Spain (State of)

The coalition “Banca Cívica sin armas” (Civic banking without arms) was launched last December in front of the central offices of Banca Cívica (Civic Banking) in Pamplona-Iruña, State of Spain.

This coalition is formed by three collectives: SETEM Nafarroa, Iruña Group against the Palestinian War Elkartasuna Ekimena, and Alternativa Antimilitarista KEM-MOC.
The website http://www.bancacivicasinarmas.org/ was launched at the same time laying out the reasons why the three collectives joined together.

Pedro Otaduy, who died on Sunday, 8 January, at the age of 53, was one of the historic figures of MOC in the State of Spain - specifically Navarra - and especially Objeción Fiscal a los Gastos Militares (war tax resistance).

By Carlos Pérez Barranco
 

I imagine that the majority of us who participated in last Sunday’s demonstration on May 15th, believed that we were going to repeat the familiar experience of taking to the streets for a just cause, only to then go back home with the feeling of having participated in something necessary but in some way sterile.
 

Jordi Calvo Rufanges

The 15-M movement - which began occupying city squares on May 15 - has not emerged as a movement with necessarily overt antimilitarist, pacifist or nonviolent overtones. It has, however, from its very inception declared itself as “pacifist”, and conducted its protests through “peaceful means” and “without violence”. Without having carried out a detailed analysis of what this means exactly I can say that the many thousands of people in the squares of the Spanish State, have opted to carry out actions and raise their voices without using violence.

Theme groups New developments in war profiteering: (Coordinator: Wendela de Vries, Campagne tege Wapenhandel, the Netherlands)
How do we respond to new developments such as Privatisation of war, (the growing use of commercial companies instead of national armed forces.) the use of Drones (you don’t go to war, you just take your joystick) and homeland security as a new profitable branch, used for crowd control, catching refugees and spying on opposition. How do we develop arguments, can we make new strategic connections with other campaigns?

On 11 March 2011, the Platform against the BBVA bank of Bilbao held a gathering and a protest outside the BBVA shareholders’ meeting held in the Palacio Euskalduna in Bilbao. Both were very successful. Participation in the protest was high and the action was carried out at the entrance of the thieves’ cave (as it has been labelled by many during the protests) without any incidents.

Frank Slijper

After the bloody suppression of protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, the European Union (and the US) ordered an arms embargo that applies until today. From a human rights perspective this is fully justified: the situation remains appalling and attempts at democratic reforms are nipped in the bud. At the same time the embargo is also clearly politically motivated, to keep China as small as possible in military terms. While the economic relationship with China has grown, military co-operation rightly remains a thorny issue. Despite cracks in the embargo it won't be off the table any time soon. Yet it is a question how long the blockade will be maintained with China strengthening its power base.

Alternativa Antimilitarista-MOC demands an immediate halt to the State of Alarm regarding air traffic controllers in Spain, as well as their demilitarization.

This action is part of the protests against the Lisbon NATO summit in November

Saturday, Oct. 30th 2010

15 ANTIMILITARIST ACTIVISTS MAKE THEIR WAY INTO THE NATO MILITARY BASE OF BÉTERA (VALENCIA) AND TURN IT INTO A PLAYGROUND TO DEMAND ITS CLOSURE, TROOP WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN AND ABOLITION OF ARMED FORCES

Nine people, tried for disturbing public order in the action of boycotting Israel in the Price Circus, have been cleared.

The trial, in which nine activists were tried for an action carried out in June this year, lasted little over half an hour.

Despite the heavy police presence (local, national and secret forces) and security guards, on the 18th of October at 10.30 am around fifty people gathered to show support for those on trial, at the steps of the Plaza de Castilla Courts in Madrid, Spain.

The German Marshall Fund of the United States annually does a survey on important "transatlantic trends", which can make an interesting read. One of the questions asked is: "Please tell me to what extent do you agree with the following: Under some conditions, was is necessary to obtain justice." (Q29.2). The answers are quite revealing (see graphic below).

On the morning of 12 September, peace activists protested on the beach at Victoria, Cadiz, during the III (Military) Air Festival. Members of the R.A.N.A (Antimilitarist and Nonviolent Network of Andalucia) carried a huge banner announcing "these planes have been produced for war", while overhead various combat planes - Eurofighter, Harriers, etc - made a horrible noise.