ANY discourse on ongoing wars focusing too much on wins and losses can be harmful for a lasting ceasefire and peace efforts. Premature declaration of victory or loud claims relating to the same can also be harmful, particularly if this makes it embarrassing for the other side to end the war at this stage.
At a time when wars and weapons have become extremely destructive, all efforts should be made to end the war as early as possible. This should be on a note of justice. But some of the justice aspects can also wait for future negotiations, while at least the daily death and destruction is replaced with a durable ceasefire.
In the Ukraine-Russia war, we all know by now that peace was just about to be achieved within about 10 weeks of the start of the conflict, but peace efforts were sabotaged by very powerful persons, who, then sat safely at a distance and watched without much care or concern as millions were killed, disabled, injured, diseased, displaced and ruined by the war. This should not be allowed to happen again in the Middle East. With powerful interests wanting the war and weapons race to aggravate, opportunities for peace do not appear on the horizon time and again. Once these become available, they should be seized with both hands. Even if the terms of the ceasefire and peace are less than perfect, even if the requirements of justice are not being ideally fulfilled, ceasefire and peace deals should be clinched while they are available so that at least the destruction stops and some of the contested issues can be discussed later. Today, this is as true of the Middle East war as it is of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, as it is of the Sudan civil war and many others across the globe.
While leaders of two or more sides are engaged in wars with each other, they are also looking at their domestic support base. When one side is very loudly propagating its exaggerated victory and, on the other hand, a very humiliating defeat for the other side, it becomes more difficult for the latter to declare peace at this stage. One hopes that objectives higher than exaggerated and premature declarations of victory guide the leadership of all sides.
In fact, it is not just a question of what leaders or opinion makers on two or more warring sides say; it is a question also of the overall discourse on various ongoing wars as well. Historically, the experience has been to discuss the developing situation in various wars more in terms of who is winning or losing. While such a discussion will always be there among people as well as experts to some extent, this writer has been arguing increasingly in recent times that efforts must be made to change this more towards a discourse of achieving an early ceasefire and peace. In times when war and weapons have become destructive to an unprecedented extent, such a change towards a discourse based more on achieving a ceasefire and peace is certainly needed.
Another urgent reason for such a change in discourse is the increasing possibility of the further widening of some of the present-day wars. The longer these wars persist, the more such a possibility increases. Certainly, in the context of the three most worrying conflicts mentioned above (but also in the case of some others), the possibility of these turning into wider wars exists. Hence, the sooner these wars end, the better it is for the safety of the world and its people. In fact, some of the most prominent experts in recent times have also spoken very worryingly in terms of the increasing possibility of a third world war or a nuclear war. This should never happen.
While achieving early ceasefire and peace breakthroughs, in addition, of course, there is an increasing urgency of strengthening and widening the world peace movement. Without a strong, creative, sincere, honest and continuing peace movement having an increasing presence in the world, the prospects of world peace cannot improve significantly.
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Bharat Dogra writes extensively on environment, development and welfare issues. 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
