After the recent elections in Ecuador the situation looks less defensive for the No Bases movement: with a presidential post-election re-confirmation of the unwillingness to extend the contract with the U.S. when the current lease of the Manta air base runs out in 2009 the No Bases movement(s) can presumably meet safely in Ecuador. Had Noboa won the elections this could have been a site of violent repression.

However, the strategies and tactics of the No Bases movement ought now to be now to monitor closely the development of Correa's stance against the U.S, and accelerate the processes to end U.S. military occupation of Ecuador and thereby stop supporting the War in Drugs and Terrorism in Colombia; as well as to wide the collaboration globally between those resisting occupation by the U.S. military.

For the strictly or principally anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian factions of the No Bases movements the duty must be to make sure that the movement as a whole does not comprimise on any demands, does not soften up to the elite of the new and (at least rhetorically) sympathetic government - but stands strong on their objectives: to end the occupation worldwide by the U.S. military, indeed to end all military in any shape or form.

This is a call for a gathering in Ecuador in March, 2007:
========================================

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE TO ABOLISH FOREIGN MILITARY BASES
5-9 MARCH 2007 IN ECUADOR

On behalf of the International and Ecuadorean Organizing Committees for the Inaugural Conference of the Network for the Abolition of Foreign Military Bases, we / I invite you to participate in this important global conference, which will take place in Quito and Manta, Ecuador, from March 5-9, 2007.

The conference aims both to highlight the political, social, environmental and economic impacts of foreign military bases and the grassroots movements that oppose them, as well as to formally construct the network, its strategies, structure and action plans.

We have seen how foreign military bases and other forms of military presence are used to secure the interests of a few at the cost of democracy, justice, sovereignty and self determination. But these bases and their destructive impacts are meeting with strong grassroots opposition, in Vieques, Korea, Okinawa, United Kingdom, Guam, the United States itself, and many other countries. It is these movements we wish to highlight and bring together for mutual support and strategies.

Over the past two years, movements for peace and justice have been building an international network that works for the abolition of foreign military bases around the world. The next step in consolidating this Network is the International Conference for the Abolition of All Foreign military Bases. We hope that this will be the biggest gathering of anti-bases activists to date. The main objectives of the Conference are:

• Analyze the role of Foreign Military Bases and other forms of military presence in the strategy of global domination and its impacts on the population and the environment.
• Highlight, share experiences, and solidarity with resistance struggles against foreign military bases in the world.
• Reach consensus on objectives, action plans, coordination, communication and decision-making mechanisms for a global network for the abolition of all foreign military bases and other forms of military presence.
• Establish global struggles and action plans that strengthen local and national struggles and the coordination among them.

The conference takes place over five days. On the first day, Monday, March 5, presentations and workshops will explore the geo-strategic context of foreign military bases and other foreign military presence, their role in the empire’s goals, the diverse impacts of military bases, and the movements to close them.

On the second and third days, the conference will run on two tracks. The first, open to as many participants as register, will consist of presentations, workshops and films to deepen participants’ knowledge of military bases and anti-base movements; some of these will be self-organized, others put together by the conference organizers. A second track will work to formally establish the anti-base network.

The fourth day of the conference is International Women’s Day, and, led by Ecuadorean women’s groups also opposed to military bases, we will travel by caravan from Quito to the port city of Manta, stopping in communities along the way. The fifth day of the conference will represent joint action by international and Ecuadorean participants, with a focus on the US military base in Manta.

In addition, there will be cultural events during conference evenings, when we hope to share expressions not only of Ecuadorean culture, but that of other cultures present. Activists will bring back from the conference joint plans, ideas, contacts, solidarity, and inspiration to support your critical struggle at home against military bases.

On-line registration for the conference is available, at www.abolishbases.org. You will also receive conference updates.

We look forward to seeing you in Ecuador.

Asociación Cristiana de Jovenes (ACJ-YMCA Ecuador)
Fundación Regional de Derechos Humanos (Ecuador)
Servicio Paz y Justicia (SERPAJ-E) (Ecuador)
Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador (Ecuador)
Movimiento Tohallí (Ecuador)
Paulina Ponce Comisión Ecuménica de Derechos Humanos (Ecuador)
Grupo de Objetores de Conciencia (Ecuador)
ALTERCOM (Ecuador)
Clínica de Derechos Humanos – PUCE (Ecuador)
American Friends Service Committee
US Peace Council (US)
Nonviolence International (US)
American Friends Service Committee (US)
Gathering for Peace (Filipinas)
Centro Memorial Martin Luther King Jr (Cuba)
Campaign for Demilitarisation of Americas (Latin America)
Focus on the Global South (Thailand, Philippines, India)
Fellowship of Reconciliation (US)
LALIT (Diego Garcia / Mauritius)
Transnational Institute (Netherlands)
Asian Peace Alliance - Japan
Japan Peace Committee (Japan)
For Mother Earth (Belgium)
Pakistan Peace Coalition (Pakistan)
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (UK)
World Peace Council

See  http://abolishbases.org/index.php?page=conference for more


As suggested in the comment below, this is not a call for "everyone to fly to Ecuador", but for some delegates from around the world particularly in Latin America and other countries who are occupied to come together and consolidate the global network of anti-imperialism, but it should also be understood as a period in which it would be great to see actions taken against U.S. and any other military installation anywhere in the world.

Consider this four days of global action against the military (of the rich). :)