Religious leaders offer timely reminder of the lessons from WW2

Bratislava, 22 April 2010 – Religious leaders representing Europe’s major faiths are joining political leaders, economists, military academics, war veterans and former resistance fighters at a two-day conference in Bratislava, Slovakia, this week to ensure that, 65 years after the end of WW2, the lessons of the continent’s last great conflict are not forgotten.

The religious leaders include His Beatitude Archbishop Christopher of Archbishop of Prague, Metropolitan of the Czech Lands and Slovakia; His Beatitude Tadeusz Kondrusievics, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Minsk and Mahilyow in Belarus; Yisrael Meir Lau, the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv and Chairman of Israel’s Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem; and Asadullin Farid, from the Spiritual Board of Muslims in the European part of Russia.

The conference aims to apply the lessons learned from WW2 to the world situation today; to understand better the different global dynamics at play; to try to foresee potential implications and repercussions; and then to see how these may be best achieved, or avoided.In particular, the conference will discuss how different faiths, often the cornerstones of opposing civilisations, can try to work together to create greater understanding, tolerance and dialogue between peoples – especially in the context of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the ongoing international terrorism campaigns.

The global economic crisis is another of the subjects under discussion; how it is caused not just by short-term financial and market instability, but also by long-term changes in the world’s social, economic and political balances – and how placing the crisis in its broader historic and geopolitical context can help prevent it potentially escalating into a more serious international crisis or conflict.

The conference, under the auspices of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and H.M. King Juan Carlos of Spain, has been organised as part of a joint initiative by a number of European and Russian NGOs by Vladimir Yakunin, Founding President of the NGO World Public Forum ‘Dialogue of Civilizations’ and head of Russian Railways.Keynote speakers include Fico, Yakunin and the former Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer. Other speakers include Walter Schwimmer, the former Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the Slovakian MEP Katarina Nevedalova.

In a personal message to delegates, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said: “Today all those who, in one way or another, participate in the political process – statesmen and public dignitaries, NGOs and the media – bear a great responsibility for consolidating humanistic rudiments in international relations, principles of mutual respect and taking into account the interests of each other. Only on such foundations shall we be able to successfully withstand the threats and challenges of the present-day and, in the final count, to remove once and for all the danger of war for Europe and the world. In the new, twenty-first century, we must stringently abide by the principle of equitable and indivisible security. This is the goal of the Russian initiative to conclude a European Security Treaty that is now being widely discussed in the continent, including within the framework of your forum.”

The conference will discuss the European tragedy of WW2, the resistance against the Nazi occupation, the united role of the Allies, and the lessons learned from history.Other themes include: unity in Europe since 1945; East Europe as a facilitator; changing the driving forces of nationhood; creating unity between nations in adversity; mechanisms to consolidate political and social forces.

Vladimir Yakunin, founder and co-chairman of the World Public Forum ‘Dialogue of Civilizations’, said: “The Forum’s activity aims to create an atmosphere of trust in the world based on dialogue generally recognised to be a productive means of co-operation between the different civilisations of our common world.”Mr Yakunin added: “It is vital that we continue to remember the lessons of history that came out of the terrible conflicts of the last century in order that we do not repeat the mistakes that led up to those wars. As Winston Churchill once said: ‘Study history! Study history! In history lie all the secrets of statecraft.’ With the various tensions that are playing out in Europe and the wider world today, the need for us to remember those lessons is perhaps more acute than it has been for many years. This is what I very much hope this conference in Bratislava will help achieve.”

During the Conference there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument for fallen soldiers in Bratislava.

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For further information, please contact:

Vladimir Kulikov
Executive Director, World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations”
Tel: +7 985 991 87 03
Email: vladimir_kulikov@wpfdc.org

Or

Dennis Landsbert-Noon
Managing Director, Burson-Marsteller Brussels
Tel: +32 473 68 55 59
Email: dennis.landsbertnoon@bm.com