Peace activists have set out on a three-week ‘Long March on Newport’ to protest against September’s NATO Summit.
More than 20,000 activists from around the world are expected to take part in demonstrations during the summit, where a week-long peace camp and a counter summit are among some of the events planned in what has been billed as Wales’ largest protest in a generation.
Police say they have drafted in 9,000 officers to face the protesters in one of the UK’s biggest ever police operations.
Sixty world leaders from the 28-nation military bloc will meet at the Celtic Manor in Newport for the NATO summit on September 4 and 5. Previous NATO summits in Chicago and Strasbourg saw thousands protest war, austerity and global inequality.
In one of UK’s largest-ever policing deployments, 20km of security fencing is being erected around the venues.
Activists argue that the money spent on arms could be better spent on hospitals, schools and services.
The protesters want to collect messages on postcards from members of the public along the way with the aim of delivering them on the first day of the summit during planned demonstrations outside the venue.
The No to NATO Newport umbrella group draws on the support of anti-war and anti-cuts activists working with the Stop the War Coalition, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Green Party.
NTJ/MB
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