1. It was announced that a summit of the heads of state and government of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation will be held in Portugal, in November this year. The agenda will include, besides the intensification of the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan, a review of the Alliance’s strategic concept to include a widening of its field of action.
2. NATO is an aggressive military alliance. Formed by 28 countries from Europe and North America, it represents the extension of US military power and acts according to its interests. Its creation, in 1949, soon after the end of World War II and six years before the Warsaw Pact, marked the beginning of the Cold War and the submission of Western European countries to North American strategic interests.
3. NATO keeps the world hostage to the arms race, the threat of war and nuclear terror. Its doctrine was first announced as “defensive”. After 1991, following the extinction of the Eastern Bloc and Warsaw Pact, justified its continuation and strengthening under the excuse of safeguarding “global security”. It became an openly offensive organisation, bent on crushing the rights of the peoples, violating the national sovereignties, subverting international law and superseding the United Nations Organisation.
4. During the last decade of the 20th. century, NATO developed into a global super structure. It wrote in its charter the ambition to be the world’s cop in the name of “combat against terrorism” and “humanitarian intervention”.
   When the peoples ardently desired its extinction, NATO invented new targets, increased the number of its members and forces, approached the borders of Russia and China. Its presence on the planet extended through a network of military bases, new commands and partnerships stretching from the South Atlantic to Africa and the Indian Ocean.
5. NATO’s first wars were launched against Yugoslavia, in 1999, against Afghanistan, in 2001, and recently, in Pakistan’s territory. Moving from threats to action, NATO was responsible for the destruction of countries and resources, and the liquidation of uncountable human lives.
6. Based upon the so-called “Atlantic cooperation”, NATO has promoted the growing militarization of Europe. Germany, after the 1990 reunification, strengthened its offensive capacity and began participating in armed interventions outside its borders, twelve countries from Eastern Europe were integrated in the Alliance and armed by it.
7. The European Union became the European pillar of NATO. With the excuse of reinforcing its “capacity of defence and security”, the Lisbon Treaty emphasized the commitment of the European countries into NATO’s political and military structures. In concert with the US, the European Union has given increasing support to the Alliance’s actions.
8. Countries led by governments submitted to the interests of the US and its allied European powers are compelled to participate in NATO’s actions, giving political, propagandistic, diplomatic and logistic support. They are forced to spend large sums of money in troops and equipment, undermining security and the living conditions of their peoples. And, at the same time, become accomplices of violation of international law.
9. The Portuguese governments do not escape this rule. A founding member of NATO through the hand of the fascist regime, for more than 60 years Portugal has remained subject to the Alliance and the interests of the US and big European powers.
   The commitments have meant political and practical support to NATO’s activities throughout its existence and, in recent years, to the aggressions it has committed. They include the surrender of military bases and installations in national territory and the opening of the Portuguese air space to the Alliance’s missions. All this took place without the Portuguese population having a say.
10. Following the lines of the previous governments, the present Portuguese government – which invokes the crisis to make deep cuts in social expenses – spends more and more millions of euros to adapt the armed forces to NATO’s demands and the contingents it places at the service of its military adventures.
11. Violations of international law and war crimes are obscured by propaganda campaigns and lies. Public opinion is systematically and deliberately confounded by reproducing arguments that are dear to the interests of the big powers and assumed as if they were “national interests”.
12. The commitment of the Portuguese authorities to the Atlantic Alliance clashes with the fundamental rights laid down in the United Nations Charter (of which Portugal is a signatory) and the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic: sovereignty, independence, non-interference, non-aggression, peaceful resolution of conflicts, equality between states; abolition of imperialism, colonialism and any other type of aggression, domination and exploitation; disarmament, dissolution of political and military blocs.
13. And so, we consider that the NATO summit is not welcome. Its holding in Portugal signifies the involvement of the country in the militarist aims of the Alliance, which constitute a threat to peace and to international security.

Against this, we launch an appeal to all different organizations in Portuguese society and to the men and women defenders of peace to get together in a national campaign to:

• express the opposition of the Portuguese population to the NATO summit and its bellicist objectives
• demand that the government withdraw the Portuguese forces involved in NATO’s military missions
• claim the end of foreign military bases and NATO installations in national territory
• demand the dissolution of NATO
• demand a disarmament and the end of nuclear and mass destruction weapons
• demand from the Portuguese authorities the compliance with the United Nations Charter and the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, respect international law, and the sovereignty and equality of peoples

Sponsoring organizations:

A Voz do Operário
Arruaça – Associação Juvenil
Associação Água Pública
Associação Cultural Recreativa Vale de Estacas
Associação das Colectividades do Concelho de Lisboa
Associação das Colectividades do Concelho de Loures
Associação das Colectividades do Concelho do Seixal
Associação de Agricultores do Distrito de Lisboa
Associação de Amizade Portugal-Cuba
Associação de Estudantes da Escola Secundária Dr. José Afonso – Seixal
Associação de Estudantes da Escola Secundária Emídio Navarro
Associação de Estudantes da Escola Secundária Gil Vicente
Associação de Estudantes da Escola Superior de Arte e Design – Caldas da Raínha
Associação de Reencontro dos Emigrantes
Associação de Solidariedade com o País Basco
Associação dos Inquilinos Lisbonenses
Associação Iniciativa Jovem
Associação Portuguesa de Amizade e Cooperação Iúri Gagárin
Associação Recreativa e Cultural de Músicos
Casa do Alentejo
Centro de Apoio a Idosos de Moreanes
Clube Desportivo “Os Águias” de Alpiarça
Clube Estefânia
Clube Recreativo União Raposense
Colectivo Mumia Abu-Jamal
Colectivo Socialismo Revolucionário
Comissão de Moradores do Alto Seixalinho
Comité Nacional Preparatório português do 17º Festival Mundial da Juventude e dos Estudantes
Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores Portugueses – Intersindical Nacional
Confederação Nacional da Agricultura
Confederação Nacional de Reformados Pensionistas e Idosos
Confederação Portuguesa das Colectividades de Cultura, Recreio e Desporto
Confederação Portuguesa de Quadros Técnicos e Científicos
Conselho Português para a Paz e Cooperação
Coordenadora das Comissões de Trabalhadores da Região de Lisboa
Direcção Regional de Setúbal do Sindicato Nacional dos Trabalhadores da Administração Local
Ecolojovem – Os Verdes
Escola de Mulheres – Oficina de Teatro
Escolas do Desportivo da Cova da Piedade
Escutismo Alternativo
Federação dos Sindicatos da Agricultura, Alimentação, Bebidas, Hotelaria e Turismo de Portugal
Federação Intersindical das Indústrias Metalúrgica, Química, Farmacêutica, Eléctrica, Energia e Minas
Federação Nacional dos Professores
Federação Nacional dos Sindicatos da Função Pública
Federação Portuguesa dos Sindicatos da Construção, Cerâmica e Vidro
Frente Anti-Racista
Grupo Desportivo Recreativo das Figueiras
Grupo Recreativo Apelaçonense
Grupo Sportivo Adicense
Grupo União Lebrense
Inter-Reformados
Interjovem
Juventude Comunista Portuguesa
Liga dos Amigos da Mina de São Domingos
Movimento de Utentes dos Serviços Públicos
Movimento Democrático de Mulheres
Os Penicheiros
Os Pioneiros de Portugal
Partido Comunista Português
Partido Ecologista “Os Verdes”
Partido Humanista
Planeta Azul – Associação Ecológica Alternativa
Política Operária
Projecto Ruído – Associação Juvenil
Sindicato da Cerâmica do Sul
Sindicato das Indústrias Electricas do Sul
Sindicato dos Enfermeiros Portugueses Direcção Regional de Coimbra
Sindicato dos Metalúrgicos de Lisboa, Leiria, Santarém e Castelo Branco
Sindicato dos Professores da Região Centro
Sindicato dos Trabalhadores Civis das Forças Armadas, Estabelecimentos Fabris e Empresas de Defesa
Sindicato dos Trabalhadores da Aviação e Aeroportos
Sindicato dos Trabalhadores da Função Pública do Sul e Açores
Sindicato dos Trabalhadores da Indústria de Hotelaria, Turismo, Restaurantes e Similares do Norte
Sindicato dos Trabalhadores da Indústria Vidreira
Sindicato dos Trabalhadores da Pesca do Sul
Sindicato dos Trabalhadores da Química, Farmacêutica, Petróleo e Gás do Centro, Sul e Ilhas
Sindicato dos Trabalhadores das Indústrias de Celulose, Papel,Gráfica e Imprensa
Sindicato dos Trabalhadores de Transportes Rodoviários e Urbanos de Portugal
Sindicato dos Trabalhadores do Comércio, Escritórios e Serviços de Portugal
Sindicato dos Trabalhadores do Município de Lisboa
Sindicato dos Trabalhadores do Sector Têxtil da Beira Baixa
Sindicato dos Trabalhadores dos Têxteis, Lanifícios, Vestuário, Calçado e Cortumes do Sul
Sindicato dos Trabalhadores na Indústria de Hotelaria, Turismo, Restaurantes e Similares do Sul
Sindicato Nacional dos Trabalhadores da Administração Local
Sindicato Nacional dos Trabalhadores da Agricultura e das Indústrias de Alimentação, Bebidas e Tabacos
Sindicato Nacional dos Trabalhadores do Sector Ferroviário
Sindicato Nacional dos Trabalhadores dos Correios e Telecomunicações
Sociedade Filarmónica União Piedense
Teatro Fórum de Moura
Trevim Cooperativa Editora e de promoção Cultural
Tribunal Iraque (Audiência Portuguesa do Tribunal Mundial sobre o Iraque)
União de Resistentes Antifascistas Portugueses
União dos Sindicatos de Aveiro
União dos Sindicatos de Braga
União dos Sindicatos de Castelo Branco
União dos Sindicatos de Lisboa
União dos Sindicatos de Santarém
União dos Sindicatos de Setúbal
União dos Sindicatos do Algarve
União dos Sindicatos do Distrito de Beja
União dos Sindicatos do Norte Alentejano
União dos Sindicatos do Porto
União Local de Sindicatos de Sines, Santiago do Cacém, Grandola e Alcácer do Sal
Universidade Popular do Porto

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