Lewisham and Greenwich CND and Lewisham Stop the War held a successful meeting on April 4 attended by around 50 people to mark the 75th anniversary of NATO. The event was part of the Global Day of Action against NATO in which progressive forces around the world organised to oppose the aggressive military alliance.

The meeting emphasised that NATO held a gruesome record of war, violence, and colonialism. The organisers said: "The US drive for global domination is at the heart of NATO. In the last 75 years, NATO has expanded both its sphere of influence and the scope of its activity, destabilising international relationships as it does so. The war in Ukraine, which NATO expansion did much to provoke, has led to substantially increased NATO activity in Europe, alongside an increased presence in the Asia-Pacific region and across other parts of the world."

The meeting was addressed by a panel which included Alex Gordon, President of the RMT and Chair of the Marx Memorial Library, Sami Ramadani, Iraqi-born lecturer in sociology, Fiona Sim of Black Liberation Alliance, and Myriam Kane, anti-racist activist.

A group of protesters in front the building tried to intimidate and harass the participants. Apparently this group sets up across 10 Downing Street to protest that the government is not sending enough weapons to Ukraine. In opposition, Lewisham Stop the War pointed out that Britain has pledged £12 billion to Ukraine since 2022, that all political parties in Parliament support the proxy war and that Ukrainian flags fly over Whitehall.

The meeting included thoughtful contributions from the floor. The organisers pledged to continue to campaign for Britain to withdraw from NATO and for the closure of all foreign military bases on UK soil.

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