NATO: A Virus as Deadly as COVID-19

By Adrien Welsh

The death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 40,000 and the number of people infected by this pandemic is approaching one million. Given the scale of this health crisis, there is no doubt that emergency measures, in particular to help the most vulnerable, are necessary.

However, the billions of dollars mobilized to respond to COVID-19 mean very little in the face of the colossal sums that the Western imperialist states are constantly pouring out not to fight, but to incubate another virus just as deadly, if not more, than COVID-19: NATO.

Refugee Crisis is a Crisis of Imperialism

TJ Petrowski

The widely circulated photo of Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy whose body was found on a beach in Turkey and whose family was “making a final, desperate attempt to flee to relatives in Canada even though their asylum application had been rejected” by the Harper Government, has caused widespread outrage and forced Western leaders to acknowledge that there is a “refugee crisis”.

In Canada, the leaders of the Liberal and New Democratic parties have used the news of Kurdi’s tragic death, along with the deaths of his five-year-old brother and his mother, to criticize the Harper Government’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis. Trudeau and Mulcair have called on Canada to accept more Syrian refugees, while the Harper Government, with its lust for military action, insists on more illegal bombing raids in Syria and Iraq as the solution to the surge of Syrian refugees.

The real tragedy is the refusal of Western leaders to acknowledge the cause of the refugee crisis – Western imperialism’s genocidal and never ending wars on the people of the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa.

Afghanistan war is far from over

By T.J. Petrowski

 After 13 years, the U.S. and NATO are announcing the end to combat missions in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of troops. But despite the symbolic flag lowering ceremony, the U.S. led war is in fact not ending, and the brutal war is set to continue through 2015. NATO is set to "transition" to a non combat, "Resolute Support" mission to assist the Afghan National Army in its operations, with 4,000 NATO troops to remain in Afghanistan into 2015.

 President Obama has authorized 10,800 U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan in 2015 (an increase of 1,000 from his May 2014 pledge to reduce troop levels), to resume combat operations against Afghan militants (including night raids by Special Operation soldiers, previously banned by former Afghan President Hamid Karzai), and aerial strikes. A senior American military officer was quoted saying that "the Air Force expects to use F 16 fighters, B 1B bombers and Predator and Reaper drones to go after the Taliban in 2015."

Fact-check: Obama's war speech on Syria

Obama:

My fellow Americans, for nearly seven decades the United States has been the anchor of global security. This has meant doing more than forging international agreements. It has meant enforcing them. The burdens of leadership are often heavy, but the world's a better place because we have borne them. 

Source

Reality:

Read more:

From Wounded Knee to Libya, a century of US military operations.

You be the judge.

Unprecedented?

Palestinian civilians and medics run to safety during an Israeli strike using
phosphorus shells at a UN school in 2009. Photograph: Mohammed Abed/AFP

Harper's line:

"I think what we have been seeing over the past several months is the Syrian government, which finds itself in a stalemate, believes that it can win... the civil war in Syria through the use of chemical weapons. And they have been step-by-step ratcheting up that usage to see if anyone is going to challenge it."

"I fear that if no one does challenge it, they will use chemical weapons on a scale way beyond anything we have seen to date to win that war. And if that ever happens, I believe, as I told the leaders that last night, that is a precedent that humanity will regret for generations to come."

"... And so obviously we are very supportive of those of our allies who want to take action to try and prevent this development from going further, trying to dissuade the Syrian regime from this course of action."

Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper speaking at the G20 Summit

Reality check:

Imperialism’s “disgust” at the alleged use of chemical weapons by Syria is utterly hypocritical, given that it has been the main violator of international covenants banning the use of chemical and other weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

In addition to the use of nuclear weapons against civilian populations in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan during the Second World War, there is credible evidence of its use of biological weapons during the Korean War, its widespread use of napalm and other chemical agents during the Vietnam War, and its use of white phosphorus and depleted uranium weapons in Iraq.

US imperialism also ‘looked the other way’ when Iraq used chemical weapons in 1988 during the Iraq-Iran conflict because it was anxious to weaken and defeat the Iranian regime for its own imperialist interests.

The use of chemical or other WMDs is a heinous war crime.  Back in May, UN Human Rights investigator Carla del Ponte concluded that "According to the testimonies we have gathered, the rebels have used chemical weapons, making use of sarin gas."

Syria: 'Where's the evidence of chemical use?'

Reprinted from the UK newspaper The Morning Star

In the face of blatant war preparations by Western powers today, Syria challenged the world to produce any evidence of its complicity in chemical warfare attacks.

"I challenge those who accuse our forces of using these weapons to come forward with the evidence," said Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem.

He accused US Secretary of State John Kerry of lying when he stated there was "undeniable" evidence of a large-scale chemical attack launched by Damascus.

He insisted that Syria will not submit quietly to an attack.

"We have two options - either surrender or defend ourselves," said Mr Muallem.

"The second choice is the best. We will defend ourselves."

The government said that Mr Kerry had "fabricated" evidence when he accused Syria of non-cooperation with UN inspectors and delaying their arrival to the sites, blaming rebels for a sniper attack on their convoy in disputed territory.

The Arab League also blamed the Syrian government for the attack, calling on UN security council members to agree on "deterrent" measures against those who committed the "heinous crime."

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned against precipitate action. It is likely that Russia and China will block US efforts to authorise action through the UN security council.

But, with Britain building up air force reserves in the area and US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel declaring that the US had "moved assets in place to be able to fulfil ... whatever option the president wishes to take" it appeared that the West was set on a collision course with Syria, security council decision or not.

However other countries were not so bloody-minded.

Italy insisted that any military strike against Syria must be authorised by the security council.

Foreign Minister Emma Bonino called the chemical attack a "war crime," but said the government wouldn't support military action without security council authorisation, as the body was "the only point of legal reference."

Canadian Peace Alliance: Don`t attack Syria!

August 27, 2013

The Canadian Peace Alliance (CPA) is calling on all its members and supporters to oppose an impending US-led attack on Syria.

Once again, a report about the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction is being used to justify an intervention. We are always opposed to the use of any weapons on civilians, but as was the case with the last reports of an alleged attack, there is no conclusive proof that the attack came from the Syrian government.

Undaunted by the lack of evidence, US Secretary of State John Kerry has nevertheless declared that the US and its NATO allies will strike Syria. Any intervention by a new "coalition of the willing" will be against international law and must be opposed.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has said that Canada will be in "lock-step" with its NATO allies. Canadian officials are currently meeting with counterparts from France, the UK and the US to devise strategies for an intervention.

Regardless of what one thinks of either the Syrian government or of the opposition forces, we know from recent experience that:

- NATO and its allies have and will continue to lie about the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction to justify "humanitarian" intervention.

- NATO-led attacks, justified as a "responsibility to protect" (R2P) civilians, have resulted in tens of thousands of civilian deaths. The death toll from military attacks in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya can be counted in the hundreds of thousands.

- The geopolitical calculations of the NATO powers, and not the interests of ordinary people, are always the main considerations for any intervention.

During the Vietnam War, US officials described a situation where it became necessary to "destroy the village in order to save it." As with all the recent evocations of R2P, it appears that the goal of NATO is to murder civilians in order to save them. We must, therefore, stand in opposition to the actions of the aggressor states in NATO and call on the government of Canada to keep its hands off Syria.

Call for action

Many CPA member groups, as well as coalitions in other countries including the US, have devised emergency response plans in the event of an attack on Syria. The CPA calls upon peace and social justice groups to devise such plans, whether or not an attack immediately involves Canada, and to continue to pressure the Government of Canada and NATO to keep their hands off Syria.

Please email details about local emergency actions to cpa@web.ca. All actions will be posted on www.acp-cpa.ca

Please e-mail or call your Member of Parliament and demand that they oppose an attack on Syria. A full list of MP contact information can be found here.

Korean Peninsula - who is being 'bellicose' and 'provocative'?

Winner of the 26th Mangyongdae Prize Marathon women's race in DPRK

From The Guardian, weekly of the Communist Party of Australia, April 10, 2013

"Bellicose" and "provocative" - those are the words used over and over by the capitalist media to describe the actions the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and statements by its leadership in recent times. Scarcely any context is given to explain developments in the strained relationship between the DPRK, its South Korean neighbour and the USA. What little that is provided amounts to speculation about what might be in the mind of the new leader of the country, Kim Jong‑un. "Maybe the young leader is trying to assert his authority in the eyes of the military." "Maybe he wants to distract the population from the economic problems of the DPRK," and so on, and so forth without any reference to facts.

     The corporate media can always be relied on to stoke the fires of hatred. Items carrying unconvincing claims of camps containing hundreds of thousands of starved and tortured political prisoners are being published again. Reports about parents eating their children in a supposedly ongoing famine have resurfaced. The notion that Communists eat babies was first trotted out at the time of the Russian Revolution and has never completely been retired. And, of course, the country is "isolated", "paranoid" and "Stalinist" in the eyes of an increasing tabloid‑style corporate media.

     Imperialism's media/industrial complex has no interest in informing the public to allow it to make considered judgements. It is partisan; its objective is to tarnish any alternative to capitalism in the eyes of exploited people and to justify the crushing of any successful attempt to break free of imperialism's grip. Invasions have been planned and tried but, short of military attack, socialist countries have always been subject to punishing trade and diplomatic restrictions. In some cases, such as Cuba and the DPRK, they have been extreme and deadly. The reaction to this aggression against these usually small states is then provided as evidence of "isolation" and "paranoia".

     The history of the DPRK is the classic example of a US‑led campaign to stand truth on its head. Despite the presence of tens of thousands of US troops on its borders with terrifying military equipment including nuclear weapons, despite regular, provocative joint military exercises with its South Korean client state, despite the vivid memory of the carpet bombing, napalming and germ warfare against the DPRK during the war of 1950-1953 and the loss of five million lives, the leadership of the country has consistently called for:

* A peace treaty to formally end the war
* Reunification of the country divided by the US in 1945
* An end to the US occupation of the south and the annual, month‑long joint military exercises
* Bilateral talks to ease tensions between the US and the DPRK

     These calls for peace have been persistently rejected. Fraught six‑party talks aimed at removing the DPRK's nuclear deterrent were imposed instead. The US/South Korean "war games" have become more and more threatening since the passing of late leader Kim Jong‑il.

     The change of posture also coincides with US President Obama's announcement of a military "pivot" towards Asia with its ultimate military objective of China. The latest manoeuvres included scenarios for the "pre‑emptive" invasion of the DPRK. Nuclear weapons capable B‑52s and the B‑2 stealth bombers have dropped inert bombs less than 30 kilometres away from the North/South border in mock bombing runs on the DPRK.

     This is the context of the DPRK's decision to deploy missiles, mobilise its troops, call for foreign diplomats to leave the country for their own safety and to cut communications with the South Korean government of President Park Geun‑hye, who just so happens to be daughter of General Park Chung‑hee, the late, ruthless dictator of South Korea. The defiant statements emanating from Pyongyang are being portrayed by many as the utterly unprovoked taunts of a "rogue" regime.

     It is worthwhile asking what the response would be if the situation were reversed - if a socialist country moved state of the art military equipment close to the borders of the US. The last time that happened - during the Cuban missile crisis - the US moved the planet as close to a nuclear winter as it has ever come. So, when the government of the DPRK issues strongly worded statements in response to the mobilisation of masses of troops and huge quantities of war‑fighting materiel right up to its border, it's worthwhile asking, who is really being "bellicose" and "provocative"? Who is really engaging in "sabre rattling"?

The Leaky Department of National Defence

Canadian Peace Alliance
March 21, 2013

For the third year in a row, a document has been "leaked" to the press warning of cuts to military spending just as the federal budget is due to be released.

The reality is the Conservatives have overseen billions in additional spending on the Canadian forces. When they came into office in 2006, spending on the military was $15 billion. Even with the proposed reductions, they are due to spend roughly $19 billion each year.

That extra $4 billion is enough to provide free post-secondary tuition for all Canadian students. It would also be enough to provide adequate housing for all Canadians living on the streets or to hire almost 40,000 nurses. Harper wants to fund war instead.

For a Conservative government that is known to have a tight leash on all federal departments, these continued leaks must be disconcerting. In 2012, a leaked letter from the Prime Minister to Peter Mackay called for more cuts to the DND budget. In 2011, another leak – this time of a report by Lieutenant-General Andrew Leslie – caused a stir by calling for $1 billion in cuts.

Ironically, it seems the Department of National Defence has a serious security problem.

That may be the case, but the consistency of the leaks does make one wonder if there is another motive for the Harper government. Given that a huge majority of Canadians believe that we should cut money from the military before cutting social and environmental programs, it seems more likely that the Conservatives are using these leaks to try and soften the blow of other cuts to come. Evidently they want to highlight the fact that everyone is tightening their belts – before they ask us to tighten them again.

We all know how gung-ho this Prime Minister is. He has re-branded the Canadian forces as the Canadian Armed forces so we don't forget that they are there to, "kill detestable murderers and scumbags" in the words of Former Defence Chief Rick Hillier, even if its main victims in Afghanistan turned out to be unarmed civilian men, women and children. They have worked hard to make Canadians proud of our military, spending millions on the War of 1812 events and have even re-written the new Citizens handbook to highlight Canada's military history.

Harper is also the most vocal cheerleader for an attack on Iran and has never shied away from deploying the Canadian forces whether in Libya, Afghanistan or now Mali. This government has also called for Canada to open up 8 new military bases abroad and had earmarked almost a half trillion dollars in military spending in the Canada First Defence Strategy (CFDS). In the first 5 years as Prime Minister, Harper increased the military budget by $1 billion each year. Just recently, Harper announced that Canada intends to spend another $1 billion on an armed drone program.

The cuts as outlined will reduce the total amount earmarked for the military but it hardly suggests a department that is in trouble financially. The military is still the largest discretionary item in the budget. If we add up all the reductions as outlined in the myriad of leaked reports we are looking at a total allotment for the time frame outlined by the CFDS of approximately $450 billion by 2025.

International Women's Day 2013

Statement by the Central Women’s Commission, Communist Party of Canada and endorsed by the Young Communist League of Canada

March 8 is a day to honour women’s struggles, take stock of hard‑won gains, and to demand full equality.

This year, International Women’s Day comes amidst inspiring new struggles. Working people around the world, particularly in Europe, continue their huge struggles against austerity measures. In Canada we saw students in Quebec rose up, leading a fight against tuition fee increases, against neo‑liberal policies, and in opposition to a draconian bill that attempted to repress dissent. The result: the Quebec Liberal government’s defeat at the polls, a tuition freeze and the scrapping of Loi 10. Young women played a key and leading role in that struggle.

The “Idle No More” movement has initiated an historic struggle against Bill C‑45 and the entire racist agenda of the Harper Tory government.

Feature essay on youth culture and war

Peter Miller and Daniel Lyder

Tommy Smith and John Carlos

An oft-repeated opinion in the sports media is that sports and politics should absolutely never mix. If an athlete chooses to use his or her spotlight to voice or display a social or political opinion sports journalists, sports owners, and sports executives will often voice their disapproval.

One of the most famous examples of this is Tommy Smith and John Carlos. The two African American athletes at the 1968 Games were stripped of their medals for their famous Black Power raised fist salute, wearing black-gloves in civil rights solidarity.

More recently, at the summer Olympics in London, Damien Hooper, an aboriginal boxer from Australia, was threatened with expulsion by the Australian Olympic Committee for wearing a black T-shirt with a picture of an Aboriginal flag, while warming up in the ring before a fight. Hooper had broken the Olympic games policy preventing athletes from representing flags unapproved by corporate sponsors.

Fidel and Camilo Cienfuegos play baseball
as the team "Bearded ones"

Shut up and play

Yet there is an immense self-serving irony contained in the ‘shut up and play’ culture perpetuated by the media.  Sports are constantly used by right-wing corporate forces and the military to promote their own pro-war, aggressively nationalist and repressive agendas. Therefore, the truth is that sports journalists, owners, and sports executives actually believe that sports and progressive politics should absolutely never mix.

Iconic ESPN host “Big Game” Brent Musburger famously analyzed Smith and Carlos’ demonstration by saying at the time "Perhaps it's time twenty year-old athletes quit passing themselves off as social philosophers."

Musburger has never apologized for his remarks.  And the attitude hasn’t changed much since then.

Consider the incredible backlash against Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen last year for simply admitting that he ‘liked’ Fidel Castro. Guillen was forced to recant at length or lose his job and was suspended for five games.

NFL 'salute to serive'

Military cheerleading

Yet anyone who’s watched an NFL game or the recient Super Bowl could easily attest to the open and unquestioned platform for pro-military viewpoints: from troop displays during the national anthem, to fighter jets buzzing over the stadium, to the bizarre statements and subsequent “USA” chants throughout stadiums announcing the killing of Osama Bin Laden and his family.  Their official website proclaims that "supporting the military is part of the fabric of the NFL."

In fact, capitalist countries like Canada and the USA actively use the sports "business" to promote the military and imperialism.

Canadian professional sports franchises openly promote war in conjunction with the mass media and the government. While the old Winnipeg Jet's logos (from 1972–1996) featured a civilian airliner, the True North Inc. new design explicitly pays "homage" to the Air Force with a fighter jet.

The federal and Manitoba provincial governments contributed over 11 million dollars to the construction of a new arena for the Jets to play in, quite a unique form of advertising.

Cherry signing bombs

Don Cherry

Perhaps the most infamous hockey ‘analyst’ in Canada is Don Cherry who makes a $700 000 salary, paid from public money, and uses his airtime to promote xenophobia, anti-Quebec nationalism and war during Hockey Night in Canada on CBC. In 2010 Cherry signed bombs and went as far as actually firing a shell when he visited occupied Afghanistan.  He later received an honorary degree from the Royal Military college (although not without protest) for his work supporting the war.

Unlike what the Harper Conservative government and Don Cherry would have us believe, however, the war in Afghanistan is not about justice or women’s rights. As Yves Engler points out in his latest book, The Ugly Canadian, the president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, has supported decrees from religious leaders in the country stating that women must be subordinate to men, and cannot be in public without their male partner or family member by their side.

This war, like all wars undertaken by the military industrial complex, has generated enormous profits for ‘defence’ corporations in Canada from the public purse.

The new Winnipeg Jets Logos

Case study: the war in Libya

Canada was ranked 6th in foreign military sales in 2009, according to the Federation of American Scientists Arms Sales Monitoring Project.

Perhaps then it is no surprise that the Winnipeg Jets’ new logo is a blue circle with a metallic grey silhouette of a McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet Fighter Jet above a red maple leaf.

This is the same plane used by the Canadian Forces to bomb Iraq, Yugoslavia, and Libya. In fact, the Winnipeg Jets military logo was revealed during Canada’s war in Libya.

Despite claims of humanitarian intervention or "Responsibility to Protect" (R2P) which is often heard during the military cheerleading at sports events, the Libyan War was pursued for the benefit of big corporations and oil wealth. NATO simply used the Arab Spring to intervene and interfere with another country’s sovereignty.

Libya had bigger than average royalties on oil corporations. Its nationalized oil company interfered with profits for companies like Suncor, Canada’s largest energy corporation.  And the Libyan regime was an inconsistent ally of imperialism.

The US-led NATO alliance thus saw an opportunity to influence Libya’s uprising and actively supported the "Transitional National Council" to further increase profits, secure a geo-strategic military foothold in Africa and the Mediterranean, and push-back against the inroads of Chinese capital into Africa.

Canadian Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard, officially commanded the NATO campaign signing off on every pre-selected bombing target.  15 Canadian Aircraft went on 15,000 missions and dropped at least 700 bombs.  On one occasion, a strike from NATO is alleged to have killed 47 civilians, and the total civilian death toll is estimated to be much higher.

Doctors Without Borders ended up pulling out of Libya, refusing to be complicit in the NATO mission and noting that they were actually treating many captured pro-Gaddafi soldiers who were tortured by rebels. (Gaddafi repeatedly called for a ceasefire, yet the NATO-backed rebels refused.)

Meanwhile, Don Cherry was busy praising the new Winnipeg Jet's logo.  "How could you do better than to honour the people who lay their lives down for us?" he told Sun News.

Canadian Forces Appreciation Night

Raptors Canadian Forces Night

Military cheerleading in Canada reaches beyond hockey and into sports like basketball as well.  On Saturday January 26 the Toronto Raptors held their 6th Canadian Forces Night at the Air Canada Centre. The Team and cheerleaders wore camouflage jerseys while pro-military programming aired during breaks throughout the game.

After the game, Raptors players, the coaching staff, and cheerleaders posed for a group picture with Canadian soldiers. Raptors and Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment described the camouflage jersey and Canadian Forces Night as a “natural extension of the Raptors and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment’s long-standing support of Canada’s military”.

The Canadian Forces Night was used by the Canadian Military to advertise it’s growing "brand." The Canadian Government spent 353.6 million dollars on public relations for the military in 2010-2011.

Advertising the military targets Canadian youth with commercials on television, ads on campuses across Canada, as well as recruitment displays at sports and public events. When sports franchises further help promote the Canadian Military with nights like the Canadian Forces night, Canadian youth are pushed to fall into a trap, join the military and become cannon-fodder for imperialist wars.

Positively, groups like "Hockey Fans For Peace" are taking on commentators like Don Cherry and calling on the anti-war movement to become more active and visible on sports issues, and in general.

Maybe it is time to flyer future Raptors games that have Canadian Force Programming and tell sports fans of the working class why it is wrong to support war and militarism.

Make hockey not war

Canadian Imperialism Flexing its Military Muscle

The Raptors game and the militarization of sports is taking place at a time when the Harper Conservative government seems to be constantly flexing Canada's military muscle. Canadian troops are still on the ground in Afghanistan. The Canadian government is also getting involved in the French-led and US-backed occupation of Mali.

Canadians are also faced with the threat of our country following NATO to go to war in Syria and Iran. While Canadian-based corporations do not officially have any direct investments in the country, Iran has a tremendous amount of oil wealth.

American and Canadian imperialist interests do not like that Iran provides oil for China. Canada’s government is basically lying about nuclear weapons in Iran to try to sway public opinion and start another war allied beside Israel, America, and NATO.

Despite claims of a 'peace dividend' after the overturn of the Soviet Union and socialist countries, military spending is 2.3 times higher in Canada now than during the peak of the Cold war. The Harper Conservatives ever-increasing military budget is being prioritized over public healthcare, public education, affordable housing, universal childcare, and other important social services like publicly funded recreation and, perhaps ironically, non-commercial sports, culture and physical activities.

Cuba's womens national volleyball team

Sports for a world at peace

While the Canadian Government is setting up military bases around the world, it’s the youth who are faced with a future that, for the first time in generations, is predicted to be worse materially than our parents.

Let us show fellow sports fans that the future does not have to be this way. Instead of joining the armed forces, let us convince the youth to join social movements. Together we can stop another greedy war by hitting the streets!

Progressive-minded and peace-loving people must not shy away from pushing back against the pro-military agenda on the sports field, arena, or court. Sports are part of popular culture and it is important to use this venue to get anti-war and socially positive messages across.

An important beginning is to recognize when anti-establishment political opinions are voiced by athletes, and to support those to the best of our ability. It doesn’t help that some of the most powerful examples of this is given no attention in the media or quickly drowned out..

Together, we can also promote a radically different sports culture.

Speaking at the United Nations on resolutions in support of sports for peace and development, socialist Cuba said that sports should "undoubtedly strengthen solidarity and friendship among peoples" and that for Cuba, after the Cuban Revolution, "sports ceased to be exclusive and became a right for all the people."

International Association of Red Sports
and Gymnastics Associations, c. 1928

Cuba has also condemned "athleticism that was purely motivated by financial gains," and "the theft of sport talent from developing countries."  "Let us invest in projects for the sake of education, sport and health”, instead of on weapons Cuba has said.

Officially, much of the past rhetoric of international sports and the Olympics also opposed war, like the "Olympic Truce."  The World Festival of Youth and Students traditionally holds an anti-imperialist soccer match at each gathering.

It is time that sports in Canada promote fair play and cooperation, as well as friendship, internationalism, and solidarity -- not militarism, elitism, or crude consumerism. Recreation, leisure time, and democratic culture like sports culture are rights and not privileges. Its time to stand up, together, for these rights and sports for peace!

Mali: Labour, peace, African and French youth voices against the intervention

Launched just days ago, a brutal military intervention by the French "socialist" government of Francois Hollande is being carried out in Mali. The war includes areal bombing assault and, now, a ground assault by troops.

As People's Voice noted earlier in January:

A consequence of the western imperialist powers' intervention in Libya in 2011, under the guise of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine (R2P), which cost the lives of thousands of civilians, was the destabilization of the west African state of Mali.  On Dec. 20, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2085, authorizing deployment of an African‑led International Support Mission (AFISMA) in northern Mali.... An estimated 1.2 million Tuareg people inhabit the Saharan interior of Africa, living as nomadic pastoralists in Mali, Algeria, Niger, Libya, and Burkina Faso. Since the European powers first colonized the region, causing wide‑scale displacement and suffering, the Tuareg have struggled for better living conditions and the right to self‑determination. They have continued this struggle against the Western‑backed leaders of their now independent nations.

The main pretext for this imperialist war is the intensification of the strife and war between the Malian army and the militant organizations that claim to be fighting for the independence of Northern Mali in Azawad. In this context, Malian President Dioncounda Traore (who was appointed after a military coup last March) "asked" for action which resulted in a December 2012 UN Security Council resolution.

Mali is a landlocked West African country, well-known internationally for its music and cultural history, home of the famous historic trade city of Timbuktu. The country is also a former French colony (see this link here which shows a 1936 map of West Africa; read here about the pact France forced on its former colonies after 'independence').

The military "operation" focuses on the Muslim Tuareg people's homeland in the north of the Mali, in an area known as the Sahel. The Sahel is an the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian Savannas. It is home to vast natural resources with the world third largest uranium reserves as well as substantial oil reserves.

One of the main companies involved is the French energy corporation Areva, which is the second largest producer of uranium in the world.  Areva has been extracting for decades in neighbouring Nigeria, although they have lost their exclusive rights recently.

Uranium is a very important energy source for France. The World Nuclear Association says that over 75 percent of electricity is produced from nuclear energy in France, and the country is also the world's largest net exporter of nuclear-generated electricity with a revenue of more than 3 billion Euro a year.

The French force includes at least 2,500 French troops as well as Gazelle helicopter gunships, as well as six Mirage 2000D fighter jets based in Chad and four Rafale fighter jets from France in the bombing runs.

The war is taking place with the full support of the United States and NATO, as well as the European Union, the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) -- and the Harper Conservative government of Canada.

About 2340 troops are expected from neighbouring African countries; Britain is also sending two C-17 aircraft to carry troops and military equipment while Denmark and Belgium are also sending troop transport aircraft and helicopters respectively. The US is providing military intelligence.

The Harper Conservatives, who have no money or time for the Aboriginal peoples and Idle No More, immediately sent one C-17 cargo plane to Mali on Tuesday to offer logistical support to the French, airlifting supplies to Bamako. There is a summary of Canadian mining and other corporate investments in Mali here.


Below are some statements by labour, peace, and communist youth organizations of South Africa and France.

Geo-strategic goals, not humanitarianism

(The intervention) constitutes the continuation of the implementation of the imperialist plans for the geo-strategical control of broader areas of Africa, as we have seen it in 2011 with the bloody intervention and bombing of Libya. Their goal are the energy resources which are object of fierce rivalry between imperialist forces and centers, which however go hand in hand in the slaughter of the peoples under various pretexts each time. World Peace Council

Plunder and control of uranium mines

...After the genocide in Rwanda and the demolition of Libya, France continues to use the military bases it maintains in Africa in order to strengthen its role in the inter-imperialist competition and to serve the interests of its monopoly groups who are plundering the wealth-producing resources (gold, uranium etc.).  (...)  aiming for the protection of the French interests in the uranium mines found in Tuareg areas of the West-African Region, the inter-imperialist competition for the control of the wealth-producing resources of Mali and the placement of puppet-governments in the African countries serving the leading imperialist forces...  World Federation of Trade Unions


No war for Areva and Total!


It did not take much for our country to start the onslaught of Mali. In the name of freedom and the fight against terrorism, the (French) government arises as the savoir of Africa. This speech, appropriate for the clash of civilizations, is shameful. We've known this policy to justify intervention in Afghanistan, Iraq or Libya. With what results? Destabilization, violence and armed militias in those countries that are completely divided.

No war on behalf of (the companies) Areva and Total! We refuse to make a war on behalf of corporate interests. The war will only bring its share of desolation and not solve anything. Armed intervention is an opportunity to strengthen the positions of French multinationals in the region, Areva in Niger and Total West Africa, which operate without resources that local people benefit.  Communist Youth of France


A task for the people of Mali and Africa, not imperialism

In our minds we still harbour fresh memories of French military invasion of Libya in 2011 as part of NATO, leading to a regime change; French military "residence" in Ivory Coast which was actively involved in regime change; and French military presence in the Central Africa Republic, to "protect" the so-called French interests but not to keep peace and as part not to prevent rebels from capturing that country.


This time around France is "fighting" rebels which seek to capture Bamako, the capital city in Mali. We see this as nothing but an agenda by France to defend its hegemony and advance its capitalist interests in the country and the region at large. (...) The people of Mali and the African Union must be the ones taking a leading role in solving the problems experienced in Mali and in Africa respectively, not imperialist countries and former colonisers such as France which in the first place are part of the root causes to these problems and their historical development. Young Communist League of South Africa

CBC Radio One airs: "The Spanish Crucible"

An incredible story is being aired on CBC Radio One over the next few days and is now available online.

In the mid-to-late 1930s, about 1600 Canadian men and women left for Spain, to fight against the Fascist coup led by General Francisco Franco against the democratically elected Popular Front government.

Why did they go? How did they fight? How did they die? And when the survivors came home why were they harassed and spied on? These questions and more are addressed by the CBC interviews.

While Britian and the US declared 'neutrality' and quitely supported the fascists, the Soviet Union and countries like Mexico supported the Popular Front. Many forces were represented in the Popular Front government, and the disorganization of the army (including trying to organize units along the abstract principals of anarchism) helped contribute to the fascists making a rapid advance.

Although only a small part in the Popular Front government, the Communist Party of Spain worked together with the international communist movement to form a well organized and disciplined army of volunteers from around the world, know as the intentional brigades. The Communists and their allies earned tremendous respect.

The Canadian government of the day, however, made it illegal for any Canadian to join the war. Despite this, the Communist Party of Canada and the Young Communist League, grass-roots members of the CCF, progressive organizations, and Canadian trade unions facilitated the movement of hundreds of Canadian fighters to join the tens of thousands of international volunteers to fight in a civil-war that helped shape the entirety of the 20th and early 21st centuries.

Many of them travelled officially as tourists to France and then made the hard trek through the mountains. Eventually so many Canadians arrived they formed their own battalion and named it after the leaders of the democratic uprising against British colonial domination in 1837, William Lyon Mackenzie and Louis-Joseph Papineau.

The first Canadian to die in Spain was a member of the Toronto YCL. While that young man's name is forgotten, history has remembered Dr. Norman Bethune who invented the MASH unit or mobile blood transfusion unit.

The MacPaps fought heroically but after several years of hard fighting the forces of fascism won -- with the help of fascist Italy and Germany. Germany sent the entire Condor Legion to Spain and spent over two hundred million US dollars (in 1939 currency) while Italy sent over 700 air planes, over a hundred tanks, four destroyers, submarines and put 90 additional naval ships into the ocean around Spain in a blockade.

Coming home, the battalion received a heros welcome in some parts of Canada, while fascist-sympathizers attacked them in other places. When war broke out with fascist Germany, many were interned in concentration camps as dangerous radicals and communists.

Never recognized officially as veterans of the just war to defend democracy in Spain, the Mac Paps sacrifice wakened millions of people to the danger of appeasement to fascism. This was perhaps epitomized by the 1938 non-aggression treaty between Chamberlain and Hitler (signed right after the Munich deal).

Years later, Jouranlist Mac Reynolds travelled Canada in 1964 and 1965, looking for Mac-Pap vets, and recording as many as he could. He made over 50 interviews and recorded 150 hours of tape. Reynolds himself had been a supporter of the cause at that time, in Britain and Canada, and a friend of the CPC.


CBC archives contain a letter from Reynolds to the legendary producer and CBC executive Robert Weaver, asking about airtime. But there was no reply on file, nor any evidence that the material had ever aired. Instead the tapes were mothballed.

A campaign in the late 1990s saw some small plaques erected for the Mac Paps in places like Victoria, Ottawa and Toronto. Several books, including by veterans, have been written about the Mac Paps although the total literature is relatively small.

In Spain, however, the Mac Paps are heros and have been awarded many honors -- even honorary citizenship.


As to the tapes, no one but the CBC archivists knew the material was there, or had paid it any mind, until CBC producer Steve Wadhams recently rediscovered the files. “Forty-plus years of doing radio, and I have never stumbled into a treasure trove like this,” Wadhams told the Globe and Mail newspaper.

The CBC Radio programme "Living Out Loud" aired these accounts in a two-part documentary titled " The Spanish Crucible".

These interviews are already available online - http://www.cbc.ca/livingoutloud/

This article combines reports, sources and articles by Kate Taylor, F. Ahmed, Joe Fiorito and D. Rankin

Anger about Malala Yousafzai should not be used for more war

We reprint this letter to the editor calling for the deplorable attack on young Pakistani woman Malala Yousfzai to not be an excuse to whip up war fever by imperialism.


Dear Editor,

Your editorial (Why the Taliban are afraid of a 14 year-old girl, Oct 10th 2012) perversely exploits the attack on Malala Yousafzai by calling for "overwhelming force to bear" on the Taliban.  Malala herself in an interview with CNN last year said deal with the Taliban through talks and building more schools.  Using force has only lead to killing more young women, not making them safer.  For example in May a New York Times article described how President Barack Obama hand-picked a 17 year-old girl to be killed by drone without a trial.  The UK Bureau of Investigative Journalism estimates about 175 children have been killed by drones, and says the US sends a 2nd round of drones every attack which kills rescue workers.  Last month NATO admitted its bombs killed 8 Afghan women and girls collecting firewood.  Anger at the attack on Malala should not be used for more war which will kill more girls and women, that is senseless and not what Malala stood for.

S. Saleh Waziruddin
Niagara Falls, Ontario

Find out more:

CNN interview clip

Secret ‘Kill List’ Proves a Test of Obama’s Principles and Will

'Double tap' By Gwynne Dyer

Afghanistan: Nato admits up to eight women killed in airstrike

Stop the deportation of war resister Kimberly Rivera!

"My biggest fear is being separated from my children and having to sit in a prison for politically being against the war in Iraq."  - Kimberly Rivera, Toronto

Dear Friends,

What kind of government do we have in Canada, elected by less than 40% of people who voted, that intends to send a heroic young mother to jail for up to five years in the U.S. for doing the right thing?

We are appealing for your immediate attention, help and action to stop the thoroughly reactionary, anti-family deportation order of Kimberly Rivera to certain harsh imprisonment in a U.S. military jail for two to five years, away from her young children.

Stephen Harper's government has failed to deal with Kimberly's application to stay for humanitarian reasons, like it does not care she will be unable to care for her four children or that her family will be broken up when she goes to jail.

The deportation can be stopped if enough people and groups speak out. The prairie provinces are critically important for this effort, Harper's key support area.

We can win, and the government must be forced to back down. The immediate support for this campaign from the Canadian Labour Congress and Amnesty International are vital, welcome, and a sign that broad support can grow. We are thankful for opposition party support in Ottawa, but what happens outside parliament matters most.

By now, media has informed most Canadians that the Harper government has issued a Sept. 20 deportation order to Kimberly and her young family, the same way it already deported two other former U.S. soldiers who disagree with the unjust Iraq war.

This is a reactionary move, because everyone knows that these two soldiers served long prison sentences for doing the right thing. Harper expects that Kimberly will be jailed. Her lawyer expects a sentence of 2 to 5 years!

These good soldiers should not be in custody for one second. That is why they came to Canada. So far, Harper has achieved a 100% success rate of sending US war resisters to jail. This must stop now, especially in light of the news Harper is planning to send more U.S. soldiers to face certain imprisonment.

Rivera is "guilty" of the crime of being a hero, a good soldier who deserted from the unjust occupation of Iraq. Here's a comparison. Nazi soldiers who deserted Hitler's army after realizing they were helping commit war crimes were heros, not "bogus refugees" as Jason Kenney calls the U.S. soldiers who came to Canada seeking safe refuge and the welcome of the majority of Canadians.

The Harper government is showing its true face. It is pouring the blood of hundreds of thousands of Iraq's people on Canada's global reputation. It is still supporting George Bush's unjust Iraq war. It is defying international law that never allowed the Iraq war.

Canadians must not stand for that! Canada must be made better!

The Canadian government is sending U.S. soldiers to a harsh military prison in an army rife with sexual abuse and torture, like the abuse Bradley Manning is experiencing, according to the UN special rapporteur on torture and hundreds of legal experts. What is the proper response by Canadians? It must be outrage and the loudest possible outcry. This is totally unjust. It is inhuman.

Help inform Stephen Harper's MPs across the prairies. Ask them to change their minds. We cannot allow them to get their bullying way.

- Talk about this to everyone you know, tell them to contact their MP and to tell other people.
- Put this message up on notice boards.
- Phone, write or visit your MP or Immigration minister Jason Kenney. Ask them why they want to place a young mother of four children who has only obeyed her conscience and the law in jail and possibly destroy her family, why they are still helping the US' unjust occupation of Iraq, why they think US war resisters should be punished for making the right moral and legal decision to desert from the Iraq war, and how they can explain why every war resister they have deported so far has gone to jail for no good reason?
- Have a picket line in support of Kimberly and her family, even if its small.
- Tell the media, write a letter to the editor - From your family, union, faith group or community organization
- Visit your MP's constituency office, even if the MP is not there. Stay as long as you can! Get the staff's time and attention and send a really strong message! Polite but unshakable.

Not doing anything at this critical time of moral degeneracy by the Harper government is the worst option for anyone with an ounce of compassion and humanity. We appeal to you for your immediate action!

The Keep Resisters in Canada Campaign (KRICC) is sending this message to hundreds of supporters across the prairie provinces (where we work) and beyond in total solidarity with the Toronto appeal from the War Resisters Support Campaign there (appended). We in KRICC have been planning an urgent appeal for a U.S. deserter in Saskatchewan, Joshua Key, which will now be slightly changed. Please support the below appeal, and the one we expect to issue shortly.

We would be happy to hear from you by email, phone (204-798-3371) or by mail - KRICC c/o 269 Kitson St., Winnipeg MB R2H 0Z6. Please copy your message to the Harper government to us and the Toronto campaign (address below). We'd very much appreciate it.

Yours truly,
Cheryl-Anne Carr and Darrell Rankin
for the Interim executive, Keeps Resisters in Canada Campaign

A critical perspective on the Houla massacre

Whomever is responsible for the Houla
massacre, it is difficult for us not to see
imperialism's outcry as crocodile tears

Stephen Gowans,
Reprinted from What's Left  
Syrian government forces may or may not have been responsible for the killing of 108 civilians at Houla. Witness accounts point to militias that may have been acting independently of the Syrian government. One account describes the killings as avenging a rebel sectarian attack on an Alawite village.

All the same, no witness account has been independently verified. The events are, in the words of a UN monitor, “murky”.

The US government, nevertheless, has reached far beyond the evidence to blame the Syrian government for the atrocity, a brazenly hypocritical public relations assault on Syria. In light of the serial massacre of hundreds of Pakistani and Afghan civilians, including children, by US drone strikes, the US government has no credibility as a self-appointed champion of the innocent.

Examining the conflict with reference to US foreign policy goals, and the objectives of other parties, it is likely that the Assad government’s opponents are depending on armed conflict and the exploitation of the public relations opportunities the conflict provides to meet their goal of regime change.

Damascus, on the other hand, has more to gain from working out a modus vivende with its internal opposition than trying to win a shooting war with armed rebels that have the backing of the formidable diplomatic and material resources of the United States and wealthy Gulf petro-monarchies.

F-35 Dangers Far Beyond Costs and Corruption, as Fighter Jet Program Also Used For Nuclear Weapons Development

Open letter from the President of the Canadian Peace Congress

Opposition to the Harper government's proposal to purchase 65 F-35 fighter jets has been consistent and growing. Most of it is focused on the related issues of costs and corruption that are associated with the procurement. This is critically important – military spending should always be conducted in an open and transparent manner, and it must be justified in the context of broader public spending. In an era of high unemployment, deep cuts to social programs and harsh austerity programs that target working people, Harper's intention of spending billions of dollars on fighter jets is thoroughly offensive, and it needs to be confronted and opposed by the largest possible mobilization of people.

The F-35 program is driven by the United States military and its NATO allies. In 1997, Canada signed onto the Joint Strike Fighter program, which was developed as a vehicle for the United States to capture international funding for a replacement jet fighter. Canada's initial investment in 1997 was $10 million. In 2001 the JSF contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin, who developed what is now known as the F-35. By 2010, the international procurement process was underway and Stephen Harper announced that Canada would purchase 65 fighter jets, through an untendered purchase.

Act to prevent war against Iran and Syria

Imperialism is targeting Syria and Iran

By Darrell Rankin, People's Voice

     The Middle East is the epicenter of the militarization of relations between China and Russia on one side and NATO's imperialist, or advanced capitalist countries, on the other. Imperialist countries which twice plunged the world into war in the last century are getting ready for round three. The arms race is growing around the globe and the battle lines are getting clearer.

     Even without considering the potential for a new global war, fear and tension are flowing from the threat of smaller wars of regime change and occupation in Iran and Syria. Positions are hardening on both sides of the intervention issue. So far, China and Russia will veto any UN Security Council resolution that may trigger military action, but that may not be enough.

     It may be only a matter of weeks or months before imperialism targets Syria or Iran, adding to its list of imposed regime changes which are not approved by the UN. For the Security Council to even talk about military action against sovereign countries signals that imperialism (NATO and Japan) dominates world politics. And if imperialism acts outside the UN, as in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti and Libya, it is another nail in the coffin to the actual words of the UN Charter.

Statement of the Press Office on the Decision of the EU for an embargo on Iran’s oil

USS Abraham Lincon off the shores of Iran

The decision of the governments of the EU to impose an embargo on Iran’s oil constitutes an extremely aggressive act. It is outrageously brazen for the EU, some of whose countries possess nuclear weapons, to use, along with the USA, Iran’s nuclear research as a pretext, in order to impose their imperialist demands.

The agreement of the Greek government to the embargo constitutes open support for the aggressive plans of the EU against the people of Iran and marks the deeper involvement of the country in the imperialist rivalries and wars. This is reinforced by the development of the military cooperation with the aggressive state of Israel which possesses nuclear weapons with the support of the USA and the EU.

Canada and NATO Out of Libya! Hands Off Syria!

Canada and NATO Out of Libya! Hands Off Syria!

Peace Congress Calls for Increased Mobilizations Against War

24 May 2011

As the conflict in Libya grinds on, the real character of the “humanitarian” military intervention there is becoming more and more clear. Using the political cover of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, NATO military forces led by the United States have wasted no time in transforming Libya's dangerous political unrest into an imperialist interventionist war aimed at regime change, dividing the country and plundering oil resources.

NATO and its member states – including Canada – have actively sided with reactionary forces within Libya and are now leading the effort to overthrow the government, including blatant attempts to assassinate Moammar Qaddafi and other government members through airstrikes. In the eyes of NATO, the largest military organization in the world, “Responsibility to Protect” means “Opportunity to Interfere,” regardless of death and destruction.

When considered as part of a regional campaign by imperialism, the aims of NATO clearly go far beyond plundering the oil of the Middle East and North Africa. Faced with a massive surge of the popular and revolutionary movements in many Arab countries, imperialism is manoeuvring to reassert its control in the region. It is no coincidence that NATO attacks against Libya are accompanied by increased aggressive postures by the United States and Israel against Syria, Iran and Palestine.

The Canadian Peace Congress condemns the ongoing imperialist aggression against Libya and calls for the immediate withdrawal of Canadian and NATO forces from the region. All peace-supporting groups in Canada – including trade unions, faith communities and student groups – need to speak out and mobilize against NATO's action against Libya and the threat of a far broader war in the region.

In Syria, the internal political crisis is extremely dangerous and is also attracting interest from imperialist forces who seek to interfere for their own ends. For decades, the United States has sought to overthrow the Syrian government because of its strong stands for Arab unity and sovereignty, for national rights for Palestine, for nationalization of oil resources, and against Israel's policies of expansion and occupation. As it did in the case of Libya, imperialism will seek to use the current political situation as a pretext to intervene in Syria, citing humanitarian concerns, and quickly turn the conflict toward its own ends. This will only result in misery for the Syrian people and pose the threat of a wider regional conflict.

The Canadian Peace Congress expresses its full solidarity with the Syrian people and their legitimate democratic demands. At the same time, we oppose imperialist interference under any pretext, and we condemn efforts by the United States and its NATO allies to distort humanitarian values to justify their own aggressive and exploitative aims.

We demand that the Canadian government:

*

Immediately withdraw Canadian military forces from Libya and the region;
*

Oppose military intervention in Syria and Iran, under any pretext;
*

Support the peace initiatives of those states and organizations advocating a cease fire and negotiated end to the war;
*

Withdraw from NATO and all other military alliances;
*

Promote progressive reforms at the United Nations, to transform it into a transparent and democratic body.

The Canadian Peace Congress calls for increased mobilizations by peace and progressive forces in Canada, to oppose Canada's military involvement in Libya and to prevent intervention in Syria and Iran.

A large organized movement for a non-interference, and peaceful negotiated settlement can prevent the Harper Conservative government from implementing its wider aggressive war agenda. Such a movement can give voice to the growing opposition among the Canadian people who oppose U.S. and NATO instigated wars, and who demand a new independent Canadian foreign policy of peace, non-intervention and diplomacy in international relations.

-30-



Canadian Peace Congress Executive Council

May 24, 2011

About the Canadian Peace Congress:

The Canadian Peace Congress was formed in 1949 as an organization of Canadian people that works for world peace and disarmament. We maintain that peace, not militarism and war, is the guarantor of democracy, human rights, and social and economic justice. The Congress is affiliated to the World Peace Council and is a founding member of the Canadian Peace Alliance.

For more information on the Canadian Peace Congress, or to join, please contact:

Dave McKee

President, Canadian Peace Congress

dmckee@canadianpeacecongress.ca