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Hundreds of people gathered on Sunday to protest NATO, protest the rise in military spending and the risks of war with Iran. The protest took place two days before the alliance summit in The Hague, where leaders are expected to discuss an increase in the defense budget.
“Let’s invest in peace and sustainable energy,” Belgian politician Joe Da Haze said he would address the crowd at a park near the summit location.
The protest focused on the wars in NATO and Gaza, but many Iranians participated in response to Sunday’s attacks carried out by the US on three important Iranian nuclear sites. Protesters were seen holding signs that read “No Iran War” and “Hands off Iran.”
“We are against war. People want to live a peaceful life,” said Hossein Hamadani, 74, an Iranian living in the Netherlands. “Things aren’t good, so why do we spend money on war?” he added.
Arno van der Veen, a spokesman for the Counter Summit Coalition for Peace and Justice, who organized the protest, said the role of NATO was problematic as the US decided to join Israel in the war in Iran.
“If there is retaliation from Iran that is currently fair and legal under international law, we will also be in war with Iran as the Netherlands,” he told Euroneus.
“The next step is nuclear war. That’s what we’re so concerned about, and we see why the moment you buy more weapons, you’re more likely to use them too.
Anti-Nat activists are often thought to have a Russian stance. However, Van der Wein emphasized that his organization was against Russian imperialism and at the same time against American imperialism.
“They are now trying to divide Ukraine’s natural resources on earth,” he said. “The Ukrainian population is the victim of this war and the Russian population, because they are all sent to the military.”
The Netherlands will be holding its annual NATO summit starting Tuesday, with world leaders meeting on Wednesday.
Leaders will agree to higher defense spending, as promoted by US President Donald Trump. The talks were almost complete until Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told NATO Executive Director Mark Latte that asking Spain to spend 5% of its GDP on defense would be “irrational and counterproductive.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine more than three years ago, NATO countries have increased their defensive spending. However, almost a third still does not meet the current 2% target.
The summit is in strict security and the largest safe operation ever in the Netherlands is known as the “Orange Shield.” That includes thousands of police and military officers, drones, flight zones and cybersecurity teams.
Video Editor •Evelyn Ann-Marie Dom
Additional sources •AP
