By Perfecto T. Raymundo, Jr.
QUEZON CITY — A peace advocate on Tuesday (Jan. 28) said that world peace is needed to avoid World War III.
In the Pandesal Forum, Reiner Braun, former President and Executive Director of the Berlin-based International Peace Bureau (IPB), a Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization, said “we are living in a dangerous life since 1945.”
He cited the conflict in Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East and in the South China Sea.
“We are living in a relatively dangerous life since World War II in 1945,” Braun said.
He noted that the shift of power in Asia is relatively new.
“We will make America great again,” he quoted newly-inaugurated United States President Donald Trump as saying, adding that What will Trump do in making America great again?
Braun cited that Trump wanted to implement his imperialist peace such as in the vast natural resources of Greenland and Ukraine to rule the whole world.
“We have six million Ukrainians who are now suffering from war with Russia coupled with the -30 degrees cold temperature they are facing,” he said.
He noted that the Ukrainian war was triggered by the “putsch” and the Crimean crisis.
“We need the money that we use in the military for social and ecological development. We need to draw the money from the military around the world,” Braun said.
He stressed that the US is spending US$1.3 trillion for military purposes.
Braun said that Europe is now in a deep economical and ecological crisis, adding that Europe is only developing a social cast for 100,000 patterned after only in the model of the United States.
“The cost of oil production in Europe is high,” he said.
“We don’t have an independent European economy,” he added.
“The European industry which has long been developed is no longer independent,” Braun said.
“Seven of the 10 best harbors in the world are in China,” he added.
Braun noted that India is now coming in No. 4-5 and Brazil in No. 6 in terms of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
BRICS countries are united in one direction that is really developing a new system with a balanced views for the benefit of many people of the world.
“We need an international peace to avoid World War III. The election of Trump means that we need to develop more initiatives in order to achieve world peace,” Braun said.
According to Braun, the only announcement that Trump has made was that he would use the military, noting that the vast military industrial complex to develop Artificial Intelligence is connected with the Democratic Party of Trump.
There are 800 to 900 US military bases around the world such that 60 bases are in Japan and 80 bases in Germany, among others .
The lesson from the Cuban crisis, Braun said “never, never provoke a big country.”
“We are trying to prevent that these Tomahawk missiles will be installed in Germany in 2026,” Braun said, expressing fears that it may trigger World War III.
Braun and his group have one and a half years to conduct a world solidarity protest action for peace in Berlin, Germany.
He pointed out that the Philippines was able to kick out the US military bases, saying that the Philippines is courageous enough to draw its plans in the future.
Braun expounded that whoever wanted to join the BRICS is welcome, and the BRICS had helped in solving the conflict in Burma.
Braun would not make a recommendation for the Philippines to join the BRICS saying “We should be more careful in giving more pressures on BRICS as it has already been joined by 10 countries and let’s see what will happen in the next 10 years.”
Braun admitted that he is old enough to believe in “propaganda stories” or “market stories”, stressing “We need the democratization of advancement in technology and the sharing of development, which is the secret of the big private companies, so that the countries will also develop in the level of the UN (United Nations).”
“The climate crisis is not only true in the United States, but in the whole world, hence there is a need for an international system or atmosphere to cut the emission of carbon monoxide by fossilized fuels with equal opportunities and climate justice and cooperation for all,” Braun said.
“Maybe we need to have the California forest fires crisis due to climate change in order for us to realize what we are doing in the environment,” he added.
Braun is a leading voice in Germany’s peace movement and prominent advocate against nuclear arms.
He also said that the United States has to kick out thousands of illegal immigrants from their country such as those from Mexico, which will bring about problems of unemployment and lost livelihood opportunities to those who will be affected.
According to Braun, the World Health Organization (WHO) will definitely be affected by the pull out of the membership of the United States from the WHO as declared by Trump in terms of the treatment and prevention of communicable diseases such as malaria.
Braun is the Chairman of the German chapter of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA) and head of several global scientific and peace organizations, including Pugwash Scientists for Peace and Sustainability and INES (International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility).
He is a public speaker on NATO, European militarization, military spending, and geopolitics.
Braun is an author of thought-provoking works, including “Einstein and Peace” and a biography of Nobel Peace Laureate Joseph Rotblat.