I have just heard the terrible news concerning the proposal to site a radar tower near to the Peace Monument on the battlefield of Austerlitz.

As President of the European Napoleonic Society, I feel that I may speak for our many hundreds of members throughout the Continent who are dedicated to honourably preserving the memory of those many thousands of brave men of the Napoleonic period who have made the supreme sacrifice to help to create the modern European Society.

We do not glorify war, and the fact that the monument on this, the site of one of Europe’s most tragic conflicts, is dedicated to Peace is very significant.

I am sure that militarists can justify the need for “surveillance” on the grounds of keeping us all safe from those “enemies” whoever they may be.

I can accept that this may be a necessary evil.

They will also argue that such installations are in the cause of “peace” , but I am sure that most of our members would feel very saddened at what I would see as little more than a desecration.

I can only hope that some compromise may be reached which saves such an action.

Sincerely,

David Banks
President European Napoleonic Society.