Australia has no good reason for war and many against. There are better ways, writes Peter Gration.
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Posted at 10:47 AM
This webjournal has been created to give a voice to Australian war veterans who are strongly opposed to war.
Disclaimer: Some veterans referred to in this journal are reported in the media as being opposed to war and are not necessarily members of this organisation. If any of the veterans mentioned wish to be publicly identified as not being members of this organisation, we will include this fact upon request.
We, having dutifully served our nation, do hereby affirm our greater responsibility to serve the cause of world peace. To this end we will work with others as follows:
* Toward increasing public awareness of the costs of war
* To restrain our government from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations
* To end the arms race and to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons
* To seek justice for veterans and victims of war
* To abolish war as an instrument of national policy
* We support only nonviolent solutions to conflict resolution worldwide.
* We stand for creating a world in which conflicts are resolved through dialogue and involving the principles of conflict resolution; A world which condemns wars based on economic or natural resources imperatives; A world which recognises that a nation's natural resources form part of that nation's sovereignty.
* When taking part in protest actions:
1. We will use our anger at injustice as a positive, nonviolent force for change.
2. We will not carry weapons of any kind.
3. We will not vandalize or destroy property.
4. We will not use or carry alcohol or illegal drugs.
5. We will not run or make threatening motions.
6. We will not insult, swear or attack others.
7. We will protect those who oppose or disagree with us from insult or attack.
8. We will not assault, verbally or physically, those who oppose or disagree with us, even if they assault us.
9. Our attitude, as conveyed through our words, symbols and actions, will be one of openness, friendliness, and respect toward all people we encounter including police officers, military personnel, members of the community at large, and all marchers.
10. As members of a nonviolent action, we will follow the directions of the designated coordinators.
11. In the event of a serious disagreement, we will withdraw from the action.
Note: We have shamelessly borrowed some of the above from
our British counterpart.
We want to know what other Australian anti-war veterans think we should stand for.
We're open to suggestions - and new members of course...
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