European Left Party opposes attack on Syria
The Party of the European Left (EL) condemns the coming attack of USA and its western allies to Syria for several reasons.
Our only guideline is the interest of the Syrian population. We condemn all the crimes committed for 2 years against the civilian populations: those of the Assad regime who took the responsibility of the military spiral against the popular movement, and those of the others. The use of chemical weapons is an unacceptable crime. The UN must establish the responsibilities.
But we are convinced the war will not save any civil life. In the previous cases in Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan, the use of war as solution to a conflict has worsened the situation. We affirm the supremacy of searching always a diplomatic and peaceful solution to any kind of conflict based on the international laws and international institutions. War will keep a political solution away.
Moreover there is a real risk of an enlargement of the conflict to the region, taking into account the geopolitical interests of major international powers: USA, Israel, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and several European countries like France and United Kingdom.
In a global point of view, a reflection must start on the conditions to avoid this kind of world conflict for the future: a new international order must emerge. Co-development and solidarity, common work to respond to the challenges posed to humanity and must replace competition and selfishness.
For all those reasons we cannot accept that European countries like United Kingdom, France or the European Union itself or by some European political forces are supporting such attack to Syria.
The European peoples are against the war, as all polls show: 69% of the Germans are against, only 25% are in favor in the UK and 59% of the French are against too.
Our members parties will, in their respective parliaments, vote against the war and make proposals to relaunch the political process in Syria as well as the demilitarization of the world, beginning by the banning of chemical weapons.
The EU and our countries can initiate the organization of a roundtable with all parts of the conflict. This is the only way to protect the Syrian population and peoples of the Middle East.
Party of the European Left
August 29, 2013
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2 responses to “European Left Party opposes attack on Syria”
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Well, what happened tonight (last night now actually) is pretty profound in its implications.
This is the real payback for the Iraq war. British imperialism in massive decline, no longer politically capable of even playing junior partner to the US.
In however distorted a form, this is proof that the working class is far from dead as a political force. Even when passive and in disarray organisationally, a mere 11% approval rating for a threatened war action makes it highly likely that going to war could detonate a social explosion. Disarray and despair could turn into its opposite – rage and riot – if they had dared to do it. This was qualitatively greater opposition than even over Iraq. Not expressed through demonstrations, but more in informal conversation and opinion poll.
At the time of the great anti-war demonstration in February 2003, support for a war with Iraq was 29%, whereas opposition was around 57%. Despite the huge anti-war movement, this was sufficiently malleable and Blair was strong enough in terms of parliamentary votes etc to go for it and strong arm the population into it anyway.
Between 11% and 29% is a huge, further decline in militarist sentiment. Too much to brazen it out, too much to attempt to strong-arm the people, too much even to rely on a wave of jingoism once the troops are fighting – this is just too much.
Ed Miliband was for the war; his motion was just a bit more sophisticated and proposed a more roundabout and deceptive route to get it. I doubt Obama will hold it against him; at least he tried. Amusing to see foul language leaking out of Downing Street about though, it will no doubt boost his credibility to be called a ‘fucking cunt’ by Cameron and his crew.
But actually, again, it was fear of the working class that led to this Suez- like capitulation by the British ruling class. Don’t think the Tories who opposed this would have done so if they were not scared of the enormous popular opposition and its potential to explode.
The logic of a 2 million-strong demonstration on the streets of London in Feb 2003, in a situation of an 11%, as opposed to a 29%, approval rating of the proposed war, is a 2 million-strong RIOT on the streets of London if they had gone for it. That’s what made the Labour Party, and a good chunk of the Tories, shit their pants and vote against Cameron’s war and also Miliband’s ‘smarter’ war.
The consumate hypocrite is the Blairite MP Jim Fitzpatrick, MP for Limehouse and Stepney. One of Blair’s most loyal lieutenants, he voted against both motions saying he could not even support Labour’s motion as it too supported an attack under more stringent conditions.
His record, according to ‘They work for you’
Voted very strongly for the Iraq war.
Voted very strongly for Labour’s anti-terrorism laws.
Voted very strongly for a stricter asylum system.
Voted very strongly for introducing ID cards.
Yet we are supposed to be impressed that this character voted against both the Con-Dem and Labour motions on Syria, because both of them endorsed a war under more or less stringent conditions. He never had any problem with brutal imperialist war and repression of the oppressed in the past.
But as Bob Dylan observed, ‘you don’t need a Weatherman to tell which way the wind blows’. Fear of the working class is a powerful thing, it even led the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, in the 1926-7 revolution, to vote for a resolution calling for ‘the dictatorship of the proletariat and peasantry’ or words to that effect. What happened last night has some echoes of that.
It should give us heart. This government can be defeated. It just has been, smashingly defeated. So has New Labour. It can be defeated on a whole lot more!
Jack Straw put the New Labour imperialists’ case best when he said on Radio Four this morning: Cameron failed to make the case for war unlike with Libya when he did.
In other words there’s not enough oil in Syria to worry about 100,000 of them dying.
Cameron now gets to play Pontius Pilate whilst Millipede takes ownership of Assad’s next gas attack.