STATEMENT FOR THE PRESS

CREATING STABILITY AND PEACE IN NORTHERN IRELAND - NEW PROPOSALS FROM NATURAL LAW PARTY CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR OF LONDON

London, 4 February 2000:

With the future of Northern Ireland again hanging in the balance and violent crime on the rise throughout the country, Dr Geoffrey Clements, Natural Law Party leader and candidate for Mayor of London, has called on the government to use a more fundamental approach to eliminate the threat of violence.

"The recent violent events in the news in the UK, and the release of figures showing a general increase in violent crime, clearly bring home that regulations already in place, such as the restriction of gun sales, do not effectively control violence," Dr Clements said. "Likewise, Prime Minister Tony Blair’s move to suspend the Northern Ireland Assembly unless decommissioning proceeds will not help in any way to secure peace. Negotiations, peace accords or decommissioning can never ultimately safeguard peace, because violence begins with the rise of individual and collective stress. The demands of modern living have placed great stress on all members of society. Without a means to relieve stress, no political initiative or regulation will succeed in controlling violence or social unrest anywhere in the UK".

Reducing stress is the key to control violence

Dr Clements emphasised that proven solutions to reduce stress and tension in society are already available and are the only way forward. For example, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Transcendental Meditation and Yogic Flying have been used with great effect to reduce violence in situations as diverse as Middle East troubles spots, civil conflict in Mozambique, and inner city schools in the USA. "These programmes have worked instantly because stress - the very basis of violence - is dissolved through the influence of Transcendental Meditation and Yogic Flying. Repeatedly we have offered these programmes to the government and presented the published research studies confirming the development of a harmonious, integrated society, but they have chosen to ignore the evidence," he said.

The need for education that develops the full potential of the human brain

Dr Clements added that education should play a key role in reducing stress. "Education should teach children how to maintain a balanced state of mental and physical health and how to unfold the full creative genius of the human mind," he said. "Through proper education it is possible to develop life free from stress - a life of achievement, happiness, and harmony. The Maharishi School in West Lancashire provides an example of such an ideal education system. The school consistently performs at the top of the national academic tables, and its pupils have won numerous academic and artistic awards. The pupils themselves express the joy and happiness that education should offer. This example shows the way forward for education in Northern Ireland, London, and Great Britain as a whole. How can anyone expect a lasting influence of peace anywhere in society unless stress is dissolved and the human brain is fully developed?"