No to terrorism, No to war

No to terrorism

No to war

  • Withdraw the troops from
    Iraq

  • No to racism

  • Build the socialist
    alternative

AS MILLIONS of us in London go about our daily lives the nightmare of
Thursday 7 July still looms over us. The horrific killing of ordinary
people, of all ages and from every ethnic group, has shocked and
saddened millions in London and beyond. The socialist utterly condemns
these attacks as we did those of 9/11, the Madrid bombings and all
similar attacks aimed at indiscriminate slaughter.

Hannah Sell

Just over two years ago two million people marched through the
streets of London to try and stop the invasion of Iraq. They had the
support of the majority of the population. Without doubt some of the
victims of the bombings were amongst those marchers. This appalling act
was not aimed at the warmongers but at working-class people.

George Bush was able to use outrage at 9/11 to justify war against
Iraq and Afghanistan. Tony Blair is using grief at this latest atrocity
to try and bolster his own position. He has been helped by the
mainstream political parties’ unity in denying any link between
increased terrorism and the occupation of Iraq.

Yet the government’s own Joint Intelligence Committee stated before
the war that the terrorist threat "would be heightened by military
action against Iraq" (see also page 2).

The attempts of the government to disguise the reasons we live in an
increasingly unstable and violent world will not work. The socialist is
campaigning for the Stop the War Coalition, of which we are part, to
urgently call a national demonstration under the banner ‘no to
terrorism, no to war’ to bring together working-class people from all
backgrounds in unity against both the horrific attacks in London and the
bloody reality of occupied Iraq – where more than 100,000 civilians
have been killed.

Propaganda offensive

AS PART of his propaganda offensive Blair has claimed that the G8
summit deal is the ‘most powerful riposte to the forces of terrorism’
because it supposedly lays the basis for ending poverty in Africa.

We marched on the Make Poverty History demonstrations, along with
hundreds of thousands of others, but we explained that the G8 deal was a
con. Far from ending poverty, it gives a few crumbs to a few countries,
and demands that those countries hand over their state-run public
services and natural resources to Western companies in return.
Privatisation and increased exploitation are at the core of the G8 deal,
just as they are at the centre of all Blair’s policies at home.

Here in Britain we are also facing relentless cuts and privatisation
in our public services, including those that heroically assisted the
victims of the terrorist attacks. Manchester Road fire station, based in
the City of Westminster, for example, is currently fighting closure, and
many other central London fire stations face the loss of engines.

Bush, Blair and the rest of the G8 leaders act in the interests of
the billionaires – 400 of whom own more than the poorest 50% of the
planet. Bush, for example, invaded Iraq to boost the prestige of US
imperialism and to follow the dream of cheap oil, hoping to increase US
corporations’ profits. The 500 multinational companies that dominate 70%
of world trade are not driven by a desire to end poverty, war or
terrorism, but a rapacious need to increase their own profits.

Our public services, the 30,000 children who die from poverty every
single day, and the victims of the occupation of Iraq: all are
ultimately sacrificed to capitalism’s drive to make profits.

There is an urgent need to build a mass socialist alternative that
will defend public services, but will also fight against terrorism, war
and poverty – and the capitalist system which creates them.

Download
our leaflet: No to
terrorism! No to war! No to racism!  (pdf 48k)