Against Bases of War, Against All Military Bases
Article in: ZivilCourage, February 2007
Nairobi (Kenya) hosted the World Social Forum from January 19 to 26, 2007. About 80,000 participants from the global social justice movement or anti-capitalist movement advocated another world. Nairobi is an impressive
metropolis: alongside rich regions downtown and in the outskirts, there are huge slums built on rubbish dumps in the city. The people there are increasingly organising themselves politically. Therefore, the most important themes for African participants at the WSF were slum evictions, cattle rustling, clean water and other questions of survival.
Something happened at the World Social Forum in Nairobi that I have been fighting for for a long time: People from the global South, Walden Bello from "Focus on the Global South" from the Philippines and friends from Brazil, Cuba and Spain, the Netherlands and Germany discussed the role of the EU in the militarisation of the world. Yes, it was not about the US, it was about the EU. For the EU is increasingly present as a global imperial actor in the world, and people are resisting the military bases of EU states, for instance. The EU has a simple concept: Military bases of one member state can be used by all other member states that are part of EU military operations. For instance, German soldiers that were deployed as a reserve for the Congo, were stationed at a French military base in Gabon. Africa is full of military bases belonging to former European colonial states: 11,000 French soldiers are in Africa: in Djibouti, the Central African Republic, in Congo, Chad, etc. British soldiers are also in Kenya, for example. German soldiers are in Djibouti and were in the Congo. The French also maintain military bases in Latin America: The military intervention of Haiti was organised from French Guyana.
And Germany makes sure that the war in Afghanistan can continue to escalate. The German Federal Armed Forces base in Termez in Uzbekistan enables all transports of NATO and EU states to Afghanistan. Germany is the only Western country to have a base there, despite EU sanctions because of the massacre in Andijan and despite the repressive government.
In Nairobi, a worldwide movement against military bases came together and further activities are being planned. At the same time, groups affected by military bases are also co-ordinating themselves in Germany. No, they should no longer be able to go to war undisturbed, let's address all military bases, and oppose all the bases of war!
see also: www.tobias-pflueger.de
Nairobi (Kenya) hosted the World Social Forum from January 19 to 26, 2007. About 80,000 participants from the global social justice movement or anti-capitalist movement advocated another world. Nairobi is an impressive
metropolis: alongside rich regions downtown and in the outskirts, there are huge slums built on rubbish dumps in the city. The people there are increasingly organising themselves politically. Therefore, the most important themes for African participants at the WSF were slum evictions, cattle rustling, clean water and other questions of survival.
Something happened at the World Social Forum in Nairobi that I have been fighting for for a long time: People from the global South, Walden Bello from "Focus on the Global South" from the Philippines and friends from Brazil, Cuba and Spain, the Netherlands and Germany discussed the role of the EU in the militarisation of the world. Yes, it was not about the US, it was about the EU. For the EU is increasingly present as a global imperial actor in the world, and people are resisting the military bases of EU states, for instance. The EU has a simple concept: Military bases of one member state can be used by all other member states that are part of EU military operations. For instance, German soldiers that were deployed as a reserve for the Congo, were stationed at a French military base in Gabon. Africa is full of military bases belonging to former European colonial states: 11,000 French soldiers are in Africa: in Djibouti, the Central African Republic, in Congo, Chad, etc. British soldiers are also in Kenya, for example. German soldiers are in Djibouti and were in the Congo. The French also maintain military bases in Latin America: The military intervention of Haiti was organised from French Guyana.
And Germany makes sure that the war in Afghanistan can continue to escalate. The German Federal Armed Forces base in Termez in Uzbekistan enables all transports of NATO and EU states to Afghanistan. Germany is the only Western country to have a base there, despite EU sanctions because of the massacre in Andijan and despite the repressive government.
In Nairobi, a worldwide movement against military bases came together and further activities are being planned. At the same time, groups affected by military bases are also co-ordinating themselves in Germany. No, they should no longer be able to go to war undisturbed, let's address all military bases, and oppose all the bases of war!
see also: www.tobias-pflueger.de
Tobias Pflüger - 2007/02/06 16:58
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