Indian-Nordic Encounters 1917-2006 - Det danske Fredsakademi

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countries the influence came primarily through Britain. Operation Gandhi took place in front of the war ministry in London with a street sit-in blockade and collecting 136.000 signatures for a peace declaration. 1954 a mass movement grew in Japan collecting millions of signatures to protest against atomic bomb tests after a Japanese fishing boat had been hit by fall-out after an American test bomb. 1957 a single person marched from London to a nuclear site at Aldermaston followed by 800 the next year and 100.000 when the march went the other way and ended in London 1960. Bertrand Russell was a key figure both in initiating broader initiatives and himself participating in civil disobedience the Gandhian way. 20.000 activists participated in an occupation of the runways at Wethersfield air base, among them Oskarsson from the World Citizen Movement in Sweden. Hundreds of other Nordic people participated in the activities in Britain. They soon brought the ideas back home. The first Nordic peace march from Keflavik to Reykjavik 1960 1960 the first Nordic atomic march took place in Iceland and later the same year in Denmark initiated by radical pacifists in No more war that made direct action sit-ins to stop rockets usable for atomic weapons from being unloaded, 1961 in Sweden and 1963 in Norway. In Finland as similar movement, the Committee of 100 started in 1963 to mobilise similar long demonstrations with a lot of music and more carnival looking participants than had been seen 36
efore. On Iceland, Denmark and Norway with demands against atomic bombs on their own soil, in Finland concerning defence policy and in Sweden against the plans for a Swedish atomic bomb and to propose alternative uses for military resources. In Denmark organised i similar fashion as in Sweden two years earlier with a self-selected leadership excluding communists, in Sweden organised as membership movement with local chapters who welcomed also communists. The movement was successful and in some years the plans for atomic bombs on Nordic soil was for the time being dropped. Discussions on non-violence and Gandhian methods rather than his whole ideology were crucial in this era that by its own activists and academicians has been described as the breakthrough of new social movements in the North. The Danish activist Toni Liversage writes in her memoirs ”The movement against atomic armament in the beginning of the 60s thus was the first broad popular movement in the post-war period, where people decided to take an issue in their own hand and act, and the movement in this way became a predecessor of the grassroots movements of the 70s and 80s”. Operation Gandhi started to have mass influence in many countries. The third inspiration came from Gandhian peace army tradition or in Hindi – Shanti Sena. Already in the 1930s Westerners had made an attempt to set up international teams of activists willing to interfere nonviolently in conflicts inspired by Gandhi. World War II put an end to these efforts but in the end of the 1950s a new upsurge took place. In India Gandhians successfully were able sometimes to interfere with peace armies to prevent ethnic riot and disarming bandits. Among Christians in the US a small subculture of radical pacifists had emerged during the war making sit-ins against racial segregation and protesting for the rights of pacifists sentenced to jail. It was within these groups inspiration came to Great Britain inspiring civil disobedience and organising long marches against atomic weapons. But it went further. In 1957 the Quaker Lawrence Scott started Call to Non-Violent Action Against Nuclear Weapons. For a week a vigil was held at the testing ground for atomic bombs at Las Vegas in the US. The year after the action group became permanent under the name of the Committee for Nonviolent Action Activists with the support of Fellowship of Reconciliation, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, War Resisters League and a Quaker Peace committee. They started to sail boats into testing areas in the Pacific to prevent atomic bomb testing. The Gandhians from India, international radical pacifists, Christian from the US and others soon joined hands together with African states. 1959 – 1960 peace activists gathered in Ghana. With the support from many neighbouring African countries and peace organisations in the West three groups were sent from Ghana through the Sahara desert to protest against French atomic bomb test sites in Southern Algeria. All were caught by French military. This action was followed by two attempts to make further interventions. At the War Resisters International’s global meeting in India 1960, a proposal was made ”to internationalise the Shanti Sena idea”. A World Peace Brigade with section on the Asian, European and North American continents was going to be set up that should be able to interfere in different conflicts. At the same time the World Citizen movement in Sweden had similar ideas as the Committee for Nonviolent Action in the US. Thus secular Gandhian anarchism meets Christian pacifist Gandhians. The result was the American - European March for Disarmament or Walk for Peace between San Francisco and Moscow 1960 – 1961. 37
Page 1 and 2: Indian-Nordic Encounters 1917-2006
Page 3 and 4: Introduction When the Indian Muslim
Page 5 and 6: of a high level of confrontation se
Page 7 and 8: Dialogue, Constructive Programme an
Page 9 and 10: ”For me they can do as they like,
Page 11 and 12: Anne Marie Petersen with pupils at
Page 13 and 14: daughter of the anti-militaristic a
Page 15 and 16: was developed into a women’s teac
Page 17 and 18: The key lasting Gandhian influence
Page 19 and 20: territory for the German army and i
Page 21 and 22: spread to Sweden and other parts of
Page 23 and 24: Very soon the young couple decided
Page 25 and 26: speech was finished I received appl
Page 27 and 28: this that the NATO tried to stop wi
Page 29 and 30: anticommunist dependence on the US
Page 31 and 32: In this polarised world it was nece
Page 33 and 34: adical workers and the state was al
Page 35: The four inspirations were boycotts
Page 39 and 40: swim to the beach the marchers had
Page 41 and 42: The fourth Indian inspired action b
Page 43 and 44: This movement was very influential
Page 45 and 46: The outcome is that in Finland it i
Page 47 and 48: Sweden was similarly influenced by
Page 49 and 50: issue organisations closely related
Page 51 and 52: young Europeans to counteract the W
Page 53 and 54: to implement its stand in any way t
Page 55 and 56: Global Environmental Movement Perio
Page 57 and 58: around 1960. But primarily non-viol
Page 59 and 60: The two key organisations in Denmar
Page 61 and 62: then mostly as a way to establish a
Page 63 and 64: coordinator could intervene at the
Page 65 and 66: The Provie movement was closed but
Page 67 and 68: up his post officially as Secretary
Page 69 and 70: places." From the politicians, corp
Page 71 and 72: The obstacles for non-accredited NG
Page 73 and 74: they had to stand in the line as ev
Page 75 and 76: Environmental Forum At the Environm
Page 77 and 78: The content of the debate was heate
Page 79 and 80: NGOs in the UN system. The governme
Page 81 and 82: The accusations against the Swedish
Page 83 and 84: The US press was afraid of the conf
Page 85 and 86: Jan Fjellander, Oi Committee The yo
Page 87 and 88:
its close collaboration with Aspen
Page 89 and 90:
way where the distinctions between
Page 91 and 92:
Anti-nuclear Power and Alternative
Page 93 and 94:
On the continent strong local resis
Page 95 and 96:
A strong boycott against Nestlé wa
Page 97 and 98:
unions and peace and solidarity org
Page 99 and 100:
promoting or looking positively at
Page 101 and 102:
In Denmark the organisation model f
Page 103 and 104:
In the beginning of the 1980s Nordi
Page 105 and 106:
democratic discussion about the fut
Page 107 and 108:
articles criticising the alternativ
Page 109 and 110:
Chipko movement in India visiting S
Page 111 and 112:
soon followed by other UN conferenc
Page 113 and 114:
The Global Democracy Period 1989 -
Page 115 and 116:
issues on the agenda. Fundamental c
Page 117 and 118:
against further integration of Denm
Page 119 and 120:
there is a Gandhi statue in Copenha
Page 121 and 122:
movements are more blatantly than a
Page 123 and 124:
violence fundamentalism was often u
Page 125 and 126:
during the whole previous century i
Page 127 and 128:
democrats and Marxist-Leninist revo
Page 129 and 130:
Carrying planks for the foot-bridge
Page 131 and 132:
Toni Liversage speaks at citizens
Page 133 and 134:
technology and the social and econo
Page 135 and 136:
We denounce the United States' bomb
Page 137 and 138:
Appendix II The Oeresund Committe f
Page 139 and 140:
V. A struggle for life and for the
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Indian-Nordic Encounters 1917-2006 - Det danske Fredsakademi

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