The Global Campaign Against U.S./NATO Military Bases held its first international conference in Dublin, Ireland from November 16 - 18, 2018. I was honored to chair a panel on the topic of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM). I was joined by Anne Atambo of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (Kenya), Paul Pumphrey of Friends of the Congo, and Chris Mahtlako of the South Africa Peace Initiative. Our panel begins at 1 hour 49 minutes on the video embedded below.
The meeting was held at Liberty Hall in Dublin, headquarters of the Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU). There were 300 attendees from 35 different countries. You can see all three of the live stream videos here. Distinguished guests included Dr. Aleida Guevara from the Cuban National Assembly, Nobel laureate Maireade Maguire, Aida Touma-Sliman, a Palestinian member of Israel's parliament, and Irish parliamentarian Clare Daly.
In my panel introduction I touched on the Black Alliance for Peace U.S. Out of Africa Campaign. The new Congress will have a democratic party majority. One of our demands is for the Congressional Black Caucus to take the lead in dismantling AFRICOM. We will find out what value there is, if any, when the democrats can set the agenda.
You can read the press communique on the Black Alliance for Peace website. BAP is a founding member of the Global Campaign. BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka attended along with my fellow coordinating committee member Paul Pumphrey.
