“No to war and no to NATO!” are the main slogans that the Canarian Platform for Peace and Neutrality, made up of more than 20 social organizations, will defend in the demonstration called next Saturday in the Islands. The goal of organizations is demilitarize the Canary Islands and convert the Archipelago into a neutral territory against international conflicts. The call will serve, according to the representatives of the platform, to “incorporate all the organizations of the Canarian people, political, social, trade union or cultural, that fight for peace into this process.” The platform has been defending these ideals for 36 years, but the initiative is now gaining more strength in the context of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
the summons “will welcome all islanders who defend the end of armed conflicts” explains Koldobi Velasco, one of the platform’s spokespersons, whose objective is that The Canary Islands is a region of world peace. The meeting will take place simultaneously in the two capital islands. On the one hand, in Gran Canaria, the march will begin at 11:00 am in the Plaza de la Feria in the capital of Gran Canaria and will end an hour later in Parque San Telmo. In addition, cultural activities will be held once the demonstration ends. In Tenerife the schedules will be the same, but the route will go from La Laguna to Plaza del Cristo.
The members of the initiative call for the creation of a Statute of Neutrality, with international recognition, which guarantees that the Islands are “never used as a platform for aggression against other countries, neither in war scenes nor in military operations of any other type”. This document, “must be submitted for approval in a referendum” by the canaries, they explain from the organization. Velasco acknowledges that it is a long process that involves a “complex legal and formal part” but trusts that the demonstration will be a first step to “spread awareness in the Archipelago.”
The demonstration also coincides with the anniversary of the referendum of March 12, 1986, in which the Canary Islands said “no” to the permanence of the Spanish State in the NATO. And it is that the representatives of the platform are not only against the conflicts, but also denounce that NATO is the “main threat to peace” for being the “actor” that is “sustaining the wars of the entire planet”. Therefore, they insist on the demilitarization of the Canary Islands, the dismantling of all the armies in the Islands and of the bases and installations. “The Canary Islands have one soldier for every 145 inhabitants, this represents an expense that could be devoted to other issues,” criticizes Velasco.
Regarding the role of NATO in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Velasco considers that the Atlantic Alliance is one of the main actors responsible and rejects the “militaristic logic of good guys and bad guys.” According to the spokeswoman for the platform, “no alternative that arises from the armies defends peace.” For this reason, they also reject the next NATO summit in Madrid, scheduled for June 29 and 30, in which new military actions will be planned.
