União Pacifista

“War is a crime against humanity” The voice of Ukrainian Pacifists

On April 17, 2022 (the Easter Sunday in Western Europe), Ukrainian pacifists adopted a statement reproduced here, together with an interview with Yurii Sheliazhenko, executive secretary of the movement.

“Ukrainian Pacifist Movement is gravely concerned about the active burning of bridges for a peaceful resolution of conflict between Russia and Ukraine on both sides and signals of intentions to continue the bloodshed indefinitely to achieve some sovereign ambitions.
We condemn the Russian decision to invade Ukraine on 24 February 2022, which led to a fatal escalation and thousands of deaths, reiterating our condemnation of the reciprocal violations of the ceasefire envisaged in Minsk agreements by Russian and Ukrainian combatants in Donbas prior to the escalation of Russian aggression.
We condemn the mutual labeling of parties to the conflict as Nazi-alike enemies and war criminals, stuffed into legislation, reinforced by the official propaganda of extreme and irreconcilable hostility. We believe that the law should build peace, not incite war; and history should give us examples how people can return to peaceful life, not excuses for continuing the war. We insist that accountability for crimes must be established by an independent and competent judicial body in due process of law, in result of unbiased and impartial investigation, especially in the most serious crimes, such as genocide. We emphasize that the tragic consequences of military brutality must not be used to incite hatred and justify new atrocities, on the contrary, such tragedies should cool the fighting spirit and encourage a persistent search for the most bloodless ways to end the war.
We condemn military actions on both sides, the hostilities which harm civilians. We insist that all shooting should be stopped, all sides should honor the memory of killed people and, after due grief, calmly and honestly commit to peace talks.
We condemn statements on the Russian side about the intention to achieve certain goals by military means if they cannot be achieved through negotiations.
We condemn statements on the Ukrainian side that continuation of peace talks depends on winning the best negotiating positions at the battlefield.
We condemn the unwillingness of both sides to cease fire during the peace talks.
cont....