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----- Original Message -----
From: "eurodusnie" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2003 11:05 PM
Subject: (en) Resisting the global war (nl)
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> A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
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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.
