Scotland the Brave

I can't resist posting this again for all those that did not read the attachment in Montse's email.

It really shows the wonderful level support from our friends in the Scottish parliament.

big hugs

jon

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From the Scottish Parliament:

Member’s Debate on 10th December 2009: BILL KIDD MSP

WORLD MARCH for PEACE

THANK YOU PRESIDING OFFICER,

I am pleased and honoured, on this - Human Rights Day - to move this member’s debate, in my name, on the World March For Peace And Non-Violence which started in Aoteoroa/New Zealand on the 2nd of October this year and will arrive at it’s finish in the high Andes on the 2nd of January 2010;

Where the ‘flame of peace’, lit at Hiroshima, the site of the explosion of the first atomic bomb, will be held aloft as the sun rises on a new year of hope.

The relevance of the 2nd of October as the starting day is that it’s the anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi and the International Day Of Non-Violence;

And the relevance of New Zealand as the starting point is that it allows no foreign military bases on its soil and no nuclear weapons to be stationed there.

Amongst the signatories of support for the World March have been: UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon; former Irish President, Mary Robinson; former US President, Jimmy Carter; the Dali Lama and First Minister, Alex Salmond;

And after visiting 40 countries in 50 days, on the way to visiting 100 countries in total, I was delighted that the core team of the World March accepted my invitation to come to Scotland at very short notice.

So that, on the 20th of November, Alexander Mora Mora, a deputy in the Costa Rican parliament and envoy for Human Rights In Latin America, flew into Edinburgh for a two hour visit, with the ‘flame of peace, on his way from Spain back to Central America.

Prior to coming here Mr. Mora Mora had met with Mikhail Gorbachov, Lech Walensa, and pope Benedict;

But he emphasised, through his translator, that it was of major importance that the March and the ‘flame of peace’ should come to Scotland because this parliament has made so clear a commitment to work to remove nuclear weapons from our land;

He also told us that the World March For Peace had not received an invitation to visit Westminster, and that therefore Scotland was the only place in the UK to accept the message that he carried.

I have to express sorrow on behalf of many of our parliamentary colleagues at Westminster, who had hoped to welcome the delegation from the World March carrying the ‘flame of peace’ but had their hopes dashed as, although lobbied for, no invitation was issued.

Presiding officer, when we remember that the World March For Peace has visited parliaments across the world and seen many thousands join it from Sydney to Los Angeles and Rabat to St Petersburg;

I believe it is shameful that it, and its message, have been wilfully ignored by the press and media in the UK, maybe because of that failure of the Westminster government to issue an invitation to them;

And, when we remember that just two days before coming to the Scottish parliament the same team were received in Berlin by the 10th World Summit Of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates with the words,

“For the first time in history an event of this magnitude has been put in motion by the participants themselves.

“The true strength of this impulse is born of the simple act of one who, out of conscience, joins a dignified cause and shares it with others.”

And that three days earlier they had been received at the Vatican by the pope with the blessing, “may god bless you all.”

Then, I believe that it’s incumbent on all of us here to celebrate the human spirit that has carried the ‘flame of peace’, lit at Hiroshima and carried around the world,

As a symbol of hope and belief that there is a better way than war and violence to settle disputes.

Because the aims of the World March For Peace And Non-Violence are stated as:

• Nuclear disarmament at a global level;
• The immediate withdrawal of invading troops from occupied territories;
• The progressive and proportional reduction of conventional weapons;
• The signing of non-aggression treaties between countries;
• The renunciation by governments of the use of war as a means to resolve conflicts.

Some may believe that these aims are just pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking, but the impact that the World March For Peace has had on so many parliaments and populations around the world suggests that we may be pushing at an open door;

Even though there will still, assuredly, be those with vested interests and closed minds.

So, Scotland may be a small country in square miles, but we carry a big responsibility, as demonstrated by the determination of the World March For Peace to ensure that this place was one of the stops it made on its historic journey.

Therefore, let’s not allow the message to falter here; the ‘flame of peace’ should burn strongly in this place.

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jon swinden