International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth

By Semih Sapmaz

Activists from Peace Action Wellington (PAW) organised two days of nonviolent direct actions against the annual Weapons Conference held in New Zealand (NZ) last November. Following their peaceful protests, 27 activists - 26 of whom keep fighting charges - were arrested and taken to court. On 18 February they are standing trial again, defending their right to peaceful demonstration for peace and justice.

Sending our solidarity messages to the activists in Wellington, we reached Valerie Morse from PAW and asked her about their campaign Stop the Weapons Conference as well as many other questions on militarism and the antimilitarist movement in New Zealand.

To begin with, can you tell us about Peace Action Wellington: when it was formed and what was the motivations behind forming it?

The 2nd International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth was held between 14-20 November with many activists taking actions and organising events across the world. The week followed the first ever week of action took place last year and a day of action held in 2013.

Throughout the week this year, antimilitarists from different countries organised street actions and protests; held meetings, talks and workshops; and run social media campaigns all of which challenging the many ways militaries engage with young people via the use of public spaces.