The Stop G8 Network (now renamed the Anarchist Action Network) are supporting Stop Nato Cymru in calling for a mobilisation at the Nato Summit in Newport this September.
Datganiad Stop NATO Cymru (Statment in Welsh)
This year NATO will have their next summit at Celtic Manor Resort, in Newport, south Wales. In early September 2014, “world leaders” – all directly responsible for untold death, illegal torture flights, and wars fought purely to protect Western business interests and resource supply routes – will gather on the edge of this historic Welsh city. Many people from Newport, Cardiff, Bristol and beyond, will oppose the summit and use a diversity of tactics against it. We, an anti-capitalist, anti-militarist network in South Wales, plan to facilitate mobilisations and provide space for workshops, skill-shares and social events. We are organising without leaders as we do not agree with bosses or bombs.
NATO has often used the term ‘humanitarian interventions’ to disguise the fact that it actually fights for the strategic, economic and political benefit of the elite classes within NATO member countries. Militarism and capitalism are part of the same global power structure. A critique and confrontation of capitalism is therefore an indispensable aspect of our anti-militarist stance.
As it stands, NATO is a nuclear armed alliance with over 5000 nuclear weapons. It was supposedly established for mutual defence during the Cold War, and should have been disbanded when the Soviet Union ended. Instead, it has expanded and become an aggressive alliance force, engaged in wars with a crusader mentality.
For nearly ten years it has been conducting the war in Afghanistan, historically a pivotal region between the West and the East, where around 100,000 innocent civilians have died and three million innocent people have become refugees.
But a critique of militarism and capitalism doesn’t end with NATO: The annual global military expenditure stands at over £1,072,600,000,000. Spending is estimated to equal £150 per person, per year, across the world. The UK military budget is the fourth highest in the world. At a time of austerity we must demand to know why military spending is so high and expose the brutality of those in global positions of power.
Most people face much more pressing issues than new fighter aircraft or submarines. People want money spent on local facilities and proper access to social and health infrastructure. Even when the military has made some cuts, these have almost entirely impacted on people in the first instance – rather than material things like arms purchases – through reductions in personnel, lower wages and pensions. The UK still plans to spend almost £160,000,000,000 on new weapons by 2022, including £35.8 billion on nuclear-armed submarines that are designed not to be used.
While people around the world struggle to provide basic necessities for their families, governments still squander vast resources on military interventions that are wasteful of both resources and lives, and reflect outdated paradigms.
The USA, under the banner of NATO, is still working to place a “missile defence” system in Europe, which is provoking an unsettling arms race with Russia. However, we do not have to agree to their plans for us. People in communities around us are building resistance to military bases in their area. Including in Aberporth, Ceredigion, Menwith Hill in Yorkshire, RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, Faslane near Glasgow, EDO in Brighton, local people are mobilising and opposing militarism.
Newport has a history of radicalism. The Chartist rising, which celebrates it’s 175th anniversary this year, was the last large-scale armed insurrection in Wales, England and Scotland. A popular piece of public art celebrating the revolt was recently demolished ahead of schedule, as part of a planned redevelopment of the centre, financed by a £90million loan which the Council have gifted to developers whilst slashing funds for frontline services. This naive gamble on reviving the fortunes of the town via the pumping of public funds into private companies, joins a long list that includes LG, The Ryder Cup, and now this NATO summit.
Together with people from across South Wales and beyond, we are going to mobilise between this winter and September against militarism, Cold-War relics, and inflated defence budgets.
We hope you can join the events, mobilisations and activities to oppose NATO and world leaders being in Newport. Much is planned between now and September. We aim to be an open and inclusive network, working together, with as many people as possible to find non-hierarchical local and global structures as alternatives to the system of exploitation, while being mindful of potential state and corporate infiltration of our movement. Our website will be updated with news and information and we have an email
address that we can be contacted at: stopnatocymru@riseup.net
Stop NATO Cymru, part of the Anarchist Action Network
supported by
South Wales Anarchists, Cymru Wales IWW, Cardiff Food not Bombs, Swansea
Food not Bombs, No Borders South Wales, Bristol Against Arms Trade
Stop NATO Cymru
– e-mail: stopnatocymru@riseup.net
Datganiad Stop NATO Cymru
Ddoe de cafodd sawl banner ei ollwng mewn mannau gawhanol yn Casnewydd, de Cymru mewn gweithred o unoliaeth gyda’r NATO 3 ag i lawnsio y datganiad isod a cofodd ei ddosbarthu i pobl yn canol y dref.
Am ragor o wyboadaeth am y NATO 3 dilynnwch y ddolen yma: http://freethenato3.wordpress.com/nato-3-trial-solidarity/
Ar hyn o bryd, mae NATO yn gynghrair arfog gyda dros 5000 arf niwclear. Fe’i sefydlwyd (i fod) i amddiffyn y ddwy ochr yn ystod y Rhyfel Oer, a dylai wedi cael eu diddymu pan ddaeth yr Undeb Sofietaidd i ben. Yn lle hynny, mae wedi ehangu a dod yn rym cynghreiriol ymosodol, yn cymryd rhan mewn rhyfeloedd gyda meddylfryd croesgadwr.
Am bron i ddeng mlynedd mae wedi bod yn cynnal y rhyfel yn Afghanistan, rhanbarth hanesyddol arwyddocaol rhwng y Gorllewin a’r Dwyrain, lle mae tua 100,000 o sifiliaid diniwed wedi marw a thair miliwn o bobl ddiniwed wedi dod yn ffoaduriaid.
Nid yw beirniadaeth o filitariaeth a chyfalafiaeth yn dod i ben gyda NATO: Y mae’r gwariant milwrol blynyddol fyd-eang ar hyn o bryd dros £ 1.072.600.000.000. Amcangyfrifir fod y gwariant hwn yn hafal i £150 y pen yn fyd eang. Cyllideb filwrol y DU yw’r pedwerydd mwyaf yn y byd. Yn y cyfnod hwn o gynni mae’n rhaid i ni fynnu i wybod pam bod gwariant milwrol mor uchel a datgelu creulondeb y rheini mewn safleoedd o bŵer yn rhyngwladol.
Mae’r rhan fwyaf o bobl yn gwynebu materion llawer pwysicach na llongau tanfor ac awyrennau ymladd. Mae pobl eisiau arian cael ei wario ar gyfleusterau lleol a hygyrchedd i isadeiledd iechyd a cymdeithasol. Hyd yn oed pan wnaiff y fyddin rhai torriadau, mae’r rhain bron wedi bod yn gyfan gwbl effeithio ar bobl – yn hytrach na phethau fel prynu arfau- drwy leihau personél, cyflogau is a phensiynau. Mae’r DU dal yn bwriadu i wario bron £160,000,000,000 ar arfau newydd erbyn 2022, gan gynnwys £35.8 biliwn ar longau tanfor niwclear sydd wedi eu dylunio i beidio cael eu defnyddio.
Er bod pobl o gwmpas y byd yn ei chael yn anodd darparu’r pethau fwyaf sylfaenol ar gyfer eu teuluoedd, mae llywodraethau yn dal i afradu adnoddau helaeth ar ymyriadau milwrol sydd yn wastraffus o adnoddau ac o fywydau, ac yn adlewyrchu paradeimau sydd wedi dyddio.
Mae’r UDA, o dan banner NATO, dal i weithio i osod system ‘amddiffyniad taflegryn’ yn Ewrop, ac yn profocio ras arfau gyda Rwsia. Nid ydym yn cytuno gyda’u cynlluniau ar ein cyfer. Mae pobl mewn cymunedau ledled Ynysoedd Prydain yn gwrthdystio yn erbyn canolfannau milwrol yn eu hardal. O Aberporth, Ceredigion i Menwith Hill yn Swydd Efrog a RAF Waddington yn Swydd Lincoln, ac o Faslane ger Glasgow i EDO yn Brighton, mae pobl leol yn gwrthwynebu militariaeth.
Mae gan Gasnewydd hanes radicalaidd. Yr oedd gwrthryfel y Siartwyr, sydd yn dathlu ei 175ain mlwyddiant eleni, y gwrthryfel arfog ar raddfa eang olaf yng Nghymru, Lloegr a’r Alban. Cafodd darn poblogaidd o gelf gyhoeddus a oedd yn dathlu’r gwrthryfel, ei chwalu yn gynnar (cyn iddo gael ei hamserlennu) fel rhan o ail ddatblygiad canol y dref, sydd yn cael ei harianu gan fenthyciad o £90miliwn a roddwyd i ddatblygwyr gan y cyngor wrth iddyn nhw dorri cyllideb gwasanaethau sylfaenol. Mae’r cais naïf i ailfywiogi’r dref drwy bwmpio arian cyhoeddus i gwmnïau preifat yn ymuno rhestr hir sydd yn cynnwys LG, Y Cwpan Ryder, a nawr cynhadledd NATO.
Gyda miloedd o bobl o bob rhan o dde Cymru a thu hwnt, rydym am wrthwynebu cynhadledd NATO a pharhau i weithredu yn erbyn militariaeth, creiriau Rhyfel-Oer, a chyllidebau amddiffyn chwyddedig.
Gobeithiwn y byddwch chi’n medru ymuno gyda’r digwyddiadau, mobileiddiadau a gweithgareddau i wrthwynebu NATO a’r arweinwyr rhyngwladol sydd yn dod i Gasnewydd. Mae llawer wedi ei gynllunio rhwng nawr a mis Medi. Rydym yn bwriadu bod yn rwydwaith agored a chynhwysol, yn gweithio gyda’n gilydd, gyda chymaint o fobl a phosib i ganfod strwythurau lleol a rhyngwladol nad ydynt yn hierarchaidd fel strwythurau amgen i’r systemau o ecsbloetio, tra bod yn ymwybodol o ymdreiddiad posib y wladwriaeth a corfforaethol i’n mudiad. Caiff ein gwefan ei ddiweddaru gyda newyddion a gwybodaeth, dyma ein e-bost; stopnatocymru@riseup.net
Stop NATO Cymru, rhan o’r Rhwydwaith Gweithredu Anarchaidd
wedi ei gefnogi gan
Anarchwyr De Cymru, Cymru Wales IWW, Bwyd nid Bomiau Caerdydd, Bwyd nid Bomiau Abertawe, Dim Ffiniau De Cymru, Bryste yn Erbyn y Fasnach Arfau
Dilynwch y ddolen hon i weld lluniau’r banneri: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2014/01/514881.html
Stop NATO Cymru
e-mail: stopnatocymru@riseup.net
Pingback: Activist accosted by Counter Terror police | Netpol
Pingback: Campaigner followed from home by Counter Terror Command |