Solidarity 027, 3 April 2003

"New American Century": week 7 of "Imperialism" course

From Solidarity 3/27 A right-wing group is now cock-a-hoop in Washington. They advocated US war on Iraq at a time when almost all the USA’s ruling circles considered the idea crazily risky. They feel vindicated in their view that blasts of US military power can ratchet the whole world, bit by bit, into a levelled-out free-market arena - their ideal of democracy and liberty. One of their main reference points is a Washington think-tank called the Project for the New American Century. Dick Cheney (now vice-president), Donald Rumsfeld (now Defence Secretary), Paul Wolfowitz (now Deputy Defence...

For working-class internationalism - not the United Nations!

By Frank Higgins Many of those who now oppose the war say that they would support it if there had been a "second UN resolution". Much of the opposition to the war is expressed as rejection of "an illegal war". Had the UN Security Council voted for it, then it would be both "legal" and right. But how could a war that is bad have been made into a good war by a mere UN vote? How, conversely, can we seriously oppose a war that would be good if only the UN Security Council voted for it? Amajority of the British Parliament had voted for it. Many who opposed the war before it started have now swung...

Call me Emmeline!

Almost a thousand school-students across Norfolk demonstrated against the war on the day US and UK troops invaded Iraq. More than two hundred walked out of schools in Norwich itself. One group raised an Amnesty International banner at a major road-junction demanding respect for human rights in Iraq. Many students reached the city centre and joined the day-long demonstrations there. Others demonstrated locally. Pat Yarker talked to Ashleigh Dobson (15) and Tara Ketteringham (16), Year 11 students at Taverham High School. Can you tell me what happened on the day war began? Tara: Lots of people...

AWL takes debates on tour

Alliance for Workers' Liberty speakers have been touring the country to speak on the war in Iraq and argue our views - no to war, no to Saddam, solidarity with the peoples of Iraq, working-class action as the core of anti-war activity, no alliance with Islamic fundamentalism. At the end of March - AWL meetings or joint meetings with AWL speakers - were held in Newcastle, Salford University, Leeds University, Leeds city, and Birmingham. Over the next week or so further meetings are planned in Nottingham, in Oxford, and at Sheffield University. All the meetings except Birmingham's attracted...

Israel/Palestine: Repression stepped up

"The people of Jenin and the Jenin refugee camp are living in a tragic and suffocating situation, while the world is turning a blind eye..." The report, from Palestinians in the West Bank and forwarded to us by Israeli peace activists, talks of "complete and strict curfew". "The Israeli occupation forces are continuing to occupy a large number of private homes, taking the inhabitants as human shields to protect themselves... "They attack ambulances [and] prevent municipality workers from... collect[ing] waste and repair[ing] damaged electricity and water supplies". As the war in Iraq...

Get rid of Greek weapons too!

By Akis Gavriilidis In Greece we have had enormous protests against the war. The day of the attack and the next one we had massive demonstrations in all big cities - and in several smaller ones - of the country. These were the biggest for years - in some towns, they couldn't even remember when they last had a popular demonstration. On Saturday 22 March the crowd gathered in front of the American Embassy in Athens was an estimated 200,000. Most importantly, many of these people were school students, 15 years old or even younger, so this is an excellent way for them to establish a relationship...

Police target Muslims

A Sunday Times report says more than 1,000 Muslims living in Scotland have been interrogated by the police in their homes or on the street, asking whether they support Saddam Hussein or Osama Bin Laden or have been involved in terrorist activity. Strathclyde Police say they questioned people to "gauge their views and community tensions".

No room for anti-semitism in the anti-war movement!

By Joan Trevor During the Paris anti-war demonstration of 22 March, a group of marchers broke away and attacked youth from the left-wing Zionist organisation Hachomer Hatzaïr. The attackers carried Palestinian and Iraqi flags and made anti-semitic chants. Hachomer Hatzaïr protested to the organisers of the march, the Coordination de l'appel 'Non a la guerre contre l'Irak': "...it is your republican duty to stop the presence, in your march, of people and messages advocating hatred." "You cannot continue to pay lip service to humanist ideas at the same same time as you march side by side with...

France: no war and the class war

By Vicki Morris What is the French left saying and doing about the war, and about Jacques Chirac, the right-wing president who appeared for a while to be leading global opposition to the US and UK's war drive? Most big mobilisations against the war have been organised by the Coordination de l'appel 'Non a la guerre contre l'Irak', that includes the Greens, Communist Party (PCF), Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire (LCR), and many single-issue campaigns. Lutte Ouvriere (LO) has not joined the Coordination, but associates itself with the demonstrations. Numbers on the Paris demonstrations are...

UK anti-war actions

A round-up of what has been happening round the country. BIRMINGHAM About 1,000 people took part in rally in the city centre on 29 March. The demonstration marched from to BBC Pebble Mill, to make their views known on the corporation's bias. Police met protesters with battons drawn and dogs on leashes. CANTERBURY Around 200 students and local peace activists demonstrated on 20 March. sitting down in a busy ring road for 20 minutes before marching to the cathedral. EDINBURGH About 10,000 attended the anti-war demo in Edinburgh on Saturday 29 March. It was the eighth march in the last two weeks...

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