LAST MONTH, on 12 February, TONY BENN spoke at a mass meeting in Madrid, Spain, as part of the campaign for a 'no' vote in the Spanish NATO membership. The referendum takes place on 12 March. Below we reprint Benn's speech.
Importance of the Spanish I have come here to express support for your campaign membership of NATO. For if the people of Spain decide to vote against NATO membership, in next month's relerenaum, lt will be welcomea by al those who working peace everywheré in the world. Indeed it could herald the beginning of a really powerful movement against military blocs in Europe, against the ever-escalating nuclear arms race and against the American domination of rurope actor celerte die TornickBITUSI Spanish people, should also demand a spall thousands of American troops in over a hundred US bases equipped with a President Reagan whom we did not Cano canno use of these bases or these weapons.
Targets States stumbling into war, or actually same is true in Europe, who believe that NATO, and lucical wcapuls member of the civil wing of NATO, for that organization is committed to those countries the West against Soviet aggression, was I casull many twice this century, after having million dead defeating the Nazis beton Spanish demonstrators campaign against NATO al Ci around its borders, as it has done in Eastern Europe, but that is not the USSR covering nuclear and chemical Responding to these Soviet inworld capitalism — now itself in crisis When military dictatorships came and in Latin America the ANZUS, which have provided a strAs we saw in New Zealand, NON-nuCical retal Americans save obstructed too Americans have obstructed the policy of the PASOK government by Cuba and the much more recent invapeople of Vietnam were made to carry We should not forget which comes from the South African government, democracv aLSS The attack on the Bay of Pigs in of 'Europeanization' which Europeans provide most of the audill.
that apartheid has to be sustainea in tively, thus also been removed from the control of the electors in these has grown steadily, with each new inflated defence budget always justified by the stimulation of artificial fears of also have to pay for, is to deal with leading up to, or during, a war when hundreds of British troops were remember that the US intelligence serwalsh dissidents than to catch socialists and peace activists may be and its allies, to spend thousands of establisnments the US defence budget and, sisting upon higher defence spending purchase of US weapons gives them independence should remember that used without the help SVSLCIS arms production, as the this military hardware is denying us pensions, and is depriving the third world of the essential resources that 1l needs to develop itself and end famine and poverty.
On top of this President Reagan has now come up with his Star War project which is a criminal waste of those scarce resources and is an extre obstacle to any disarmament agree ment. The other motivations for Star Wars seem to be both a crude attempt to bankrupt the USSR, while pumping money into the high technology in the USA to defeat Japanese competition. Yet it is partly because the japanese spend such a tiny fraction of their huge national in come on defence that they are able t concentrate upon civil production, keep their best brains on the civil sid and make and sell so many of their goods all over the world.
EUROPA SIN MUSILE
A vision of a new Europe If we hope to win maiority sup port for the building of a new Europe 1. The withdrawal of all foreign security system that will safeguard the and the diversion of the money an reduction of troops and arms.
self-governing nations divisions caused by the cold war.
If the Spanish people vote against ed Europe and we must resoive to build a new one within the next fifteen
Socialist Action Egypt Tuesday and Wednesday 25-26 February.
5 March 1986 THIRTY-SIX died, many more were injured, and over 2,000 people were arrested when Egypt's special security police rioted on The riot was sparked by rumours that their length of service was to go up from three to four years. The 300,000 security police, a conscript force whose only job is to stand guard on public buildings for up to 12 hours at a stretch, get about