Call to recognise peace heroes
Armed Forces Day and Peacemakers Day
Friends have criticised the prime minister for urging the public to support the armed forces ‘more loudly and more proudly’. David Cameron’s comments came ahead of the UK’s second Armed Forces Day on Saturday 26 June.
But Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW) urged the government to recognise the work of ‘unarmed forces’ – peacemakers who seek to resolve conflict without using violence.
David Cameron said he wants to see an ‘explosion of red, white and blue’ at celebrations across the UK. He insisted that: ‘supporting the armed forces isn’t just a government responsibility – it’s a social responsibility.’
Sam Walton of QPSW urged David Cameron to ask deeper questions. He said that Friends recognise ‘the inevitable tensions arising from international relations’ while rejecting the notion that the only response is constantly to ‘upgrade weapons and to train in readiness for war’.
Friends in several parts of the country are promoting active alternatives to Armed Forces Day. Members of Cymdeithas y Cymod – the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Wales – will protest at Parc Aberporth, where military drones are produced. On Sunday, Huddersfield Meeting House will host the film Soldiers of Peace, celebrating the work of ‘people who are using nonviolent means to work for peace and justice in the world.’
Quakers are involved in a number of organisations involved in nonviolent peacebuilding. They include Responding to Conflict (RTC), which provides training and support in skills such as mediation and conflict transformation. Other schemes include the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), whose volunteers are trained by Friends to provide a protective presence and human rights monitoring.
Ministers recently began a Strategic Defence Review, which will consider spending priorities. The defence secretary, Liam Fox, has refused to rule out financial cuts to the forces, but has insisted he will go ahead with the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system. Estimates of the cost of Trident vary between £20bn and £100bn.
In the light of this, Sam Walton called on the government to opt for nonviolent conflict resolution on grounds of cost as well as ethics, putting ‘energies and resources into developing and training for non-military ways of solving conflicts and averting wars.’
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