New Delhi, September 27: War ruins should be declared peace heritage sites to end raging conflicts and promote peace tourism, an activist has proposed here. Sandeep Silas, a 1984-batch Indian Railway Traffic Services officer, has conceptualised ”Garland of Peace” as an initiative to his demand for declaring war ruins as peace heritage sites.
It was inaugurated by former Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes here last week. Currently working as private secretary to Labour Minister Harish Rawat, Silas said he wanted war ruins like the St Paul church in Ambala Cantt — a reminder of the Indo-Pak war in 1971 — and Buddha”s statues in Bamiyan (Afghanistan) to be developed as centres for peace education.
“If we develop war ruins for peace education and reconstruct the memory of war, the effect is going to be powerful. It will bring out an important debate.
People will then pursue their governments against going to war,” Silas told PTI. The ruins are often considered as symbols of national shame or worse jingoism, Silas said, adding that the UN or the government of a country should take initiative in introducing these sites in a new form of tourism called ”Peace Tourism”, he said. The 11 ruins that Silas says need to be declared as peace heritage sites, include the Pearl Harbour, domes in Hiroshima, Auschwitz camps and Berlin Wall.
-Agencies