Lech Walesa, the first democratically elected president of Poland and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, spoke at MATC Wednesday stressing the need for the United States to lead the world in this time of need.
Walesa, an electrician and social activist, was the keynote speaker for the 17th annual MATC conference, \International Peacekeeping and Peacemaking: A Time of Crisis, A Time for Hope.""
Walesa opened the conference, which runs through Friday. The conference serves to ""raise awareness of conflict studies,"" said organizer Jeff Bradshaw. ""[We] bring individuals who, through commitment, inspire communities.""
Nonviolently, Walesa led Poland out of communism with his social movement Solidarity.
""When we struggled against communism, no one believed it was possible. Without a single shot we defeated a system that murdered 1 million at least,"" Walesa said. ""I could say because of me it all happened, but I do not want to come to terms with the Almighty. ... It's amazing how it happened. My countryman John Paul II became Pope and all of the sudden I had 10 million people supporting me ... 10 to 10 million.""
In his speech, Walesa warned the United States against watching over and punishing the actions of other nations.
""You must do everything you can for order in the world. You must go on without doing all the dirty work for the world,"" Walesa said. ""This is a beginning of a new century, a new millenium and a new era. We have a totally clean page ahead of us. We have this opportunity of having a proper order all around the world.""
To achieve this proper order, Walesa looked toward globalization. Through a global democratic government, Walesa said he seeks to end three main global issues: border conflicts, ethnic cleansing and terrorism.
""NATO will be our global military force. This institution should ... deal with no more than these three,"" he said.
To deal with anything more than these issues would take away from the individuality of nations, he said. To achieve this ideal society, Walesa encouraged the United States to lead the world toward these solutions. To do so, he stressed the importance of leadership and participation in shaping the framework of society.
""Human conscience is the cheapest and most effective guardian. Take a closer look at the individuals we actually give power to and we will have people of conscience leading us,"" Walesa said. ""We must encourage and press wise knowledgable people and must get involved. ... Young people, you must realize how many opportunities you are facing. ... There has bever been so many opportunities.\
