VZCZCXYZ0009
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHQT #0420/01 0541939
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 231939Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6385
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 6456
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ FEB LIMA 1428
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 2383
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 1934

UNCLAS QUITO 000420 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINR PGOV EC PREL MARR MASS
SUBJECT: International Conference for the Abolition of Foreign 
Military Bases to Be Held in Ecuador, March 5-9 
 
 
¶1. The International No Bases Network (INBN) will hold an 
International Conference for the Abolition of Foreign Military Bases 
in Ecuador, March 5-9, 2007.  They expect some 2,000 activists to 
attend the conference, which will be held in Quito March 5-7, with a 
March 8 caravan from Quito to Manta, site of the U.S. military's 
Forward Operating Location (FOL).   The March 8 events, keyed to 
International Women's Day, will include a media day followed by a 
demonstration in Manta on March 9.  The organizers, which include 
several prominent U.S. NGOs, have begun to brief the Ecuadorian and 
international media of their plans for the conference.  They claim 
that President Rafael Correa and Defense Minister Lorena Escudero 
will speak at the conference in Quito, and that the mayor of Quito 
will hold a special session for the attendees.  The Embassy is 
taking proactive steps to counter the conference's anti-U.S. base 
and anti-U.S. military propaganda campaign. 
 
¶2.  According to their website (no-bases.org) the aim of this 
international network is "the closure of foreign military bases 
around the world," and the conference goal is to "come up with a 
concrete plan of action."  In a 2/22 briefing for foreign media in 
Quito, attended by AP, Reuters, EFE and CNN among others, INBN 
organizers explained their overall mission for the conference.  The 
theme is "The U.S.'s New Global Imperialism through Military Bases," 
and they said that U.S. plans for a "new military incursion" in Iran 
make the topic more important than ever.  They use two core 
statistics on U.S. foreign bases to make their case:  The Pentagon 
has confirmed that there are 735 U.S. bases overseas; 96 percent of 
all foreign military bases worldwide are U.S.  They also claim that 
the U.S. has more bases in Latin America than we admit because we 
have sworn the host countries to secrecy, and add that USG military 
training of foreign militaries is just as "evil" as our overseas 
bases. 
 
¶3. Why Hold the Meeting in Ecuador?  According to the INBN briefers, 
the Manta FOL has become the organization's focus because of the 
"Correa administration's open opposition" to the U.S. presence in 
Ecuador (note: Correa has not called for U.S. withdrawal but has 
made clear his opposition to renewing the current bilateral 
agreement that expires in 2009.  end note).  Manta's strategic 
importance for the USG means that if they can successfully "throw 
the U.S. out" of Manta, they will have delivered a real blow.  They 
made a number of disinformation points in the briefing: The Manta 
FOL is being financed by "the Plan Colombia legislation," which 
proves the USG has been dishonest in its description of activities 
in Manta; the USG is controlling the international flow of oil 
through flights from the Manta FOL and the group will reveal the 
USG's methods; Manta is an example of a "base" situated to advance 
USG plans to exploit water and oil resources in the future; one of 
the FOL's "secret missions" is to intercept illegal immigrants in 
order to keep "undesired races" out of the U.S.; the USG has removed 
farmers from their homes around the FOL for future USG expansion 
projects; child prostitution, trafficking of girls, and reports of 
rape and drug abuse in Manta have increased since 2000 because of 
the presence of U.S. soldiers.  They said that Joseph Gerson of the 
U.S. will attend the conference and reveal his research on "secret" 
studies conducted by the Pentagon. 
 
¶4. Conference Impact: The Mission expects widespread coverage of the 
conference by the Ecuadorian and international media, and local 
leftist organizations will undoubtedly seek to maximize its impact. 
Last year the GOE published a foreign policy document stating that 
there should be "no foreign troops on Ecuadorian soil", and it is 
widely expected that efforts will be made to write this policy into 
the new constitution slated to result from the constitutional 
assembly that Correa seeks to convene later this year. 
 
¶5. Embassy Action Pre-Conference: The Ecuadorian public outside of 
Manta has limited awareness and largely inaccurate information about 
the FOL.  To fill that information gap and create a positive 
environment for continued counter-narcotics cooperation at the FOL 
through 2009, as well as - in the best case scenario - a realistic 
opportunity to engage the GOE on renewal of the agreement, the 
Embassy over the past two months has begun public diplomacy efforts 
to explain the benefits of the FOL to the local economy and its 
contribution to protecting Ecuador's sovereignty from the scourge of 
transnational narcotics activity.  In private  meetings, and using 
TV, radio and print media, the Ambassador and other Mission 
spokespersons have been countering misinformation published in the 
local media, explaining what the FOL is and is not, and outlining 
how bilateral counter narcotics cooperation is good for both 
countries.  At the same time, we have sought to de-politicize and 
put the question of post-2009 renewal into the future, saying only 
that we will respect Ecuador's decision and engage the issue when 
the time comes to do so. We have also opened the FOL doors to 
numerous media outlets for reporting tours, and plan to arrange 
 
future visits for Ecuadorian opinion shapers in order to 
"de-mystify" the FOL presence and mission and transparently make the 
case that the FOL is simply a small U.S. operation housed within an 
Ecuadorian airbase, with a limited-scope mission directly supportive 
of mutual interest. 
 
¶5. Embassy Action During the Conference: The Mission has an 
aggressive communications plan to counter disinformation and provide 
the Ecuadorian media with the truth about the FOL.  Before and 
during the No Base Conference, Mission spokespersons will conduct 
media interviews and calls on editors to discuss the benefits of the 
FOL and of U.S. overseas bases around the world.  We will also host 
the visits of two national TV stations to the FOL, including one TV 
anchor who has been a consistent critic of the FOL, and will meet 
with visiting American representatives of WOLA and the AFSC.  In 
addition, the Ambassador will be speaking to the Ministers of 
Defense and Foreign Affairs about GOE participation in or 
association with the conference. 
 
¶6. Embassy Action Post Conference: After the No Base Conference, the 
Mission will continue its campaign to inform Ecuadorian opinion 
shapers and the general public about the FOL and the benefits of 
U.S.-Ecuador counter-narcotics cooperation via private and public 
diplomacy, and FOL visits.  We also plan to request separate funding 
from the Department and DOD for paid media placements to inform the 
public about the FOL, and for an enhanced Manta community relations 
campaign to increase support for the FOL in key constituencies in 
and around Manta. 
 
¶7. Action Request: Mission has already requested that State/IIP 
draft articles on the value of U.S. bases and the U.S. global 
security alliances for use in this campaign.  In addition, Mission 
requests assistance from the Department's counter-disinformation 
officer to refute INBN's disinformation claims discussed above. 
 
JEWELL