On 26 July, 170 peace activists from 17 countries entered the “North European Aerospace Test Range” (NEAT) in north Sweden in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience. Some 28 activists were arrested or detained, among them activists from Venezuela, the UK, Spain, Germany and Finland. The action started at midday with a pink carnival which involved people marking the test range and the road leading to it with pink arrows and the slogan “War starts here, let’s stop it here!”. The airspace was marked by a release of pink balloons after a die-in outside the area.
The aim of the action was to expose the role of the massive test range in preparing for wars. Military drones used against Gaza and missile systems used against Iraq, Aghanistan and Libya have all been tested at NEAT. The action, and accompanying peace camp, were organised by the Swedish anti-militarist network Ofog. More info, photos and video:
www.warstartshere.com