‘War is a failure’
Britain Yearly Meeting joins with other Friends across Europe and the United States to call for a peaceful resolution to tensions between the US, Iran and other countries
Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) has joined Quakers across Europe and the United States to call for a peaceful resolution to tensions between the US, Iran and other countries.
BYM said it welcomed statements made by various governments, including the UK authorities, urging restraint following the killing of Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani and others in Iraq, and the subsequent violence.
Marigold Bentley, head of peace programmes and faith relations for BYM, said: ‘From our experience over centuries of work to promote peace through nonviolence, we can honestly say that violence in response to violence can only worsen human suffering and increase hatred and fear.’
She added: ‘War is a failure. Modern warfare is failure on a colossal scale. It is failure to love our neighbours as ourselves; failure to love our enemies and to do good to those who hate us; failure to seek peace and pursue it; failure to leave no stone unturned in the search for a peaceful solution; failure even to imagine the limitless possibilities of peace that are before us; failure of governments to protect us through dialogue and diplomacy; failure of parliaments to uphold the basic principles of international law and ethical norms which call for utmost restraint in the spilling of blood; failure of military strategies and policies of “deterrence” which are offered to us as a means to prevent such wars.’
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