Saturday 29 June 2019

Doukhobor Peace Day Message 2019

My Message to the Celebration Today in Verigin, Saskatchewan

Location: National Doukhobor Heritage Village, Veregin, Saskatchewan.
Date: Saturday, June 29, 2019.
Time: 11 am, followed by a Potluck lunch with speeches.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Spirit,

It was on the midnight of June 28-29 (New Style July 11-12), 1895, that 7,000 Russian Doukhobors in Transcaucasia, Russia (and now Turkey) set ablaze piles of their own and government-issued rifles, pistols and swords in the first mass protest in history against militarism and war. (Historic 1895 Burning of Guns descriptions, selections and translations)

This year 2019 marks the 124th anniversary of this momentous pioneering happening calling for hope in creating a world without wars. Stopping or starving the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction is still the way for peace in our world. Or, as we now know, Nonkilling is the way to Peace!

Today with the escalating arms race and climate crisis, the Doomsday Clock of Atomic Scientists is almost one minute to midnight. We are on the brink of destruction unless we change course, bring our troops home, close down military bases abroad, get rid of NATO, and use the tools of listening and diplomacy in finding a way to get to know the stranger, and then work cooperatively to solve our common problems.

That is the urgent message today as we celebrate Petrov Dien, or the annual Doukhobor Peace Day. Speak to your family, your neighbours, your friends, the media, as well as your Member of Parliament. We need to wake up the people at home and abroad. For our children’s sake and our grandchildren, let us act now.

This message with 2 images is copied at Transcend Media Service, 1 July 2019. So far 3 of my articles are copied at TMS.

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