CEASEFIRES are almost always desirable and certainly preferable to the continuation of war—especially in an era when weapons are highly destructive and even a single day of conflict can claim a large number of innocent lives. However, it is important to distinguish between ceasefires genuinely aimed at achieving lasting peace and those that are merely opportunistic. In the former case, there is real hope for durable peace, as the intent is sincere and supported by meaningful efforts.
In the latter case, however, there can be little hope for lasting peace if it is not genuinely desired by the parties involved. Such ceasefires may serve only as temporary pauses, postponing conflict to a later stage. Worse still, they may be used to buy time—allowing parties to replenish weapons or overcome strategic constraints before resuming hostilities.
It is becoming increasingly clear that achieving durable peace and preventing wars will grow more difficult unless the forces of peace at the global level become significantly stronger than the forces of war. At present, only about one percent of what is spent on war and military preparations is allocated to peace-building efforts.
What exactly do we mean by strengthening the forces of peace? Firstly, this means that the UNO must be both reformed and strengthened in various ways in its role as a non-partisan peace maker. Secondly, what may eventually prove even more important is that people’s peace movements and organizations should be strengthened all over the world.
While this should be a worldwide effort, at least in the more immediate future this needs to be most emphasized in the context of the USA and some other western countries. A strong and sincere people’s peace movement with a continuing presence among policy makers as well as in streets, in university campuses as well as in spiritual gatherings can play a very important role of saving the life of a very large number of people and ultimately perhaps saving the world from survival threats. This is a very difficult task, but this is possible. This is also the most creative, beautiful and important task.
In this context a demand that this writer has often raised—that of declaring the next decade as the Decade for Saving Earth—must get more attention as this can provide us a great chance to focus on the real and most urgent priorities of the world relating to justice based peace and protection of environment.
Of course the peace movement must involve all people, but there is particularly high hope from the involvement of youth and women. If education and training for peace and non-violence can be spread in thoughtful and creative ways in all or most educational institutions, this can prove very helpful for the cause of peace within a few years. One can then have more hope from the next generation than from the present one for creating a world based on peace (more specifically justice based peace). This will also greatly increase the prospects for saving the life-nurturing conditions of our planet within the time limits still available to humanity.
At present the peace movement despite being weak must make the best efforts possible for converting the existing ceasefire in West Asia into more durable peace. In addition efforts to end other wars and conflicts must also increase, with special emphasis on ending the Ukraine Russia war and the civil war, abetted by outside forces, in Sudan.
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Bharat Dogra is an author and Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Planet in Peril, Earth without Borders, Protecting Earth for Children, Man over Machine and A Day in 2071. The views expressed here are the writer’s own, and Clarion India does not necessarily subscribe to them. He can be reached at:bharatdogra1956@gmail.com
