ILPS Call to Action for March
19 & 20 Global Protests against the US Invasion and Occupation of Iraq
By
Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson
International League of Peoples’ Struggle
The International
League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) hereby calls on its more than 300
participating organizations in more than 40 countries as well as on all
friendly organizations and individuals in various continents to undertake
and join the protest mass actions on March 19 and 20, 2005 on a global
scale in order to commemorate the second anniversary of the US-UK invasion
and occupation of Iraq and condemn US imperialist aggression and plunder.
It is clear that the
US and British imperialists are war criminals. Under the barbaric
doctrine of preemptive war, they have attacked a country by lying and
falsely claiming that it poses an imminent threat to them, that it has
weapons of mass destruction and has links with the Al Qaeda. In the
process, they have slaughtered more than 200,000 Iraqi civilians and have
imposed on the entire Iraqi people intolerable conditions, consequent to
the massive destruction of the social infrastructure, industries and other
means of employment and livelihood.
No amount of
elections of the puppet officials can conceal the criminal monstrosity of
US occupation. The people of the world are witness to the genocidal
attacks on the Iraqi people as in Fallujah and other communities by US
military forces, the seizure of the oil resources and public assets and
the control of supply and so-called reconstruction contracts by US
monopolies. The broad masses of the people therefore demand the end of
the US occupation and the immediate withdrawal of the US military forces
from Iraq.
We admire and support
the revolutionary struggle of the Iraqi people to uphold their national
sovereignty, to defend themselves against recolonization and destruction,
to keep the natural resources and the social assets that rightfully belong
to them and to achieve national liberation, democracy and socialism. The
broad national resistance of the Iraqi people has justly inflicted on the
US aggressors casualties of more than 1500 dead and 11,000 wounded in
battle, excluding more than 14,000 army personnel evacuated due to
non-battle injury and disease. It has also repeatedly blown up the oil
pipelines and facilities and undertaken other actions in order to make US
occupation unprofitable.
US imperialism is
reprehensible for committing aggression, for deploying 150,000 troops and
so-called security contractors, for spending USD 170 billlion and getting
additional huge appropriations and for directing public resources to
military production and aggression and to the pockets of the monopolies.
The American people demand the end of the US aggression, the homecoming of
the US troops and the redirection of public resources towards the civil
stimulation of the economy and generation of jobs, the promotion of
social rights and benefits (health care, housing and education) and
stopping anti-worker bias, racism, gender discrimination and other inhuman
features of the imperialist society.
The people of
countries, whose governments have deployed military troops and other
personnel in support of the US occupation, likewise demand the immediate
withdrawal of their countrymen. They criticize and repudiate the
injustice and shame of serving as the mercenaries and criminal accomplices
of the US aggressors, trampling down on the rights of the Iraqi people,
destroying their means of livelihood and taking away their jobs.
The global mass
protests on March 19 and 20 are occasions to condemn not only the US
occupation of Iraq but also the entire character and manifestations of US
imperialism as the No.1 terrorist power and exploiter of the people of the
world. The people of the world must condemn the unjust, bellicose and
plundering policies and acts of the US in various countries. They must
oppose the US-supported Israeli occupation and butchery in Palestine. They
must tell the US to take its hands off Korea, Philippines,Turkey, Iran,
Syria, Afghanistan, Nepal, India, Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, Haiti and
the Congo.
So long as
imperialism or monopoly capitalism exists, it will continue to unleash
wars of aggression and other forms of violence in order to suppress the
rights of the proletariat and the people, attack national liberation
movements and social revolutions, negate the independence of other
countries and redivide the world in the course of inter-imperialist
rivalry. The US has been responsible for the creation of nongovernmental
terrorists like the groups of Osama bin Laden and the Abu Sayyaf. And it
now uses the slogan of “war on terrorism” as license to carry out the most
monstrous acts of imperialist terrorism.
It is preposterous
and reprehensible for some well-paid apologists of US imperialism to
pretend being against imperialist globalization and war, propose reforms
to improve the workings of the imperialist system, spread the reformist
notion of good citizenship under the violent exploitative state as well as
civility among the oppressed people, the violent exploitative state and
big business and make surprise attacks on revolutionary forces under the
bombastic slogans of “civil society” and “culture of nonviolence.”
The International
League of Peoples’ Struggle urges all its participating organizations and
friendly organizations and individuals to undertake information and
educational drives against imperialism and reaction and carry out
build-up protest mass actions in localities, neighborhoods, landmarks,
urban trunklines, schools, factories, office grounds, church premises
and all other appropriate types of places within the two weeks prior to
the converging mass actions on March 19 and 20. On these days, the
protesters can converge at the most appropriate places to attract
attention to the issues and draw in more participants.
The ILPS regional
committees, national chapters and participating organizations are hereby
instructed to apply the policy of the broad united front in arousing and
mobilizing the people to participate in the mass actions. They must
cooperate with all other positive forces, be they responding to the calls
to action of the United for Peace and Justice, ANSWER Coalition, the
International Action Center and other coordinating entities of whatever
scale, global, regional, national or local. Anywhere the ILPS is strong
enough to take the lead in the task of coordination, it must ensure that
all positive forces opposed to imperialist war and plunder are drawn in at
the coordinating and participating levels.
Success to the global
mass protests of March 19 and 20!
Down with US
imperialism, its accomplices and puppets in the crime of aggression!
Victory to the Iraqi
people in their revolutionary resistance for national liberation,
democracy and socialism!
Carry forward the
struggle of the proletariat and people for a new and better world!
Long live the
proletariat and people of the world!
March 1, 2005
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