Despite unprecedented security measures, Greenpeace activists unfurled a banner off the Bosphorous Bridge to protest against NATO's irrational nuclear policy.
To send the message home Greenpeace Mediterranean activists hung
a massive banner from the Bosphorous Bridge for all the delegates
to see.
"NATO is the world's largest military nuclear alliance. It is
about 'keeping the peace' through a threat - the threat of using
nuclear weapons- and threats are the least likely way to achieve
peace and stability in the world," said Nicky Davies from
Greenpeace. The expansion of NATO to 26 member nations reaffirms
the importance of NATO countries starting the process of nuclear
disarmament.
We have consistently campaigned for a world free of nuclear
weapons. The US, Britain and France possess over 10,000 nuclear
weapons. There are also over 150 nuclear bombs placed in six NATO
member states, including Turkey, provided by the US and assigned
for use by NATO. Use our 'zoom on doom' map to
discover which countries have nuclear weapons.
Yet, some countries have been able to say no to NATO coercion:
Denmark, Norway and Spain have made a conscious decision to not
allow the deployment of NATO nuclear weapons on their territories,
and Greece has successfully requested the removal of the nuclear
arms in its territory.
In 1971, 184 countries made a commitment to achieve complete
nuclear disarmament under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
More than thirty years later, nuclear disarmament still has not
been achieved. To the contrary, the US Administration now justifies
the use of nuclear weapons first, even in conventional conflict,
rather than only when threatened with a nuclear strike, the world
is more at risk from nuclear conflict than at any time since the
Cold War.
As NATO nuclear policy traditionally mirrors that of the US,
leaders of NATO member countries, meeting for the first time this
morning, must send a clear message to the US Administration that
this time NATO will not follow in its footsteps.
"If the leaders of the world's most powerful nations feel they
have come to Istanbul to promote peace here on the bridge between
Europe and Asia in the way the vast majority of Europeans demand,
they will do so by saying no to Bush's nuclear doctrine, no to NATO
nuclear weapons altogether, and no to the concept that deadly
nuclear arms can in any way promote peace," said Ozgur Gurbuz from
Greenpeace Mediterranean.
Despite unprecedented security measures, Greenpeace activists
unfurled a banner off the Bosphorous Bridge to protest against
NATO's irrational nuclear policy.