Yesterdays´news

An open letter by Gloria Steinem, Noam Chomsky, John Dean, Governor Bill Richardson, Walter Mosley, Michael Moore, Valerie Plame, and others

Common Ground: For Secure Elections and True National Security

Many Americans remain deeply concerned about reports of Russian interference with the 2016 election. Meanwhile, relations between the United States and Russia are at their lowest and most dangerous point in several decades. For the sake of democracy at home and true national security, we must reach common ground to safeguard common interests—taking steps to protect the nation’s elections and to prevent war between the world’s two nuclear superpowers. Continue reading “An open letter by Gloria Steinem, Noam Chomsky, John Dean, Governor Bill Richardson, Walter Mosley, Michael Moore, Valerie Plame, and others”

In Memoriam: Horst Stasius

Many people like to talk of internationalism and solidarity. Horst Stasius, who has died aged 84, was someone who truly lived it.

Born in The Hague in the year Hitler came to power, Horst grew up in a German family who had gone abroad only to see their adopted country occupied. The family returned to Germany soon after, when his father, Otto, was called up. Continue reading “In Memoriam: Horst Stasius”

Declaration of the International Meeting Against Foreign Military Bases

June 29th, 2018, Kaiserslautern Germany

Attendees from Germany, Netherlands, France, UK, South Korea, Spain, Italy, USA, Ireland, Greece, Austria, Switzerland agree to the following

Whereas:

  • The EU/US/NATO plays a key role in the creation of unequal economic conditions, wars and armed conflicts, and environment destruction that cause people to flee from their homes, seeking safety and sanctuary in Europe;
  • Increasing levels of military spending are contributing to these conditions;
  • Security and defence interests focusing on the security of states, power elites, and cooperate interests comes at the expense of individuals’ personal security;
  • Over 30 000 people are estimated to have lost their lives attempting to find sanctuary in Europe over the last 25 years and countless thousands, possibly millions, have died in their own countries;
  • The EU has put measures in place for open borders for weapons and soldiers, but not for people.

We oppose:

  • The militarization of EU border security that serves the interests of the military and security industry and endangers the lives of people seeking sanctuary in Europe;
  • The aims and actions of Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, tasked with border control of the Schengen Area, in coordination with national border and coast guard bodies;
  • All migrant detention and long-term processing centres inside and outside Europe’s borders.

And we call on the EU to:

  • Ensure safe and legal crossing of sea and land borders around and within Europe, thereby opening the borders for people fleeing from conflict and famine;
  • Reduce military spending and invest in fair, just and equitable conditions for development and trade;
  • End the sale and export of arms and weapons’ components.

Stop the wars and not the refugees!

 

Contact:
Aktionsbüro Stopp Airbase Ramstein
c/o IALANA
Marienstr. 19/20
10117 Berlin
Germany
info@ramstein-kampagne.eu

Photos from the week of actions can be seen here.

We Welcome the Panmunjeom Declaration

Statement of People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy

We Welcome the Panmunjeom Declaration and the Arrival of the Era of Peace on the Korean Peninsula with It

The Declaration embodies both Koreas’ commitment to bringing the era of division and confrontation to an end and establishing a peace regime on their own accord.

The vision of thawing military tension, achieving disarmament through mutual trust-building, and freeing the Korean Peninsula from nuclear threats is highly praised. Continue reading “We Welcome the Panmunjeom Declaration”

#YouAllOweUs virtual campaign

Today we are launching #YouAllOweUs virtual campaign. Please, feel free to share the materials with other activists and organizations.

New materials and how we will use it: #YouAllOweUs campaign

You will find the new infographics on the GCOMS website:  http://demilitarize.org/materials-owe-us-gdams-campaign/

  1. 2 general images where Trump reminds global political leaders committed with increasing military spending that they all owe money and cooperation to the US for his role as world’s guard (starting from the idea of the 2%GDP he requires from NATO members and how he addressed Germany in these terms). We can see here how people are demanding politicians to take action instead on fulfilling the SDG’s.
  2. Images of global political leaders committed with the increase in military expenditure. They are chosen based on their representativity and their public advocacy of the increase. Only 2 European leaders were chosen, despite a lot more countries being involved in the increase. We are conscious that, as for instance, Africa is only represented trough Al-Sisi. If you miss a leader or a territory, send us a representative sentence where he/she claims for the need to rise MilEx and all the information (including concrete sentences) and we will try to add new ones if necessary.

[IMPORTANT] How we will use this material: As mentioned, we all (partners but also organizations that can collaborate with us) will launch on May 16th the images on our social networks under the hashtags #YouAllOweUs (Health and wellbeing, better education, gender equality, etc) and #MovetheMoney #GDAMS2018

The idea is to combine the first image (the one with all the leaders) with one of the singles, adding those SDG’s or petitions we think military spending must be moved to, reminding political leaders what their priorities should be. You’ll find an example here: http://demilitarize.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Tweet_You_Owe_Us.jpg

Say No to War!

President Trump cannot just ignore the means and impact of diplomacy, politeness and the binding rules of international law.

Now is the time for prompt and spontaneous actions. We hope that as many as possible of you will join and set a sign for peace and understanding, standing against war and violence.

Say no to war! It is about the danger of a disastrous war, which would harm, injure and kill many lives. War is not and cannot be a solution. Every single person and every government should engage in finding a peaceful solution.

50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination

“As the nation prepares to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we should dwell not merely on how Dr. King died but also on how he lived. How he lived is why he died.” Jesse Jackson (read full article here)
King understood the inter-relationship of the sources of oppression and the need forfundamental, systemic and cultural transformation if humankind is to survive in freedom. Inperhaps the most ringing phrases of this speech, he taught that “if we are to get on to the rightside of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values…the shiftfrom a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers,profitmotives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of f being conquered.”Anticipating his final campaign – the Poor People’s Campaign, a year later –
and daring to include a critique of capitalism, King declared that “A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth.“

His commitment to nonviolence was deep and uncompromising. As King taught, reclaiming and healing the world and achieving a revolution of values necessitates bold, imaginative and nonviolent actions. To end and prevent wars. To honor and support the immigrants and refugees in our midst. To end racial and religious discrimination, to ensure economic and social justice. To defend and promote democracy. And to ensure human

survival by abolishing nuclear weapons and restoring environmental sustainability.
“If not us, who? If not now, when?”
(Read the IPB statement on the Speech “Beyond Vietnam” here)