The Project for
the First People's Century
Motivation and Declaration of Principles
On June 3, 1997 a group of self-described neo-conservatives, commonly
referred to by now as "neo-cons," and some of their staunchest supporters have
published online a "Statement of Principles" for their Project for the New
American Century, also known as PNAC. In this statement they announced the following:
"We aim to make the case and rally support for American global leadership. As the
20th century draws to a close, the United States stands as the world's preeminent power.
Having led the West to victory in the Cold War, America faces an opportunity and a
challenge: Does the United States have the vision to build upon the achievements of past
decades? Does the United States have the resolve to shape a new century favourable to
American principles and interests?"
Such "American principles and interests" were first announced on
February 24, 1948, i.e., at the outset of the Cold War, by George Kennan - who was at that
time head of U.S. State Department Planning, and a diplomat who authored the doctrine of
"containing" the Soviet Union that determined the U.S. policy throughout the
Cold War. A key passage of George Kennan's announcement is the following one (with italics
added for emphasis):
"We [Americans] have about 60 per cent of the world's wealth but only 6.3
per cent of its population. Our real task in the coming period (will be) to maintain
this position of disparity. We need not deceive ourselves that we can afford the
luxury of altruism and world benefaction ...The day is not far off when we are going to
have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are hampered then by idealistic
slogans the better."
In the intervening half-century, all the United States governments have been
faithful to these "American principles and interests" by waging wars for
economic and political supremacy, and by deposing via CIA subsidized coups legitimately
elected leaders, under the pretext that they were bringing "freedom" and
"democracy" to such countries as Guatemala and Iran in the 1950s, Congo in the
1960s, Chile in the 1970s, Nicaragua in the 1980s, and many others. However, as a rule
these U.S. subsidized leaders turned out to be bloody dictators, who
served well American multinational corporations, but brought only misery and suffering to
their own nations.
The men who enunciated PNAC managed to install in the year 2000 their own candidate in
the seat of presidential power by means of an election in which only about 50% of the
American electorate voted, and of that 50% more than half voted for the opposition
candidate. The neo-con candidate's brother was one of the signatories of the PNAC
Statement of Principles. At the time of that election he was also the governor of the
state of Florida, where thousands of voters who had voted for the opposition candidate
were disenfranchised by means of the crudest methods imaginable, thus securing electoral
victory for his brother.
By such means the neo-cons and their supporters assumed power in the United
States of America at the beginning of the present century, and immediately started
implementing the September 2000 PNAC blueprint entitled Rebuilding America's Defenses:
Strategy Forces and Resources for a New Century. As the first major test of this PNAC
plan, they ignored in the year 2003 both their lack of a UN mandate as well as world
public opinion by invading Iraq under the pretext of searching for weapons of mass
destruction, despite the fact that UN weapon inspectors were regularly reporting great
progress in that direction, and even such ultra-conservative public figures as the Pope
opposed that military invasion.
WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, believe that the huge majority of the world's people are by now
bitterly opposed to neo-con policies, which make a total mockery of the basic principles
of freedom and democracy. We, therefore, propose a framework for true freedom and
democracy, called The Project for the First People's Century, or PFPC, which
advocates policies meant to benefit all peoples of this world, regardless of their
race, creed, nationality, religion, or any other features that still divide humankind.
The hereby advocated principles of The Project for the First People's Century
(PFPC) are as follows:
PFPC advocates the reform of the UN Security Council so that all its members
should be elected by the General Assembly, and the right to veto should be abolished.
PFPC does not recognize any nation as being in a position of "global
leadership," but deems all nations to be equal partners, in accordance with the
principles of the UN charter.
PFPC advocates that all nations which possess weapons of mass destruction
eliminate them under UN supervision, including the nation that first employed such weapons
of mass destruction against helpless civilians in the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.
PFPC condemns any form of terrorism - whether it be the state terrorism
consisting of bombings of other nations and the murder of their civilian population, or
the random terrorism of underground movements that destroy selected civilian targets;
accordingly, PFPC advocates that international courts should deal with all those
responsible for such inhumane acts, regardless of their military rank or political status,
as terrorists who have committed crimes against humanity.
PFPC advocates that the fight against any form of terrorism be entrusted to
special UN agencies, and that UN not allow any nation to appoint itself as an
international policeman in order to advance its own political and economic agenda.
PFPC maintains that all women and men have the equal and inalienable right of
enjoying in a sustainable way the natural wealth offered by the planet Earth, and of
enjoying the material wealth generated by the toil of countless human generations, which
have brought humankind to the present technologically advanced point in its historic
development.
PFPC advocates a worldwide system of participatory democracy, in which all major
political and economic decisions would be made at grass- root levels, thus dispensing with
corrupt politicians and business executives, as well as with other exploiters of the
labour of hardworking women and men.
PFPC advocates the maximum amount of freedom of the individual as long as the
exercise of that freedom does not involve harming other members of society through
physical violence, psychological coercion, economic exploitation, or environmental
degradation.
PFPC anticipates a future in which all national and class distinctions shall
vanish, and humankind will enjoy a better world in which every single child, youth, woman
and man will be able to realize her or his potential as a human being to the fullest
extent possible.
14th May, 2003
Prof. Eduard Prugovecki/ Dr. Róbinson Rojas
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Róbinson Rojas, PFPC Director, Co-editor of RRojas Databank and Puro
Chile. The memory of the People.- UCL, University of London, U. K.
Stéphanie Saumon, Co-editor of RRojas
Databank and Puro Chile. The memory of the people.- School of Oriental and
African Studies, London, U.K.
Ernesto Carmona, Journalist, Editorial LA
HUELLA, Santiago, Chile
Eduard Prugovecki, Professor Emeritus,
University of Toronto, Canada
Dale L. Johnson, Professor of Social
Sciences, Institute of Central American Development Studies, San José, Costa Rica
Andre Gunder Frank, World History Center,
Northeastern University, Boston, MA., U.S.A.
David N. Gibbs, Associate Professor of
History, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, U.S.A.
Susan L. Robertson, EGSE, GENIE
-Globalisation & Europeanisation Network in Education, University of Bristol, U. K.
Arno Tausch, Associate Visiting Professor,
University of Innsbruck, Austria
Jenneth Parker, Education for
Sustainability Programme, London South Bank University, U. K.
W. Warren Wagar, Binghamton University,
SUNY, New York, U.S.A.
Seyed Javad, University of Bristol, U. K.
Rolf Jucker, University of Wales, Swansea,
U. K.
Glen Strachan, EFSP, London South Bank
University, London, U. K.
David Woolcombe, Herts, U. K.
Ruth Mumby, EFSP, London South Bank
University, U. K.
Chanzo Greenidge, Institute of
International Relations, U. K.
Andy Parnell, MSc, Environmental
Activist & Deep Ecologist, U. K.
Anthony Mckeown, NASPIR, U. K.
Ronald Barnett, Professor, Institute of
Education, London, U. K.
Alex Bick, London School of Economics, U.
K.
Yasmine Merican, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Martin Schreader, Chair, Democracy
Commission, Socialist Party USA
Nouria Brikci, School of Oriental and
African Studies, UK
Patricio Arenas, Asociacion Allende
Convocatoria 30 Aniversario, Saint-Denis, France
José Acevedo, Educador deportivo y
responsable de una asociación humanitaria hacia la América latina, Chatillon, France
Gernot Köhler, Ph.D., Sheridan College,
Canada (ret.)
Jonathan De Vore, Miami University, Ohio,
U.S.A.
Antonio Borja Gonzalez, Asesor financiero,
Viña del Mar, Chile
Rodney B- Frazer, BA (Hons), M.Sc.,
London, U.K.
Natalia Contreras, Analista Politico y
Documentalista, Santiago, Chile
Cástulo Martinez, Escritor-Investigador ,
Arica, Chile
Sergio R. Anacona, Translator ,
Barquisimeto, Rep. Bolivariana de Venezuela
Tom Cheesman, Swansea Bay Asylum Seekers
Support Group , Swansea, UK
Ros Wade, Education for Sustainability
Programme, London South Bank University, U. K.
Claudio Ferrufino, Escritor, Colorado,
U.S.A.
Laura Saez Fernandez, traductora, Vigo,
Galicia
Sari Varpama, MSc, Helsinki, Finland
Rosemin Rajmudin, Consultant: development,
global &antiracism education, London, U. K.
Ian Parkin, Teacher, London, U. K.
Mario Novelli, Centre for Studies of
Globalisation, Education and Societies, University of Bristol, England
Stephen Sterling, EFSP, LSBU, London, U.K.
Robley E. George, Center for the Study of
Democratic Societies, California, U.S.A.
Alison Edgley, Faculty of Medicine and
Health Science, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K.
Christian P. Scherrer, Professor at the
Hiroshima Peace Institute (HPI) of Hiroshima City University, Japan
Guillermo Fuica Venegas, Técnico,
Coronel, Chile
María Hidalgo Múgica, Coordinadora de
Comités y Tiendas de Voluntariado, Sede de Madrid, España
Raúl Gutiérrez, Productor Artístico,
Santiago, Chile
Abdul Malik, LSBU, London, U.K.
Anibal Quijano , Centro de Investigaciones
Sociales (CIE), Lima, Peru
Hugh Atkinson, Principal Lecturer in
Politics, LSBU, London, U.K.
Mercedes Zaldumbide Araya, London, U.K.
Miguel Ardiles, civil servant, London,
U.K.
Marisol Rojas Zaldumbide, Customer
Services Unit, London, U.K.
Paula Rubilar Cifuentes, estudiante,
Coronel, Chile
Daniela Manske , Human Rights Activist,
London, U.K.
Alejandra Rojas Zaldumbide , manageress,
London, U.K.
Rachel Pantin , musician, London, U.K.
Mabel Conejero Valencia, Coronel, Chile
Joaquin Ardiles Rojas, Student, London,
U.K.
Adolfo Ibáñez Justicia, Ingeniero de
Montes, Valencia, España
Veronica Caro Garcia, Educadora
Especializada, Chatillon, France
Enzo Acevedo, estudiante, Chatillon,
France
Tim Jones, Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
Mirella Suarez, Virginia, USA
Ricardo Gómez, Ingeniero Industrial,
Madrid, España
Maite Rojas Zaldumbide, London, U.K.
Mauricio Venegas Astorga,
músico-compositor, London, U.K.
Kathleen Tripp, teacher, London, U.K.
Nelson Delgado González, Técnico
Universitario en Mecánica, Coronel, Chile
Manuel Venegas Astorga, Trabajador
Independiente, Lota, Chile
Juana Venegas Victoriano, Coronel, Chile
Eliana Astorga Paz, Coronel, Chile
María Angélica Venegas Astorga, Coronel,
Chile
Charlie Williams, student, Edinburgh,
Scotland
Jorge Peña Cifuentes, estudiante,
Coronel, Chile
Carlos Pinto Vidal, Ingeniero Mecánico,
Trabajador Independiente, Santiago, Chile
Ozgur Tacer, MA Student, Sociology, METU,
Ankara, Turkey
Julio Dávila, UCL, DPU, University of
London, London, U.K.
Theodore Stickley, Faculty of Medicine and
Health Science, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K.
Gloria Ximena Rojas Zaldumbide, Ibiza,
España
María Rosa Suárez Fernández, Ibiza,
España
Margaret Rachelle Loveys, retired CBC
Talent Resource Manager, Toronto, Canada
Dianne Puddicombe, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada
Beverley Parker, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Annie Seguin Aplanalp, enseignante,
Bienne, Suisse
Isabelle Seguin, Paris, France
Jean-Louis Seguin, Agriculteur, Missery,
France
Sabela Fernández Davila, Traductora,
Vigo, Galicia
Roberto Ares Río, Músico, Vigo, Galicia
Consuelo Davila Lorenzo, Maestra, Vigo,
Galicia.
Carlos Alzugaray Treto, Profesor Titular,
Coordinador de Estudios Estratégicos Internacionales, Instituto Superior de Relaciones
Internacionales, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, La Habana, Cuba
María Vázquez, socióloga, Sheffield,
U.K.
Virginia Kennard, Monteverde, Costa Rica
Sean Hurl, Adult literacy worker, Paisley,
Scotland.
Craig Ramsey, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Naomi Alflatt, London, U.K.
Marcelo Torres Arévalo, músico, Coronel,
Chile
Emilio José Chaves, Ingeniero,
investigador en economía, Pasto, Colombia
Kattie Jeison, Assistante Sociale, Paris,
France
Julien Sigalas, Bruxelles, Belgique
Roberto Beltrán Quintana, empleado
público, Santiago, Chile
Ilona Lapinsky, Haiku, Maui, Hawaii
Delmira Suazo, Coronel, VIII Región,
Chile
Arthur G. Broadhurst, retired CEO of
insurance company, Vero Beach, Florida, USA
Nora Belmar Vergara, ingeniero
structural,Coronel, Chile
Thomas C. Rockriver, ironworker , USA
Pablo Ojeda Cárdenas, estudiante , Punta
Arenas, Chile
Rev. Roberto Pineda, pastor luterano,
Bloque Popular Social de El Salvador
Rebecca Hazell, teacher, Oxford, UK
Jenese James, educator, Nelson, New
Zealand
Susan Taylor, pacifist and student of U.S.
interventions, New Zealand
Manoj K. Jha, reader, Department of Social
Work, University of Delhi, India
Victor Jaque A., profesor de Historia y
Ciencias Sociales, San Antonio, Chile
Christian Pose, rédacteur-en-chef de linked222.free.fr,
Paris, France
Malin Carlberg, London, UK.
Geoffrey Holland, School of Social
Sciences and Cultural Studies, University of Sussex, UK
Adriana Evangelizt, poetesse et creatrice
des site engagés, Paris, France
Ahmet Nail Elgun, economist, Istanbul,
Turkey
Jean Ruhlmann, Redacteur pour Altermonde.levillage.org,
France
Jerome Apvrille, student, France
Anyse Joslin, sensible American,
California, USA
Catherine Fentress, postgraduate student,
London, UK
The Reverend John H. Spruhan, The Rosebud Episcopal Mission,
Sicangu Lakota/
Rosebud Reservation, Rosebud, South Dakota, U.S.A.
Walterio Barra
Cabello, Profesor de Estado en Filosofía, Universidad de Chile, Magíster en Filosofía, Experto en Políticas
de Formación Profesional. OIT. Santiago, Chile.
Vahab Sajadi, engineer, Iran.
Sally Hine, Luis Jorba, Sue Correa, David Correa, Manel Franquesa
Voneschen, José Barrera, Colien Honneger, Núria Marin, Núria
Cornet, Carmen Cornet, Marianne Liesenberg, Castelldefels, Prov. de Barcelona, España.
Yolanda Nazar, psicoterapeuta, Mexico
Rev. Susan Davis, First UMC, Endicott, NY,
U.S.A.
Mary Catherine Barton, attorney
at law, Indiana, Indianapolis, USA.
David Persichini, teamwork
facilitator, USA.
Maria Mora, La Massana, Andorra.
Jenese James Belzer, New
Zealand.
Chester Riese, Nebraska, USA.
Anjum Ahmad-Donovan, Canada.
Janice A. Henry, USA.
Lance R. Simcox, retired working
man, Derby, United Kingdom.
If you want to add your name to this
list:
send an email to Dr. Róbinson
Rojas |