The World Peace Council and the Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation (CPPC) salute the peace loving people of the world and the peace movements which stand up and continue denouncing imperialist wars, illegal occupations and social injustice, and call upon them to continue and reinforce the common efforts and struggles against imperialism and its mechanisms, particularly against NATO, the biggest war machinery in the world.

The WPC denounces to the peoples of the world the crimes NATO has committed and goes on committing against humanity with the pretext of either the protection of “human rights” or the fight against “terrorism” according to its own interpretation.

NATO was since its foundation in 1949 an offensive organism. After 1991, with its new military doctrine it became the world “sheriff” of the imperialist interests. It has been often connected to bloody regimes and dictatorships, reactionary forces and Juntas. It participated actively in dismembering Yugoslavia, in the barbaric bombardment of Serbia for 78 days, in the overthrow of regimes through “orange revolutions”, in the occupation of Afghanistan. NATO continues its plans for the “Great Middle East”, enlarging its range of actions through the “Partnership for Peace” and “special cooperation” in Asia and Latin America, the Middle East, North Africa, as well as the “European Army”.

All governments of the member states share responsibility in NATO, regardless the leading role of the US administration. The whatsoever different approaches on some issues reflect particular views and rivalries but they always lead to the common aggressive confrontation with the peoples.

We condemn the policy of the European Union, which coincides with NATO’s and with the Lisbon Treaty that goes hand in hand with it in the political and military fields. The Military expenditure of the EU in missions abroad has increased between 2002 and 2009 from € 30 millions Euros up to € 300 millions Euros.

The peoples and peace loving forces of the world do not accept NATO in its role as world “sheriff”. They reject any effort to incorporate NATO into the United Nations System. They demand the dissolution of this offensive military war machine. Even the fake pretext of the existence of the Warsaw Pact does not exist any more today.

The World Peace Council and its members and friends will organize in dozens of countries various national and international initiatives against NATO and its new strategic concept, announced to be adopted at the next summit in Portugal. We shall organize, together with the Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation (CPPC), events and conferences in Portugal and central mass activities anticipating and during the days of the NATO summit (November 2010) in Lisbon.

Under the slogan: NATO-Enemy of the Peoples and of Peace- DISMANTLE IT! the WPC is calling upon all Organisations in NATO member States and the entire world for the endorsement of this appeal underlining the following aspects:

· NATO has been an aggressive and reactionary force since its founding in 1949. The Warsaw Treaty had been created later and was dissolved earlier.

· NATO has had its hands dipped in the blood of many peoples for 60 years and cannot constitute “a peace-making force” within the UN framework.

· Despite the domination of the USA, aggressions are waged together with other imperialist forces, which do not change the character of NATO.

· NATO is directly bound to the EU and vice-versa, as a large number of EU countries are also members of NATO, as well as through the militarist traits and commitments embedded in the “Lisbon Treaty”.

· All governments of NATO member countries bear responsibility for its action; they support its imperialist plans.

· The NATO war against Yugoslavia in 1999 was a milestone for the new dogma at the time of its summit in Washington 1999. The fact that the EU was never a “democratic counterweight” to the USA was revealed then.

· NATO acts as a global policeman with collaborators on all continents, carrying out its Plan for a “Greater Middle East” and actively intervening in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and elsewhere.

We fully support and endorse the Portuguese campaign “Yes to peace, No to NATO” which unites dozens of movements and social Organisations. We call upon all peace loving Organisations to unite our voices and forces under this appeal and meet in November 2010 in Lisbon.

World Peace Council (WPC)

Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation (CPPC)