MADRID (Sputnik) – The protest centered on the construction of a 10,000-square meter (110,000-square feet) bunker at the Torrejon base, formerly used by the alliance, with people chanting “No to NATO” and “Bases Outside!”
Hoy como ayer OTAN NO BASES FUERA! 25A marcha a Torrejón pic.twitter.com/bxsf3ZL4Qv
— Víctor Arrogante (@caval100) 25 апреля 2015
“Spain puts in money, soldiers and operation bases which are decided by other countries and that have nothing to do with our interests,” Angeles Maestro, the spokesperson for the Global Platform Against War, who organized the protest, told Sputnik.
#25AMarchaTorrejon en #torrejon — OTAN NO BASES FUERA!! STOP CRIMENES E INVASIONES!! pic.twitter.com/PXbRQnHQzB
— RedRoja Henares (@redrojahenares) 25 апреля 2015
Angeles Diaz, a doctor of political science and sociology at the Complutense University of Madrid, said at the march that 137,000 Spanish soldiers had been involved in international military campaigns around the world since 1989.
Spain joined NATO in 1982. Today Spain maintains two military bases with permanent US presence – an air base in Seville and an aero-naval base in Cadiz.