If you are interested in working with the International Peace Coalition, please contact questions@schillerinstitute.org
Join Helga Zepp-LaRouche July 12, 2023 at 11am EDT, 5pm CET for a discussion. Send in your questions early to questions@schillerinstitute.org
On the Verge of a New World War—European Nations Must Cooperate with the Global South!
by Kevin Gribbroek
July 9—A two-day international conference was held this weekend in Strasbourg, France by the Schiller Institute, titled “On the Verge of a New World War: European Nations Must Cooperate with the Global South!” The proceedings were organized into five panels, with three on Day One July 8, featuring 22 speakers, from 14 different countries, ending with an evening concert of classical music. The second day’s two panels, which also included musical offerings, had wide-ranging discussions, involving many of the audience of more than 200 attendees. (See the full program below).
This event, and the process of deliberation it represents, stands in sharp contrast to the recently convened Paris “Summit for a New Global Financial Pact,” where leaders of the Global South ridiculed the hypocrisy of their European counterparts. As opposed to the not-so-hidden Malthusian “green imperialist” depopulation agenda of the arrogant Paris Summit, the Schiller Institute colloquy is an opportunity for peoples of all continents to gather for the purpose of deliberation on how to bring about a peaceful and prosperous future for the entire human race.
The Schiller Institute conference is also a timely and necessary intervention against Global NATO’s July 11–12 Vilnius, Lithuania summit, where bloodthirsty leaders of the West’s Military-Industrial Complex will be plotting more measures which, unless stopped, will bring about the destruction of humanity through thermonuclear war.
The Schiller Institute’s panels covered a broad range of critical economic, strategic, and cultural themes. Notable was the fact that due to the Covid-19 pandemic this was the first in-person Schiller Institute conference in three years! The conference opened with the famous Adagio cantabile of Beethoven’s C minor Pathétique piano sonata, performed by Werner Hartmann, of the Schiller Institute.
Panel I: Peace in the World Through a New Security and Development Architecture for Each and Every Country: The Indispensable Strategic Autonomy of European Countries
Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and leader of the Schiller Institute, gave the conference keynote, “Let a Garden Amidst a Million Gardens Bloom!” (Full text on this website). She set the tone for the panel by contrasting the tragic consequences of the collapsing trans-Atlantic “rules based order” attempting to maintain its hegemony, with the rising nations of the Global South, freeing themselves from centuries of colonial servitude and asserting their right to economic development.
Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche asserted at the beginning of her presentation her commitment: “We will revive the best of what European culture has produced … and we will bring that into the shaping of the New Paradigm!” (Her full presentation is below.)
The next speaker, H.E. Lu Shaye, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in France, delivered his presentation titled “China’s Role for Peace and Development.” He stated, “At present, changes unseen for a century are taking place at an accelerated pace, giving rise to unprecedented transformations of our world, our times and history.” He characterized the world as divided into two camps: pro-peace and pro-war. Which camp will prevail? Ambassador Lu detailed the incredible opportunities Western nations would realize were they to cooperate with China and the Global South through participation in the multitude of development initiatives China is leading, such as the Belt and Road Initiative. (His full presentation is below.)
‘The Multipolar World is Emerging’
H.E. Ilia Subbotin, Minister-Counselor of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in France, spoke on the topic, “What Russia Really Wants in Its Relations with Europe: Peace or War?” He recounted his own personal perspective of the history of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent tumultuous transition to the post-Soviet era.
He noted that, contrary to proclamations by President George H.W. Bush that the West had “won” the Cold War, from the Russian perspective it was President Mikhail Gorbachev who had stopped the Cold War. Most people in the former Soviet Republics looked forward to a new union with a desire to become a part of the “Western world.” But, despite countless efforts by Russian leaders over a 30-year period, particularly President Vladimir Putin, every attempt at Western integration has been sabotaged.
But Minister-Counselor Subbotin asked, will the European nations free themselves from the “shackles of U.S. control” and join with the “new centers of economic growth” of the Global South? “When and if this happens, Russia will be ready for mutually beneficial dialogue of equals, on the basis of our fundamental interests.” (His full presentation is below.)
Other panelists addressed the potential that exists for European nations to join with the Global South to create a New Paradigm.
Panel II: Why It Is in the Strategic Interest of European Nations to Cooperate with the Global South
Jacques Cheminade, President of the Schiller Institute co-thinker organization Solidarité et Progrès political party in France, gave the Panel 2 keynote, titled “The Rise of the Global South against Geopolitical Blocs.” He characterized the current historical period as “the battle between the Malthusian, domineering financial oligarchy that occupies our Western countries and those who believe that the human species has a right to development.” He noted that the first signs of a potential “conflagration” are everywhere evident in Europe, particularly in his own country of France.
In the midst of this gathering storm, nations of the Global South see the Russia-China alliance as reflected in their [[joint statement]] [[http://en.kremlin.ru/supplement/5770]] of February 4, 2022, as a “positive option and chance to escape the trans-Atlantic straightjacket”—a path to realize what President Xi Jinping calls “the common future of mankind.”
Mr. Cheminade highlighted the crucial role of the late U.S. statesman and economist Lyndon LaRouche, husband of Schiller institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche, in discovering the principles of physical economy critical for a New Paradigm of development. This was stated explicitly by the famous Russian economist Sergei Glazyev, Minister in charge of Integration and Macroeconomics of the Eurasian Economic Union, who said Sept. 8, 2022: “It is the principles of physical economics championed by Lyndon LaRouche that underpin the Chinese economic miracle today, and that are the basis of India’s economic development policy.” (His full presentation is below.)
Panelists from many other nations provided a stirring crossfire of ideas.
Panel III: The Peace Movement Worldwide Above Party Lines: The Special Case of the United States; The Role of the Vatican and the Global South
Harley Schlanger, the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Schiller Institute U.S.A., gave the Panel 3 keynote, opening with a video clip of the first four minutes of President John F. Kennedy’s June 10, 1963 American University “[[Peace Speech]]” [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA_kjj2c0Qc]] Mr. Schlanger then gave a brief history of Kennedy’s Presidency, from his battle with the U.S. Senate to ratify the Nuclear Test Ban treaty with the Soviet Union, to his efforts to extricate the United States from the war in Vietnam and end the Cold War.
Although constantly having to discover ways of out flanking the war hawks within his administration—dead set on escalating the Cold War—just as big a challenge was overcoming the mass brainwashing of the American population who believed that it was “better dead than red.” His efforts were cut short on November 22, 1963, when the President was murdered in Dallas, Texas.
Mr. Schlanger then delivered a short discussion of the anti-imperialist history of the United States—from the American Founding Fathers to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon LaRouche. Exemplary of that tradition is the famous July 4, 1821 speech by then Secretary of State John Quincy Adams in which he declares: “But she [the United States] goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy….” This anti-imperialist tradition contrasts sharply with today’s defenders of the militaristic “Rules-Based Order,” such as the hapless Sec. of State Antony J. Blinken.
Other speakers on Panel III included H.E. Donald Ramotar, former President of Guyana, and Diane Sare, Candidate for U.S. Senate from New York, both of whom have been actively collaborating with people from many nations, in the newly formed International Peace Coalition. (See Editorial.)
Panel IV: A Culture to Emancipate and Expand the Creative Capacities of Every Human Being—A Dialogue Among Cultures and Civilizations
Dr. Luc Reychler, Professor Emeritus at Louvain University and former Director of the Center for Peace Research and Strategic Studies in Belgium, gave the Panel 4 keynote, on the provocative question, “European Humanist Values versus War Culture: What Would Erasmus Say about Peace in Ukraine?” He reviewed today’s Ukraine “proxy war”—as he termed it—against Russia, from the eyes of the great Dutch Renaissance scholar Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536). Famous for works such as In Praise of Folly and The Complaint of Peace, Erasmus warned that those who have not experienced war are often its greatest proponents, that sentiment being well expressed in a quote from his book Against War: Dulce bellum inexpertis, or “War is sweet for the inexperienced.”
Were Erasmus here today, he “would criticize and satirize the excuses for ongoing war; for example, the misrepresentation of the war as the defense of democracy and of the democratic world” and “would also be a whistleblower and name the princes and kings, and the war profiteers who are responsible for the war.” But importantly, Erasmus would seek a process of “peace building” through promotion of economic development and education—particularly for youth.
The next speaker, Liliana Gorini, chairwoman of the Schiller Institute affiliated Movisol political party in Italy, invoked the wisdom of another great figure, Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901). To hear U.S. President Joe Biden and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speak of “peace,” as they did at the G7 meeting in Hiroshima, Japan last month, Gorini said, reminds one of the way Verdi in his opera Don Carlos—inspired by Friedrich Schiller—has Don Rodrigo telling King Philip of Spain that his so-called militarist “peace” for Flanders is a “horrible, horrible peace, the peace of graves.” She called on conference attendees to take inspiration from Verdi, and from Pope John XXIII, and President John F. Kennedy, “to fight for a true peace, which only comes from respecting and developing the rest of the world.” (Ms. Gorini’s remarks were read, as she was unable to attend).
Other panelists stressed the tremendous importance of culture as a key foundation for lasting, durable peace among nations.
Panel V: Scientific Ecology and Assessing the Climate Challenge: Eradicating Poverty and Hunger in the World is the Priority
Christian Lévêque, Emeritus Research Director at the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement of France, gave the Panel 5 keynote, “Scientific Ecology Is Being Instrumentalized by Magical Thinking.” He scored the Malthusian agenda of what he termed “the wealthy urban bourgeois” and their affiliated NGOs such as the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) who have adopted “nature worship” as their religion. Their axiomatic foundation is “that God created a perfect, harmonious and balanced world”—a paradise—and that man, through development and overpopulation, is destroying that world. He denounced their “fear tactics” and how they impose their agenda.
The WWF and other environmentalist NGOs, using the UN to push their pseudo-religious dogma, are behind the infamous “30 by 30” agenda, promoted at the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) in Montreal, Canada, to “protect” 30% of the Earth’s land and water by the year 2030 from the aggressions of man.
Other panelists debunked the fraud of “man-made climate change,” and called for a stop to the deindustrialization and economic destruction underway.
Classical Beauty
The first day’s proceedings were capped off by a wonderful Classical music concert, featuring Albanian pianist Dhurata Lazo and Swedish Soprano Leena Malkki. Ms. Lazo began with four compositions for solo piano including a romance by Albanian composer Tonin Harapi (1926–1992) and three pieces by Frédéric Chopin: the Muzurkas Op. 67; the Scherzo No. 2 Op. 31; and the Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante Op. 22.
She was then accompanied Ms. Malkki on five songs: a piece from Mozart’s opera La Clemenza di Tito; Schubert’s Nacht und Trӓume Op. 43 No. 2 and Auf dem Wasser zu singen Op. 72; Verdi’s Ave Maria from Otello and Pace, pace mio Dio from La forza del destino.
Robert Hux contributed to this article.
TO RESTORE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY’s PEACE MISSION, SPUR EXPANSION OF INTERNATIONAL PEACE COALITION
July 5, 2023 – In light of rapidly rising threat of nuclear war, the Schiller Institute releases the initial list of 186 prominent signers, from 55 countries on six continents, of Schiller Institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche’s Urgent Appeal by Citizens and Institutions from All Over the World to the (Next) President of the United States!.
The appeal, issued May 17, calls for the Presidency of the United States to return to the peace policy of John F. Kennedy enunciated in his historic address at American University June 10, 1963. On June 10, 2023, the Schiller Institute (SI) accelerated worldwide diffusion of that speech on its 60th anniversary with this international online conference: The World Needs JFK’s Vision of Peace!
The SI urges everyone possible to add their name to the appeal, and to bring it to the attention of every organization concerned with the welfare of mankind that they can. Total current signers are 1300, with translations into 7 languages. The aim is to reach 5,000 before the worldwide peace actions on August 6, the anniversary of the U.S. nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, from 100 plus countries. The Institute particularly encourages maximum viewings of the Kennedy speech itself, by individuals, schools, and all categories of other groups, in a spreading world awakening. Here is the full 27-minute Kennedy Peace Address; here, a 4-minute set of video highlights, with subtitles.
The circulation of the Urgent Appeal and Kennedy speech has spurred the formation of a rapidly growing International Peace Coalition, initiated by the Schiller Institute on June 2. The summary press release of its most recent deliberation, International Peace Coalition Charts a Path to the New Paradigm, begins: “On Friday June 30, the International Peace Coalition (IPC) held its fourth meetings with approximately 60 organizers from Argentina, Germany, Guinea, Nicaragua, Span, Sweden Switzerland, the UK, the United States, and other nations participating in the proceedings. The meeting could be best characterized as a strategy session on how to expand the IPC through various means of direct action such as street organizing, social media, political interventions, and classes, with the goal of not only preventing the immediate threat of global thermonuclear war, but laying the foundation for a durable peace – a New Paradigm.”
Please add your efforts to the urgent expansion of the Coalition’s work. Contact the Coalition at questions@schillerinstitute.org.
The conclusion of the Appeal, and initial list of prominent signers:
We the undersigned want America to be again the America expressed in that beautiful speech of JFK. We want the United States to be again a beacon of hope and a temple of liberty. We believe that this is the basis for “peace for all time,” as JFK said.
Initiating signer
Helga Zepp-LaRouche (Germany), founder Schiller Institute
Additional prominent signers
| Daud Azimi | Afghanistan/Germany | Dipl. Ing. (Engineer); Board Member, Peace National Front of Afghanistan |
| Tse Anye Kevin | Africa | Vice President, State 55, Afrika |
| Enrique Juan Box | Argentina | Social communicator |
| Roberto Fritzsche | Argentina | Professor, Dep’t of Economic Science, University of Belgrano |
| Carlos Perez Galindo | Argentina | Lawyer |
| Rubén Darío Guzzetti | Argentina | Argentine Institute of Geopolitical Science |
| Gustavo Russo | Argentina | Lawyer; Professor of Juridical Sciences |
| Trudy Campbell | Australia | Northern Territory secretary, Australian Citizens Party |
| Christian Dierick | Belgium | Manager, Big Science Technology Club & Lead Energy Expert |
| William Lindo | Belize | Executive member, Peoples United Party |
| Edwin Alfonso De La Fuente Jeria | Bolivia | Former Commander in Chief of the Bolivian Armed Forces |
| Osman Vladimir Escobar Torrez | Bolivia | Human Rights Secretary, Bolivian Labor Confederation (COB) |
| Max Yecid Ibañez | Bolivia | Former Secretary of Grievance Resolution, National Federation of Electrical and Telephone Workers of Bolivia |
| Jairo Dias Carvalho | Brazil | Professor, Philosophy of Technology, Federal University of Uberlândia |
| Lilian Simone Godoy Fonseca | Brazil | Professor of Philosophy, UFVJM, Diamantina campus |
| Gabriel Tincani Ramos | Brazil | President, Union of Socialist Youth — Campinas |
| Renata Welinski Da Silva Seabra | Brazil | ESG Consultant; Former UNDP Executive Director for UN Global Compact Brazil; author, “A Regulamentação International Ambiental e a Responsabilidade Corporativa” |
| Julian Fell | Canada | Former Director, Regional District of Nanaimo |
| Dimitri Lascaris | Canada | Lawyer; Peace activist |
| Mario Guillermo Acosta Alarcón | Colombia | Scientist and writer; General Director, CIFRA (Space Lab City) |
| Fernando Duque Jaramillo | Colombia | Lawyer; Master’s degree in Political Science |
| Pedro Rubio | Colombia | Union leader; public policy analyst |
| Enrique García Dubon | Costa Rica | Economist |
| Enrique Ramírez Guier | Costa Rica | Biologistç consultant |
| Tom Gillesberg | Denmark | President, Schiller Institute Denmark |
| Pernille Grumme | Denmark | Actress; peace activist; former Chair, Artists for Peace, Denmark |
| Alcibiades Jose Abreu | Dominican Republic | University professor of mathematics, English and French |
| Alexis Joaquin Castillo | Dominican Republic | Presidential candidate of Alianza Nueva República. Lawyer; former Prosecutor of the National District |
| Ramón Emilio Concepción | Dominican Republic | Attorney at Law, Presidential Pre-candidate for the PRM party (2020) |
| Ramon Cruz Placensia | Dominican Republic | Former Dean of the Faculty of Engineering of the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) |
| Luis De León Ferreira | Dominican Republic | President of Fuerza Boschista. Educator, university professor at Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo (UASD). Politician |
| Marino J. Elsevyf Pineda | Dominican Republic | Attorney at Law; notary |
| Enrique Garcia Frometa | Dominican Republic | Industrial engineer, master’s degree in public administration, appraiser and planner |
| Ramón Gross | Dominican Republic | Post-graduate Professor, Catholic University of Santo Domingo |
| Dantes Ortiz Nuñez | Dominican Republic | Historian; Professor of History, Autonomous University of Santo Domingo |
| Oscar Daniel Pérez Quiroz | Dominican Republic | Theologian and Psychologist |
| Domingo Reyes | Dominican Republic | Former professor of economics, Ph.D. in Higher Education |
| Rafael Reyes Jerez | Dominican Republic | Journalist; TV producer, “cara a cara” |
| Enrique Antonio Sánchez Liranzo | Dominican Republic | Lawyer, author, poet |
| Caonabo Suarez | Dominican Republic | Poet; Member of the Coordinating Committee of the Institute for Analysis and Conclusions (INAC), Dominican Republic |
| Patricia Merizalde | Ecuador | Founder and President, International Feminist Poetry Movement, “Women’s Flight” |
| Ernesto Pazmiño Granizo | Ecuador | Human Rights lawyer; university professor; former General Public Defender of Ecuador; former Vice-President, Justice Center of the Americas |
| Alexis Ponce | Ecuador | Rights advocate, National Association of Patients and Vulnerable Families of Ecuador |
| Napoleon Saltos Galarza | Ecuador | University professor; Member of Parliament (1996-1998), Quito |
| Jacques Cheminade | France | President, Solidarité et Progrès; former presidential candidate |
| Dr. jur. Wolfgang Bittner | Germany | Author |
| Joachim Bonatz | Germany | Vice President, East German Board of Trustees of Associations (Ostdeutschen Kuratoriums e.V.) |
| Dr. Ole Doering | Germany/China | Professor, Hunan Normal University, China |
| Johannes Posth | Germany | General Director, Deutsche Telekom in Ukraine, starting 1996; head, Ukrainian-European Policy and Legal Advice Center, 2002-2005 |
| Dr. Rainer Sandau | Germany | Technical Director, Satellites and Space Applications, International Academy of Aeronautics (IAA) |
| Takis Ioannides | Greece | Ambassador of Peace, Hon. Dr Literature, historian, researcher, poet. |
| Dr. Maria Arvanti Sotiropoulou | Greece | Representative, Greek Medical Assoc. for the Protection of the Environment and Against Nuclear and Biochemical Threat (GMA), Greek affiliate of Internat’l Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) |
| Raul Anibal Marroquin Casasola | Guatemala | Coordinator of the Citizen Observatory for Peace “La pupila del cielo”, San Cristobal, Verapaz, Guatemala. |
| Otto Rene Quiñones Carias | Guatemala | Former Legislator (1991-1993); President, Board of Directors of Alternate Deputies |
| Beatriz Solórzano León | Guatemala | Licentiateç Parliamentary Technician, Congress of Guatemala |
| Ahmadou Diallo | Guinea/United States | Senior Member, Guinean American League of Friends for Freedom In. |
| Mamadu Djalo | Guinea/United States | Secretary, Guinean American League of Friends for Freedom Inc. |
| Khemraj Ramjattan | Guyana | Leader, AFC (Alliance for Change) |
| Donald Ramotar | Guyana | Former President of Guyana |
| Oscar Abraham Lanza Rosales | Honduras | Industrial engineer, retired; columnist for La Tribuna, Honduras |
| Andrea Szegó | Hungary | Professor (ret.), economics |
| Dr. Balkrishna Kurvey | India | President, India Institute for Peace, Disarmament, and Environmental Protection |
| Maurizio Abbate | Italy | Chairman of ENAC, National Institute for Cultural Activities, Italy, |
| Angelo Aiello | Italy | Former sport director of AC Milan |
| Prof. Bruno Brandimarte | Italy | Professor (ret.), Applied Biophysics, Univ. of Rome, Tor Vergata |
| Renato Corsetti | Italy | Prof. emeritus; Chair, Progressive Esperanto Speakers |
| Jorge Flores | Italy | Poet |
| Liliana Gorini | Italy | Chairwoman of Movisol |
| Antonio Ingroia | Italy | Former candidate for Italian Prime Minister |
| Nicola Lista | Italy | Chairman, youth organization of MDC, (Movement in Defense of the Citizen) |
| Enzo Pennetta | Italy | Organizer, referendum to end Italian military aid to Ukraine |
| Vincenzo Romanello | Italy | Senior Nuclear Researcher and Project Manager, National Radiation Protection Institute (SURO) |
| Alessia Ruggeri | Italy | Trade unionist |
| Daisuke Kotegawa | Japan | Former Executive Director for Japan, IMF; former Japan Ministry of Finance official |
| Pastor James Adundo | Kenya | Christian Outreach Ministry |
| Pastor Amos Nyambok | Kenya | Christian Outreach Ministry |
| Pigbin Odimwengu | Kenya | Youth political party leader |
| Pastor George Outa | Kenya | Christian Outreach Ministry |
| Mohd Peter Davis | Malaysia | Biotechnologist; biochemist; architect; consultant, deep tropical agriculture; Visiting Scientist, University Pertanian (retired) |
| Chandra Muzaffar | Malaysia | Founder and Director, International Movement for a Just World (JUST); Co-founder, Saving Humanity and Planet Earrth (SHAPE) |
| Adam Ouologuem | Mali | Journalist, Mali/Washington D.C. |
| Angel Coronel Beltrán | Mexico | Former Research Profesor, Physics REsearch Department, University of Sonora (UNISON) |
| Maria de los Ángeles Huerta | Mexico | Former Congresswoman |
| Dr. Enrique López Ochoa | Mexico | Angiologic Surgeon; Professor of Angiology, University of Sonora (UNISON) School of Medicine |
| Tenit Alfonso Padilla Ayala | Mexico | Professor of Effective Communication, Technological Institute of Sonora |
| Jaime Varela Salazar | Mexico | Former Director, School of Chemical Sciences, University of Sonora (UNISON) |
| Alex Krainer | Monaco/Croatia | Author, “Grand Deception: The Truth about Bill Browder, the Magnitsky Act, and Anti-Russian Sanctions” |
| May-May Meijer | Netherlands | Chair and Founder, Peace SOS |
| C. (Kees) le Pair | Netherlands | Physicist (ret.), University of Leiden; Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| Djamila le Pair | Netherlands | Freelance journalist; Free Assange activist |
| Mykeljon Winckel | New Zealand | Founder, Voice Media |
| Bolívar Téllez | Nicaragua | Lawyer and university professor, Nicaragua |
| David Ajetunmobi | Nigeria | Trade union leader, auto sector |
| Adeshola Kukoyi | Nigeria | Founder, Equilibrium Perspectives in Learning and Development/University of Lagos |
| Manuel Hidalgo | Peru | PhD in Accounting and Business Sciences; Professor at Universidad Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Perú |
| Herman Tiu (Mentong) Laurel | Philippines | Founder, Philippine BRICS Strategic Studies think tank; TV and radio commentator; organizer, movement vs. new U.S. military bases in the Philippines |
| Leo Semashko | Russian Federation | Gandhian Global Harmony Association |
| Earl M. Bousquet | St. Lucia | Veteran Pan-Caribbean journalist/columnist; Editor, Voice of St. Lucia newspaper; President, St. Lucia-China Friendship Assoc.; Chair, St. Lucia Nat’l Reparations Cttee |
| Natasa Milojevic | Serbia | Political scientist; former Member of Parliament |
| Meshack Moxongo | South Africa | Leader, LaRouche South Africa |
| Princy Mthombeni | South Africa | Spokesperson, Africa4Nuclear |
| Ishmail Phali | South Africa | Member, LaRouche South Africa; member, Democratic Alliance – South Africa |
| Motutla Juda Phali | South Africa | Member, LaRouche South Africa |
| Hyung-Joon Won | South Korea | Violinist; Founder and Director, Lindenbaum Festival Orchestra; organizer, North and South Korean peace concerts |
| Juan Carrero Saralegui | Spain | President, Fundació S’Olivar; peace activist |
| Juan Jose Torres Nunez | Spain | Poet, published author, freelance journalist |
| Dr. George Mutalemwa | Tanzania | Global Peace Studies for Sustainable Development; Africa Peace and Development Network (Mtandao wa Amani na Maendeleo Afrika (MAMA) |
| Bishop Lubega Geoffrey Bob | Uganda | Minister |
| Ruslan Kotsaba | Ukraine | President, Ukrainian Movement of Pacifists |
| David Dabydeen | United Kingdom/Guyana | Professor; former Guyanese Ambassador to UNESCO and China |
| Bernie Holland | United Kingdom | Soka Gakkai International |
| P. D. Lawton | United Kingdom | Editor, African Agenda.net |
| Dr. Athar Abbasi | United States | Mayor (ret.), U.S. Army |
| Muhammad Salim Akhtar | United States | National Director, American Muslim Alliance (AMA) |
| Bernard Allen-Bay | United States | CEO, Project Funding Consultants; Vice President, Oklahoma NAACP |
| David Andersson | United States | Co-Director Pressenza IPA |
| Deborah Armstrong | United States | Journalist |
| Dr. Elena Bajenova | United States | Creator and Organizer, Anti-War Coalition Group, Arlington, TX; President, Russian International Culture Center |
| Col. Richard Black (ret.) | United States | Former Virginia State Senator and Delegate; former head, U.S. Army’s Criminal Law Division at the Pentagon |
| Kathleen Boylan | United States | Catholic Worker Movement, Washington DC |
| Lt. (ret.) Robert Branca | United States | Lt. (ret.) U.S. Naval Reserve |
| Ellen Brown | United States | Author, attorney |
| Malcolm Burn | United States | Host, “The Long Way Around”, WKNY Radio, Kinsgston, NY |
| Harry J. Bury | United States | Twin Cities Nonviolent; Association of U.S. Catholic Priests |
| Bob Cushing | United States | Chairman, Non-Violence Committee, Working Group for the Association of United States Catholic Priests (AUSCP) |
| T. Herbert Dimmock | United States | Founder and Music Director, Bach in Baltimore |
| Daniel Donnelly | United States | Libertarian Party, New York |
| Brian Earley | United States | Captain (ret.), U.S. Army |
| Trevor Fitzgibbon | United States | President, Silent Partner Inc. |
| Christopher Fogarty | United States | Friends of Irish Freedom |
| Graham Fuller | United States/Canada | Former Vice Chair, National Intelligence Council for Long-term Forecasting, CIA; writer; political commentator |
| David George | United States | Professor of Economics (Emeritus), LaSalle University |
| Jack Gilroy | United States | Pax Christi, Upstate New York |
| Bennett Greenspan | United States | Physician; expert in nuclear medicine; Past President, Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) |
| Ephraim Haile | United States/Eritrea | Eritrean Cultural & Development Center (ECDC) , Eritrean Diaspora Boston |
| Joyce Hall | United States | Coordinator, Dallas Pax Christi, TX |
| Cathy Helgason | United States | MD ;Professor of Neurology. (Retired) |
| Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Dana Hicks | United States | composer, musician, minister |
| Liz Hill | United States | Liz Hill Public Relations, LLC |
| Diana Hope | United States | D & D Radio Show,”Delivering the Truth”, NYS, and Beyond |
| Ivan Jones | United States | Shop Steward, Local 783, AFSCME (retired) |
| John Jones | United States | Boston Ward 14 Democratic Committee |
| Frank Kartheiser | United States | Mustard Seed Catholic Worker, Worcester, MA |
| Bishop Reginald L. Kennedy | United States | President, Ministers Conference of Baltimore and Vicinty, MD |
| Dr. George Koo | United States | Chairman, Burlingame Foundation; retired business consultant, U.S.-China relations |
| Janice Kortkamp | United States | Citizen journalist, “American Housewife in Syria” podcasts |
| Igor Lopatonok | United States/Russian Federation | Documentary film director and producer, “Ukriane on Fire” |
| Jeff Mahn | United States | Nuclear Engineer (ret.), Sandia Labs, science educator at the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History. |
| Joseph Marcinkowski | United States | Pax Christi. Veterans for Peace; Houston Peace and Justice Coalition |
| Imam Radwan Mardini | United States | Interfaith leader, American Muslim Center |
| George McGowan | United States | Former Town Councilman, Lake George, NY; former Republican County Committee, Warren County, NY |
| David Meiswinkle | United States | Attorney-at-law; Past President and Executive Director, Lawyers Committee for 9/11 Inquiry |
| Suzzanne Monk | United States | Chair, Patriot Action PAC |
| James Moore | United States | Executive Committee- ATA, NSRAA, AKI (fisheries and aquaculture) |
| Darrell Nichols | United States | Bishop; Former President, NE Ohio NAACP; Former Vice-President, SCLC, Toledo, OH; Captain (ret.), U.S. Army |
| Nestor Oginar | United States/Macedonia | Retired Professor of English language and literature, New York; Representative, World Macedonian Congress at the UN; Leade, Macedonian Diaspora in North America ; Member, Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archepiscopy |
| John OLoughlin | United States | Author, “McDuff Lives! The life and untimely death of Thomas F. O’Loughlin, Jr.” |
| Jeff Philbin | United States | Nuclear Engineer, Technical Consultant, Independent Contractor |
| Cynthia Pooler | United States | Broadcast journalist, peace activist, NY |
| Earl D. Rasmussen, P.E. | United States | Lt. Col. (Ret.), U.S. Army; International consultant |
| Coleen Rowley | United States | FBI Intelligence (ret.); FBI special agent and intelligence expert; whistleblower and author |
| Stephen Salchow | United States | Violinist, violist; member, Solchow Bow Maker and Repair family |
| Diane Sare | United States | LaRouche candidate for U.S. Senate – NY |
| Martin Schotz | United States | Coordinator of JFK Peace Speech Committee, Massachusetts Peace Action, Traprock Center for Peace and Justice |
| John Shanahan | United States | Dr. Ing. civil engineer; founder of website AllAboutEnergy.net |
| Paul Shannon | United States | MA Peace Action |
| John C.Smith | United States | Professional Engineer; Senior Project Engineer; PhD candidate, Colorado School of Mines |
| Steven Starr | United States | Professor, University of Missouri |
| Jack Stockwell | United States | Morning Radio Talk Show Host (1995–present), Salt Lake City, UT |
| Barbara Suhrstedt | United States | Concert pianist; President, Board of Directors, Framingham Lomonosov Association for Mutual Exchange (F.L.A.M.E.) |
| Dr. Mohammad A. Toor | United States/Pakistan | Chairman of the Board, P:akistani American Congress |
| Bob Van Hee | United States | Redwood County Commissioner, Minnesota |
| Zaher Wahab | United States/Afghanistan | Professor Emeritus of Education, Former Advisor to the Afghanistan Ministry of Higher Education |
| Frederick Weiss | United States | Musician |
| Javier Araujo | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | Bolivariano; former Councilman; current Alternate Councilman |
| Luisa Báez Catari | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | President, Diocesan Union of Confraternities, Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar of Guarenas, Miranda state |
| José Bustamante | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | Sociologist |
| Reinaldo Cróes Arias | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | Economist and public accounting professional |
| Andrés Ramón Giussepe Avala | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | Former member, Latin American Parliament |
| Marco Antonio Hernández | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | Social media organizer; Bachelor’s degree in education; professor |
| Alberto Mendoza Uribe | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | Fundamaraisa Foundation |
| Emil Guevara Muñoz | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | Former member, Latin American Parliament (2006-2011) |
| Thaidy Terán | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | Coordinator, Music Ministry, Our Lady of Copacabana Cathedral Church, Guarenas |
| Kelvin Chifulumo | Zambia | Founder, Educating Girls and Young Women for Development (EGYD) |
| Munashe Chiwanza | Zimbwabwe | Civil Engineer |
If you are interested in working with the International Peace Coalition, please contact questions@schillerinstitute.org
On Friday June 30, the International Peace Coalition (IPC) held its fourth meeting with approximately 60 organizers from Argentina, Germany, Guinea, Nicaragua, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, the United States, and other nations participating in the proceedings. The meeting could be best characterized as a strategy session on how to expand the IPC through various means of direct action such as street organizing, social media, political interventions, and classes with the goal of not only preventing the immediate threat of global thermonuclear war but laying the foundation for a durable peace—a New Paradigm.
Moderated by Anastasia Battle of the Schiller Institute, the meeting began with a very concise strategic overview by Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and leader of the Schiller Institute and initiator of the IPC, outlining the heightened danger of war between Russia and NATO in the wake of the mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner mercenaries against the Kremlin. Apparently Western Intelligence agencies had advanced knowledge of the event, an event which could have led potentially to chaos in the largest nuclear power, but made no effort to alert the Russian leadership. Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche contrasted this to the support President Putin had offered to the Bush administration after the 9/11 attack. Would it really be preferable to have the strongest nuclear power fall into chaos with potentially catastrophic consequences?
She also pointed out that there are now voices in Russia such as Prof. Sergey Karaganov, head of the Russian Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, who are calling for the use of tactical nuclear weapons. Karaganov’s colleague, Prof. Dmitri Trenin, at the same time is warning that Western elites have lost the fear of nuclear weapons, and with that the sense of the consequences of their policies. Zepp-LaRouche then laid out the root cause of the conflict—a geopolitical showdown between two systems: one system—the unipolar system—which clearly has gone under, and the rise of a new system represented by the nations of the Global South asserting in a very legitimate way their right for economic development.
This was demonstrated recently at the June 22–23 Summit for a New Global Financing Pact hosted by President Emmanuel Macron in France, where President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa asserted that if the West is serious about helping the nations of Africa, it should finance the Inga Dam project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which would bring electricity to 12– 15 countries. Africa currently has 600 million people without electricity. She ended her opening remarks by emphasizing the urgent necessity of a New Security and Development Architecture which allows the development of all countries on the planet as the only means to address the current disarray.
Much of the ensuing discussion centered on IPC plans for a peace rally at the United Nations scheduled for August 6, the 78th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A flier will be produced for the event as well as a unique website listing all of the participating groups. Plans are also in the works for sister events everywhere possible both leading up to and on the day of the event. A suggestion was made that the IPC should strive to get at least one person from every country in the world to make a video in support of the peace rally, which could be posted on the website. Several participants highlighted the importance of bringing more young people into the peace process through campus organizing and other means. There were also many useful suggestions of various social media platforms that could be used for expanded outreach, and suggestions of numerous peace groups that should be contacted for networking purposes. Generally participants were very enthusiastic about the opportunity to strategize with like-minded people on concrete actions necessary to bring about a lasting peace.
Dr. Rev. Terri Strong proposed that the IPC draft a policy paper—to be presented to world leaders — detailing the detrimental effects of massive spending on military ventures, thereby draining money and other resources away from social programs which would benefit their own populations. The example of Germany was mentioned, where, because of budget cuts, the healthcare system is in a state of collapse. Were a fraction of the money being spent on military expenditures used instead for healthcare this problem could be resolved. It was decided that a social policy paper be drafted specific to the needs of each country in the form of a petition to be presented to the leaders of these various nations.
Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche ended the discussion answering a question posed to her about gun violence in the United States. She made the point that violence in the small and violence in the large are interconnected. The U.S. currently experiences a mass shooting every fourteen hours, which is insane. But where does this come from? She then went through the history of how the U.S. military used various methods to break down the natural resistance humans have to using weapons to kill other humans, ultimately resulting in point-and-shoot video games which were subsequently marketed to the general public — including children who are now being turned into mass killing machines.
Her solution—totally coherent with the goals of the IPC—is to launch a campaign among schools, churches, teachers, parents, etc. to start a mass movement centered on the idea that the basis of humanity is love. JFK’s 1963 “peace speech” should be used as a pedagogical device along with aesthetical education to help people discover the true nature of what it means to be human. This is necessary to move civilization to a New Paradigm of international relations, without which we will not succeed in keeping humanity alive.
Helga Zepp-LaRouche (Germany), founder and leader, Schiller Institute
“I think we have reached the point in the history of mankind where we absolutely have to make the jump beyond geopolitics because geopolitics was the cause of two world wars in the 20th century and if we do not get over the idea that there are legitimate interests of a nation or a block of nations against another block of nations then the seeds of World War III will remain there no matter what happens now in the short term. So I think the idea of the One Humanity—I have been suggesting to look at it from the standpoint of Nicolas of Cusa’s Coincidence of Opposites … which is a method of thinking that you can at any moment—no matter what problem you are dealing with—always can conceptualize the One which has a higher power than the Many. And in respect to mankind the One Humanity for sure has a higher power than the many nations or groups of nations. And I think we have to teach people to think in terms of the One Humanity; the interest of human civilization and the joint future of mankind.”
Dennis Speed (US), Schiller Institute, New Jersey
“The dropping of the atomic bomb was a great crime. And the dropping of any atomic bomb at any time is a great crime. There has to be a way—and there was a way at the time in 1945—for humanity to come up with a different solution…. We need to bear witness to that and we need to think about doing that where people all over the world … can participate….”
Colonel Richard Black (US, ret), former head of the Pentagon Criminal Law Division, former Virginia State Senator
“I think it’s important—and also to realize—that what is happening on the battlefield is very important to what’s happening with the peace movement. Because despite the media hype and rhetoric the fact is that the Ukrainian counter-offensive launched several weeks ago has run into a Russian wall-of-steel. It is an absolute Slaughter and a disaster…. [A]t some point this cannot continue; it just won’t. And when that becomes more obvious, whatever your movement is doing with the rallies and so forth I think will gain enormous strength as it becomes more obvious what a disaster this is on the battlefield.”
Jimmy Gerum (Germany), Lighthouse Media
“I want to stress again about the importance of the media. You know the hypocrisy of the worldwide media has increased to a really high level and [with] our initiative in Germany we are looking for international contact to journalists because we think we have a special situation in Germany—also in Middle Europe—that we have a very strong public broadcasting system; and this public broadcasting system joins the hypocrisy, and we have a duty to change this…. And I want to ask everybody who knows and has contact with independent journalists: let’s have a media strategy because peace starts with honest media.”
Ron Bettag (US), Schiller Institute, Texas
“Every activity done between now and then [Aug. 6]—and I know there’s a longer arc we can look at to the 21st of September which is UN day; a day of peace. It’s also Kennedy’s speech at the UN. So there’s a dynamic here that we definitely could all just put our sights on and continue to organize everybody to do as Dennis [Speed] said: even these smaller events will have a real effect.”
Nick Brana (US), chairman of the People’s Party, Rage Against the War Machine Organizer
“I want to just confirm that Rage Against the War Machine is totally on board. I’m totally on board; the People’s Party is totally on board with the August 6th action. And so kudos and credit to everybody who has really worked hard to put it together…. The People’s Party, you can count us in and we’re looking forward to it…. Also very happy to see this Coalition growing and excited to be taking part in it and help out however we can for August 6th and beyond.”
Karen Ball (US), Pax Christi, San Antonio
“Pax Christi arose out of the French and the Germans coming together as Catholics and saying: this is insane that we’re killing one another when we have the same belief system…. Catholic social teaching talks in terms of how we should be working towards peace. So I’m going to reach out to leaders at this particular [Catholic university] to see whether this might be something that—an event that we can plan on campus.”
Dr. Bolivar Tellez (Nicaragua), professor, Central University of Nicaragua
“NATO has given all it could give to Ukraine. All that is left for them to do is to deploy military units on top of the so-called advisors; so they have destroyed Europe and are destroying the United States. That is my comment and I’m at your disposal for any cooperation that I can offer from Nicaragua. Greetings and thank you.”
Ruben Dario Guzzetti (Argentina), Argentine Institute of Geopolitical Studies (IADEG)
“There was a international seminar sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Science in which some 25 people including myself participated. The topic wasn’t specifically the issue of peace but was also included among the many presentations…. No specific initiatives were brought forward on this specific topic [peace] and we have another meeting this afternoon. We have great hopes, for it is a meeting in which multiple organizations will participate… together to generate a joint initiative. I will present the proposal of doing something for August 6th and we will strive to build awareness of this issue.”
Bernie Holland (UK), No2NATO
“Regarding these 6th of August events: I’ve heard all the plans from your side of the Atlantic. It’s in the UK we need to get [events]. This is why I was hoping here’d be more people from No2NATO on this call. So I’m going to make a point of this at the next No2NATO meeting; that I’ve been on this call with you today and that this initiative is very important…. It’s not just in the US; … it’s a global existential issue we’re talking about. So I’m going to try my best to mobilize other organizations I’m involved with here in the UK as well to take very seriously the idea of events to correspond with [those in the U.S.].”
Dennis Small (US), Schiller Institute, Virginia
“I think if we make a special effort and a focus to quickly pull … together for example an international meeting like a couple of the others that were talked about here but within a week or so—to pull together handfuls of youth from these different countries with this focus of the One Humanity and organizing jointly for peace, I think this is the kind of thing that could be a spark plug for the broadest possible mobilization.”
Rev. Dr. Terri L. Strong (US), AME minister from Memphis, TN; Chair of the Actions and Global Concern Committee of the Church Women United
“I just finished writing a social policy for the Church Women United for the committee that I chair and it’s a social policy on war and peace.… [A]nd I had the idea to get a lot of signatures for that social policy and present it to … the presidents and leaders—those who are actively in war as well as those who support the war such as the United States being one of the main contributors to the Russia- Ukraine War, so far as all kinds of resources and finances as well as weapons. And so I was wondering if this group would do the same thing: write a social policy [paper], get a million signatures and present them to the heads of state of all of the countries that are in war?”
Juan Carrero (Spain), President, S’Olivar Foundation
“I’m thinking particularly of the young people…. As Dennis [Small] said they are the future. Our means of reaching out to them—a hundred thousand may not be such an easy task. But perhaps ten thousand may commit … to support only parties that agree with leaving NATO. We have always had better success when we commit to specific tasks…. At this time the power of the media is crushing—they [youth] are completely captured. But perhaps this direct contact with the youth would make it possible to get ten thousand young people from all of these countries who will commit to only voting for parties that support leaving NATO.”
Darrell Nichols (US), former president, Northwest Ohio NAACP, Southern Leadership Conference, UAW member
“I’m kind of plugged into several places [social media platforms] that have a very large listening audience. And it would be kind of off topic, but I do know some people that are hungry for a different type of content and there’s probably nothing more urgent right now. It [peace] just needs to be a conversation that people are aware of. So we’ve got a few resources and if I can help in any of that regard—I’m even thinking—you know we’re for Chrysler. We’ve got 7,000 people working in my plant and maybe if there’s a way that somebody could help me we could approach the UAW membership and get that spread throughout the United States.”
Mamadou Dathe Diallo, Guinean American League of Friends for Freedom
“I’m very excited. It’s my first time to be here, and some of my colleagues are here, and we are representing an organization called GALFF: Guinean and American League of Friends for Freedom. We are originally from West Africa and now here in the United States. And we are very, very excited and glad to be part of this because we have lived to see war in West Africa: Liberia; some of you guys might know Sierra Leone; Ivory Coast and places like that. We have seen what wars can do to humans—innocent people: women, disabled people. So we decided to form this organization in Indianapolis to make sure whatever we can do to stop wars—to stand against wars—whatever can bring destruction to humanity that we are against it and we will … fight to stop it.”
Abdoulaye Balde (US), Guinean and American League of Friends for Freedom
“I am a medical doctor from West Africa and I am from this organization called GALFF. Thank you very much for organizing this coalition. This organization is better than the United Nations; better than any organization I can think about. I am going to ask the Almighty—the owner of the heaven and the earth and everything between—to give you victory….”
Jason Banyer (Switzerland), Büezer und KMU Partei
“I am from Switzerland and I’m the chairman of that party of the Büezer Partei. And we organize and educate young people especially through social media. We make a lot of videos which are provocative and make people think and sometimes even change people’s minds on the question for instance—mainstream media how they portrayed this war as a war for democracy even though it’s clear that it is an imperialist war being waged by the West. We are for workers rights and especially for neutrality. Because here in Switzerland we see neutrality as the best way of being anti-imperialist because there are certain left-wing people or left-wing groups, and the greens and social Democrats and so on, which want to push for sanctions; which want to push for war; even which think that somehow it is progressive to support a war. And we push against this imperialist propaganda and we try to expose these warmongers.”
Jose Vega, (U.S.) Interventionist, Organizer Schiller Institute
“I’m here in the United States. I’m known for doing interventions—I know in the UK they call it door-stepping. It’s where you go to the politician’s event or something and then you—well you step on their door; you interrupt them while they’re speaking for bringing attention to something like the possibility of nuclear war. And I want to emphasize also the power of street action too and actually being out in the street with a table and some signs…. I have 76,000 people who follow me on Twitter now and I find that my followers are most responsive when I post something of an action. So the other day I posted a video of me being out in the street with Diane Sare with a sign that said “No Joe” and then there’s a picture of a nuclear bomb behind it. That got a couple thousand likes. You know people really seem to resonate with action rather than just online content. They really like to see people out on the street and I think this would be true for any country that is on this [IPC] call right now. You know if people were just out in the street with signs that just said something like “No to NATO” or “Prevent Nuclear War,” that would be very powerful and that’s exactly what people on social media are starving for.”
In Attendance:
Angela Mc Ardle, Libertarian Party Chairwoman, Rage Against the War Machine Organizer
Irene Mavrakakis (US), Liberty Speaks, Rage Against the War Machine organizer
Martin Schotz, (US) author, “History Will Not Absolve Us: Orwellian Control, Public Denial, and the Murder of President Kennedy”
Bernard Allen-Bey (US)
Robert Cushing, Association of US Catholic Priests (AUSCP), Pax Christi GA, former priest
Dr. Jur. Wolfgang Bittner (Germany), Jurist, Author: “We Are in War Mode”
Wolfgang Lieberknecht (Germany)
Liz Augustat (Germany), Peace Through Culture
Christine Bierre (France), Solidarité et Progrès
Dr. Balkrishna Kurvey (India) President of the Indian Institute for Peace, Disarmament and Environmental Protection
Juan Carrero (Spain), President, S’Olivar Foundation
Fredrick Weiss (US)
Juan Gomez (Chile), World Without Wars and Violence
Donald Ramotar (Guyana), former President of Guyana
Martha Rollins (US), Int’l Peace Delegations: Ibero America, Columbia, Cuba and Palestine
Ulf Sandmark (Sweden), President Schiller Institute, Sweden
Joyce Hall (U.S.), Pax Christi Texas
Klaus Fimmen (Germany), Bueso Party
Diane Sare, (U.S.) Senate Candidate, New York
Anastasia Battle (U.S.) Organizer, Interventionist and Editor-in-Chief, Leonore Magazine
**Affiliation for identification purposes
For international release June 28, 2023
If you are interested in working with the International Peace Coalition, please contact questions@schillerinstitute.org
The International Peace Coalition (IPC), initiated by Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and leader of the Schiller Institute, held its third meeting on Friday, June 23. More than 40 representatives from ten different peace organizations from around the world participated in the 2.5-hour discussion, addressing the increasingly urgent need to bring together diverse international peace organizations to stop the presently escalating danger of the current conflict between NATO and Russia expanding into nuclear war.
The meeting was opened by Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche, who indicated that there were significant positive developments over the past week, including the fact that several new people had joined this event since the launching of the organization on June 2 and the second meeting on June 16. But, she warned, the war danger is increasing daily, as the British and the U.S. are expanding their military and financial aid to Ukraine, ignoring the bloody failure of the so-called “counter offensive” by the Ukraine military, which has been a “suicide mission” that has left another 13,000 young Ukrainian citizens dead or dying, destroyed about one-third of the western armaments, and resulted in no significant territory regained by Ukraine.
Most importantly, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s speech on June 20 in New Hampshire, she said, is a “breath of fresh air,” to hear an establishment candidate telling the truth.” Kennedy, Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche said, quoted from the historic “peace speech” delivered by his uncle President John Kennedy on June 10, 1963, which directly addressed the devastating impact of a nuclear war. RFK, Jr. strongly denounced the U.S. and NATO war policy in Ukraine, insisting that we must “put ourselves in the shoes of our adversaries.” He praised Russia for the sacrifices it made in defeating the Nazis in World War II, attacked the military industrial complex for the current “forever wars,” and insisted that the U.S. must not act like an “empire.” The speech has “renewed hope” that the JFK legacy can be restored, Mr. Zepp-LaRouche said.
She noted that the nations of the “Global South” are now taking international responsibility, insisting that they will not allow the continuation of the colonial system, and are working with the BRICS nations to create a new world financial system independent of the “weaponized” U.S. dollar.
The old order is collapsing, she said, warning that such a time in history is, however, fraught with the greatest danger. She called for the IPC to expand internationally, noting that the nations of the South at the 1955 Bandung Conference, the first major meeting of the former colonies without the presence of their former colonial masters, had taken note of the fact that a nuclear war would be launched by the major powers of the North, but the nations of the South would be destroyed as well by such a war, and thus had to act to prevent it.
The other speakers described their activities including meetings of the No2NATO organization in the UK, other meetings in Argentina, Australia, India, Minneapolis, New York, Toledo Ohio, Spain, Scotland, and Texas. Proposals were made regarding major future events, with general agreement that August 6, the anniversary of the nuclear annihilation of Hiroshima, should be an International Day of Action, with conferences and demonstrations. Many spoke in praise of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s courageous stand against the war policies, while others noted that Donald Trump has also strongly denounced the war policy, insisting he would end the war in Ukraine immediately if he were elected. Thus, leading candidates in both parties are speaking out against the war policy, marking a potential phase shift in the population.
Other proposals were offered, while a communication platform has been established for the participants to share reports on their activities and proposals for other members of the IPC.
Following are excerpts from some of the participants in the discussion:
Helga Zepp-LaRouche (Germany) founder and leader Schiller Institute
“The solution cannot be the division of the world into blocks. I agree with Dr. Mahathir from Malaysia, who said that if the world would be separated into two complete blocks that would also escalate the danger of a World War. So we have to create a new paradigm… The new security and development architecture, which we have been organizing for over a year now, has that idea of the Peace of Westphalia — that we must find a solution which takes into account the interest of every single country on the planet…It’s very good that our coalition is growing. That we are finding more and more people who are willing to join it… Let’s really go into an all out organizing offensive and contact every single peace group on the planet to really go for a demonstration of the will of the People!”
Jurgen Wolf (Scotland), No2NATO UK, Workers Party BG
“We had a No2NATO British meeting and discussed this important date of August 6, and are planning a major demonstration…”
Bernie Holland (UK), No2NATO
“I’ll be attending the demonstration as well with another group called the International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity and we are campaigning to have an inquiry of the Odessa massacre. I’ll be doing a presentation based on a number of slides that have been sent to me by a journalist who now is in exile…I would just encourage you all to support this petition to essentially quarantine Victoria Nuland that has been put out by Code Pink.”
Oliver Boyd-Barrett (U.S.), Professor Emeritus, Bowling Green State University, Ohio
“My point is we’re talking about peace. We’re talking about searching for peace in a multi-polar context. It can’t all be white men and women… So we have a few more Asian faces. And where are the Russians?…Hiroshima. August six. Absolutely. Anything of that kind, of course, to my mind, is to be welcomed. My own preference, I think, is more towards BRICS, August 22nd and August the 24th. And my saying that, that’s surely where we want to go. We want to get away from U.S. hegemony and the most convincing international movement to date that is pushing the world in that direction is surely BRICS.”
Arthur Dawes (US), Pax Christi
“First of all, I believe in reflecting on what is being said today. I truly believe this is part of the process of peace that we are peacemakers. And in this meeting and other meetings like, I believe we are bringing about peace. And Pax Christi Texas, … will have a public forum next week reflecting on the speech of John Kennedy. And we invite members and friends.”
Atul Anega (India), Journalist
“One of the largest provinces of the South-East Asian region and you have these large tracts of land where a lot of conflict is taking place and which is threatening nearby stable territories. So we really have to when we talk about the peace process and when we talk about global peace, please remember the center, the Indo-Pacific region, some you may call it Asia-Pacific if you like, but then please remember that there are a lot of communities that are actually getting affected. A lot of old violence and all conflicts are being revived even as we speak today.”
Darrell Nichols (U.S.), Bishop, Toledo OH
“To move toward a peace, a peaceful resolution in amongst a population that steals a whole lot like Rip Van Winkle. They’re still asleep under the trees, sleeping through a revolution, and they don’t know it. So if there’s anything that I could contribute at all, my voice, I am in the process now, putting my studio back together. I have been working with, here, the last few months to try and organize and we wanted get my first episode out.”
Dr. Balkrishna Kurvey (India) President of the Indian Institute for Peace, Disarmament and Environmental Protection
“In my institute we established the no more Hiroshima/no more Nagasaki peace museum in India. And we educate the students, the next generation because they are the future political leaders. Anyone who sees the photos of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombing, then they would never say that we should have a nuclear war. We take these photos all over India…”
Juan Carrero (Spain)
“I remember that our agenda of no violence is of Gandhi and Martin Luther King. They have always been a superior inspiration for us. And from that reflection we got here and in prayer.”
Donald Ramotar, former President Guyana “The question of the Hiroshima anniversary is very, very important. We must not miss that opportunity because it directly relates to what is happening today. But I also want to add, apart from what others have been saying, I don’t know how much we could do, but if we can involve the labor movement, particularly in the United States, Canada and other places that celebrate their labor, liberty and on September 14th, just try to get the workers more directly involved and let them sit up and be interested in what is taking place, because this is also a working class issue.”
Alessia Ruggeri (Italy) Trade Unionist
“This danger of two blocks developing is very advanced. I read recently that there will be olympic games of friendship that many nations of the BRICS will be part of. There is incorrect thinking in canceling all Russian athletes in Italy, which is something that should not be considered… I think we should do a single action representing all the states to physically go there as a message of friendship. I think we should create press releases to send to the press agencies to inform them of this initiative, especially on August 6, during these demonstrations that we are organizing.”
David MacIlwain, Australia
“I feel an extraordinary disconnect with NATO and the Western Media in the minds of the people who can’t wake up to it. I agree we need to contact peace groups. The groups I’m in contact with in Australia don’t have a sufficient focus on the this reality and I think maybe we need to go further in contacting politicians…”
Ruben Dario Guzzetti (Argentina): international affairs analyst, Argentine Institute of Geopolitical Studies (IADEG)
“We have a meeting. So in our geo geopolitical studies and our movement for solidarity and peace, and we agreed that we are going to have a meeting in the next days, in the first days of July, with all the people who can participate in this topic of peace in the fight for peace…We have to continue fighting for peace, not only against nuclear weapons, but also for peace… I think it would be interesting for the August 6th to say never again. Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”
Ray McGovern (U.S.), former senior analyst, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); founding member, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)
“As I mentioned before, I’m a current intelligence analyst. I look forward and look toward the next several weeks. The election, as I said before, is 16 months away. If we survive until then, what are we to expect? … We have been warned by Zelensky himself and the head of the military in Kiev that the Russians have mined the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and they’re going to blow it. Now, does that smell like a false flag attack to you guys? It sure does to me. Is Nuland capable of authorizing that kind of thing? Given the debacle that was just just described or the counteroffensive, I would not rule it out.
August 6. Well, that is a long ways away in my horizon. But if we make it to August 6, that is the anniversary of Hiroshima. Let’s make it our purpose to educate people in the West and the East and everywhere that the atomic bomb was not necessary to end the war…”
Rev. Dr. Terri L. Strong (U.S.), AME minister from Memphis, TN Chair of the Actions and Global Concern Committee of the Church Women United
“One of the main things that I have seen the mainstream media do so well. Is used a strategy of suppress the truth and promote deception. So one of the suggestions I have for this in the independent media is to do just the opposite, suppress the deception and promote the truth, and a lot of times that is kind of hard to, ‘reprogram people’. But that needs to be a constant. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is one who has been very diligent in trying to do just that, suppress the lies and promote the truth. He has been consistent in all of his ways of doing that, and I would suggest that all media outlets do that.”
Jimmy Gerum (Germany), Lighthouse Media
“It’s very important that we come together and we find ways of learning from each other. It’s great every week. And I want to add today a specific call of action, because it’s always good to know what we all can do for peace. Some of you will already know that I’m working for the peace initiative Lighthouse Germany and we analyzed that the weakest spot of the international powers of war. It is the public opinion.”
Diane Sare (U.S.), U.S. independent Senate Candidate, New York
“What’s been bothering me is you have people like Jimmy Dore, who has a million plus followers on line. Scott Ritter has a huge following of people who listen to every podcast that he is involved in. But at the Rage Against the War Machine rally, we had 3500 people, which on one hand is very good. It is indeed the largest anti-war demonstrations since the Iraq war, I guess, began in 2003. But on the other hand, you would say, well, how do you translate all of these people listening to this into actions? And I do think it’s the case. You see, we have both the Trump candidacy as an anti-war candidacy and the Robert Kennedy candidacy, which is also anti-war, which I think indicates that the majority of the American people are really fed up with this and they don’t want this war. What I think in part is missing and it’s two parts is one. The knowledge in your gut of how deadly this is, how dangerous it is, and how close we are to the brink, which is why I chose the guests that I did for tonight, because my intention with this program is to scare the living daylights out of people about why they cannot go on with business as usual and why it’s not sufficient to be a spectator but to be active. I think the challenge to everyone psychologically, emotionally, to hold in yourself the kind of tension of what it means that the entire human species could be annihilated is extremely difficult. That’s why music, art, poetry, Friedrich Schiller is so important, but also the vision of the new paradigm.”
Anastasia Battle (U.S.) Organizer, Interventionist and Editor-in-Chief, Leonore Magazine, USA
“I mean, the idea was that we have all of our all of our peace groups spread across the world, and people are not very coordinated, and they feel very isolated. If we unify all of our different skills, strengths, talents, to actually take this on to stop nuclear war, then this could actually be accomplished. This group is functioning like a steering committee of different initiatives and ideas. People here are very experienced. They’re interventionists. They’re presidents of organizations or representing different groups or religious groups as well or here. So we’re coming together to bring our forces in order to accomplish this goal of stopping thermonuclear war. At the rate it’s going, it’s most likely going to happen. And we can’t, we can’t let that happen and just have to accept that that’s on our shoulders right now.”
Dennis Small (U.S.), Executive Intelligence Review Magazine
“The the point of this dialog back and forth between the Global South and what we are doing in the United States and and Europe, a dialog to reach a higher level concept which unites the common interest, which Helga was talking about from the very beginning, applies both to the peace question, the struggle for a new paradigm in the peace movement in our countries, but also on the economic issues. And I think that everything that we do building towards this August 6th event will be very important in that regard. It’s notable, just in conclusion, that the Pope, Lula, many of the voices that are playing a leading role in Organizing for Peace have a total focus on the urgency of economic development as the best way to build actual peace. I think that combined approach is exactly what’s called for. So youth, let’s get more youth in this meeting and build towards that assurance that we’ll be having a youth cadre school in next couple of weeks. We intend to use that as a kind of jumping off point or whatever you want to call it, a trampoline to build further support for what’s planned for August 6th. And then combining our efforts around the 6th with what’s going on around the BRICS activities globally.”
Maurizio Abbate (Italy), Chairman of ENAC, Ente Nazionale Attività Culturali, Italy
“We need to move in a very in a more decisive way where we should create a synergy between different groups at the planetary level just in order to bring this information to alternative channels. We know that mass media is directed by those who now have an interest in this corrupted communication.”
Fr. Harry Bury (U.S.), Archdiocese of Saint Paul in Minneapolis, MN
“So because people do evil things doesn’t mean they’re evil. It means that they don’t know any better. And so the objective is not to use violence and punish them, but rather to use love, if you will, and seek justice in helping them to see that what they’re doing is not in their own self-interest and the self-interest of the world. So this is what we’ve been focusing on this verse as a means to bring people together, to realize that the best together we can make a difference and to encourage us and not to lose faith in the possibility of having peace in the world.”
In Attendance:
Jose Vega (U.S.), Interventionist, Organizer Schiller Institute
Sam Pitroda (India/U.S.), Telecom and IT Innovator
Frank Kartheiser (U.S.), Catholic Workers
Joyce Hall (U.S.), Pax Christi
Karen Ball (U.S.), Pax Christi
Chris Fogarty (U.S./Ireland), Irish American Leader
Jack Gilroy (U.S.), Organizer, Pax Christi, NY State/Pax Christi International; Board Member, New York Veterans for Peace
Mari Correggio (Italy), No2Nato Italy
Robert Cushing (U.S.), Chairman of the Non-violence Committee / Working Group for the Association of United States Catholic Priests (AUSCP)
Martha Rollins (Costa RIca)
Ulf Sandmark (Sweden), President Schiller Institute
Wolfgang Effinberger (Germany)
Prof. Enzo Pennetta (Italy)
Fredrick Weiss (U.S.)
Kallol Bhattacherjee (India), Journalist
Christine Bierre (France), Solidarité et progrès
Send your questions for Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche to: questions@schillerinstitute.org
Helga Zepp-LaRouche took a number of questions, most related to developments in the last days, starting with her assessment of the “Wagner mutiny” and the British/Zelensky talk of blowing up the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant. She brought in the Trenin warning of the incredible idiocy of playing Russian Roulette with nuclear weapons, and why our viewers must join with us to provide solutions, as the next months will be the most dangerous for mankind in history.
A number of other questions dealt with organizing issues: Are the Germans waking up? How to make the press cover reality, with the example of the blackout of Putin showing African leaders the signed agreement for a settlement in March 2022. With China speaking up more boldly, can we expect the same from other nations in the Global South?
Having concluded a visit to Germany, Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Paris for the second leg of his European tour. It was his first foreign trip since he took office in March as Chinese premier, a trip widely believed to help push China-Europe ties in the right direction. What is the impact of Europe “de-risking” with #China? What are the views of European business leaders on engagement with China? And how are Berlin and Paris dealing with China with constant pressure from Washington? Guests in this edition of Dialogue are Professor Joav Toker from the American Graduate School in Paris, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder of the Schiller Institute, and Cui Hongjian, director of the Department for European Studies at China Institute of International Studies.
Send your questions for Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche to: questions@schillerinstitute.org
Amidst “escalating” peace efforts around the world, Helga Zepp-LaRouche has been interviewed by both Chinese and Russian media.
In an interview with the Chinese Global Times on June 19 (“‘De-risking’ with China is manipulative, illustrating West’s geopolitical move to contain China: Schiller Institute founder”), Helga Zepp-LaRouche emphasized that the old unipolar world order is currently collapsing, while the Chinese offer for development by collaborating on the Belt and Road Initiative would allow humanity to transcend geopolitics and replace it with a system of cooperation between sovereign nations benefiting all of humanity.
In an interview with the Russian news agency TASS, also published on June 19, under the headline “Ukraine peace initiatives indicate defeat of Western warmongers, expert says,” Zepp-LaRouche asserts that in light of the peace initiatives recently launched by China, Brazil, several African nations and Pope Francis, “It is more urgent than ever to put a new international security architecture on the agenda, which takes care of the security interest of every single country on the planet.”
Against the background of these peace initiatives and the efforts to win western countries over to the New Paradigm, the second meeting of the peace coalition initiated by Helga Zepp-LaRouche took place last week. The two-and-a-half-hour discussion generated enthusiastic support for the idea of uniting the growing sentiment of the people across the world against the war policy now dominating the Western governments.
The crucial question now is: How can the strategic situation be changed “from the top”? How can various forces come together at a higher level with the capability of establishing a new system taking into account the common goals of humanity?
The best way to do this would be to make Helga Zepp-LaRouche’s 10 Principles for a New Security and Development Architecture, as expressed in John F. Kennedy’s 1963 peace speech at American University, the number one issue discussed globally.
Join Helga Zepp-LaRouche tomorrow in her weekly dialogue for a discussion about building an International Peace Coalition.
If you are interested in working with the International Peace Coalition, please contact questions@schillerinstitute.org
June 16, 2023 (EIRNS)—The second meeting of the International Peace Coalition, launched on June 2, was held today with 29 participants from peace-oriented organizations from about a dozen countries. The two-and-a-half-hour discussion generated enthusiastic support for the idea of uniting the growing sentiment of the people across the world against the war policy now dominating the Western governments, which is being fed by mainstream media outlets.
Helga Zepp-LaRouche opened the event, emphasizing the successful Schiller Institute event of June 10, “The World Needs JFK’s Vision of Peace!” honoring the famous JFK peace speech of June 10, 1963 at American University in Washington, D.C., which called for a “paradigm of peace for all nations of the world and for all generations,” and “a treaty to outlaw nuclear [weapons] tests.” She said the world is devolving into two opposing systems, with a greater division and greater danger than the conflict during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, with the push to expand “Global NATO,” targeting as enemies the BRICS nations and others of the Global South, while most of the world is working toward a final end of the colonial system and a new architecture based on development and security for all nations. She called for investigations into the acts of terror which destroyed the Nord Stream pipelines and the Kakhovka Dam and hydroelectric power plant.
Speakers from Argentina, Australia, Germany, Guyana, India, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the United States, the UK and more, offered numerous proposals on how to awaken the conscience of people internationally, on both the extreme danger of global war, perhaps nuclear war, but also the potential to bring the world together in ending the war policy and building a new understanding of cooperation for a better system of human civilization. Helga Zepp-LaRouche took note of the many proposals, encouraging everyone to take them up both within their own countries, but also speaking out in international fora.
It was agreed that these meetings would continue to be held, and expand, on a weekly basis. It was also agreed to establish a new platform which would be established for discussion and reporting on developments among the participants of the Coalition. A new Day of International Activation was proposed, with various dates proposed, including Nov. 22 (the 60th anniversary of the JFK assassination) and August 6 (the anniversary of the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima). Further discussion and deliberation will follow.
Following are excerpts from some of the participants in the discussion:
Helga Zepp-LaRouche (Germany), Founder, Schiller Institute
“I have from the very beginning, at least since the war in Ukraine broke out, made the point that we have to urgently move to a new paradigm. That is ‘the coincidence of opposites’, where you can arrive through philosophical reflection in the tradition of Nicolus of Cusa, on the idea of the one humanity. That the ‘one’ which has a higher power than the many. That’s a method of thinking that was the basis of the solution of the Peace of Westphalia, which I think can be the model of arriving at peace today…
We have a number of proposals that we should highlight from the discussion and have an agreement coming out of this discussion on these suggested initiatives.
1. Platform of daily accessibility with new developments, documentaries, initiatives which coordinates all parts of the Peace Movement…
2. Suggest that we have this meeting on a weekly basis…
3. Interventions…
4. Look at the constitutions in every country and see if there are legal basis to forbid weapon sales to war areas…
5. Urgent documentaries. Idea of a mistake leading to Nuclear War. Also, exposing the Romanticism of the EU.”
6. We need our own media. Like an internet radio or TV station. We actually have a network of correspondence on this discussion.
7. White House Demonstration suggested by Martin Schotz.”
Sam Pitroda (U.S./India) Telecom and IT Innovator
“At times I feel frustrated. I feel that our voices are not heard, and we need to find a new way to start a conversation. We need to find a new way to have a conversation with power brokers, with the defense lobby. Killing people is not about economy… We spend $2 trillion a year on defense, and we know we only need $200 billion a year to eliminate hunger.”
Prof. Enzo Pennetta (Italy)
“We have a total detachment between the will of the population and the will of the government, which is the problem. … Sixty percent of Italians are against sending weapons to Ukraine, but only 10% know of the referendum we are doing (to stop Italy from sending weapons to Ukraine) because the mainstream media is not reporting on it! We are clashing with the control and manipulation of the population…”
George Koo (U.S.) International business advisor, retired
“It’s becoming increasingly obvious to everybody in the world that the prestige, the credibility, in the United States has been going downhill. More and more countries around the world are disillusioned by the leadership of the United States. So if we are really hoping to achieve World Peace, we need to change the attitude in the government in Washington…”
Dr. Balkrishna Kurvey (India) President of the Indian Institute for Peace, Disarmament and Environmental Protection
“Our main aim is to work toward Peace at the grassroots level, get more collaboration of peace-loving people around the world. Peace in one country will not do. Peace should be normal… We must try our best to successfully work on the Mahatma Gandhi Non-Violence principle, the Jesus Christ principle, so there may be Peace in the world. I’m optimistic.”
Johan Nordquist, (Sweden) Publisher against Nuclear Weapons:
“How can we inspire and get people engaged? That’s the question. Only the heartfelt sincerity of people on the street demanding change from politicians, telling them what to do … Scott Ritter wrote about near incidents that almost escalated into nuclear war. We need to highlight these mistakes into a documentary…so people will understand.”
David Macllwain (Australia) Peace Activist
“I would just like to say a little about Peace groups… They are filled with many good people; they take a good stand against NATO, but they don’t understand Russia… Also, I see the UK as a major force for evil against the Global South and against Russia. They have been for decades”
Juan Carrero, (Spain)
“I want to thank you (everyone here) because I feel at home after many struggles and feeling very lonely… We have had in Spain two million people in demonstrations, but they are not listening to the people… This meeting is even more important than the demonstrations in the streets… I think the fundamental part of what we need to do is to show the real face of NATO. Expose everything that is behind the romantic image of the EU… Gandhi would say that ‘the truth will lead us.’”
Ray McGovern (US), former senior analyst, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); founding member, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS):
“I’m serious folks, it’s not just a time for young people, but a time for old people, like me, like many of you. To stand up and speak out at every venue we can we possibly can. The only way that we are going to change this is if we recruit enough people together with us who see the light and understand what’s at stake and will be able to act on it. Gandhi was not only a non-violent idea person, but he was a man of action.”
Ruben Dario Guzzetti (Argentina) international affairs analyst, Argentine Institute of Geopolitical Studies (IADEG)
“I think we have to consider what each of us has in our countries. Each one of us has a historic point that can be transmitted to society. We have in my country the Malvinas topic, the Human Rights topic, and we can access that to promote this idea to save humanity.”
Jimmy Gerum, (Germany) LightHouse Media:
“I think there is one weak spot, and that is the public opinion. In Europe we have a special situation where part of the Main Stream Media is paid for by the normal citizens because we have quite a good working public broadcasting system. It is quite influenced by international powers… Our strategy is to network with German and international initiatives. We want to work with other independent journalists. Just imagine if we would challenge this hypocrisy by applying this pressure.”
Martin Schotz, (US) author, “History Will Not Absolve Us: Orwellian Control, Public Denial, and the Murder of President Kennedy”:
“I propose a demonstration be held in front of the White House demanding that Biden, Blinken and Nuland look at President Kennedy’s American University Speech and return to the policies President Kennedy was advocating.”
Jack Gilroy (US), Organizer, Pax Christi, NY State/ Pax Christi International; Board Member, New York Veterans for Peace:
“I wanted to follow up on an appropriate day to bring people together (for the demonstration), this was demonstrated today by a number of speakers about a need for a grassroots movement. I think that November 22nd would be very good, but we probably should be moving much faster on that. August 6th and 9th are momentous days of the beginning of the nuclear age (bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). August 6th would be a Sunday and a day that people would have an easier chance to get to Washington DC.”
Dennis Small, (US) Executive Intelligence Review Magazine:
“I think some of the frustration around getting things going against the war comes from not fully taken into account that the vast majority of humanity, 80-85% of it, is already in a state of advanced, not just rebellion, but rejection of the entire global security and economic architecture which is producing wars — the underlying cause.”
Jose Vega, (US) Interventionist, Organizer Schiller Institute:
“If you want people naturally manifesting in the streets, is you need more people recruited to do interventions. The more people we have doing these interventions, the more the manifestation in the streets will become natural… Here (in the US) we have an idea called ‘take back your government’ where we want people in every district to stand up for the truth, at least 1 person each of the 435 congressional districts.”
H. E. Donald Ramotar, (Guyana) former President of Guyana:
“I think that when we are talking about world peace, we cannot divorce it from immediately demanding nuclear disarmament. I believe it has to be the center of what we do. The old theory that justified, particularly during the old Reagan period and Thatcher, that argued nuclear weapons were keeping the peace is something I always had problems with. I believe more with Einstein’s position, that ‘you cannot prepare for war and hope to have peace.’”
Rev. Dr. Terri Strong, (US):
“I love the concrete things that you can do that Helga brought up. I came up with the ‘The Truth and Peace Network of Independent News’ while she was speaking, because if you can capture the news you can herd the news consumers to your truth platform. There should be a partnership with news outlets if they are independent, to create our own documentaries. And when you put those things together, you have a way of marketing your truth and your network that you will herd the masses of news consumers to your platforms.”
Others in attendance:
Nick Brana, (US) Chair, People’s Party and Rage Against the War Machine Organizer
Angela McArdle (US), Chair, Libertarian Party and Rage Against the War Machine Organizer
Reverend Robert Smith (US) New Bethel Baptist Church, Detroit, MI, Chair, Foreign Mission Board, National Baptist Convention
Diane Sare, U.S. Senate Candidate, New York
Joyce Hall (US) Pax Christi
Karen Ball (US) Pax Christi
Chris Fogarty (US/Ireland) Irish American Leader
NO2NATO UK Representative
Frank Kartheiser (US) Catholic Workers
Mari Correggio (Italy), No to Nato Italy
Alessia Ruggeri (Italy) Trade Unionist
Anastasia Battle (US) Organizer, Interventionist and Editor-in-Chief, Leonore Magazine, USA
**Affiliation for identification purposes