Friday, March 13, 2020

Coronavirus Pandemic: NATO's military exercise "Defender 2020" puts Europe at high risk

Despite the fact that the World Health Organization have declared the Coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, NATO seems determined to proceed with its “Defender 2020” military exercise in Europe. 

According to recent reports, the United States military is planning to reduce the number of U.S. participants and adjust its imperialist showcase exercise over Coronavirus concerns. 

NATO will go ahead with the anti-Russian military drill, as Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s General Secretary, said last week. Even a pandemic, with has already caused at least 1,016 deaths in Italy, 87 deaths in Spain and 61 in France, seems unable to stop the imperialists’ plans. 

With the cases of COVID-19 being on the rise in both Europe and the U.S, exercise “Defender 2020” consists an additional danger for the spread of the virus. According to the initial plans, the U.S. will deploy 20,000 soldiers in European soil, while the total number of the participants in the drill surpasses 37,000. 

In a statement published today, the Hungarian Workers’ Party (Munkaspart) expresses serious concerns about the imperialist exercise which could “bring death to people” by spreading Coronavirus. 

The Party’s statement reads:
The USA banned the European people from entering the United States, because of the coronavirus epidemic but it sends 20 thousand US soldiers to Europe to participate in the Defender Europe 20 multinational exercise.
Italy closes its borders, but Italians also participate in the exercise. It is prohibited to hold meetings and other mass events in most EU countries but almost 40 thousand soldiers can move up and down in Europe as they want.
The Defender Europe 20 can spread the coronavirus to many innocent people. The NATO exercise can brings death to people. 
The Hungarian Workers’ Party demands the NATO to cancel the Defender Europe 20. We demand the Hungarian government to ban the participation of Hungarian militaries in this exercise and to stop further contacts with the organisers of the exercise.