At broad conference in Madrid
Anti-war forces take clear stand against U.S. war
By John Catalinotto
Madrid
A major international conference held here in Madrid on Nov.
16-17 has condemned the planned U.S. aggression against Iraq.
It was the first international gathering to convene after the
U.S. elections, the UN Security Council resolution that forced
inspectors on Iraq, and the massive anti-war protest in
Florence, Italy.
This International Meeting Against the War and in Solidarity
with the Iraqi People was organized by the Spanish Campaign for
Lifting the Sanctions on Iraq. It adopted a declaration sharply
condemning U.S. plans to wage war on Iraq and denounced UN
Resolution 1441, calling it "a green light" for U.S.
aggression.
The conference reflected several trends regarding the war:
widespread mass anti-war sentiment, especially in Europe and
the Middle East; a new and growing anti-war movement in the
United States; and opposition within the European ruling class
to U.S. hegemony on the world scene, enforced by the
Pentagon.
A million protest in Europe
The demonstration of 750,000 to 1 million people in Florence
on Nov. 9 was a point of reference for the speakers and the
audience at the conference. Over 600 people took part over the
course of one-and-a-half days of discussions.
Before Nov. 9, the European anti-globalization movement had
taken no clear position on the U.S. war against Iraq. Social
democratic parties--which in Europe often lead imperialist
governments--have been influential within "social forums" like
the one that day in Florence, and had prevented such a clear
anti-imperialist position from winning the day.
But on Nov. 9, the mass mood was so anti-war that the only
demands made were on the U.S. government to desist from
launching the war on Iraq. No one was telling the Iraqis to
disarm first. This meeting of the European Social Forum also
announced Europe-wide plans for another day of anti-war actions
in all European capitals on Feb. 15.
Speakers from Morocco like Mohammad Basri of the Union of
Popular Socialist Forces (USFP)-some of whom had helped
organize a march of solidarity with Palestine of 3 million
people last spring in Rabat--took apart the U.S. role in the
Middle East.
British Labor Party Member of Parliament George Galloway, a
leader in the movement defending the Iraqi people, hit the Tony
Blair government in London for being a toady for Washington.
The British anti-war movement rallied 400,000 people last Sept.
28 in London to protest the war and in solidarity with
Palestine.
Some of the strongest protests in Europe have been in those
countries whose governments have prostrated themselves before
the U.S. plans: in Britain under Blair, in Italy under media
magnate Silvio Berlusconi and more recently in the Spanish
state under Juan Maria Aznar.
From Belgium, Michel Collon of the newspaper Solidaire made
a specific attack on what he called the "Ni-ni" problem
(neither-nor in French) of the European peace movement. When
the slogan is "Neither [Yugoslavia's Slobodan] Milosevic nor
NATO, neither Washington nor the Taliban, neither Saddam
Hussein nor George W. Bush," then the movement becomes
paralyzed by the equal sign put between oppressor and
oppressed.
Collon's argument for a clear position opposing any
imperialist intervention got a strong positive response from
the audience.
Many speakers from different parts of the Spanish state,
representing unionists, political activists--mostly from the
United Left--intellectuals and others focused their criticism
on the U.S. and on the Aznar government.
Growing U.S. anti-war movement
Conference organizers showed they believed it was important
to invite representatives of the resistance inside the U.S.
Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, unable to attend,
sent a message of solidarity. Clark condemned UN Resolution
1441, described the U.S. as a plutocracy, and pointed to the
popular struggle as the only means left now to stop the Bush
administration from opening the world to chaos that would
impact on future generations.
For the International Action Center, John Catalinotto
discussed the Bush administration's "National Security
Strategy" document as proof that the U.S. war had nothing to do
with Saddam Hussein or terrorism, but was aimed at establishing
U.S. imperialism's hegemony worldwide, including over its
rivals in Europe and Japan.
Teresa Gutierrez of International ANSWER discussed racial
profiling and other repressive measures since Sept. 11, 2001,
and the passage of the USA Patriot Act. She showed how despite
this repression, the movement against the war and in solidarity
with Palestine has been steadily growing, right in the center
of the empire.
The anti-war activists from the U.S. were overwhelmed with
requests for interviews, both from the progressive media inside
Spain and from newspapers from Chile, Peru and Morocco. This
reflected the interest all over the world about what is
happening inside the United States and how much it has been
distorted by the U.S. corporate media.
Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies,
Washington, spoke of the dangers to the Palestinian people
following the unleashing of a war against Iraq.
Naim Abu Tair, president of the Union of Health Work
Committees in Palestine, also raised these dangers, but added
that the Palestinian people would have no choice but to
continue their struggle, by whatever means they need to use to
end the Israeli occupation.
Juan Carretera , president of OSPAAAL Cuba, spoke of Cuba's
solidarity with the Palestinian struggle and of its insistence
that the sanctions against Iraq be ended and that no war be
launched against it. OSPAAAL is the Organization in Solidarity
with the Peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Solidarity with the Iraqi people
Dennis Halliday of Ireland and Hans-Christof von Sponeck of
Germany, both coordinators of UN programs in Iraq, have been
for the past few years regular spokespeople at conferences like
this one in Madrid. They are not lifetime anti-war activists,
but individuals in diplomatic service whose outrage at the
horrors imposed on the Iraqi population has turned them into
important spokespeople.
Usually they expose the lies and contradictions of U.S.
policy or explain just how the sanctions harm the people of
Iraq.
This time, asked to speak on "a commitment of solidarity
with the Iraqi people," they took a different approach to their
talks, showing how their own feelings of solidarity developed
with the population and led them to question what they were
doing.
Von Sponeck, for example, told how years ago delegations
from the Spanish movement had come to Iraq with aid for the
Iraqis suffering under sanctions, and had also demonstrated
before the UN offices. "Little did either the demonstrators or
I know at that time," said von Sponeck, "that we would wind up
on the same side. It was important that you were there. You won
me over."
Opposition from Europe to U.S. plans
Another defecting diplomat was present. Fernando Valderrama,
former head of the Spanish Legation in Iraq, had resigned from
that post after Aznar backed Bush fully in the demand for
"regime change" in Iraq. For Valderrama, this demand for
"regime change" is a violation of the Spanish constitution,
which forbids aggression. It is a legal reason for withdrawing
from his assignment there.
What is interesting is that the Aznar government has yet to
challenge Valderrama in his interpretation of the constitution.
The diplomat is confident he is legally correct, and says he
has received comments of support not just from the anti-war
forces or from his own Socialist Party, but also from members
of the right-wing Aznar government.
Behind this experience is the attitude of the bulk of the
European imperialist ruling class. They see the war on Iraq as
something that, even if it goes quickly, benefits only U.S.
imperialism. In Germany they are left out completely from the
spoils of the war, in France they are better off exploiting the
Middle East by doing business as usual. They see Blair,
Berlusconi and Aznar as servants of Washington and Wall Street
in a dangerous enterprise.
This does not mean they will confront U.S. imperialism, nor
that they plan to assist the liberation movements. It just
means there is a sharp point of contradiction between the U.S.
and European rulers.
While everyone at the conference acknowledged how important
events are within the United States, only those from the U.S.
publicly looked to the movement there to stop the war. The
others directed their calls to the populations of the Middle
East and Europe.
Words are insufficient to convince those abroad that a
broad, strong and combative anti-war movement is possible
inside the U.S. For that they will have to see deeds.
Reprinted from the Nov. 28, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
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