So many words have been written and spoken about the Russian invasion of Ukraine that it is impossible to give an adequate summary. Amid almost universal condemnation and an extreme amount of bellicosity there are some that point out the hypocrisy of ‘the west’ in totally opposing “someone’s else’s” war while engaging in warfare and preparation for warfare, and being uncritical of their own warlike actions. The following is our selection of statements and letters from groups and individuals in Ireland who support a peaceful resolution; these are mainly extracts from statements rather than the whole statement.
– On 18th February, before Russia had invaded Ukraine, Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire issued an open letter to Presidents Biden and Putin. “…….People of the world are afraid and many depressed. They need hope. They need to believe in themselves and others. They need a ‘light of peace’. People need to see there are people of love and courage who take risks for ‘humanity’ and follow their conscience to do the right thing. Please, Mr. Presidents, be such a light in a dark and dangerous world. Give the people hope.
Please meet each other in friendship and in respect for each other, and the sake of the great peoples of your countries, USA and Russia. Such a meeting of fraternity amongst the leaders of your nations would give hope to millions – especially young people who inherit a world so much in need of peace and reconciliation and based on love and respect……” http://www.peacepeople.com/open-letter-to-presidents-biden-and-putin/
– The Irish Anti-War Movement said “The Irish Anti War Movement (IAWM) condemns the invasion of Ukraine this morning by the Russian military and we send solidarity to the people of Ukraine at this dangerous time. We also stand with those people in Russia and Ukraine who want diplomacy and peace instead of war.
This is a completely unjustified invasion by Russia but not totally unprovoked. We have heard much in the western media about extensive western diplomacy. With the exception of efforts by the French and German Governments this is not true. Other NATO members, particularly the US and Britain, have been stoking tensions if not conducting open warmongering. They have refused point blank to consider Russia’s genuine security concerns about the further eastward expansion of NATO. They have sent military arsenal to Ukraine and troops to neighbouring NATO countries. They withdrew their monitors in the OSCE from Eastern Ukraine weeks ago, the very people who could have advised of infringements of the ceasefire agreed under the Minsk 2 Agreement. It is clear that Governments of certain NATO countries want a war with Russia, albeit a proxy one using the Ukrainians as pawns……….” https://www.irishantiwar.org/
– Roger Cole of PANA, the Peace And Neutrality Alliance, stated “ the Peace and Neutrality Alliance is opposed to the illegal invasion and occupation of Ukraine by Russia in the same way as we opposed the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq by the US back in 2003.” “Disputes around the legitimacy and the borders of nation states must be resolved in accordance with the UN Charter and international law, not by unilateral use of force.
PANA call for an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces, alongside the resumption of diplomatic negotiations to resolve the crisis.
The situation in Ukraine is bringing the world to the brink of a nuclear war. No matter whose propaganda you believe, the USA and Russia have over 10,000 nuclear weapons between them. Never forget that a war fought with even 100 nuclear weapons will destroy human civilization as we know it and devastate all lifeforms on our planet.
The Irish government could play a genuine neutral role in this conflict;
Encourage a return to the Minsk II Accord, negotiated by France, Germany, Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) that recognized historical/cultural divisions and sought a political resolution.
US war planes continue to refuel at Shannon Airport, so how can we ensure that weapons transiting here don’t end up in the hands of militias and fascists, used to perpetrate war crimes such as the massacre at the Trade Unions House in Odessa, 2014.
This is an ideal time for our Minister of Foreign Affairs to advance Irish neutrality by de-escalating the warmongering, with an update on that old Irish Citizen Army slogan “We serve neither NATO nor Russia, but Ireland”. “ https://www.pana.ie/
– An Irish CND/Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament statement said “Many people across not just Europe but the entire world will have reacted with shock, fear, horror and even despair at the news that Russian armed forces have launched a multi-pronged attack on Ukraine. A major act of military aggression by a nuclear-armed power raises the prospect of huge civilian casualties and a humanitarian disaster for the population of Ukraine, even without the use of nuclear weapons. The real possibility that nuclear weapons could be engaged in any ongoing conflict risks damage to human life and the environment on an unprecedented, terrifying and utterly catastrophic level……..
Irish CND joins with our colleagues in the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) in condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and veiled threats to use nuclear weapons:“We urge the international community to strongly pressure Russia to engage in dialogue and diplomacy, to return to compliance with the UN Charter, respect international humanitarian and human rights law and join relevant treaties to reduce nuclear weapons risks, including the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”
Irish CND calls on the Irish government to use Ireland’s influence as a neutral country and as a member of the United Nations Security Council, to take a courageous, self-determined stance to promote peace through all available and appropriate international fora.“ http://irishcnd.blogspot.ie/
– In a statement Afri said “Afri condemns the Russian onslaught on Ukraine. Nothing can justify such aggressive action, nor can that action resolve any valid grievance. ……Afri does not believe that the rhetoric of ‘unshakable Western unity and solidarity’ is helpful, playing as it does into Putin’s hands by suggesting a united threat against Russia. The so-called ‘Security Architecture’ resulting from the EU’s alignment with NATO has tragically failed (not for the first time) to prevent war in our common European home. Our Government and our political establishment have acquiesced in so-called ‘threat diplomacy’ while weapons were poured by all sides into a conflict zone. Shamefully, some of those weapons may well have transited through Shannon airport.
It is nonsense to claim that we are ‘militarily non-aligned’ when we have made Shannon available to US forces, when we have colluded with every step of EU militarisation, and when we now plan to produce weapons to sell to yet more warzones.
Successive governments have betrayed our constitutional commitment, in Article 29, to peaceful settlement of international disputes under international law. Our Foreign and Defence Minister Coveney ignores the support of the vast majority of Irish people for genuine, active Neutrality. That grounds the condemnation of Russian aggression against Ukraine. It also informs our opposition to Israeli aggression against Palestine and Saudi aggression against Yemen, to mention just two current examples, both of them supported by the Western powers with which we are urged to align ourselves.” https://www.afri.ie/
– Galway Alliance Against War (GAAW) stated “We oppose the invasion by Russia of the Ukraine. We are deeply concerned at the loss of life, which could have been prevented through negotiation. As we have seen in conflicts the world over, most recently in Afghanistan, at the end of the day negotiations will have to take place. The way forward is for Russia to cease its military actions, withdraw its troops and for representatives of all the countries of Europe to come together and negotiate a European peace settlement.
It has to be made clear that if NATO had kept to its 1991 agreement with Soviet President Gorbachev and not sought to expand eastwards, this conflict would never have arisen. NATO like the Warsaw Pact should have disbanded. Washington’s duplicity lies at the heart of this crisis. Its plan to surround Russia on its borders with NATO bases and missiles pose a genuine threat to that country. This needs to be recognised. We must all recognise that no country, most especially the USA, would countenance enemy bases and missile sites on its borders.
In late 2021 Moscow formally presented to its US counterpart a peace treaty. What it got in return was an avalanche of anti-Russian propaganda, which was subsequently parroted by many Western European governments, including Ireland. This does not justify Russia’s invasion of its neighbour. Nevertheless, these peace proposals need to be treated seriously by all the countries in Europe, those within the EU and those outside it.
What we demand from the government in Dublin is that it act like the neutral country we are and seek a peaceful resolution to this conflict. The crux of this conflict is guaranteeing the security of all European countries, including the Ukraine and Russia. There is little doubt in our minds that the dissolution of the NATO war alliance must be top of the agenda.
This appalling invasion is not in the interests of the people of the Ukraine nor the countries of Europe, which Russia is also an integral part. This crisis is only to the advantage of the USA and in particular its parasitical arms industry.
It is time for all the European states, East and West, to assemble and work out a peaceful resolution.” https://www.facebook.com/groups/312442090965
– Adi Roche, Founder and Voluntary CEO of Chernobyl Children International, invoked the Hague Conventions on the conduct of war, appealing to all warring forces in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, not to make the Radioactive Chernobyl Exclusion Zone a Zone of War.
‘I appeal on behalf of all humanity, but mostly on behalf of the citizens of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, and indeed on behalf of the citizens of Europe, to the warring armies, under the Hague Conventions, that the highly contaminated area around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station, with its thousands of tons and gallons of highly radioactive material, not be targeted, or used as areas of shelling, bombardment, and ground fighting.
My worst nightmare in this conflict is that the tragedy of the Chernobyl disaster could be re-released on the world. I fear that this area, a sacred area, an area of utter vulnerability and danger, a special area of human tragedy, could once again, have deadly radioactive contamination released, which would spread everywhere, like a great and uncontrollable monster.
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone has vast silos of nuclear waste and water, which are highly dangerous and volatile. Along with hundreds of shallow ‘nuclear graves’, which are scattered throughout the Exclusion Zone, holding the contents of thousands of houses, machinery, buses and trucks, all of which have been buried there to keep the radiation underground. Should a bomb, missile, a shot-down plane or helicopter crash into this area, the consequences could be disastrous.
In the name of humanity, in the name of the children, please stop this war and declare the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone as a ‘No War Zone’.” https://www.chernobyl-international.com/
– World Beyond War Ireland said “…..Wars start on the battlefield but end at the diplomacy table, so we call for an immediate return to diplomacy and international law.
Russia’s unjustifiable military response, however, is still a response to something. So when considering a way out of this situation, and that is surely what we all want, we must consider all the players who contributed to the passage to this point. If we want to retrace our steps from destroying lives to creating a climate of peace where lives can be lived then we must all ask ourselves questions. What do we cheer for from our own couches? What do our elected officials call for in our name and in the name of our security? ….
We are now hearing the international community’s, including the Irish Government’s, justified outrage over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But why was there, and why is there, no such outrage on behalf of the peoples of Serbia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere? What is this outrage going to be used to justify? Another crusade style war? More dead children and women? ……
In accordance with its apparent ethics, Ireland should also withdraw from military cooperation with any of the players in this amoral situation. It should end all NATO cooperation, and deny use of its territories to all foreign militaries immediately. Let’s hold warmakers to the rule of law in the place where it should be done, the courts. Only a neutral Ireland can have such a positive effect in the world. “
– In a letter to the papers John Maguire said “Please don’t anyone tell me yet again that we should embed further with NATO-compatible EU structures such as PESCO. Or that we should consider formally joining NATO – our ‘sophisticated security partners’ (Defence Green Paper 2013). Or that we should now be conveying lethal weapons into the conflict in Ukraine.
Please just tell me how any of the above is compatible with our Peace Process’s bedrock of ‘exclusively democratic and peaceful means of resolving differences’, or our Constitution’s commitment to ‘the pacific settlement of international disputes by international arbitration or judicial determination’ (Article 29), or the UN Charter’s primary task ‘to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war’.”
– Also in a letter to the papers Edward Horgan said “Some commentators have been using the tragedy of the Ukraine conflict to attack those who have been promoting neutrality and peace. Words like hypocrisy have been bandied about. Criticising the criminality and recklessness of Russia is fully justified, and all genuine peace activists do so, but one dare not mention the wars and sanctions (in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen) that have cost the lives of up five million people since the first Gulf War in 1991, including the deaths of about one million children due to war related reasons. Daring to mention these gets one accused of ‘ah but whataboutery’. Our adopted Irish/American leaders can do no wrong. Bill Clinton was US president when NATO attacked Serbia in breach of the UN Charter in 1999. Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and went on to order drone attacks and targeted assassinations that killed thousands of innocent civilians. Joe Biden as US vice-president actively supported the US wars in the Middle East. All illegal killing and all wars are dreadful. Is it not hypocrisy to focus only on Russian breaches of international laws that are killing Europeans, while playing down or ignoring equally serious, or more serious, breaches of international laws by the US and NATO, when such illegal regime-change wars have caused the deaths of so many non-Europeans? All lives matter. These Middle East wars and NATO’s expansion up to Russia’s borders have been a significant background factor, but not justification, for Russian criminality. Neutrality should have been the solution for the Ukrainian crisis.”
– In a statement StoP/Swords to Ploughshares network stated “Swords to Ploughshares (StoP) condemns Russian military aggression against Ukraine. This Russian attack on Ukraine is a violation of international law and is having devastating consequences in the form of death and destruction for the people of Ukraine. We also express our solidarity with those courageous citizens of Russia who have taken to the streets to protest Putin’s war on Ukraine.
This aggression demonstrates the dangers of military confrontation and competition between two military blocs armed with nuclear weapons, NATO and Russia. NATO’s eastward expansion since the end of the Cold War has undermined security for the people of Europe and has created the context for Putin’s aggression against Ukraine. NATO, like all military alliances, has provided the conditions for war rather than preventing its occurrence.
We must resist efforts to use Russian aggression against Ukraine as an excuse for supporting Ireland’s ongoing collusion with the U.S. and NATO through the use of Shannon airport by the U.S. military, as an opportunity to increase Ireland’s involvement with EU militarisation, and to boost weapons production anywhere on the island of Ireland. It is important to protect Irish neutrality as a basis for the peaceful resolution of conflict in accordance with Article 29 of the Irish constitution and the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement…….” https://www.facebook.com/SToP-111249554830507/ and https://www.swordstoploughshares-ireland.com/
– Amnesty International has been monitoring and publicising human rights abuses in the war including the use of cluster munitions in an attack on a preschool in north-eastern Ukraine which was hit on the morning of 25th February while civilians took shelter inside, killing three of them, including a child, and wounding another child. https://www.amnesty.ie/russia-cluster-munitions-kill-child/