May, 18-19, 2012 Counter-Summit for Peace and Economic Justice
Network for a NATO-Free Future
Download the Final Report here.
Summary Report
The May 18-19,2012 Counter-Summit for Peace and Economic Justice, held in Chicago at the People’s Church was extraordinarily successful. The conference – initiated by the American Friends Service Committee and Peace Action and organized in collaboration with 38 partner organizations – brought together 300+ peace, economic and social justice leaders and activists from 27 states and 16 countries. The traditional and social media work reached millions with a clear message: time to retire NATO, time to reduce military spending, and time to fund job creation and basis human needs.
In plenaries and 28 workshops, we developed a clear analysis and expanded the capacity of the peace and justice movement to retire, not to repurpose, NATO. We drew strategic conclusions from the ongoing organizing to end the Afghanistan War, cut military spending to create jobs and address urgent human needs, and to create more economically and socially just societies while strengthening the ties between US and international movements.
Our media work extended our reach exponentially with analytical articles, op eds, editorial meetings and the editorials that followed, media interviews and letters to the editor in the national and Chicagoarea press, and more than 167 million unique hits in the social media. The traditional and social media outreach played major roles in making our analyses and policy alternatives major forces in the mainstream debate we helped to initiate. As the Chicago Sun Times editorialized, our calls for ending the War in Afghanistan, moving the money from the Pentagon to human needs, and adopting just economic and tax policies are indeed “credible” alternatives to the country’s wars and economic crisis. {See summary media report appended below.]
In addition to marching in the Counter-Summit’s contingent in the May 20 march, members of the Network for a NATO-Free Future conducted non-violence trainings, joined National Nurses United in their rally to tax Wall Street and to build an economy for the 99%.
We also developed a special relationship and support for action initiated by Iraq Veterans Against the War. We celebrate the courage and moral vision of the Afghan andIraqveterans who returned their war medals to the NATO Generals to dramatize the necessity to end the wars, and begin the healing process for themselves, the Afghan people and the nation.
We also fostered a closer connection between the US and international movements to end the war in Afghanistan by working with Afghans for Peace, a US, UK and Candian group organizing for peace in the Afghan communities in conjunction with NGOs in Afghanistan.
The Counter-Summit conference was remarkable. It was unique and provided a model for bringing together peace and economic and social justice activists and organizers from across the country (from as far asAlabamaandCalifornia– not to mentionBoston,New Yorkand the Midwest) and from Europe, Latin America, Asia andAfrica.
The conference – including its 28 workshops – reinforced movement for the complete withdrawal ofU.S.forces fromAfghanistanand to move the money from Pentagon spending to meeting human needs. It also helped build the peace and justice movement, domestically and internationally, for the longer term: deepening people’s understandings of NATO as an aggressive global military alliance focused on securing resources, and the links between NATO and war preparations on the one hand and their impacts on our communities here and around the world on the other.
The conference featured campaigns, domestic and international, including (among many others) the Wisconsin rebellion and recall movement, for the abolition of drone warfare, cutting military spending to fund human needs and the withdrawal ofU.S.nuclear weapons fromEurope. It even provided a means to help the movement prepare to address Washington’s and the Pentagon’s “Pivot towardAsiaand the Pacific.” [See list of plenary speakers and workshops below.]
The Network for a NATO-Free Future was an ad hoc formation, but the relationships, initiatives and lessons taken from the organizing and the conference will provide foundations for our future campaigning. The Counter-Summit closed with the adoption of a final statement [see attached] that we trust will inform and inspire activists as we build more integrated peace and justice movements.
List of Plenary Speakers
N’Dana Carter – Mental Health Movement; OccupyChicago.
Roger Cole – Irish Peace & NeutralityAlliance
Sarita Gupta – Jobs with Justice
Tom Hayden –Chicago 8; Peace andJusticeResourceCenter
Kathy Kelly – Voices for Creative Nonviolence
William McNary – Citizen Action/Illinois
Joe Moore – Chicago Alderman for the 49th ward
John Nichols – Free Press; The Nation
Tobias Pflüger – Left Party; Tübingen Militarization Information Association (IMI)
Vijay Prashad –TrinityCollege
Suraia Sahar – Afghans for Peace
Tania Unzueta – Immigrant Youth Justice League
Alejandro Villatoro –Iraq Veterans Against the War
List of Workshops
A New Economy is Possible: Jobs & Economic Justice vs. Militarism
Afghanistan: How Do Wars End?
Close NATO Military Bases: NATO Missiles, Nuclear Weapons & Military Bases-Obstacles to Peace and Disarmament
Feminist Criticism of NATO
Generations of Globalization
Getting it Right on Iran: Anti-intervention & the Potential for Global Solidarity
Global Missile Defense in NATO Strategy
Hidden Casualties: Environmental Damage of War & Militarism
Humanitarian Imperialism or How the 1% Enlists the Military & NATO to Enrich Itself
Iran:Iran’s Nuclear Program, Dialogue & the Imperative of Moving beyond Threats
Know Your Rights When Protesting NATO
Making Finance Work for the 99%: The Campaign for a Speculation Sales Tax in IL
Move the Money from Wars & New Weapons to Fund Our Communities!
Move to Amend & Amend 2012 Strategy Session
No War, No Warming! Communities Building an Economy for the People & the Planet!
Non-Violent Direct Action Training Against NATO
Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Power, & Corporate Globalization
People’s Movement Assembly to End Poverty in the US: One Class, One Cause
Pivot & Partnerships: 21st Century NATO & the Asia-Pacific Military Build–Up to Contain China
Resisting Militarization of Youth
The Role of the European Union in NATO Strategy
Using Art and Film to End the War & Secure the Peace
U.S. Military Interventionism in Latin America
US/NATO Nuclear Weapons in Europe: Removal Long Overdue
U.S.-Russia & a Second Cold War?
Veterans Fight for the Right to Heal
Wisconsin: Rebellion & Recall
Women Say No to War! Creative Tactics for Building Peace & Justice
List of Endorsing Organizations (*Indicates groups on Organizing Committee)
American Friends Service Committee-Peace and Economic Security Program*
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
Grassroots Global Justice Alliance*
International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms, Germany
International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility
Latin American Solidarity Coalition
Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
No to NATO/No to War International Coordinating Committee
Progressive Democrats of America
United for Justice with Peace (Boston)
VermontAction for Peace
Western States Legal Foundation*
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom*
Chicago:
American Friends Service Committee-Chicago*
Counter-Summit Media Report
The public and media attention given our messages during and after the NATO summit was a truly collaborative effort between the [AFSC] central office, the regional office and our coalition partner Peace Action. Here are the results so far:
- USA Today story, picked up by newspapers in 16 markets includingNew Orleans.
- AP/Reuters – Counter summit listed on both wire services’ calendars. AP story on protests picked up by more than 45 outlets, print and television, including the Washington Post.
- Radio - Public News Service distributed story to 959 news talk stations across the country, picked up at least once by 24 stations in Illinois, with estimated audience of 1, 145,030 (conservative estimate, see note below), accessed online by 122 blogs, individuals and news aggregators. Two interviews onChicago’s CBS news radio affiliate. One interview on PBS’s “World View” program distributed internationally. Note: each station typically runs a story 3 to 4 times during a day.
- Television – All five networks, including Fox, covered NATO Counter Summit itself. Four interviews onChicago’s NBC and CBS affiliates. One interview with Al Jazeera.
- Op-eds/editorials – Huffington Post OpEd. SouthtownStar OpEd (Chicago Tribune’s suburban edition). Two editorial board visits, Sun Times and Daily Herald, brought mentions of protesters as “thoughtful.” The Huffington Post article was reprinted and posted on 8 other media outlets.
Overall, we garnered 215 clips from media with a circulation of 3,146,812, according to our Vocus service. We were mentioned in 22 percent of national coverage and in 19 states includingCalifornia,Texas,Florida,Pennsylvania,MassachusettsandNew York. Overall 91.8 percent of our coverage was online, drawing 167,123,121 unique visitors.
InGermany, the Counter-Summit was covered by Neues Deutschland, junge Welt, Schattenblick, Berliner Umschau (the latter two are online newspapers). Short clips of Sunday’s actions made it to the national TV news.
In France, front page and 2 internal pages in L’Humanité (national newspaper distributed to 50 000 + online website).
InMexico, Excélsior newspaper featured multiple articles about the Counter-Summit and the impacts of NATO.
Extensive coverage of our media work is available here.
Attendance Demographics
Over 300 activists attended the Counter-Summit from all over the world, with participants from Afghanistan, Canada, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Germany, Greece, Iran, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
26 states were represented, with particularly high turnout from Illinois, Alabama, California, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, and Wisconsin.
Final Statement
Chicago, Illinois, USA
May 18 & 19, 2012
A New Global Peace and Justice Movement is Rising
The NATO-Free Future gathering in Chicago coincides with a rising global movement against war, militarism, inequality and poverty. We represent the pro-peace and justice majority, the global 99%.
We heed the wisdom of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to challenge the “triple evils” of poverty, racial inequality and militarism.
The rising global peace and justice movement works from the premise that poverty, inequality and militarism are forms of violence that constitute an endless cycle that can and must be broken for the survival of humanity. Each feeds off the other, and all must be challenged.
These “triple evils” are embodied in the NATO military alliance and its relationship to the actions of many of the wealthiest countries. We are convinced that to overcome these evils we must oppose wars, embrace peace, and demand that the drive for empire be replaced by an understanding of our global interdependence and a flowering of genuine democracy. And that democracy, in turn will foster greater inclusion, equity and justice for all.
We will pursue an alternative vision of a more peaceful world, which is inextricably linked to economic, social and environmental justice.
Militarism sustains and enforces unjust national and international economic systems and poses a major obstacle to addressing the world’s most pressing problems.
NATO, never an entirely defensive alliance, has invaded countries distant from its members such as Afghanistan and Libya to disastrous effect, has expanded to Russia’s borders, provoking prospects for a new nuclear arms race, and is reaching even further afield to Africa, east Asia and the Pacific. Since theUnited Statesis the main NATO force,Latin Americaalso is threatened by the alliance. NATO’s continued reliance on nuclear weapons threatens the future of humanity and the ecosphere.
Supersized military budgets and wars along with G8 policies of austerity, funneling of wealth and resources to the 1%, and privatization and downgrading of public services drive increased unemployment and shrink critical human services.
For example, the decade of NATO’s war onAfghanistanhas cost theU.S.alone $530 billion, money that could and should have funded the salaries of school teachers and firefighters, paid healthcare costs for children, adults and veterans, or funded the conversion of tens of millions of homes to solar and wind energy.
Militarism bolsters corporate globalization in a drive to control natural resources, land and markets, and subverts democracy and human rights. It drives migration of workers in search of a better life. It generates huge profits selling weapons to all sides.
Another world — a great change of course, is necessary. We support the United Nations Charter’s call on all nations to resolve international conflicts based on dialogue, diplomacy and international law, and “to promote the establishment and maintenance of international peace and security with the least diversion for armaments of the world’s human and economic resources.”
We insist that all foreign military forces and their weapons be returned to their nations of origin and the bases turned over to the host countries. We call for national economic and tax policies to be reoriented to ensure sustainable economic development and the environmental health of the people, not the privileges and power of a relative few.
We envision a world where systemic inequalities are addressed to promote equity and full inclusion of communities of color and immigrants.
A future is possible where youth are prized and their rights and access to free and unmilitarized education respected and supported as an investment in the nation’s future.
We work to build a civilization where nonviolent struggle for peace and justice has created security, the world’s resources are equitably shared and all enjoy prosperity.
In the near term, we will press for the withdrawal of allU.S.and NATO forces, including military contractors, fromAfghanistannow, not a dozen years hence, and will work to prevent new wars.
We demand the abolition of all nuclear weapons. We demand an end to NATO’s “nuclear sharing,” wherebyU.S.nuclear weapons are stationed in ostensibly non-nuclear countries, as an important step toward the global elimination of nuclear weapons.
We will join with the many movements in our respective countries and internationally – for workers rights, immigrants rights, women’s rights and the right to peace – to build a politically empowered rising tide for peace and justice.
We will support the campaign to move the money from wars and weapons to fund human needs and guarantee environmental justice. We will build a truly global movement for peace and justice.
In 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “There is nothing more tragic than to sleep through a revolution.” Join the new global peace and justice movement.
Statement available for download here.
