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ILPS Call to Action for March 19 & 20 Global Protests Against the US Invasion and Occupation of Iraq
By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson
International League of Peoples' Struggle
March 1, 2005
The International League of Peoples' Struggle (ILPS) hereby calls on its more than 300 participating
organizations in more than 40 countries as well as on all friendly organizations and individuals in various
continents to undertake and join the protest mass actions on March 19 and 20, 2005 on a global scale
in order to commemorate the second anniversary of the US-UK invasion and occupation of Iraq and
condemn US imperialist aggression and plunder.
It is clear that the US and British imperialists are war criminals. Under the barbaric doctrine of preemptive
war, they have attacked a country by lying and falsely claiming that it poses an imminent threat to them,
that it has weapons of mass destruction and has links with the Al Qaeda. In the process, they have
slaughtered more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians and have imposed on the entire Iraqi people intolerable
conditions, consequent to the massive destruction of the social infrastructure, industries and other means
of employment and livelihood.
No amount of elections of the puppet officials can conceal the criminal monstrosity of US occupation.
The people of the world are witness to the genocidal attacks on the Iraqi people as in Fallujah and other
communities by US military forces, the seizure of the oil resources and public assets and the control of supply
and so-called reconstruction contracts by US monopolies. The broad masses of the people therefore demand
the end of the US occupation and the immediate withdrawal of the US military forces from Iraq.
We admire and support the revolutionary struggle of the Iraqi people to uphold their national sovereignty,
to defend themselves against recolonization and destruction, to keep the natural resources and the social
assets that rightfully belong to them and to achieve national liberation, democracy and socialism. The
broad national resistance of the Iraqi people has justly inflicted on the US aggressors casualties of more
than 1500 dead and 11,000 wounded in battle, excluding more than 14,000 army personnel evacuated
due to non-battle injury and disease. It has also repeatedly blown up the oil pipelines and facilities and
undertaken other actions in order to make US occupation unprofitable.
US imperialism is reprehensible for committing aggression, for deploying 150,000 troops and so-called
security contractors, for spending USD 150 billlion and getting additional huge appropriations and for
directing public resources to military production and aggression and to the pockets of the monopolies.
The American people demand the end of the US aggression, the homecoming of the US troops and
the redirection of public resources towards the civil stimulation of the economy and generation of jobs,
the promotion of social rights and benefits (health care, housing and education) and stopping anti-worker
bias, racism, gender discrimination and other inhuman features of the imperialist society.
The people of countries, whose governments have deployed military troops and other personnel in
support of the US occupation, likewise demand the immediate withdrawal of their countrymen. They
criticize and repudiate the injustice and shame of serving as the mercenaries and criminal accomplices of
the US aggressors, trampling down on the rights of the Iraqi people, destroying their means of livelihood
and taking away their jobs.
The global mass protests on March 19 and 20 are occasions to condemn not only the US occupation of
Iraq but also the entire character and manifestations of US imperialism as the No.1 terrorist power and
exploiter of the people of the world. The people of the world must condemn the unjust, bellicose and
plundering policies and acts of the US in various countries. They must oppose the US-supported Israeli
occupation and butchery in Palestine. They must tell the US to take its hands off Korea, Philippines,Turkey,
Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, Nepal, India, Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, Haiti and the Congo.
So long as imperialism or monopoly capitalism exists, it will continue to unleash wars of aggression and other
forms of violence in order to suppress the rights of the proletariat and the people, attack national liberation
movements and social revolutions, negate the independence of other countries and redivide the world in
the course of inter-imperialist rivalry. The US has been responsible for the creation of nongovernmental
terrorists like the groups of Osama bin Laden and the Abu Sayyaf. And it now uses the slogan of "war on
terrorism" as license to carry out the most monstrous acts of imperialist terrorism.
It is preposterous and reprehensible for some well-paid apologists of US imperialism to pretend being against
imperialist globalization and war, propose reforms to improve the workings of the imperialist system, spread
the reformist notion of good citizenship under the violent exploitative state as well as civility among the
oppressed people, the violent exploitative state and big business and make surprise attacks on revolutionary
forces under the bombastic slogans of "civil society" and "culture of nonviolence."
The International League of Peoples' Struggle urges all its participating organizations and friendly organizations
and individuals to undertake information and educational drives against imperialism and reaction and carry out
build-up protest mass actions in localities, neighborhoods, landmarks, urban trunklines, schools, factories,
office grounds, church premises and all other appropriate types of places within the two weeks prior to the
converging mass actions on March 19 and 20. On these days, the protesters can converge at the most
appropriate places to attract attention to the issues and draw in more participants.
The ILPS regional committees, national chapters and participating organizations are hereby instructed to apply
the policy of the broad united front in arousing and mobilizing the people to participate in the mass actions.
They must cooperate with all other positive forces, be they responding to the calls to action of the United
for Peace and Justice, ANSWER Coalition, the International Action Center and other coordinating entities of
whatever scale, global, regional, national or local. Anywhere the ILPS is strong enough to take the lead in
the task of coordination, it must ensure that all positive forces opposed to imperialist war and plunder are
drawn in at the coordinating and participating levels.
Success to the global mass protests of March 19 and 20!
Down with US imperialism, its accomplices and puppets in the crime of aggression!
Victory to the Iraqi people in their revolutionary resistance for national liberation, democracy and socialism!
Carry forward the struggle of the proletariat and people for a new and better world!
Long live the proletariat and people of the world!
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