No to War
No to NATO Bases │ No to the Defence Missile Shield │ No to Arms Race│
Disarmament – Welfare Not Warfare │ Refugees Welcome Here │ Solidarity with peace and anti-war movements
The next NATO summit is planned to take place in Warsaw on 8-9 July. This summit will be held during a period of wars, heightened global instability and conflict. The wars raged by the West in the Middle East and Afghanistan have left hundreds of thousands dead; destroyed these countries’ infrastructure and ruined the conditions for political stability and social peace. The terrorism that has spread around the world is a terrible legacy of these conflicts. Millions of refugees have been forced to flee their homes in search of a safe place for them and their families to live. And when they reach the shores of Europe and the USA, they often meet hostility and racism from those very countries that started the wars from which they are escaping.
The promise of peaceful Europe in a peaceful world that was developed after the end of the Cold War has failed. One of the reasons is the enlargement of the NATO to the east. We are presently in the middle of a new East-West arms race, seen clearly in the area of Central and Eastern Europe. The war in the east of Ukraine, in which thousands have lost their lives, is a terrible example of this rivalry. The proposals of NATO to expand further to the East further threaten to escalate this conflict. The proposals of the present Polish government to station permanent NATO bases in Poland and build a new Missile Defence Shield in the country would not guarantee the country’s safety but rather place it on the frontline of these new hostilities. NATO is urging all member states to rise its military spending to at least 2% of GDP. Not only will this intensify the arms race in the world, but it will mean that during a time of economic austerity more funds will move from welfare to war. When the governments and Generals meet in Warsaw in July an alternative voice must be heard. A coalition of the peace and anti-war movements in Poland and internationally plan to hold a number of events during the NATO summit in Warsaw:
– On Friday 8 July we shall hold a conference bringing together the organisations and activists of the peace and anti-war movements. This will be an opportunity to discuss and debate alternatives to the policies of militarisation and war being proposed by NATO. In the evening we shall hold a large public meeting. We already have a number of prominent speakers (both international and from Poland) confirmed, including former Colonel Ann Wright, Maite Mola, and Tarja Cronberg.
– On Saturday we will take our protest to the streets of Warsaw to express our opposition to the NATO summit.
– On the Saturday evening a cultural/social event will be held.
– On Sunday a meeting of peace activists and organisations will be held to give us a chance to discuss our further cooperation and activity in the pursuit of a peaceful world.
We invite you to participate and urge you to mobilise for this important event. If you wish more information or have any suggestions or questions please write to us: info@no-to-nato.org / www.no-to-nato.org.
Our goal is a world without war and nuclear weapons. We are fighting to overcome NATO through the politics of common security and disarmament and solidarity with global peace, anti-war & anti-militaristic movements.
International Network No to War – No to NATO, Stop the War Initiative Poland, Social Justice Movement Poland, Warsaw Anarchist Federation, Workers Democracy Poland
Program of Alternative Summit (as of March 17)
Friday July 8th
12:00 opening of the alternative summit
– NN Poland
– Kristine Karch, No to War – No to NATO
12:15 – 14:00 Plenary: Why we are against NATO
– NN Poland
– Ludo de Brabander, vrede, Belgium
– Kate Hudson, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, GB
– Joseph Gerson, American Friends Service Committee, USA
– Natalie Gauchet, Mouvement de la Paix, France
– Claudia Haydt, Information Centre Militarization, Germany
– Tatiana Zdanoka, MEP, Green Party, Latvia (tbc)
LUNCH
15:00 – 17:00 Working groups
– Military spending
– Nuclear weapons and weapons in space
– How to overcome the war against terror?
– Militarization and women rights
19:00 Public event: Peace politics in Europe – for a Europe of peace and social justice, for a common security
– Barbara Lee, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, USA (video message)
– Ann Wright, former Colonel of the US army, USA
– Maite Mola, Vice President of the European Left, Spain
– Reiner Braun, International Peace Bureau/ IALANA, Germany
– NN Poland
– NN Russia
– Tarja Cronberg, former MEP, Green Party, Finland
Saturday July 9th
– Demonstration
– Peace gathering: exchange of information and lesson learnt from peace movements in Europe
– Cultural evening event
Sunday July 10th
9:30 till 11:00 Special forum on refugees, migration and wars
Introduction: Lucas Wirl, No to War – No to NATO
11.30 till 13:30 How to come to peace in Europe? Ideas for strategy
With 10 minute introduction
13:30 END, Afterwards: common lunch
REGISTRATION and further information: info@no-to-nato.org
