Protests at Dayton, Ohio, May 25 - Photo: KaJeza Hawkins

On May 25, hundreds of protesters making up the People's Assembly for Peace and Justice, covering a number of anti-war organisations in the US, travelled from cities across the US to demonstrate against the Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in Dayton, Ohio. The demonstration opposed NATO as a force for increased war and militarism across the globe, with hundreds chanting, "NATO says more wars, we say no wars!" [1]

Protests at Dayton, Ohio, May 25 - Photo: Mike Adams

Politicians from NATO countries, including political representatives of the British Parliament, gathered in Dayton "to plot their next wars" as the People's Assembly had pointed out in a pre-statement organising for the protest.

The NATO Parliament meeting in Dayton marked the 30th anniversary of the "Dayton Peace Accords" of 1995. The organisers of the protest remarked that because of this they were not expecting this "push-back" from the peace and justice movement. But the negotiations of the "Dayton Peace Accords" enabled NATO to carve up Yugoslavia followings its war against the people of that region with the lie that their bombing and military intervention in Yugoslavia was for "peace". Danaka Katovich of the anti-war organisation Codepink addressed the crowd at the People's Assembly for Peace and Justice, saying, "NATO is marketed to the world as a peacekeeping force, a protector of democracy, a security treaty that's supposed to protect all member states from aggression," but she contrasted NATO's peacekeeping image to its actions in the former nation of Yugoslavia, where her family is from. "NATO killed people and committed war crimes in Yugoslavia. NATO partnered with fascist death squads in Yugoslavia that slaughtered villages of civilians. NATO killed people and committed war crimes in Libya. NATO participated in the illegal occupation and war on Afghanistan."

NATO Counter Summit, Washington DC, July 2024

In fact for over 75 years, NATO and its leading members the US and Britain have been dealers in death and destruction against the peoples fighting for progress and anti-colonialism following WWII. They launched open and covert brutal wars against the communist and progressive forces in Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Africa and South America killing millions of people. At the same time, NATO on its founding declared its enemy the former Soviet Union which had been the main ally of the US and Britain against fascism in WWII. NATO threatened the world with nuclear destruction with its so-called "containment of communism" and "cold war" strategy. These days, having committed aggression against Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, creating chaos, instability and untold suffering, countries of the NATO alliance are overseeing and supporting the Israeli brutal genocidal regime carrying out daily war crimes against the Palestinian people and their Resistance. With its proxy regime that it in stalled in Ukraine with its coup in Kyiv in 2014, NATO is also continuing to threaten Russia and the entire world with devastating global conflict. NATO strives to extend its ambitions and military threats into Eurasia, China, East Asia and Africa with NATO's Africom. The anti-war movement is declaring that NATO, like its western imperialist backers, has no place in the modern world.

Protests at Dayton, Ohio, May 25 - Photo: Mike Adams

On the last day of its Spring Session, NATO parliamentary members approved again resolutions in their closed and open sessions. These resolutions have no intention of bringing about a peaceful and democratic world as they claim. They claim, "NATO will help Ukraine remain an independent nation" when over the last decade NATO's actions have destroyed Ukraine's independence. The leader of the UK Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Sir Alec Shelbrooke MP, said, "NATO must play its full part by continuing to support Ukraine through all the tools, programmes and institutions agreed at the Washington Summit and at previous summits." Of course, Britain's role in the Ukraine war is well known in doing everything alongside the US and NATO to provoke the war between Russia and Ukraine before it started and then to escalate and arm the Kyiv regime and support the war once it did. NATO has then tried to block any peace negotiations, as they are also doing now at the present time, when there could be a real possibility of a lasting peaceful settlement between Russia and Ukraine.

Far from the Labour government's striving to bring about a peaceful settlement with Russia, reports in The Telegraph and other sources point out that the forthcoming Strategic Defence Review may be considering establishing a permanent British military presence in the Arctic and the border with Russia. On May 27, Foreign Secretary David Lammy began a visit to Norway and Iceland, where reports say that the further military build-up of the Arctic is topping his agenda. In a post on X the following day, he wrote that the "Arctic is NATO's northern flank". NATO has been actively ramping up its military capabilities in the region, and the government has made a point of strengthening individual military partnerships with Norway and Iceland.

The anti-war movement must continue to oppose and expose NATO's lies about being an alliance for peace and democracy. The upcoming NATO Summit is to be held in the Hague, Netherlands, on June 24-25, 2025 [2]. So far the topics for the summit posted, as expected, do not mention the necessity to end Israeli genocide against the Palestinians, or the necessity to bring about a permanent peace between Russia and Ukraine, but are aimed at fuelling the further militarising of European countries behind NATO and their wars. Britain is further aligning military interests with the EU in spite of Brexit. NATO's and the EU dangerous call to re-arm Germany alongside the US, Britain and other European countries must be stopped by the movements of the people for peace and justice.

No to NATO's Wars!
No to War! Yes to Peace!
Britain Out of NATO!

Notes
1. Hundreds mobilised against NATO in Dayton, Peoples Dispatch, May 27 2025
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/05/27/hundreds-mobilized-against-nato-in-dayton/
2. NATO summit, the Hague, Netherlands, on June 24-25, 2025. This is the first time the Netherlands is hosting a NATO summit, and it will bring together 45 heads of state and government, along with foreign and defence ministers from NATO's 32 member countries.
Key Topics posted by the media so far include:
- Defence Spending: NATO is expected to commit to a new 5% GDP defence spending target, a significant increase from the current 2% goal.
- Ukraine & Russia: Discussions will focus on Ukraine's NATO membership aspirations, military support, and sanctions against Russia.
- Trump's Presence: Former U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to attend, and his stance on reducing U.S. troop presence in Europe may be a major point of debate.
- Security & Cyber Threats: Leaders will address cybersecurity, infrastructure, and military readiness in response to global security challenges.
Reports say the summit will also feature a NATO Public Forum, where politicians, experts, journalists, and young people will engage in discussions about NATO's future.

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