|
 Millions
of people took to the
streets around the world
on February 15 to demonstrate
their opposition to an
unnecessary and inhumane
war against Iraq.
The strength of anti-war
sentiment, and the feelings
of solidarity with the
ordinary people of Iraq,
expressed by more than
100,000 marchers in Dublin
and throughout the country
was truly impressive.
The overwhelming success
of this international
day of protest shows the
extent of popular opposition
to this war worldwide.
Afri, as part of the NGO
Peace Alliance, was one
of the organisers of the
Dublin march. The Peace
Alliance has maintained
a vigil in front of the
Department of Foreign
Affairs in Dublin since
autumn 2001 and helped
organise "From
the River to the Planes",
a march from Bunratty
to Shannon airport opposing
its use for U.S. war preparations.
This year's Féile
Bride conference in Kildare
also focused on stories
of resistance to a war
against Iraq.
 |
| Gerry O'Donaghue
of KAWM at the Dublin
Protest on the 15th
of February |
The success of February
15 illustrates the importance
of what is sometimes referred
to as "normative
power" or "soft
power" in influencing
the so-called "coercive
power" or "hard
power" of the state,
represented in its most
extreme form by the military,
armaments and weapons
of war. Here we have the
examples of Gandhi, Martin
Luther King and so many
others who have employed
the methods of nonviolent
political action against
apparently invincible
opponents with such effectiveness.
Such normative power,
in the form of appeals
to shared values like
human rights and basic
human well-being and survival,
can mobilise public opinion
and ultimately challenge
and undermine the legitimacy
of any resort to armed
force as threats to these
values. Millions of people
worldwide demonstrated
their opposition to a
U.S. led war against Iraq
because of their profound
concern about its negative
humanitarian impact and
its threat to the integrity
of the UN and to international
law.
This is the significance
of apparently symbolic
actions such as the vigils,
marches and demonstrations
organised by the Irish
peace movement. As Milan
Rai reminds us in the
current issue of Peace
News:
"The world has been
changed by popular struggle,
and the world will continue
to be changed by popular
struggle."
The peace movement in
Ireland, and worldwide,
has demonstrated its unprecedented
ability to mobilise millions
against a war that has
huge implications for
the world in which we
live. Afri will continue
to promote an alternative
vision based on the values
of peace, justice and
human rights, in response
to the interconnected
problems of militarisation,
inequality and poverty
epitomised by this war.
Iain Atack (Afri
Chairperson)
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