The Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022; a violation of the UN Charter and international law that calls for immediate justice. Therefore on this anniversary, after months of shared actions for peace, Europe for Peace calls for mobilizations in Italian and [other] European cities one year after the invasion of Ukraine to call for a ceasefire, dialogue and peace negotiations, in order to build a secure and peaceful Europe for all.
The initiatives are in line with the demands for peace already shared at the big Rome Demonstration with more than 100,000 participants last November: “Wars and weapons aim at victory over the enemy, but they do not lead to peace: they tend to become permanent and only cause new suffering for populations. Instead, we must make peace win, restore violated law, and ensure shared security. There is no just war; only peace is just. War is made by armies, peace is made by peoples.”
We want to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people and the victims of all wars, violence, repression and discrimination in the world. Yes, peace is the victory we need and for that we need as soon as possible a ceasefire, negotiations, and concrete steps toward nuclear disarmament.
In the face of a continuous spreading of the war, with increasingly devastating impacts on the population and a danger of escalation, including nuclear escalation, we ask civil society organizations, citizens’ groups, administrations, and committees throughout Italy to mobilize for the days of February 24-25-26. This can be done by promoting peace marches, gatherings and sit-ins in front of City Halls, [as well as] assemblies, moments of silence and prayer.
To date, initiatives are already planned in Turin, Milan, Udine, Gorizia, Venice, Verona, Padua, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, Pistoia, Florence, Perugia, Rome, Naples, Catania, Cagliari, Avellino… and these days many other are being added. Events of various kinds are also being prepared in Spain, England, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Finland and the United States of America.
The collective initiatives will kick off with an extraordinary nighttime peace march from Perugia to Assisi on the evening of Thursday, Feb. 23, symbolically culminating in Rome on the afternoon of Saturday, Feb. 25, with the event sponsored by the national coalition: a torchlight procession for peace that will end in a theater in the capital.
