Stand by Iraq! Stop Bush's Butchery!!

The world is standing on the brink of yet another blatant war of aggression. Butcher Bush has just issued a 48-hour ultimatum to President Saddam Hussein of Iraq to surrender and vacate his seat. True to the tradition of imperialist audacity and hypocrisy, the war declaration is once again presented as a 'promise' of freedom, democracy and progress for the people of Iraq and the entire Middle East. And this is accompanied by similar threats and offers for nations that continue to refuse to fall in line: oppose the war and face the music or join it and share the post-war spoils!

But this time around, the Emperor has been thoroughly disrobed. No amount of inspection has been able to unearth any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The talk of non-cooperation by Iraq has been contradicted by the inspectors themselves. With France, Germany, Russia and China refusing to soften their opposition to the war drive and France reiterating its resolve to veto any resolution to this effect, the butcher brigade of Bush and Blair was never confident of mustering the necessary nine votes in he UN Security Council. Hence the resolution was withdrawn in the face of sure defeat. However much the Anglo-American alliance may try and target France as the spoilsport and the US may express disdain for the 'old' Europe revolving around the Franco-German axis, at the moment it is the US-led 'coalition of the willing' which stands badly isolated in the arena of international politics and diplomacy.

Never before has a war-bound US had to face such a powerful anti-war campaign internationally and also at home. In Britain, where the protests had already found a strong echo in the parliament, the popular anti-war mood found another shot in the arm with the leader of the House of Commons Robin Cook and two other ministers resigning from the British government. More than 200 MPs opposed the latest war vote in British parliament. Never in recent times has the US run into such open challenges in enforcing its unilateral dictates. Without any UN cover and with limited support from a ragtag coalition of traditional partners and ad-hoc allies, Bush now has only the American military might to fall back on. No wonder, the Bush gang is increasingly being described as a fascist clique.

The Anglo-American alliance has more than 250,000-strong troops stationed in the Gulf region. Kuwait alone accounts for nearly half of this huge military deployment - this is the real meaning of 'liberation' of Kuwait, the pretext under which the Gulf War was initiated in 1991. In terms of armaments, the US has stockpiled thousands of precision-guided missiles and bombs which, according to military analysts, could be launched at a rate of 63 per hour for the first 48 hours. The US has its plans ready for a swift victory, but if history is any guide, such precise plans and calculations could indeed go awry and the US could be made to pay a heavy price for this massive military expedition.

The Iraqi people have suffered enormously. Apart from the huge casualties imposed by the war itself, half a million children are estimated to have died as a result of the economic sanctions in force for the last 12 years. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at least thirty per cent of children under 5 in Iraq "would be at risk of death from malnutrition" in the event of a war. Then there are World Food Programme estimates which predict that "approximately 10 million people ... would be highly food insecure, displaced or directly affected by military action". But we must not forget that the Iraqi people have been facing this misery with a historic spirit of resistance and defiance. The anti-war movement has bolstered the morale of the Iraqi people and while Bush has his eyes on Iraq's fabled oil reserves, he may well have to regret underestimating Iraq's stubborn spirit of survival and defiance.

The anti-war movement has had a major success so far in terms of disrobing the emperor and limiting the freedom of the Bush bandwagon. Now with the war set to begin any moment, the need of the hour is more of anti-war action - bold, clear and innovative. If the movement could succeed in energising millions of people in active protests before the war actually started, many more millions can be mobilised now when the horror of this most unjust and unilateral war of recent times comes home in every corner of the world.

Anti War Marches Held all over the Country
Millions Demonstrate Worldwide Against War on Iraq

On March 15 peace marches against war on Iraq took place in more than 2,000 cities in 98 countries. Marches of 100,000 each in Washington and San Francisco and 50,000 in Los Angeles took place in the driving rain, which demonstrated massive emergency anti-war mobilisations called on short notice by the ANSWER Coalition and many other organisations.

The demonstrators, from throughout the country and across the ideological spectrum, waved flags and placards and chanted slogans like "Send our troops home" and "No Blood for Oil." Speakers at the S.F. rally included former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, actors Danny Glover and Martin Sheen, Hari Dillon of the Vanguard Foundation, Gloria La Riva of the International ANSWER Coalition, Father Bill O'Donnell and representatives of many other labor, religious and community groups. Among those assembled today is a group calling themselves Veterans for Peace, which represents former U.S. military members now opposing a war with Iraq.

With cities around the world responding to the call for emergency actions, March 15 was an urgent and critical day of global anti-war protest, as millions of people turned out to demonstrate against Bush's rush to war. Tens of thousands turned out in several cities of Japan, India , Yemen, Germany, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Thailand, South Korea, Palestine and many other cities and countries -- one day after millions of European workers conducted work stoppages to protest the war. In France, 150,000 marched chanting "Drop Bush, Not Bombs". "To those who want to bomb the world, the world says: Resistance," read a banner. In Germany more than 100,000 people came out in Berlin, lit candles and held hands, forming a "chain of lights" to protest against war. 40,000 marched in Brussels. In Canada, a major centre of protest, around 2,50000 people assembled in Montreal, which was the biggest demonstration in the history of Canada. March was also brought out in Toronto.

A highlight of the Washington demonstration was the crowd's enthusiastic response to former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark's speech about his campaign to impeach President George W. Bush for planning to fight a war of aggression against Iraq. The Washington demonstration surrounded the White House and Justice Department, taking up more than 20 city blocks. The crowd completely filled the 10-lane Pennsylvania Avenue, with demonstrators marching shoulder to shoulder in a turnout that surpassed rally organizers' expectations.

While in India, against this intensifying US aggression on Iraq, various Left and democratic organisations including CPI(ML), CPI, CPI(M), various M-L groups, AIPRF, Socialist Front, Majlis-e-Mushawarat etc. formed a 'human chain' on Barakhamba Road at Mandi House in New Delhi on March 15 under the banner "Committee against War on Iraq". A wide range of left and democratic individuals and prominent personalities also joined the human chain.

The CPI(ML) and all its affiliated organisations held nation wide anti-war protests on March 15 in all major centres including Patna, Ranchi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, Jaipur, Chennai, Port Blair and many other cities and district headquarters in the country. CPI(ML) General Secretary led a demonstration in Patna while in Delhi, Central Committee members Swapan Mukherjee, Brij Bihari Pandey, Rajendra Pratholi and Prabhat Kumar participated in the human chain.

Chanting slogans 'No war against Iraq', 'No truck with Bush gang', thousands of CPI(ML) supporters and citizens led by Party General Secretary Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya marched on the streets of Patna, capital of Bihar, and burnt the effigy of the US president 'Imperialist Bush'. They assembled at Gandhi Maidan, Patna with banners and posters "No war for oil", "Peace, and not War", "Bush-Blair - Axis of Evil, down, down", "US Imperialism will be burried in the soil of Asia", "Atal Bihari, don't acquiesce to Bush", from where they took out the anti-war march. The procession reached Railway Station after covering a 2-km stretch and then a 30-ft effigy of Bush was burnt. A protest meeting was held there addressed by Comrade Dipankar, prominent intellectuals Shankar Sharan, Arshad Azmal and Rupesh Kumar of Bihar Lok Samiti.

Addressing the anti-war meeting Dipankar Bhattacharya said that imperialist Bush has been surrounded from all sides. Lakhs of people have encircled the White House today and crores of citizens throughout the world have taken to streets against his warmongering. He said that the allegation on Iraq of possessing weapons of mass destruction is fit more for USA, which has already destroyed and devastated a number of countries including Viet Nam, killing millions of children, women and innocent citizens. He said that Atal Bihari Govt. has in the name of pursuing middle path sided with the conspiracy to destroy Iraq. But we, the heirs of Bhagat Singh, will never tolerate this, which we consider an attack on the Third World. We will not allow blood for oil and held that American domination on oil is detrimental to the interests of India. The treacherous BJP-led central govt. is overlooking national interests in siding with Bush. He asserted that in the event of war the protest will take the whole country in its fold and crores of people will come down to streets to make it a 'people's war' against the US aggressors.

In various district centers and blocks of the state including Arrah, Nawadah, Muzaffarpur, Jahanabad, Aurangabad, Samastipur, Arwal, Biharsharief, etc. CPI(ML) organised protest marches. Thousands of workers, peasants and people from other walks of life participated in the march and pledged to give a fitting rebuff to American bossism.

In Chennai, along with Thiruvallur and Kanchipuram comrades around 150 assembled. In the demonstration SUCI also participated.

In Trichy, Party Central Committee member and State Secretary Balasundram led the protest demonstration. In Madurai and Erode similar demonstrations were held. In Thirunelvelli, Party CCM and AICCTU President S. Kumarasamy led the demonstration.

In Andhra Pradesh, anti War Rallies were held on at different places in the State according to the Party's Central call. In Kakinada, a protest march led by Comrades N. Murthy, Andhra Party State Secretary and B. Bangar Rao, Central Committee member, opposing Bush-Blair war threats on Iraq marched the streets covering 4 Kms. It was concluded at the heart of the Town where the effigy of Bush was burnt. Protest marches were also taken out and effigies were burnt in Vissannapeta, a mandal town of Krishna District, Payaka Rao Peta, a mandal headquarter of Visakha district, and Jangareddygudem of West Godavari district.

In Assam, in accordance with the call of the Party Central Committee, the Assam State Committee took out a protest march against war in Guwahati on 15 March. Leaders and cadres of different mass organisations along with other people started a march from the District Library and after covering the main areas of the city it was concluded at Latasil play ground near Guwahati High Court where a protest meeting was held. ASDC(P), AICCTU, AIPWA, KSA, Sadou Asom Janasanskritik Parishad and other workers' organisations took part in the procession and Party State Secretary Rubul Sarma spoke in the meeting.

The CPI(ML) also took out an anti-war march in Lucknow. It was led by State Party Secretary Akhilendra Pratap Singh, Dr Rooprekha Verma, ex-VC of Lucknow University, MK Sherwani, president of All India Muslim Forum, Ajay Singh, General Secretary of JSM, Lalbahadur Singh, General Secretary of RYA and ex-President, Allahabad University Students' Union, Dr Brij Bihari, General Secretary of PUHR, Tahira Khan, Secretary of Disha Mahila Kalyan, socialist activist Bhagwati Singh, COI(ML) leader Dr Shabbar Hussein and many others. Starting from Parivartan Chowk, the march culminated in a meeting at GPO Park. Addressing the meet Com. Akhilendra said that opposing American war threat is necessary to protect the sovereignty of Third World countries including India. Similar marches were also held at Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Ballia and other district centers.

In West Bengal, protest march was organised in Kolkata jointly with 8-party morcha which was led by PBM and State Secretary Kartik Pal. Protest marches were organised in Bardhaman, Krishnanagar, Beharampur, Raiganj, Jalpaiguri, Bakra and other places.

In Bhilai of Durg district, various organisations including CPI(ML), SUCI, Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, Forum in Defence of Religious Freedom and Democracy expressed solidarity with the worldwide protest movement against US war on Iraq and sent a memorandum to the Prime Minister of India urging him to step up diplomatic efforts to stop war and refrain from helping US in any way.

Apart from Ranchi, an anti-war protest march was taken out in Giridih. Effigy of Bush was also burnt in Bagodar, Birni and Rajdhanwar and Koderma. In Giridih town, where the atmoshphere was vitiated due to conspiracy of a communal riot centring Muharram, the march was widely greeted.

In Pondicherry, around 150 workers, 50 of them women, brought out an anti-war demonstration. In Karnal, Haryana, CPI(ML) activists took out a procession and burnt the effigy of President Bush.

US imperialism, the number one global enemy of the world people, has unleashed a vicious military-political onslaught on the entire world, the third world in particular, in the name of the so-called global war on terror. The economic offensive of imperialism has also intensified under the banner of globalisation. Imperialist ideologues seek to legitimise war and racism by demonising Islam and invoking the dubious concept of clash of civilisations. We reject this demonisation of Islam and this racist theory of clash of civilisations and instead focus on the underlying reality of sharpening contradiction between imperialism and the third world and between capital and labour all over the world, including the advanced capitalist countries. We stand for strengthening the international communist movement as the leading current within the worldwide anti-war anti-globalisation awakening. To this end we will have to step up our own anti-imperialist role and develop ties of solidarity and cooperation with all positive forces in the internaional Left and anti-imperialist movement with special emphasis on the South Asian Left and on progressive sections in the Indian diaspora.

[From the Political-Organisational Report of the CPI(ML)]

HIS MASTER'S VOICE

"... the United Nations Security Council has not lived upto its responsibilities. So we will rise to ours." "... some permanent members of the Security Council have publicly announced that they will veto any resolution that compels the disarmament of Iraq."

-- George W. Bush, March 18, 2003, morning.

"India is "deeply disappointed" at the United Nations Security Council's inability to "act collectively", specially the failure of the permanent members to "harmonise their positions" on Iraq."

-- Statement by the Vajpayee govt., March 18, 2003, noon. [Though the statement was issued after Bush's speech, there was no reference to the US by name or on the impending military action by the US against Iraq or to the "ultimatum" issued to Saddam Hussein and his sons to leave Iraq.]

Letter from Iraqi Ambassador

At the occasion of his "urgent departure", Mr. Salah Al-Mukhtar, the Ambassador of Iraq to India, has written in a letter to CPI(ML): "I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation for your noble support to Iraq and its just cause and all whatever you have presented in such field. I wish success to you and prosperity, progress to India."

AISA-RYA Campaign Against Aggressive Saffron Fascist Schemes

Intensifying the campaign against aggressive saffronisation schemes, AISA and RYA have decided to launch a campaign from 23 to 31 March in almost all prominent centres and campuses in the country. Thousands of students and youth commemorating Bhagat Singh and Chandra Shekhar for their legacy of anti-imperialist and secular nationalism. The campaign beginning from 23 March, the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, will culminate on 31 March, the martyrdom day of comrades Chandra Shekhar and Shyam Narain Yadav. As part of the campaign, a parallel 'Student-Youth Assembly' has been called on March 24 at Patna, a 'Student Youth Convention' will be held at Lucknow on March 23 and a massive 'Sankalp Sabha' will be held in Siwan on 31 March. In Delhi, AISA and RYA will hold a 'People's Convention' to demand punishment for the killers of people's movement leaders. AISA and RYA have also given a call of Student-Youth March to the Residency in Lucknow on 10 May to demand that the Residency in Lucknow be dedicated to the memory of the martyrs of 1857.

Massive Dharna at Bengabad in Jharkhand

On 10March, CPI(ML) staged a dharna at Bengabad Block of Giridih district in Jharkhand centring on 47-point charter of demands related to local people's problems. Participated in by people in hundreds, a sizeable proportion of them being women, this was the first-ever dharna by CPI(ML) in this block. Worth mentioning is the fact that very recently activists from JMM, Lok Shakti, MCC, CPI and even BJP have joined CPI(ML). The dharna was led by Salim Ansari, Block Party Secretry and other leaders and it was addressed by Com. Ibnul Hasan, Party Central Committee member. A memorandum was also submitted to the DC.

Another militant dharna was staged by CPI(ML) at Gawan Block on the same day on various issues related to local people. It was led by Com. Nageshwar Yadav and others.

Workers' Demonstration in Andaman

The Andaman and Nicobar Committee of AICCTU held a demonstration in Port Blair on 26 February and gheraoed the Secretariat Building Complex by forming a 'human chain'. Around a thousand workers participated in the human chain which was held to protest the anti-working class policies of Vajpayee government.

More on International Women's Day

On March 8, more than 450 women gathered in a convention held at Tambaram of Kachipuram (A sub-urban center near Chennai) before which they held a march chanting anti-war slogans. The convention was presided over by Usha, District Co-Convener of AIPWA, who condemned war designs of USA and also criticised the half-hearted approach of NDA government regarding women reservation bill. She also exposed the anti-women policies of chief minister Jayalalita, a women herself.

South Asian Women Conference in Britain

The first national conference of South Asian women in Britain "Sapne, Sawal aur Larai" (Dreams, Questions and Struggles) was held in London on 7, 8 and 9 March 2003. Organised by a coalition of Asian women's groups 'Asian Women Unite!', it brought together more 200 South Asian women from across the country.

"We condemn Bush and Blair's drive to war on Iraq - we know that it will have a devastating effect on women in Iraq who have already faced the onslaught of ten years of sanctions and undeclared war. We also condemn the government's use of the so-called war on terror to legitimise an upsurge in state racism." saying this, the conference resolved "to build Asian women's participation in the Anti-war movement".

The resolution condemned the activities of communal, sectarian and fascist forces which are fomenting hatred and violence in the countries of South Asia and dividing South Asian communities in UK. "We resolve to oppose all fundraising in Britain for such forces. We support the demands of women's organisations in India campaigning to bring the perpetrators of the Gujarat genocide to justice and for safety, security and legal redress for the victims... We resolve to campaign for the derecognition of the HSS/ Sewa International and VHP(UK) as registered charities and expose the communal and anti-women activities of these organisations." it said.

The conference demanded well-funded comprehensive education for children and expressed concern about the level of racism in schools, particularly the rise of anti-Muslim racism. "We distrust the government's proposals on increasing the number of single faith schools and are particularly concerned about the way these will reinforce patriarchal power in our communities and transfer control over education to religious institutions and bodies."

On domestic violence the resolution demanded that the probationary period be abolished and women be informed about their rights. it also demanded repeal of the rules on 'no recourse to public funds'. The conference resolved to share experiences and instances of good practice and further early interventative and preventative work as a means to empowering, educating and supporting young women. It also resolved to build a network in every town and city and access to feminist barristers, to arm women with knowledge of their rights in the context of family law. The conference resolved to take a series of measures to make women conscious of their women's rights at places of work and to lobby for more positive action programmes enabling Asian women to access employment.