Mikhail Gorbachev was in parliament Monday for the Energy Globe
Award where he picked up a lifetime achievement award. The former
Soviet president now has his own think tank and is president of the
environmental Green Cross Foundation which promotes humanitarian
causes. In an interview, he spoke of his fears for the environment
and warned of the chaos that threatens the world. He also criticised
the "poor decisions" of today's political elites compared to those
of the 1980's.
Can we really call environmental degradation mankind's no. 1 problem
when so many people are living under the poverty line?
The major problems are poverty, air and water quality, unsanitary
conditions, low agricultural productivity, but all of them are about
ecology. It is nonsense to say that ecology is a luxury - it is the
major priority of our times. The second priority is the fight
against poverty because 2 billion are living on $1-2 a day. The
third one is global security, including the nuclear threat and
weapons of mass destruction. These are three urgent priorities, but
I put ecology in the first place, because it directly touches all of
us.
You initiated momentous changes in the Soviet Union and did much to
end the Cold War. What lessons can we draw from that experience when
seeking a so called "world perestroika" to end the hot war against
nature?
In the mid-80s the leaders of the big states realized that there is
an urgent need to do something. Then God made the ways of Gorbachev,
Reagan, Bush, Thatcher, Mitterrand and others - and they were wise
enough to overcome clichés and prejudices regarding each other and
start talking about the nuclear threat. Now the world and our times
are different, there is globalisation, countries are more
interdependent and countries like Brazil, China and India have come
onto the stage.
The most important lesson we can take is that a dialogue has to be
developed. Confidence has to be built. We have to renounce the
politics of force, they bring nothing good. We have to understand
that we all are in the same boat, we all have to paddle, if not,
some are paddling, some are pouring water in, others might even be
making a hole in it. Nobody will win in this manner in this world.
Look at the US in Iraq, everybody was opposed, even their allies,
but they did not listen and what happened? They do not know how to
get out of it now. Now we understand that... we are all linked to
the US and if it falls apart it would be a real collapse. We have to
help them to get out of there. That means that cooperation is
needed, a new world order is necessary and global mechanisms to
manage it.
After the Cold War everybody was talking of the new world order,
even the Pope joined us and said a new world order is necessary,
more stable, more fair, more human.
However, when the USSR fell apart (because of internal reasons first
of all), the US could not resist the temptation to use the
confusion. Political elites changed, those who brought the world out
of the Cold War left the stage, the new ones wanted to write their
history.
These errors of vision, poor decisions and missteps made the world
ungovernable. We live in a world of chaos. New ways of life and new
political mechanisms can emerge from the chaos, but the chaos can
also lead to disruption, resistance and armed conflict.
"Towards a New Civilization" is the motto of the Gorbachev
Foundation. What does that New Civilisation look like? Where can the
world get the huge resources needed for these fundamental changes?
It is not always about money. If international issues are handled in
a disorderly way, you need more money. It is about trust, co-
operation, dialogue, mutual help and mutual exchange. Why is Europe
growing economically - because of the existence of the EU. This is
the path of new opportunities and the EU is a good example.
Of course, not everything is perfect. In my view the EU is already
overcharged as a system. It has to have wisdom and know when to
stop, absorb, move forward, not just hurry and make hasty headlong
jumps.
When you look at Russia today, is it on the right track? Can it be
a positive force in forging the new kind of world your foundation
promotes?
I think that the direction of Russia is right; however Russia is
halfway through its difficult democratic transition. But Russia will
go forward now. In the times of Boris Yeltsin everybody treated
Russia as a doormat, but now this is no longer possible; you will
have to forget those times. Russia will be at the same level as
everybody.
For more information:
http://www.persbiro.com/pelayanan/desktopublishing.html
Contact following email:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Or visit the website:
http://www.persbiro.com
