Conversion of the military industry, ethical necessity
A couple of weeks ago, a number of data from Norway was published. In this country of Northern Europe electric cars have predominated, being the Tesla brand the most sold, with 90% of recyclable energy consumed there. On the contrary, Norwegian public enterprises have no problem in putting out of their country wind giants 200 meters high, destroying natural landscapes. Being one of the most oil-selling countries, they have fewer obstacles than others. Norway’s “well-being” therefore has a dark, very dark side.
When we talked about the behaviour of this Scandinavian state, the business advisory group Mojones launched it, without any shame, in the open air: “The defence industry can be a great opportunity for Basque companies.”
We were stunned. But soon we left behind the wonder and the anger. What level of ethics do these businessmen have in proposing to take advantage of the war situation that has spread throughout the world? And worse still, what were the representatives of the Basque institutions supporting in that act?
It is disgusting that the possibility of taking advantage of the boom in the European military budget and of militarism and war itself is considered “interesting”. Have we not learned anything from the three-year war in Ukraine? Does Basque society not have a responsibility to lead the peace policy after such suffering?
It is disgusting that Basque companies consider "interesting" the possibility of taking advantage of the boom in the European military budget and of militarism and war itself.
Instead of promoting distension and dialogue, it was decided to increase the number of soldiers, weapons, ammunition, etc., which has kept the conflict and increased both death and destruction. This, in turn, has had negative impacts on the economy, which has led to an increase in life and an impoverishment of society. Furthermore, the clashes that destroy Africa and the genocide in Gaza show us how much the use of war production can reach. Do we want to continue to feed this inertia?
We propose to start a different debate, because we believe that it is in the direction of the change that most of the citizens want: how to make the eco-social transformation and how to launch the processes in relation to the issue at hand, to make the current military industry a socially useful production. In particular, it is intended that Euskal Herria should become a country that does not produce weapons, that does not cooperate with destruction and massacres.
We therefore warn the Basque people not to accept the discourses and practices on militarized “defence” and “security”, so that we do not cooperate with the injustices that are destroying the world. On the contrary, we call for innovative solutions to address social inequalities.
According to Zedaleak’s report, “the lack of investment in defence and security and the fragmentation of migration and asylum policies make us vulnerable in an increasingly geopolitical scenario.” We deny the point of departure of that statement. In our view, militaristic policies, increased military spending and arms production are precisely conducive to the violation and regression of rights. We must get out of this logic of fear and move on to solutions that lead to greater social justice.
Let no company take advantage of the escalation of militarism with investments and resource innovations. We are proposing precisely the opposite: that these investments and innovations should be used to transform them into productions of civil interest in today’s industry, which we call Basque waste and war production. We are convinced that this process, together with others, will enable us to move towards the eco-social transformation that the world needs.
Ana Gorostidi and Xabier Sarasua, members of the Bake Ekintza Antimilitarist group
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