International
Anti-imperialist People’s Solidarity 77/2/1, LENIN SARANI, KOLKATA 700013 Phone : +91 33 22653550 Fax : +91 33 22467554 E-mail : aiaif@cal2.vsnl.net.in
President : RAMSAY CLARK, USA General Secretary : MANIK MUKHERJEE, INDIA |
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International
Anti-imperialist People’s Solidarity 77/2/1, LENIN SARANI, KOLKATA 700013 Phone : +91 33 22653550 Fax : +91 33 22467554 E-mail : aiaif@cal2.vsnl.net.in
President : RAMSAY CLARK, USA General Secretary : MANIK MUKHERJEE, INDIA |
U.S. military bases, economic sanctions and blockades pose a threat to peace, stability and development on every continent, even where they have not yet inflicted the enormous level of brutality and devastation that major U.S.. wars have in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.
In Iraq over 1 million have died. More than five million are refugees. U.S. occupation has laid waste to the entire country.
In already impoverished Afghanistan, the U.S./NATO occupation has brought not progress and development but even greater destruction and chaos. NATO has expanded military strikes to Pakistan and militarized the entire region.
Mass opposition to these occupations must grow and grow stronger. But international attention is needed also to stem Washington’s “silent” interventions, which inflict pain and promise chaos.
Foreign troops on a nation’s soil force a surrender of sovereignty. Foreign bases mean constant intervention in a country’s politics and policies, whether these are publicly acknowledged bases or the semi-secret “privatized” U.S. bases called Cooperative Security Locations depending on “contractors.”
The U.S. maintains an intrusive network of military bases in more than 70 countries. New Collective Security Locations are being established in up to 100 other countries.
Today there are U.S. bases and CSLs throughout South and Central Asia along with U.S. / NATO bases in almost every country of Europe – east and west. U.S. military presence and influence in Colombia is the greatest threat to peace and stability in the Western Hemisphere.
Countries that have resisted the basing of foreign troops and bases on their soil, attempted to pursue independent development or resisted the policies imposes by the IMF and international finance capital are increasingly targeted with severe forms of sanctions, economic dislocation and political sabotage.
In a world based on unequal and globalized trade, the threat of U.S. sanctions and blockades is a sentence of underdevelopment and hunger. Sanctions create wrenching economic dislocation and spiraling inflation that strikes the harshest blow on the most defenseless, the poorest, the oldest and the youngest – bringing hunger, malnutrition, sickness and death. The ever more hostile U.S. blockade of Cuba has continued for 50 years. U.S.. sanctions--an act of war--hit Syria, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Zimbabwe, North Korea, Serbia, and Myanmar among others. Washington’s sanctions are also used to bludgeon others into submission—for fear of suffering the same fate as these U.S. targets.
U.S. military aid and technical assistance creates dangerous influence and causes aggression. U.S. military aid to Israel has fueled 60 years of aggression and suppression against the Palestinian people and neighboring countries that was not otherwise possible. It must be ended.
Washington also demands that the UN Security Council approve international strangulation of targeted countries. Similar U.S. pressure is placed on other countries, on international trade organizations, banks and lending institutions to participate in the economic sabotage.
It is past time to expose these policies before world opinion and mobilize the peoples of the world to combat these attacks on the sovereignty of nations. This task is an urgent responsibility of the progressive movement world-wide.
Already, mass opposition to existing U.S. bases and the building of new bases and basing agreements is growing from Poland, the Czech Republic, to Philippines and Ecuador. Each of these separate movements deserves international support and solidarity.
All U.S. military presence must be removed from Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and from the former Soviet Republics in Central Asia. The escalating threats of attack on Iran must end.
Each battle against sanctions deserves the same support. International solidarity is the best weapon against sanctions-enforced isolation.
Do you want to strengthen the international movement for peace, justice and solidarity? Do you want to help countries defend their sovereignty? Then take the first step.
Join the fight against U.S. bases and sanctions!
The International Anti-imperialist and People’s Solidarity Coordinating Committee strongly condemns the repression of the Japanese police on the demonstrators against the G8 summit. The protesters are being arrested, deported, and their families and friends are facing harassment. This is a gross violation of the human rights of the protesters who were demonstrating peacefully. Policies of globalization, liberalization, and privatization which have been thrusted on the people of the world by the G8 countries led by the USA are pauperizing them and leading to unemployment, destitution, hunger and death. The people all over the world are rising up in protest against these policies, but the ruling capitalist class in different countries is using the state machinery to suppress these legitimate protests. We condemn the state repression and attack on the fighting people and call upon all democratic minded freedom-loving people to organize militant mass movements against the imperialist policies and machinations and defeat their policies.
Statement on the recent elections in Nepal On behalf of the International Anti-imperialist and People’s Solidarity Coordinating Committee, Ramsey Clark, President, and Manik Mukherjee, General Secretary, have released the following statement on April 29, 2008 on the recent elections in Nepal :
The last elections for Constituent Assembly in Nepal was a historic occasion when the Nepalese people made a bold step forward in the direction of earning their right to decide their own future after long years of tyranny, misrule and political strife.. Through this election the people of Nepal have won a victory in their struggle to be free from autocratic monarchical rule and to establish a democratic society where the rights of the citizens would be protected. We salute the Nepalese people for their glorious victory earned after a protracted battle with many sacrifices and deaths of countless martyrs. We congratulate the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) and the left and democratic forces for their decisive victory in the elections. We condemn the activities of the forces that are working to sabotage this process of democratization and they must be isolated and completely defeated politically. We hope that the leadership of the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) will rise up to the historic task of building a new Nepal and take the correct steps for ushering in a thorough-going transformation of the political, economic, cultural and social set-up in the country and the fulfill the people’s aspiration for freedom, justice and prosperity. Nepal must have the freedom to pursue an independent policy in international relations without any interference or outside pressure by imperialist and hegemonist powers. We wish success to the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) and all the left and democratic forces in Nepal in their united endeavour of building a new Nepal based on economic and political independence, democracy, equality, justice and peace.
On behalf of the International Anti-imperialist and People’s Solidarity Coordinating Committee, Ramsey Clark, President, and Manik Mukherjee, General Secretary, have released the following statement on April 29, 2008 on the repressive measures of the Egyptian Government against Mahalla textile workers and the Muslim Brotherhood :
We are viewing with serious concern the repressive measures of the Egyptian Government on political workers and human rights activists. More than 800 people have been put in prison including more than 150 political activists with different political viewpoints. In connection with the strike of textile workers in the Mahalla textile complex the Government has arrested more than 600 people, mainly women and children, including two important strike committee leaders, Kamal El-Faioumy and Tarek Amin. The security forces attacked the demonstrators with rubber bullets, tear gas and live ammunition, leaving at least two dead and hundreds injured. People staging protests and demonstrations in Cairo and other cities and in villages are ruthlessly suppressed.
We condemn such brutality of the Egyptian Government on the protesting workers and express our full solidarity with the victims of repression. The Government must immediately stop resorting to repressive measures against the workers fighting for their rights. We join all the fighters for freedom and justice from all over the globe in demanding the unconditional release of all the political prisoners and victims of state repression.
At the same time we condemn the Egyptian regime for its corrupt presentation of the Muslim Brotherhood and demand dismissal of the cases against them, scrapping the recent convictions and demand compensation for the violations of fundamental human rights of the Brotherhood members, their families and multitudes of beneficiaries.
On behalf of the International Anti-imperialist and People’s Solidarity Coordinating Committee its General Secretary, Manik Mukherjee, has released the following statement on April 14, 2008 on the Jordonian refusal to grant visa to Salah Al Mukhtar :
We have come to know that the Jordonian authorities have refused to grant entry visa to Mr. Salah Al Mukhtar. The International Anti-imperialist and People’s Solidarity Coordinating Committee (IAPSCC) registers its strong protest against this anti-democratic action. Mr Salah Al Mukhtar is a staunch fighter against imperialism and against the occupation of Iraq by US-led imperialist forces. We condemn the pro-imperialist stance of the Jordonian regime manifested through this refusal to grant the visa to Mr Mukhtar. He is well known to the freedom –loving people of the world for his opposition to imperialism. We were in contact with Mr Mukhtar in connection with the International Anti-imperialist Conference held at Calcutta, India in November 2007. He could not personally come but a sent a detailed report on the Iraqi resistance which was read out at the Conference and circulated among the delegates. The visa refusal by the Jordonian authorities is a violation of basic human rights and is enacted with a motive to curb the freedom of expression of Mr Mukhtar to voice his opposition against the US occupation of Iraq. We condemn this undemocratic, pro-imperialist and anti-people action of the Jordonian regime.
On behalf of the All India Anti-imperialist Forum Manik Mukherjee, Vice-President, has issued the following statement on 29 February, 2008 on the defence expenditure and pro-imperialist stance of the Indian Government.
The All India Anti-imperialist Forum condemns the move of the Indian ruling class for increasing militarization of the Indian economy. While the Government is curtailing social welfare measures of the people and is going in for increasing privatization in education and health sectors, its defence expenditure is skyrocketing. Not only are the Indian monopoly houses entering in a big way in defence production, the arms manufacturers of the imperialist countries are setting up joint ventures with the Indian monopoly houses for manufacturing sophisticated weaponry which would be supplied to the Indian armed forces and would be commodities in the international arms trade. The Indian Government is establishing close military ties with USA and Israel and is planning for big arms purchases from them. Joint military exercises with these countries, launching of Israeli satellites by ISRO, visit of U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and of Under-Secretary of Defense Frank Lavin are all manifestations of the same policy. This is in line with the aspiration of the Indian ruling class, which itself has attained imperialist character, to emerge as a major power in Southeast Asia The Indo-US nuclear deal is a part of this game. We appeal to the Indian people to be vigilant about the imperialist character of the Indian ruling class and to build up massive people’s movements to force the Indian government to curtail its defence expenditure and give up its pro-imperialist policies.
On behalf of the All India Anti-imperialist Forum, Manik Mukherjee, Vice-President has issued the following statement on the move to grant ‘independence’ to Kosovo on February 29, 2008
The All India Anti-imperialist Forum expresses its deep concern over the implementation of the imperialists’ decision of granting so-called ‘independence’ to Kosovo. This is in clear violation of international law and the Security Council Resolution 1244 with its commitment to preserve the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia . For all these years Kosovo has been suffering under direct military occupation of NATO. Its economy has been ruined and in the guise of neoliberal economic policies the multinational corporations are given unbridled freedom to own and loot its resources and industrial infrastructure; as a result unemployment and impoverishment of the people have become rampant. Its cultural and social fabric lie in ruins and the once prosperous region has become a centre of international drug trafficking and flesh trade. Granting of ‘independence’ is a move to perpetuate imperialist occupation of Kosovo. Under the new rules of the Government an International Civilian Representative (ICR) will be appointed by U.S. and E.U. officials and he will have the ultimate power to overrule any measures, annul any laws and remove anyone from office in Kosovo and overrule any measures, annul any laws and remove anyone from office in Kosovo and will have full and final control over the key Government Departments. The European Security and Defense Policy Mission (ESDP) set up by E.U. and the International Military Presence set up by NATO will have control over foreign policy, security, police, and the judicial system. So the ‘independent’ Kosovo would remain effectively under the occupation of imperialist powers of USA and EU and would provide them a base to launch further offensive against the people of the Balkans. The AIAIF calls upon the anti-imperialist people of all countries to build up movements for mobilizing public opinion in support of the territorial integrity of Serbia and to foil the heinous conspiracy of the imperialist powers in the Balkans to perpetuate their exploitative control.
On behalf of the International Anti-imperialist and People’s Solidarity Coordinating Committee (IAPSCC) its President, Ramsey Clark and General Secretary, Manik Mukherjee have issued the following statement on February 22, 2008 :
The International Anti-imperialist and People’s Solidarity Coordinating Committee strongly condemns the act of assassination of Imad Mughniyen, a military leader of Hezbollah. He was in the forefront of the struggle of the Lebanese people against imperialism and Zionism and has thus become a victim of the heinous conspiracy of Israel backed by its imperialist allies. This is the latest crime of the many war crimes that Israel has committed in Lebanon. We also condemn the daily assassinations that Israel is carrying out in Gaza and in the West Bank against the Palestinian people. Raising the demand that those guilty of all these heinous crimes must be brought to book, we join the anti-imperialist people all over the world in protesting against the killing of Imad Mughniyen and all the other assassinations in Lebanon and Palestine and express our solidarity with the freedom-loving people of Lebanon and Palestine in their hour of grief and convey our deepest sympathy to the members of the bereaved family of Imad Mughniyen and the families of all the martyrs.
On behalf of the International Anti-imperialist and People's Solidarity Coordinating Committee we congratulate the Committee of International Citizens and the International Jury of Conscience for Lebanon for their bold and timely initiative to set up the International Citizens' Tribunal on the crimes committed by the Israeli army. Israeli aggression against Lebanon in 2006 was a flagrant violation of international law and of human rights. The deeds committed by the Israeli army and Secret Services in Lebanon and the occupied Palestine territories are dastardly crimes against humanity. We express our total solidarity with the initiative of the International Citizens' Tribunal and place our demand that those guilty of these crimes must be tried in the People's Tribunal and convicted.
On behalf of the International Anti-imperialist and People’s Solidarity Coordinating Committee (IAPSCC), General Secretary, Manik Mukherjee has issued the following statement.
On the 5th anniversary of the US invasion and occupation of Iraq the IAPSCC hails the valiant fighters of the Iraqi resistance who have been battling for five years the occupation forces of the imperialist powers led by USA. The US administration led by George W. Bush is guilty of war crime in invading Iraq flouting all international conventions and laws. The Iraqi people, particularly the women and children, are subjected to untold misery through this brutal occupation. More than one million Iraqis have lost their lives; medical infrastructure, health care, educations are in shambles. Expressing full solidarity with the resistance fighters of Iraq we call upon the freedom-loving people all over the world to build up militant anti-imperialist movements in all countries demanding immediate and unconditional withdrawal of imperialist forces from Iraq and that the Iraqi people be given back the right to decide on the governance of their own country in dignity and peace.
On behalf of the International Anti-imperialist and People’s Solidarity Coordinating Committee (IAPSCC), General Secretary, Manik Mukherjee has issued the following statement.
The strike of the Indian shipyard workers in Pascagoula, Mississippi and Orange, Texas has once again brought to light the sordid underbelly of the economy of the richest imperialist country USA. Exploitation of immigrant workers in sweat shops and factories flouting the labour laws is rampant in USA. The administration generally turns a blind eye to these human rights violations. The Indian workers were brought into USA with false promises of a rich future in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to provide cheap labour and services. They were herded into labour camps to work as forced labour in the shipyard and were forced to live like slaves under inhuman living conditions in the camps. They were under constant threat of deportation by the labour bosses. When some workers started to organize they were sacked and armed guards were sent to threaten the workers. The IAPSCC registers its protests against such human trafficking and demands that the workers must be given their fair wages and be provided with decent living conditions and that their rights as workers be protected. We urge the Indian Government to take up the issue with the US administration for protecting the rights of the striking workers. The Government must take effective steps to stop such human trafficking of Indian labourers and their exploitation by unscrupulous labour contractors and industry owners with connivance of the governments and administrations.
