August 2009

Dear Colleagues of Peace,

Greetings from the U.S. chapter of A World Without Armies! We deeply appreciate your work for peace in the world and peace with the earth. Together with three other organizations, we co-sponsored the First Conference of Women for the Abolition of Armies in Central America by 2020, which was held at the Costa Rican Ministry of Culture and the Universidad de Cooperacion Internacional in San José in 2007. In order to achieve our common goal, our next step is to develop academic studies on the demilitarization potential of every nation. We need to understand the positive elements, challenges, and obstacles for reducing and abolishing military forces in each nation. We need to develop strategies and build concrete processes. It would be effective if people and organizations that are committed to do the work were all connected and collaborating domestically and internationally. We want to see a surge of a movement for demilitarization worldwide.

Your ideas, suggestions, and action reports on demilitarization would be valuable to all those who are concerned. We would like to learn from you, collaborate with you, and share our experience with you. Also, we would like to post some of the communications and photographs from you on our website, www.aworldwithoutarmies.org. Please write to us and we will write to you.

With best wishes,
Kazuaki Tanahashi, Director
Edie Hartshorne, Co-director
Catherine Margerin, Representative to the Global Alliance Conference