[WSMDiscuss] Make 2019 a year of peace!

[Tord Björk]

Below you find a report from Activist for peace in Sweden, mainly together
with th social forum network Prague Spring 2 and Odessa Solidarity Campaign

Make 2019 a year of peace!

Activists for peace for peace can look back to two fruitful years. Together
with our cooperation partners we can now move forward on several different
initiatives:

1. Calling for international actions on the 5th memorial day of the attack
on the house of trade unions in Odessa, Ukraine May 2, 2019

*https://solidaritywithodessa.wordpress.com/2018/11/11/a-call-for-solidarity
<https://solidaritywithodessa.wordpress.com/2018/11/11/a-call-for-solidarity>*

2. Work against repression in Russia and Ukraine

See enclosed file

3. Cooperate with other popular movements in the Nordic and other European
countries towards and beyond the EU parliamentary elections in May. The
chances are better than ever to be part of building alliances for conflict
resolution and Yes to peace negotiations - no to war. More and more
movements say Yes to common security - no to rearmament and strengthen
peace demands by saying Yes to investments for social justice and the
environment - no to austerity policies.

4. Be part of building stronger world-wide alliances – for peace on earth
and peace with the earth.

We have together with the social forum network Prague Spring 2 against
right wing extremism and populism (PS2) been able to contribute to take
initiatives like the Odessa solidarity action and work to stop repression
in Russia and Ukraine. With PS2 we have been following closely Thematic
World Social Forum on migration in Mexico, European Forum in Bilbao and
been part of Europe in movement in Barcelona, Assembly of Resistance in
Budapest and Nordics in movement in Malmö, all this year.

Last year 2016 Activists for peace initiated Dags för fred! (Time for
peace!) in Stockholm and co-arranged Another Europe is possible in
Gothenburg. This have made it possible to start cooperation with a broad
range of peace, migration, environmental, solidarity, no to EU and
EU-critical movements.

This year we have supported our two Ship to Gaza activists. Although we are
not working politically on the Palestine issue as we are mainly focused on
Ukraine and criticism of how NATO advances closer to Russia in the Nordic
region we have supported Divina Levrini who went all the way from Sweden
until getting hijacked by the Israeli military and Lars Drake, a Ship to
Gaza veteran.

During the autumn informing and support protests against NATO military
excercise in Norway were also Sweden participated has been a main task.

We also have been participating in Naturbrukskonferensen, a yearly meeting
with small farmer, environmental and other organisations to promote food
sovereignty and sustainable agriculture and forestry. Here we addressed the
need to strengthen civil contingencies by raising food self sufficiency,
reestablish food and other contingency storages and give small farmers a
say in the planning of civil contingencies.

In early December Tord Björk from Activists for Peace was once more the
target of a smear campaign. In a joint effort by Stockholm Free World
Forum, an NGO paid by The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise to promote
business interest in security affairs and Atlantic Council the closer
cooperation between environmental and peace movement and linkages to the
Green Party was presented as a threat in the report Kremlin's Trojan Horses
3.0. Tord Björk had written in an article in an environmental magazine that
the referendum in Crimea in 2014 was a breach of international law but that
a majority of the local population including the Ukrainians supports the
outcome. The article showed to much sympathy with the Russian Crimean
narrative the author of the report, Henrik Sundbom, a fellow at Stockholm
Free World Forum claimed.

Last year a close cooperation partner to Sundbom, Martin Kragh, head of
section on Russia at the *Swedish Institute of International Affairs* and
at Uppsala University together with the daily Expressen also started a
smear campaign against Tord Björk and Ukrainabulletinen, the newsletter
publicized by Activists for peace.

In late December Activists for peace started to inform on our blog about
the smear campaigns and their connections in Sweden and internationally to
Integrity Initiative and Atlantic Council. Links to some 150 comments made
in 24 countries has been compiled by Activists for peace as well as
presenting open source material with 100 links about the scandal last year.
What was once a tragedy during the Cold war seems to have returned as a
farse. You can read more here:

Links:

1. Odessa+5 *https://solidaritywithodessa.wordpress.com/2018/11/11/a-call-for-solidarity
<https://solidaritywithodessa.wordpress.com/2018/11/11/a-call-for-solidarity>*

Thematic World Social Forum on migration in Mexico,

Länk
http://fsmm2018.org/8th-world-social-forum-migrations-mexico-2018/?lang=en

European Forum in Bilbao

Länk:
http://www.progressivecaucus.eu/european-forum-bilbao-spain-9-11112018/

Nordics in movement, pdf file enclosed (Norden i rörelse)

Last year 2016 Activists for peace initiated Dags för fred! (Time for
peace!) in Stockholm

Link to or Swedish blog:
https://aktivisterforfred.wordpress.com/2017/09/09/dags-for-fred-rapport-fran-fredsmote-i-stockholm-20-maj-2017/

and co-arranged Another Europe is possible in Gothenburg.

Link to or Swedish blog:
https://aktivisterforfred.wordpress.com/2017/11/18/ett-annat-europa-ar-mojligt-dave-webb-deltar-i-det-alternativa-eu-toppmotet-i-goteborg/

This year we have supported our two Ship to Gaza activists.

Link to or English blog:
https://activistsforpeace.wordpress.com/2018/07/31/call-for-solidarity-motor-vessel-with-humanitarian-aid-highjacked-who-to-contact-to-support-the-kidnapped-crew-act-now/

During the autumn informing and support protests against NATO military
exercise in Norway were also Sweden participated has been a main task.

Link to or Swedish blog:
*https://aktivisterforfred.wordpress.com/2018/09/21/nej-till-trident-juncture-och-sveriges-inordning-i-nato/
<https://aktivisterforfred.wordpress.com/2018/09/21/nej-till-trident-juncture-och-sveriges-inordning-i-nato/>*


We also have been participating in Naturbrukskonferensen, a yearly meeting
with small farmer,

www.naturbrukskonferensen.se


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