No to War! Rastafari duty to promote Peace
Date: Monday, September 30 @ 18:25:15 UTC
Topic: Rastafari


by Ras Shawn Naphtali, UK, Rastafari Speaks

As a Rastafarian it is my duty to promote peace as the most effective strategy for long term unity and community. But the sad irony is, there are times when are backs as so against the wall that we have no option but to defend our freedoms and communities, sometimes with force. This is called self-defence. I do not believe that Bush and his pet sheep Blair are in that position. They are using the name of peace in vain, to rage terror. If the United Nations follow them like sheep, it will be a sad day for the world.

In 1936 H.I.M Emperor Haile Sellassie I addressed the League of Nations pleading for allied military assistance in its impossible defence against Mussolini’s invading fascist regime. His plea fell on deaf ears, (with shameful jeering and heckling from the gallery), and Mussolini’s resurrected dream of a modern Roman Empire went unchallenged by the British and other western nations to dire consequences for not only the helpless Ethiopians, but also for the security of the whole world. It wasn’t until Mussolini made his fateful pact with Hitler and inspired the Nazi leader with Roman Imperial ambitions of his own, that the allies came on board and ousted the fascists from Ethiopia in 1941. But by then it was too late, and the seeds for World War 2 were well and truly sown.

It was this disgraceful apathy and inaction that led to the League of Nations being dissolved to make way for the more active United Nations. However, the one fundamental difference in today’s situation is that the head of state now pleading to the UN is not an Emperor of a small helpless country in the last hope of his country’s survival, but rather the president of a powerful and wealthy state which has plenty of other (more peaceful) options open to it. And even more startling, it is not asking for assistance in defence of its nation, but support to be the aggressor of another. The United Nations should not be bullied into military action by any of its members, no matter how powerful they are. Isn’t that the whole point of the very concept of the United Nations?

The UN should definitely not make the same fateful mistake as the League, but it may be time to change the direction of its gaze. If it doesn’t, we will all be at the mercy of this new type of presidential Imperialism, and any attempt to resist will be viewed as conspiring with the terrorists.

The fact is that Saddam is a dictator who needs to be contained and brought o justice for what he has done to his own people. But that is nothing new. Iraq has not threatened the world with its supposed “weapons of mass destruction”. Saddam force has been pretty much disabled for the past 10 years. He wasn’t responsible for September 11th, and although he is definitely no saint and has been responsible for many acts of evil terror within his own borders, he isn’t all that Bush makes him out to be with regards to the present situation. September 1th has been used politically ans shamefully as an excuse for the West to flex its muscles and to settle old scores. The simple truth is that due to oil, Bush’s arrogance and the inevitable failure of the fight against terrorism, the president and Blair are prepared to kill thousands of innocent Iraqis under the flimsy guise that the world is at threat and that Saddam has a stock pile of chemical and nuclear weapons. So has Israel, but we don’t hear any fuss over them! I agree that the world is currently under threat, but it is sadly by Bush & Blair, not Saddam.

I don’t hear many Rasta voices on this issue, but I feel we must begin to get our voices heard. As Defenders of the Rastafari faith we must promote Rastafari peace and love in every way possible. I know we are advised to live in the world but not of it, but I cannot stand idly by and watch JAH’s earth be destroyed by the egos of the few.

Yesterday I proudly marched through the streets of London with 300,000 other people, wearing my Ethiopian banner and chanted and prayed for peace. Peace in the Middle East. Peace in Africa. Peace across the whole world. As a defender of the Rastafari faith, our quest for peace must not be regionalist, attached to a certain colour, race, or religion. If we say we stand for peace, then we must mean it whole heatedly with no half measures.

Rastafari brothers and sisters, now is the time to let our voices be heard. The world needs us now. We have been quite for far too long. Peace needs us. JAH needs us.

Rastafari peace and love.
One Aim. One God. One Destiny.

Reproduced from:
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