September 1, 2011
Dear friends in the struggle against US military expansion at Jeju Island,
We women from Okinawa, mainland Japan, the
Philippines, Marshall Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Australia
and west-coast USA send our greetings in solidarity with the people of
Ganjeong who oppose the construction of a new naval base to house
Aegis destroyers.
We understand that 94 percent of the residents do
not want this base. We admire and respect your strong opposition by
occupying land seized by the government and by blocking roads in an
attempt to stop construction. We deplore the fact the South Korean
government has ordered police to take further measures against you,
especially as you have used every possible democratic means to
overturn the decision to construct the base in the pristine waters
and land that have been your livelihood for many generations.
We agree that this base and the increased
militarization of the island of Jeju will create new security threats
in an increasingly tense region.
We also live in communities that experience
increased militarization and the effects of enormous military
investments that distort our local economies and take resources needed
for our communities to thrive. The political and military alliances
between our governments and the United States jeopardize our genuine
security. Indeed, U.S. military expansion in the Asia-Pacific and the
Caribbean relies on these alliances to tie our communities together
according to their version of security that is not sustainable.
The plan to relocate U.S. Marines from Okinawa to
Guam includes military construction projects that involve labor from
Hawai’i, Micronesia and the Philippines. In addition to the
destruction and loss of life caused by continued wars in the Middle
East, these wars are also destabilizing our economies. For example,
Filipinos who have been recruited to work on military construction
projects are laid off during times of crisis and return to the
Philippines where they have no jobs. On Guam, local companies cannot
compete with larger military contractors and are seldom able to get
contracts for base construction projects. The establishment of the
U.S. military base at Ke Awa Lau o Pu’uloa, or Pearl Harbor, has
transformed Oahu's food basket into a toxic “Superfund” site where
many of Hawai’i's poorest communities live along its contaminated
shores. In Puerto Rico, Governor Luis Fortuño has unleashed brutality
against citizens, and suppression of their civil liberties because of
protests against budget cuts to public services and education. In
the continental United States a new campaign is calling for new
priorities in federal spending away from war and toward services to
support local communities.
We see your struggle as part of a wider pattern of people’s protest against increasing militarization.
Although we are far away, please know that we stand
with you. We thank you for your courage to resist the militarization
of your home. Your example inspires and strengthens us.
In solidarity,
Signed, on behalf of the IWNAM:
Kozue Akibayashi, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Japan
Ellen-Rae Cachola, Women for Genuine Security/Women's Voices Women Speak, U.S. & Hawai'i
Grace Caligtan, Women's Voices Women Speak, Hawai'i
Lotlot de la Cruz, KAISAKA, Philippines
Cora Valdez Fabros, Scrap VFA Movement & Philippine Women's Network for Peace and Security, Philippines
Annie Fukushima, Women for Genuine Security, U.S.
Terri Keko'olani, Women's Voices Women Speak, Hawai'i
Gwyn Kirk, Women for Genuine Security, U.S.
Rev. Deborah Lee, Women for Genuine Security, U.S.
Bernadette “Gigi” Miranda, Women's Voices Women Speak, Hawai'i
Eri Oura, Women's Voices Women Speak, Hawai'i
María Reinat Pumarejo, Colectivo Ilé: Organizadoras para la Conciencia-en-Acción
Aida Santos-Maranan, Women's Education, Development,
Productivity and Research Organization (WEDPRO), Philippines
Dr. Hannah Middleton, Australian Anti-Bases Campaign Coalition, Australia
Suzuyo Takazato, Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence, Okinawa
Lisa Natividad, Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice, Guahan (Guam)
Ana Maria R. Nemenzo, WomanHealth Philippines.
Darlene Rodrigues, Women’s Voices Women Speak, Hawai’i
The
International Women’s Network Against Militarism was formed in 1997
when forty women activists, policy-makers, teachers, and students from
South Korea, Okinawa, mainland Japan, the Philippines and the
continental United States gathered in Okinawa to strategize together
about the negative effects of the US military in each of our
countries. In 2000, women from Puerto Rico who opposed the US Navy
bombing training on the island of Vieques also joined; followed in
2004 by women from Hawai’i and in 2007 women from Guam. The
Network is not a membership organization, but a collaboration among
women active in our own communities, who share a common mission to
demilitarize their lands and communities. For more information, visit www.genuinesecurity.org. |
