international women’s network against militarism statement on gdams

8/7/2019 International Womens Network Against Militarism Statement on GDAMS

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Press StatementContact: IWNAM Secretariat, [email protected] 11, 2011

Relief and Recovery in Japan:U.S. Should Decline Monies from Japan's "Sympathy Budget" andEnd Military Dependence GloballyThe International Women's Network Against Militarism (IWNAM) demands that the U.S.and Japanese governments stop spending U.S. and Japanese taxpayer monies forthe upkeep of U.S. military facilities in Japan and other territories. During these timesof natural disasters, funds should directly help the needs of victims of the earthquake,tsunami, and radiation poisoning from damaged nuclear power plants in Japan, andalso create alternatives for employment world wide that do not rely on militarism, orfurther interpersonal and ecological violence.The IWNAM, formerly named East AsiaUS-Puerto Rico Womens Network AgainstMilitarism, has called for reallocation of global military spending in order to achievegenuine security for people. We call for the cancellation of the sympathy budget, apart of the host nation support provided by the Japanese government to maintain theU.S. military stationed in Japan (See Final Statement, International Womens Summit toRedefine Security, June 2000.) The sympathy budget has been criticized for coveringmuch more than Japans obligation under the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty. It coversthe salaries of Japanese employees, utilities for U.S. military personnel, and buildingcosts for luxurious leisure facilities on US bases in Japan. In 2010, these expenses

totaled 189 billion yen (about $1.6 billion). If the Japanese government kept thismoney it could be used to help victims of the recent earthquake in the Tohuku region,people near Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants who were forced to evacuate theircommunities, and farmers and fishers whose products can not be sold because of therisk of radiation contamination. Japan is in need of this money for reconstruction ofthe vast disaster-stricken areas, and recovery from economic and human losses. It isno longer sustainable for the Japanese government to maintain U.S. military bases inJapan. We believe that if the U.S. government would decline the "sympathy budget," itcould be used to help those people directly and to help create a more sustainable world.In addition, IWNAM demands that the Japanese government should stop building new

military infrastructure at Henoko and Takae in Okinawa, and also in Guam, and use thatmoney for survivors of these natural disasters. Since the earthquake in March, the U.S.military and Japanese Self-Defense Forces have become increasingly visible in Japan.While their rescue efforts are recognized, we should not forget that the primary purposeof the military is not disaster rescue. Their primary training is to destroy the enemy.These natural disasters should not be used as opportunities for military forces to

justify occupation of a country, as if they are heroes. This obscures current military
mailto:[email protected]://devnet.anu.edu.au/GenderPacific/pdfs/20_gen_peace_summit.pdfhttp://devnet.anu.edu.au/GenderPacific/pdfs/20_gen_peace_summit.pdfhttp://devnet.anu.edu.au/GenderPacific/pdfs/20_gen_peace_summit.pdfhttp://devnet.anu.edu.au/GenderPacific/pdfs/20_gen_peace_summit.pdfmailto:[email protected]


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developments. According to Lisa Natividad of Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice,"On Guam (Guahan), the Japanese government has incrementally funded roughly$10 billion dollars, totaling 70% of the total cost of the relocation of U.S. Marines fromOkinawa to Guam. The island's people suffer poor health outcomes largely due toenvironmental toxicity and degradation from the presence of U.S. military bases andinstallations since the U.S. assumed colonial rule in 1898. For example, cancer ratesare excessively high on the island, with the largest number of cases living near militarybases. In addition, the U.S. currently occupies roughly 1/3 of the island, and is in theprocess of "acquiring" an additional 2,300 acres to construct a live firing range complexon ancient Chamorro sacred ground in the village of Pagat. The acquisition of theadditional land will increase U.S. control of the island to nearly 40%, thus leaving only asmall portion of the island for its native people."Furthermore, after Hurricane Katrina in the Southeast U.S., earthquakes in Haiti, andflooding in the Philippines, corporate and military interests capitalized on these naturaldisasters to further their own interests in the rebuilding process. Afterward, theseplaces were no longer economically accessible for communities who were previouslyliving there, and they also experienced an increase in military surveillance. We stillneed disaster troops and recovery plans to help people in times of natural disaster. But,we should also have a critical awareness of the cooperation occurring between militaristand capitalist forces who do not change structures of power when they take advantageof these vulnerable times to advance to geopolitical agendas of neo-liberal interests.Dependence on militarism occurs when institutions that perpetrate violence provideemployment for people. Interpersonal and ecological violence that manifests in military-dependent societies is not often seen as a product of the larger militarized society. Arecentcase in Ohio, where a former U.S. Air Force member beat his Okinawan-bornwife to death, illustrates interpersonal violence in militarized societies. The two metin Nago, Okinawa, while the man was stationed in Okinawa. They were married andmoved to Cleveland, Ohio. On March 11, 2011, the wife was severely beaten by thehusband and taken to the hospital where she was treated, but died from the injury. Thelocal paper reported that this man had a history of violence with a former partner, butshe was able to leave the relationship. This example highlights the recurring pattern ofinterpersonal violence perpetrated by service members.

In Hawai'i, there is an increase in helicopters stationed and housed at Kaneohe MarineCorps Air Station (Oahu). A squadron of Ospreys (a hybrid helicopter and plane thattransports troops), Cobra attack helicopters, and a squadron of Hueys will be housedat Mokapu on Oahu, and practice on the Big Island. On March 30, 2011, a helicoptercrashed killing one Marine, and injuring 3 others. The push for increased housingand training areas for of military aircraft in Hawai'i is a product of the U.S. militarystrategy in the Asia-Pacific, moving bases and troops from one island to another. Yetthese decisions disregard the impact this has on local communities and environmentsin Hawai'i, Okinawa, and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region where militarydevelopments increase everyday violence and insecurity.


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In 2009, global military spending was estimated at $1,531 billion, an increase of 6%from 2008 and 49% from 2000. On April 12, 2011, the Stockholm International PeaceResearch Institute (SIPRI) will release its calculations of global military spending for2010. We estimate that this figure could reach $1.6 trillion. We join peace groups,budget priority activists, arms control advocates, and concerned citizens the world

over in public demonstrations, solidarity actions and awareness raising events to callattention to the disparity between bountiful global investments in war-making and theworldwide neglect of social priorities. Please visit the website for Global Day of Actionon Military Spending at http://demilitarize.org/.The IWNAM demands that U.S. President Barack Obamas administration1) Decline the Japanese Sympathy Budget.2) End the military build up in Okinawa, Guam, Hawaii and other territories.3) Stop the justification of militarism in times of natural disasters4) Fund alternative jobs that end dependence on militarism

Signed, on behalf of the IWNAM:Kozue Akibayashi, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, JapanEllen-Rae Cachola, Women for Genuine Security/Women's Voices Women Speak, U.S.& Hawai'iLotlot de la Cruz, KAISAKA, PhilippinesCora Valdez Fabros, SCRAP VFA Movement, PhilippinesTerri Keko'olani, DMZ-Hawaii, Hawai'iGwyn Kirk, Women for Genuine Security, U.S.Mara Reinat Pumarejo, Il Conciencia-en-Accin, Puerto RicoAida Santos-Maranan, Women's Education, Development, Productivity and ResearchOrganization (WEDPRO), Philippines

Kim Tae-jung, SAFE Korea, South KoreaSuzuyo Takazato, Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence, OkinawaLisa Natividad, Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice, Guahan (Guam)The International Womens Network Against Militarism was formed in 1997 when fortywomen activists, policy-makers, teachers, and students from South Korea, Okinawa,mainland Japan, the Philippines and the continental United States gathered in Okinawato strategize together about the negative effects of the US military in each of ourcountries. In 2000, women from Puerto Rico who opposed the US Navy bombingtraining on the island of Vieques also joined; followed in 2004 by women from Hawaiiand 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 commonmission to demilitarize their lands and communities. For more information, visitwww.genuinesecurity.org.
http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milexhttp://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milexhttp://demilitarize.org/http://www.genuinesecurity.org/http://www.genuinesecurity.org/http://demilitarize.org/http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milexhttp://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex

international women’s network against militarism statement on gdams

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