The Marxist-Leninist Daily

On April 4, following the militant demonstrations in London against the anti-people policies of the G-20, mass protests took place in Strasbourg, France and Kehl, Germany to denounce the NATO summit held in those cities as well as in many other European cities and countries of the world including Canada. Demonstrations denounced the 60th anniversary of the aggressive military alliance as 60 years too many. Foremost at every demonstration was the demand for an immediate end to the occupation of Afghanistan and the need to dismantle NATO. The collective experience of the world's people with NATO and its crimes was reflected in the slogans, banners and signs at the demonstrations, expressing people's refusal to accept the deadly conception of NATO as a force for peace or security, including its further expansion into eastern Europe and Asia. Neither are the people fooled by the glossy showmanship of U.S. President Barack Obama, and they are persisting in their struggles based on the conviction that their security lies only in their own struggles for national sovereignty and against U.S. imperialism.

In this issue, TML is posting photos from the demonstrations against NATO, war and occupation from Canada and around the world.

In Canada, rallies, marches and other actions were held in at least 14 cities to once again express the profound opposition of Canadians to Canada's role in Afghanistan, its membership in NATO and demand the immediate return of all Canadian troops and the dismantling of the aggressive alliance.

Montreal

In Montreal, some 250 people took to the streets as part of the worldwide day of action against NATO. Demonstrators shouted slogans such as "NATO is war! Sixty years is enough!"; "Troops out of Afghanistan now!"; "Harber, Obama, NATO, Out of Afghanistan!" amongst others. Military recruitment was also denounced with the slogans: "The army wants cannon fodder, the youth say no!" and "Canadian Army out of our schools!" The action marched through the downtown to the Guy Favreau Complex where some federal offices are located. Here, speakers denounced Canada's foreign policy and its fraudulent development aid to Afghanistan. The danger posed by NATO to the world's peoples and the need to remain vigilant with the election of Barack Obama in the U.S. was highlighted. The increase in Canada's military budget to the detriment of education, healthcare and other social programs at a time of severe economic, political and environmental crisis was firmly denounced, while affirming the desire of the people for a Canada that is a force for genuine peace in the world.

Bottom right: "60 years of NATO: terrorism; bourgeois dictate; coups d'etat; killings; torture;
war crimes; crimes against humanity. NATO, 60 years too much!"

Toronto

A spirited rally with close to five hundred people in attendance was held in Toronto on April 4 to demand that the Canadian government bring all its troops home from Afghanistan now. Speakers at the rally repeatedly condemned the Harper government for continuing its policy of support for military aggression against the will of the Canadian people. They particularly denounced the Canadian government's participation in the plans of NATO to strengthen its occupation force in Afghanistan. A call was given for Canadians to stand with the fighting people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and all other countries who are struggling against imperialist war and aggression. Chuck Wylie, a war resister who recently left the U.S. military after 17 years of service, recounted how his experience in the Middle East lead him to conclude that it was the occupation forces that were the terrorists. He encouraged all Canadians to ensure that "Canada is a refuge from militarism and not an instrument of terror."

On April 4 as part of the global day of action against war, Calgarians gathered for a picket at Tompkins Park. Throughout the action, banners and signs demanding that Canada get out of NATO and that NATO get out of Afghanistan were held high getting the attention of passers-by on 17th Avenue SW. Cars honked their horns in support and pedestrians stopped to discuss the war in Afghanistan. Handbills were given out to people who passed by and TML was distributed. Collette Lemieux speaking on behalf of the Canadian Peace Alliance, highlighted the necessity to end the occupation now so that Afghans can have self-determination and bring about a bright future for themselves. She denounced the hypocrisy of Canada's supposed support for women's rights in Afghanistan, and the fact that a "surge" in the number of troops will only make matters worse.

Discussion centred around the role of Canadian forces in Afghanistan and the urgent need to withdraw and to respect Afghanistan's right to self-determination, as well as the aggressive role played by NATO since it's inception, up to the present day military occupation of Afghanistan. As the discussion developed, it also turned more and more towards the necessity to redirect funds currently being used for imperialist war to further the well-being of the people.

On April 4 in New York City, 10,000 people marched on Wall Street to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and to demand a larger investment in the needs of U.S. communities, and also to commemorate Martin Luther King’s 1967 "Beyond Vietnam" speech (42 years ago to the date). Organized labour, war veterans, students, immigrant rights groups, military families, faith-based people, women's groups and community organizations took part in the action. Rev. James Lawson, a co-worker of Dr. King spoke before the start of the march: "In the spirit of Dr. King and the movement for equality and justice of the fifities and sixties, I say if we want peace to blossom, we must eradicate poverty, racism, sexism, violence, and greed in the U.S. Peace cannot come by crying peace. Peace can only begin to emerge when justice does." On the issue of the "stimulus" package of the U.S. government, Lawson pointed out, "The greatest impetus for stimulus to the economy is that those 90 million people receive wages that would allow them to sustain themselves and their families. Nothing would be more explosive than that kind of stimulus."

The march was lead by Lawson along with Perry O'Brien of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Rev. Brad Braxton of Riverside Church, and Youth & Militarism Organizer for Fellowship of Reconciliation, Shauen Pearce, behind a banner reading "Beyond War, A New Economy Is Possible" -- the ongoing campaign of march organizer United for Peace and Justice to link war and the economy. Behind them were veterans and military families holding a banner reading "End the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan!"

The demonstrators marched past the Federal Reserve building, surrounded the New York Stock Exchange, and ended in Battery Park for a Peace and Justice Fair.

Reports inform that 40,000 people from across Europe and around the world converged in Strasbourg, France and Baden Baden and Kehl, Germany to oppose the NATO Summit jointly hosted by the two NATO members and the organization's plans to intensify its occupation of Afghanistan. The militant mass actions, counter summit and other events organized to oppose the summit followed months of organizing, training and preparations as well as other protests against NATO. The main call of these actions was "No to NATO, No to War" with the sentiment that 60 years of NATO is 60 years too many and that the aggressive alliance should be dismantled.

In Strasbourg on April 2, protestors reported an increase in tension with the security forces put in place for the summit when one man was shot by rubber bullets during demonstrations. Later in the day, mass arrests of some 300 people took place, while protestors as well as any peace signs were barred from the city centre and public transport to the anti-NATO campsite to the south of Strasbourg was cut off. Nonetheless, organizers stated they would continue attempts to derail the summit by blocking roads and marching into the city to challenge the security cordon. According to news reports, police stated that most of those arrested on April 2 were released the following day. On April 4 at the main action against NATO, thousands of demonstrators massed on both sides of the France-Germany border. Demonstrators blocked a tram route taking journalists to the summit venue, with one stating: "We are near the congress centre ... It is a first victory for us because President [Nicolas] Sarkozy said that he didn't want to see demonstrators on the street." As some demonstrators tried crossing a bridge into Germany, they were initially blocked by French police and then by German police on the other side. Barricades were set-up by protestors along the streets and an empty border post and a local hotel were set on fire. Many arrests took place. Some participants were of the opinion that property damage was carried out by suspected agents provocateurs as deliberate provocations to justify the use of force and discredit the movement and its just aims of ending war and occupation and the dismantling of NATO.

U.S. President Obama continued from the summit on his first European tour to the Czech Republic, where the U.S. is trying to install a radar base, and strategically located Turkey. His visits were met with similar demonstrations rejecting his attempts to embroil those countries in U.S. imperialist machinations and preparations for war.

In Istanbul and Ankara on April 4, thousands of protestors took to the streets as part of a call to disband NATO and to protest the visit of U.S. President Barack Obama on April 5. Protestors shouted "Yankee Go Home!" and "Obama don't come! We don't want you!" Meanwhile, four activists wearing white T-shirts bearing the slogan: "NATO Murderer" chained themselves to a bridge over the Bosporus strait.

According to the Czech News Agency a protest of seveal hundred people took place in Prague in opposition to the planned U.S radar base on Czech soil, and ahead of President Obama's visit to the country. A rally with speakers took place in Old Prague, before a march to the U.S. embassy. Earlier in the day, activists from the Humanist Movement unfolded a banner with the inscription "Yes, we can say no to U.S. military base" on a bridge in central Prague in protest against U.S. plans for a radar base on Czech soil. The Czech Republic signed two treaties to install a radar in Brdy military grounds, some 90 km southwest of Prague, with the former president George Bush's administration last year. The Senate, upper house of Czech parliament, has passed the treaties, and the Chamber of Deputies was to decide on them at the March session. However, the government in the end withdrew them from the agenda as it did not have enough votes to push them through. The leftist opposition Social Democrats (CSSD) and Communists (KSCM) are against the radar base. Seventy percent of Czechs reject the bases according to the latest opinion polls.

Russia

Moscow. Demonstration in front of U.S. embassy. Right: members of youth organization Young Russia.
Left: Supporters of the Liberal Democratic Party whose placards read: "NATO = War!",
"NATO is the world's executioner!" and "NATO -- into the dustbin of history!"

(Sources: TML Correspondents, United for Peace and Justice, Reuters, New York Times,Czech News Agency, Associated Press)

Worldwide Actions Oppose NATO Summit, War and Occupation

Worldwide Actions Oppose NATO Summit,
War and Occupation