Join us this Thursday (August 3rd) 3pm EDT (9pm CET) for a special No2Nato Humanity for Peace rally featuring just some guest speakers from across the globe who will be speaking at the Sunday 6 Aug rallies across the globe commemorating the anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. Unite with us demanding it to never happen again!
July 28—The International Peace Coalition (IPC) held its eighth weekly meeting, on Friday July 28. The spirit of changing the course of history, as current developments are taking the world closer and closer to a nuclear Armageddon, was palpable in the reports from every speaker, with everyone focused on the Humanity for Peace rallies to be held on August 6, the 78th anniversary of the U.S. nuclear destruction of Hiroshima in 1945. The central rally on that day will be held outside the United Nations building in New York City, with sister rallies to be held across the U.S., in Great Britain, Germany, Canada, Sweden, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Malaysia, among other locations.
Helga Zepp-LaRouche, who initiated the IPC, opened the discussion, emphasizing that the danger of nuclear war is increasing, as the U.S. and its NATO allies escalate the shipment of military arms into the war zone, lyingly asserting that Ukraine is “winning” the war. Even some of the whorish U.S. press are now acknowledging that the military “counteroffensive” by Ukraine has been a thorough failure. Zepp-LaRouche emphasized that there must be a total break from this disastrous policy somewhere in the West – be it Germany, France, or the U.S. – to end the confrontation and begin cooperation between the nuclear powers, to create an architecture of security and development for all nations. Such a break appears to be a remote possibility. That means that we must expand our efforts to break through the wall of lies about Russia and China.
Ray McGovern, the former CIA analyst who used to give the daily briefing to the President of the United States, and who co-founded the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), then noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has for years asserted that U.S. domestic policy determines U.S. foreign policy, said that the Biden family is in deep trouble, due to the revelations about the Hunter Biden laptop and the global corruption now exposed, but that President Joe Biden simply continues the insane assertion that Russia has “already lost the war” in Ukraine. The neocon policy now promoted by the Biden Administration, and his leftover Obama gang (Blinken, Sullivan and Nuland) – who should be facing jail time for their multiple crimes – are more likely to launch a nuclear war than face incarceration. In his long career in intelligence, McGovern said that he had “never seen this level of danger.”
Oliver Boyd-Barrett, a professor at California State University, provided a detailed study of the actual battlefield situation in Ukraine, noting the “sheer scale of numbers dying in this infuriating and unnecessary war.” The effort to deny the failure of the Ukraine “counteroffensive” has failed, but there is still the “fog of war” which can be used to justify the escalation to a nuclear launch. The promotion of Victoria Nuland to the number two at the State Department demonstrates that the regime is “either too stupid or too evil” to stop the madness.
Anastasia Battle, who moderated the event, reported on massive outreach to independent journalists. She also reviewed the current list of scheduled speakers for the August 6 rally at the UN, which will be live-streamed from 1-4 p.m.
Former President of Guyana Donald Ramotar said that the West terribly miscalculated when they thought the sanctions would destroy the Russian economy and that modern NATO weapons would crush them in Ukraine, but that the danger of nuclear war is now even greater. He recommended that we recruit scientists to join in the peace effort.
The next speaker, scientist Steve Starr, author of “The State of the Nuclear Danger” and other articles and videos on the effects of nuclear weapons, quickly agreed to write a public letter to other scientists to join the movement, as Mr. Ramotar had proposed.
Reports by organizers from several of the planned international sister rallies provided a sense of the global nature of the movement.
Diane Sare, the founder of the Schiller Institute NYC Chorus briefed the meeting on the plan to perform the Mozart Requiem in a New York City church following the rally at the UN, to honor the hundreds of thousands of civilians killed by the U.S. nuclear bombing of two Japanese cities in 1945. A guest conductor from Türkiye, who has conducted music for several other rallies for peace, volunteered to conduct the event. There has been a surge of choristers joining, and an orchestra is being mobilized as well.
Bernie Holland, an activist from the UK, suggested that even if nuclear weapons were to be abolished from warfare, that the bombs themselves should be re-designed to serve as defense of the Earth from asteroids, a plan known as the Strategic Defense of Earth (SDE). He encouraged everyone to read the book written by Mike Billington, Reflections of an American Political Prisoner—The Repression and Promise of the LaRouche Movement, and referenced that the Chinese character for “crisis” is made up of both the characters for “danger” and “opportunity,” which he also compared to Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche’s reference to the “coincidence of opposites” from Nicholas of Cusa. He added that this is also coherent with Buddhist teaching. We must take full advantage of the opportunity of the current crisis, he said, to create a “critical mass of consciousness” among the people.
Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche closed the meeting, noting that the recently released movie about Robert Oppenheimer was bringing attention to the horror of nuclear weapons, and that the Schiller Institute had prepared a leaflet to distribute to audiences at the film, encouraging them to join the August 6 rallies. She supported the call for scientists to join the movement, but suggested that the letter be addressed to “scientists and artists,” since scientists and artists share the love of the positive vision of mankind’s future. She called for participants to spend the remaining days before August 6 mobilizing everyone, especially youth and the Global South, which is experiencing a revolutionary upsurge, turning against the call to war coming from the NATO countries in favor of peace and development in cooperation with Russia and China, convinced to end the age of colonialism once and for all.
July 14—The International Peace Coalition (IPC), initiated by Helga Zepp- LaRouche, held its sixth weekly Zoom meeting today, chaired by the Schiller Institute’s Anastasia Battle, with 38 guests from 15 countries and peace organizations, in addition to members of the Schiller Institute.
At their fifth meeting, in an impassioned presentation, Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST), had described he just concluded July 4–5 conference sponsored by JUST and the Save Humanity and the Planet (SHAPE) centered in Malaysia, titled “Asia-Pacific NATO: Fanning the Flames of War.” The target was AUKUS, the Australia-U.K.-U.S. security pact whose purpose, Dr. Muzaffar said, is to “contain China.” Most Asians oppose this pact, but the political leaders want to “assure the domination of Asia by the British and the U.S.,” and undermine any peace movement. The meeting was quite successful, with speakers from Australia, China, Malaysia, the U.S China and South Korea, with several new organizations participating in the event. JUST and SHAPE will get the news on the IPC to their mailing lists. Dr. Muzaffar thanked Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche and the Schiller Institute for building the IPC, which he said he “hopes will grow and flourish, as it is key to our future.” [Read IPC#5 Press Release Here]
Helga Zepp-LaRouche, the founder and leader of the Schiller Institute, opened the sixth meeting by noting two globally important events in the week since the IPC’s fifth meeting on July 7: the two-day international conference of the Schiller Institute in Strasbourg, France on July 8-9; and the NATO Summit of July 11-12 in Vilnius (referred to as the “villainous Vilnius Summit” by one speaker at the IPC meeting). While the NATO Summit was a war cry for more escalation of the surrogate NATO war against Russia centered in Ukraine, the Schiller Institute conference provided ideas and discussion on the urgency of substituting cooperation for confrontation, preventing the current rush to an outbreak of global nuclear war, and bringing the world’s nations together in a paradigm of development.
Zepp-LaRouche pointed to the newly-announced decision by President Joe Biden to deploy cluster bombs to Ukraine—altogether 300 million bomblets—a madness that will cause thousands of deaths of innocents, as has already been demonstrated by the death and maiming of children and other civilians in Cambodia and Vietnam from the landmines and cluster bombs deployed during the Indochina war of the 1960-70s—deaths and injuries continuing even today. There is international opposition to this genocidal act, including from within the United States, but Biden is going ahead regardless.
The ugly irony of this move, Zepp-LaRouche added, is that Biden has admitted that even though he once opposed the use of cluster bombs as a war crime, now the U.S. and its NATO allies are running out of ammunition to continue the bloodletting in Ukraine, and therefore will use the cluster bombs to keep the war going. She pointed to the decision to deploy F-16s to Ukraine as yet another insane act, noting that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia will have no way to know if the nuclear-weapon capable F-16s are armed with nuclear weapons or not, and must therefore treat them as being nuclear armed.
Zepp-LaRouche also pointed to the NATO Summit’s embrace of a policy to expand the domain of NATO to the Asia-Pacific region, targeting China with the same war-policy as deployed against Russia in Europe.
As to Ukraine, she reported the intention presented at the NATO Summit to turn the country into a military production center, with the West’s major military-industrial companies setting up production facilities in Ukraine for a “forever war.” In the process, there was no discussion by any NATO participants of a peace plan, or even for negotiations for peace. At the rate of destruction of the Ukraine economy and the death of thousands of young men in the bloody cauldron of war, there will be no way for the country to rebuild even if the war can be stopped.
The lesson, Zepp-LaRouche concluded, is that the International Peace Coalition must grow and create a massive public outcry against the madness. The plan for international demonstrations on Aug. 6, the 78th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima by U.S. President Harry Truman, must be the basis for expanding this effort.
Ray McGovern, a former CIA analyst and a co-founder of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), gave a situation report on the war in Ukraine, asserting that while Biden is declaring that Ukraine is winning, even that Putin has “already lost” the war, that simply demonstrates that Biden is living in an “alternative reality,” since it is abundantly clear that the opposite is the case. The much-heralded “counter-offensive” by the Zelenskyy government forces has been a colossal failure, with the mass destruction of tanks and other military equipment, as well as yet more thousands of lives sacrificed.
Col. Richard H. Black, a retired Marine officer and former Army Joint Advocate General (JAG) lawyer who headed the Army’s Criminal Law Division at the Pentagon before retiring from the military and serving in Virginia’s House of Delegates and Senate, reviewed the failure of Kiev’s “counteroffensive,” suggesting that the idea of a perpetual war of attrition is a losing proposition for Ukraine, and that they may not be able to sustain the current pace even through the end of August.
Regarding the cluster bombs, Col. Black remarked that the world agreed to ban mustard gas and other chemical weapons as war crimes, and for the U.S. to simply declare that cluster bombs are to be accepted because “Ukraine needs them” does not change the fact that their use is a war crime. Are we to declare later that nuclear weapons will stop being illegal if “Ukraine needs them,” he asked? We are heading for nuclear war, he warned, and there is far too little resistance to it in the U.S., so this Coalition must grow.
Joseph Boyd-Barrett, a professor (emeritus) at California State University and an expert on the uses of propaganda, gave further evidence of the falsification in the mainstream media about the war in Ukraine. Ukraine and its Western backers in NATO have already essentially lost the war, as their munitions are running out and the NATO countries are not able to sustain the supply, while Russia “can produce multiples” of the munitions produced by the combined NATO backers of Kiev. He also estimates that the supply of weapons to Ukraine will run out by the end of August.
The problem remains that the Ukraine government, and its backers in NATO, don’t care that the country and the population are being destroyed by the war policy, and refuse to negotiate. Zelenskyy was elected on a pledge to bring peace, but now it must be said that the Kiev regime’s policy is to see their own population murdered by continuing a war which cannot be won. The Democratic Party in power in Washington appears to believe that the only way to win the next general election in November 2024 is to keep the war going through next year.
Juan Carrero, a peace activist from Spain, said that the Western elites are suffering from dementia, as they repeat without any evidence that Russia will lose the war. He said that he had lived in Hiroshima for a year and a half, and saw the effects of the destruction, calling for the Aug. 6 demonstrations worldwide to be a turning point to stop the madness.
Moderator Anastasia Battle read four demands which the IPC will issue on its website https://humanityforpeace.net/
They are:
- 1. End the supply of weapons to Ukraine.
- 2. Begin unconditional peace talks with all parties to the war
- 3. End the NATO alliance.
- 4. Establish a new security architecture for all nations, ending the division of the world into warring “blocs.”
Bernie Holland, a peace activist from the U.K., asked Helga Zepp-LaRouche to discuss her concept of the “Coincidence of Opposites” which is the eighth of her Ten Principles of a NewInternational Security and Development Architecture.
Zepp-LaRouche replied with an in-depth discussion of the concept, developed by the 15th-century genius Nicholas of Cusa, who discovered the idea as a method of thought based on the truth that the “One” is superior to the “Many,” that only by recognizing that there is a common principle which unites all human beings, whatever their faith or ethnicity or nationality. This method of thinking made it possible for Cusa to bring about the unity of the Roman and Orthodox Christian religions at the ecumenical Council of Florence between 1431 and 1449, and later was the basis of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 ending the Thirty Years’ War in Europe. In the current age of nuclear weapons, that principle of creative thought, based on love rather than hate, is the only basis for world peace. Other speakers reported on their organizing efforts for peace in Argentina, Chile, England, France, Germany, Holland, India, Italy, Nicaragua, Scotland, and across the U.S. All agreed to build an even larger attendance, including representatives from the Global South, for the next meeting on Friday, July 21.
Rally and Concert:
Humanity for Peace is hosting a “Global Rally for World Peace and an End to All Wars!” On Sunday, Aug. 6 from 1-4 pm at the Dag Hammerskjöld Plaza (United Nations Plaza) in New York City, 47th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue, followed by an evening concert from 6-8 pm at the Unitarian Church of All Souls, 1157 Lexington Ave. at East 80th Street, of Mozart’s Requiem, performed by a combined chorus and orchestra which will include the Schiller Institute NYC Chorus and musicians. It will be free and open to the public.
A full report on the fifth meeting of the International Peace Coalition, held on July 7, is here: https://schillerinstitute.com/blog/2023/07/13/press-release-fifth-international-peace-coalition-event-reveals-growth-and-extensive-organizing/
In Attendance:
- Helga Zepp-LaRouche (Germany), founder and leader, Schiller Institute
- Colonel Richard Black (U.S., ret), former head of the Pentagon Criminal Law Division, former Virginia State Senator
- Oliver Boyd-Barrett (U.S.), Professor Emeritus, Bowling Green State University, Ohio
Alessia Ruggeri (Italy) Trade Unionist - Anton Winter, (Austria) Nouvelle Alliance, UZG – Initiative Zivilgesellschaft
- Dr. Balkrishna Kurvey (India) President of the Indian Institute for Peace, Disarmament and Environmental Protection
- Barbara Spahn (Germany)
- Beatriz Solórzano León (Guatemala), Lawyer, Parliamentary Technician
- Bernie Holland (UK) No2NATO
- Fr. Robert Cushing (U.S.), Association of US Catholic Priests (AUSCP), Pax Christi GA, former priest
- Bolívar Téllez Castellón (Nicaragua), Lawyer and university professor
- Boubacar Sidy (USA/Guinea)
- Christer Lundgren, (Sweden)
- Ruben Dario Guzzetti (Argentina), Argentine Institute of Geopolitical Studies (IADEG)
- Christine Bierre (France), Solidarity and Progress
- Fr. Harry Bury (U.S.), Archdiocese of Saint Paul in Minneapolis, MN
- Ingo Scharpff (Germany)
- Jacques Cheminade (France), head of Solidarity and Progress
- Jimmy Gerum (Germany), Lighthouse Media
- Juan Carrero (Spain), President, S’Olivar Foundation
- Juan Gómez (Chile)
- Karen Ball (U.S.) Pax Christi – Texas
- Liliana Gorini (Italy), Movisol
- Mike Billington, (U.S.) Executive Intelligence Review Magazine
- Muhammad Selim Akhtar (U.S.) Muslim Alliance
- Ray McGovern (U.S.) former senior analyst, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); founding member, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)
- 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
- Ulf Sandmark (Sweden), President Schiller Institute, Sweden
- Wolfgang Lieberknecht (Germany)
- David Andersson, (U.S.) Coordinator of NYC bureau for Pressenza Press Agency and hosts a talk-show, Face 2 Face, broadcast on Youtube and Facebook
- Jurgen Wolf (Scotland), No2NATO UK, Workers Party BG
- Jack Gilroy (U.S.), Organizer, Pax Christi, NY State/Pax Christi International; Board Member, New York Veterans for Peace
- Sonja Van den Ende, (Netherlands/Russia) Independent Journalist, covers Russia/Ukraine conflict, for Katehon
- Chris Fogarty (U.S./Ireland), Irish American Leader
- Fredrick Weiss (U.S.) Classical musician
- Dennis Small (U.S.), Schiller Institute, Virginia
- Dennis Speed (U.S.), Schiller Institute, New Jersey
- Diane Sare, (U.S.) U.S. Senate Candidate, New York
- Jose Vega, (U.S.) Interventionist, Organizer Schiller Institute
- Anastasia Battle (U.S.) Organizer, Interventionist and Editor-in-Chief, Leonore Magazine
**Affiliations for identification purposes only
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 |
April 3, 2023–The “narrative” of the MSM is that there are countries, where freedom of the press thrives, such as Norway, which appears again at the top of the relevant index; and that there are countries, where it is suppressed. In reality, in the MSM honest journalism has almost entirely disappeared. The very notion of a historical or objective “truth,” which can be unearthed by investigative journalism, has been buried by a barrage of projectiles which pierce through that very concept. What has come in its place is an arbitrary variety of descriptions of that “truth,” which are either named as “fake,” or must be “debunked,” or even crushed before conception by being “pre-bunked.”
In reality there is a brutal fight for control of the “narrative” of the “rules- based-order,” where journalism has been degraded to serve as the executioner on behalf of the ruling elites. If this were an exaggeration, Seymour Hersh would have received a newly created Nobel Prize for excellence in Journalism in Norway, and all the Norwegian media would have excelled in reporting about the role of Norway in the sabotage of the Nord Stream Pipelines.
The heads of state who assemble this weekend for the coronation of King Charles can prove their commitment to freedom and democracy by congratulating the newly crowned King for making his first act the freedom of Julian Assange!
by Helga Zepp-LaRouche
No, not sleepwalking, but rather with eyes wide open, and without reason, backbone or conscience, the trans-Atlantic Establishment is pushing us to the edge of the cliff, beyond which a thermonuclear Hell is lurking, that threatens to annihilate all life on this planet. The 12-point program for a diplomatic solution to the strategic crisis between NATO and Russia, released by China on February 24, represents a possible last-minute lifeline to save us from jumping off. Although it was rejected out-of-hand by President Biden and the EU Commission, it has been increasingly supported for good reason by nations of the Global South, and consequently by most of humanity. It definitely needs to become an integral focus of all those forces worldwide that, in this time of existential threat for humanity, are committed to a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict. It also represents a concrete option around which to orient the offer of Pope Francis to use the Vatican as a venue for peace negotiations.
The reason why China’s peace plan was immediately rejected by the United States and NATO is that their goal is the restoration of a unipolar world in which China would never be allowed to play the role of a broker for peace. As NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made clear Feb. 28, in his joint press conference with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin in Helsinki, he sees Ukraine’s future as a part of the EU and as a member of NATO (in the long run). Thus, for NATO, the option of a neutral Ukraine is off the table, although the NATO leadership knows perfectly well that Russia considers that a blatant disregard of its demand for security guarantees. In other words, the U.S., the UK, NATO and the Atlanticists defend the line: “Ukraine has to win on the battlefield,” and “Russia must be ruined.” Conversely, Russia naturally sees this as an existential threat, and will attempt to bring about a decision on the battlefield.
The Russian government would be in a parallel universe if it did not take seriously the proposals discussed at a joint event of the Jamestown Foundation and the Hudson Institute in December 2022, concerning options for a complete breakup of the Russian Federation. Their “minimalist” goal is for Russia to be turned into “a looser, confederation-type administrative political structure”—de facto disempowering the Russian government, while the “maximalist” goal is the complete breakup and partition of Russia “along ethno-religious lines” and the simultaneous creation of separate states such as Chechnya, Dagestan, and Tatarstan. In that case, they say, demilitarization comparable to the Morgenthau Plan proposal, a “de-Sovietization,” would have to be carried out, and broad sections of society would have to be brought before a war crimes tribunal or re-educated.
Since the collaborators of these two think tanks are recruited from the inner core of the U.S. intelligence agencies and the military-industrial complex, i.e., the real U.S. power structure, Moscow must assume that these scenarios reflect the intention of the U.S. government. That, in turn, would fulfill the condition that the Russian military doctrine has set for the use of nuclear weapons, i.e., when the territorial existence of Russia is threatened.
According to experts from several nations, a military victory for Ukraine is far away. Ukrainian troops have suffered huge losses, averaging 1,000 men per day over the past three months and around 500 per day since mid-February. Some 10 million refugees—two million of them in Russia—unanimously say they do not want to return to Ukraine. Overall, the Ukrainian population has dropped from 37.5 million to about 20 million at present. Almost half of the urban infrastructure has been destroyed, while all critical industrial capacity is located in Russian-speaking regions.
In such circumstances, a war of attrition lasting many years, as the amount of weapons ordered by NATO would seem to indicate, will be a meat grinder in which the population will be wiped out “to the last Ukrainian.”
While U.S. military officials such as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley are pushing for negotiations based on a realistic assessment of the situation, and even the Rand Corporation has advised against a “long war” in Ukraine for its own reasons, the hawks around the State Department are apparently following the proposal made by one of Britain’s leading think tanks, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), which advocates escalating the war to the point where Russia would have to threaten to use nuclear weapons because of a threat to Crimea and thus to Russian territory. According to this perverse logic, the ensuing “Cuban Missile Crisis on steroids” would “promote” the settlement of the war because Russia could thus be forced to surrender. U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria “Dr. Strangelove” Nuland, notorious for her active role in the 2014 Maidan coup in Kiev, recently reiterated her support for Ukrainian military attacks on Crimea. Thus, the danger of an escalation to a global nuclear war in the short term is knowingly accepted. Obviously, the lives of the Ukrainian population do not count in this scenario; the sole goal is to ensure the defeat of Russia in order to re-establish the status of American hegemony.
The European Council for Foreign Relations, the EU’s own think tank, points out in a recent study that although the U.S. and Europe have drawn closer to one another, the rest of the world is moving further and further away from the West. Those who wish to get an idea of this reality for themselves are advised to watch the video of a dialogue between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the head of the Indian think tank ORF (Observer Research Foundation), Sunjoy Joshi, at this year’s Raisina Dialogue. A good representation of the Global South’s elite meets regularly at this prestigious event sponsored by the Indian government. As Lavrov, among others, indicated, the Russia-India-China troika, first initiated by Russian Foreign Minister Primakov, continues to be a centerpiece of strategic cooperation, but has since greatly expanded into the BRICS Plus group, to which two dozen other countries of the Global South have applied for membership. Therefore, Russia is hardly isolated, as this includes an overwhelming majority of humanity.
And this majority supports the Chinese peace proposal, which calls for respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, abandoning a Cold War mentality, ending hostilities, ending sanctions against Russia, and proposes concrete steps on how to overcome the crisis diplomatically. President Zelensky has also stated that he wants to discuss this with President Xi. The near-hysterical reactions of the mainstream media and the Atlanticists to the Chinese proposal prove once again that ideological glasses cause blindness.
The majority of the world’s population supports a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Brazilian President Lula, who has called for a peace club composed of the nations of the Global South, will travel to China later this month to discuss peace initiatives with Xi Jinping. Italian General Fabio Mini, former commander of the KFOR mission in Kosovo, has proposed further useful steps for a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. Pope Francis’ offer to use the Vatican as a venue for diplomatic negotiations is gaining support from key individuals and institutions around the world, as well as religious leaders of various denominations.
Therefore, it is high time for China’s proposal to become the center of the discussion. The situation today is comparable to that in which the negotiations leading to the Peace of Westphalia ended 150 years of religious war in Europe. At that time, the warring parties came to the conclusion that the war had to come to an end, otherwise there would be no one left to enjoy a victory because everyone would be dead. That is precisely our situation today, with the difference that the existence of nuclear weapons today would guarantee such an outcome.
One of the most important results of the Peace of Westphalia, which laid the foundation for international law, was the realization that peace requires taking into account the interest of the other. From that standpoint, not only is NATO’s repeated eastward expansion a catalyst for war, NATO itself is obsolete and urgently needs to be replaced by a new international security and development architecture that takes into account the interests of all states on the planet.
It is urgently necessary that the newly emerging peace movement, that came onto the scene at the “Rage Against the War Machine” demonstration on Feb. 19 in Washington, on Feb. 25 in Berlin, and in many other rallies in Italy, France, Germany and numerous other countries, take a clear position in favor of ending NATO and supporting the Chinese proposal for a peaceful settlement to the conflict which otherwise threatens to lead to the end of civilization.
zepp-larouche@eir.de
March 4, 2023 (EIRNS)–The Working Group Common House of Europe has published an open letter warning against a situation in which the absence of serious diplomacy would throw Europe back to where it was in World War I—into the trenches, however this time in an environment far more dangerous than the Cuban Missile Crisis. The letter concludes with:
“War—involving two nuclear powers—has returned to Europe and with it the danger that modern technology will turn the war over Ukraine into a total disaster. It is still true: ‘No security without America,’ but it is also true: ‘No security without Russia.’ And if we get away with it again, then the same will apply: also ‘No security without China.’
“None of the structural reasons that lead to wars has really been overcome. After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Carl Friedrich v. Weizsäcker spent a researcher’s life never tiring of reminding us: ‘It is not the elimination of conflicts, but the elimination of a certain way of carrying them out that is the inevitable peace of the technical world.’ “
The Open Letter is signed by Justus Frantz (leading classical music organizer, also signer to the Wagenknecht-Schwarzer Manifesto); General Harald Kujat(ret.); Dr. Bruno Redeker, Chairman Carl Friedrich von Weizsaecker Gesellschaft (a think tank in the tradition of detente policies); Professor Dr. Horst Teltschik, former security advisor to Chancellor Helmut Kohl, former chairman of the Munich Security Conference.
March 4, 2023 (EIRNS)–In the aftermath of the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in India, Sputnik published interviews with various Indian experts commenting on the meeting’s outcome. “During his post-summit press conference,” Sputnik noted, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey “Lavrov said that Russia would continue to `focus on forming reliable transport corridors, independent payment systems, and the expansion of payments in national currencies within the framework of BRICS, SCO and the Eurasian Economic Union’.” One expert Sputnik asked to comment on these matters was Manjeet Kripalani, founder and executive director of The Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations, which is a Mumbai-based think tank originally modeled on the New York Council of Foreign Relations. She said that the outcome of the G20 meeting was “actually very exciting,” because it opened the opportunity to build a fairer world.
“It used to be that in the old days, the Western banks always were the ones that called the shots. That is no longer going to happen. There will be banks and financial intermediaries from around different parts of the world. In fact, it’s going to become a financially more equal world. On logistics — in fact, it is very good, because, again, the systems that exist have been disrupted. But what we are going to see, and there is going to be a renewed push, is to get the Eurasian systems and the customs unions, etc. to start reactivating. For instance, the international North-South Transport Corridor, which runs from Central Asia down to Iran, this is now going to be looked at again, because these are connectivity projects that are closer to West Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, maybe Russia and China. And Asia will see different kinds of connectivity, maybe maritime connectivity projects, I’m not sure. But certainly, these multimodal transport corridors are going to be looked at now with great interest,” Kripalani said.
Feb. 28—The LaRouche movement is circulating the following pre-release of the lead editorial of the upcoming EIR magazine, as part of an intense, concentrated effort aimed at members of the U.S. Congress, to break through the deafening wall of silence on the barbaric activities sanctioned by U.S. military forces in Syria, military forces which are in that nation illegally—illegally under U.S. law, and illegally under international law. The similarly illegal and barbaric sanctions against Syria must now be lifted.
Lift All Sanctions on Syria, End the U.S. Occupation
The sanctions against Syria can no longer be tolerated. Pax Christi USA joined several faith-based groups in an open letter asking “the Biden administration and Members of Congress to affirm the dignity of all persons by lifting sanctions, continuing diplomacy, and sending aid to those most affected in Türkiye and Syria.”
The Schiller Institute’s two-hour-plus live Feb. 21 webcast, “Syrian Sanctions Must Be Lifted,” is a powerful weapon of truth, directly addressing the fact that the sanctions and war, which have forced 90% of the Syrian population into poverty, go hand in hand with the military occupation of Syria by the United States, which must also end.
Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder of the Schiller Institute; Vanessa Beeley, British independent journalist now living in Damascus; Marwa Osman, a professor, author and TV presenter from Lebanon; Col. Richard H. Black (ret.), former Virginia State Senator, and Chandra Muzaffar of Malaysia, leader of JUST (International Movement for a Just World) presented the scale of destruction inflicted by United States and its European allies on Syria since 2007.
After the devastating earthquakes this February, the necessity of the complete abrogation of the unilateral economic and financial sanctions by which the United States and European Union are blocking reconstruction—and now, even aid to that country—is imperative.
The call went out: “You must demand that the U.S. Congress lift the ‘Caesar’ Sanctions. This is collective punishment of the civilian population” of Syria. Moderator Dennis Speed noted that as the seminar was going on, Schiller Institute delegations were in Congress pressing for an end to NATO’s war in Ukraine and to the sanctions on Syria.
Action Beginning
In the U.S. House of Representatives, a “War Powers Resolution,” was submitted Feb. 21 by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to get all U.S. troops out of Syria. By law, that action is a privileged measure, which must be voted upon within 18 days. If it is voted up, the Biden Administration will have 15 days in which to implement the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
The LaRouche movement is mobilizing to target Congress, which has blood on its hands, to pass this resolution, which will be an important first step in stopping the barbarism of sanctions in Syria, and worldwide.
Reports From Experts
Vanessa Beeley, speaking from Syria reported: “Syrians are resilient, they’re resourceful. And despite the fact that 90% of the population is below the poverty level, they have survived. Now, they have a terrible humanitarian tragedy, five million estimated homeless in Syria. Even in the northwest, which is under the control of Western-backed terrorist groups, it is a humanitarian tragedy. But the West is not helping. She underscored that sanctions are a part of the occupation of Syria, which has “three of its four borders controlled by hostile powers.” Moreover, she said, “The West is exploiting this tragedy to effectively kick start the war again against Syria, letting “humanitarian” aid in only through the Idlib crossings from Türkiye which al-Qaeda controls. She concluded, “What Syria needs now is for the sanctions to be lifted; but more than anything, it needs U.S. occupation ended …. [The U.S.] occupies the southeast in their Al-Tanf military base which also controls the Rukban refugee camp. It has established a 55-kilometer no entry zone around it, where it’s training and arming armed groups, including ISIS. So, end the occupation, please.”
Chandra Muzaffar emphasized, “The sanctions would be nothing without the occupation…. And occupation remains throughout South Asia.” Syria, he said, has become since 2007 a state which is not able to function as a state, because large parts of it are occupied by foreign powers and various groups backed by those powers. Syria had outdone many of the richer countries in Southwest Asia in providing both health care and education to all its people, equal rights and respect to women, tolerance in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society. It is a victim of “U.S. hegemony,” he said, which must end. “We should be able to work together to bring about a world of development.”
Marwa Osman was very specific in suggesting to Americans: Go to associates or neighbors and raise some funds to aid the tens of thousands of Syrian victims of the earthquakes. Then contact your member of Congress and ask for assistance in sending those funds to people or charities in Syrian cities like Aleppo, and ask that Member to explain to you why that’s blocked, not possible, although the sanctions were supposed to be “suspended for 180 days” [the financial sanctions were not suspended]. Then demand that that Member change it. Even NGOs in neighboring Lebanon, Ms. Osman said, are afraid that they will be sanctioned by the United States and EU if they convey funds to Syrians across the border.
Col. Richard Black, who has made numerous visits to Syria, graphically described the nature of the terrorists supported by the U.S. government, stating that we have turned over large parts of the country to terrorists “who take selfies standing on the backs of innocent women. It is disgraceful! And now, we’re following up by taunting the people of Syria who are under this terrible earthquake devastation, and we’re taunting them about how they really should have gone the other way. They should have been on our side, and now they’re getting what they deserve is essentially what the State Department is saying:
“It is a disgrace! It is a horror! If the American people understood what is happening, this government would fall. This government could not exist in the United States if the American people were not shielded by this complicit media in the horrors that we have imposed on the Syrian people.
“It is a shame. I hate to see it, because I love my country. I want it to be a better place, than it was when I was growing up. And I have hope and prayer that it will become better, but we could certainly start by ending these obscene Caesar Sanctions that are imposing famine and freezing on innocent people.”
Faith–Based Groups
An urgent appeal was issued on Feb. 6 by the Middle East Council of Churches, an affiliate of the World Council of Churches, stating “We urge the immediate lifting of sanctions on Syria and allowing access to all materials, so sanctions may not turn into a crime against humanity.”
On Feb. 17, an open letter was released by a group of faith-based organization in the United States. The letter states in part:
“Therefore, we as a community ask Congress and the Administration to:
Lift sanctions in order to expedite aid delivery, open commercial access, and expand relief services to civilians in need.
Remove the 180-day sunset on the new General License for Syria.
Extend applicability for the newly adopted Global General License for material support in all of Syria.
Continue to communicate with Syrian and UN counterparts during the earthquake response, and work to open new border crossings for personnel to access Northern Syria.
Issue letters of comfort to financial institutions and aid organizations to help facilitate emergency assistance in Syria.
Coordinate the opening of banking channels to help NGOs and INGOs get aid to where it is needed; including family remittances.
Appropriate additional funds to USAID and UN programs to support Türkiye and Syria through the earthquake response and recovery.”
The letter was signed by the Alliance of Baptists; American Friends Service Committee (AFSC); Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP); Community of Christ; Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL); Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns; Mennonite Central Committee U.S. (MCC); National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd; Pax Christi USA; Presbyterian Church (USA); The United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society; Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC); and United Church of Christ, Justice and Local Church Ministries.
Helga Zepp-LaRouche appeals to religious leaders of the world to join with Pope Francis, who has offered the Vatican as a venue for unconditional negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
Mobilize your community for peace now because this is a crisis that tests our ability to survive.
