Minutes from the seminar

"Peace is a Matter for All of Us"

On the weekend September 20/21, GSoA organised a seminar on Civil Peace Service. The invitation reads as follows:

Since the end of the Cold War we are living a Hot Peace. Instead of the threat of a nuclear showdown between the super-powers, we face today the daily violence of conflicts and wars in collapsing states and societies. Governments react on this development by restructuring their armies to "peace troops". But also a part of the peace movement stays lost in orientation in the old patterns of the past.

During the last years and the increase of inner-state conflicts, also the knowledge about social causes of wars grew. Organisations like the Balkan Peace Team act with interventions in war and conflict situations with skilled volunteers. The responsibility for peace and non-violent conflict resolution can not be delegated to armies and defence ministries. Our own responsible acting is needed. Peace is a matter for all of us!

The Group for Switzerland without an Army plans to launch two new constitutional initiatives next spring. Beside the abolition of the Swiss army, we demand the creation of a voluntary Civil Peace Service for non-state interventions in solidarity. The constitutional text foresees a basic education in non-violence and conflict management accessible to everybody living in Switzerland free of charge. Beyond that, it demands the education and formation of a well qualified pool of volunteers, able to intervene upon demand in a broad range of social conflicts, election monitoring, human rights abuses or in assistance to NGOs. We do not want to build up a new intervention-force of peace-elite, but to provide a support for all the existing European and world-wide projects of civil acting. Here we see the real contribution Switzerland can provide to the future world in its best tradition: abolish its army and use the knowledge, the human and financial resources for a civil answer to the conflicts this world faces.

The seminar was held with the participation of the following invited guests:

Raoul, the activist working ten years in Guatemala as leader of the villages of resistance ("Comunidad de Pueblos in Resistencia" - CPR). With assistance of international volunteers they reached a peaceful settlement by political agreement and left the forests to come back to public legal political activities. Raoul explained what was the role of these internationals and how important it is, to continue this work. (see field 1)

Natalie Sipak, the full-timer for the Antiwar Campaign Croatia - ARK. Natalie stressed the experiences, positive as well as negative, the ARK had with international volunteers. She also stressed the central points for preparation of volunteers working in such projects as Pakrac Social Reconstruction Project. (see field 1 and 2)

Renate Wanie, the activist for the Werkstatt fuer gewaltfreie Aktion in Baden, Germany. Renate brought in her reflections on Peace Interventions and Peace Imperialism. She developed a set of criteria’s for any involvement of a Civil Peace Service outside the territory of the own state. (see field 1 and 3)

Ueli Wildberger, the activist for the Peace Brigades International / Balkan Peace Team. Ueli raised the issue of civil range of conflict management against the approach of armies. (see field 2)

The following three fields of questions were discussed during the three days:

Whose Civil Peace Service for whose problems? Experiences and evaluations of non-violent conflict interventions.

Big troubles, little services. What can a little Civil Peace Service do facing big problems of exploitation and oppression. Structural frames and individual responsibilities.

Militarised manliness: violence from the social close-up (family, partnership) to the institutional structures of violence (army). What has violence in the every day life to do with the army?