Thursday, February 7, 2008

Eyfa News

EYFA NETWORK NEWS! February 2008

EYFA newsletter is a tool to spread information on campaigns, actions,
meetings and convergence happening around Europe and beyond. Info is
forwarded to our network e-list and to network partners and contacts.
Please send us info if you have news to be spread.

NOTE: We have started after the summer with thematic newsletters and
archiving these on our website. You can find this newsletter at
www.eyfa.org/newsletter/militarization. Or you can check out the
version below:
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. on Militarization

In case you wonder what happened to the January Newsletter: There
wasn't one. In January we had meetings in Ljubljana and Berlin, new
funding applications to finish, and actions to do (and spending time in
jail accordingly). With big anti-NATO protests coming up and the 5th
anniversary of the Iraq war, and with tension rising between Russia and
the EU, we thought it was time for a newsletter on 'Militarization'.
So here we go:

**Contents
1. Stop Wars Block NATO! - March 22, Brussels
2. Stop the Shield - March 29, Slupsk - Poland
3. Anti-NATO Days - April 2nd-4th , Bucharest
4. On the Verge - The Smash EDO campaign film
5. Frontex - the militarization of EU's borders
6. The Iraq body count

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1. Stop Wars Block NATO! - March 22 Brussels

Europe serves as a staging ground for military interventions world-
wide. The framework can differ: NATO, EU, US coalition of the
willing, UN. The target as well: Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, ....
But the departure points not: military bases, airports and harbors in
Europe. Europe hosts a large military intervention machinery protecting
economic interests and sustaining the existing global order.

Brussels hosts NATO's European headquarters. Peace activists from all
over Europe will join on March 22 2008 for the first edition of 'NATO,
Game Over'. Five years after the Iraq war started, we'll go to NATO's
headquarters and close them. Literally. We'll close the gates and
entries. Nonviolently and resolutely. At the same time, Bombspotters
will enter and inspect NATO for evidence of war preparations

'NATO-game over' is not a demonstration. Neither is it a game. Up till
today, every nonviolent direct action at or around NATO's headquarters
was met with large numbers of police, miles of barbed wire, prohibi-
tions,... This will not stop us. Through nonviolent direct action we
prevent wars and stop war crimes.

Join by contacting international@bombspotting.be
or check www.bomspotting.be
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2. Stop the Shield, March 29 Slupsk - Poland

The Campaign against Militarism, Poles for a Referendum, the Anarchist
Federation and other groups are calling for a large-scale mobilization
against the installation of missiles and the building of the US base in
Poland. The action, called for March 29, can be seen as part of a larger
anti-militarist struggle which is taking place throughout Europe (see
Brussels and Bucharest).

The action in Poland will take place mainly in the city of Slupsk, near
the Baltic Sea Coast. They want to build the base in Redzikowo, 4 kms.
from the city. We will go to this town for some direct actions but also
will do some things in Slupsk. To follow up, we would like to hold some
public and activist meetings in other, larger cities nearby Slupsk,
namely Szczecin and Gdansk.

Currently, the situation with the Polish base in Redzikowo is up in the
air, which increases our chances of getting the message across. There is
still a chance that the base will not get build and a determined opposi-
tion to it will only help those chances.

See www.m29.bzzz.net
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3. Anti-NATO Days April 2nd- 4th Bucharest

In March 2004 Romania became a NATO member. Romania now has military
troops in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.There are 4
US military bases in Romania, hosting more than 2.000 American soldiers.
This April Romania will be the host of the 20th NATO summit which will
be the largest in the history of NATO. The organizational costs will be
circa 35 million dollars. Some of the topics will include: NATO exten-
sion (new member might be Croatia, Macedonia and Albania), the anti-
missile defense system, information systems security, energy security...

There will be a range of events in Bucharest and other places. Those
coming from the north, can for example stop by at the Anti-NATO info-
point in Iasi (at the Ukrainian and Moldovan border) before continuing
their way to Bucharest. If you are coming from the south you might be
interested in joining the preparation for the Anti-NATO bike tour and
the critical mass, to be contacted over katarzis@riseup.net. In
Bucharest are plenty of opportunities to join into the Anti-NATO Days: a
legal march, direct actions, and many more.

Still you should keep in mind, especially if coming from the west, that
the 'scene' is not as big and equipped as you might be used to. So try
to be as self-organized as possible: bring a sleeping bag, try to
organize food (dumpster diving is not so common, but you can still find
some stuff) or even join the local FNB group (or bring in your local
group for joint actions). Organizing legal sleeping spaces on mass still
requires money, so every soli-action is welcome. But also you might want
to check out one of the plenty abandoned houses in Bucharest, waiting
for a better use.

For flyer see: www.contra-doxa.com
For more detailed info copy this link in your browser:
www.contra-doxa.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25
&Itemid=44
For future updates see also www.romania.indymedia.org
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4. On the Verge - The Smash EDO campaign film

In 2004 a group of Brighton peace campaigners began to bang pot and pans
outside their local arms manufacturers EDO MBM in disgust of their part
in the Iraq war. This has grown into the Smash EDO campaign, which has
cost the company millions, been the subject of large scale police opera-
tions and has tested the right to protest in the UK.

Using activist, police and CCTV footage plus interviews with those
involved in the campaign, 'On The Verge' tells the story of one of the
most persistent and imaginative campaigns to emerge out of the UK's
anti-war movement and direct action scene.

check out www.schnews.org.uk/schmovies/index-on-the-verge.htm
and for the campaign www.smashedo.org.uk/news.htm
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5. Frontex - the militarization of EU's borders

What's Frontex? Frontex is the French abbreviation for 'frontieres
extérieures'(external borders). The full name says more: Frontex is the
'European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the
External Borders of the Member States of the European Union'.

The Warszaw-based agency became operative in 2005 and has since then
been functioning as the bouncer at the gates of Fortress Europe.
Equipped with aeroplanes, helicopters and vessels it is patrolling
along the borderline and prohibits migrants from entering. The right to
seek asylum is being contested here and, furthermore, organizations
supporting refugees estimate that with the arrival of Frontex, the rate
of refugee deaths, among those who leave Africa by the sea, has grown -
meaning by drowning, hunger and/or thirst.

Read www.no-racism.net/article/2401/
See www.frontex.europa.eu
And the German site Frontexwatch www.frontex.antira.info
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6. The Iraq body count

The worldwide update on civilians killed in the Iraq war and occupation.
www.iraqbodycount.org

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Published electronically by EYFA.
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