NATO-Free Future

On May 20th, as the NATO Summit began at the McCormick Place Convention Center in downtown Chicago, we marched with the Palestinian/Puerto Rican/Filipino contingent, members of the Network for a NATO-free Future, and the members of the Swedish anti-militarist network, Ofog. Highlights of the march included us helping to carry a 40-foot Palestinian flag and spirited chants like: “Move, NATO, get out the way, get out the way, get out the way!” As we approached in the thousands a stage placed a few blocks from the convention center at Cermak and Michigan, we watched and listened as the Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans of Iraq Veterans Against the War and members of Afghans for Peace began to tell their stories. We heard moving testimony as the veterans threw their medals at the center. The many groups there, coming together to confront NATO and the many agendas it represents, gave me a shot of electricity and a vision of an anti-militarist movement to come.

For more, check out the full report from Network for a NATO Free Future.