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News > World

Cuban Abolitionists Slam Foreign Military Bases

  • The front gate of Camp Delta is shown at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba.

    The front gate of Camp Delta is shown at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba. | Photo: Reuters

Published 4 May 2017
Opinion

Seventy years after World War II, there are still 174 U.S. “base sites” in Germany and 113 in Japan, according to the Pentagon.

Cuba is hosting the Fifth International Seminar for Peace and the Abolition of Foreign Military Bases in an effort to end threats of war and ongoing military conflict around the world, Granma reported.

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From May 4-6, some 300 anti-war activists and peace promoters will participate in workshops, panel discussions and debates concerning the arms and military race headed by the United States and its allies.

Activist David Vine points out in TomDispatch that, “While there are no freestanding foreign bases permanently located in the United States, there are now around 800 U.S. bases in foreign countries."

Seventy years after World War II and 62 years after the Korean War, there are still 174 U.S. “base sites” in Germany, 113 in Japan and 83 in South Korea, according to the Pentagon.

Vine added that "hundreds more dot the planet in around 80 countries, including Aruba and Australia, Bahrain and Bulgaria, Colombia, Kenya, and Qatar, among many other places. Although few Americans realize it, the United States likely has more bases in foreign lands than any other people, nation, or empire in history.”

The Fifth International Seminar for Peace and the Abolition of Foreign Military Bases is scheduled to take place in Guantanamo, home to the largest and oldest naval base operated by the United States government, the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station. The infamous military behemoth occupies over 117 square kilometers of Cuban territory, hence, a fundamental theme of the seminar will revolve around its devolution to the Cuban people.

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Silvio Platero, president of the Cuban Peace Movement, stated that the fundamental objective of the event is to exchange experiences and ideas on issues of global concern, given the increase in military bases worldwide, especially in areas where water sources and mining zones are located. Nuclear disarmament, the negative effects of military bases and the condemnation of interventionist policies by global powers will also be debated.

The proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace will be a mainstay of the seminar. Platero added that this commitment, approved by heads of state during the Second Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States in Havana in 2014, will be reaffirmed by seminar attendees.

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