Pacifist talks

IssueJune 2007
Feature by Bill Hetherington

During the war, the Peace Pledge Union embarked upon negotiations of its own, with the object of obtaining a joint statement from British and Argentinian pacifists condemning the war.

Regrettably, this proved impossible, as the most accessible Argentinian pacifist, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Nobel Peace laureate of 1980, whilst prepared to condemn the military action of both parties, refused to sign a statement that in any way set aside the Argentinian claim in favour of self-determination for the islanders.

The PPU, therefore, joined with the Fellowship of Reconciliation in a statement opposing military action by both sides and questioning whether historical arguments about legal sovereignty were more important than the wishes of the inhabitants. 'We are more concerned with the wishes of the people to organise their own lives than with which flag happens to fly over a particular area of land.'

This statement, issued, on 7 April, was given a global aspect by being countersigned by War Resisters' International (WRI) and the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR).

Topics: Falklands