15M
Since 15 May 2011, Spain has witnessed the emergence of a massive protest movement demanding a democratic revolution.
Organised through the internet and through social media, a series of protests has taken place occupying the main squares of every major city in Spain as well as those of many small towns, demanding a radical change in the Spanish political system.
Between six-and-a-half and eight million Spaniards have taken part in what has been called 'the 15M…
Questioning France's nuclear arsenal is not quite taboo, but the myth that it enables the country to retain great power status is accepted slavishly by most politicians, and with resigned passivity by the majority of the press and population.
Nevertheless, there is a strong and diverse protest movement.
One strand, closest to the Green party, opposes nuclear weapons as an extension of its opposition to nuclear energy. Just as nuclear weaponry is supposed to guarantee military…
George Lakey
While many of us are working to ensure that the Occupy movement will have a lasting impact, it’s worthwhile to consider other countries where masses of people succeeded in nonviolently bringing about a high degree of democracy and economic justice. Sweden and Norway, for example, both experienced a major power shift in the 1930s after prolonged nonviolent struggle. They ‘fired’ the top 1% of people who set the direction for society and created the basis for something…
On 10 November, a Paris court gave four men working for EDF, the French nuclear energy company, fines and prison sentences for a surveillance operation in 2006 that included hacking into Greenpeace France’s computers. EDF itself was fined €1.5m, and ordered to pay €500,000 (£427,770) in damages to Greenpeace.
Pascal Durieux, EDF’s head of nuclear production security in 2006, was jailed for one year (three years with two suspended) and given a €10,000 fine. His deputy, Pierre-Paul…
Over the summer, the inaugural “UK-France Industry Day” was held in central London. Although innocent sounding, this was the first meeting between the UK and French military industry following the signing of a new “defence” treaty last November. A key element of this new military co-operation between France and the UK is the proposed development of a new combat drone. While it is still at the preliminary stage, BAE Systems’ decision to tie up with French firm Dassault to jointly offer the “…
On 26 July, 170 peace activists from 17 countries entered the “North European Aerospace Test Range” (NEAT) in north Sweden in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience. Some 28 activists were arrested or detained, among them activists from Venezuela, the UK, Spain, Germany and Finland. The action started at midday with a pink carnival which involved people marking the test range and the road leading to it with pink arrows and the slogan “War starts here, let’s stop it here!”. The airspace was…
For the last week of July along with other pink clothing we took a dayglow pink dustpan and brush to help sweep up the militarisation in the north of Sweden and make it NEAT. We went to join the ‘War Starts Here’ peace camp to protest against the development of this into part of an ‘Arctic NATO of the Baltic Countries’. This heightened activity in North Europe is explained by an increased interest in the Arctic and its natural resources and the US missile defence system.
Ofog and WRI…
The UK nuclear future
The current UK nuclear force involves maintaining only one submarine at sea at any time, equipped with half its maximum quota of missiles. This situation worries France because it allows for the real possibility of a disarmament process in the UK.
This is not only a matter of warheads but also a matter of doctrine. The policy of nuclear deterrence dictates that the “security” of the country is to be preserved thanks to the ability to make an instant…
“WHITE MAN DESTROYS CULTURE” is printed in big letters on a sticker at a venue in West Germany where we played. This phrase became my “theme” as we continued to tour throughout Europe. I realized how just reading about stuff or about people’s lives is simply not enough. There’s nothing more important than meeting people from different worlds. I talked a lot about how white man may have destroyed something in the past, but right now I felt that white people can give something back by…
One of the most amazing things that struck me was that 95% of all the shows were organized by people who were just hitting 40 or were beyond it. We were amazed to see such necessary collaboration between ages and sexes. I was sure we were going to be the only oldies (+37) at each show but in fact it is mainly “the oldies” keeping many underground venues and squats going.
I was totally inspired by that.
In one city in France I met three women who all played music or sang in at…
Much of my time in Europe was spent drinking… drinking tons of their best herbal teas and not-so-good chalky hot water. It was not until I got back to Nepal that I thought, maybe that chalky stuff all boiled up and hot probably didn’t help my voice recover one bit.
Drinking alcohol is big in Europe, I decided. There is no party without a drink. And there is no gig without drink. There are band names about drink; there are band names named after beer, or drinking, or about being drunk, or…
“To exist as a band without the corporate music industry is in itself a political feat” – sticker stuck on a wall at a venue in North Germany
Sitting in a village on the edge of Kathmandu happily listening to the Subhumans, I had this yearning to go to Europe.
A good friend of ours from Holland calls the West “the fortress”; he said the people, the culture, and the way the whole place works is like a fortress, sealed and intimidating. I agreed with him and so why would I want…
25 June 2010, Steenokkerzeel by the airport outside Brussels, 60 people occupy the building site of the new 127 tris immigration detention centre, shutting down work for a day, taking direct action against the construction site, and upping the ante in a campaign of resistance against the border regime in Belgium.
Over the past year: successful blockades of most of the six existing detention centres, including the simultaneous blockade of Bruges and Vottem by over 150 people last…
Peace and anti-militarist movements do not have a strong tradition in Portugal. In recent years, the only notable concerted action has been the protest against the invasion of Iraq in 2003, which brought together 15,000 people. One can point out some other initiatives, particularly in defence of the Palestinians and against Israel, or in favour of the Sahrawis [of Western Sahara].
This lack of a tradition stems from the colonial past, the important role of the military in the…
Nelly Maes, president of the Flemish Peace Institute, spoke at the David Davies Memorial Institute (DDMI) in Aberystwyth on 24 February to an audience of students and local people.
Her talk was part of a visit to Wales in support of calls for a Wales Peace Institute. On 23 February, Maes and Tomas Baum, director of the Flemish Peace Institute, gave evidence to the national assembly in support of a 1,500 name petition urging the creation of such an institute.
In…
