The following Editorial was published in "The Guardian", newspaper of
the Communist Party of Australia in its issue of Wednesday, December
11th, 2002.
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Editorial: The choice before the Australian people
Reactions to Prime Minister Howard's talk of "preventive strikes"
continue to reverberate in Asian countries. The Foreign Ministers of the
ten countries making up the Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN) are to meet to consider Howard's remarks and their implications.
Despite the attempts of Howard and Foreign Minister Downer to explain
away their remarks, Asian countries are seeing them for what they are -
assertions of aggressive intentions, disregard for the sovereignty and
independence of neighbouring countries and an intention to interfere in
the internal affairs of other countries.
Howard claimed in Parliament that "nothing that I said was directed
against our friends in neighbouring countries", a statement that
immediately raises the question of which countries in Asia does
Australia not regard as "friends"?
His earlier remarks were very clear and specific. The original question
from journalist Laurie Oaks was, "If you knew that Jl people in another
neighbouring country were planning an attack on Australia would you be
prepared to act?"
Howard replied, "Oh yes. It stands to reason that if you believed that
somebody was going to launch an attack against your country, either of a
conventional kind or of a terrorist kind and you had a capacity to stop
it and there was no alternative other than to use that capacity, then of
course you would have to use it."
In these statements, the Australian Government is echoing the extremely
bellicose remarks of the US administration and President Bush's threat
to launch a preemptive war against Iraq.
It is not a new policy on the part of the United States. The US has
launched unprovoked wars or interventions against Panama, Grenada,
Somalia, Libya, Iran, Colombia, Cuba, Afghanistan and a number of other
countries.
These acts of aggression and the present call for pre-emptive strikes
are illegal under international law, violate the UN Charter and are
morally indefensible.
The fact that the Asian nations have reacted so strongly to the remarks
of Howard rather than to the remarks of Bush reflects the fact that
Australia is only a "bit" player and the Asian nations feel that it is
possible to say what they think about aggression should it be undertaken
by Australia, whereas the US is more threatening and is able to wreak
vengeance on most nations either by economic pressure or by military means.
Furthermore, the Asian countries are becoming stronger in economic,
political and military terms and their unity in ASEAN is leading to a
kind of collective security that is backed by the People's Republic of
China. The massive anti-American demonstrations sweeping South Korea and
their demands for the removal of US troops and bases are indicative of
the changes taking place in Asia.
One can only be appalled at the ignorance and the arrogance of the
Australian leadership. Ignorance, in their failure to understand that
the old colonial regimes have gone forever and have been replaced by
independent countries that take pride in their sovereignty; arrogant, in
expecting that other countries can be brow-beaten by the sort of
aggression and intervention that was commonly practiced by the
imperialist governments that ruled Asian countries for centuries. By
tagging along behind and echoing US warmongering the Australian
Government hopes that it will be able to pick up some rewards in a world
dominated by the US transnational corporations.
Britain Australia and the US virtually stand alone in pursuing the
policy of pre-emptive strike. Other countries are demanding adherence to
international law and to the principles of the United Nations Charter.
They want to live in peace and security as independent nations and have
the opportunity to lift the living standards and opportunities for their
people. These opportunities are being denied by the warmongers and by
the threats such as those being made by Howard, Downer, Hill, Bush and
Blair.
The choice between these two policies is one that the Australian people
must make, hopefully in favour of peace, security and the recognition of
the right of nations to independence and sovereignty. If the wrong
choice is made, the consequences for Australia may be far-reaching and
unpleasant.
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