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The World’s People Ask You: Why?
Open Letter
to the Leaders of All Nations
by Andreas Toupadakis
(This essay was delivered as part of a lecture on
nonviolence at the University of California at
Berkeley, on February 7, 2002.)
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Why are you talking about
globalization when at the same time the decisions you are making are
about pleasing only your own citizens, this military, or that economic
alliance, instead the whole world?
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Why when there are
procedures in place, according to UN charter, to bring specific
terrorists to justice have you allowed massive military campaigns that
wipe out innocent populations and destroy nations? Why are you allowing
atrocities and crimes against humanity in the name of peace?
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Why have you not visited the
museums of Hiroshima and Nagasaki while in office, or had your military
officers hear the stories of the nuclear victims, or offered your own
citizens the chance to read the Russel-Einstein manifesto?
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Why have you not weighed
properly what is at stake when you threaten other nations, when humanity
and the civilization of thousands of years is 30 minutes away from
extinction at any given moment?
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Why is it okay in some
places when international law is broken, but in others it is not?
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Why do you still keep
weapons of mass murder around when you know that you cannot guarantee
that they will never be used against billions of innocent civilians,
your sons and daughters included, or that they will not be triggered by
human error or computer accident?
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Why do all of you, almost
exclusively, still support such a war policy around the world that
threatens to annihilate the whole of humanity?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dear Sirs /
Madams,
I am writing to you as a temporary citizen of the earth. Destiny has
entrusted you for a short time with the future of your countries, and you
work diligently to please the citizens of your own countries. Many people
like you had similar titles and responsibilities in the span of thousands
of years all over the world. They did their duty and history has recorded
it. Some of them are remembered with peace and joy in humanity’s soul, and
some others are remembered with sadness and horror. They had a choice to
make and they did.
Should the decisions you are making today be about pleasing only your own
citizens, this military, that economic alliance, or the whole world? It is
not a secret that we have been at the point of extinction for about 50
years now. Does anyone doubt that the world has recently entered a new
extraordinary chapter? Only a dozen years ago there was a dynamic
equilibrium between the deadly forces of the East and the deadly forces of
the West, and the people of the world thought that they were in trouble.
They were willing to pay taxes to strengthen the forces to keep a balance.
We now know that was a horrific mistake. Now that this balance is no more,
the people are in despair and fear that the worse is about to come. What
should the people of the world expect to see in the near future?
It is therefore your responsibility, which is infinitely greater than that
of any other people like you in the recorded history of human kind, to
come together and finally abolish the weapons of mass murder. The people
of the world deserve that you humble yourselves into immediate
negotiations, no matter the cost. Later they will demand it. We cannot and we
should not think anymore of the future of our countries alone, but of the
future of humanity as a whole. Under these extremely dangerous conditions
in order to combat terrorism, your governments are justifying any means,
no matter how brutal. Why do all of you almost exclusively still support
such a policy around the world that threatens to annihilate the whole of
humanity? And why when there are procedures in place, according to UN
charter, to bring specific terrorists to justice have you allowed massive
military campaigns that wipe out innocent populations and destroy nations?
Why are you allowing atrocities and crimes against humanity in the name of
peace?
Over six billion of people are asking every one of you personally. Have
you ever read the Russel-Einstein’s manifesto? Have you offered your own
citizens the chance to read it? Have you ever visited the museums of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki while in office? Have your military officers heard
the stories of the nuclear victims? How is it possible for the whole of
humanity and the civilization of thousands of years to be 30 minutes away
from extinction at any given moment, gone forever, and you have not
weighed properly what is at stake? How can you continue discharging your
duties as usual when global death is minutes away?
Military bases around the world trying to control the military, political,
economic, and even social life of the people of the earth are devoid of
meaning today. All fear dies when a nation does not threaten anyone.
Doesn’t everyone like to live among nations that no one needs to be afraid
of? We do. Then why threaten? Almost all of the people of the earth if
allowed to know the dreadful facts would never pay taxes to support the
building of the graveyard of humanity by their governments. They would
revolt. They need no world government while there are weapons in storage.
As long as these weapons exist, humanity will be oppressed. They need no
empires and national interests when Damocles’ nuclear sword hangs over
their head.
Why is it okay in some places when international law is broken, but in
others it is not? The citizens of the world demand an answer from you.
They sense that their future and their children’s is at stake because of
the lack of your will or ability to resolve such issues. Will you be able
to resolve a nuclear scenario tomorrow? Your predecessors proved that they
did not have the capacity to avoid two global massacres. If you have the
slightest doubt that you also do not have the ability, why then do you
still keep weapons of mass murder around?
The desire for world domination is not new or a secret (http://www.dtic.mil/jv2020/). And let us be truthful, if it were not the USA today, it would
be one of the rest of you. The question is what will each one of you do
about it? Are you going to use your nuclear weapons to destroy our
beautiful world and every one of us forever? Good, loving people who want
to love and support their families and their nations are waiting to hear
what your answer is.
When we know what the results of colonialism were in the past, why have
you invented a new kind of colonialism, one that is less conspicuous than
the colonialism of old Europe? People see that your strong governments
achieve domination of other weaker countries by investing capital abroad,
which makes those countries firmly dependent on you, and anyone who
opposes this policy or its implications is treated as an enemy of your
states. The result is a growing discontent pervading the people of the
world because of this unhealthy kind of globalization. More and more, as
years go by, the feeling of unrest is growing in the world. The most
recent example is Argentina. As economic interests are intermingled around
the world, agitation spreads beyond borders and takes the form of definite
demands in the form of terrorism. This state of affairs is unsustainable.
The anti-globalization movement and so many other similar movements are
growing at an alarming rate, that is a fact. You claim that you act for
people’s interests, but the people are not convinced. Brussels on December
13th, 2001 saw possibly the largest ever demonstration across Europe. Well
over 100,000 people took five hours (on a working day) to march through
the capital with the slogan “people not profit.” Your mission should be to
help eliminate the mistrust between nations, and as a consequence,
eliminate militarism and everything else that goes with it. We live in an
age in which you have to make the great decision, to abolish or perish,
soon, very soon. We have the capacity in the blink of an eye to destroy
everything that we have put together in the span of thousands of years.
While the leadership of some of you seems unable to do anything but raise
fear in people’s hearts, the conscience of humanity will always hope. As
fear sweeps the globe more often today than yesterday, let us not forget
that “he who wrongs no one, fears no one. He has nothing to hide and so is
fearless. He looks everyone in the face. His step is firm, his body
upright, and his words are direct and straight” as S. Radhakrishnan,
president of India once said.
The times are pressing for an immediate, serious consideration of what we
want to see for the future of our children. Weapons of mass destruction do
not provide any protection for our children, future generations, and us.
Can you honesty look at your sons’ and daughters’ eyes and say to them
that you work for world peace when some of you support with your words and
actions the research and maintenance of an unthinkable number of weapons
of mass murder? You are very well aware that instead of the abolition of
weapons of mass destruction, our world is headed for proliferation and
nuclear anarchy.
Today your governments are developing, maintaining, and threatening to use
weapons of mass destruction against nations that do not have them. Also
you are demanding that these nations not be allowed to acquire them, or
otherwise they will be bombed. Moreover, some of your governments are
using bribery towards the governments of the rest of the nations that
already have weapons of mass destruction to make them destroy their
weapons. What has made some of you think that you are better than others,
that you can hold on to your weapons of mass murder but others cannot have
any of their own?
Governments embracing weapons of mass destruction need to understand that
there is something much higher at stake than your private vested and
national interests are. You derive the right to take the chance of a
global catastrophe from nowhere. What you are doing is simply wrestling
with the infinitely great. It will be a lost game for all. More power
demands more responsibility, wisdom, and concern for others. Let us
abandon all means of war that bring about murder and destruction in the
name of national security and self-defense.
Having contemplated on these facts, I have decided to dedicate the rest of
my life to bringing awareness to the world’s people about our predicament.
I would rather use my skills for world peace than for the annihilation of
my fellow beings. Can lovers of life count on your help? It is our most
sacred duty.
Mr.
Andreas Toupadakis, Ph.D.
is a Former Research Scientist of Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories.
Source:
by courtesy & © 2002 Andreas Toupadakis
by the same author:
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