Neue VeranstaltungshinweiseEs wurden keine neuen Veranstaltungshinweise in der letzten Woche veröffentlicht Kommende VeranstaltungenMashriq / Arabia / Iraq | Imperialism / War Keine kommenden Veranstaltungen veröffentlicht Internationalist Manifesto Against the War 07:38 Apr 15 27 comments War and Anarchists: Anti-Authoritarian Perspectives in Ukraine 19:25 Feb 22 12 comments We condemn the Turkish state attack and invasion of the Iraqi Kurdistan 07:12 Jun 26 6 comments A Dirty Military Incursion into Venezuela 23:20 May 11 10 comments US refusal to withdraw troops from Iraq is a breach of international law 22:27 Feb 08 2 comments mehr >> |
Recent articles by Paul Bowman
German elections to open new season of Eurocrisis show 0 comments Brazilian anarchism interview on the Crisis, World Cup, Especifismo 0 comments Cipro: Grand Theft Euro 0 comments Recent Articles about Mashriq / Arabia / Iraq Imperialism / WarResist Genocide Oct 14 23 Résister au génocide Oct 14 23 La révolution du Rojava a défendu le monde, maintenant le monde doit d... Jan 09 22 Gaza: Against passivity in the face of the spectacle of slaughter
mashriq / arabia / iraq |
imperialism / war |
opinion / analysis
Friday February 06, 2009 21:05 by Paul Bowman - WSM (personal capacity)
A personal view from a wsm member on the recent slaughter in Gaza. Slaughter in Gaza. It's in the papers, on the radio, on the TV news. We stare numbed at the images of horror while eating our dinner. And then the spokespeople, one after another. Hamas are blaming Israel. Israel and the US are blaming Hamas. The Europeans and the rest of the world are blaming the US. One one thing they are all agreed, it's not their fault, the blood is on somebody else's hands. Meanwhile bloodied parents stagger through the streets of Gaza bearing the shattered bodies of their children. But what can we do? We can turn our head away, change the channel. We can say that, after all, it's nothing to do with us, that we have enough to worry about whether we're going to still have a job next month. Or we can do something different - refuse. Refuse to be stunned into passivity by the spectacle of horror. Refuse to be fobbed off with lies and half-truths. Reach out and find others who are refusing too, both here and in the middle east, so that together, one day, we will be able, together, to find a way to make it stop. The BackgroundThe Palestinian people's history of suffering and injustice goes back 60 years, but the background to the immediate crisis is the elections held in Palestinian territories two years ago, which were won by Hamas. After agitation by Israel a brief but bloody struggle between Fatah and Hamas left the strip in Hamas hands. Since then the whole of the land and sea border of the Gaza strip has been sealed off by the Israeli state, preventing nearly all goods and people going in or out. This act has transformed Gaza into a giant prison camp where ordinary people are starved of jobs, electricity, heating fuel, clean water and all the necessities of life. The blockade is a crime against humanity committed against the Palestinians of Gaza for the last 2 years with the tacit support of the West, including the EU and Ireland.In the last 6 months there has been an uneasy truce between the Hamas administration in Gaza and the Israeli government. However the Israeli army broke this truce on 4 November, the night of the US election, and again a week or so later. Even so, Hamas announced the truce could be extended if the blockade could be lifted to stop the choking of the people of Gaza. This the Israeli government refused to do, prefering the resumption of Hamas rocket attacks, which would serve as a pretext for this war. Election timeThe reason for the current onslaught beginning now is the Feb 10 general election in Israel and the current government being behind in the polls. Cynically, they believe that if they can show the Israeli voters that they're getting tough with Hamas, they can boost their poll ratings enough to win again. This is why they did not want to renew the ceasefire. Although the ceasefire officially ended only on December 18, Israeli soldiers interviewed on TV, cheerfully admit they had been training for this invasion for months.Power GamesThe EU leaders tut about the slaughter and make hypocritical calls for an immediate ceasefire they, and everybody else, expect to be ignored. To the public they claim that they are helpless as long as the US supports Israeli aggression. In fact, the EU has supported the criminal siege of the Palestinians of Gaza from the start. After the election of Hamas, all EU aid to support the reconstruction of shattered Palestinian economy was suspended. EU companies sell arms to the Israeli army with the support of their governments. This December the EU foreign ministers, including Ireland, agreed to set up a "privileged partnership" programme letting Israel join many of the EU's economic and social programmes.Caught in the middleThe Palestinians of Gaza are caught between the power games being played by the US and the EU against their regional opponents such as Iran and Syria, who are equally cynical in their arming of groups like Hamas so a dirty proxy war can be fought away from their borders. Locally, the Hamas commanders know that despite losing fighters to Israeli strikes, the more innocent civilians are killed, the more their potential pool of volunteers grows. So the political rulers on both sides see the conflict as an opportunity to increase their power. Only the ordinary Palestinian workers themselves have no hope of gaining anything, and it is their suffering that pays for all.Refusing to serveIsrael's military machine relies on universal military service for both young men and women. Yet, increasingly, young people are refusing to serve. Although small numbers make a political point of public refusal and serving a short term of imprisonment, yet many more, up to 30% of young conscripts, are taking the easier route of refusal by evading conscription.On the other side of the fence, Palestinian villagers are refusing to leave the struggle for their land and against the construction of the illegal "security" wall, to the corrupt and parasitic gunmen of Fatah or Hamas, and are organising their own struggles directly. In some areas they are being aided by the solidarity of groups of young Israeli activists such as Anarchists Against The Wall. It is in these small beginnings of refusal to serve the ruling classes or cabals, refusal of sectarian and racist divides and refusal of helplessness and passivity that the seeds of an alternative are being sown. And here in Ireland, we who refuse to ignore the suffering and injustice, must do our bit to help them by demonstrating our opposition to the slaughter of ordinary Palestinian people Immediate Demands:* Ceasefire Now! Stop the bombings and the armoured assault* Lift the seige! End the criminal blockade and collective punishment of the people of Gaza. |
HauptseiteSupport Sudanese anarchists in exile Joint Statement of European Anarchist Organizations International anarchist call for solidarity: Earthquake in Turkey, Syria and Kurdistan Elements of Anarchist Theory and Strategy 19 de Julio: Cuando el pueblo se levanta, escribe la historia International anarchist solidarity against Turkish state repression Declaración Anarquista Internacional por el Primero de Mayo, 2022 Le vieux monde opprime les femmes et les minorités de genre. Leur force le détruira ! Against Militarism and War: For self-organised struggle and social revolution Declaração anarquista internacional sobre a pandemia da Covid-19 Anarchist Theory and History in Global Perspective Capitalism, Anti-Capitalism and Popular Organisation [Booklet] Reflexiones sobre la situación de Afganistán South Africa: Historic rupture or warring brothers again? Death or Renewal: Is the Climate Crisis the Final Crisis? Gleichheit und Freiheit stehen nicht zur Debatte! Contre la guerre au Kurdistan irakien, contre la traîtrise du PDK Meurtre de Clément Méric : l’enjeu politique du procès en appel Mashriq / Arabia / Iraq | Imperialism / War | en Fri 19 Apr, 21:36 The Rojava Revolution defended the world, now the world will defend the Rojava Revolution! 23:48 Wed 05 Jan 8 comments Embargo, cutting off water sources and air strikes against civilians have been some of the war crimes committed by the fascist Turkish state throughout this year against the revolution in Rojava. Defend Kurdistan : statement for the international delegation 04:38 Fri 18 Jun 0 comments The UCL participated in the European delegation to observe the Turkish war crimes in Iraqi Kurdistan. DEFEND KURDISTAN Against Turkish Occupation 04:28 Fri 18 Jun 0 comments We – nearly 150 politicians, human rights advocates, journalists, academics, members of parliaments, political activists, ecologists, and feminists from all over Europe – have been closely following the dangerous developments resulting from Turkey’s attacks on South Kurdistan (North Iraq) since the 23rd of April 2021. As a result, we have gathered in Erbil today and decided that we must speak out. Freedom for Palestine! 20:02 Fri 14 May 0 comments Only solidarity between the oppressed people of Palestine and the working classes of the world can end the occupation. We call on the international anarchist movement and all working-class rebels to join us in denouncing the Israeli occupation of Palestine and supporting resistance to it. An account on the current events in Palestine 19:50 Wed 12 May 2 comments Last night have shown the result of the accumulation of anger of the youth who are the main victims of the COVID-19 pandemic and crisis. There is a much increase of unemployment which brought the increase of pressure on Palestinians in Jerusalem and the multiethnic cities within Israel, as well as the intensity of police brutality in order to suppress the rallies and other mobilisations. We condemn the Turkish state attack and invasion of the Iraqi Kurdistan 22:46 Thu 25 Jun 0 comments The support and solidarity with innocent people can be done in different ways. It can be through launching complaints, expressing anger and frustration, protests, and demonstrations. The best kind of support and solidarity is boycotting all the goods that are made in Turkey and by Turkish companies wherever they are. Boycotting its media, universities, language colleges and stopping holiday bookings to Turkey. While Turkey has got so many interests in Iraqi Kurdistan the boycott is very effective. Turkey has hundreds of companies plus colleges, shops, factories there, and it is the main country for Kurdish holiday makers. In short Iraqi Kurdistan is one of the main market for the Turkish capitalists and the others. Boycotting Turkey and the Turkish goods can also put pressure on the Kurdistan Reginal Government, KRG, Iraq and the foreign companies to meet people’s demand. Solidarity with Rojava facing war and a global pandemic! 01:27 Sat 18 Apr 0 comments COVID-19, which has quarantined an innumerable number of cities and has paralyzed entire economic sectors, has not yet stopped the continuous dirty war by Turkey and its ally Daesh against the people of the northern region of Syria, who have had to continue to defend themselves without any truce. DAF's statement on Syria War and Refugee Crisis of the State 17:22 Tue 03 Mar 0 comments The long-awaited developments began to happen In Idlib where is the last point of the war and also the last point of the djihadist gangs supported by TAF were stucked. The troops of the TAF were attacked by aerial strike on the night of 27 February to 28 -shortly before the “ultimatum” that T.C gave to the Syrian Army to withdraw from the places it took in Idlip- According to official figures, 34 soldiers died as a result of this airstrike, It was carried out by Syria according to T.C sources. Our solidarity outside of Turkey and Syria is continual boycott of the Turkish Products and Tourism 19:16 Tue 22 Oct 0 comments We are against the war, but we support and defending people against the attacks that they face. We offer our solidarity towards those facing invasion and repression. Solidarity With People In Rojava, Denouncing Turkish State And United States Allies 02:00 Fri 11 Oct 0 comments
The struggle for Palestine Jul 14 0 comments The Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group’s solution to the oppression of the Palestinians is the same as for oppression everywhere. The problems of capitalism can only be solved by workers’ revolution.In Palestine, that means defeating Zionism and replacing it with the No State Solution, a society of libertarian communism that operates on the basis of consistent federalism. Rojava after Rojava Dec 27 0 comments Turkey’s attack on Rojava forced the SDF to choose between its own survival and protecting Kurdish territories, putting the future of the revolution at risk. Requiem for Rojava Dec 21 0 comments The announcement of Trump that the US would immediately stop aerial bombardments and withdraw their diplomatic personnel, while their troops would all withdraw within 3 months, officially signalled the end of the Syrian war, a war which has been portrayed as a “civil war” but one in which all of the world participated. While major powers, such as Russia, France, the UK, and the US, and regional powers such as Iran, Israel and Turkey participated directly, they had their Syrian proxies to fight against one another. The conflict, in the first place, wouldn’t have erupted without the decisive funding and support given by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey and Jordan to a frightful collection of armed jihadist lunatics. The Saudi-Kurdish love affair Dec 07 0 comments As everyone watches in horror and disbelief the unparalleled Saudi atrocities in Yemen and the unspeakable barbaric assassination of the journalist Jamal Kashoggi, the Saudi royals are increasingly isolated in the world. However, in the Middle East, they have made new friends: the Kurdish of Syria. The battle of Idlib Province in Syria is decisive and crucial for the future of Rojava Sep 08 0 comments This article is a brief analysing of the future of Rojava in Syria in Line with the attack of Assad’s forces on Idlib’s Province . The battle of Idlib can be a crucial one for all sides who are involve especially for the regime and the Kurdish in Rojava . There are few scenarios that the Kurdish forces there and its self rule administration are facing . There is also a strong possibility after this battle the Kurdish question there can be on the top of Assad and Russia’s agenda to be resolved either way. more >>The Rojava Revolution defended the world, now the world will defend the Rojava Revolution! Jan 05 8 comments Embargo, cutting off water sources and air strikes against civilians have been some of the war crimes committed by the fascist Turkish state throughout this year against the revolution in Rojava. Defend Kurdistan : statement for the international delegation Jun 18 0 comments The UCL participated in the European delegation to observe the Turkish war crimes in Iraqi Kurdistan. DEFEND KURDISTAN Against Turkish Occupation Jun 18 0 comments We – nearly 150 politicians, human rights advocates, journalists, academics, members of parliaments, political activists, ecologists, and feminists from all over Europe – have been closely following the dangerous developments resulting from Turkey’s attacks on South Kurdistan (North Iraq) since the 23rd of April 2021. As a result, we have gathered in Erbil today and decided that we must speak out. Freedom for Palestine! May 14 0 comments Only solidarity between the oppressed people of Palestine and the working classes of the world can end the occupation. We call on the international anarchist movement and all working-class rebels to join us in denouncing the Israeli occupation of Palestine and supporting resistance to it. We condemn the Turkish state attack and invasion of the Iraqi Kurdistan Jun 25 0 comments The support and solidarity with innocent people can be done in different ways. It can be through launching complaints, expressing anger and frustration, protests, and demonstrations. The best kind of support and solidarity is boycotting all the goods that are made in Turkey and by Turkish companies wherever they are. Boycotting its media, universities, language colleges and stopping holiday bookings to Turkey. While Turkey has got so many interests in Iraqi Kurdistan the boycott is very effective. Turkey has hundreds of companies plus colleges, shops, factories there, and it is the main country for Kurdish holiday makers. In short Iraqi Kurdistan is one of the main market for the Turkish capitalists and the others. Boycotting Turkey and the Turkish goods can also put pressure on the Kurdistan Reginal Government, KRG, Iraq and the foreign companies to meet people’s demand. more >> |