AROUND THE WORLD
Anti-war forces stay mobilized against NATO
By John
Catalinotto
The worldwide anti-war movement continues to stay mobilized
against NATO's vicious aggression in the Balkans. Despite the
announcement of a "settlement," demonstrations took place in
cities around the world on the June 5-6 weekend to protest
NATO's attack on Yugoslavia and against the continued bombing
of that country.
According to a report in Postmark Praha, some 5,000 mostly
young people in the Czech Republic left the "Global
Street Party" to demonstrate June 5 in front of the U.S.
Embassy in Prague. The demonstrators threw stones and bottles
at the embassy building. Police arrested 114.
The German Tageszeitung reported that at a Social Democratic
Party meeting in Hamburg, Germany, that weekend, Defense
Minister Rudolph Scharping was booed by 40 anti-war activists
in the audience.
Mostafa Farook of the Socialist Party of Bangladesh
reports that on June 3 in Dhaka, the capital city, the Left
Democratic Front, Democratic Revolutionary Front, National
People's Front and National Revolutionary Front held
simultaneous actions in different parts of the city protesting
U.S.-led NATO aggression against Yugoslavia.
In the United States on June 5 some 10,000 people
demonstrated at the Pentagon in Washington and another 6,000 in
San Francisco in a national action involving all segments of
the anti-war and pacifist movement. The actions had a strong
anti-NATO and anti-Pentagon thrust.
The Nino Pasti Foundation reports that in Italy, some
20,000 people surrounded the U.S. air base at Aviano on June 6.
Flying kites and children's balloons around the periphery of
the base, they stopped bombing runs for over two hours.
This was the biggest of all the demonstrations held at
Aviano, which is the major base from which the Pentagon
launches bombing raids against Yugoslavia. All sectors of the
anti-war and pacifist movement in Italy participated, including
the Communist Refoundation Party, Pax Christi, the autonomous
unions known as Cobas and unionists from the General
Confederation of Labor (CGIL).
According to a report from the New Communist Party of the
Netherlands, the June 5 demonstration in The Hague had
to be moved to June 3 in Amsterdam because of conflicts with
other demonstrations. Hundreds demonstrated that day against
NATO aggression.
Meanwhile on June 5 some 40,000 mostly Kurdish demonstrators
from all around Europe demonstrated in The Hague in support of
the leader of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan,
who faces the death penalty in Turkey.
In Brussels, Belgium, where NATO headquarters is located, a
June 6 anti-war demonstration targeted NATO aggression. A video
of that demonstration can be seen on the Workers' Party of
Belgium's anti-war web site at www.ptb.be/PAIX.
Ann Rogers of the New Worker in London reports that 20,000
people from all of the anti-war organizations in Britain
demonstrated June 5 in that city against NATO aggression in the
Balkans.
South News reports that on June 6 in Australia, some
3,000 people in Melbourne, 2,000 in Sydney and another 800 in
Brisbane marched, condemning the bombing and urging NATO
countries to pay for repairing the damage.
This article is copyright under a Creative Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
Subscribe wwnews-subscribe@workersworld.net
Support independent news http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php)
HOME :: U.S. NEWS :: WORLD NEWS :: EDITORIALS :: SUBSCRIBE :: DONATE
Email
this article
Printable
page