Turkey will host the NATO Leaders Summit in Ankara on July 7-8, 2026. The summit, announced by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, will be held at the Presidential Complex in Beştepe. After the 2004 Istanbul Summit, this will be Turkey's second NATO summit and will focus on increasing defense spending and the alliance's implementation-oriented policies. But this summit, on the 77th anniversary of NATO's founding on April 4, 1949, is a reminder of the true nature of the organization: For 77 years, NATO has been the world's biggest war machine and an imperialist terrorist apparatus.
NATO is an open disaster for humanity. With the rhetoric of “peace and security” it has pitted peoples against each other, provoked countless wars, controlled countries with its military bases and constantly threatened the world with its nuclear weapons. The genocide in Palestine, the bloody conflicts in Ukraine and the provocations in the Middle East are the results of the imperialist ambitions of this alliance.
With bases like Incirlik and Kürecik still active in Turkey, our sovereignty and national resources are made dependent on this structure. The Ankara Summit in July risks dragging our country into a deeper spiral of war and conflict by turning our capital into a meeting point for imperialist leaders.
NATO is especially devastating for women. In every conflict it foments, women are the worst targets of death, mass sexual violence, rape and enslavement. They lose their homes, their families and are among the most vulnerable groups in refugee camps.
Militarism directly undermines women's struggle for equality, their labor and their future, while diverting limited resources away from health, education and social services and towards armaments. It is a mechanism that deepens systematic violence against women, poverty and gender inequality.
For these reasons, a “No to NATO” demonstration is being organized in Ankara on Saturday, April 4. On the anniversary of NATO's founding, an independent and sovereign stance will be displayed in the process leading up to the summit in July. The march will start at 18.30 from Kolej and end with a press statement at Sakarya Square at 19.00. A strong voice will be raised against imperialism demanding independence, sovereignty and brotherhood of peoples.
All working people, patriots, youth and women must join this call. It is time to raise our voices to get rid of NATO instead of hosting it.
We invite everyone to the march starting from Ankara Kolej at 18.30 on Saturday, April 4 and to the press statement at Sakarya Square.
No to NATO!