Hawai’i to participate in the International Conference for the Abolution of Foreign Military Bases in Quito and Manta, Ecuador

The construction of foreign military bases in Afghanistan and Iraq; the cases of torture at the bases in Guantanamo and Diego Garcia; the construction of new bases in Okinawa; the “realignment” of military alliances in Asia; and the dramatic increase of joint military exercises as part of the so-called “global war against terror” have highlighted how foreign military bases, other forms of military presence, and militarization of whole societies are used to secure certain states and corporations interests at the cost of democracy, justice, and sovereignty around the world.

Another world will not be possible without abolishing these bases and demilitarizing global and national societies.

Over the past two years, we have been building up an international network to achieve this aim. Many of us have come together for the first time at the World Social Forum and other meetings as to form a global community. Our approaches vary, our concerns are multi-faceted, but our objective is the same: the closure of foreign military bases around the world. The times demand that we escalate our actions and improve our coordination. The next step in consolidating our community is to organize an inaugural Conference for our network. After much communication and deliberation we decided to hold this conference in Ecuador in March 5-9, 2007.

Find out more about the conference and the network.