Statement to
Istanbul/Antakya International Conference “Peoples Want Peace” presented by Irene Eckert
April 25th
to 29th 2013
In
the name of reason the German Working Circle for Peace Policy says NO to military interventionism, NO to to all efforts favouring
the suprimacy of the Western hemisphere, NO to military bases abroad
and No to the deployment of questionable „patriots“ near the
border of Syria. We say No to the ongoing destabilisation of
yet another beautiful Mediterranean country, a friend of the
Palestinian people. We veto the terrorist attacks from hired foreign
mercenaries. We do not consider them rebells, democrats or the
like. We do not call them oppoisionals or even extremists we consider
them terrorists and murderers. We advocate legal methods against
them and we defend International Law. We therefore stick to the
letter and the spirit of the UN-Constitution and say YES to the
Humanitarian Conventions build upon it. We say NO to the manifold
hypocritical pretenses. We say NO to the questionable concept under
name of „Responsibility to Protect“. We say NO to its
secretive formula R2P which means nothing but meddling in the
affairs of souvereign countries. We veto neo-colonial efforts for
„Regime Change“. This title also stands for interference in the
internal matters of UN-family-members. This, we will not and must not
acccept. As peaceloving people we will defend the souvereignity
of nations small and large and their legitimate governments. We
reject the neocolonial idea that foreigners should decide who will
govern Turkey or Syria or any other country in the world. Democracy
is our shield and it must be defended at home.
Since
the foundation of our working circle in the heydays of the
peace-movement of the early 80ies we have been saying NO the
deployment of nuclear missiles and to threats with preemptive nuclear
strikes. We logically also reject the deployment of missiles near
the border of a neighbouring country under the pretext to establish a
no fly zone, under the pretext to forward democracy or to defend
human rights. A no fly zone means war as we have seen with Libya.
Threating with war is already a flagrant violation of the
UN-Charter. Even Threatening other nations with violence means
breaching the UN Charter. Threatening with means of mass destruction
and using them belongs to the arsenal of imperial powers. They have
not hesitated to apply such lethal machinery twice at least.
Accusing small nation of doing the same sounds like a macabre
satireSuch accusations must be dismantled as vicious
and defamatory. A Nuclear Free Europe is on our agenda.
And we also say yes to a Nuclear Free Middle East and yes a Nuclear
Free World.
While
defending internationala law, while defending democratic values, we
also firmly demand cuts in military expenditures. Our call is for
defence of human needs as our first priority. Expenses for warfare
are an obstacle to this goal. In Germany, in Europe and on all
continents the peoples strive to be liberated from want and from the
burden of warfare. Our late Chancellor Willy Brandt used to underline
that „Peace is not everything, but everything is nothing without
Peace“. The worst enemy of humankind is War itself. The War on
Terror is War. Its astronomical costs are inacceptable. Home defense
can never be achieved by means of terror, home defense is not very
costly either. Public funds must be re-directed to help free us from
want and the planet from pollution. Peaceful solutions for all
conflicts can be achieved once we stop feeding the war machine and
the banks. Budgets for peace is what we want.
Foreign
military locations are contrary to people's needs everywhere and
they swallow heaps of tax money. In Büchel and Ramstein in
Germany, in Vincenca in Italy, in Okinawa, Japan and on Jeju island
in South Korea, citizens stand therefore up and say „No“ to
foreign military installations. Nobody wants to host nuclear and
other military devices in their backyard. Citizens say „No“ to
the 30 000 starts and landings at the US-airbase Ramstein in the
Rhein-Ruhr-area in Germany. They say No to the noise damage caused by
the fighter bombers and No to the lethal damage they carry to
their destiny.
As
an obligation from our war-ridden history only peace must start from
German soil!
One
more reason to say NO to the investment into 6,527 German soldiers
abroad!
NO
to the German military presence at 15 different theatres of crisis
and war abroad!
No
to the 8 billion Euro of German tax money wasted on the
Afghanistan-„mission“ since 2001!
NO
to 68 million Euro in 2012 for the KOSOVO-“mission“!
No
to the 62 million for the German „presence“ at the Somali
cost!
And
No to the 25 million for the Lebanon „mission“.
German
foreign interests must no longer be defined by sanctions, threats,
and military missions. We therefore call for a fundamental Change in
Policy. We disagree with TINA-fatalism. Alternatives are right there.
Let us pick them up. Let us learn from other nations, from other
continents. In mid-April President Rafael Correa from Ecuador
illustrated at the Technical University of Berlin, that it is
possible to help blossom economic growth and scientific research by
putting human needs as first parameter for public decision making.
Our
NO to feeding the gun-smiths, to helping arms exporters is well
founded. Economic growth and scientific progress do not come with
them. Producing tools of warfare is destructive and serves only the
greedy interests of one percent of our societies. This tiny minority
can be and must be stopped before their lethal course will lead us
into another major catastrophy. It is late, but not too late.
Our
Struggle Is For Life - Whereas NATO Bears Death!
This
why we call upon all our compatriots and on all the peoples across
the planet to join us in the struggle for peace and for a livable
society, a society where women, the young and the elderly can fully
participate.
Obviously,
all citizens want communities that are healthy and livable,
that allow for the young generation to use their creative potentials,
to develop their personalities, to perform excellently and to do so
without drug-misuse. All peoples strive for an economic order under
which nobody will be forced to make harmful choices. We all together
strive for a world where careers and children are compatible and both
part of a meaningful and humane life. NATO with all its lethal
infrastructure is contrary to a humane vision. Even its „Smartest
Strategy Concepts“ can never fullfill our dreams and visions.
NATO
can only secure the interests of a tiny handful of oligarchs, a
handful of people, who do not want to share the natural riches of
Mother Earth. It is our duty as peacmeakers to challenge those few on
their road to destruction. We must help one other to understand the
true nature of the NATO–alliance. We must not allow this
anti-social coalition to continue bullying the world. A look at
history can help. No empire has lasted forever. No matter how
affluent their available resources and how powerful their military
machinery, no matter how brutal their methods. They all came to an
end. Contrary to its appearance of strength, the moment of truth for
NATO is already on the horizon. Its wisdom has come to a dead end.
Whereas its military apparatus swallows almost every tax dollar, the
serious global economic crisis increases its weakness. Conflicting
interests within the military alliance are growing. And we, the
people need dearly butter instead of canons. We must be aware of its
frailty. People need jobs, but not in the war-machine, not at the
expense of the lives of our husbands, sons and grandsons, not at the
expense of any life. Let us therefore join voices for the retirement
of NATO . Let us block the road to distruction. This call
is urgent if humanity is to survive.
Our
coming together here in Istanbul will be a major contribution. It
will help to overcome „the unjustified and unacceptable silence of
the 'peace movements'“ the world over. The paper of the US-Peace
Council on Syria,the Middle East and Africa issued on March 20th 2013
needs to be translated. The very precious US-document covering the
„Imperialistic Military Escalations in Africa and the Middle East“
must be studied closely. It will help us to overcome the agony of our
respective tired and weary movements.
No
matter what our differences or our visions are, let us be clear on
one thing: Neoliberal strategies breed war and they deprive all
peoples of their basic needs. We can over come these strategies and
replacce them by others. Let us learn from the Latin American
peoples. They have been trough all imaginable crises and they offer
their experiences freely.
Let
us begin organizing from scrap and if necessary on the on the
smallest scale. Let us meet our neighbours in a friendly manner and
share our frustration with exploding rents and barricaded roads and
talk about legal ways to object. Let us have meaningful talks about
real issues at workplaces among friends and in family circles. Most
political parties, citizen's associations, NGOs as well as trade
unions are no longer reliable, they have become more or less
obsolete. The media are not helpful as they are in the hands of the
one percent. They all share the neoliberal strategies. We must
inventive. We can and will find ways to communicate if we now what is
needed.
As
war resisters and as people of vision we are bound to challenge
neoliberal strategies , because its structures and needs necessarily
feed into the war machine. This why organizing against war begins
where basic people's needs are violated, at home, not abroad. We must
visualize where our tax money goes and we must say where it should
go. Moral and ethic opposition to war and military intervention are
important, knowledge about international law helps a lot. But let us
be vigilant. we must no longer be fooled by enemy images coined for
us. We must no longer allow the humanitarian question be misused as a
tool for warefare. Bombing for human rights and humanitarian military
assistance are a nonsensicle concept. Humanitarian goals can never be
achieved by terror and through warefare. Human rights violations must
challenged at home, where we can find out names and addresses of
those responsible for it and take them to court. Let us defend the
law against the powerful lawbreakers. Let us learn how to speak truth
to power at home and let us join voices for social justice programs
in order to help meet the most urgent human needs. Our demands are
simple:
Budgets
for Peace! Cut the military! Feed the cities! Human needs at home
first!
Invest
in hospitals, schools and public infrastructure!
Respect
national and international law!
Trust
other nations to solve their problems and respect their sovreignity!
Withdraw
„patriots“ and other military equipment from the Syrian border!
Stop
funding mercenaries, thugs and terrorists!
Retire
Nato!
