Anti-war organizations, peace advocates, and anti-imperialist organizations from 23 countries gathered today for the Resist NATO People’s Summit in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Convened ahead of the upcoming NATO summit, the conference brought together hundreds of participants to denounce NATO’s role in escalating militarism and war.
“The militarization being carried out by the Western powers is a cause for extreme concern and heralds troubled times for world peace,” said Venezuelan Ambassador to the European Union Jorge Valero Briceno.
The keynote speech from Victor Garces, Vice Chairperson of the International League of Peoples Struggle (ILPS) highlighted how “European leaders justify their participation in NATO by saying they have to defend themselves. But this defense should not come at the expense of others…The NATO summit has to face the people. And it is our responsibility to bring truth to power.”
“The Iran-Israel conflict, the genocide in Palestine, the military buildup in the South China Sea, the US troop deployments in the Philippines, and the NATO summit itself are all part of a coordinated imperialist strategy led by the United States and its allies to crush liberation movements and preserve a dying global order,” said Azra Sayeed, Executive Director of Roots for Equity based in Pakistan.
Workshops and plenary sessions tackled a wide range of topics from solidarity for the Palestinian struggle, youth and student organizing, US-NATO’s pivot to Asia and Indo-Pacific agenda, to military spending and austerity measures.
“Gaza is a warning that NATO will exterminate its enemies,” warned Chris de Ploeg, arguing that the “West’s policies are aimed at conserving the interests of the wealthy.”
The counter-summit’s unity statement called NATO as a US imperialist weapon against its perceived enemies and subjugation of anti-imperialist nations. It called for unity against US-NATO aggression, provocation and plunder, and expressed support for countries and peoples fighting for national liberation and asserting sovereignty against NATO-aligned interventions.
The People’s Summit also condemned the ongoing US-backed genocide in Gaza and continuing US support of the “age-old imperialist narrative of ‘preemptive strikes’ against ‘potential nuclear warfare’ – particularly justifying the Israeli attacks against Iran.”
“The fight against NATO is the fight against capitalism. People are done with war politics and our task is to make revolution possible,” said Rebekka Timmer from Bij1 based in the Netherlands.
“NATO is a huge monster. And in order to defeat this monster, we need millions upon millions to rise up. The answer lies in the people’s resistance,” concluded Sayeed.
Delegates and participants of The People’s Summit will participate in anti-NATO demonstrations at The Hague tomorrow.
