Peace is for the Presence of Creative Alternatives for Responding to Conflict.

by Meerabharathy

(April 06, Toronto, Sri Lanka Guardian) “Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict- alternatives to passive or aggressive responses, alternatives to violence” (Dorothy Thompson)

I am really happy and appreciate that all of us are concerned about peace and working for it in Sri Lanka and consequently on the earth. There is another event for peace in Sri Lanka is organized by Canadians for peace on 6th of April 2008. I hope it will be a success event and feel that it is our responsibility to work for peace in Sri Lanka, because we are living in an environment where we have and enjoy basic human rights to act, to say and to write about our views and ideas. Also, we and our children are sleeping, growing and living in a safe environment without fear. However, as we know, it is not the same case in Sri Lanka. Therefore it is inhuman to support the war from here where we are living as immigrants peacefully and happily.

We can bring out peace as a powerful movement and make a difference in Sri Lanka and on the earth by working together, by investing our time and energy, by committing to make it alive and real, and also trusting in peace and its process.

We have to put more energy to work for peace unlike energy Bush and Bin Ladan are putting to lead the war around the world.

We have to commit ourselves and work harder for the peace process unlike Mahinda and Prabakaran who are committed and working hard in their path of violence.

Because it is a remarkable work that is as South African civil rights martyr Steve Biko says “Change the way people think and things will never be the same.” Therefore what we need now is to change the thinking of people towards peace.

The peace process should support for the win-win approach. “The reason is to come up with a resolution that everyone involved can accept. Ideally, the solution would be one that everyone felt was the best possible one. When both people are committed to finding a solution that pleases both, a win-win resolution to conflict is possible.”

We can work as a pressure group by persuading all governments where we are living, to push all parties in Sri Lanka to work for peace and to find a solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka. And also we can give pressure to the Sri Lankan government, armed groups and movements in Sri Lanka to drop the war, violence and armed struggle in order to find a solution for the conflict in a peaceful way.

I trust in myself that we can bring peace and a solution to the conflicts in Sri Lanka.
I hope that we who love and dream for peace can do it together and make it happen in real.

We, as human beings from Sri Lanka, can show the international community, Sri Lankan government, and armed movements and groups that we are not for war or violence but for peace and love.

Our slogans should be!

Unite to stop the war by the Sri Lankan state!
Unite to stop the violence by Tamil armed movements!
Unite to stop all kinds of military actions now!
Unite to stop the way of the armed struggle now!
Unite to stop the support to the Sri Lankan Government!
Unite to stop the support to the all Tamil armed movements!

Our working programs could be!

To organize a group discussion to make awareness about the effects of war.
To organize a group discussion regularly to persuade and support to stop war.
To organize a group discussion to find a solution for the conflict.
To organize a signature movement to stop war and drop the violent action.
To organize a signature campaign to solve the conflict with international support.
To organize meditation camps regularly to raise our consciousness.
Actions would be!

Every weekend we can gather in front of Sri Lanka’s embassies in the countries where we are living and their parliaments, and also in front of the offices of LTTE’s representatives in those countries.

We can sit silently with our slogans and meditate for the voice and energy to spread.
Why meditation?

Now we are supporting for the war because of our collective unconscious- we are asleep.
So, we have to wake up and grow and rise in our consciousness to act and live creatively!
It will help and persuade everyone to act for peace because of our collective consciousness.

This will give natural and real power to the movement for peace and work creatively. “I am prepared this day to declare myself a citizen of the world, and to invite everyone everywhere to embrace this broader vision of our interdependent world, our common quest for justice and ultimately for peace on Earth,” Father Theodore Hesburg.

(Author can be reached at:awareness@rogers.com)
- Sri Lanka Guardian