As part of the activities of the 3rd World March for Peace and Nonviolence, promoted by the association World without Wars and without Violence, a rally was held in Barcelona on December 14 under the slogan “There is still a future and we are organizing. Participate!”. Various platforms and social movements have joined together, to promote disarmament, end wars and eradicate violence.
At a time of growing need, marked by the increase of war conflicts, the killing of civilians and the occupation of countries, the 3rd World March for Peace and Nonviolence seeks to raise awareness about the importance of nonviolence as a path to peace. The march, which is touring several cities around the world and carrying out multiple events, began its journey on October 2, 2024 in Costa Rica and will conclude, in the same country, in January 2025. The organization World Without Wars and Violence has carried out two previous marches: the first in 2009 and the second in 2019. The need for a profound change in the current political and social developments encourages the promoters to continue with this activity.
The rally in Barcelona gathered more than 200 people and was supported by the following platforms: Platform for Peace, Against Wars, NATO NO; Marea Pensionistes Catalunya; Marea Blanca de Catalunya; Catalunya per la Pau; Comunitat Palestina; and Catalan Association of Jews and Palestinians – Junts.
The meeting was attended by Inma Prieto, Jesús Arguedas, Toni Quesada and Jose Vidal, from the Base Team of the March. Pepe Gomez from Mundo sin Guerras, welcomed the event and introduced the following speakers:
Inma Prieto, from the base team of the March and member of World without Wars and without Violence has welcomed the participants and commented “in all parts of the world, people want peace, but the leaders are leading us towards a nuclear war. The European Union is spending a great deal of money on armaments and this should make us reflect. We have to be very careful when exercising our vote, because it has many consequences”.
Maria Maffioli, of the Platform for Peace, against Wars, NATO NO, expressed her support for the slogan “There is still a future and we are organizing ourselves”. She denounced that an intervention in Syria has been allowed, which represents a serious regression, and pointed out that Europe has increased its spending on armaments, which leads to a social regression in services for the people. Furthermore, he has warned about the need to stop NATO’s arms adventure and demanded the resignation and dismissal of the Spanish Minister of Defense, since the Spanish government is also sending forces to countries bordering Ukraine to support the objectives of the imperialist coalitions. He concluded with the phrases: “Long live the struggle of the Palestinian people! NATO, no bases out!”.
Ramon Franquesa introduces himself as a member of the Marea Pensionistas Catalunya and stresses that this rally is very timely, as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has urged member states to “spend less on other priorities” to increase defense spending. The NATO Secretary General argues that states dare to spend 25% of the budget on social expenses, which he considers unconscionable, and argues that this money should be used to finance the military career. According to Ramon, in return they will propose less pensions, less health care, and less education. With these proposals, NATO has declared war on its citizens. Investment funds profit from war and the people pay the price with poorer health, lower quality education and lower pensions. To do business, they are capable of anything, including reinstituting compulsory military service. “Only the people can stop this direction; this is the fight for peace, for life and for a sustainable world,” he concluded.
Ibrahim Beisanic, from the Palestinian Community of Catalonia, called for peace to proliferate everywhere, including Palestine. “For a long time, Palestine has been in conflict, but in recent years it has suffered an alarming increase in violence. It has now become one of the largest open-air prisons in the world. Nearly 45,000 people have been killed in this war, which has been raging for 436 days now, not counting the missing. A total of 80,000 tons of explosives have been detonated, a quantity comparable to that used throughout Europe during World War II. The massacre continues in Gaza, where the situation is extremely complicated and what is happening against the civilian population is deeply unjust. There are calls for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide in Gaza. War is one of the most inhumane acts that humanity can commit; it is a robbery of the people. Long live free Palestine!” he commented.
Javier Belda, humanist and geopolitical analyst, explained: “A few days ago I called some Syrian friends to inform me about the current situation in Syria, and they told me that it is a disaster not only for Syria, but for the entire Middle East and for all of humanity. My Syrian friends are in shock. We have to remember what Syria was: a place full of beauty, spirituality and quality of life, in case it can ever recover.
The terrorist groups used by Israel’s imperialism have taken a step towards dominance in the region. They have destroyed the country, but what they will keep is the banking. Syria is a rich country, and the capitalists will try to exploit that wealth, although the quality of life of the people will be greatly diminished.
We are aiming at a scenario of peace; that possibility is the driving force of our action. The proposal is that we should be in contact more than ever, because we have entered a difficult stage of the world in which they will try to take us to war, and we must fight with all our strength.
To close my intervention in a positive way, I will say that let us have hope and let us not allow them to erase our moments of joy, because that is what the enemy wants: to destroy innocence and joy. So, peace, strength and joy to all.”
Dominique Salomon, member of the Catalan association of Jews and Palestinians Junts, comments: “I represent the anti-Zionist Jews, who are many and we are aware that we are at a time when the West is rearming for future wars, and that currently one of the determining places is the Middle East. It is important not to forget and to make people mobilize for Palestine to stop a genocide that we can see every day on our televisions. It is the first time that, in real time, people in Europe can follow a genocide and that our governments do nothing; on the contrary, they continue to arm and sell weapons to Israel. Spain, despite having declared that it would not sell arms, continues to sell arms”.
Tica Font, from the Delas center, denounced the cuts: “There will be no social security, no aid for the Dana, no aid for canteens. The war starts here, but the opposition to the war also starts here. We must not vote for any of the parties that propose cuts. The big companies have lost their fear; they are not afraid of our demands. Half of the countries of the European Union are making plans to re-impose compulsory military service. What they want is to indoctrinate young people, to train them to sacrifice themselves for the homeland, for the nation, for values, and without touching the pockets of those at the top. The welfare state, which was built after World War II, is crumbling, and people will be weaker and weaker to fight back. We must say things clearly and threaten with the vote.”
Enric Feliu of Marea Blanca de Catalunya, commented: “Peace means living in freedom, both for individuals and for peoples, and also with dignity, which means having our fundamental rights guaranteed. We want to make the future of peace present, because if not, there will be no future for generations to come. We must demand the total reduction of arms budgets, because it is essential to work to reverse climate change; otherwise, we will have no future for anyone. I would like to conclude with a phrase that says: “Peace and Prosperity”.
Angel Tobau of the Comitè per la Defensa dels pobles i treballadors del món, recalled: “Yesterday the president of the government met with the presidents of all the autonomous communities, but they did not discuss how to rebuild the people of Valencia after this natural catastrophe. They have shown a total inability to protect the people of this country. We support the people of Valencia and demand that they rebuild for the welfare of the community and the workers.”
Jesús Arguedas, member of the Base Team of the March, of the association World without Wars and without Violence, handed out sheets of paper containing an ethical commitment to those present. He then proceeded to read the commitment, accompanied by the attendees.
To close the event, Inma Prieto, from the base team of the March and member of World without Wars and without Violence thanked the participants and commented: “When we made the first march we did not think we would be in the situation we are now, so close to a third World War, because half the planet is at war. That is why we believe it is urgent to put pressure, to make the voice of all the people feel that we do not want war and we want a world without violence. We live in a world in which dehumanization is growing, where not even the United Nations is a reference in the resolution of international conflicts. A world that is bleeding to death in dozens of wars, where the clash of “geopolitical plates” between dominant and emerging powers is affecting civilian populations first and foremost. With millions of migrants, refugees and environmentally displaced people who are pushed to defy borders full of injustice and death. Where wars and massacres are justified by disputes over increasingly scarce resources. A world in which the concentration of economic power in a few hands is bankrupting, even in developed countries, any expectation of a welfare society is diluted. In short, a world in which the justification of violence, in the name of “security”, has led to the growth of warlike confrontations of uncontrollable proportions.
For all these reasons, we, the participants of the 3rd World March for Peace and Nonviolence, want to raise a worldwide clamor to ask our governments to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, thus eliminating the danger of a global catastrophe.
Inma ended with the words of the philosopher Silo: “We are at the end of a dark historical period and nothing will be the same as before. Slowly the dawn of a new day will begin to dawn; cultures will begin to understand each other; peoples will experience a growing yearning for progress for all, understanding that the progress of a few ends in the progress of no one. Yes, there will be peace and by necessity it will be understood that a universal human nation is beginning to take shape. In the meantime, those of us who are not heard will work from today all over the world to put pressure on those who decide, to spread the ideals of peace based on the methodology of nonviolence to prepare the way for the new times.”