NATO-'Security Conference - it's getting wild!

national | miscellaneous | news report Tuesday January 28, 2003 17:57 by Indy Germany www.de.indymedia.org

Annually a high ranking-conference of war mongers takes place in Munich in February. In camouflage as “security conference” representatives of the military, economic and political elite vote for their hegemony strategies. But like already last year this summit in Munich will be accompanied by actions of protest and resistance. Since a few months it was mobilized against the world war-elite internationally with the slogan "Smash NATO".

One year ago, there were thousands of people demonstrating in the streets, despite Verbot of all forms of protest against the “security conference”. This year mayer of Munich Christian Ude decided for a “strategie of convergence”. If he wouldn’t have to welcome the world war-elite in the city hall, he would love to participate in the protests himself. Of course only in the democratic and peaceful groups. The days in Munich will show if the alliance is successful in fending off the attempt of splitting the movement. Up to now however we think: “We are not willing to accept a dictation of the way we want to perform our protests”.

What is the “security conference?”
"What’s the world economic forum in Davos (WEF) for the representatives of international economy the security conference in Munich is for the representatives of the strategic community.”
Horst Teltschik, the organizor of the "Conference for Security-Policy in Munich" - this is the official name of the conference - is talking about a "peace-conference", the opponents are talking about the "meeting of the war-elite of the world". The "Alliance against the NATO Security Conference", which already organized the protests of last year together with ATTAC and the Peace-Alliance Munich, is stirring action against the conference, which will take place from 7th till 9th February in the "Hotel Bayerischer Hof" in the city center of Munich for the 39th time. Since a few weeks they are joined by the alliance for the protection of children Munich, the Protestant Church and parts of trade unions.
Topics of this meeting were first nuklear attacks, future military strategies and concepts, planning of deployments in countries which are no partners of the state-alliance, the expansion of „security“ onto non-military threats what would legitimize a constant-state-of-war without local or chronological borders. This year of cause main topics will be the „war against terror“ and the possible defense-war against Iraq.

Press conference of the “security conference” 2003:
During a press interview Horst Teltschik tried to take the wind out of the protesters sails with a classical propaganda trick of revers. 'War is peace' – is his message. Not like protesters claim it would be a NATO-conference, the “security conference was an “international peace-conference”. The statement to prove that was a bit unlucky however: “The participants talk about crisis and the overcomming of them and about measurements of crisis prevention. Does it happen somewhere else, that high-grade politicians and military from democratic and non-democratic countries discuss those topics that intensively?”

Up to now 28 Foreign Ministers and Defense Ministers, the NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson, as well as the high-grade representative for the common foreign- and security policy of the EU Dr. Javier Solana have already agreed to come to the 39th conference. Representatives of all parties in parliament will also take part. Beyond 400 journalists, who will begleiten the conference, various spezial journalists will be among the participants. For Telschik a sign of transperency and openness – for others a statement of connectivity of Journalism and war-busines.

It’s clear that wars are also lead because of raw materials, trade channels and regional supremacy. But in a capitalistic society war do not only meen concurence but a fundamental prerequesite for a functioning system. Because the basis of exploitation is unequal distribution, robbery and conquest – and those are most easily achievable with military force. But wars are not only instruments to keep existing conditions, but solutions of own problems (for example crisis due to super-production) or to change to another form of capitasistic reality. Globalized capitalism also leads global war.
"They are often accompanied by imaginations of violence, destruction and elimination not being rational, hostile to modernisation and unproductive „actually“. The irrational part of capitalism so to speak, one should take away from its rational forms. Fact is however the absolute contrary. Violence, destruction and also war are part of the main capitalistic rationallity, of the central theme modernising and development.“ (Detlef Hartmann: the economy of war – war of economy)
In the context of capitalistic globalisation war is not destruction, but primarily “creative destruction”. The advantage of war for capitalistic exploitation is to “create” new forms of command in destroying unprofitable and resistant levels of society, to rise new military vanguards, to smash resistance between borders and to force the people to accept the logic of war. War is always, from this point of view a war of transformation. Transformation to another conditions of exploitation.

But the movements against the capitalistic globalisation all over the world ignored the military factor – it was mobilised for the summits of political or economic elites (G8/IMF/WEF). Not before the open war policy after 11th September the military component of globalisation was a topic. Different to the “old peace-movement” which was motivated pacifistically, the „new anti-war-movement“ saw war policy in a social context. Economic exploitation and war are different cases. And if it happens, that goblisation will militarize the anti-war-movement has to internationalize. International mobilization for the NATO-conference in Prague (November 2002) and for the “security-conference” in Munich are sign for the tendency like campaigns against a new war against Iraq show in Europe or anywhere else in the world.

The “security conference” has a lot of matters and topics – therefore it is an excellent thopic for the anti-war-movement:
- the conferens is T H E meeting of the war elite of the world.
- the meeting is a clear example for the tight cooperation of the military, political and economic elite.
- the “security conference” is a good example for the odd public work of peace propaganda: There are no discussions about war, but about “peace”, “global challenges” and “security”.
- the “security conference” makes clear the connection between war and partriarchy – the meeting is nearly a pure circle of men [image]
Therefore there has been protests against the „security conference” in the past years. Often only with a few dozen people or a few hundered activists, but since last year Munich is a highlight of mobilization for the anti-war-movement. As protests against the élitist meetings of the ruling, got fashion, angry against the war of the West against the global South („war against terror) and spurred on by the prohibition of protests by the city council, there were thousands of people on the street last February.

Days of protest in Munich 7th – 8th February 2003

This year again an alliance of various groups calls for protest against the „security conference“. Despite of different political perspectives all participants agreed to a “union of action” during a common process of discussion. In short this meens, not to let split the union of protest against the conference and to organize a big demonstraiton. The mutual call “against the meeting of the world war-elite in Munich – International solidarity against worldwide exploitation and oppression“ is the obvious result of the cooperation.

Different to last year an prohibition of protests is unlikely, according to the organizers. On the contrary: without mayer elections and strengthened by the governmental peace-policy there is a rush of false friends onto the protest alliance. Even mayor Christian Ude – last year following a hard line of prohibiting the protests – changed his mind and said, the right to demonstrate and the aims of the peace-movement were important basic rights of “our democracy”. During the past days he wondered, if he should participate in the protests with his own demonstration.
But this strategy of convergence has its dark sides too. Behind the new delight to protest the mayor hides the idea to split the protesters. It will be tried (like in Davos – WEF) to split the “peaceful” from the so called violent part of the protests. Ude said in an interview; “the circle of invitors has expand and calmed” or “organizers like ATTAC and the peace-alliance stand for peaceful actions”. This results in the fact, he tries to drive a wedge between the demonstration-alliance. The “alliance against the NATO security conference” (the main part of the organizers) is not mentioned with a word. The “evel” of last year, who were said to be “the same like in Genova” shall be isolated. There is fear, that it is Ude’s tactical aim to force the domonstration-alliance to a public statement being non-violent. Up to now those attempts were unsuccessful – the broad alliance stick together and is not willing to accept a dictation of their ways of protest from the mayor.

Creative aktions against the NATO-security conference
Beyond the registered rallies and demonstrations there has been a call to get active against the “security conference” with different actions within the whole inner city:
"This time we want to create the protests unpredictably and broader by various decentral and creative actions within the whole inner city. We imagine: street-theatre, fire-show, performance, acrobatics, reclaim the streets, sound-systems, bands, colourful costumes and figures build of paper, undisguising of war mongers with the disguise of carneval-masks and everything you want to do…
On Saturday 8th February, there a Großdemo on Marienplatz is planned. But decide yourself, where you want to perform your actions. Near the demo-route would be good, that you can join the march later. Anyway, the demonstration should not be a montononous funeral march, but as colourful and powerful as possible.”