We need an anti-imperialist peace movement!

[linus nordström <linusno@xxxxxxx>]

a text I found on the swedish comunist party KPMLr's hompage that I found quite 
good.

--
BRUSSELS SEMINAR 
May 2nd-4th 1999 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 KPML(r) - SWEDEN 
Communist Party Marxist-Leninists (revolutionaries) 
We need an anti-imperialist peace movement! 
  
I 
The US-NATO war of aggression on the sovereign nation of Yugoslavia - a 
founding member of the United Nations - has once again proven the truth in the 
Marxist analyses, summarized in the slogan:  
In the era of imperialism, war is inevitable, or, even more bluntly put: 
Imperialism means war. 
On the brink of a new century, we can summarize: During the entire 20th century 
imperialism and monopoly capitalism has committed more atrocities, been engaged 
in larger mass murdering and genocidal wars all over the globe than ever before 
occurred in the history of mankind.  
After the second world war, where Soviet Union and the Soviet people played the 
decisive role in defeating the nazi and fascist powers (both capitalist and 
imperialist powers), socialism was established in a number of countries in 
Europe. As long as this Socialist bloc (Soviet Union and Eastern Europe) 
existed, it, however, prevented the most blatant imperialist atrocities and 
served as a guarantee for peace on the European continent. The almost 50 years 
of peace in Europe was made possible, since US-imperialism and other 
imperialist forces were forced to reckon with and accept the military strength 
of the Socialist bloc. 
So it is clear, that the strength of socialism was the fundamental guarantor of 
peace on this continent, just as the development of nuclear power in the Soviet 
Union saved the world from the horrors of nuclear wars after Hiroshima and 
Nagasaki. Had US imperialism and other imperialist powers had a nuclear arms 
monopoly, undoubtedly these weapons would have been used in the imperialist 
wars, f.i. in Korea and Vietnam.  
In the rest of the world, however, imperialist oppressions and aggressions 
towards peoples striving for independence and freedom has been a constant 
reality. The Korea war, the Vietnam war, the wars against every national 
liberation movement in the anti-colonial struggles in Africa, Asia and Latin 
America bear ample testimony. 
In the imperialist own "home-lands" the struggle against their "own" working 
class and other oppressed stratas, usually took more "subtle" roads. The 
political and economic establishment never, however, hesitated to rely on its 
military and police forces, when workers´ struggles were considered to threaten 
their power and hegemony, or politically radical and revolutionary ideas and 
movements seemed to increase their influence. It is hardly necessary to 
exemplify this - our European history is filled with them, from Greece and 
Italy in the late 40´s, over France, West Germany, Italy, Spain in the 60´s, to 
the coal miners´ strike in Britain in the 80´s etc etc. 
The entire so called cold war period was, from the point of view of the 
imperialist powers, aimed at aggressively containing and fighting the Socialist 
bloc, preventing the spread of socialist ideas into the capitalist West and 
using Social-Democratic parties to politically disarm the bulk of the working 
class and instead imbue them with bourgeois outlooks.  
It did have a certain prize for the capitalists. Small portions of their 
profits (and super-profits from their exploitation of the so called third 
world) were allowed to slide out of their hands into the construction of 
welfare systems and certain social securities. This prize was considered 
worthwhile to maintain political and economic stability and control. 
This on the one side. On the other there was a constant political threat 
against the entire capitalist and imperialist system, with existing examples of 
alternative societies, with planned economy, with no private ownership of 
production etc. The class struggle (even in its reformist forms) of the working 
class in the imperialist countries forced certain retreats. This was also part 
of the prize to pay.  
With the final downfall of the Socialist bloc (Soviet Union and Eastern Europe) 
in 1990-91, monopoly capitalists in the Western world accompanied their 
euphoria with political statements of a "new world order" where conflicts would 
be solved by peaceful means and through negotiations and mutual agreements. 
In reality this really meant that all previous limitations of excersising its 
power of violence, now has vanished. 
Since then we have seen the horrendous Gulf War, the US invasion in Somalia, in 
Haiti, in Bosnia, and now in Yugoslavia. The US imperialism has committed 
atrocities and flagrant terrorist attacks in Libya, in Afghanistan and in 
Sudan. The US imperialism is deeply involved in conflicts in Central Africa; 
commits constant acts of aggression towards the DPR Korea, increases its 
criminal sanctions against Cuba.  
Through NATO the US imperialism is enlarging its military dominance in a number 
of nations, in Europe and outside Europe. Not only have - so far - three more 
nations become NATO members. Including the so called "Partnership for Peace" 
(sic!) NATO embraces more than 40 nations. Even more: NATO has "association 
treaties" and "cooperation agreements" with a number of regimes as far outside 
the official NATO "operation area" as in the Caucasus, Eastern Africa etc.  
NATO involvement in the Caucasus is especially important to observe, as it is 
part of the US imperialist strategy to safe-guard future control of the rich 
oil reserves there. In this context one should also notice that US 
imperialism´s longstanding keen support for the fascist regimes of NATO-brother 
Turkey (US role in the apprehending of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan is but one 
recent and concrete example) is, if possible, further augmented with the plans 
of building pipe-lines from Caucasus through Turkey, and thereby be able to 
deny Russia any future influence or control. Therefore the fascist regimes of 
Turkey have been provided with an ever increasing amount of US arms during the 
1990´s; the top year was 1994-5, corresponding with the massive assaults and 
genocidal offensives on the Kurdish people.  
NATO is today, in effect, the US imperialism´s single most important instrument 
for aggression, coercion and political dominance on a world scale.  
Between the major imperialist blocs (US - European Union - Japan) there are 
growing signs of struggle and competition economically about conquering markets 
and exploit the world resources. The deepening economic crises within monopoly 
capitalism and the neo-liberal market economy globally - the present dispute 
within the WTO is but one small example of a trade war- increase the dangers of 
new wars of aggression. 
The US is the only military super power and the US uses this military 
superiority to strenghten its global self-acclaimed role of "world leadership". 
Even though it is usually disguised under pretexts of defending "democracy", 
"human rights"and even "freedoms", the purpose is simply to establish and 
secure US imperialism´s hegemony. 
The US imperialism´s open contempt for international laws, the United Nations 
(and its charter), international conventions and agreements has been stepped up 
during the 90´s. The recent statement in the US congress, that the US doesn´t 
accept that the UN and the Security Council can intervene with or even have a 
say on "decisions taken by the US and NATO" underlines this. Recent adopted new 
laws in the congress - "NATO Participation" and "NATO facilitation" - means the 
largest re-inforcement of US military resources since the second world war. 
They also clearly point to what the US future strategy is aiming at.  

read teh rest at http://www.kpmlr.o.se/antiimp.html

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