Jacques Cheminade on War and Peace: The Most Pressing Issue for Europe Today

Jacques Cheminade, President of the French party Solidarité et Progrès, penned an editorial on April 26 for the monthly Nouvelle Solidarité, under the title “War and Peace”, which we quote below.

“One question dominates all others: do we want to stop the race toward a world war? The clock is seconds away from midnight. The slightest misjudgment or absurd provocation would suffice to trigger the unthinkable. Those who would survive the first blast would experience a nuclear winter that would cause them to perish in atrocious conditions. Those who shrug their shoulders should know that doing nothing is always the wrong choice.

“For this reason, the upcoming elections in 2024, in Europe as well as in the United States, should be focused first and foremost on nuclear disarmament and arms control covering all offensive weapons. France, as a member of the United Nations Security Council, must adopt as its mission to ensure that the voice be heard there of those countries that seek peace through a policy of mutual development, which is the majority of the world’s population….

“But much more has to be done. To take down the current oligarchy’s financial system, which needs war in order to survive, we have to change the rules of the game. To that end, we participate in the international conferences of the Schiller Institute, which catalyzes seemingly opposing forces into taking up the challenge of peace. For it is on a higher level than imperialism, colonialism or neo-colonialism, that we will find the common design needed to save humanity from self-annihilation.

“Emmanuel Macron ostensibly promotes a ‘peace summit’. He stated in Le Parisien (April 24) that ‘we are not a party to this war’ (in Ukraine). On his return from China, he proclaimed that ‘Europe must reduce its dependence on the United States’, but added: ‘Our objective is (…) to not allow Russia to win’ and ‘the war will stop when the Ukrainians are in a position of strength’. This comes down to continuing to expose the Ukrainian people to slaughter. In reality, this is a war of NATO against Russia, in which we Europeans are being taken for a ride. Moreover, Macron does not call into question the operations of a global NATO as defined in June 2022 in Madrid.

“Oleksiy Danilov, of the Ukrainian presidential office, tells us that ‘a peaceful settlement, under the current conditions, would lead to a Russian peace’ and that ‘we need arms and ammunition, not negotiations’. General Ben Hodges, the former U.S. Army commander in Europe, goes one step further, saying ‘We don’t need a diplomatic solution’. Experienced military men, however, say that Putin must be allowed to win because a nuclear power cannot lose. And that is probably what would happen if we continue to lead the Ukrainian people to their assisted suicide. Instead, I think our challenge is to move away from the geopolitical vision of one side against the other, and fight for a new international architecture of peace through mutual development and security. The United States has hundreds of military bases and has fought dozens of wars since 1945. They should learn the lesson now, since they have lost them all, just as we have lost our colonies….”