{"id":402,"date":"2025-05-01T18:06:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T18:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thehaguepeace.org\/tegentopcoalitie\/?p=402"},"modified":"2025-06-08T18:07:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-08T18:07:08","slug":"counter-summit-coalition-organizes-demonstration-and-counter-summit-against-nato-no-nato-war-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehaguepeace.org\/tegentopcoalitie\/en\/2025\/05\/01\/counter-summit-coalition-organizes-demonstration-and-counter-summit-against-nato-no-nato-war-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"Counter-Summit Coalition Organizes Demonstration and Counter-Summit Against NATO: \u201cNo NATO War Summit!\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Hague\u00a0\u2013 A group of organizations and activists, united under the banner of the\u00a0Counter-Summit Coalition for Peace and Justice, is organizing a demonstration and counter-summit against NATO in The Hague on\u00a0June 21 and 22. On the weekend before the NATO summit, the coalition aims to raise a critical voice. The counter-summit will feature panel discussions, workshops, and lectures addressing the dangers of NATO\u2019s military policies and exploring alternative solutions for sustainable and just peace. The event will culminate in a demonstration against the NATO war summit. The organizers expect a diverse group of participants from both the Netherlands and abroad.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spokesperson Olaf Kemerink<\/strong> explains:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhile many people are afraid of further military escalation, NATO is coming to The Hague to prepare for more war. Rutte and Trump won\u2019t bring peace \u2014 they\u2019re organizing a war summit to decide that even more money should go to the arms industry.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Counter-Summit Coalition believes it is time for a different voice. Spokesperson Guido van Leemput<\/strong> adds:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIf you read the newspapers, you\u2019d think NATO is keeping us safe. But with the arms race they are fueling and the war rhetoric they promote, the world is only becoming more dangerous. Those who stockpile weapons will eventually want to use them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Now that NATO member states are increasingly divided and the alliance appears to be in its biggest crisis since its founding, the need for an alternative grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIn The Hague, they want to \u2018save\u2019 NATO with more defense spending, but we want solutions rooted in sustainable peace and justice,\u201d Van Leemput says.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe want to engage with everyone who feels fear, anger, or concern about increasing militarization. Security should center people \u2014 not just the safety of a select group of wealthy nations.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The resistance to militarization is broad. Kemerink explains:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cFrom local residents resisting military training zones, to Palestinians being bombed with NATO weapons. From climate activists who know the war industry destroys the planet, to union members who see that weapons spending leads to cuts in education \u2014 we want to bring all of these groups together.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Counter-Summit Coalition hopes to help revitalize the anti-war movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThat is urgently needed,\u201d Van Leemput says.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe cannot allow the war machine of Rutte and Trump to keep rolling forward unchecked.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In the coming period, the coalition will work on organizing the counter-summit and demonstration, while spreading its message. Through activism, lectures, and articles, they aim to draw attention to the dangers of militarization and the need for alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re reaching out to everyone who feels fear, anger, or concern about the increasing militarization,\u201d says Van Leemput.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhether it\u2019s about the war in Ukraine, the threat of nuclear weapons, or NATO\u2019s role in keeping out refugees from wars it helped fuel \u2014 we want to start a conversation with anyone who\u2019s open to it, and we hope everyone who cares about peace and justice will join us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Kemerink concludes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cNATO does not serve ordinary people \u2014 it serves the interests of a small group of wealthy countries and the arms industry. That\u2019s why the alternative will have to come from the people themselves. And we can use all the help we can get.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For more information and ways to support the Counter-Summit Coalition, visit tegentopcoalitie.nl<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donations are welcome via: https:\/\/firestarterfund.nl\/campaigns\/13<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Hague\u00a0\u2013 A group of organizations and activists, united under the banner of the\u00a0Counter-Summit Coalition for Peace and Justice, is organizing a demonstration and counter-summit against NATO in The Hague on\u00a0June 21 and 22. On the weekend before the NATO summit, the coalition aims to raise a critical voice. The counter-summit will feature panel discussions, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehaguepeace.org\/tegentopcoalitie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehaguepeace.org\/tegentopcoalitie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehaguepeace.org\/tegentopcoalitie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehaguepeace.org\/tegentopcoalitie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehaguepeace.org\/tegentopcoalitie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thehaguepeace.org\/tegentopcoalitie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":403,"href":"https:\/\/thehaguepeace.org\/tegentopcoalitie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402\/revisions\/403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehaguepeace.org\/tegentopcoalitie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehaguepeace.org\/tegentopcoalitie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehaguepeace.org\/tegentopcoalitie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}