Communists unite for Mideast peace

>Archive - PWW Print Edition Archive - 2002 Editions - Oct 12, 2002


 

In a statement initiated by the Tudeh Party of Iran, 34 communist and workers parties around the world, including the Communist Party USA, joined together to demand “an end to all provocations and policies and actions threatening to bring about a military conflict in the Middle East,” and calling on all governments “to abide by the UN resolutions and strictly respect the terms of the UN Charter.”

The statement expresses “profound concern” over the critical situation developing in the Middle East and the danger of a conflagration which would destabilize the entire region. The Bush administration’s stationing of massive U.S. military forces, its provocative and hegemonist statements and its threat to use force to change the region’s political map are endangering peace, the parties warned.

“We are fundamentally opposed to the threats by the U.S. administration to initiate a military conflict against Iraq or any other country in the world under any pretext,” the statement continued. “We believe that change of the dictatorial regime in Iraq and democratization of that country is the sole responsibility of the Iraqi people and their political forces.”

The parties stressed their support of the Palestinian people’s struggle for their national rights, as well as the popular struggles for democracy, human rights and social justice in all countries of the region. They also condemned the use of terror, whether by states or by individuals.

“We believe that the ideals of peace, democracy, human rights and social justice are intrinsically inter-linked,” the statement said. “The movement for world peace and the struggle for human rights and democracy and against occupation and terror are inseparable.”