To the attention of:
His Excellency Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN
His Excellency Mr. Dennis Francis, President of the UNGA
His Excellency Mr. Thomas Bach, IOC President
Subject: Letter in Support and Demand of the Olympic Truce
Dear Sirs,
We humbly yet firmly propose the following considerations, the result of long-time reflection and study, for you to reiterate the request and demand for the universal Olympic Truce to all people and states by sharing this document.
Context
According to the terms of the seventy-eighth session, item 11 of the Agenda: Sport for development and peace: building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal:
“Acknowledging that the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be a unifying event and a meaningful opportunity to harness the power of sport to foster an atmosphere of peace, development, resilience, tolerance and understanding, accessibility and inclusion, and recalling its resolution 77/27 of 1 December 2022 on sport as an enabler of sustainable development, in which it called upon future hosts of the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games and other Member States to include sport, as appropriate, in conflict prevention activities and to ensure the effective implementation of the Olympic Truce during the Games.”
On Peace and Disarmament
“It is the same to say arms or war” (Cervantes, Quixote I, Cap XXXVII).
For us humans, peace is not only the absence of war as is commonly assumed, but also disarmament, the cessation of the intent to destroy the other, which is embodied in the weapon. This intent is evident in the blade and point of the sword, in the explosiveness of the bomb, etc. – but not, for example, in a kitchen knife or a stone, which are not meant for this and do not alarm us. And the purpose of damage is not abstract but concrete and adapted to the conditions of the other to cause the maximum possible harm.
Even though each side considers this in self-defense, the simple act of arming oneself violates and deprives us all of freedom -something we cannot tolerate. On one hand, it subjects us to threat by which we must submit and serve if we want to avoid being harmed, and, on the other hand, it forces us to arm ourselves as much as we can to dissuade the other, defend ourselves and to avoid being at another arm´s service -and so is the same for the other side.
Human empathy puts us in the place of one another and human intelligence anticipates and projects, so that no bloodshed is needed to dominate. Just having the capability to destroy the other puts him at our mercy and service. This occurs not only between and among armed units or states but also within them, where the form humans incorporate into weapons/arms in armed units is through a (inhuman) mechanical enforcement articulated by the absolute inequality of the hierarchy or pyramidal state structure which includes the total inequal allocation of resources as the most effective way for waging war and harming and destroying other humans.
The arm or weapon’ effect is not an opinion or an ideology to be believed and opposed to others’ ideas. On the contrary, ideologies or ideas disregard this human empathy and hide the real significance of the arm, while the arm effect is the ordinary and common reality that is not ‘presumed’ but directly known, or otherwise, ineffective, therefore, we must reflect upon it in a human way and understand it to make peace.
Hot war, as Clausewitz says, is “the action or attempt to disarm the enemy,” the way in which we have them at our mercy and/or prevent them from threatening and subjugating us. Therefore, we must first understand this situation when we talk about a truce in hot war. If hot war is waged to disarm the enemy and the truce is merely a moment of rearmament, then war and truce are directly opposite and a truce proposal without further consideration is mostly unfeasible. Truce can only be understood as a step towards peace through disarmament, something that can happen today because we are fully connected and can fulfill its condition, universality and simultaneity. And your institutions are the ones meant and able to do it, while this also universal event of the Olympic Games is the most excellent moment for it too.
“Together” (The president of the IOC, July 1st, Geneve)
子墨子曰：非人者必有以易之，若非人而無以易之，譬之猶以水救火也，其說將必無可焉。是故子墨子曰：兼以易別 “Whoever criticizes others must have something to replace them. Criticism without an alternative is like trying to stop flood with flood and put out fire with fire, it will surely be without worth, therefore Mozi said: Partiality is to be replaced by universality/simultaneity (兼 means both ‘universal’ and ‘simultaneous’)”. (Mozi, 兼愛下 – Universal Love III, 2)
The decision to disarm must be universal/simultaneous, unilateral disarmament would not mean us stopping serving the weapon or arm, but just serve to another one, and, indeed, in the past, human groups were isolated and uncommunicated, and exclusive decision-making, which obviously involves confrontation, was inevitable. That is why humans have inevitably organized themselves into armed units or states. But in our time, we can and shall reconcile (and forgive ourselves, as it was not in our hands to avoid harming each other) and establish peace or inclusive decision-making, which prevents and avoids the purpose of harming and implies cooperation for the common good.
And, indeed, the first inclusive decision must be disarmament, the renunciation of the intention or purpose to destroy. Without this renunciation, no inclusive decision can be made, as the purpose of destruction (obviously of the other) conditions everything else to the extent that cooperation not only cannot be inclusive but only really occurs against third parties. The inevitable consequence of hating or wanting to destroy even just one person or party, depriving them of freedom and humanity, is equivalent to harming everyone since this leads to violating and forcing all others to take sides. Logically, the other, the one the weapon is aimed at, will not agree to be destroyed or to be deprived of freedom through the threat of destruction, and will necessarily do his utmost to achieve its own more powerful destruction means and allies to avoid this from happening.
The truce call
“All maxims which require (universal) publicity, in order that they may not fail to attain their end, are in agreement both with right and politics.” (Kant, Perpetual Peace, Appendix II. Concerning the harmony of politics with morals).
We need to expose and share this human condition with all humans when proposing or convening the Olympic Truce for them to assume freedom, humanity and responsibility and thus becoming the guarantee of it. Hereby we are telling all that the objective of this truce is to reconcile Humanity and after the Olympic Games we shall and will begin the process of inclusive decision-making with disarmament, placing all weapons and arms under human command, that would lead to the suspension of all military activity and development, making disarmament not only possible but convenient.
Disarmament shall be based on reason and understanding, and therefore it must be a public and transparent process for all humans. Except for the purpose of harming, which needs to be concealed, cooperation for disarmament and the common good is achieved through simple proposals and transparency, as is the case with this very proposal.
Since disarmament can only be universal, and this universality justifies or implies that, besides, of course, caring about keeping the life conditions of military personnel, resources now withdrawn from military use should be redirected to facilitate dignified living conditions for all and to integrate humanity into a system of cooperation for the common good. Except from weapons, everything is meant to serve us, enhance our well-being, empower us all, and increase our capacities, thereby fostering harmony and common sense. Together, we will in a logical and natural way persuade and help each other toward the best behavior and the best use of resources for the community.
The ultimate guarantor of the actual people’s rights transcends the States, and it is then Humanity, whose main aim is to provide peace and security for all, so that nobody is harmed, forced, or unwillingly deprived of anything. Humanity should be embodied in a renewed UN led by people with the willingness, capability, and merits to serve humanity.
Sincerely,