End fleet week and all war games

community members rally on water and on land to pull back the curtain and expose the true face of Fleet week

As Naval and Coast Guard ships docked in Portland’s city center for the annual Fleet Week, over 200 attended the “People’s Summit against US-Led War” on Saturday and over 100 participated in a rally and mobilization on Sunday at the Eastbank Esplanade and Hawthorne Bridge. The summit included a keynote by Brandon Lee, a Chinese-American activist who survived an attempted assassination by the Armed Forces of the Philippines for his work with indigenous communities in the Philippines.

Throughout Saturday, participants attended workshops that ranged from the impacts of war on forced migration, the role of faith-leaders in the anti-war movement, and women’s organizing against militarism. On Sunday, organizers held a rally and mobilization across from the Rose Festival City Fair where the naval ships were docked. Mosquito Fleet let an on-water banner raise in coordination with activist who dropped a banner from the Hawthorne Bridge, all in view of attendees of the CityFair. The Hawthorne Bridge banner read “Fight for Health, Housing and Education! Reject Militarization!” while those on the water held a banner that said “End Fleet Week and All War Games”.

After stopping in Portland, the naval ships are headed down to San Diego, and then to Hawai’i to particpate in The Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises, the largest joint war exercises in the world. The US uses RIMPAC to strengthen the abilities of 26 of its allies’ militaries to wage wars of aggression around the world, as threats of war between major military powers continue to rise. Through weapons testing and war-making, defense contractors and fossil fuel corporations reap hundreds of millions of dollars in profits. The US military occupation of Hawai'i is a violation of native Hawaiian sovereignty and turns Hawai'i into a place where “future wars are in development.” RIMPAC leads to environmental destruction, violence against women, and a gross neglect of the day to day needs of people all over the world by advancing US-led wars.

Follow these orgs to get connected to Portland’s anti-war movement!

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