The North prepares for war: Global South for peace & development

Opinion

By Dr R Neerunjun Gopee

I would like to see an end to global wars and conflicts. And all the children of the world having a better and more hopeful future.

 — Dr Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana

The war between Ukraine and Russia has now crossed its 1000th day, and it is still the case that there is as yet no end in view. In fact, there is an escalation. On November 18, CNN Politics wrote that ‘President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use powerful long-range American weapons inside Russia, according to two US officials familiar with the decision.’

World War 3. Pic – Vox

It went on to note that ‘the decision to allow the use of the Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, inside Russia had been under consideration for months… American officials had been divided on the wisdom of allowing the new capability. Some had concerns about escalating the war, while others worried about dwindling stockpiles of the weapons.’

Ukraine lost no time in deploying these weapons, firing six of them, with Russia claiming that it had downed five and only one managed to get through but caused little damage. It soon retaliated by responding with what has been described as intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missiles, which it appears have caused considerable damage to the missile production capacity of Ukraine.

A few months after the start of the war, the spectre of nuclear brinkmanship raised its head, and it is still ‘alive.’ In its wake have come discussions about the possible consequences if nuclear weapons were to be used. And since this new development of the use of long-range missiles, there are daily discussions in several European news channels – such as France 23/24, DW, LCI – about war, and war, and war. The tone and perceptible animation of these exchanges leave one with the impression that the European powers are raring to fight! Indeed, as of Nov. 25, LCI reports that Ukraine has launched more missiles, and some NATO countries are contemplating to send both war equipment and troops to Ukraine, besides providing more funding to support its warring efforts.

Before that, there had been talk about a possible World War 3. World Wars 1 and 2 both started in Europe, and if we go by what we are hearing and reading in connection with the ongoing Ukraine-Russia confrontation, World War 3 if it happens, will also start in Europe. Earlier, when World War 3 was mentioned, the reference was to cyberwarfare and such events. Now, it’s not about ‘soft’ war of this nature, it is about conventional war using physical violence to destroy territories and people.

Physicist Albert Einstein is often quoted as saying: ‘I do not know with what weapons World War 3 will be fought, but World 4 will be fought with spears and stones.’ The implication is that the devastation will be so complete that there won’t even be any man-made weapons left to fight against each other. Nuclear holocaust followed by a nuclear winter most likely…

The hope, and expectation, is that President-elect Donald Trump will fulfil the pledge he has taken both before the election and in several addresses after it, that he will push for a negotiated end to the war and restore peace between these two parties, and besides he will not start any new war. As the Americans are fond of saying, ‘sounds good’ – but we have to wait for January 20, 2025, at the earliest, when Donald Trump will be installed as President.

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We must choose peace and development instead…

A group of countries belonging to the Global South, on the other hand, is playing on a different chord: peace and development through dialogue and diplomacy, and broad-based cooperation among the member countries. This was spelt out in broad outline – but nevertheless with a fair amount of detail – by PM Narendra Modi during his address at the 2nd India-CARICOM Summit which was held at its headquarters in Guyana last week. He had first completed his official visits to Brazil and Guyana before the summit.

In the wake of this visit, Dr Mohamad Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana, was interviewed by Ramesh Ramachandran of Doordarshan India, and his words cited at the top of this article were in response to a question put to him at the end of the interview, whether he had a message for the world. At the beginning of the interview, when asked for preliminary remarks about the impending visit of PM Modi to Guyana, Dr Irfaan Ali was not shy in his praise of the latter as ‘providing exceptional leadership in India and globally.’

Dr Irfaan Ali has a doctorate in Urban Planning and had served as parliamentarian and minister before becoming President of Guyana. He had studied under the ITech scheme in India, and over the past 20 years had visited the country several times, the last time being in 2023 when he attended the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman. He expanded on the ‘tremendous bilateral relationship’ that exists between India and Guyana, covering several diverse sectors, and gave an account of the invaluable contribution made by the descendants of the Indian immigrants, who form about 40% of the total population of 800,000, to the economic, social, cultural and political life of their adopted country. He himself traces his ancestry to Uttar Pradesh.Read More… Become a Subscriber

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 29 November 2024