Global Day of Action on Military Spending

The International Peace Bureau (IPB) announces that the Global Day of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS) is Monday, April 14 … In the U.S.,Tax Day actions will be held on April 15 and some groups will combine the GDAMS actions with those. Peace Action is the U.S./North America Coordinator.

The date of GDAMS coincides, once again, with the release by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) of their annual statistics on global military spending.

The themes featured by each group will vary according to domestic and regional political circumstances. Some groups are focusing on opposing the governments’ purchase of more war hardware: F-35 and Gripen fighter planes and drones; re-negotiating the Pentagon budget in the U.S.; calming the drumbeat on regional political tensions; resisting amendments to laws that would lead to militarism; demanding an end to military violence, and the ultimate goal of persuading governments to reallocate military expenditures to peace, sustainable development, environment (especially climate change and biodiversity loss), social justice and green employment creation.

The actual global spending figures had reached US$1.75 trillion in 2012, a real political and moral scandal.

More information can be found on the IPB website.