Tuesday, Jan. 10 at the same time as the debate in the Senate chamber on the conversion into law of Decree 185 of Dec. 2, 2022, which authorizes the transfer of arms to Ukraine through 2023, a committee launched by the Disarmisti Esigenti (Demanding disarmists) gathered near the Pantheon, joined by WILPF Italy, the humanist front Europe for Peace and some supporters of Initiative Convergence including Marco Palombo and Patrick Boylan.

The demands of the supporters of the pacifist and nonviolent movement are clearly stated in the many placards displayed: “Immediate stop to the sending of arms and increased military spending because a violent response to violence does not bring Peace because fueling conflict is never justifiable, nor will it create the conditions of dialogue necessary to reach agreed solutions, and above all, because THE CIVILIAN POPULATIONS INVOLVED WANT NO MORE DEAD OR INJURED.” “Less military spending, more resources for collapsing public health”; “Disbanding of NATO”; “War is a disaster, let’s build Peace”; “There are no just wars.”

In the delicate historical moment in which we find ourselves, which on the one hand sees wars, climate, cultural and spiritual crises and on the other the unstoppable birth of the first planetary civilization, Italy could have chosen to play an important role in the construction of European identity. It could have chosen to brush up on the arts of diplomatic dialogue, typical of a country located at the geographical center of an economic, political, and cultural crossroads. Instead, it continues to choose to remain subservient to the politics of profit, power, weapons, and war, in one word: violence.

How will this government be remembered by history? The one that spent to bring back and guarantee Peace? Or the one that fueled World War III?

We join Pope Francis in wishing for miraculous enlightenment in the consciences of those who govern so that decisions are made for life and not for death so that they silence all weapons and open solutions to conflicts through dialogue and mutual respect, and above all, so that all efforts and investments can be directed to open the future and not the abyss: health care, education, the right to a dignified life for every human being on the planet, and of course, safeguard the planet for all.

Federica Fratini

Humanist Front Europe for Peace