By Loretta B Manele
There is not just “peace”, because we also have what is called “positive peace” and “negative peace”.
Raki Tuiloma, programmes assistant for Transcend Oceania gave a brief take on this at the “Peacebuilding and Security Dialogue” at King Solomon Hotel yesterday.
He said positive peace aims to create a just and sustainable society where all members can live in harmony and well-being while negative peace focuses on the absence of direct violence and conflict.
In regards to “positive peace”, he expressed that it is peace emphasizing and addressing the root causes of conflict and promoting justice and equality.
Tuiloma mentioned two examples of peace building activities.
The first being “dialogue and mediation” of which is said to involve the facilitation of dialogue and mediation between conflicting parties to find a common ground and bridge agreements.
“So, we have different experiences through this dialogue. We can find very constructive ways of living with conflict in our different communities and the experiences we have.”
The other example as stated is “community-based initiatives”.
Tuiloma said this involves supporting local initiatives that promote peace and reconciliation, such as community dialogues, reconciliation projects and youth programs.
Aside from community-based initiatives, other avenues outlined are; education and awareness, supporting governments and justice and economic development.
Tuiloma went on to talk about “negative peace”.
He stressed that an example of negative peace is when people put on their happy faces and pretend to get along and avoid raising uncomfortable or difficult subjects for fear of angering the other party in situations like disagreements or conflicts.
“It’s like a yes thing. Everything we would say yes to. We would not question the authority or those that hold positions. So, this is an example of negative peace.”
On another note, he stated that in countries recovering from violent conflicts, it is often required to hold reconciliation of differences, apology and forgiveness of past harm.
Tuiloma said this includes the establishment of a cooperative relationship between groups, replacing the adversarial or competitive relationship that used to exist.
He added that there is also the normal process of advancing human rights, normalizing relations and building institutions that manage conflict without resort to violence.
“This can be applied to any sector, such as public health, or creating inclusive access to education and opening up economic opportunity.”
He stated that it is about establishing non-violent modes of resolving conflicts in any sector.
“It also includes conflict prevention and conflict management to prevent the occurrence of violence or managing crisis so that violence does not escalate.”
For feedback, contact:[email protected]
