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Demilitarize.org

March 30, 2011

Press Communique

Global Day of Action on Military Spending, April 12

On Tuesday, April 12, 2011, people in more than 35 countries will participate in the first-ever Global Day ofAction on Military Spending. Actions will include a protest in front of the White House, actions at the UnitedNations in New York and Geneva, a march in Kampala, a demonstration in Dhaka, a forum in Seoul, and muchmore.

The Global Day is co-organized by the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC and the International PeaceBureau in Geneva, Switzerland. It has been endorsed by more than 100 organizations, including Religions forPeace, Scientists for Global Responsibility, the American Friends Service Committee, and Fellowship ofReconciliation.

This global action coincides with the annual release of the figures for global military expenditures by theStockholm 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. At thesame time, other crises have put a great strain on the world's resources: climate change, earthquakes, globalpoverty, nuclear proliferation, and the threat of health pandemics. Ever greater funds are necessary to repair thesocieties that have been damaged by war and conflict, including the latest war in Libya.

With five years to go, the international community will not be able to meet the deadline for the MillenniumDevelopment Goals without a substantial reordering of economic priorities.

On April 12, people around the world will demand that their governments reduce military spending and devotethose precious resources to pressing human needs. They will send a message that $1.5 trillion is too much.

Please visit our website http://www.demilitarize.org for more information about the Global Day, the endorsingorganizations, and the specific actions.

The !International!Peace Bureau!(IPB)!is dedicated to the!vision of a World!Without War. We are a!Nobel Peace Laureate(1910).

!Our 320 member organizations in

!70 countries, together with

!individual members from a global

!network, bringtogether expertise!and campaigning experience in a common cause.!Our current main!programme centres on Sustainable

Disarmament for Sustainable!Development.The!Institute for Policy!Studies !(IPS) is a!community of public scholars and!organizers linking!peace, justice, and theenvironment in the United States and!globally.!We work with social movements!to promote true democracy and!challengeconcentrated wealth,!corporate influence, and military!power. As Washingtons first!progressive multi-issue think tank,!theIPS has served as a policy and!research resource for visionary!social justice movements for over!four decades.

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