Founding Declaration

Founding Declaration

Unbridled capitalism is provoking an increasingly grim global struggle. This struggle is due to attempts to control and acquire foreign resources and markets, and by attempted control of international supply routes to accumulate resources. These efforts are for the benefit of the few, meeting mostly their own needs instead of seeking cooperative solutions that attend to the true needs of all of the populations involved.

These destructive efforts are being protected by the legal and political structures of the major imperialist powers which pour the vast majority of their energies into a growing effort toward global domination. This causes more and more suffering due to their selfish and uni-polar positions without respect for the sovereignty of other peoples and nations. It also erodes the instruments of international law which have been so painstakingly achieved.

This arrogant and blind hegemonic position has been increasing in intensity with the appearance of new actors, which causes dangerous movements of force that could lead, deliberately or accidentally, to war and even total extinction. 

In this scenario, a major role is played by the military forces of different countries, some of which have a long history of interventions and wars that cannot be justified from a legal, let alone a humanistic point of view.

It is therefore of special relevance that veterans, major participants of wars, raise our voices against the utilization of military forces for spurious purposes. Most of these purposes are a far cry from the legitimate objectives of the national defense forces and liberation forces intended to defend the sovereignty, integrity and independence of each nation, and support the struggle for the right to rule their own destinies.

Inasmuch as war is the greatest conceivable violation of human rights, the use of war to acquire resources or punish peoples becomes a criminal behavior that unleashes the worst calamities that afflict the human species.

The voice of the active military, which for reasons of compulsory discipline, cannot openly question the decisions of their governments, can be very effectively carried to the public arena by military veterans who are no longer subject to such limitations. Furthermore, aware that these humanistic sentiments and wishes for peace are shared by military personnel around the world, veterans can utilize the comeradeship and understanding between them as a powerful brake on wars of aggression.

This is why we have created a Veterans Global Peace Network (VGPN) and we encourage veterans from all countries of the world to participate and share in our efforts for peace.

A determined and massive effort to halt the illegal actions of interventionist governments and to support the legitimate rights of peoples attacked, will stop the immense damage that imperialism has been inflicting on growing masses of the world’s population and the environment, and significantly decrease the risk of destruction of our planet.