The National Campaign to End the Korean War strongly encourages its members and member organizations to participate in the first-ever Global Day of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS) on Tuesday, April 12, 2011.
Co-organized by the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC, and the International Peace Bureau in Geneva, Switzerland, GDAMS has been endorsed by more than 100 organizations in 35 countries. Actions will include a protest in front of the White House, actions at the United Nations in New York and Geneva, a march in Kampala, a demonstration in Dhaka, a forum in Seoul, and much more.
The National Campaign to End the Korean War adds its voice to these protests by underscoring the military costs stemming from the ongoing state of unresolved war on the Korean peninsula. This figure is estimated to exceed $15 to $20 billion annually, including costs of expanding and maintaining U.S. bases and troops stationed in South Korea and in the region in the event of a conflict.
As a global action, GDAMS coincides with the annual release of the figures for global military expenditures by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. In 2009, the world spent more than $1.5 trillion on the military. Even in the middle of a global economic crisis, military spending has increased, with the United States responsible for nearly half of all expenditures. People around the world say enough to war and preparation for war. We need investments in jobs, education, healthcare, and sustainable economies, including the production of safe, renewable energy.
On April 12, people around the world will demand that their governments reduce military spending and redirect our public tax dollars towards investments in building more just and sustainable societies. We will send a message that these astronomical sums – whether $20 billion/year related to the unresolved Korean War, or $1.5 trillion/year in overall military spending—are far too much, and such excessive military spending takes us far off the path from global peace and security.
Please visit GDAMS website http://www.demilitarize.org for more information about the Global Day, the endorsing organizations, and the specific actions.
The National Campaign to End the Korean War aims to achieve permanent peace on the Korean peninsula through an official end to the unresolved Korean War by replacing the outdated Armistice Agreement with a peace treaty/agreement, and to promote a more humane and just U.S. policy toward Korea, including the establishment of normalized relations with North Korea (DPRK) and greater respect for the rights of the Korean people to self-determination, peace, human security, and development.
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