From April 3rd - 5th, Strasbourg will host the summit to celebrate the 60th anniversary of NATO and to define a strategic military plan for its nuclear expansion.
Citizens of Strasbourg are under curfew. Many are obliged to show a magnetic card, assigned to them to allow them to reach their own neighbourhoods.
In addition, those who had displayed the rainbow peace flag on their own balconies or in their own windows have been forced to remove them - in accordance to a directive that arrived from the US.
Is this the security that we want?
During the last 10 years, we've seen the continual attempts of NATO to expand up to the borders of the Russian Federation - which in its turn responds with the announcement of a massive rearmament programme to start in 2011. This is the confirmation that the arms race is returning to the Cold War levels.
The European peace movements present in Strasbourg say:
with demonstrations, nonviolent civil disobedience and an alternative summit in which women's peace movements including the European Women in Black and many other pacifist networks are participating
The Women in Black groups in Naples and Turin have prepared documents for the summit. Click:to read their contributions.
This year, world military spending is set to reach 1500 billion dollars, 45% more than in 1998. The front runners are the NATO countries, whose total spending accounts for around three quarters of global war business. The policies of the EU are ever more tightly linked to those of NATO and this feeds rearmament, militarisation, "security" policies" and the idea of "Fortress Europe”.
Italy?
According to NATO, Italian military spending in 2008 topped 30 billion dollars and according to SIPRI, on the basis of per capita spending, Italy ranks fifth in the world.
From 2006 to 2008, the increase in Italian military spending exceeded 21%. In spite of article 11 of the constitution, Italy is among those principally responsible for the increase in global military spending: an enormous quantity of public money destined to arms, military mission dressed up as peace missions, military bases, international military agreements.
Today, in the midst of the global economic crisis
There's no money:
For schools, universities, research, health care’, the environment, employment, social spending,justice .....
But for military spending YES
- For the project to built and buy 131 JSF fighter bombers (costing 15 billion up to 2026)
- The new US base at Vicenza (37% of the costs to be borne by Italian taxpayers.)
This distribution of resources, accompanied by a total silence from the media is a choice of social irresponsibility that will generate insecurity and injustice.
Security based on the military option and on repression does not reassure us. For us, security means living in a welcoming world, founded on co-responsibility, solidarity, respect, and mutual recognition. Only in this way is it possible to build peace.
Those at the top sayPeace and war
Are of different substance.
Their peace and their war
are like wind and storm.
War grows from their peace
Like the son from the mother.
He bears her frightful features.
Their war kills
What has survived their peace.
(Berthold Brecht)
