Presentacin de PowerPoint

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reclaim the bases
(and stop the military trains)
actions in spain
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historical context
anti-militarist movement in Spain has closed a
cycle centered in the struggle against
conscription (early 70's-2002)

• CO as a tool of civil disobedience, not as a
  goal in itself
• abolition of conscription as a step to the
  abolition of the army
• network of local, autonomous, small groups
• DNA, civil disobedience, solidarity networks

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historical context
historical context
key dates
1971 First anti-militarist CO
1977 Conscientious Objection Movement (MOC) is
founded as a countrywide organization from the
existing CO local groups
1986 Law on CO. MOC calls to disobedience
1992 There are 188 insumisos in prison.
Conscription becomes controversial
1996 Conscription system is collapsing
thousands of insumisos and hundreds of thousands
of legal COs. Government announces a totally
professional army for 2003
1997 MOC launches a desertion campaign dozens
of antimilitarists desert once recruited
2002 End of conscription. Figures of
professional army far less than planned.
Anti-militarist movement weakens.
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now
post insumision anti-militarist and pacifist
movement is beginning a new cycle of struggle
centered in

• war taxes and military research
• reclaim the bases
• military recruitment
• support to CO movements in other countries
• anti-militarist media insumissia.org

main networks and organizations

• alternativa antimilitarista moc (former moc)
• campaign against military research
• fundació per la pau (peace foundation) in
  catalonia

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reclaim the bases
military occupation
Military is the first landowner in Spain, even
after many sites have been closed down due to
lack of soldiers.

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reclaim the bases
spain as a platform for military aggression

• NATO now aims to the South and Spanish territory
  has become more important in geostrategic terms.
  Apart from the US naval bases of Rota and the US
  airbase of Morón, Spain hosts an increasing
  number of NATO facilities
• NATO Response Force HQ in Valencia
• NATO Land Component Command in Madrid
• Alliance Ground Surveillance (possibly, not yet
  decided) in Zaragoza
• NATO Tactical Leadership Programme (pilot
  training) in Albacete
• Some Spanish bases have adopted a key role in the
  new interventionist framework.

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reclaim the bases
campaign

• annual open campaign since 2004
• demos, marchs and (every year more) citizen
  inspections at several spanish military sites
• promoted by alternativa antimilitarista moc
• starting points reclaim the bases 2003 WRI call
  against Iraq war and campaign against NATO base
  in Valencia
• claiming for the closing down of military
  installations for social and ecological use

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NBC military complex in La Marañosa (Madrid)
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training site of San Gregorio (Zaragoza)
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US air naval base of Rota (Cádiz)
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radar base of Aitana (Alicante)
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reforestation inside the military site
training site of Chinchilla (Albacete)
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bombing training site in Bardenas (Navarra)
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NATO Response Force HQ in Valencia
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campaign against NATO base
2001 Aznar government offers the military base of
Bétera (Valencia) to host one of the HQs of the
new NATO command and force structure A
(relatively) broad social protest arises in
Valencia
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campaign against NATO base
2002 Social pressure fails to achieve its goals.
Government inversion and geographical situation
play the key role Bétera base will be part of
NATO High Readiness Forces Movement collapses
and only a small core of activists keep the
protest alive DNA, civil disobedience and
communication guerrilla actions begin
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campaign against NATO base
1st citizen inspection
2003 US-UK bombing and occupation of Iraq.
Spanish government gives complete political
support against the vast majority of the Spanish
population Strong social mobilization against
war In Valencia, the campaign organizes a
citizens inspection of the NATO base, inspired by
similar actions in Belgium and UK. Fifty
inspectors enter the base. Huge media impact
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campaign against NATO base
clown invasion...
police infiltrated and partially aborted this
action, which was initially planned to be an
occupation of the base helicopter landing strip
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campaign against NATO base
... and other actions
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campaign against NATO base
2nd citizen inspection
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campaign against NATO base
3rd citizen inspection
2005 Council of Bétera demands the training area
of the base Base hosts the NATO Response Force
rotatory command
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campaign against NATO base
4th citizen inspection
2006 A judge acquits 7 inspectors accused of
disobedience and considers in his sentence
their action and ideas legitimate. About one
hundred inspectors have broken into the military
perimeter in 3 years, but only 2 have been
sentenced to pay light fines
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campaign against NATO base
Trainstopping
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campaign against NATO base
Trainstopping
October 2004 4 trains transport military
equipment of the NATO base from Valencia to the
training site of Zaragoza in order to check its
capability to command the NATO Response Force
next year. 4 activists block for 3 hours the
departure of the last train. Two of them lock
themselves on with metallic tubes to the tracks
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campaign against NATO base
Trainstopping
Action was prepared one year before. This
transport is very frequent. The main training
site of the Spanish army is the Zaragoza
one. Low risk action Train was still at the
station when they locked to the tracks The 4
people are accused of public disturbances and
could be sentenced to 1 year of prison. But after
4 attempts in the last two years, the repression
over the antimilitarists has failed
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campaign against NATO base
Trainstopping
maybe the next one?
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