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<DIV><TT><SPAN class=156404106-05112005><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff>FYI:</FONT></SPAN></TT></DIV>
<DIV><TT><SPAN class=156404106-05112005></SPAN></TT> </DIV>
<DIV><TT><STRONG>INT'L NETWORK TO ABOLISH FOREIGN MILITARY
BASES:</STRONG><BR>Inaugural Conference Set for March 2007 in Ecuador<BR><BR>30
October 2005 -- After a long process of consultations and discussions,organizers
have set 7-10 March 2007 as the date and Ecuador as the venue of the planned
inaugural conference of an international network to abolish foreign military
bases.<BR><BR>The conference is aimed to be the biggest gathering of
anti-bases<BR>campaigners, researchers, and activists from around the world in
recent history.<BR><BR>Since the invasion of Iraq by the United States and its
coalition, there has been a renewed push on campaigning for the closure of
foreign military bases around the world. The United States, among other
countries with bases, maintains an estimated 725 bases and other forms of
military presence in about 150 countries.<BR><BR>History shows that where
there's a foreign military base, there's a<BR>grassroots movement to get it shut
down. Over the last two years,<BR>organizations and individuals calling for the
closure of these bases have come together for the first time in various meetings
or through the internet so as to form a global network.<BR><BR>There have been
anti-bases educational workshops and coordination meetings during the World
Social Forum in India in 2004 and in Brazil in 2005 as well as other regional or
national anti-bases meetings. Over 300 subscribers from around the world
exchange news, updates, and other information related to bases and anti-bases
organizing in a vibrant e-mail community.<BR><BR>The planned inaugural
conference is intended to provide anti-bases activists space for closer
interaction, for exchanging lessons and sharing experiences, for laying the
ground for more effective global coordination, and for building strategies for
more effective international campaigning.<BR><BR>Organizers of the conference
also hope to further broaden the network, with special attention to getting
grassroots or community-based anti-bases activists to be involved and to take
the lead in the network.<BR><BR>Between now and the conference, organizers hope
to actively reach out and build links with local anti-bases activists in as many
bases around the world as possible.<BR><BR>The decision to hold the meeting in
Ecuador in 2007 was made jointly by an international organizing committee
composed of various organizations around the world together with a national
organizing committee that has been formed by groups involved in anti-bases
actions in Ecuador.<BR><BR>[For more information on the conference, please get
in touch with<BR>herbert@focusweb.org.]<BR><BR></DIV></TT></BODY></HTML>