Appeal for Peace and Disarmament

Petition for peace and against rearmament en Europe

I subscribe to this new manifesto for peace now in circulation in Madrid and invite readers to sign it as well, at this link: .

Appeal for Peace and Disarmament

Alarmed by the Orwellian language that has taken hold in European political discourse—where war is seen as the path to peace, while peace is said to lead only to more war—we call for sanity.

We, the European citizens, have become involuntary passengers on a train driven by leaders who, under the declared pretext of "making Russia bleed," choose to ignore the disastrous consequences of a conflict in which we will all be losers.

On the eve of past European conflicts, such as World War I, courageous intellectuals from the warring nations—including Jean Jaurès, Romain Rolland, Bertha von Suttner, and Bertrand Russell—publicly spoke out for peace, though sadly, their voices were not heeded.

Today, the silence of intellectuals across all countries is deafening. Like the rest of European citizens, they seem worryingly anesthetized. And when someone dares to raise their voice in favor of diplomacy, they are immediately slandered as a "puppet of Putin."

We unequivocally condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a violation of international law. However, we also recognize that this tragedy is partly a consequence of the persistence of NATO, a military organization labeled as "defensive," which, far from dissolving after the fall of the communist bloc, continued expanding right up to Russia’s borders—despite high-level promises made to Russia at the time.

The war in Ukraine has now lasted three years. The casualties on both sides far exceed one million, including the dead, wounded and permanently maimed, though neither country provides official figures.

On top of that, millions of Ukrainians have fled the country—some to Western Europe, others to Russia—all seeking to escape the violence. A true human disaster.

Donald Trump's United States, more focused on what it perceives as China's growing power and the situation in the Middle East, seems determined to exploit Ukraine while also indebting Europe, further weakening its social welfare systems for the benefit of the U.S. military industry.

And our governments, refusing to accept that, given the imbalance of forces, the war is lost, continue to support the Ukrainian president by promising more weapons and money so that the Ukrainian army can fight to the last man or woman.

All of this while they push for the rapid militarization of our nations under the specter of an impending conflict with Russia.

Have our leaders considered that, since the arms limitation agreements signed during the Cold War—so crucial in maintaining peace—no longer exist, a military confrontation with a nuclear power like Russia could lead to a third, and this time final, world war?

We call on politicians not to forget the two great wars that bloodied the continent in the last century. Abandoning George Orwell’s newspeak, they must work actively in favor of diplomacy.

It is the only way to prevent future massacres that devastate nations for the mere profit of the powerful arms industry

Fernando Aguiar González (investigador)

Javier Aguirre Santos (profesor)

Luis Alegre Zahonero (profesor de universidad)

Tariq Ali (escritor, director de cine e historiador paquistaní-británico)

Luis Alonso (artesano comerciante)

Txetxu Ausín Díez (investigador)

Olga Belmonte García (profesora)

Constantino Bértolo (crítico cultural)

Marie-Hélène Caillol (politóloga y profesora francesa)

Jorge Cano Cuenca (profesor de Filosofía antigua)

Marta Castellanos Garcés (profesora de educación secundaria)

Alberto Conde (profesor y traductor jubilado)

Juan Luis Conde (escritor y profesor de universidad)

Federico Corriente Basús (traductor y autor de informes críticos)

Inés Delgado-Echagüe (maestra de educación infantil)

Graciela Fainstein Lamuedra (investigadora)

Thomas Fazi (periodista y escritor angloitaliano)

Carlos Fernández Liria (profesor de universidad)

Amelia Gamoneda (catedrática de universidad)

Marysol García Martínez (pintora)

Susana Gómez López (directora de escena)

Belén Gopegui (escritora)

Ulrike Guérot (politóloga alemana)

Gabriele Gysi (actriz y directora de teatro alemana)

Pollux Hernúñez (traductor jubilado)

Maite Imbernón (profesora)

Corinna Kirchhoff (actriz alemana)

Bernard Legros (periodista belga)

Félix Manzarbeitia Arambarri (patólogo)

Bernd Marizzi (profesor de universidad)

Elisa Martínez Garrido (profesora de universidad)

Ricardo Martínez Llorca (escritor)

Pilar Muñoz (periodista)

Emilio Muñoz Ruiz (profesor emérito)

Viviana Paletta (poeta y editora)

Pepe Peña (profesor de Filosofía, editor, documentalista)

Kees van der Pijl (politólogo neerlandés)

Rafael Poch-de-Feliu (experiodista jubilado)

Manuel Quejido Villarejo (pintor en acción)

Joaquín Rábago (periodista)

Hauke Ritz (escritor alemán)

Andy Robinson (periodista y escritor)

Jorge Rubio Redondo (maestro)

Matilde Sáenz (profesora)

Javier Sáez de Ibarra (escritor)

José Luis Santalla (fotógrafo)

Fernando Sanz Santa-Cruz (médico)

Berta Sarralde (profesora)

Michael von der Schulenburg (europarlamentario alemán)

Federico Soto Díaz-Casariego (profesor jubilado)

Peter van Stigt (periodista neerlandés)

Olegario Torralba (periodista)

Luis Torrego Egido (profesor de universidad)

Jorge Valdano Sáenz (guionista)

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