Accusing the US and other countries of militarising their "economy", Martin Luther King III on Tuesday said nations must work with "increasing dedication" to put an end to war and invest resources in ending poverty and protecting earth from ravages of man-made destruction.
"It's not just the US. Many other countries have militarized economies, even though they are technically not at war. They too are neglecting millions of poor people by squandering their national wealth on weapons of death and destruction," the civil rights activist said.
Martin Luther King III said he opposed the US' involvement in the war in Iraq and that these tragedies are made possible by the violence of the comfortable and the convenient.
"There is a direct connection between the politics of war and militarism on the one hand and political ambition and social neglect on the other. We can't afford to tolerate ill-considered policies that replace diplomacy and peaceful conflict-resolution with elective war," he said.
Quoting UNICEF, King III pointed out that there are more than 1 billion children living in poverty in the world.
"If we are truly be followers of Mahatma Gandhi and King Jr., we must work with increasing dedication to put an end to war and militarism and invest our resources in saving our children, ending poverty and protecting mother earth from the ravages of man-made destruction," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"If we are truly be followers of Mahatma Gandhi and King Jr., we must work with increasing dedication to put an end to war and militarism and invest our resources in saving our children, ending poverty and protecting mother earth from the ravages of man-made destruction," he said.
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