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30
No Yoko, No Yoko...
An open letter to Yoko Ono
Your official theories on the nature of
conflict, which are wrong, have rendered
your rhetoric uninformative and politically
spineless. Ignoring Iceland’s history, its
local dissidents and peace-movement, you
have given a number of heavily corrupted
industrialists and officials a chance to clean
up their image at the same time as you've
reinforced and promoted some deplor-
able misconceptions regarding Icelandic
society.
Peace and love
There are two kinds of peace: tranquillity
and the absence of violence. Contrary to
popular belief, they aren't necessarily con-
nected. Their only common denominator
is anti-militarism. Nothing else, not even a
wish for world-peace.
Some are driven by their spiritual be-
liefs. There's nothing wrong with that, but
for the sake of informed discourse, political
directness and solidarity, one should refrain
from making a personal belief system the
focus-point of activism. In the documentary
'Imagine Peace' by Ari Alexander Ergis
Magnússon, you describe today’s major
conflicts as a race between those who try
to destroy the world and the others who try
to cover the earth with love. This sugges-
tion is useless, unfounded and oversimpli-
fied.
The physical reality of war can be
independent of the participants’ feelings.
One may kill without anger or hate and
spare lives without love or forgiveness. The
one thing that's imperative to every conflict
resolution is not love, but mercy—even
when it's cold, tactical or reluctant.
All-out mercy is a political decision. To
materialise (rather than imagine) that deci-
sion is the common goal of this movement,
not unified spirituality. Imagine no religion—
don't mystify the cause.
Upside down
An influential peace-activist should analyse
the work of their collaborators before
inviting them to pose as 'dreamers' in
public ceremonies. In a 2010 interview with
'Inspired By Iceland' you explained that you
found it logical to build the Peace Tower in
Iceland. Besides and beyond the old 'green
energy' hogwash, your reasoning was
more profound.
“At the map,” you explained, “Iceland is
on the top, on the north. North is wisdom
and power and the power of wisdom goes
all the way down, it spreads [...]. [The
tower] communicates awareness to the
whole world that peace and love is what
connects all life on earth.”
You concluded: “Thank you Iceland and
Icelanders for being what you are—a family
of wisdom.”
I lack the words to share the way I felt
when I heard this so I will instead try and
deconstruct the idea that Iceland should be
connected to environmentalism and peace.
Far from being renewable, Icelandic
geothermal- and hydropower is be-
ing over-harvested for heavy industry
throughout the highlands with a negative
impact on their ecosystems and land-
scapes. Reykjavík Energy, which provides
the Peace Tower with electricity, is at the
forefront of this exploitation, selling power
to international aluminium corporations,
which in turn sell metal for arms manufac-
turing, which inevitably leads to ecocides,
economic hits and murders.
As for the Icelandic state, it is a member
of NATO and regularly hosts its extensive
military exercises. It has no army, but was
occupied in 1940 and has since resisted
demilitarization. It deploys 'peace keepers'
in Afghanistan who have claimed the lives
of at least two unarmed citizens and sup-
ported the US invasion into Iraq.
No country
During October 5-9, 2007, the parliament
hosted the annual meeting of the NATO
congress with around 730 representatives
attending. It was the biggest meeting it had
ever hosted. On the 8th, a tiny group of
protesters flashed a banner reading 'Check
this Yoko' in hopes of bringing attention
to the abstraction of inviting the hosts of
conspiring warlords to sing 'Give Peace a
Chance' in memory of your pacifist hus-
band on the Peace Tower's grand opening
the following night.
Your ceremony completely overshad-
owed the war-conference that preceded
it and put Reykjavík on the map as an
assemblage point for pacifism. It bugs me
to witness this absurdity and be unable to
do anything about it.
Others feel differently. During the 2009
InDefence campaign (of nationalists out-
raged by British use of anti-terrorist legisla-
tions during Iceland’s financial meltdown),
several photos of the tower were sent to
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to
demonstrate the non-terrorist nature of the
Icelandic people.
In early 2008, the Office of the Prime
Minister published an extensive report on
the image of Iceland, suggesting ways to
shape and promote a suitable image to
attract tourists, encourage investment and
maintain respect in international politics. Its
main finding was that the words “peace,”
“strength” and “freedom” were to be the
pillars of Iceland’s image. To promote this
idea internationally, government-funded
campaigns like Promote Iceland’s Inspired
By Iceland were started.
Thus, the Peace Tower reflects Icelan-
dic nationalism the way it is understood,
practiced and sold today. Lacking all re-
cord of resistance, unity or achievements,
this ideology seeks to portray the nation as
cute rather than mighty and capitalises on
values like peace despite its voluntary affili-
ation with some of the deadliest campaigns
and unions of modern history.
Give peace a chance
It's a lot to ask. To show mercy regardless
of a situation must take a most painful self-
restraint. I wouldn't expect it of war-torn
people. I wouldn't expect it of you.
Yes, John was shot down like a victim
of war and I cannot imagine the pain. The
pain people must face to give peace a
chance. I sympathise with any resentment
for Mark David Chapman. But I also know
that based on what he saw as God’s will,
he ignored his defence lawyers, refused to
defend himself and read a passage from
'The Catcher in the Rye' during his court
case. He is insane and 32 years later, he's
still in prison; a pit of demoralisation and
physical violence, hell-bent on destroying
its subjects. Seven times he's been denied
parole, partly because of your objections.
Peace is mercy materialised and here
lies your most challenging opportunity to
confront violence, not for a moral high-
ground but for a less brutal conclusion
of a war that is real in matter as in spirit.
For Mark, and the world, it would set an
example far more relevant than claiming
that your love is limitless and unconditional.
I respectfully suggest that you call for his
release or transfer to a mental facility.
I also urge you to publicly deconstruct
the myths that surround Iceland’s image
that you've helped to spread. At last I ask
you, not out of contempt, but concern, to
turn off the Peace Tower. To rid Iceland of
this false testament to its moral superiority
that is built on folly and error in memory of
a man who will never be forgotten.
How do you reply?
Dear Yoko, as my hometown hosts your artwork 'Imagine Peace Tower' and the 'Lennon-
Ono Peace Awards' ceremony, I feel compelled to offer some constructive criticism.
I never liked militarism. At one point, when I was about 14, I was fascinated with the
way you and John campaigned against it. Not anymore. You made a few good points,
but I fear that many of your actions have critically skewed and ridiculed the subject and
that they will continue to do so until you seriously rethink your entire approach.
Opinion | The Peace Tower
Issue 15 — 2013 Art
Haukur Hilmarsson
works part time for the
social service in Reykjavík
Steinunn Gunnlaugsdóttir