• Blessed are the Peacemakers - Gift and Task
• Kosova Contact
• Balistic Missile Defence
• Farewell from Bethan

(This year for the first time in twenty-three years, peace was the main focus for the National Conference. Pax Christi was closely involved in the planning and preparation for the Conference)

A group of forty enthusiastic singers and instrumentalists arriving at the main hall on Friday evening to help prepare music for the annual Justice and Peace conference encountered a dazzling display of coloured carousels outside the doors. These were the imaginative contribution of Hallam diocese who hosted this years event. With a record conference turnout of nearly five hundred they proved most effective in highlighting the various diocesan groups. The air of gaiety provided was further strengthened by the presence of Philip Jakob, musical director and cathedral choirmaster from Hallam.

Bruce Kent, vice-president of Pax Christi, was the first speaker, having interrupted his walk from Faslane in Scotland to Fylingdales in Yorkshire to attend . His speech was wide ranging and his passionate concern and entreaties for peace efforts wove through an invigorating and often mirth raising discourse. His words, imbued with a clarity of vision, ploughed through the audience like wind through a cornfield and evoked a rapid and spontaneous response; the questions came thick and fast. He spoke of the major war crime that was Hiroshima, commented on president Bush's statement that the US is under threat and needs to defend itself, by raising the question of US$ 550 billion spent on NATO, and questioned why the UN charter was unheard of in our schools and global citizenship not on their agenda. He urged connections with fellow peace workers especially in the USA.

On Saturday morning Mairead Corrigan McGuire, Nobel peace prize winner and co-founder of the Peace People in Northern Ireland opened with a quote from St Paul: " When I am weak, then I am strong." She continued, "We are very strong people and there is nothing we can't do. We are called to change our world. The real miracle is our very existence. We have our own progress agenda and sometimes we are carried away with it. 'Be not afraid' is the message but how many of us can say we have lost our fear?" Like Bruce she emphasised once again the need to reach out. "We must support each other , zoom in to the goodness of people, go to the heart of what conflict is, what our people are saying not the superficial reportage we get. We are the human family, we need each other". She spoke of the spirit of Gandhi being alive and well in India, of people in South Korea pledging themselves to nonviolence and reminded us that we don't know nonviolence because we've never taught it. "Nonviolence is a passion, a passion, a passion, for every person to be acknowledged. Don't talk of war in numbers but in individuals like Anne McGuire who before she died left a note to tell her husband and children: ' I love you very much but I can't go on.' (Anne was Mairead's sister whose three children were killed in 1976). We have to bring the heart to the head. Bring the heart to technology." As evidenced by the applause that followed, the audience were much stirred by her words.

We then heard moving personal testimonies. The first from Colin Parry who spoke eloquently of his response to the tragic death of his son killed with three year old Jonathan Ball, by the IRA bomb explosion in Warrington and of the events that led up to the building Children's Peace Centre

Maria Gila Haynes a psychologist from the Philippines expressed joy at the presence of so many children at the Conference. She spoke of her work in educating children by adapting the Montessori programme for the poor , teaching them peace in the battle of the heart, no physical violence or verbal abuse, no comparison with others only with their own previous efforts.

Joe Turay a teacher from Sierra Leone gave a moving witness comparing the plight of children in his country with those in the west and asked "Who will speak if I will not? He told of children of both sexes being dragged from the classroom and into the army to be taught to kill and of diamond and arms trafficking.

On Sunday morning Frank Regan, a Columban Missionary who had worked in Peru, addressed the conference reminding his audience of mission , of the sense of being sent, of the spirit we had been given and of the words of Jesus " Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you".

The Jand P forum followed with a panel of four, Rosemary Read, Pat Gaffney, Fr Rob Esdaile and Paul Donovan . The questions and debate were stimulating and prompted much reflection and though time ran out for us eventually, the involvement of so many people both for that session and for the whole weekend, provided inspiration and energy for the year to come.

Sheila Simpson
Pax Christi Salford

It is some time since Justpeace readers have heard anything from our East-West Group. We still meet from time to time, hearing news of developments in various parts of eastern Europe and welcoming visitors to this country. One of the most interesting of these has been Ilir Rodiqi.

We first met Ilir six years ago at the Pax Christi 50th Anniversary celebrations in Assisi. He was a Kosovan graduate from Pristina running an alternative underground school for Catholic and Muslim young people, then excluded from any kind of formal education because of the closure of their schools by the Serbian authorities. Subsequently he visited England, came to the office and spoke to several Pax Christi groups, staying with Tony and Sheila Winters in Preston. He told us about the political, religious and social unrest in Kosova and about the courageous efforts of his group in education and peace-making.

Then came the war. His home was looted and partially destroyed and he and his young family fled to Macedonia. There was intermittent news of him via his brother in London. After the war the family returned to Pristina and began rebuilding their broken lives as well as their home. He resumed his work with young people. Currently he works with a group known as Albanian Youth Action, which runs English, German, French and Italian classes, has a dancing school, a children's choir, computer courses, a meditation group, a discussion group, youth meetings and a training programme for leaders. There is also a library. Their magazine is called `HOPE' and has an educational, cultural and religious character. It is distributed in Kosova parishes, in Albania, Montenegro, the USA and, rarely, in Macedonia. This magazine is compiled by 15 young volunteers.

Ilir, who is the president of this organisation, is very anxious to keep links with Pax Christi, and has asked for help with "animation of children and youth groups, different working methodologies, games, practical workshops, group psychology and dynamics". Another subject needed is "project management in an NGO environment and NGO management in general". He is asking for books on these topics.

We have recently sent him a collection of Pax Christi books relevant to his needs, and hope to send more in due course. The parcel took some time - nearly two months - as postal services are still difficult. Before the war Ilir was receiving The Tablet under our complementary scheme and we hope this will soon be possible for him again. The Tablet is provided free by the publishers but we pay £22 per annum postage for each recipient, at present about thirty, spread around eastern Europe [£660].

As you might guess, financial contributions towards Ilir's books -and general Tablet costs - would be very welcome.

Peggy Attlee

In the coming months were are likely to hear a great deal more about Balistic Missile Defence and Justpeace will aim to offer a range of reflections from members and others on this important issue.

The American plan for the deployment of a defensive shield to protect that country from attack by missiles is called National Missile Defence. But NMD is not defensive; it is an integral part of the US Space Command, with its motto "To dominate and control the world from space." In January of this year, the Commission to Assess United States National Security Space Management and Organisation, chaired by Donald Rumsfeld (now US Secretary of Defence), revealed the blueprint for the US space military programme. "In the coming period, " it stated, "the US will conduct operations to, from, and in and through space in support of its national interests both on the earth and in space.... The globalisation of the world economy will also continue, with the widening of the gap between the 'haves' and 'have-nots'. By controlling space and the earth below, the US will be able to keep, those 'have-nots' in order. " The US Space Command's Long Range Plan (1998) states: "The US will exert global leadership.... Achieving space superiority during conflicts will be critical to US success on the battlefield. " The then Space Command Commander in Chief, Gen. Joseph Ashy said in 1996, "Some people won't want to hear this, and it sure isn't in vogue, but absolutely - we're going to fight in space. We're going to fight from space and we're going to fight into space. That's why the US has development programmes in directed energy and hit-to-kill mechanisms. We will engage terrestrial targets someday - ships, airplanes, land targets -from space. We will engage targets in space, from space. " Star Wars proponents regard missile defence as a `layer' of a broad US programme for space warfare. The programme is to be 'multi-layered' and to include 'theatre-defence' weaponry, used in close proximity to an area of conflict, space-based weaponry and missile defence.

NMD is destabilising; it could trigger an uncontrollable arms race and further arms control negotiations would be at risk. On 20 November 2000, because of these US plans, a resolution on The Prevention of an Arms race in Outer Space was voted on by the UN General Assembly. It sought to reaffirm the Outer Space Treaty, specifically its provision that space be set aside for "peaceful purposes." 163 nations voted in favour, the US, Israel and a cluster of Pacific islands dependent on US aid abstained. Canada has been highly active in seeking to strengthen the Outer Space Treaty. Their representative at the UN said: "There is no question that the technology can be developed to place weapons in outer space. There is also no question that no state can expect to maintain a monopoly on such knowledge - or such capabilities -for all time. If one state actively pursues the weaponisation of space, we can be sure others will follow." UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said: "Above all, we must guard against the misuse of outer space. We recognised early on that a legal regime was needed to prevent it being another arena of military confrontation. The international community has acted jointly, through the United Nations, to ensure that outer space will be developed peacefully.. We cannot view the expanse of space as another battleground for our earthly conflict. "

NMD is a huge waste of resources; the US Space Command is investing 20 man-years to make their space programme a reality. It involves hundreds of people including about 75 corporations. Some $6 billion per year has been going into this work. $20 to $30 billion is the estimated cost of developing a space-based laser weapon. NMD is also an environmental nightmare with the danger of radioactive contamination of space.

The UK government continues to argue that until we know the full details of what exactly is proposed they do not need to make any decisions. We do not need to know all the details to know that NMD is wrong in principle and we should tell the US just that. According to a recent report, Russia has said that if the US were to withdraw from the 1972 ABM Treaty, Moscow would feel compelled to abandon agreements that limit the number of long-range nuclear weapons Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev stated that NMD "will trigger a new spiral in the arms race and ruin the existing system of arms control." Like Russia, China sees a US missile shield as a prelude to another big arms race. "Any clear--eyed person can see that the American NMD will be a spear pointed at China and Russia. "

Chris Dove
Pax Christi member from Whitby

(Most of this material is taken from a paper by Karl Grossman. Professor of journalism at the State University of New York. Chris Dove is also a member of Fylingdales Action Network. Flylingdales, in North Yorkshire is where British collaboration with the US System will be based. A Missile Defence Working Groups has been set up to help coordinate and strengthen campaigning on missile defence. They have produced a statement, launched on 12th June, to be used later in the year, for organisations to sign. Pax Christi has added its name. If you would like a copy in order to encourage a movement or organization of which you are a member to sign, contact the office.)

In September, after a year working as office administrator, I will be leaving Pax Christi. It has been a challenging, interesting and very rewarding year. My skills have developed in many different areas, and I have learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses, as well as what is most important to me. I have especially enjoyed meeting and speaking to Pax Christi members on different occasions and I am inspired by the commitment, enthusiasm and integrity of those involved with Pax Christi. I will miss working in the office, but I am determined to continue my involvement with Pax Christi and contribute as much as I can in the future. In October I will be moving to West Yorkshire, and intend to start a course in occupational therapy.

Bethan Hillas

(We wish Bethan well in her move and new venture and will miss her greatly here in the office. She has brought a calm and thorough approach to all her work, especially in coordinating the administration of Pedal for Peace, our sponsored cycle event! We greatly appreciate her firm commitment to peacemaking and look forward to working with Bethan in new ways in the future)