THEDRUMSOF THEDRUMSOF PEACE PEACE

By Andrew Irvine By Andrew Irvine

Late last year, I had the opportunity to attend and contribute to the annual Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) conference, AGM and associated meetings The conference brought together a wide variety of activists committed to working towards an independent and peaceful Australia

While listening to professors, eminent researchers, media people, academics, retired and current military, unionists and activists, I was struck by the diversity of the groups and heartened by the commitment they all showed towards striving for peace Then my mind turned to a comment made by peace activist and longtime newsreader Mary Kostakidis when she stated that the Charting Our Own Course Report “calling for an independent foreign policy in the is country is akin to heresy” and as such it was a ‘brave thing to do’ It rocked me, standing up for Australia’s sovereign interests and peace, is a brave thing to do Let’s just let that sink in for a minute

The conference and the report talk about the pursuit of peace and independence in ways that make sense, this isn’t just hippies and anarchists giving peace signs and providing no tangible alternatives, these are thoughtful experts who understand the need to protect Australia and its people from all threats, experts who observe the increasing militarisation of Australia as a threat to our sovereignty and our democracy If we want peace, we are going to have to care enough to campaign for it There is no easy option, but there are alternatives to our current course that arguably leaves us more susceptible to foreign aggression than less despite the massive outlays in military spending

What are the alternatives to an increasingly one-sided US alliance? What could we as a country do with the hundreds of billions of dollars attached to the AUKUS Sub deal These were some of the questions posed during the three days While we didn’t have all the answers, they are questions that deserve to be considered and debated

UN RESOLUTION: It is a fundamental human right to expect to live in peace

Almost 40 years ago, the Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Peace was passed by the UN General Assembly resolution 39/11 12 – November 1984 which stated among other things that:

Solemnly declares that the preservation of the right of peoples to peace and the promotion of its implementation constitute a fundamental obligation of each State;

Emphasizes that ensuring the exercise of the right of peoples to peace demands that the policies of States be directed towards the elimination of the threat of war, particularly nuclear war, the renunciation of the use of force in international relations and the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means on the basis of the Charter of the United Nations

Do you believe our current and former governments actively pursued/are pursuing peace?