NO TO NATO PROTEST GROWS

No to NATO protest, 19th May
1pm outside US embassy
Grosvenor sq, London W1

The No To NATO protest called by Stop the War and CND is gaining support.
People have contacted us who are travelling to the protest from as far afield
as Yeovil, Manchester, Kings Lynn and Birmingham. Amongst others it is being
promoted by the Campaign against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran,
campaigns against western support for the Bahraini regime and the Hands Off
Somalia Campaign.

On the same weekend thousands will be marching to the conference in Chicago
demanding an end to NATO’s wars.

This year’s NATO conference will be crucial. The Western powers will be
discussing further action in the Middle East, including an attack on Iran and
stepping up intervention in Syria. There will also be debate about the
occupation of Afghanistan. France looks set to announce a pullout from
Afghanistan, while the US and Britain are committed to staying until 2014,
despite the fact that the war is clearly lost. If this happens hundreds more
will be killed and every day the occupation continues makes civil war more
likely.

Meanwhile, across an arc that stretches from Pakistan to Somalia the west is
stepping up covert operations and drone attacks. The NATO conference will be
used as a platform to campaign against "re-prioritising" spending away from
defence towards much needed funding for jobs and welfare. In the words of
British Undersecretary of State for Defence Gerald Howarth MP, "NATO is the
cornerstone of our security...all the investment in our schools and hospitals
– or indeed welfare - could be set at nought if we fail to provide adequate
defence."

Read more here http://bit.ly/IrIA5t

It is crucial we have a good turnout to prove that most people don’t share the
militaristic priorities of the Western Alliance.