Nobel Peace Prize-winner Lech Walesa reiterates his belief in Gandhi's doctrine of non-violence. The smile is warm and lights up the broad, expansive face; the blue eyes twinkle, his golden moustache firmly in place. He refused to be tempted by a million dollar offer from a global giant to shave it off. The face belongs to a man you do not and cannot forget.
A man called Lech Walesa. Founder of the Solidarity trade union, Nobel Peace Prize-winner, and former President of Poland is, Lech Walesa is, for me, the original Man of Steel, whose nerve and sinews were strengthened in the Gdansk shipyard where he worked for long years as an electrician. He would shepherd his people to freedom; freeing his beloved Poland (and eventually, all of Eastern Europe) from the iron fist of Communism. "We didn't succeed when we tried to fight with arms, but we won when we adopted non-violence. I am a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi," he said.
Walesa visited Mumbai after attending a two-day international conference on Mahatma Gandhi's historic Satyagraha movement held in Delhi. "Ask me any question you want; anything you like, no problem at all", says the man who quit the trade union he founded. "I felt I should leave if I could not support the direction in which my fellow-unionists were going." (He has also criticised Solidarity for its support to Poland's conservative Law and Justice Party.)
Time and again, he reiterated his belief in Gandhian doctrine. "We failed when we tried to combat Communism with weapons, but when we took up Mahatma Gandhi's tactics and strategy, we emerged winners! Truly, the whole world should be a disciple of Gandhi."
Peaceful resistance
I couldn't help responding that the methods Gandhi endorsed were not new. "Yes, but the world is still in need, more than ever, of a man like Mahatma Gandhi. Unfortunately, there are very few of his stature around. India must not keep the Mahatma to herself but share him with the whole world," Walesa said, who firmly believes that only peaceful resistance is a viable tool for conflict resolution, peace and reconciliation. "Only non-violence can lead the world to a new world of lasting peace and enduring friendship."
He said that many times, endorsing the views of his co-luminaries at the conference like Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Bangladeshi economist and Nobel winner Muhammad Yunus. He recalled they discussed the continuing relevance of the Gandhian method. "It was wonderful discussing the possibility of a meaningful dialogue among peoples and cultures and talking about Gandhian philosophy in the world today; a world sadly fractured by violence."
Asked for his comments on corruption and how a democratic country should deal with corrupt politicians, he said, "Debar five generations of their progeny from contesting elections. They will think twice about cheating the country." European countries occupy 13 of the top 20 slots in Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index for 2007. What about Poland? Well, there's room for improvement for everyone.
In a democracy
Recalling the Polish people's struggle, he said he had assumed the Presidency of the country in the wake of Solidarity's accomplishments and promptly stepped down from office when he lost the vote. "That is how it should be in a working democracy."
With regard to West Asia, how would he resolve the warfare between the Israelis and the Palestinians? He said, "In a cock-fight, the cocks attack each other till one finishes off the other. But have you seen what happens when their feathers are plucked? No? They don't fight."
Asked to elaborate, he said, "Stop the flow of arms and the money into the region, and the fighting will stop. I told them two years ago in Geneva, we will intercede, intervene, we would defend. But first, the vested interests, the arms trade and the flow of cash — which keeps the vicious cycle of aggression, fighting and violence going — must stop."
Then Lech Walesa smiled sadly, "They didn't listen to me. Now, do you see why the world needs a Mahatma Gandhi?"
No comments:
Post a Comment