Yes to peace! No to NATO!

Yes to peace! No to NATO!

No to the NATO warmonger summit in London

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization - NATO - on 3 and 4 December, will hold a summit in London, marking once again the 70th anniversary of the establishment of this warmongering political-military bloc.

As in previous summits, much will be said about 'peace' and 'security', but the decisions that will be taken will reveal increased military spending, new and more sophisticated armaments, militarism and war.

Since its formation in 1949, which included Portugal, then under a fascist dictatorship, NATO has been an instrument at the service of the United States foreign policy and its military-industrial complex.

Over the decades, NATO has been responsible for and has supported coups d'état, wars of aggression and military occupations - as in Cyprus, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan or Libya - and is responsible for a huge legacy of death, suffering and destruction by millions of homeless and refugees.

NATO is not a 'defensive' organization, it is an aggressively-oriented political-military bloc that grants itself the 'right' to intervene militarily anywhere in the world, under any pretext, in violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter. and international law, which should govern relations between countries and safeguard the sovereignty and rights of peoples.

NATO is the most serious threat to peace and security in the world:

• The overwhelming majority of foreign bases and military installations in the world are from USA/NATO (around 1,000)
• 29 NATO members account for more than half of total world military spending; taking over the US $ 700 billion in 2019, more than a third of the total;
• NATO follows the US Nuclear Doctrine, which allows for a so-called 'pre-emptive' first nuclear strike, including against states that do not have such weapons;
• USA/NATO have been reinforcing modern military bases, fleets, contingents and forces near the borders of Russia and China, exacerbating tension in eastern Europe and the Far East;
• the process of militarization of the European Union constitutes itself as the 'European pillar' of NATO, sharing its bellicose purposes;
• through subsquent enlargements, partnerships and agreements, NATO has extended its influence and area of intervention throughout the world;
• USA/NATO are responsible for the militarization of space and 'cyberspace' and the escalation in the military use of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI);
• NATO supported the US decision to withdraw from the INF Treaty, which poses a serious threat to peace.

Portugal must be by the side of peace and disarmament!

Portugal must reject militarism, arms race, war, including the participation of Portuguese armed forces in aggression against other peoples.

Respecting the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, Portuguese Government must:

- to strive for national independence, peaceful settlement of international conflicts, non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, cooperation with all other peoples for the emancipation and progress of humanity;

- advocate the abolition of imperialism, colonialism and all other forms of aggression, domination and exploitation in relations between peoples, as well as the general simultaneous and controlled disarmament, the dissolution of the political-military blocs and the establishment of a security system order to establish an international order capable of ensuring peace and justice in relations between peoples.

Nowadays, the struggle for peace, sovereignty, democracy and the rights of the peoples is pressing.

A new confrontation that would have catastrophic consequences for humanity must be avoided!

However strong those who bet on war, it is not inevitable. It is up to the peoples of the world, united in a broad and active movement in defense of peace and disarmament, to stop them!

The subscribing organizations call for participation in the actions that will take place in Lisbon and Porto, on the 3rd and 4th of December 2019, under the slogan Yes to Peace! No to NATO !, and reaffirm the importance of upholding the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter and Article 7 of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic - sovereignty, peace, cooperation - certain that these remain the best they serve the cause of peace and the aspirations of humanity.

 Consistently, they require:

• thedissolution of NATO;

• the end of the aggression wars promoted by NATO and its members;

• the abolition of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction;

• the signing and ratification of the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty by the Portuguese authorities;

• the dismantling of the THAAD anti-missile system that the US/NATO has installed, notably in Europe and Asia;

• the rejection of the militarization of space;

• the reversal of the militarization process of the European Union;

• the end of the arms race and the use of funds to solve the problems that plague people;

• general, simultaneous and controlled disarmament;

• the end of the use of new technologies for military purposes;

• the defense of the principles enshrined in the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic and in the Charter of the United Nations and international law, with  particular significance when the 45th anniversary of the April Revolution is marked

Subscriber Organizations (so far):

1.    Associação Água Pública

2.    Associação de Amizade Portugal - Cuba

3.    Associação Intervenção Democrática (ID)

4.    Associação Portuguesa de Amizade e Cooperação Iúri Gagárin

5.    Coletivo Andorinha - Frente Democrática Brasileira de Lisboa

6.    Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores Portugueses - Intersindical Nacional (CGTP-IN)

7.    Confederação Nacional de Reformados, Pensionistas e Idosos (MURPI)

8.    Confederação Portuguesa de Quadros Técnicos e Científicos

9.    Conselho Português para a Paz e Cooperação (CPPC)

10. Ecolojovem - Os Verdes

11. Federação dos Sindicatos de Transportes e Comunicações

12. Federação Intersindical das Indústrias Metalúrgicas, Químicas, Eléctricas, Farmacêutica, Celulose, Papel, Gráfica, Imprensa, Energia e Minas

13. Federação Nacional de Sindicatos de Trabalhadores em Funções Públicas e Sociais

14. Federação Portuguesa dos Sindicatos de Comércio, Escritórios e Serviços

15. Frente Anti-Racista (FAR)

16. Fundação José Saramago

17. Inter-Reformados / CGTP-IN

18. Juventude Comunista Portuguesa (JCP)

19. Movimento Democrático de Mulheres (MDM)

20. Movimento pelos Direitos do Povo Palestino e pela Paz no Médio Oriente (MPPM)

21. Sindicato dos Trabalhadores do Comércio, Escritórios e Serviços de Portugal

22. Sindicato dos Trabalhadores do Município de Lisboa

23. União dos Sindicatos de Lisboa

24. União dos Sindicatos do Distrito de Leiria

The source of this piece is the Portuguese version of Pravda.Ru, translation by Flávio Gonçalves from the original Portuguese translation by Luisa de Vasconcellos

Photo: Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9910781