Asia must show way to peace to avert nuclear war: Nobel Peace laureate Munasinghe

Dubai, Sep 7 (PTI) Nobel laureate Mohan Munasinghe has cautioned that the threat of nuclear war is "closer than ever before" and urged Asian leaders to take the initiative in promoting peace and sustainability.

Munasinghe highlighted the friendly interactions among the leaders of India, China, and Russia at the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the Chinese city of Tianjin as a symbolic representation of "world peace in practice." Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of a peace initiative launch in Dubai last week, Munasinghe said the Global South, particularly Asia, is in a leadership position today.

“If you saw the recent SCO summit, the picture of Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, President Xi (Jinping) and President (Vladimir) Putin. These are the biggest, most powerful Asian countries together. That is very symbolic,” said Munasinghe, a co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Calling it "world peace in practice", he said, "If the leaders can do that, I think everybody can come together." The Sri Lankan academic and economist shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize as Vice-Chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Replying to a question about his earlier remarks about a nuclear war being "closer than ever before", he said, "This is the time not only for India and Sri Lanka but for Asia as a whole to show the way to sustainability and peace, which the previous, particularly the Western leadership of the world, has not quite been able to achieve in the past. But we will show them." Addressing the launch of the 'I am Peacekeeper' initiative here on Thursday, Munasinghe had said that a "nuclear war is closer than ever before" and it "must be avoided at all costs." "World peace relies more on each one of us rather than governments or leaders," he said, adding, "We must unite to save the earth and ourselves, let us act now for peace, together." His comments come amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza and raging tensions in the Gulf region, which witnessed a brief war between Iran and Israel in June. South Asia also witnessed a four-day conflict between India and Pakistan in May.

The 'I am Peacekeeper initiative' was launched here by Indian pharma giant Wockhardt's Executive Director and CEO of Wockhardt Foundation, Dr Huzaifa Khorakiwala, to bring together individuals and institutions that are willing to promote dialogue and understanding for global harmony.

Speaking to PTI on the margins of the event, Khorakiwala said that mass movements like his put indirect pressure on governments, and therefore his initiative's first goal is to create a mass movement, and policy change can follow in a few years.

He added that India-UAE ties are based on a "common thread" about world peace.

"The UAE promotes tolerance and coexistence, and in India, the philosophy of the Hindu religion is Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which promotes the whole of humanity as one family," he said.

'I Am Peacekeeper' movement signifies the world's mass grassroots 'Movement of Peace' through the creation of the planet's largest collective of peace advocates, according to the organisers.

Since its inception, the movement has drawn nearly two million online supporters worldwide, emerging as a platform for peace advocacy and social change. PTI GRS ZH GRS GRS