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Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton have joined hundreds of other prominent voices around the globe in support of the forthcoming World March for Peace and Nonviolence, a symbolic international event in favour of nuclear disarmament and peaceful conflict resolution. “It is surprising how many people now believe that armed intervention is the best solution”

Only hours after President´s Obama policy change to abandon the missile defence shield, iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said to NBC News´Ann Curry that Iran has no need for nuclear weapons. Three times in the interview, Curry asked Ahmadinejad if there were conditions that could push Iran to have a bomb, saying that there was no need for such weapons.

“As educators we are convinced that the education gap our popular classes suffer at the cost of increasing armament spending ends up creating violent and unjust environments”, declared Ignacio Suñol, national Director of Fe y Alegría, a Bolivian popular education movement involved in non-violent activities in 470 educational units.

Barack Obama has abandoned the controversial Pentagon plan to build a missile defence system in Europe. The plan had long tensed the relations with Russia. It also represents an stategic shift to not threaten Iran but to go to the negotiations table instead. “Europe for Peace” and the Czech Nonviolent activism against the missile defence shield helped to get to this decision.

It is a very important gesture of détente and peace by President Obama and we want to highlight it and applaud it around the world. We support all efforts of the US President to advance towards global nuclear disarmament. We invite Obama to support the World March, something that has already been done by almost 20 National Presidents and Governments of the World.

Leading the fight for human rights, Councillor Ítalo Cardoso (PT-SP) declares allegiance to the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. “In my capacity as vice-president of the Human Rights Commission, Chamber of São Paulo, I was among the first to support the March, which I hope, wherever it passes through, finds people from all nations striving for peace and freedom”.

At the Faculty of Political Science at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Complutense University of Madrid), Evo Morales spoke about his political project and explained before professors and students: “I learn from contact with the people, to better serve the people… Governing is simple: it’s a matter of taking initiatives, of listening to proposals.”

“Hoping that it contributes to what we proposed within UNASUR, so that our South American continent is a region of peace”. Fernando Lugo expresses as such his official support for the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. The initiative of the organization World Without Wars already had the support of the Presidents of Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Uruguay and Argentina.

Noufou Tiendrebeogo, President of the Muslim Student’s Association AEEMB which includes more than 100,000 members, explained: “We are becoming a member of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence because the promotion of peace (the root of the word Islam) is the very essence of the Muslim religion and the sine qua non for development”.

Seeing the manner in which South American governments have embarked upon a new unbridled arms race with unforeseeable consequences is regrettable. If, for the present, this hasn’t meant open warfare, tomorrow there will be others governing in the region who may use the purchases made now. Only the people can end this collective madness that has started to appear.