Quakers at Eurosatory
Witnessing for peace
Around twenty Quakers from across Europe witnessed at the Eurosatory arms fair near Paris this week, dressed in white and declaring that ‘War is not the Answer’.
The inspiration for much of the Quaker presence is a fourteen-year-old German Young Friend who asked for adults to accompany Young Friends to the protest. His call was published in the German Quäker magazine and he was joined by another four Young Friends and seven adults.
Swiss Friends also responded to the request in the publication and they were joined by Friends from France and Britain.
Bernhard Klinghammer from German Yearly Meeting told the Friend that he was among 8,000 protesters in Hannover in 1986 against this arms fair. After the demonstrations the fair was moved to Paris. ‘I go mainly in order to support the Young Friends initiative,’ he said. ‘I am a conscientious objector since 1960 and believe in social defence. Certainly the Quaker Peace Testimony for me is not only a passive testimony but also an appeal for active attempts to help to achieve better goals.’
Another participant will have ‘Quakers for peace’ in three languages, so this is the explanation of our understanding of peace.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute $1,531 billion was spent on the military last year, a rise of 5.9 per cent on 2008.
For countries such as the UK, continued operations in Afghanistan play a part in the increase, while around the world governments may also have used military spending as a means to try and prevent recessions.
Around 1,300 exhibitors are expected at Eurosatory, which has 57,500 square metres of display space. The French government has invited 108 delegations including the UN, EU and NATO.
Last weekend Israel’s defense minister Ehud Barak was reported to have cancelled a trip to open the Israeli stand at Eurosatory. French survivors of the recent Israeli attack on the Freedom Flotilla in international waters had put forward a request for his arrest to the French authorities.
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