposals, one of which calls for the immediate withdrawal of invading troops from occupied territories.  As such, we are strongly opposed to President Obama’s predicted announcement to increase US and international troop presence in Afghanistan.

Ours is a position built on a moral argument: treat others as you would like to be treated. Violence and war do not resolve conflicts, but create the conditions for new problems that will re-surface time and again. An increase in troop numbers will inevitably lead to an increase in civilian deaths and casualties, an increase in orphaned children, and an increase in disaffected young men who believe that violence is the only way to survive in life. An increase in troop numbers would sow the seeds of terrorism and make the world a more dangerous place for us all to live in.

We call on President Obama to take a lead in this moment, to live up to the Nobel Peace Prize that was recently bestowed on him and to seek an alternative solution to the conflict in Afghanistan. The money allotted for troops could be more wisely spent on the development of the region, leading to social justice for all, and on the elimination of the roots of terrorism that supposedly led his country into this interminable war in the first place.

Rafael de la Rubia,

Spokesperson for the World March for Peace and Nonviolence

President, World without Wars, Spain

The World March is an initiative of World without Wars, an organisation launched by the Humanist Movement in 1994.  It has benefited from the support and collaboration of thousands of organisations and associations around the World during its journey.

The March counts on the endorsement of: Presidents of 11 countries; Desmond Tutu, The Dalai Lama, Jimmy Carter, Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, Dennis Kucinich, Daniel Ellsberg, Cate Blanchett, Martin Sheen, Yoko Ono, Art Garfunkel, Philip Glass, Ad Asner and hundreds more.  For a complete list, go to www.theworldmarch.org