NATO – A war machine for interventions is “celebrating” its 70th anniversary
NATO threatens Peace
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 4 April 2019, Nicosia
The 70th anniversary of NATO’s foundation represents yet another reminder of the abhorrent role it has played in aggressive wars, in humanitarian catastrophes, the uprooting of millions of people from their ancestral homes, the wider militarization of international relations, and more specifically in the illegitimate subjugation of the people’s interests to a handful of powerful states on the planet. In Cyprus, no one can be celebrating the 70th anniversary of this organization, which through its own machinations and plans facilitated Turkey’s expansionist policies against our homeland and people, culminating in the Turkish invasion of 1974, the consequences of which we continue to experience.
These are what the Foreign Ministers of the 29 NATO member states in Washington are celebrating on the 70th anniversary of the North Atlantic Alliance’s establishment. However, this is what the peoples are mourning: 1999 – the war waged against Yugoslavia and the dissolution of the country, 2001 – Afghanistan which is still mourning victims and counting “collateral losses”, 2003 – Iraq is still trying to rebuild its country, 2010 – Libya remains at the mercy of warring factions. And whilst the Syrian people suffered and is still suffering from the devastating consequences of foreign interventions, the NATO forces were arming terrorists, those very forces who turned into a truly global threat.
NATO was formed in 1949 and expanded during the Cold War with the declared aim of combating the Soviet Union and the “communist threat”. It expanded by rallying various countries under the leadership of the major imperialist centres, promoting the interests of big capital and interconnecting them with the interests of the arms industry. This process led and continues to lead to the arms race and the channeling of these arms through the creation of war conflicts.
The termination of the Warsaw Pact and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1992 and 1991 respectively have rendered the continuation of NATO’s existence anachronistic. On the contrary NATO is expanding, including through the institutionalization of various programs and synergies – such as the institutionalized complementarity with the European Union. At the same time, the so-called “war on terrorism” is being used as a cover by NATO for waging past and other invasions and for conducting supposedly “peaceful missions” with the sole aim of regime change and the securing of the geopolitical control of the world. NATO’s military industries are profiting enormously from selling arms, with the Middle East and the Gulf representing the biggest arms market. One should not be fooled about the true nature of NATO. The plan for a “Greater Middle East” go hand in hand with the goal of controlling energy sources and energy transport routes.
The Cypriot people, itself a victim of NATO plans and interventions, does not forget that the twin crime of the fascist coup d’état and the Turkish invasion, the effects of which are still being experienced by the whole of our people, was agreed at the NATO Summit held in Lisbon in 1971. Those forces and circles currently raising the issue of the Republic of Cyprus joining NATO or its branches, must first explain to the Cypriot people how they envision our country’s role in the wider region. Namely, whether instead of a bridge of peace they prefer to transform Cyprus into an aggressive launching pad for the waging of military interventions and into a target of asymmetric threats. They must also explain what they intend to give in return to Turkey in order for it to accept the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to NATO, as part of a solution to the Cyprus problem, as certain forces and circles are currently promoting.
This Alliance was and remains an aggressive war machine that violates the Charter of the United Nations and International Law and threatens world peace.
That is precisely why AKEL is:
– Against any NATO involvement in Cyprus and a NATO solution to the Cyprus problem,
– Against any idea of Cyprus joining the so-called “Partnership for Peace”, which is a branch of NATO
– Against the EU’s coupling with NATO and the deepening of this relationship
– Against the further expansion of NATO
AKEL demands the dissolution of NATO.
