The following article was published in "The Guardian", newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia in its issue of Wednesday, September 13th, 2000. Contact address: 65 Campbell Street, Surry Hills. Sydney. 2010 Australia. Phone: (612) 9212 6855 Fax: (612) 9281 5795. CPA Central Committee: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> "The Guardian": <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Webpage: http://www.cpa.org.au> Subscription rates on request. ****************************** NO! to war Peace ... or a conflict with the real danger of escalating into full blown war. These are the two paths the Israeli Government must now choose from. In the face of world- wide condemnation, with mass demonstrations against Israel's murderous policies of violence and oppression against the Palestinian people, the international community is demanding that it end its bloody onslaught. Throughout the developing conflict the Israeli leaders and the media in Australia, which supports the Israeli Government's policies, have attempted to make the Palestinian victims of the Israeli aggression take the blame for the situation. But it is the stubborn refusal of the Israeli leadership to accept the right of the Palestinian people to statehood with their capital as East Jerusalem, that has led to the present situation. The Israeli Government has also for more than 30 years, refused to comply with UN Security Council resolutions that Israel withdraw from all occupied territories. The death of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy in his father's arms, the killing of a 29-year-old Palestinian man who was nearly decapitated by an Israeli attack helicopter, thousands of wounded and the death toll increasing every day have brought the Middle East's unresolved problems to the present dangerous crisis. In virtually all the Arab capitals, from Morocco to the Gulf, �tens of thousands are marching to show their support for the Palestinians. Daily protest marches and sit-ins have been organised by university students in Egypt. There are protests in Iraq. In Syria over 4,000 protesters stoned the fortified US embassy, scaled the walls and tore down the American flag chanting "Jerusalem is ours, down with America, down with Israel!" Protests have taken place in Sudan, Libya, Morocco and Yemen. Yemen's President called on Arab countries to arm the Palestinians. The Gulf countries have also joined in in supporting the Palestinians and denouncing both the US and Israel. In Saudi Arabia thousands of protesters burnt Israeli and American flags and the Saudi Government, usually a puppet to US policies, has warned Israel about attacking Lebanon and Syria. There are also protests within Israel itself. It was an Israeli peace group which tried to stop community violence against Arabs and called the actions of Zionist youth a "pogrom" against Arabs. The Israeli peace movement is mobilising to stop the carnage. Yesh Gvrul (There is a Limit), a movement inside the Israeli army for soldiers who refuse to serve in the occupied territories, reports that one of its members, Noam Kuzar, a 19-year-old conscript was sentenced to 28 days in a military prison for disobeying orders. The Hadash Knesset faction said in a press release that the only way to stop the uprising was to urgently return to the negotiating table with a new attitude honouring the just national rights of the Palestinian people, including their independent statehood in all hitherto occupied territories, including East Jerusalem. In Sydney last Sunday, 5000 members of the Australian Arab community and supporters joined a protest rally in Hyde Park and then marched to the Israeli Consulate in York Street. Some carried make-shift coffins. Organisers wanted it understood that the march was a march of mourning for the dead who then numbered more than 80. Speakers emphasised that Palestinians were unarmed, yet a fully equipped Israeli army shot indiscriminately at the protesters. Many placards called the Israelis "child killers". This theme was highlighted by the organisers calling the children together to march in a group. �The demonstrators also condemned the US's supportive role for Israel. Security Council meeting The UN Security Council, following an urgent meeting condemned the "excessive use of force" by the Israeli army. This resolution was adopted by 14 votes to nil with the US abstaining. Apparently the US does not think that the use of helicopter gunships, rockets, machine guns, tanks and other heavy military equipment against stone throwing youths is excessive. As the situation deteriorates, frantic diplomatic activities have seen the UN General Secretary, Kofi Annan, Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov, who is already in Gaza, rush to the area. Not to be left out, US Pesident Clinton is reportedly preparing to attend an emergency meeting in Egypt in an attempt to salvage something, anything, from the "peace process" which has turned into a war process. The failure of the Israeli and US negotiators to recognise and accept the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians is responsible for the present crisis. It is a monumental failure of US policies which have, despite soft words from time to time, consistently supported the Zionist policies of Israeli governments, built up Israel militarily and economically, so that Israel could be used against the Arab countries of the Middle East. For a time the Arab countries were divided, but the present crisis has brought them together again. Faced with this crisis the US administration is suddenly realising that their own foreign policy interests are in a shambles and are at stake, including oil supplies from Arab countries. The US administration has not yet issued an order to evacuate its embassies in the Middle East though all of them were closed down over the weekend as a precaution against attacks. Mr Kofi Annan said that "time is short and the stakes are high" must be the understatement of the century. Nothing but the adoption of new and different policies by both Israel and the US will defuse the situation and make it possible for a negotiated settlement to be reached which must recognise the legitimate demand of the Palestinian people to statehood and that East Jerusalem be the new nation's capital. *********************************************************************** Editorial: Stop the campaign of terror against the Palestinian people Statement by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Australia, October 8, 2000 The Communist Party of Australia denounces the latest aggression by Israel which has caused over 80 deaths and thousands of wounded among Palestinian women, men and children. These continued attacks prove that the Zionist regime in Israel is far from genuinely committed to the pursuit of a just peace in the region. The deliberately provocative visit of the leader of the right- wing Likud Party, Ariel Sharon, to the Dome of the Rock/Temple Mount, was the spark that lit the flame of anger among Palestinians, increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress towards a just peace. The calculated and cynical use of deadly force by the Israeli military, with the tacit support of US imperialism, to terrorise the Palestinian population in the occupied territories is a monstrous crime, and cannot be tolerated by the international community. The CPA deplores the actions and atrocities being committed by the Israeli army, most notably, the cold-blooded murder of children like Muhammad Al-Duraa and others whose terrified faces were not caught on video cameras. We denounce the hypocrisy of Israeli government leaders who, while shooting unarmed Palestinians from helicopter gunships, attempt to paint the Palestinians as aggressors and responsible for the violence. The crimes of the Israeli Government and army have, for the first time, brought Palestinians living in Israel into the struggle together with their compatriots in the West Bank and Gaza. This is an indication of the widespread revulsion towards the Israeli Government's war against Palestinians. There have also been demonstrations by Israelis who support a just peace. Military might cannot be an acceptable replacement for negotiation to resolve this long-festering conflict and build a lasting peace. The Communist Party of Australia reaffirms its solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle for self-determination and the formation of an independent state. We support the call for an independent, international investigation into the responsibility of the Israeli Government and army for the killings that have taken place. The Communist Party of Australia insists that a just solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict must culminate in the creation of an independent Palestinian state and the withdrawal of Israeli occupying forces from all occupied territories, including occupied East Jerusalem, as directed by UN Resolution 242. This must also include the release of all political prisoners and the implementation of the "Right of Return" of the Palestinian people who have been dispossessed and forced from their land and homes since 1948. -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
