International day of Peace
Declaration of the Writers for Peace Committee at the 77th Congress of PEN International in Belgrade, September 2011
We live in an age where a broad and systemic meaning is attributed to the idea of peace. It is conceived as the ability to confront conflicts and a willingness to shepherd open and potential violence into forms of dialogue, in spite of the difficulties involved in such an approach.
This is why our mission as writers is complex, as we must promote a culture of peace not only through our writings, but also as simple citizens of the world. Wherever there is oppression, colonization, or illegal occupation, injustice and violence, whatever the form it takes, peace is a challenge, which we must take up by helping to promote the power of citizens who are confronting the brutality of arbitrary systems.
Therefore, we stress the urgent need to have a viable negotiated solution between all the parties involved in Israel and Palestine, so that their peoples can live in self-determination, liberty, peace and security. A solution must be negotiated for those regions where respect for civil rights and self-determination cannot prevail until an agreement has been reached by the parties.
At the same time we are convinced that the solution to the cultural, linguistic, ethnic, social, and political conflicts in Tibet, in the land of the Uyghurs, Kurds, and Basques, in the Balkans, Mexico, and in so many other countries cannot be found without dialogue.
The Lugano Declaration of 1987, approved at the 50th Congress of International PEN, says that “There can be no freedom without peace, nor peace without freedom.” It also states that “terrorism must be condemned, whether it comes from states or individuals or whether it claims to be justified within the framework of a struggle for liberation.”
Our century should also pay urgent attention to the violent ways through which financial speculation has brought about the impoverishment of a large part of the world population, as well as the increased exploitation of natural resources, endamaging the global climate, and the violent attacks on nature and the environment. It is in this sense that the commitment to making peace always has a political aspect insofar as it is public; it should always be a part of human rights that have as their aim a self-determination that is responsible and cooperative. Nonetheless, it is our deep conviction that all the national PEN centres and above all the members of the Writers for Peace Committee (WfPC) should condemn terrorism and violence in all its forms. Indeed, the WfPC has kept the symbol of “the pen which conquers the sword.”
International PEN Congress in Belgrade
The decision to hold the forthcoming International PEN Congress in Belgrade is a huge recognition of Serbian PEN Center’s work so far. This first-class literary, cultural, social and public gathering will bring along further international respect and recognition of Belgrade and Serbia, of its culture and literature. This is the first ever International PEN Congress to be held in Serbia – and this is happening in a year which is very important to us, for two reasons: not only does International PEN celebrate its 90th birthday in 2011, but the Serbian PEN Center also marks its 85th anniversary. By becoming the International PEN Congress host, Belgrade will have an important chance to bring together some of the most important authors in contemporary world literature, and present them with “the best of Serbian culture”.
The Congress will, over several days, accommodate representatives of all 144 PEN Centers around the world. In total, more than 300 writers, publishers, translators and editors will visit the Serbian capital in September this year; most of these people are world-famous authors of contemporary literature, whose books have been translated into some of the most important languages of the world and published globally.
The Serbian PEN Center will, during the Congress, organize The World Literary Festival Free the Word. We believe this will be a huge literary and cultural event - not only in Serbia, but also in the whole of the Balkans region.
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