U.S. Delegations Attend International Conference in Guantanamo, Cuba on Abolition of Foreign Military Bases
By Ann Wright
Three delegations from U.S. organizations will attend the 4th International Conference on Abolition of Foreign Military Bases November 23-25, 2015.
The conference is held in Guantanamo, Cuba, the site of one of the most contentious U.S. military bases, the U.S. Naval Base that had houses the notorious military prison that since January, 2002 has incarcerated 779 persons for alleged ties to al Qaeda, the Iraq insurgency and other activities designed as “terrorist” by the U. S. government. With the most recent release of five prisoners this week to the UAE, the prison now holds 107 prisoners, 47 of whom have been cleared for release by the U.S. government years ago and 46 that the U.S. has decided are so dangerous that they will be imprisoned indefinitely without charge or trial.
The delegation from CODEPINK: Women for Peace has 60 participants, Witness Against Torture 15 delegates and United National Anti-War Coalition has 10 delegates. 165 international delegates attended the 2014 conference.
Sponsored by the Global Peace Council, the Cuban Movement for Peace and Sovereignty of the People, and the Cuban Institute of Friendship of the People, the three day conference will feature presentations by María Do Socorro Gómez, President of the Global Council for Peace, by Doctor Nancy Acosta Hernández, President of Provincial Assembly of People’s Power on “The effects of the U.S. military base on the province,” by Dr. Manuel Carbonell, member of the Cuban Movement for Peace and Sovereignty of the People, on “Current situation of the military bases in the world,’ and by Professor Mario Montero, University of Guantánamo, on “The negative effect on the environment caused by the Military Base of Guantanamo on the Guantanamo Bay.”
Presentations from international delegates include “U.S. Military Bases in Central and South America and the Caribbean” by retired US Army Reserve Colonel and former US diplomat Ann Wright.
The CODEPINK delegation calls for the United States to close the U.S. prison on the U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo, end its 112 year occupation of the U.S. Naval Base and return the land to the people of Cuba.
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About the Author: Ann Wright served 29 years in the U.S. Army/Army Reserves and retired as a Colonel. She was a U.S. diplomat for 16 years and served in U.S. Embassies in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia, Afghanistan and Mongolia. She resigned from the U.S. government in March, 2003 in opposition to President Bush’s war on Iraq.
