CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL MOBILIZATION AGAINST US MILITARY BASES IN CENTRAL EUROPE. NO TO ANTI-MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM!
CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL MOBILIZATION AGAINST US MILITARY BASES IN CENTRAL EUROPE. NO TO ANTI-MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM! Czytelnik CIA, Œro, 2007-12-05 00:19 English
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The Campaign against Militarism, Poles for a Referendum, the Anarchist Federation and other groups are calling for a large-scale mobilization against the installation of missiles and the building of the US base in Poland. The action, called for March 29, can be seen as part of a larger anti-militarist struggle which is taking place throughout Europe, including the NATO Game Over action to be held in Brussels on March 22 and the anti-NATO Summit to take place in Bucharest at the beginning of April. Let's come together and show that we are not indifferent to the politics of militarism!
Over the past forty five years, the US has been developing various missile defense systems in its pursuit of global military domination. The basic idea is to combine satellite technology with the use of anti-ballistics missiles (ABMs)which would counter first strike missile attacks. The most famous of the US projects was SDI, Reagan's infamous "Star Wars" program. Its current incarnation, the US National Missile Defense Program, is being sold to the world as a necessary element in the "war against terror". The US claims that, in order to protect itself from missile attacks from such "rogue states" like Iran, it needs to install elements of its anti-missile defense system on bases in Europe. Most notably, it wants to build two bases in Central Europe, one in the Czech Republic to house radars, and another in Poland to house missiles with nuclear warheads.
Much of the negotiations are done in secret, despite demands of citizens and even some political parties to hold a public referendum on the issue of US bases. The system is being heavily sold to the public but without providing reliable information. The US and its cronies fail to address the fact that in tests of the system, first strike missiles and not always intercepted, meaning that the system does not provide total safety. They fail to mention that the system is vulernable to other types of strikes, for example from the sea. They talk about all the "rogue states" in the "axis of evil" that these missiles are supposed to be protecting people against but fail to mention that the bases are really useless against missiles that might be shot from North Korea since the trajectory would be different. (Since North Korea doesn't have long-range missiles anyway, it's a moot point.) It also does not address certain issues such as what happens if a weapon with a nuclear warhead is shot down.
Critics of the missile bases have maintained that housing the bases may actually increase the likelihood of attack on the countries that houses them as well as creating new geopolitical problems. It is often noted that these missiles may be used for offensive, as well as defensive purposes. In the concrete case of Poland, the buildup of missiles, including nuclear missiles, on the borders of Poland in Kaliningrad and Belarus are a direct result to the possible location of the missiles in Poland. The location of these bases in Poland and the Czech Republic may signal the beginning of a whole new arms race.
The militarization of Europe, the new arms race, the imperative to develop new military technology serves the interests of the state and the military industrial complex, but not normal people. Attacks and hostility between civilians are symptomatic of the sick policies of states and profiteers. A long-term solution to such conflicts cannot be found by bombing people in submission, by military force and intimidation.
The Campaign against Militarism, Poles for a Referendum, the Anarchist Federation and other groups are calling for a large-scale mobilization against the installation of missiles and the building of the US base in Poland. The action, called for March 29, can be seen as part of a larger anti-militarist struggle which is taking place throughout Europe, including the NATO Game Over action to be held in Brussels on March 22 and the anti-NATO Summit to take place in Bucharest at the beginning of April. Let's come together and show that we are not indifferent to the politics of militarism!
STOP THE SHIELD ACTION IN POLAND
The action in Poland will take place mainly in the city of Slupsk, near the Baltic Sea Cost. They want to build the base in Redzikowo, 4 kms. from the city. We will go to this town for some direct actions but also will do some things in Slupsk. To follow up, we would like to hold some public and activist meetings in other, larger cities nearby Slupsk, namely Szczecin and Gdansk.
A meeting for planning the actions will take place on Jan 19th in Silesia, in the south of Poland. For people who would like to take part in planning the actions, we invite you. Please write to us if you would like to come and we can send you information on how to get there. We suspect that some people may also want to continue planning on the next day but this will depend on how many people can stay into the afternoon.
Many details have not been set yet, but we suspect that there will be room for people who want to take place in different types of activities, for both those who want to engage in the direct actions and those who want to limit their participation to other activities such as meetings and a protest march.
CURRENT SITUATION WITH THE POLISH BASE AND CHANCE FOR SUCCESS
Currently, the situation with the Polish base in Redzikowo is up in the air, which increases our chances of getting the message across. There is still a chance that the base will not get built and a determined opposition to it will only help those chances.
The former government(s) of Poland led by the SLD and then PiS were determined to have the bases on Polish territory and to lead pro-US policy but some people in the new government is not so certain. More importantly, the tide is changing in the US. Democrats in the House of Representatives voted to cut funds for building this base in Poland. Without allocation of the funds, the base won't get built. As the main proponents of such military investments have tended to be Bush, his cabinet and cronies in the military industry, there are some chances that the new government next year may reconsider this strategy. In any case, during the election year when the Democrats (falsely) present themselves as some less militaristic alternative, international voices against the proposed bases are more likely to be heard as issues such as these are on the political agenda and people are looking for a change in US military policy.
YOU CAN SUPPORT THIS ACTION ALSO BY TRANSLATING THIS CALL AND/OR SPREADING IT IN YOUR LOCAL NETWORKS.
SAY NO TO MILITARISM! SUPPORT THE ANTI-MILITARIST ACTIONS IN EUROPE: March 22, NATO Game over in Brussels March 29-30 STOP THE SHIELD! Actions against the US Anti-Missile Shield/ US Base in Poland April 2 – 4 ANTI-NATO SUMMIT PROTESTS IN BUCHAREST
E-mail: tarcza@bzzz.net www. tarcza.org Anti-Missile Shield Page (Only in Polish. English shortly!) www.vredesactie.be NATO Game Over http://contra-doxa.com/ Page of Romanian Activists
