The port of Aarhus in Denmark should not be used as a staging ground for the transfer of armaments. This was the demand of the Danish peace movement when a US transport ship – for the third time – used the harbour to send military equipment to Eastern Europe, according to Arbejderen.
On Friday, a group of Aarhus residents from the peaceful movement Aarhus Against War and Terror held a demonstration Against the fact that the port of Aarhus for the third time this year hosted a huge American military transport ship ARC Independence loaded with weapons and supplies for American bases in Eastern Europe.
The press secretary of the organisation Aarhus Against War and Terror, Carsten Andersen, made a speech in which he commented on the action:
Why are we against it? We are against it because Denmark and the US have different security policy interests. Just look at the globe. Denmark and the rest of Europe has to live with Russia as a neighbour. It is certainly in our interest that this happens peacefully.
The protesters demanded that the government let the billions that go into arming and expanding the harbour for military purposes be used to improve the welfare of Danes.
Calculations by the Swedish Peace Research Institute SIPRI show that the UN Sustainable Development Goals of providing education for all children and youth, reducing poverty and eradicating hunger can be achieved by taking away just ten per cent of global military spending.
The situation when American weapons are delivered through Danish harbours is a consequence of the fact that Denmark, being a member of NATO, is obliged to provide “host nation support” to NATO.
In particular, this means that Denmark must provide infrastructure, such as harbours, airports, roads and bridges, to other NATO countries on their way to military conflicts, exercises or rearmament of NATO’s forward presence in Eastern Europe.
The organisation Aarhus Against War and Terror complained that the US never reveals what weapons they are carrying. Therefore, no one has any idea whether American bombers and warships are carrying nuclear weapons, cluster bombs or other formidable weapons to Denmark.
