A-Infos (en) Resisting the global war

[Eurodusnie <info@eurodusnie.nl>]

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Resisting the global war
The war against Iraq has started. The war engine is moving again. Human 
beings are being killed and others are destined to be disabled for the rest 
of their lives. Others will die of hunger or lack of medicines. Daily we 
hear in the news about the inevitability of war. The United States and its 
'coalition of the willing' are trying to persuade us that it is a war 
against tyranny and for peace and democracy. However, the story is 
different and more complicated than that. Let's try to unravel the story?

Why is the war happening?
The control of oil areas has always been an important issue and Iraq in 
particular and the Middle East in general are rich in oil. So many 
different interests conflict and this can partially explain the situation. 
It seems to be the case that this war is part of the nature of the system. 
After the 11th of September and the 'war against terrorism' the United 
States threatened a list of countries with an attack. Afghanistan was just 
the beginning in this new series of wars, with possibly Iran and North 
Korea as the next targets. It is sick to see how the war is boosting the 
economy. The stock markets went up directly after the United States blew up 
the United Nation process and the last chance for a peaceful solution.

Results of war!
The results of war are going to be disastrous. Human lives will be 
sacrificed, and we should not only think of the number of Iraqis that will 
die. We should also think of those who will be disabled and the future kids 
that will be born with diseases because of the polluted earth, like the 
people in the Balkans who are still suffering from the NATO bombings in 
1999. Due to the use of depleted uranium the number of people dying of 
cancer has amazingly increased. The war will not leave the environment 
unaffected. The air, the sea and the ground will be polluted because of the 
new weapons that are going to be used and 'tested'. One might think but 
this is happening too far away, how is my life going to be affected? All 
our lives will be affected, as oppression and exploitation will escalate. 
European Governments have already used September the 11th in order to have 
more laws 'against terrorism' which are frequently translated into laws 
against civil liberties, against demonstrations and strikes.

Is the US bad and the EU good?
Despite the attempts of European leaders to persuade us of the opposite, it 
is a fact that European countries are participating in the war against 
Iraq. European war industries have sold weapons to Iraq, and of course 
European governments and oil companies are also interested in control of 
the oil of the area. The German Prime Minister Schroeder might initially 
have opposed a war scenario, but he also made it clear that if the war 
comes, then Europe should support the US led coalition. The Dutch 
government is taking a similar stance. Moreover, it is European army forces 
that are replacing the American ones in the Balkans and Afghanistan, so 
that the latter can move on to the Gulf area. British forces have already 
been sent to the Gulf, Greek and Dutch warships are patrolling the area. 
The Spanish government has stated that any Spanish man could be send to 
war, since the professional army is understaffed. The Dutch government is 
letting the United States use Schiphol airport, the port of Rotterdam and 
the railway. So it is more than obvious that the European governments are 
participating in the war despite the majority of people opposing a war.

Is it a war for democracy?
The United States and its 'coalition of the willing' are trying to persuade 
us that the war against Iraq is a justified one. They refer to 
International Law, but international law is nothing but what the powerful 
capitalist states want it to be. They talk about the United Nations, but 
again this is nothing but an arena for them to work out how war and peace 
will be imposed, how 'the loot' will be divided. This war makes more clear 
than ever that international politics is a market place. Rich countries are 
openly buying support instead of using arguments. Is this the democracy, 
they say they defend?

How can we stop the war?
Now that the war has started, what can we do to turn the tide towards a 
peaceful and sustainable future? We suggest direct action, since 
parliamentary ways obviously do not help and parliamentary democracy has 
turned out to be a fraud. There are already courageous groups and 
individuals employing direct action at military bases, but each of us 
should do something every day and at every level. What is required is 
direct action involving tens, hundreds or thousands of people. Of course, 
we can't all spend our days protesting, but we can all make a real 
difference in the towns and neighbourhoods where we live, in the places 
where we work, in the universities, at school, everywhere. We can sabotage 
the war by demonstrating and being on strike, but we can also make a 
difference by being politically disobedient and organising ourselves 
outside of the boundaries set by parliamentary democracy. We cannot stop 
the war by protesting alone, we have to organise our lives without the 
political and economical elite, without the institutions they have created 
in order to legitimise their power. Therefore, let us get organised for a 
direct democratic alternative in the here and now. Let's take to the 
streets to prevent war but also retake our lives in the process.

Global workgroup from the Eurodusnie collective PO Box 2228, 2301 CE Leiden 
in The Netherlands
Telephone ++ 31 (0) 71 5173019 email: infopgaconferentie@eurodusnie.nl 
website: http://eurodusnie.nl

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