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G.M. Arroyo: Address to Rally of Hope VII
Written by Gloria Macapagal, Arroyo President (2001-2010), Philippines
Sunday, September 12, 2021
Address to Rally of Hope VII
September 12, 2021
Ladies and Gentlemen: in the three decades since the end of Russia’s occupation of Afghanistan and Vietnam’s rule in Cambodia, one cannot record a period of intensifying military confrontation and superpower rivalry in Asia more fractious and potentially explosive than in the past several years. Thankfully, North Korea and South Korea seem to be bucking this trend toward greater fractiousness, with leaders Kim Jong-Un and Moon Jae-In exchanging letters since April and announcing the restoration of several communication channels in July, including a military link demolished by the North last year.
Four drivers of conflict bear close watching and could be the main sources of global division and war. I cite the four horsemen of the apocalypse in the holy Bible, as symbols of four epoch-spanning horses driving division and confrontation and undermining our overarching vision of worldwide harmony and peace.
The first horseman, riding a white steed, wears a crown and wields a sword. Let me dwell on its symbolism of conquest. In the 20th century, the global ideological struggle between the US and the USSR sparked three wars in Asia: Korea in 1950-1954, Vietnam from 1954 to 1975 and Afghanistan from 1980 to 1989.
With the Soviet Union gone and China rising, the Chinese are ensuring that buffer states like North Korea remain close allies. In Korea that means keeping Pyongyang on its best behavior. Thus, Uncle Sam has no reason to boost its military presence in the South.
The second horseman rides the red steed of war. Obviously that it is the antithesis of the Universal Peace Federation. This scourge also went global in the last century with the Second World War and the global Cold War, which has among its fearsome legacies the Korean Peninsula’s status as perhaps the most militarized land on earth, with 1.6 million troops and among the most fearsome arrays of tanks, artillery, missiles and warplanes facing off.
The third rider, perched upon a black steed, spreads famine and poverty upon the world. In the Korean Peninsula, the specter of hunger in the North can portend both war and peace. On the one hand, crop failures like the one now threatening amid recent widespread flooding could trigger saber-rattling and chest-thumping against purported foreign aggression, to shore up popular support for the national leadership amid mounting social and economic woes. On the other hand, and hopefully this is so today, dire straits can lead Pyongyang to mend fences as a prelude to seeking massive aid. With a growing North-South exchange, food will hopefully flow to the North, clearing the way for more dialogue.
The last horseman, on a pale mount [horse] of death, is given its place in the apocalyptic parade to symbolize calamities that can snuff out masses of people in days, hours or minutes.
In the face of the four horsemen of Conquest, War, Poverty and Death, the imperative for all peace-loving, harmony-building advocates, especially the Universal Peace Federation, is crystal clear. UPF must advance common understanding, purpose and prosperity among peoples and cultures.
In this clarion call to the world, there will be no shortage of naysayers pointing to failed peace efforts in every age and land. To them we say that forging peace requires that we do not stop at our last failure but sustain our dream of harmony with ever more renewed peace-building. This we can see exemplified in the Korean Peninsula. It is easy for doubters to dismiss any and all peace overtures across the 38th parallel as ultimately doomed, as the tunnels running under it and the warplanes, shells, bombs and missiles threatening to fly over it attest. Yet, since 2018, two leaders have persevered in their efforts to expand and deepen exchanges despite setbacks and hoping-against-hopes dashed by three-score and ten (= 70) years of hostility.
Let Korea’s example teach the world that peace can thrive if humanity can dream together. Kamsahamnida [Thank you].
H.E. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was the president of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010.
To go to the Dialogue and Alliance: Toward a Unified World of Peace, Part Two, click here.