– in message for International Day of Peace
THE ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has extended its solidarity to the peace movement throughout the world on the occasion of International Day of Peace.

In a press statement yesterday, the party stated that while the Cold War has ended and some of the great tensions that were associated with the confrontation between two super powers armed to the teeth have subsided, the danger of a nuclear catastrophe continues to persist.

“This has come about because of the fact that after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, no efforts were made by the US/NATO Alliance to reduce nuclear weapons. The perception existed that there was a drive by the western powers towards total world domination,” it stated.

The PPP said that perception caused some countries to seek security in acquiring nuclear weapons and today, in areas of tension, several countries are armed with these weapons of mass destruction.

“This is quite pronounced in Asia and the Middle East where India, Pakistan, China, the Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) and Israel, all have these dangerous bombs,” the party observed.

It added, “Questions are being asked about Iran’s nuclear programme. While Iran continues to insist on the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme, the West is expressing great apprehension about it.”

It stressed that this concern stems from the fact that Iran has strong positions against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian and Arab lands and in addition, its relations with the United States is very poor.

“Without doubt, the suspicions existing between Iran and the US/NATO/Israel Alliance have created another dangerous situation in our world,” the PPP exhorted.

The PPP stated that it is, however, heartened by some of the statements of the new US President Barack Obama noting, “He is the first US Head of State to express the desire to work for the elimination of these dangerous weapons. We consider this a big step forward.”

“Mankind’s security lies in reducing and eventually eliminating nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction,” the party emphasised.

“Moreover, we should not give up our dreams of a world free of all weapons. This is particularly important as we have seen that ‘conventional’ weapons have been developed greatly and now have the capacity to do massive destruction. This was evident in Iraq and recently in the Gaza,’” the release said.

The PPP said it is of the view that the resolution of many important issues internationally is important and linked to a peaceful world, and pointed out that “nowhere is this more evident than finding a just solution to the problems in the Middle East.”

Also, it expressed the view that global problems which exist cannot be solved by unilateralism as was pursued recently by the US insisting, “In our times, multilateralism offers the best possibilities to resolving complicated issues.”

The PPP is therefore urging greater cooperation among the nations of the world and reiterated, “On this International Day of Peace, the PPP once again extends solidarity with all those fighting for peace and justice throughout the world.”