War Starts Here!
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
No 89, July 2011 Editorial As we get ready for another WRI gettogether with WRI's Council War Starts Here! meeting taking place in LuleÅ, as part of War Starts Here – here we have an issue of The Broken The militarisation of Sweden Rifle focusing on what we do best at WRI: mutual support and international solidarity. WRI is a network of groups committed to antimili tarism and nonviolence, the network depends on the work and support of its members as many of you know WRI has avery small office run by two staff. Since its foundation WRI has been a natural source of solidarity on issues of antimili tarism and nonviolence. In many ways people have a sense of WRI being something like your political community, people from all parts of the world sharing common values, with whom you have contact from time to time and even in special occasions like a Council meeting you get to see them. In this newsletter we share a few examples of the importance of this mutual support. We kick off with two articles with background The global war machine kills each year we asked those we met, in which way they on the events planned in LuleÅ, directly and indirectly, millions of people, saw militarism around them, and it became where Ofog has been organising destroying entire communities, and destroys clear that militarism and Sweden's war policy a peace camp for several years. nature. Contrary to the popular image of is something that is rarely discussed. This is For 2011 Ofog decided to make Sweden, both at home and abroad, Sweden while an extensive militarization of Sweden is this an international event, so plays a major role in the war industry. Sweden going on, in many places around the country, here goes our solidarity with the is the world's largest arms exporter per and on several levels. It's about an increase Swedish peace movement. person, Sweden participates in NATO's war in in military training areas, advertising The Freedom Flotilla is one of Afghanistan and Sweden has the largest campaigns from the Armed Forces and a the best examples of the power practice area for war within its borders. military that gets increasingly more and more of international solidarity and of influence on our society. mutual support, with groups in Sweden is at war and it is waged in our many countries working together name, even though we have never been NEAT is the largest but not the only to end the blockade of Gaza. asked. It’s a war waged as a means to uphold military training area in Sweden. In both Historically WRI has been known an unjust world order in which a small global Gothenburg and over the lake VÄttern, the for its support to conscientious elite maintains its economic and political Armed Forces have applied for extended objector to military service, the power. Although Sweden isn’t an official military exercises. At the lake, they want to latest example being our support member of NATO, most of the Swedish expand the current state of the 20day for Maikel Nabil Sanad, the soldiers work under the NATO flag. Sweden exercises a year to 80 days, to conduct air Egyptian CO serving a three also has an embassy at NATO headquarters and shooting activities, including JAS 39 year sentence for "insulting the in Brussels. Gripen. In Gothenburg, the Armed Forces are Egyptian military". Last winter Wikileaksleaked documents now allowed to shoot 1.3 million shots during Workshops in nonviolence have from the U.S. Embassy in Sweden, showed 115 days per year, against the previous 100 often been opportunities for that our socalled policy of neutrality is just a 000 shots during 25 days a year. international sharing as we learn lie and that employees at the U.S. Embassy from what others are doing. The in Sweden are well aware that Sweden plays Another part of the militarization that is article on Venezuela is part of a an active role in NATO. going on is the transformation of the Swedish WRI visit to the country where armed forces, from being just a defense force WRI was requested to give a In February and March 2011 Ofog went on to becoming a professional army and attack training in nonviolent campaigns. a lecture tour in Sweden to talk about war, power. Last summer the general conscription Let's hope this year's events in militarism and the way that Sweden is was taken away. In connection with this the LuleÅ is an occasion for enlar involved in ongoing wars in the world. The Armed Forces marketed themselves with an ging and strengthening our WRI focus was on the military training area NEAT advertising campaign (worth 2,5 million community to make our work in Norrbotten, which is used by, among euros) in order to recruit more soldiers. The more effective and our solidarity others, NATO and the United States to drop more powerful. bombs on practise targets. During the tour, continued on page 2 Javier GÁrate War Starts Here! Neuron is a prototype worth 400 million Euros, and will pave the way for future unmanned Sweden lends “uninhabitated” land – to make friends with NATO bombers. Saab will begin its testing in 2012. A military exercise area for war in decision was made in the parliament on and particpate in the exercises that are northern Sweden, a commercially our future defense. The decision was an offered. Land for sale independent but politically very hot area embedded proposal to the military testing where the U.S. and NATO countries are ground already existing in the north, that Battlefield: Space Gun Britt MÄkitalo, who lives in Kiruna and testing their weapon systems on NEAT, North European Aerospace Test is a part of Women for Peace, is very critical to previously neutral, but now only “alliance Range could also be rented to foreign Space has become an increasingly the development of the military test range. free” land. The exercises also disturb the countries' armed forces and their arms important part of modern warfare. We realized, of course, we that followed residents in neighbouring areas, and industry. Esrange, the world's largest download the development, that it would be very occurs without regard to the UN NEAT does now after the cooperation station for satellites, is an important negative to put our land up to the highest Indigenous Declaration. agreement between SSC and FMV component of the training of airborne bidder, both countries and companies. We did consist of both Esrange Space center, weapons systems. e.g. unmanned aerial desperate attempts to contact various peace What used to be several small training outside of Kiruna and Vidsel Test range vehicles, UAV’s. Large investments are organizations, before the decision was taken in areas for the Swedish military, have now outside of Älvsbyn. NEAT is thus made out made 2004. But very few reigned on our cry for help. become the largest military test range in of two test sites, NEAT 1 and 2, that are in infrastructure and facilities at Then it did not take long, she says, until the air Europe, open to other countries' armed connected by an intermediate airfield, Esrange and Vidsel for advanced testing was filled with noise and planes from all sorts forces to test their weapon systems. The which can be used for testflights. of UAV’s. Opportunities for similar of countries. area covers a large part of northern Together they constitute an area almost activities are almost nonexistent in the 2007 was the worst so far, she says: Sweden, offering unique conditions such the size of Macedonia. This makes NEAT densely populated Europe, NEAT provides The sky was swarming with military as darkness and "uninhabited" areas. Europe's biggest military test range in a a unique opportunity, according to SSC. aircraft's, in an exercise that was called Nordic Areas that are populated by several contiguous area of land. It isthe Swedish Also the Swedish war industry is investing Air Meet and I think it was the start for military reindeerherding Sami communities. government that approves which weapons in unmanned aircrafts. Along with other operations on a large scale. In the newspapers On 15 December 2004, i.e. 10 years may be tested, and which countries european countries, Swedish Saab is they said it was a milestone because it was Neutrality an echo from the past after Sweden's entry into the EU, a /companies that can use the test range developing the unmannes plane Neuron. such a large practice area without restrictions. We from Women for Peace were protesting with All this is going on while a majority of the our placards, as usual, she said. Swedish population is unaware that the Swe The head of the U.S. Air Force in Europe dish security policy has changes quite drama was so amazingly happy that it was such an tically during the recent years. Most Swedes great large area, because they had been driven think that their country is “alliancefree” and away from Germany's training area, north of many believe that they are still neutral. But Berlin, a few years earlier. according to the former colonel Per Blomquist, Sweden is now an attacking state. The Swedish In 2009 it was time for a big NATO exercise armed forces are not equipped for military led from BodÖ, Norway. It was called Loyal defense but for attack. Arrow, but Ofog renamed it Royal Error. The fact that Sweden no longer is a neutral That was exactly what it was, a royal error country, and that its foreign policy draws closer because we're not a part of NATO.