Commemorating September 1st, 1939 – 2019

25. August 2019

Disarmament instead of armament – We need a new international peace policy!

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the attack of Hitler Germany on Poland on 1 September 1939, which marks the military beginning of the Second World War, the International Federation of Resistance Fighters (FIR) – Association of Anti-Fascists calls for initiatives for a new international peace policy.

We experience with large concern that by the acting of the NATO and in particular the USA achievements of the détente politics of past decades are destroyed. The permanent stationing of NATO combat units near the Russian western border is in contradiction to the agreements at the beginning of the 90s. The termination of the INF Treaty by the Trump administration and the test series with new medium-range missiles are another visible expression of the intensification of international crisis. The United Nations and its institutions are now only considered “when needed” for conflict solution.

In the Middle East, the United States and its allies are attempting to act as “world police”, taking no account of the sovereignty of individual states. Even international treaties are terminated unilaterally if they appear to serve the interests of the USA. Sovereign states are urged to subordinate themselves as “vicarious agents” to the ideas of the US administration, as the example of the confiscation of an Iranian tanker has shown.

Such action is legitimized with an alleged “fight against terrorism”, but in fact increases the danger of military escalation. In Latin America, targeted military threat scenarios are being developed in order to promote the policy of “regime change”. However, in Europe, too, we have military areas of conflict in the Balkans and Ukraine that can become a conflagration far beyond their respective regions.

The survivors of the Second World War and the fighters for the liberation of their countries from fascist barbarism demanded in 1945: “Never again fascism! Never again war!” They wanted “a new world of peace and freedom”. Today more than ever this legacy must be filled with life.

The FIR and their member federations use themselves therefore for a new international peace policy.

To it belongs in particular the obligation of all states to create an actual armament limitation and disarmament by international agreements instead of new weapon systems and armament.

The danger of nuclear weapon systems can be reduced by supporting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty negotiated by the United Nations 2017.

International law and the sovereignty of states must be restored.

The political effectiveness of the United Nations must be strengthened again by pursuing non-military conflict solutions under the control of the UN more clearly than in previous years.

As “ambassador of peace” – appointed by the United Nations – the International Federation of Resistance Fighters (FIR) – Association of Anti-Fascists appeals to peace initiatives, parties, trade unions and critics of globalization to engage in actions, votes and declarations for a new international peace policy. The FIR calls its member federations to take part with their historical experiences in it.