Civil disobedience/NVDA

New Zealand is a place often associated with its nuclear-free position, and it rates highly on the global peace index. In spite of a relatively bucolic lifestyle downunder, New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington, plays host to an annual weapons conference in November where about 550 delegates representing 165 companies converge for an annual weapons conference. Activists blockade the entrance to the weapons conference

Rosa Moiwend

A former Dutch colony, West Papua was occupied by the Indonesian military in 1963. The international framework that allowed this occupation to take place was based on the economic and political interests of the United States and supported by its allies the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Australia. The United Nations actively denied West Papuans right to self-determination and supported the Indonesian occupation. During the first few years of the Indonesian government’s occupation West Papuan resistance was brutally crushed through military operations and aerial bombardment. Two years before the United Nations formally facilitated the transfer of Dutch sovereignty to Indonesia – all without West Papuans consent – the United States and Indonesia established a massive gold and copper mine in West Papua. From the beginning the Freeport mine was declared a national asset and security project protected by a massive Indonesian military presence. Old fashioned colonialism marked by territorial occupation by a foreign military force remained but was augmented by neo-colonialism: intensive capital investment in the extractive industries and the influx of large numbers of Indonesians to displace indigenous West Papuans. In the early years the Indonesian government’s transmigration program was funded by the World Bank. Although on paper the project was designed as development to benefit ‘the poor’ in reality the Indonesian government’s sole objective was to protect its territorial integrity. It was militarised development that in actual fact generated poverty.

We're delighted to add a new publication to WRI's online book store! Against All Odds: Voices of Popular Struggle in Iraq, from Ali Issa of War Resisters League.

Collected from dozens of interviews with, and reports from, Iraqi feminists, labor organizers, environmentalists, and protest movement leaders, Against All Odds presents the unique voices of progressive Iraqi organizing on the ground. Dating back to 2003, with an emphasis on the 2011 upsurge in mobilization and hope as well as the subsequent embattled years, these voices belong to Iraqis asserting themselves as agents against multiple local, regional, and global forces of oppression.

You can find the accompanying Organizing & Study Guide here.

Buy it here: /node/25212

Angie Zelter, Trident Ploughshares, 9th November 2015

Trident Ploughshares received the call-out to to oppose the Trident Juncture military exercise and decided to take part. After all, it was the biggest NATO exercise for 10 years, was about intervening in Africa and included a large contingent of UK military forces. The UK Minister of Defence was to visit the UK forces and it seemed right that UK anti-militarists should support their Spanish colleagues and explain that we, as global citizens, were against NATO and his visit was not in our name. We also wanted to support and strengthen our European network.

Happening now: direct action against NATO's Trident Juncture military exercises that are taking place across Spain, Italy and Portugal.

Members of the European Antimilitarist Network join antimilitarists from state of Spain.

Follow #TJ15 #WarStarstHere #OTANno on social media for updates

 

In 2012, 7 activists entered the SHAPE military base where NATO makes strategic nuclear weapon decisions. The group called themselves 'the bombspotters', and they took their act of civil disobedience to denounce the presence of nuclear weapons on Belgian soil as part of the NATO Game Over/Bombspotting campaign. They were arrested, and three and a half years later have been put on trial. The seven appeared in court on October 26thand are now awaiting the verdict of their trial. It is possible to send an email in support from this website: https://bomspotters.wordpress.com/nous-soutenir/

 

On Friday 16th October, a group of Antimilitaristes-moc activists blockaded tanks destined for usage in the Trident Juncture military exercises (war games). Two activists unveiled banners with the words “War Stops Here” and “Sorry for the inconvenience: obstructing war preparations”, four more activists rapidly chained themselves with lock-on tubes to the tracks of two Danish Leopard tanks parked due to be transported to the main manoeuvre site of San Gregorio (Zaragoza). Six people were arrested and released later with charges.

This weekend activists from across Europe will be protesting the Trident Juncture NATO exercises. Follow #WarStartshere #OTAN #TJ15 on social media for news.

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Last Friday, a group of Antimilitaristes-moc activists disrupted the organization of the departure of a military convoy from the port of Sagunto, due to be deployed in war maneuvers in the next few days by army units of more than 30 countries as part of NATO exercise “Trident Juncture 2015”

After the Stopping the War Business seminar, WRI and World Without War activists took action to disrupt the welcome dinner for the ADEX arms fair in Seoul.

Inside the hotel that was hosting the dinner, activists held banners, chanted 'Stop Arms Trade', and flung money strewn with 'blood' on the ground. They were forceably removed by security, but caught the attention of over around 100 'VIPs', arms dealers and members of the military.

Outside, protesters held a rally, with speakers, songs, a die-in and a dance, in full view of the buses of arms dealers arriving for the dinner.

For two days activists from sixteen countries have gathered in Seoul for the Stopping the War Business seminar, co-hosted by World Without War and War Resisters' International.

We heard inspiring talks about ongoing resistance to war profiteering - from police militarisation and the companies that feed it in the USA, to civilian companies profiting from occupation in West Papua. We participated in workshops on different tactics we can use in the struggle to stop war profiteering, and in 'campaigns clinics', in which participants introduced campaigns they are involved in, and heard reflections and ideas from other activists.

Andrew Dey

Originally published as part of Women Peacemakers Programme May 24th Pack.

In Spain, preparations are being made for resistance to the planned NATO war games, Trident Juncture. Trident Juncture will take place throughout October and into early November, and will include the participation of 36,000 soldiers from over 30 countries – it is one of the biggest mobilisation of NATO troops for a decade. WRI's affiliate 'Alternativa Antimilitarista.MOC' are part of coordinating protests against the exercise, and a call-out is available here in Spanish: http://www.antimilitaristas.org/spip.php?article5569

Large demonstrations are planned, and a general strike has been called by local communities and trade unions. The European Antimilitarist Network is also preparing to take part, with activists travelling from across the continent to oppose this huge military mobilisation. You can read an article about the background to the war games on the WRI website here: /node/24821