Quakers urge peace in Ukraine
'As with all large-scale conflicts, there is a whole dynamic system of causes, never one. That dynamic system will be interpreted very differently by different actors.’
Quakers have spoken out about the situation between Russia and Ukraine.
Philip Austin, convenor of the Northern Friends Peace Board (NFPB), said: ‘This is a deeply worrying time and I hope we can play a useful role by providing and facilitating support, and by sharing information.’
To this end, the Bolton Friend has put together a page of links to material which could be helpful on the NFPB website. Britain Yearly Meeting also recommended five things Friends can do on the Quakers in Britain website. This follows a statement last month urging ‘all sides to engage in urgent de-escalation and commit to resolving the stand-off over Ukraine peacefully… we need to work to build a culture of peace and dialogue, based on strengthening arms control, peacebuilding and respect for international law.’
Canadian Friends Service Committee also wrote an open letter saying it is disturbed by ‘enemy images’ about Russia circulating in the media. ‘Russia is not “the problem” here. As with all large-scale conflicts, there is a whole dynamic system of causes, never one. That dynamic system will be interpreted very differently by different actors.’
Peace campaigners such as the Peace Pledge Union (PPU) also accused Boris Johnson of ‘hypocrisy’ for claiming he wants to settle the Ukraine crisis through ‘patient and principled diplomacy’, while ‘the UK government’s supply of weapons to Ukraine made a diplomatic resolution less likely’.
Symon Hill, PPU’s campaigns manager, said: ‘Both sides need to get real about diplomacy, withdraw troops from borders and push ahead with previous agreements such as the Minsk II Protocol. There is no military solution to the Ukraine crisis.’
In the event of a Russian invasion, the PPU said it would support people in Ukraine engaging in mass non-cooperation ‘of the sort used effectively by people in Czechoslovakia during the Soviet invasion of 1968’.
The pacifist organisation also responded to Keir Starmer’s claim that peace activists who oppose NATO are supporting Vladimir Putin, emphasising that PPU members ‘oppose both Putin’s militarism and NATO’s militarism’.
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