“You only have to look at the Middle East to know the true nature of NATO”
On the initiative of the CPPC, coinciding with the NATO summit taking place in Vilnius, a Public Tribune "YES TO PEACE! NO TO NATO!" was held on Wednesday 12 July, at Largo José Saramago in Lisbon. Jorge Cadima spoke on behalf of the MPPM to denounce the aggressions of NATO, its member states and its regional allies in the Middle East.
The Tribune was moderated by Julie Neves of the CPPC (Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation).
In her first intervention, Rita Janeiro (CPPC) called for the signing of the petition calling for Portugal to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
She was followed by João Coelho (CGTP – General Confederation of Portuguese Workers) who denounced the escalation of the arms race and the expansion of NATO throughout the world.
The spoke Jorge Cadima (MPPM).
NATO, an instrument of United States domination in the Middle East
"If anyone still has doubts about the nature of NATO - it is not a defensive and peaceful alliance, it is a war and aggression machine - just look at the Middle East and its surroundings over the last 25 years", said Jorge Cadima opening his speech.
He then recalled the "succession of wars and aggressions by NATO or its powers that have destroyed the region of the planet richest in energy resources":
- Afghanistan in 2001, followed by 20 years of occupation;
- Iraq in 2003, after the destruction of the 1991 war and a decade of deadly sanctions [here Jorge Cadima made a parenthesis to recall Durão Barroso's role in organising the Lajes summit, which earned him the presidency of the European Commission and then a job at Goldman Sachs];
- Libya, in 2011, as NATO, which destroyed the African country with the highest human development index and opened the doors to the trafficking of migrants and refugees that turned the Mediterranean into a sea of death;
- Syria, from 2011 to the present, destroyed by war and earthquake but subject to sanctions; UN humanitarian aid has been confined to rebel-held areas; a third of the country is occupied by the United States and Trump made no secret of the fact that he was there for the oil; and the Golan Heights have been occupied by Israel for 56 years.
"It makes sense", Cadima continued, "to talk about Israel, NATO's main ally in the region, permanently sponsored by the United States, and therefore with guaranteed impunity."
He recalled the aggression against Lebanon in 2006 and the successive armed aggressions against the Palestinians, in Gaza in 2008, 2012, 2014, 2020 and now the brutal assault and destruction of the Jenin refugee camp. This year the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli armed forces or settlers has already reached 200.
"All these wars and aggressions by NATO, its members or its allies have common characteristics:
- They are conducted in violation of international law;
- They are justified by lies (not only Sadam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction);
- They leave behind destroyed and fragmented countries and enormous human tragedies of dead, wounded, displaced and refugees;
- They show a continuity of the politicians who support them, whether Democrats or Republicans in the USA, or Conservatives or Social Democrats in Europe, or even the Greens in Germany;
- They show a total repudiation of political solutions, of diplomacy".
As an example of promises betrayed, Jorge Cadima cited the nuclear deal signed with Iran in 2015, in which the signatory countries pledged to lift sanctions on Iran in exchange for its commitment to only use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes - which Iran has always claimed to want. Although there was no evidence that Iran was not complying with the agreement, the sanctions were never lifted and the United States unilaterally withdrew in 2018.
Another example of betrayed promises is that of the creation of a national and sovereign state of Palestine, made 75 years ago by the UN but never fulfilled, as have the countless resolutions passed since then, which Israel violates with impunity. While Palestine is a victim of Israel's violence and massacres, it receives calls not to resist, as if there were no aggressor and no aggressed.
"What is happening in the Middle East has everything to do with NATO, which is the instrument by which the United States seek to impose the old and new colonisations of the planet to serve the interests of the great money lords who destroy the lives of all peoples. YES TO PEACE! NO TO NATO!", concluded Jorge Cadima.
"To give 2% of GDP to defence, what will be cut?"
Sofia Costa (CPPC) evoked the struggle and resistance of the Saharaui people.
Deolinda Machado (CPPC) said that war contributes to the worsening of inequalities and recalled the positions of Pope Francis.
Matilde Lima (Noise Project) assured: young people want peace, not what war brings!
Ilda Figueiredo, President of the National Directorate of the CPPC, closed the speeches in the Tribune by denouncing the NATO summit in Vilnius as aimed at increasing military spending, escalating armaments and intensifying the policy of confrontation.
She emphasised the hypocrisy of those who claim that NATO defends freedom and democracy when one of the twelve founding members was Portugal, which was then subjected to a fascist and colonial dictatorship.
NATO requires its members to guarantee, as early as next year, a minimum of 2% of GDP for military spending. Considering that Portugal's spending is currently around 1.5% of GDP, Figueiredo asks the pertinent question: "what will be cut to channel resources to military spending?"
