JUST PEAce COMMITTEE

April 22, 2020

Published by the Nicaragua Network, a project of Alliance for Global Justice!
NicaNotes is a blog for Nicaragua activists and those interested in Nicaragua, published by the Nicaragua Network, a project of the Alliance for Global Justice. It provides news and analysis from the context of Nicaragua Network’s long history of struggle in solidarity with the Sandinista Revolution.

NicaNotes: “It is time to swap nuclear weapons for hospitals”

President Daniel Ortega addresses Nicaragua’s people (and a world in crisis)
Good afternoon, Nicaraguan sisters and brothers, Nicaraguan families. First, our Solidarity and our Condolences to all the families who are suffering from the hardships of this pandemic, whose loved ones have died; some who are in serious condition in Intensive care; others in quarantine. All are suffering and in great pain. This is a time that calls for solidarity and unity among the peoples of the World.
And when we call for solidarity and unity as the peoples of the World, it means that we are being called to Peace. That is the first principle: Peace; to put an end to all types of war, to all types of aggression, against any people, and to cultivate Peace, to strengthen Peace. Because only a world at Peace will allow us, particularly the more developed countries, to create the conditions so that on this planet we do not face such dramatic situations as those in developed countries where there is a lack of beds and medical instruments, simply because the health services do not reach the people, do not reach the poor, do not reach the workers. Public services have been totally abandoned.
Of course, there are great, highly qualified hospitals, with a lot of technology and great scientists. But who can go to pay for services in a private hospital in a developed country or in a developing country? This is what is bleeding, that is, the world’s flesh has been ripped open by this pandemic.
And what use are atomic bombs? Are atomic weapons going to end the virus, the missiles that are being developed now in these arms races to conquer space and turn space into a battlefield, for killing, to kill? What are those weapons for? These weapons are not for life, they are not for health; they are not for the feeding of millions of human beings that perish year after year from hunger.
These weapons are for killing! And trillions are spent on them! And those who spend those trillions know perfectly well that these weapons cannot be used, because the day they are used, the entire population of the Planet will disappear. They know perfectly well! So why this madness of investing billions and trillions in weapons?
And how many epidemics, how many pandemics has humanity experienced? How many? How many millions of human beings have died in those pandemics, in those epidemics? In the midst of the World Wars, in the First World War, in the Second World War, there were epidemics and pandemics, and in the midst of the epidemics and pandemics there was no ceasefire. They kept killing each other, making war.

I am convinced that this pandemic, this virus that has multiplied throughout the planet, no force is able to block it; there is no barrier that can block it, there is no wall that can block it. There is no way! There is no billionaire who can block it.
Of course, peoples in developing countries are the most exposed, the most vulnerable to this pandemic, and we already know how tragedies are repeated every year in developing countries, from the migration from Africa, seeking to reach Europe, during which thousands of adults, women and children die, drowning there in the sea, in that beautiful sea there, from Europe facing Africa, North Africa, and from North Africa they seek a way into Europe.
There are those migrants, there they are right now. What can these migrants do in the face of this pandemic, and likewise the migrants here who are also moving northwards, where we see that many of them are kept in cages there. Nicaraguans who have been deported home tell us how they are caged, how they are mistreated, and that there is no health care.
But what health care can they give them, if they don’t even have the capacity in that country, the world’s greatest superpower, the greatest military power in the history of humanity, the greatest economic power in the history of humanity, which does not have the capacity to meet the needs of its own citizens in its great cities. This is a tragedy that Europe is experiencing too.
This is what we can see and it is calling upon us, and it is a call that we can make from this small country, where we are facing the pandemic with our limited resources. With great patience, with great discipline, with great sacrifice on the part of health workers, with a high level of citizen engagement, with a high level of discipline from the workers, with great dedication from the Army, from the Police, protecting security and our territorial integrity; well, we have been fighting the fight.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, from the moment it was decreed on March 11th: Let’s see, from March 11th to April 15th, we had 1,237 reported deaths. Of all these, just one was from coronavirus. The other deceased, men, women and children, why did they die? From malignant tumors, diabetes, renal disease, acute myocardial infarction, hypertensive diseases; traffic accidents, cerebrovascular accidents, liver cirrhosis, neonatal asphyxia, congenital malformations, neonatal sepsis, bacterial pneumonia, septicemia. Suicides… yes, suicides! Drownings, yes, by drowning! Deaths from HIV.
See how much pain we’ve had in these families too! So much pain! We are talking about the period from March 11 to April 15, in Nicaragua, 1,237 people died from different causes.
And in the fight to take care of these families of people who arrive injured and need hospital care, in this fight to also bring health to thousands of Nicaraguans, how many medical consultations took place in this period? Thousands of doctor’s visits, thousands of operations, totally free of charge. Thousands of hemodialysis treatments!
Here the health system has not stopped providing free hemodialysis; that is the public health system. The private one is different, the private one charges, of course. The poor go to the public health system. The workers use it, and families looking for ways to improve their lives.
Hemodialysis! We’ve been incorporating even more hemodialysis systems; incorporating radiotherapy systems to attack cancer more effectively; inaugurating ICUs in the departmental hospitals and in municipal hospitals. Recently an ICU was inaugurated in Chontales, in Juigalpa.
In the midst of this pandemic, we have not stopped working, because here if we stop working, the country dies, and if the country dies, the people die, they get wiped out. If rural workers stop planting to harvest beans, if they stop sowing to harvest corn, if they stop planting to harvest coffee, if they stop sowing to ensure the supply of potatoes, carrots, radishes, onions… because, thank God, we are a country that even in the midst of the greatest difficulties, the greatest tragedies, the greatest boycotts, we are a country with working people and thanks be to God with land our people know how to cultivate very well and also know how to raise livestock.
Our people will not die of hunger! Big investments, big capital, can be affected by all these developments, because there is a supply chain in the field of international trade, in the field of international markets, which is unquestionably impacted and causes unemployment, which is felt here.
Well, the important thing here is that we have continued working, following guidelines very conscientiously and with great discipline; our people follow the rules the Health System dictates. And this is repeated everywhere, multiplied not only by transmitting these guidelines via the media, but also through house to house visits, giving people leaflets and explaining to families how to protect themselves from this pandemic. That is what helps explain and what does explain why the pandemic has spread so slowly. It’s not that it hasn’t entered Nicaragua, of course it has entered and has already caused one death, but its progress has been slow; and everyone affected has been as a result of outside contact.
Over the last few days they arrested a Nicaraguan girl in Costa Rica, a 17-year-old girl, who was pregnant. The Costa Rican authorities arrested her because she was crossing the border illegally. Immediately the media there began reporting that the Nicaraguan girl had Coronavirus. But the Costa Rican authorities, acting with great professionalism, seriousness, and responsibility, examined her and said: She does not have Coronavirus! That is to say, a Nicaraguan woman has not been found carrying the virus from Nicaragua to a sister country.
But yes, sister and brother Nicaraguans arriving from other countries, when they come, they are detected; they may not arrive seriously ill, but they are subject to the corresponding procedure [at the airport and borders]. The majority have left the process of care, examination, follow-up, treatment [and have recovered], even some serious cases that seemed to be dying.
One of them, a very well-known comrade of ours, lived in the United States, and arrived very, very seriously ill, including from other illnesses he already had. And well, we prayed to God, and he managed to survive the state he was in, thank God, when he seemed about to die. There was another woman who arrived very seriously ill. That is, when the doctors began caring for her, they thought it would be hard for her to survive.
But they received care from Nicaraguan doctors, who are highly specialized, highly skilled, not only because they have studied in our country, but also because they studied specialized careers, specializations in other countries, in other sister nations.
In Cuba, in the Soviet Union, how many doctors studied [medical] specialties? In Mexico, how many doctors have done specializations there! In Venezuela, how many Nicaraguans have received specialized training! And how many specialized doctors from the United States too… in other words, we do have highly specialized doctors.
And as for hospitals? Practically 90% of the hospitals that are in the public health system are equipped with all the basic resources to care for patients to the extent of the bed capacity that these hospitals allow.
There are enough respirators. Thank God it has not been necessary to use all the ventilators; some have been used, but not all have been used.
Intensive Care Units? Yes, we have Intensive Care Units everywhere, with highly specialized doctors.
The reserve of medicines in the health system, in the whole public health system, including of course the Social Security system, there we are talking about 90% and sometimes more, and some medicines that only the State has, like Interferon for example.
In other words, we have the capacity to care for the population, while the rate at which the epidemic has spread has been one we have managed to control… Yes, we have managed to do so!
In other words, we didn’t call for a stampede. If we had triggered a stampede, what happens to people in stadiums would have happened to us—we would have been crushed. Instead, in an orderly manner, and guided by international standards, we have been adopting a series of measures and applying them according to our national reality, our material possibilities, our economic possibilities, our scientific possibilities.
Meanwhile, the police are also protecting the country’s security. Imagine, if we were to send the Police to isolate themselves, or if we sent the Army to isolation, and rural workers to isolate themselves and stop producing, the country would simply disappear. So here it has been a combination of careful measures to be able to deal with this plague.
The latest data was given today by Doctor Saenz. He gave the latest data on the cases we currently have. In the region we have the least number of cases.
Of course, it’s also true that we have many hospitals, we have built many hospitals; even the hospitals they burned down in April 2018, we have already rebuilt them; the health posts they burned down that April, we have already rebuilt them. Yes, we have already rebuilt all that! And all the equipment, and medical instruments they destroyed by fire in April, we have already bought and replaced them.
We’re building roads, we’re opening bridges. Yes, for example the Malacatoya Bridge, a historic bridge, just like the highway to San Carlos, after years and years, after centuries waiting for that highway. The Malacatoya Bridge, which is the second largest bridge in Nicaragua, opened in the midst of this situation, and none of the workers have been affected. No cases have been found in the town of Malacatoya.
So, the thing now is to continue managing with follow-up, with permanent monitoring. In any case, when patients are found to have signs that could be symptoms of the virus, they are isolated and treated, and once they have passed the isolation period, well, if they are ok then they go home, they get to go back out on the streets.
I do believe that this is the time for change in the world. This is a sign from God, yes… this is a sign from God, who is telling us: You are going the wrong way, spending trillions on atomic bombs, on atomic weapons, on military bases, on military alliances. It is fine for the army to protect a country’s sovereignty and territory and a country’s security—that is all right. And the Police, that is fine. But those transnational forces now only aspiring to dominate the whole planet; that is a sin!
And God is telling us, the Lord is telling us, the Lord is sending us this sign, and this is our chance to make a change towards Peace. This is the time for those great resources to be used decisively once and for all, the peoples of these countries that are suffering the onslaught of this pandemic, the peoples of the developed countries that are suffering, it is hitting them terribly, they can decide to tell their Governments: No more money for nuclear arms, for sophisticated weaponry. Let us limit weapons to those needed to protect our territory.
And those funds that have already been allocated, amounting to billions and trillions, let them be reallocated to build hospitals for the poor, for the people and for the workers, right in the United States, who so badly need them. They should be given all the medical equipment needed so they are prepared to face situations such as this. Because this is not the first time a pandemic has ravaged the world, but it is the first pandemic to hit this hard. Although pandemics have affected the developed world before, this one is hitting the developed world much harder, and it is hitting international markets, it is hitting stock prices, and it is hitting the world economy.
So, it is time to swap nuclear weapons for hospitals, for health posts, for all the basic conditions that can be provided to the peoples of the developed countries, and for them to cooperate so that we in the developing countries can also enjoy that protection.
In other words, the best atomic weapon humanity can have is health, medicine, hospitals, preventive medicine, and curative medicine, and for that we need resources, and we know very well who has them, and we know very well how they use them; therefore, now is the time for change.
And it is time to change the United Nations as well, and we have been repeating this for years. The United Nations needs to be totally remodeled, reconverted, reconstituted… It must be re-founded, as Father d’Escoto said when he was President of the United Nations General Assembly. It must be re-founded, and he planted the Nicaraguan flag there, proposing the re-founding of the United Nations, the re-founding of all the instruments of the United Nations, the re-founding of those regional instruments which are also totally discredited, decrepit and worn out.
The world demands an ethical and moral re-founding, and that happens because resources need to be placed where they belong, so as to save lives and give security to families, and give true Christian Love to Humanity.
Thank you, Nicaraguan Sisters and Brothers.

The Covid-19 Pandemic Evidences the Need to Cooperate Despite Political Differences
Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Cuba

The impact of COVID19 can already be measured and will be assessed in the future by the striking numbers of people infected, the unacceptable numbers of deaths, the unquestionable damages to the world economy, production, trade, employment and personal income of millions of people. It is a crisis that goes well beyond the scope of health.
The pandemic has emerged and spread amidst a scenario previously marked by overwhelming economic and social inequalities within and among nations. With unprecedented migratory and refugee flows, xenophobia and racial discrimination have reemerged. The remarkable advances of science and technology, particularly in the area of health, focus in the pharmaceutical business and commercialization of medicine, rather than in securing the wellbeing and healthy living of majorities.
Covid19 has come into a world overburdened by production and consumption patterns, especially in highly industrialized countries and among the elites of developing countries, that are unsustainable and incompatible with the finite character of natural resources upon which life on the planet depends.
Before the first case was identified, there were 820 million people suffering from hunger worldwide; 2.2 billion people with no access to fresh water; 4.2 billion without access to safely managed sanitation services and 3 billion lacking basic amenities for hand washing.
This scenario becomes more inadmissible when it is known that globally around 6.7 billion dollars are spent on a yearly basis only in advertising, while military expenditure amounts to 1.8 trillion dollars that are completely useless in the combat against the COVID19 threat, which has already taken the lives of tens of thousands of people.
The virus does not discriminate. It does not distinguish the rich from the poor. However, its devastating effects multiply there where people that are most vulnerable and get the lowest incomes live, in the poor and developing world, in the pockets of poverty of large industrialized cities. Its impact is specially felt where neoliberal policies and social spending cuts have limited public administration capacities of the State.
Covid19 has taken more lives where governmental public healthcare budgets have been cut. It has caused more economic damages where the State has little or no options to bail out those who lose their jobs, close their businesses and suffer the dramatic reduction or loss of their personal and family income source. In most developed countries the death toll is higher among the poor, migrants and, in the specific case of the United States, among African Americans and Latinos.
To top it all off, the international community has to deal with this global threat while the biggest military, economic, technological and communicational power of the world implements a foreign policy that seeks to incite and promote conflicts, divisions, chauvinism and supremacist and racist positions.
At times when the worldwide combat against the Covid19 pandemic requires boosting cooperation and the leading role of international organizations, particularly the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the current US administration attacks multilateralism and seeks to disqualify the established leadership of WHO. It also insists in its petty strategy of taking advantage of the circumstances to impose its dominance and attack countries whose governments it has discrepancies with.
Some examples serve to illustrate that, like the recent and serious military threats against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the announcement, the day before yesterday by the US president, of the Pan-American Day and Week from April 14 to 18, accompanied by Monroe-Doctrine-inspired neocolonial statements against Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, reminiscing of the Pan-American Conference, condemned 130 years ago by José Martí. Around those same days; but in 1961, the Bay of Pigs invasion took place.
Another example is the immoral and persistent attack against Cuba’s selfless efforts to assist countries that have requested cooperation in the fight against COVID19. Instead of promoting cooperation and a collective response, top officials of the US State Department devote their time to issue statements threatening governments that faced with the drama of the pandemic exercise their sovereignty and decide to request Cuba’s assistance.
The United States officials are knowingly committing a crime, when in the midst of a pandemic they attack Cuba’s international cooperation, seeking to deprive millions of people from their universal human right to healthcare services.
The magnitude of the current crisis compels us to cooperate and practice solidarity despite political differences. The virus knows no boundaries or ideologies. It threatens the lives of all and therefore it is up to all of us to fight against it. No country should assume it is big enough, rich enough or powerful enough to defend itself, isolating itself and ignoring the efforts and needs of others.
Sharing and providing valuable and reliable information is urgent.
Steps have to be taken to allow for the coordination of the production and distribution of medical equipment, personal protection equipment (PPE) and medicines, with a sense of justice. Countries with more available resources should share them with most affected countries that are least prepared to cope with the pandemic.
That is Cuba’s approach. The humble contribution of a small nation with limited natural resources and submitted to a long and brutal economic blockade. For decades we have accumulated experiences in the development of international cooperation in the area of health, as generously acknowledged by the World Health Organization and our counterparts.
In the last few weeks, we have responded to cooperation requests without hesitance to consider political coincidences or economic advantages. So far, 21 brigades of healthcare professionals have been deployed to join in the national and local efforts of 20 countries, that are added or strengthen existing medical collaboration brigades in 60 nations that have now joined efforts to combat COVID 19 in the countries where they were already providing services.
We have also shared some medicines produced by Cuba that according to our practice have proven effective in the prevention of or therapy against the disease. In addition, our healthcare personnel has taken part from Cuba and via teleconferences in consults and discussions on specific treatments for patients or groups of patients in several countries.
All these actions are undertaken without neglecting the responsibility of protecting the Cuban population, duty that is rigorously fulfilled despite the huge limitations imposed by the US economic, commercial and financial blockade. Those who are interested may find the data supporting this assertion as they are publicly available. Anyone with a shred of decency will understand that the blockade poses remarkable pressure over Cuba to ensure the material inputs and equipment that support the public healthcare system and those specifically required to address this pandemic.
A recent example was an aid cargo from China that could not be shipped to Cuba because the carrier claimed the US blockade banned it. On that matter, top US State Department officials had the nerve to say that the United States does export medicines and medical devices to Cuba. Nonetheless, they have failed to support those fallacies with a single transaction between the two countries.
It is common knowledge and widely substantiated that the economic blockade is the main obstacle for Cuba’s development, prosperity and for the wellbeing of Cubans. That harsh reality due solely to the obstinate and aggressive behavior of the United States government does not prevent us from providing our help and solidarity. We don’t deny anyone our assistance, not even to the country that causes Cuba so much harm, if necessary.
Cuba is convinced that these times require cooperation and solidarity. Cuba pursues a politically unbiased international endeavor that seeks to develop and share the scientific research results and experiences of several countries in the prevention of the disease, the protection of the most vulnerable and social behavior practices that will contribute to shorten the duration of the pandemic and slowdown the loss of lives. Cuba strongly believes the role and leadership of the United Nations and the World Health Organization are indispensable.
If we act together, the propagation of the virus will be halted, in a faster and more cost-effective manner.
Then we will have to deal with the economic and social crisis the pandemic is causing, the dimensions of which nobody has dared predict yet.
However, we cannot wait for that day to come to join efforts to overcome the huge problems and threats we shall find ahead and deal with those that were piling up before the pandemic took the first lives.
If developing countries are not guaranteed access to technologies that are mostly available in highly industrialized nations, especially in the area of health, and if they fail to share science developments and their products in an unimpeded and selfless manner, the vast majority of the world’s population will be as exposed or even more exposed than today in an increasingly interconnected world.
If politically motivated coercive economic measures against developing countries are not lifted and if they are not exempted from the payment of the burdensome and unpayable foreign debt and freed from the ruthless tutelage of international financial organizations, we cannot delude ourselves into thinking that we will be in a better position to respond to the economic and social disparities that, even without a pandemic, kill millions of people every year, including children, women and elders.
The threat against international peace and security is real and constant attacks against some countries only made it worse.
It can hardly be expected that the eventual end of the pandemic will lead to a more just, secure and decent world if the international community, represented by each country’s governments, does not press forward to agree and adopt decisions that have proven stubbornly elusive so far.
Similarly, questions will arise as to how well prepared is humanity to face the next pandemic.
There is still time to act and mobilize the will of those who are responsible. If we leave it up to future generations, it may be too late.
Havana, April 16, 2020

STATEMENT OF ILPS COMMISSION 4 ON THE QUESTION OF CEASING HOSTILITIES DURING THE PANDEMIC

PEACE WITH SOCIAL JUSTICE! END IMPERIALIST OCCUPATION AND AGGRESSION!

SUPPORT THE JUST STRUGGLES OF THE PEOPLES FOR SOCIAL AND NATIONAL LIBERATION!

 

Commission 4 of the International League of Peoples’ Struggles (ILPS), an anti-imperialist alliance of organizations engaged in mass struggles, is concerned with wars of aggression and counter-revolution and nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass destruction.

 

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, called for a global ceasefire in a statement issued on March 23, 2020. (https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/sgsm20018.doc.htm) He wrote, “The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war. That is why today, I am calling for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world.  It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives.”

 

We agree with the spirit of this call. However, we wish to defend and protect the peoples currently in struggle for their survival, basic rights, basic services including health care, lands and sovereignty. They fight in self-defence against deprivation and hostile governments. Ultimately, we aspire to realize demilitarization and a halt to aggression and occupation, state terror and human rights violations. With this objective in mind, we cannot advise the peoples, armed or not, to give up their life and death struggles.

 

We act according to the principles of just peace, that is peace through negotiations for a resolution to the issues that cause peoples’ revolutions and resistance. Only if and when social justice—land, political and social reforms—are seriously addressed and settled should the people cease their struggles.

 

Consider the views of V. I. Lenin, as interpreted and explained by S. Gnosh in 1960: “https://www.marxists.org/archive/shibdas-ghosh/1959/07/x01.htm, undated) “It would be possible to effectively preserve lasting peace if the significance of the principal characteristic features of the present-day changed international situation is properly understood and the task of conducting peace movement is grounded solidly in intensifying the national liberation movements in colonies and semi-colonies and the struggles for socialism in capitalist countries.”

 

Therefore, we issue the following set of calls. We make these recommendations in the light of the global pandemic and the sound emergency measures to (1) minimize travel and (2) adjust state priorities to address health, food and housing first, ahead of non-productive sectors such as the military. It is an opportune moment to act in the interest of the welfare of all the peoples of the world.

 

• cancel NATO missions, close NATO bases and send all NATO troops home
• send all foreign troops to their home countries, including US troops
• cancel all military exercises
• end all general economic sanctions
• free all political prisoners
• cancel all arms trade and call for arms and military contract related production to be converted to the production of human necessities related to health care, food and housing
• initiate a UN campaign to get states to reduce military spending and reprioritize their state responsibilities according to the UN Declaration on Human Rights, that on Indigenous peoples’ rights, and all universal standards set by the UN and other credible international bodies concerned with the rights and welfare of all
• restrain states with penalties for continuing occupations, aggressions, economic sanctions and interference including regime change and elections rigging

STATEMENT OF COMMISSION 4 OF THE ILPS -March 2020

END GENERAL ECONOMIC SANCTIONS NOW!

Take Action against Sanctions that Harm the People!

Commission 4 of the International League of Peoples’ Struggles is the Commission against wars of aggression and counter-revolution and against weapons of mass destruction. We join in solidarity with the organizations who called for a global weekend of actions against general economic sanctions from March 13 to 15.

The blanket economic sanctions imposed by US imperialism and its allies are counter-revolutionary devices that mostly aim to weaken states and movements of the people who stand up to imperialist interference, plunder and exploitation. Far from securing peace, human rights and economic development, they cause shortages of daily necessities and hardship to the working people. Also, they often rob a targeted state such as Cuba, North Korea, Nicaragua and Venezuela of huge state revenues from international activities that could be employed to serve their people more. They thus incite or intensify conflict, far from resolving tensions.

Sanctions are causing suffering to Iranian, Venezuelan, North Korean, Nicaraguan, Cuban and other peoples.  All standardised form of economic warfare implemented by US imperialism today, they are aimed against states that stand in the way of its exploitation and profits. They are part of its arsenal and are aggressive. Such sanctions are carried out despite widespread condemnation. As in the case of Cuba, UN votes on the Cuban blockade have shown a vast majority of UN member states wish an end to the blockade. General economic sanctions punish entire populations. US sanctions on Venezuela and Nicaragua are illegal. Economic sanctions against North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba and Iran are cutting off basic supplies, blocking local commerce and trade and depriving the people, which has resulted in a lowered standard of living and held back development. Although some political sanctions properly decided by international bodies and appropriately implemented might justifiably curb truly repressive regimes and reduce oppression, general economic sanctions destroy societies, intended to force them into submission to foreign powers seeking domination and subjugation.

When are sanctions justifiable? Take Israel, for example. It is a highly militarized state illegally occupying and colonizing Palestine. It inflicts terror and horror against civilian Palestine on a regular basis with the blessings of the US and its allies including Canada, France and Britain. However, Israel clearly commits crimes against humanity on a massive scale, with impunity. Concerned and justice-minded people around the world, however, participate in boycotts and divestment in solidarity with the Palestinian people. This campaign targets major corporations that sell arms and supplies to the Israeli war machine. Part of this campaign is the arms embargo, which advocates a stop to sales of arms and military contracts to Israel. It has had some success. Such is a worthwhile kind of sanction. The UN could do more; it could suspend membership. Other states could maintain diplomatic distance.

There are situations crying out for action against viciously repressive regimes, such as the Duterte regime of the Philippines that has continued an all-out war on the people. It regularly unleashes terror on communities who are struggling to survive acute poverty and defending the right to life and livelihood with peace and social justice. In the pretext of fighting communism, the state national police and armed forces, with the aid of the US, carry out extrajudicial killings of civilian community leaders, labour organizers, protesters, human rights defenders and journalists. Crimes against humanity are the norm in the Philippines. Still, countries including Canada carry on business as usual, awarding aid and trading with the corrupt and bloody-minded bureaucratic-capitalist and land-owning elite. Other states could stop such business dealings and refuse to sell arms. The US could pull its troops out of the region and stop training and supplying the regime. Such would be sanctions that would help the people of the Philippines. Also, other states could cooperate by maintaining diplomatic distance, in such a way as not to harm migrant Filipino workers. Again, here is a context in which a UN measure to suspend membership would be just. It is also a context in which support for the peace talks and the peoples’ demands for land, social and political reforms should be strongly insisted.

In Venezuela, food and household supplies are plentiful in the upscale urban districts. Perhaps to take advantage of the effects of the blockade and the expectation of shortages, prices have been jacked up astronomically. Medium and small-sized businesses have not been able to access some materials for production and sale, owing to high pricing or unavailability. There may be some withholding and hoarding of goods. In poorer areas, restaurants and shops have little to offer customers. Some Venezuelans have chosen to leave the country. Regional tourism is at a standstill. Fortunately, the pro-people government, with the assistance of benefactors and genuine humanitarian agencies such as the Red Cross, has a food program to deliver rations to those in real need. As well, it is assisting communities to spearhead local, micro-farming initiatives to create self-sustaining food sources. There are strategies of sharing and self-reliance in the communes. Where necessary, charities and churches dispense hot meals to school children and families. They solicit funds from foreigners so that they can pay for food and distribute it. It is amazing that the Bolivarian government under Chavez and subsequently by Maduro has been able to proceed with providing free transportation, education and healthcare as well as constructing houses under these conditions. It has worked hard to build understanding and make special deals with friendly states, so as to restore some trade. It could do so much more for the people if the billions of dollars of funds held abroad were released, and if billions of dollars in revenues from trade were flowing normally.

Commission 4 of the ILPS demands an end to the illegal and cruel economic measures against the Venezuelan and Nicaraguan people imposed by the US aided by its friends such as Canada. Unfreeze the Venezuela state funds withheld abroad and return them to the government of Venezuela. End the blockades against Cuba and North Korea. End the general economic sanctions against Iran. Diplomatic and select trade sanctions against real oppressors who violate the rights of the people and pose real threats. Take a stand against imperialist aggression and domination in all its forms, military or economic or otherwise. Negotiate as much as possible; no military invasions or coups. Stop meddling.

 

Stop the US War Machine!          US Troops, Go Home!                No Sanctions!                    Defend Sovereignty!

ILPS week of global anti-war action from May 25 to May 30, 2020

Mobilize against the arms trade show, CANSEC in Ottawa, May 27-28

For Life, Sovereignty and Peace!

 Jorge Pérez Cruz reported on the World Anti-imperialist Encounter: For Life, Sovereignty and Peace, which met  “to define strategies for the development and future of humanity” (informacion@granmai.cu, posted January 23, 2020 13:01:38, accessed January 26, 2020). Some 1500 delegates from 72 countries on five continents attended as an international gathering against imperialism during two days in January.

Cruz wrote: “Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros stated that the two-day event was ‘bringing together political movements, leaders, and social movements of the expanded Sao Paulo Forum, to draft an agenda for 2020,’ at the Hotel Alba Caracas, while Victor Gaute López, member of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee Secretariat, noted, ‘Cuba and Venezuela are not responsible for the anger of the peoples rebelling against the recycled neoliberalism being imposed with blood and fire,’ and called on progressive and left parties, organizations and social movements to reach and strengthen unity in diversity, focusing on what we agree on, rather than cultural, regional, ethnic or religious differences.”

 

On January 23, the first panel of the encuentro featured a professor from Syria, a trade union leader from Brazil, and an official from the Communist Party of Cuba. Diosdado Cabello, a member of the National Assembly from the Venezuelan United Socialist Party (PSUV) was one of the opening speakers. His presentation underscored the value and necessity for the Bolivarian struggle of the people in Venezuela. It has persisted despite US imperialist aggression, economic warfare, interference, propaganda and trickery over the last 20 years. The Venezuelan people are continuing their march to defend sovereignty, their dignity and for socialism. When Latin American states have kowtowed to the US, conflict, poverty and destruction have resulted. Just look at Colombia, Brazil and Paraguay.

 

In his closing plenary speech on January 24, Nicolas Maduro summed up the collective sentiments, political positions and objectives of this global gathering (“Clausura del Encuentro Mundial Antiimperialista,” https://www.facebook.com/NicolasMaduro/videos/1454783598036346/, posted on January 24, 2020 and accessed January 27, 2020).  First of all, said Maduro, this event was an event of Caracas, an accomplishment for Caracas. Second, he said, it launches an important year of worldwide mobilization, solidarity and struggle against imperialism for liberation. Third, this meeting was important for Venezuela and the movement of the people against imperialism, the Right and the attacks by the news media. Fourth, it represented Latin American struggles for social justice and liberation, especially for Chile, Colombia and the indigenous peoples of Bolivia and Ecuador.

 

President Maduro next paid tribute to Hugo Chavez and all his followers. The people of Venezuela have been reclaiming just peace and we must sound the call far and wide for just peace. He remarked that President Chavez marched among millions in the streets who were together striving to realize their dreams.

 

President Maduro then spoke about international solidarity. He clarified that all the peoples of the American continents are Americans; they are compatriots fighting for peace with social justice. The empire steals from and exploits all the peoples of the world. It attacks and persecutes us all, so we all have a common enemy. Here at this meeting, people of 72 countries have united. President Maduro claimed that 62% of the world’s peoples want some alternative to neo-liberalism. We have grand objectives: overcoming climate change, poverty and oppression, war and interventions in the name of peace. We have a right to a new world and a new world is possible. We march together for truth.

 

The subsequent topic President Maduro addressed was the situation facing the people of the Middle East (aka West Asia). He expressed deep concern for and solidarity with the peoples of Syria, Iraq and Libya. He condemned the US hostilities against Iran and militarization in the region. At the same time, he denounced Islamic fundamentalism, stating that it offers no benefit to the people. The people of Venezuela have taken up solidarity work for the people in many Middle Eastern countries. There are solidarity “clubs” or “houses” for Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, etc. in many cities in Venezuela.

 

The anti-imperialist people of the world are united by ideas, spirit and strength, said President Maduro. Furthermore, he declared that Venezuela is at the center of the people’s movements of resistance to imperialism and for change. It is not about him, he pointed out; rather, it is a historical momentum for life, a necessity for the peoples to march together for social progress and real and lasting peace.

 

President Maduro concluded this speech with comments on the democratic process of the Venezuelan government and made an announcement in that light. He defended the Venezuelan constitution, which he described as a product of the democratizing republic and its legitimate electoral process. The electoral process functions well and voting is free. The people of Venezuela and the Bolivarian government will not let foreign interventions and the Right to paralyze it. The US is scheming to have the constitution destroyed. However, the value of this constitution can be measured by the social and economic gains enjoyed by the people. The Venezuelan Bolivarian revolution, one year after the coup attempt on February 23, 2019, is now stronger than ever!

 

There is an investigation into the wealth has stolen from Venezuela with the aid of Juan Guaido, added Maduro. There will be justice!

 

Finally, President Maduro expressed gratitude for the international solidarity demonstrated at this conference. The programming at this event was precious and special. The delegates were all invited because of all their hard work and pledges of solidarity for Venezuela and Latin America. He announced an invitation to all Bolivarian Venezuela’s supporters to attend, observe, assist and verify the elections of the National Assembly in 2020. “We will show the world that this is a model democracy, the best in the world!” he declared.

 

Also, there will be a global day of solidarity with the people of Bolivia on February 25, 2020. The last announcement for action was the planning of a second anti-imperialist gathering in 2021.

*Fight for a just peace by actively resisting war with Iran!* Commission 4 of the ILPS condemns the recent war provocations on behalf of the US towards the people of Iran and calls on all members to join in a global day of action on January 25th, called by a number of progressive organizations around the world.

The assassination by the US of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and other Iranian officers reflect the death throes of a dying imperialist power, striking out wherever it can with no plan and no care for peace or human rights. In addition to the threats against the people of Iran, this conflict is currently playing out on Iraqi soil, with every missile fired and every strike ordered once again violating the sovereignty of a country who has seen and suffered through decades of imperialist aggression.

The reckless assassinations invited retaliations and an escalation of conflict between Iran and the US which harm the people in Iraq and stir up animosities globally. The US is targeting these two countries as a means to protect its hegemony in the region. Since the 1979 revolution, Iran has vehemently stood in opposition to the aggression of the US and has resisted US imperialism with its own expansionist aims of leading Islamism (Muslim fundamentalist rule). Iraq’s government recently resolved to expel all US troops given the current situation, which would have marked a severe blow to US military power in the region and removed one of its primary satellite nations. The mass uprisings of people in Iraq against corruption and US-backed anti-people policies in Iraq further shows that the masses of the world stand in complete opposition to the violations of sovereignty and theft of resources that have been facilitated by the military intervention of the US since it rose to become an imperialist power.

While the world has watched in shock at these recent provocations, the war on the Iranian and Iraqi people has been waged for decades in the form of economic sanctions. The US sanctioned Iran just after the 1979 revolution and Iraq in 1990 following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait until the US removed Saddam Hussein from power in 2003. Since Trump has threatened to renew Iraqi sanctions in response to the recent vote to expel US troops, it is important to remember the extreme malnutrition, lack of medical supplies and failing infrastructure that led to the deaths of potentially hundreds of thousands of Iraqis due to past sanctions. Despite a brief reprise under the Obama regime, Iranian sanctions were reimposed by Trump, continuing the fall of the Iranian currency and a major rise in inflation on basic goods. In short, US sanctions have amounted to prolonged economic warfare.

These actions on behalf of US imperialism do not benefit the people of Iran, Iraq and the rest of the world, not even those in the US. As ILPS chairperson emeritus Jose Maria Sison wrote, “[the US] will continue to lose trillions of dollars in military expenditures without being able to expand stable economic territory. The US public debt will increase at an accelerated rate even as the US military industrial complex profits.” ILPS chairperson Len Cooper reminds us that any invasion will, “use American poor and working-class youths as cannon fodder for a war that will serve only US imperialist interests.” There is no regard for human rights and life on the part of the US and global oligarchy and aggressors.

Now is the time to wage united militant struggle against the machinations of a dying US imperialism. To quote the recent statement from ILPS-US, “The US empire in decline is a rogue state, with no respect of international law, the sovereignty of nations, or the norms of diplomacy; it represents the single greatest threat to life on the planet. The people of the world, united in struggle, represent the solution.”

On January 25th, take to the streets with all progressive forces of the world to demand an end to the military violence and economic warfare of the ruling classes and for a genuinely just and lasting peace, the basis upon which the people of the world can build a bright future free of militarism and wars of aggression.

STATEMENT

Issued by the Office of the Chairperson Len Cooper, Chairperson International League of Peoples’ Struggle 4 January 2020

The International League of Peoples Struggles (ILPS) condemns United States imperialism’s latest act of aggression and war against Iran and Iraq.
The murder of General Qasem Soleimani of Iran, on Iraq soil, represents an arrogantact of murder by the US government and a blatant violation of international law and Iraqi sovereignty by US imperialism. It is a direct attack on the workers and peoples of Iraq, Iran and the Middle East and a provocation, if not a declaration, of war that raises no less than the spectre of the start of another world war.

This is the latest culmination of the US’s decades of efforts to impose its imperialist will on the Middle East and to force the Iranian government to bow down in submission to its dictates in order to further carry out plunder in the region. It is an attack on all peoples and governments of the world who are standing up for national sovereignty and self-determination against US imperialist dictates.

Timed by US president Donald Trump to influence impeachment proceedings against him and the upcoming US elections, this attack is a declaration of war that did not receive US Congress’ approval. It is therefore illegal even by US imperialist laws, to use American poor and working-class youths as cannon fodder for a war that will serve only US imperialist interests, and should hasten Trump’s downfall.
The ILPS fully supports the workers and people of the United States, Middle East, particularly of Iran and Iraq, and the world who are mobilising and protesting against this latest act of US imperialist aggression.

The ILPS calls on all ILPS organs and supporters, and the workers and people of the world to immediately mobilise, organise and protest against this latest outrage by US imperialism in the Middle East.

The ILPS strongly supports the following calls:

Stop the US war on Iran! US troops out of Iraq and the Middle East! Prosecute Trump for yet another cowardly, illegal drone murder of a citizen of another country! Oppose US imperialist wars and aggression! Down with US imperialism!

Statement of the ILPS Commission 4, November 25, 2019

Build the anti-imperialist movement! Struggle for just peace everywhere!

ILPS Commission 4 called for activities to join in the protests against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) during the time of the NATO Summit held in London, UK NATO 70^th anniversary events will take place from December 1 to 3 this year.

What is worth celebrating? NATO is a military and political alliance established decades ago. It has been building and running more and more military bases in Europe, keeping military surveillance of the Middle East, practicing war games, mobilizing forces around states it sees as deviants and threats, developing misinformation campaigns to justify aggressions or foster counter-revolutions, carrying out invasions such as the occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq, and making strikes such as the bombing of Yugoslavia, Libya and Syria.

NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization and is an alliance of 29 states committed to upholding its common goals. Created after WW2 and building on the Western alliance, it was creating as the Cold War and was a factor for causing the Cold War. Whereas the Soviet Union had been an ally during WW2, it was an enemy to NATO. The founding members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the UK and The United States. They all agreed to provide collective security from attack by the USSR and stop communism from spreading. Although the USSR is no more, NATO’s modus operandi is still to deter or stop states and movements deviating from the monopoly-capitalism model. It defends the present-day set of policies known as neo-liberalism. Its work is thus to develop counter-revolutionary strategy and launch offensives, which imperialist military and political leaders typically characterize as defense of freedom and democracy.

The US, though, has been increasingly going rogue. Its terrible intervention in Iraq began without the cooperation of NATO partners, for example. With the Trump presidential office increasingly backing out of international agreements, and questioning the role and purpose of NATO, there is some debate as to whether to dismantle NATO. Many European states, however, want to extend NATO’s existence. This is one of many signs of sharpening inter-imperialist rivalries around the world.

It is also a sign of the financial, political and social crisis deepening in the US. Complaining that NATO members should pay more for participating in NATO. It is also in conflict with its allies in other regions of the world, such as Asia, about payments for cooperative activities such as military exercises, and base sharing and construction. Some independent economists cite US government liabilities at $120 trillion and consumer debt at $8 trillion, while many of its people cannot pay for housing and lack access to basic services. The US budget for 2019 is nearly $1 trillion. It cannot afford to continue on the same path. It is therefore demanding that other states raise their military budgets.

Two weeks ago, the Associated Press reported on the meeting between US President Trump and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. Stoltenberg emerged from this meeting, declaring: “Before allies were cutting defense budgets. Now, they are adding billions to their budgets and by the end of next year, NATO allies in Europe and Canada will have added $100 billion or actually more than $100 billion to their defense spending” since 2016.

Far from showing any willingness to relinquish its special position as ruler of the world, the US and the powers and financial operations that it represents and defends remain entrenched despite the crisis. President Trump and US followers are feeding the rise of fascist thought and organization.

Of course, the expanding arms trade wants to keep the business of war and terror rolling. Big corporations such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BAE and Raython are making billions every year from death and destruction.

The peoples of the world again face world war, destruction by nuclear weapons and mega-bombs, more terror and militarization. It is extremely important and absolutely necessary that the people who want true democracy, social justice and lasting peace get organized and rise up for life and just peace.

The ILPS urges working people to join in protests against the upcoming summit. More than that, we urge them to raise the demand for their respective countries to withdraw from NATO and to get their governments to call for the dismantling of NATO. Take action against militarization, wars of aggression and counter-revolution, and weapons of mass destruction. Demand that your governments reduce military spending and take measures to reduce the arms trade.

 

US, Hands off Venezuela, Syria, Cuba, Iran, North Korea!                              Support the just causes of the peoples! 

Resume the peace talks regarding the Philippines, Palestine, and Colombia, now!            Israel, out of Palestine!

Universal nuclear non-proliferation now!             No to NATO!                      Not a single person used for war again!

————————————————————————————————————————————————————

ILPS Commission 4 opposes wars of aggression and aggression, and weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons. Peace4@vcn.bc.ca                      Website:   https://peace450.wixsite.com   Actions:   No to NATO Summit! Dec. 1-3       Tax Day, April 15  / Earth Day April 22
International League of Peoples’ Struggles (ILPS)                   http://Ilps.info

Statement of Commission 4 of the International League of Peoples’ Struggles (ILPS) for Armistice Day, November 11, 2019

BUILD THE MOVEMENT FOR JUST PEACE!

Over 100 years since the conclusion of World War One, and war is still a constant, major problem for humanity. The International League of Peoples’ Struggles (ILPS; ilps.info) supports the just struggles of the peoples for national liberation, genuine democracy and a decent standard of living. We condemn militarization, bigotry and wars of aggression and counter-revolution. We oppose military intervention aimed at destroying social progress, popular democracy and societies that reject the global monopoly-capitalist system in favour of social and economic arrangements that benefit the people. We oppose occupation and domination. We call for the universal non-proliferation of nuclear and all weapons of mass destruction. In sum, we choose life. We support peace with social justice. We firmly reject the propaganda of aggression to achieve human rights and a “way of life”, as was used to justify wholesale terror and destruction of Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.

The ILPS calls for the respect of and return to peace processes in cases of internal conflict. Demands of the people for social justice must be addressed, such as demands for land reform, political and economic reforms, and legal or compensatory justice for the people. If those demands are ignored, the people have reason to wage their struggle, even armed struggle, for such conflicts are matters of survival. Rights and standards acknowledged and set internationally must be honoured. Neither people facing repressive and inhumane states can be expected to lay down their arms and abandon their struggles, nor oppressed nations under domination, unless social justice is respected and put on the table for honest negotiation. We call for ceasefires and resumption or initiation of peace talks in the Philippines, Colombia, Palestine, the Ukraine, Syria, Turkey and the Kashmir.

States and factions committing offenses such as invasion, genocide and “ethnic cleansing”, extrajudicial killings and detentions, deprivation of their citizens, and obstruction to democratic processes must be confronted and dealt with according to international norms and law. Sovereignty must be respected. States plotting and ganging up against another state or interfering and intervening against a peaceful, non-threatening state, (which is done largely for profit, control and political bias) should also be confronted and treated in the name of social and legal justice. The ILPS thus stands against the meddling and disruptive practices against countries such as Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia and North Korea. It thoroughly opposes the occupation of Palestine. We also oppose the implementation of economic tactics to crush enemy states and peoples’ movements as they punish the people with deprivation. The ILPS thus condemns the US blockades against Cuba and North Korea, as well as the economic measures against Venezuela and Iran. Plans to invade as a so-called solution to conflicts are totally unacceptable, so we also oppose the militarization and war exercises around North Korea, Venezuela, the Ukraine, the Persian Gulf, the Caribbean and anywhere else.

World War One was a clash of old empires, including the British Empire, in which there was no sane reason for engaging millions of young people and unleashing widespread destruction of civilians and civilizations. Four empires fell by the end of WW1: the Russian Tsarist Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Prussian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire; it was the desertion of Russian soldiers and, eventually, the Russian Revolution that were the main factors for peace. Competing states sent millions of soldiers to wholesale slaughter. Just as Tsarist Russia had deployed masses of soldiers to satisfy a pact with Serbia, the British Empire intentionally mobilized divisions of men from its colonies, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, to stage futile battles such as Gallipoli, Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele.

New empires asserted themselves after WW1. Born out of the redivision of European states, industrializing Germany under the Nazi fascists attempted to build a new empire but was crushed by the dedication of myriads of men and women. Imperialist Japan, meanwhile, tried to make the most of the conflict in Europe to expand its territories and resources by invading more countries in East Asia, which forced a military response on the part of the US. The US had been creating its own empire establishing colonies in the Pacific and Caribbean regions, though it had held back for much of the two World Wars. However, vulture-like interests, especially profiteers in the US, drooled over the benefits they could enjoy from war and the destruction of Europe: chemical and arms corporations grew, and the US poised itself to reap the rewards and come out on top. Just as the Nazis were doing, the US also exploited the opportunity to develop arms, most notably the nuclear bomb. History has concluded that the release of nuclear bombs over Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan was not justified, intended rather as an experimentation and a display of might and conquest. The US thus asserted its role as a ruling empire of the world.

It is the US empire, which supports and defends the global elite, the global moguls of finance capital, that is the main factor for war today. This is the “way of life” that it declares it stands for. The kind of freedom it desires is market freedom, at any cost to the peoples of the world. It has been a factor in stirring up aggressive, anti-West Islamists who are trying hard to establish an Islamist empire in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions today. The US plays both sides in the conflicts with the Islamist movements, supporting some terrorists, for example in Libya and Syria so as to crush political and market obstacles, while gunning after others, such as the fundamentalist regime of Iran, so as to open up markets and spheres of influence. ILPS opposes all terror.

The ILPS understands that conflict is inherent in the imperialist economic system, which is rife with contradictions: inter-imperialist rivalries, class, nation, corporate competition, and so on. It thrives on violence and social division, seeking market niches, cheap resources, cheap labour, technological innovations, expropriations… In short, it is an exploiting and plundering system. Also, it imposes itself as far and as wide as possible by force. Arms are both a means and an industry.

Let us observe, educate and organize according to this reality, this scenario of social injustice and crimes against humanity and the planet. Let us not celebrate the imperialist violence. Let us not glorify war for domination and profit. Let us raise our voices together in calling and mobilizing for just peace!

All out to say, “No to NATO” from December 1 to 3, the time of the NATO summit in London, UK. Denounce all crimes against humanity and defend life and human rights on International Human Rights Day on December 10. Say, “No Taxes for War” on April 15. March for land, life and just peace on Earth Day, April 22. March on May Day, May 1^st.

 

US, Hands off Venezuela, Syria, Cuba, Iran, North Korea!                              Support the just causes of the peoples! 

Resume the peace talks regarding the Philippines, Palestine, and Colombia, now!            Israel, out of Palestine!

Universal nuclear non-proliferation now!             No to NATO!                      Not a single person used for war again!

 

ILPS Commission 4 opposes wars of aggression and aggression, and weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons. Peace4@vcn.bc.ca   Actions:   No to NATO Summit! Dec. 1-3       Tax Day, April 15  / Earth Day April 22
International League of Peoples’ Struggles (ILPS)                     http://Ilps.info

https://ilps.info/en/2019/10/11/push-back-turkeys-invasion

Support the Kurdish struggle for self-determination!

Trump and Erdogan have no one else to blame but themselves in the worsening political and humanitarian crisis in Syria. The US aggression for regime change in Syria using the terrorist Islamic State failed and only increased hostilities.

What effectively thwarted the terrorist menace in Syria were the people themselves and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), composed mainly of armed Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ).

A few weeks before the Turkish invasion, the US convinced the SDF to remove fortifications in the border area providing the SDF security guarantees. Following a phone conversation between the US and Turkish presidents, the US announced that it “will no longer be in the immediate area”. US military garrisons in Tel Abyad, Tel Musa, Tel Hinzir and Tel Arqam were abandoned. US and Turkey joint patrols in the border ceased. The US practically green-lighted the Turkish invasion and back-stabbed the SDF and Kurdish forces.

Trump released a statement on October 6 that Turkey will soon carry out its “long-planned operation” into northern Syria. Erdogan used the October 7 pullout of US forces in northern Syria to launch the first phase of “Operation Peace Spring” under the pretext of establishing a “safe zone” along the border. Its real intention is to demolish the self-administration of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in the liberated areas in Syria and cut-off the Kurds in southern Turkey long struggling for self-determination under the leadership of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The party is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the US and NATO.

Turkey’s invasion of northeast Syria is not only a violation of international law and a blatant breach of the International Security Council’s resolutions. It threatens a new wave of violence against Syria and the Kurdish people. Erdogan already threatened to open the doors and send 3.6 million migrants to Europe if the EU insists to denounce the operation as an invasion. The Syrian crisis has already engendered the largest refugee crisis of our time with more than 13 million in need of humanitarian assistance and 11 million refugees.

The International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) is one with the Kurdish people in fighting for their liberation. We are one with the Arab world and the rest of the international community in condemning Turkey’s invasion.  The Kurds have heroically defended Kobane and Rojava in the past. We trust that their resolute resistance and our solidarity can push back Turkey from northern Syria, and foil the US with its NATO allies from its imperialist intervention in the Middle East.

We call on all ILPS affiliates from across the globe to issue their own statements and hold indignation rallies against US and Turkey as well as solidarity actions for the Kurds.

Len Cooper
Chairperson
International League of Peoples’ Struggle