The leader of Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales in the European Parliament and prominent peace activist Jill Evans MEP will be giving the Lewis Valentine Memorial Lecture to the Baptist Union Conference at UWIC, Cardiff at 2pm this afternoon (Tuesday, 24th June).

Ms Evans, who is also Chair of CND Cymru, will use the lecture to urge support for the peace movement in Wales. In February the all-Wales Euro MP visited Iraq on a peace and humanitarian mission. She has also travelled to Palestine on two occasions as part of a European Parliamentary delegation to promote peace in the Middle East. In her lecture she will say:

“The war in Iraq hasn’t brought justice, or democracy, or peace. Peace means much more than the absence of war. There is no peace without justice, and that means living without fear, without a threat to your life, to your health and to your community."

“During the time I spent in Iraq and Palestine I saw how harmful and destructive oppression and poverty can be. Oppression and poverty are the root of all the violence suffered in these countries. Only through stopping oppression and eradicating poverty can we ensure true peace. And only through discussion, consensus, compromise and understanding can this be achieved. It isn’t the people of Iraq or Palestine or Israel or America or any other country who are the enemy, but poverty and oppression.”

“63 of the 191 current members of the United Nations are countries smaller than Wales. I’m confident that if Wales had a seat in the United Nations we would have voted against war and for peace. We, in Wales, have much to contribute towards creating a different world. We believe in the rule of international law and that nobody is above that law. A respect for human rights is one of the most important weapons that we have in our fight for peace."

“The government’s of powerful countries may not be listening, but we can make sure that they hear us. It is the responsibility of each and everyone of us to raise our voices for peace.”

Lewis Valentine was the first President of Plaid Cymru and stood as the party’s first parliamentary candidate in Caernarvonshire in 1929. A prominent pacifist and peace campaigner, he was jailed for his part in the burning of the Penyberth bombing school in 1936.

Diwedd/Ends.