************************************** WORLD PEACE COUNCIL 10 Othonos Str, 10557 Athens Greece Tel.: +30-210-3316326, Fax: +30-210-3224302 http://www.wpc-in.org , e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] **************************************
Declaration of The Assembly of The WPC Athens, May 6-9, 2004 ============================================= The Assembly of the World Peace Council was successfully held on May 6-9, 2004 in Athens, Greece, with the participation of 134 delegates from 62 Organisations from 47 countries. After a rich and very fruitful discussion the participants of the Assembly concluded with the following declaration to the peoples of the world: The developments that have taken place since the last WPC Assembly in May of 2000 have been ones of particular significance and have given rise to a situation which is crucial for humanity, one marked by the intensity of the increased aggressiveness of the world strategy of the USA as it strives to impose and consolidate the new world order of war and oppression. At the same time day by day it faces increasing political isolation deriving from its arbitrary and unilateral acts of violation of human and peoples' rights. Humanity is alarmed by the developments regarding world peace and security in recent years. Never before in recent history have the peoples stood up and organized such huge protests in the anti-war movement as those against the imperialist war of the US and its allies on Iraq. There is a growing worldwide trend towards peace. The WPC has been and is strongly involved in this movement through its members and friendly organizations, together with millions of people on all continents and in all corners of the world. The terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York and on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 was used as a pretext for an overall offensive to be launched on the peoples and countries of the world in all sectors. The announcement of the so-called counter-terrorist campaign by the USA, with the support of its allies, serves many purposes and has been used in order to unleash two new wars, against Afghanistan and Iraq and to target many countries that resist US domination or do not align themselves with it. The WPC condemns terrorist acts, including the ones, which are acts of state terrorism. Those to blame for these acts should be brought to justice. The hypocritical and militaristic approach of the USA and the EU on this issue cannot eliminate the causes of such phenomena. Causes like the poverty and underdevelopment of the majority of the world's population, the exploitation and plunder of the natural resources of the third world by multinational corporations, the accumulated injustice and oppression of peoples for decades, are factors which are being used, often by criminal elements which the USA itself has recruited, trained and financed, for actions which do not have the slightest relation to the fight of the peoples for their freedom and national sovereignty, which we firmly defend. At the same time basic principles of international law and the Founding Charter of the UN, are being flagrantly violated. The new doctrine is "might makes right". Through the new doctrine NATO reserves its rights, to intervene on a global scale wherever their interests are allegedly at stake. In this framework a series of positive international conventions and accords signed in the past few years are being abrogated. The goal is, on the one hand, to accelerate the further militarization of international relations, the setting up of new intervention forces and the development of new weapons systems and on the other to intensify authoritarianism and repression inside countries and to pass new laws that restrict or abolish individual and collective democratic rights. It therefore becomes a most important task to fight against the "new world order", defending the rights of the peoples to determine their own fate, and for a world order of peace based on the peaceful principles of the UN Charter. Neo-liberal globalization has been utilized by international capital, day by day, as an instrument of unprecedented and exploitation control over peoples and national policies. Conflicts are increasing; the gap between developing and developed countries, between rich and poor, is increasing at a tremendous rate. In 2001, according to a UN report, one hundred thousand people a day were dying of starvation, three times more than six years before. Five million people have died in the last ten years in Africa in dozens of clashes and wars. Three large wars (in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq) have cost the lives of thousands of people and caused tremendous destruction. Almost half of the world's population lives on less than two euro per day This situation, which is accompanied by rivalry amongst the main powers to secure control over and division of the spheres of influence and markets create tremendous dangers of intensification in warfare and, furthermore the probability of generalized conflicts having an impact global in scope. The US administration has proclaimed the new doctrine of pre-emptive war, which runs counter to International law. It has openly listed the states making up the "axis of evil", thus determining its next targets. Many countries have been placed on the list, which remains open-ended, ready to include those countries, peoples and all movements that do not comply with the domination of the US and its allies. The USA has adopted the strategy of pre-emptive nuclear strikes, abandoning the commitment made by all nuclear states to not make the first use of nuclear weapons. The USA and France are planning to develop new types of nuclear weapons for use even in urban battlefields. All nuclear powers must implement their undertakings for the elimination of nuclear weapons made in the NPT Review Conference in 2000 under article 6. However, the world peace movement has raised its voice in favor of making the year 2005- 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a year of the NPT Review conference in New York- a turning point for the abolition of nuclear weapons In the recent period it has been announced that a European Army would be established, which constitutes a further reactionary militarization of the EU. At the same time the situation in Palestine deteriorated, while in Latin America a plan to intervene in Colombia ha been announced, pressure on Venezuela has been intensified, increased pressure has been exerted on Cuba and in Asia events giving rise to tension have been triggered by the USA. A further enlargement of NATO has been decided on. Just as Yugoslavia had been the field for the application of the new NATO doctrine previously, Afghanistan and especially Iraq were the first victims of the new and horrific doctrine of pre-emptive war. The policy of military alliances, (NATO, Japan -US security treaty and others) is being further intensified in order to involve the allies more the US strategy and, along this line, US and other foreign military bases abroad are also being reinforced and reorganized all over the world. Thus the movements against US military alliances, NATO and foreign military bases are growing worldwide. In this context the WPC will support popular mobilizations against the NATO summit in Istanbul in June 2004. All of these decisions, particularly the US pre-emptive attack strategy, overturn the statutory principles of the UN, as well as the principles of international law as they were formulated after the Second World War. The WPC demands the decolonization of all territories, which remain under colonial rule. The WPC expresses its solidarity with the Indigenous peoples for their inalienable and indivisible rights, including their rights for self-determination. One year after the US-led imperialist invasion and occupation of Iraq by the imperialists, the Iraqi people's tragedy continues. In solidarity with the resistance of the people of Iraq against the occupation, we demand the immediate and complete withdrawal of all occupying forces in order to allow the Iraqi people to determine their destiny alone. The Assembly expresses its vehement condemnation of the brutal torture of prisoners by the occupation forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Base. We denounce the ongoing NATO occupation of Afghanistan, a "first" on the Asian continent, which is being used as a model by the US for its future plans in Iraq. The genocide of the Palestinian people continues, while new, inhuman and reactionary measures are being taken by the Israeli government, like the construction of the wall. The suffering of the Palestinians doesn't count for the powerful forces, which back Israel. In accordance with the UN resolutions, the WPC demands the immediate withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from all territories occupied in 1967, including the Golan Heights of Syria and the establishment of the independent state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, alongside Israel. Likewise we support the right of return of the Palestinian refugees. The WPC condemns the occupation of the 37% of the Cyprus Republic, which has continued since 1974, as well as the de facto division of the country. The WPC salutes the struggle of the Cypriot people-both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots- to end the occupation and supports the efforts to reach a solution soon which will lead to the reunification of the country. The WPC takes note of the recent initiatives of India and Pakistan towards normalization of bilateral relations, and expresses support for the peoples' activities to promote an atmosphere of peace and harmony on the Indian sub-continent. The WPC voices its concern over the US pressure on Bangladesh for a bilateral military agreement to be reached and the establishment of a US military base to be established in the Bay of Bengal. The WPC expresses its solidarity with the people of Korea, which is fighting against the US hegemonic and hostile policy and for peace on the Korean peninsula .The WPC supports the peaceful solution of the nuclear problem between the DPRK and the USA through negotiations. It demands the complete withdrawal of US troops from the Korean peninsula. The WPC expresses its sympathy and firm solidarity with the millions of victims of the toxic chemical AGENT ORANGE used by the USA during the Vietnam War and calls for action to help alleviate their sufferings. The WPC expresses its solidarity with the peoples of Yugoslavia in their struggle against the consequences of the barbarous NATO aggression, which led to the occupation of part of Serbian territory, Kossovo, and its transformation into a NATO protectorate. The so-called Hague Tribunal is one example of the manipulation of truth and an attempt to legitimize the aggression and other crimes of the USA and NATO. The WPC denounces the imprisonment of the five Cuban political prisoners who fought against terrorist plans in the United States, while Cuban- born convicted terrorists are walking free in the same country. We express our firm support and solidarity with the Cuban people which is fighting in difficult conditions to defend its dignity and sovereignty and demand the end of the criminal US blockade against Cuba which has lasted for four decades. The WPC demands the immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from Haiti. We condemn the acts of the reactionary forces of the local oligarchy to overthrow the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela in cooperation with the USA and its allies in the region and Europe. We support the efforts for constructing one society of justice, peace, and solidarity in accordance with the wishes of its people. We salute the struggle of the peoples of the Americas against the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and against the payment of the foreign debts as well as against the Plan Colombia, which are two components of the US policy of domination over the resources and wealth of Latin America and the Caribbean on the one hand and of the military threat and interference in the region in order to guarantee and protect its interests on the other. In this context we salute the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) as a sovereign proposal against the neo-liberal plans of imperialism. Africa is paying the heavy cost of the neo-colonial and imperialist interventions, combined with sometimes inefficient economic and social policies, violation of human rights and democratic principles and various other forms of social, political and cultural exclusion. Instead of bringing more peace and better prospects of a just and sustainable development to them, the poverty of the African peoples is increasing, dangerously threatening the lives of millions every day and aggravating the instability of their countries. Precious resources are often being wasted on armaments instead of being used to efficiently combat pandemics like AIDS and malaria and for the education and health of the peoples. The WPC strongly supports the effective implementation of the UN resolutions on arms circulation and mine dissemination and use on the continent, as well as on its general disarmament. The WPC denounces foreign interference in the internal affairs of African countries and we condemn in particular the imposition of sanctions on Zimbabwe by the British and US governments. Challenged by the imperialist attempts of the USA to dominate the world along with its allies, we the delegates of the Assembly of the WPC, express our confidence and trust in humanity for its future. Through the massive and coordinated struggles of our peoples we can achieve our objectives. The 21st century has just begun. As never before the peoples of the world have become conscious of the new dangers, millions of people have marched in the streets demanding peace and justice. New uprisings of the peoples and struggles for social transformations will appear. The new century is holds many surprises for the enemies of the peoples' demands and rights. On the occasion of the 55th Anniversary from the foundation of the WPC, the Assembly calls upon all organizations and movements on the national, regional and international levels that are ready to work and fight to defend peace against imperialist plans, to unite our voices and action for a world of peace, equality, justice and solidarity. ****************************************************************** TRUTH OR SLAVERY, HUMILIATION AND DESTRUCTION OF SERBIAN NATION http://www.icdsm.org/battle.htm THE DECISIVE BATTLE FOR TRUTH NEEDS YOUR HELP NOW! ****************************************************************** SLOBODA urgently needs your donation. Please find the detailed instructions at: http://www.sloboda.org.yu/pomoc.htm To join or help this struggle, visit: http://www.sloboda.org.yu/ (Sloboda/Freedom association) http://www.icdsm.org/ (the international committee to defend Slobodan Milosevic) http://www.free-slobo.de/ (German section of ICDSM) http://www.icdsm-us.org/ (US section of ICDSM) http://www.icdsmireland.org/ (ICDSM Ireland) http://www.wpc-in.org/ (world peace council) http://www.geocities.com/b_antinato/ (Balkan antiNATO center) Serbian News Network - SNN [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.antic.org/
