ANTI-MILITARY TATTOO

From November 29th-30th activists from around Britain gathered in Edinburgh to plan to disrupt NATO’s Parliamentary assembly in November 2009, when politicians will be converging on the city to rubber stamp NATO’s military newest schemes. The anti-militarist gathering was the beginning of a process aimed at building a mass-mobilisation to stop the summit.

The gathering was also a chance to discuss the growing network of local anti-militarist groups, with the call-out stressing the need to build a new, effective anti-militarist movement in the UK. In their words “...to look beyond the ethics of banner waving to what we can achieve through direct action. In short, it’s time to move from anti-war protesting to anti-war resistance”.

“This movement has already begun. Smash EDO have taken its fight to the streets of Brighton, army recruitment centres across the UK get their windows smashed and daubed in graffiti on a regular basis, the rooftop of Raytheon Systems in Bristol has been occupied, Heckler & Koch in Nottingham have been targeted, nuclear military bases at Faslane and Aldermaston continue to be besieged by blockaders... These are just some examples of a huge number of ongoing campaigns and battles to shut arms factories, suppliers and military bases.”

More gatherings are planned in Scotland and around the UK in the lead up to the NATO conference. See http://edinantimil.livejournal.com

* NATO are also meeting in Strasbourg on April 3rd-4th 2009 and plans are afoot to disrupt it. There’s a Dissent! meeting in Strasbourg from 16th-18th January in prepartion, see www.wombles.org.uk/article2008122310.php

* Just yesterday (11th) the rooftop of Raytheon was again occupied in an early morning action. As the sun came up a banner was unfurled and later that afternoon saw a demo outside the office.