This year’s Gandhi Memorial Lecture was given by Dr. Scilla Elworthy, founder director of the Oxford Research Institute. The following is extracted from the full Lecture which is available on www.oxfordresearch group.org.uk

‘In the extraordinary violence of the past four weeks, one sane phrase has been echoing through speeches, in conversations and across email channels throughout the world. It originated, of course, with Gandhi: ‘The old law of an ‘eye for an eye’ leaves everyone blind.’ He went on: ‘Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers.’

‘The classic cycle of violence, which ensures that conflict follows conflict, has roughly seven stages: an atrocity is committed resulting in shock and terror, fear and grief follow, and then anger, hatred hardening into bitterness, followed by revenge and retaliation, resulting in a further atrocity. In recent times this cycle has been evident in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in Rwanda and repeatedly in different regions of former Yugoslavia.

‘It is nevertheless possible for the cycle of violence to be halted. To do this requires a combination of determined powerful leadership, imaginative action, and adhering resolutely to some key principles. Gandhi demonstrated beyond question how effective non-violence can be. His inspiration reverberates down the twentieth century and into this century. In the case of South Africa, Nelson Mandela became convinced while in prison on Robben Island that non-violence, negotiation and reconciliation were the only ways to prevent mass killing on the route to independence and equality. In insisting absolutely on these principles he is widely viewed as having saved millions of lives. Martin Luther King intervened equally effectively in the violence of segregation of the American South; other leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi and the Dalai Lama have shown recently how cycles of violence can be stopped.

‘The anger felt in the US and elsewhere after the attacks of 11 September is entirely understandable. Nevertheless if it continues to result in retaliation causing yet more innocent victims, it plays into the hands of the perpetrators and will destroy the remarkable coalition of nations willing to support the US. Western leaders have the opportunity to convince those segments of public opinion in favour of revenge attacks that more powerful alternatives are available. The coalition can follow the rule of international law in bringing the perpetrators to justice, setting up the necessary legal instruments to do this, as has been done in the case of former Yugoslavia. The coalition offers an unprecedented opportunity for in-telligence co-operation on a global scale to undermine and isolate terrorist activity ñ physically, financially and in terms of preventing acquisition of weapons of mass destruction.

‘The cycle of violence can be broken at a deeper level by an analysis of the underlying causes. An intelligent understanding of the antagonism that lies at the root of such atrocity, coupled with a willingness to address its causes, is the only long-term method to prevent its recurrence.

‘The Oxford Research Group is setting up a fund to link grassroots groups at the cutting edge of conflict with each other, and with sources of support. This initiative is called Give Peace a Bank’. It will establish an International Peace Bank, muscular enough to give support to those anywhere in the world who make the choice for non-violence, and put themselves on the line for it. It will enable those in strife torn areas to learn what has been successful elsewhere, instead of re-inventing the wheel. It will provide simple invaluable resources like mobile phones and photocopiers. It will enable effective initiatives, such as those I have described, to be multiplied. We need help to get it started, and our dearest hope is that it will be one of the ways in which the legacy of the Mahatma becomes more vibrant and more widespread as this century develops.’

The Oxford Research Group has investigated 240 examples of conflict resolution from around the world. The Group’s new book War Prevention Works chronicles 50 short accounts of what ordinary people are doing to stop war and killing, armed only with integrity, stamina and courage. These stories show how powerful non-violence can be.
FURTHER INFORMATION : To purchase the book or to support the Peace Bank contact: Oxford Research Group, 51 Plantation Road, Oxford OX2 6JE / Telephone: 01865 242819 / Fax: 01865 794652
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