The meeting in former times was called “Wehrkundetagung”1, can look back on a tradition of four decades. In 1962 it was sent to live by the World War officer Ewald von Kleist. Because of his good connections to policy he provided international reputation for the summit. Four years ago the “Herbert Quandt foundation of the BMW AG” took over the organisation. The connection between capital and militarism can’t even be put up clearer. Since that time, the head of the foundation Horst Teltschik, the former adviser of ex federal chancellor Helmut Kohl (CDU) took the responsibility for the conference. The main investor stayed even under the red-green Federal Government the “Bundespresseamt”2. Even interesting is, that during the period of the war summit the Federal armed forces have free entry at the hotel “Bayrischer Hof”

Where are these conferences about?

The participants of the “Munich summit on safety” maintain, that they sit together to argue about the worldwide safety and to find basic approaches to guarantee the same. But fact is, that for them the hole thing is just for planning current and future wars, as well as the putting up of punchy mobile troops and about the development of new highly expensive armament programmes. – the summit of Munich is in fact a summit of war. Characteristic is even the renaming from Wehrkundetagung1 into “conference for safety policy”. Just a verbal change for a better marketing in the public.

The safety, of which is spoken about in the conference, means exploitation, war, racism, sexism, oppression and repression and not a human life, for which million of people fight every day. Worldwide pretended “war against terrorism” is the base for inner-state repression and control – for all that they use the catchword safety. –we say: their safety is nor ours!

The preparation structures of the counter activities

In opposite to the both former years something changed within the preparation groups of the activities against the so called “NATO SECO3”. The “alliance against the NATO summit of safety” which organized the both first big activities against the SECO in 2002 disbanded this autumn. A big part of the radical left wing was also part of that alliance. Now it’s like that, that there are 2 radical left connections, which both mobilize against the SECO, and even try to work together on points out of the great alliance. The both connections are called:
“fortsetzung folgt4” and “con_action”

The great alliance, or how it is officially called “Aktionsbündniss gegen die NATO Sicherheitkonferenz5”, which invoices with a common preamble to the actions on February the 6th and 7th 2004, could cover a relatively wide political spectrum: in addition to con_action and ff, you can find the “Münchner Friedensbündniss6”, “attac”, “München gegen den Krieg7” “RSB”, “DKP”,”PDS”, and in parts even left wing trade unionists, as well as some not organised people. – So far to the current supposition in Munich.

The actions run under the motto: no pasaran – they may not come through.

Friday, February 6th 2004 at 16.00 o’clock: protests around the venue hotel “Bayerischer Hof”

At the following places, manifestations, information stalls and similar are reported: Platz der Opfer des Nationalsozialismus (PDS), Lehnbachplatz (Aktionsbündniss), Promenadenplatz-Maffeistraße (attac) Odeonsplatz (DKP) und Prannerstraße/ Maximiliansplatz (RSB). In addition are info points established at the Marienplatz and the Karlsplatz/ Stachus.

At our homepage (logistics) you can find all places. One mistake happened: No 1 (Karlsplatz /Stachus) is just info point. And originally there were 3 stalls established at No 3 (Lehnbachplatz) now there will just be a manifestation. In return of that we will built up a chain of people from the memorial of the synagogue in direction to the Stachus. (Friedensbündniss and attac campus) It’s almost sure, that we will not get a permission for Promenadeplatz/ Maffeistr because it’s in the “red zone”, something will change there, so to say.

There should have an announcement system to experience early enough when participants of the summit were brought to the hotel. Because every reported place is seared next to the conferences place and fantastic and loudly actions are planed, the travelling war-beater could hardly ignore our protest. If a great mass of people are on hand around the “Bayerischer Hof” at that Friday it could even happen, that the temporal program of the summit is going to be disturbed. We want to show them that they are undesired in Munich as well as elsewhere.
At night there will be a concert and meal at the “backstage” and the greatest hall in the “eine Welt Haus” is also rent in order to have a place for exchange, and there must also be something to eat. We will also have a convergence centre again. (closer info on our website)

International demonstration on Saturday, February the 7th at 12.00 o’clock at the Marienplatz

We will have a cultural program until 11.15. At 12.00 o’clock there ‘ll be the introducing manifestation, which shouldn’t last as long as the last year ‘s one (cold, lack of interest)
The route will lead us to the Lehnbachplatz, with a view on the “Bayerischer Hof”. It’s even shorter than last year and ends there with a finishing manifestation.
We will also have a internationalistic section (IB) with the loudspeaker van. In the IB there will go an Anti-Pat-section and a women-lesbian section. There will be a “red section”, attac and the Friedensbündniss has one and the rest. There shall be actions, which are optically and acoustically impressive. If people have good ideas on that, we are open-minded.

Inquires and news

-Every group, which travels by bus should denominate one folder per bus and contact us timely because of planning and introduction.
-We urgently need ambulance men, please inform us, if you can support us.
- With a possibility of 99% the informal meeting of the NATO ministers of defence takes already place on Thursday the 5th. It’s relatively vague how we will handle this but it will …

Estimation

What, if it’ll lead to prohibitions? A complete prohibition all over the whole weekend, like 2002, is in our opinion relatively improbable. But it’s not excludable, that places on which actions of protest will be realized, and which lay relatively close near the hotel, will be covered with prohibition. We nevertheless want to try to reach the points. If that works in no way, people will meet at Marienplatz and Stachus(Karlsplatz). Additional we will have an infrastructure to inform people during the demonstration.

The “other” side

Above the self representation it is also important o row a closer view on the preparations of the other side. To endure in the public discourse and to win people for our conviction, we have to resent the more convincing arguments. Teltschik, the organiser of the SECO went in offence with an interview, and made the clear expression, that even the presence of numerous personages will express the particularity of that jubilee conference (40.). In the fore field of the conference there will take place a lot of public discussion events and press interviews from the SECO quarters. (Article from our press group about the Teltschik interview (“drive out Teltschik &co) at our homepage (in German))

For us of course that means on the one hand, to be present on their events in the foreground in any kind of way and on the other hand, to argue against the lie-stories which are thrown in public by Teltschik & co. That would of course not become very heavy, because everyone who wants to make us believe that this summit on war is an international peace conference makes a fool out of himself. The first press interview with Teltschik took place in company with a funny contra action, in addition at the same time a huge poster with the words “NO NATO” had been put on the tower of the Munich town hall ( http://indinews.net/gipfel+9a5958d71.html)

Even the safety authorities, in person the Munich police president Schmidbauer already interfered in the public debate (SZ 29.12.03).As in the last both years the statements of Schmidbauer want to cause a negative mood against the organisers and demonstrants in the public even in the foreground of the military conference. The safety authority has to “prepare for an assault of protest” is stated, they speak about “increasing potential of danger and relevant well-known demonstrants.(to that theme an article from the press group of the “Aktionsbündniss” (“safety conference 2004: the power of the media!”) and a Press statement or the “rote Hilfe München” (“police leadership recognizes unlawful action against legitimately protest”) both at www.no-nato.de (in german))


The topics of the SECO

“One of the focuses of the SECO will be the future of the transatlantic relationship. The middle east and Asia will be the central theme of the discussion related to the global crisis regions” can one read at the homepage of the war beaters (www.securityconference.de). As Teltschik said, it will even be about “International terrorism and the question of the not-ahead spreading of mass destruction weapons”. In addition they planed an informal meeting of the NATO ministers of defence on the weekend of the SECO. Officially they told us, it’s to introduce the Nederland’s general secretary Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. But you can start from the assumption, that at least one topic will be a military activity of the NATO in Iraque.(closer information through an article from the press group “war conference in Munich – the topics” (in german) )

Other

Even in that year we will have a roost market for the days during the SECO. Probably it will be taken until Thursday evening. If you want to come earlier or if you wave other questions related to sleeping places, you can contact us under the following email address (e.g. for bigger groups which want to stay together):  pennplatz@no-nato.de

Info phone: 0049 / 0174/8889651

Ermittlungsausschuss8: 089/ 4489638

Links to special groups and questions:
Radical left coordination:  con_action@no-nato.de
Common information:  kontakt@no-nato.de
Contact website:  info@no-nato.de

Support invocations: (50€ supporter contribution, 25€ single person )
conAction invocation of actions on February, the 6th and 7th ( con_action@no-nato.de)
KiF – invocation of actions on February, the 6th and 7th 2004 ( kontakt@-no-nato.de)
Common preamble to actions on February, the 6th and 7th 2004 ( kontakt@no-nato.de)



1German: Bundeswehr = federal forces
2word by word: federal – press – office
3SEcurity Conference
4english: to be continued
5english:connection for actions against the NATO safety conference
6 english: Munich peace connection
7 english: Munich connection against war
8 word by word: investigation committee