This past Saturday, November 28th, around a hundred antimilitarist activists
from Bilbao, Salamanca, Elche, Alicante, Zaragoza, Madrid, Barcelona
and Valencia gathered in the Valencian town of Bétera -at 3 km from
the military base. The activists intended to participate in the 7th
Citizen Inspection, an initiative launched from Alternativa
Antimilitarista-MOC (Antimilitarist Alternative ? Conscientious
Objection Movement) under the slogan "Out of Afghanistan - Out of
everywhere" to demand not only troops out of Afghanistan, but also to
abolish all armies.

Bétera (Valencia, Spain). Around 11:00 a.m. the pacifists reached the
town in order to take the first steps of the protest day. The main
street of the town was used one more year to place an information
stand and welcome the activists, who were given instruction sheets
with the planning of the action, a map of the area surrounding the
complex and the traditional citizen inspector white coats.

After a short welcome meeting, the pacifists started marching across
the town with signs and music towards the facilities of the NATO
quarters. The antimilitarists wore umbrellas with symbols against the
war and banners all along their way to the NATO complex.

Other activities were simultaneously held in other cities
like Seville, Alicante, Murcia, Jaen, Barcelona, Madrid, Pamplona and
Segovia. The citizen Inspection is meant to voice a significant part of
the Spanish population, who wants to see all Spanish troops completely
out of Afghanistan (almost 60% of the population), and abolition of
the very armed forces (7% of the people, according to a recent survey
from the very Ministry of Defense).

After half an hour of celebrating and marching along the road, the
participants reached the military zone, at a place where the road
forks into two roads to the military base (Olocau and Porta Coeli
roads). Both policemen and soldiers were waiting for them. Then the
march forked along the roads and then split into small groups which
scattered around the military complex fence.

The march went on through both sides of the road, and some
antimilitarist groups advanced and started to climb up the fencing to
make their way into the military zone. Their attempts were successful
close to the main entrance of the facilities. Another group manage to
climb the fences next to the helicopter runway.

Meanwhile, other activists tried crossing under the metal fences,
since there was enough room for it. Some crossed directly by climbing
and trespassing the barbed-wire fence and then jumping into the
military enclosure.

As a whole, three groups of activists got to trespass the safety fence
via different points and unfolded a sign saying ?Use the military
budget for social needs.? Out on the road, the rest of participants
encouraged the activists, who were waiting to be expelled with their
signs in hand.

After spending a few minutes inside the enclosure, all the pacifist
groups were intercepted by policemen and soldiers. Twenty minutes
later, the officers started to ask for identification from the
participants and then introduced the activists into military vehicles.

All the participants were cleared from the enclosure a half an hour later.
After leaving the facilities, all the participants gathered and
marched to the Bétera town park, where they had paella to conclude the
7th Citizen Inspection.

Out of Afghanistan, out of everywhere

The citizen Inspection is an active and symbolic way to demand
dismantling of those fences the activists will overcome, i.e., to
demand both the closure and the civil and ecologic recovery of this
military complex and of all military facilities. It is worth noting
that this non-violent action is focused on the end of the Afghanistan
occupation, as well as other initiatives in different points of the
Spanish territory, such as Barcelona, Madrid, Pamplona or Segovia.

Once again, Alternativa Antimilitarista-MOC (AA-MOC) highlights the
fact that "it is absurd to sell people the idea that armies -which are
essentially a war-and-violence machinery, may be an agent for peace
and justice", and again supports "the abolition of armies as the most
realistic and reasonable measure to end with the issue of wars in the
world." For the Valencia AA-MOC, "the continuous military intervention
of Western countries in Afghanistan has only worsened the war state
Afghan population has been suffering for over 30 years, and has not
helped at all to pacify and reconstruct the country: it's been a
failure at all levels, since the war has spread to Pakistan and
revived anti-Westerner hate, fuelling fundamentalist armed groups."

War starts from Europe

By means of this action, AA-MOC also wishes to point out that wars at
thousands of kilometers from us, such as that of Afghanistan, start
indeed next to our homes, in facilities like Bétera's, making use of
civil transportation infrastructures. In fact, according to recent
statements to the media by the commander-in-chief of the NATO
Headquarters in Madrid, the Bétera quarters will be appointed by the
NATO in 2011 to command the whole occupation forces of the Alliance in
Afghanistan: the ISAF.

Alternativa Antimilitarista-MOC is a countrywide network of local,
antimilitaristic, non-violent, grass-root, independent and
assembly-functioning groups. AA-MOC is also coordinated with other
similar networks throughout Europe.

Pictures:

http://www.antimilitaristas.org/spip.php?article4365

Videos:

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2009/11/28/valencia/1259424755.html

http://www.rtvv.es/video/video_informa.asp?id=28112009_betera.flv