Terror Attacks, G20 Hypocrisy
By Art Young
November 17, 2015 "Information
Clearing House" - "The
Bullet" - I join with many others who
stand for a world of peace and justice in completely repudiating the
terrorist attacks in Paris and the similar atrocity in Beirut. We
express our full solidarity with the hundreds of innocent victims,
dead and injured, many of whom remain in critical condition at this
time.
That said, the terror attacks must be seen in a wider context.
We live in a world of massive inequality and
environmental degradation, one dominated by the global 1% and the
states that act in their interests. To maintain their power, in
recent decades the U.S. and its allies have engaged in a seemingly
endless series of imperialist interventions across the globe,
unequal wars that have killed hundreds of thousands of innocent
civilians, destroyed societies, created profound animosities between
communities, and forced millions of people to flee their homes to
seek safety in bleak refugee camps or risk death on land and sea.
Our condemnation of the crimes committed in Paris and Beirut must
not blind us to the crimes of imperialism, many orders of magnitude
larger, and which create the conditions that have led some to turn
to terrorism.
That is why I refuse to stand with Barack Obama,
Justin Trudeau or François Holland when they condemn the attacks in
Paris. Obama and Hollande have too much blood on their hands. Their
statements are hypocritical, designed to promote more repression,
war and violence. Trudeau has just assumed office, but the record of
his party in office and his election program indicate that his
foreign policy will not differ from that of Stephen Harper in any
substantial way.[1]
It is apparent that the leaders of the
G20 who met in Turkey on November 15-16 have made plans to take
maximum political advantage of the opportunity that the killings in
Paris afford them.
One day before the attack in Paris, two suicide
bombs exploded on a busy street in Beirut, killing 43 bystanders and
injuring many more. The attack, which was directed against
supporters of Hezbollah, received only perfunctory attention from
Western leaders or the Western press.[2]
This illustrates that the reaction of the self-proclaimed leaders of
‘the civilized world’ to acts of violence (other than their own) is
highly selective, as they shape their response to serve their larger
aims. It also demonstrates that a life lost in the Middle East
matters less to them than a life lost in New York or Paris.
For those of us committed to the struggle for a
world of peace and social justice, it is important to reflect on the
lessons of 9/11. The path of restrictions on democratic freedoms in
the name of “national security” is a fraud and a dead end. Casting
suspicion on ‘others’ in our midst who are not like ‘us’ and
heightening police surveillance of them – in this case, Muslims –
promotes racism and Islamophobia and weakens us all. Participation
in imperialist wars – such as Canada's lengthy commitment to the
U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, which left the country in ruins – must
be vigorously opposed. (The previous Liberal government, under Jean
Chrétien, took the decision to go to war.)
In this situation, it becomes particularly
important to demand of Justin Trudeau that he:
- Fulfil his election pledge to withdraw the
Canadian jets from combat in Iraq and Syria;
- Withdraw Canadian special forces from Iraq.
There should be no Canadian boots on the ground, in any
capacity, in Iraq or Syria;
- Refuse to employ the Canadian military
anywhere in the Middle East or North Africa, except to
facilitate the transfer of refugees to Canada;
- Repeal Bill C-51, Harper's far-reaching
attack on democratic rights[3]
and enact no further restrictions on fundamental freedoms;
- Meet his election commitment to bring 25,000
government-sponsored Syrian refugees to Canada before the end of
the year;
- In the New Year, continue welcoming even more
refugees on an emergency basis, extending the invitation to
include refugees from all countries, including Afghanistan.
Canada has a special responsibility to the people of Afghanistan
in light of the destruction it has visited upon them;
- Eliminate the massive bureaucratic obstacles
to accepting privately sponsored refugees;
- Provide generous government support for the
resettlement and integration of all refugees;
- Vigorously oppose all manifestations of
Islamophobia, in contrast to Harper's deliberate promotion of
anti-Muslim racism before and during the election campaign;
Art Young is a long-time socialist
and solidarity activist who lives in Toronto, Canada.
Endnotes:
1.
Except perhaps for a greater willingness to accept Syrian refugees.
But what the new government will actually do remains be seen.
2.
See “Beirut,
Also the Site of Deadly Attacks, Feels Forgotten,” New
York Times, Nov. 16, 2015.
3.
See killc51.ca.
