60 Jahre NATO – kein Grund zum Jubeln

28. März 2009

In April 2009 NATO wants to commit in Strasbourg its 60th anniversary of establishing. The International Federation of Resistance Fighters (FIR) does not see any reason to celebrate, but a cause in this anniversary to think about another strategy of the peacekeeping measures in Europe and the world.

It is well-known that NATO developed from the east west conflict after the end of the Second World War. This confrontation destroyed not only the community of the anti-Hitler coalition, which liberated the world from the largest threat of mankind, but overlaid also the basic demand of all peace and anti-fascist forces: Never again fascism! Never again war!

The east west confrontation, which led in Korea and late Viet Nam to hot wars with million dead ones, could be overcome only in the 70’s gradually by a new system of security and co-operation in Europe (CSCE process). The end of the Warsaw Treaty at the beginning of the 90’s could have meant also the end of NATO as military block.

Instead of bringing however a new world-wide safety architecture under the responsibility of the United Nations on the way, NATO strategists began to define new action fields for this military alliance:

NATO lodged a complaint the task of the protection of supply of raw materials for itself. In addition it furnishes world-wide bases.

It publicizes an international counter terrorism, as if one could fight the terrorism with its social roots with conventional troops.

It plays in this kind world police („Out-of-area“ missions) without United Nations and the system of international law.

The consequences of this politics are clearly to recognize in the war against Yugoslavia, in the military action in Afghanistan and against Iraq – defined as „humanitarian intervention“.

Besides NATO accelerates the world-wide militarization by armament. The NATO states are responsible for 75 per cent of the global military expenditure.

By the admission of central and Eastern European states the sphere of influence of NATO was shifted toward Russia. This leads to the fact that the former front position against the socialist states is now developed against Russia. The planned stationing of an „anti-missile defense“ system in Poland and the Czech republic intensifies even in Europe the tensions.

The FIR sees from there no cause to celebrate such NATO strategy. It stands straight on the occasion of 60th anniversary for a new international military strategy, which sets an international safety architecture, which puts the priority on non-military conflict resolutions under the responsibility of the United Nations against confrontation and block building.

Our vision of a peaceful world is only to reach without military answers to global and regional crises – they are part of the problem and not the solution.

Military expenditure have to be reduced and the thereby released resources must be used for the satisfaction of human needs. All foreign military bases have to be closed.

We reject all military structures, which are used for military interventions. The relations between the peoples must be democratized and demilitarized and be established new forms of peaceful co-operation, in order to create a safer and fairer world.

For this position FIR stands up together with the world-wide peace movement on the occasion of the NATO anniversary.

Brussels/Berlin 2009-03-29