“I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the chaos, destruction and hatred it creates is permanent.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
Yes, we soldiers, advocates, and leaders of peaceful (nonviolent) form of struggle MUST develop the capacity to refuse to hate politics and violence. Of course, peaceful (nonviolent) struggle does not require us to “love” our political opponents against whom we are waging political power struggle. However, the power and effectiveness of the peaceful struggle increases (become stronger) when we refrain from generating and promoting violence, hatred and hostility.
Last week at Meskel Square (Addis Ababa) there was undesirable scuffling between peaceful mourners and police officers while peaceful mourners were commemorating the savagery killings of migrant Ethiopian workers in Libya. Those few individuals who were throwing stones by using the peaceful mourners around them as a shield (cover) and the police officers jointly had contaminated the peaceful nature of the event.
Throwing stone is a violent act and using it to harm anybody is simply choosing the very same violent form of struggle the dictators in power are superior at. It is true that such actions on the one hand weakens the power and effectiveness of the peaceful struggle while, on the other hand, gives justifications for the regime to use excessive force to crush the peaceful movement beyond repair and rule the country by fear.
Therefore, we, advocates of peaceful struggle at home and abroad, should do everything under our power to prevent the young peaceful struggle at home from degenerating.
Have a Wonderful Week