Anti-War Appeal
Dear Compatriots,
As you read this appeal, Afghanistan reels under vicious US bombing. Hundreds of innocent men, women and children have already been killed as George Bush and Tony Blair wage their aggressive imperialist war to bomb Afghanistan back to the stone age. And they have the audacity to call this barbaric campaign “Enduring Freedom”! Let us reject this US-led imperialist war of aggression with all our might. Let us denounce the infinite arrogance and hypocrisy that marks this lethal American mission with all the contempt it deserves. The people of Afghanistan alone can decide the future of their country and they must be left free to do so.
We are also aware of the danger that the Bush war against terrorism can at any moment spread beyond Afghanistan. Even if the war remains limited to Afghanistan for the time being, the American objective of establishing strategic control over central and south Asia is bound to create ‘enduring instability and tension’ in the entire region. While calling for an end to war and restoration of peace, let us therefore intensify our opposition to every instance of American intervention in Asia.
The BJP rulers of India are however only inviting greater American intervention in India and in the entire region. Ironically, in this respect they are at one with the rulers of Pakistan. Both Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Musharraf are engaged in a cutthroat competition to please Washington and as illustrated by the recent visit of US Secretary of States Colin Powell, the US is relishing every bit of this Indo-Pak competition.
Instead of raising the country’s profile by taking the lead in voicing the third world’s concern over America’s Afghan war, the BJP rulers have shamed the country and harmed our sovereignty and dignity by serving as agents of the Bush administration. For a country which had to shed so much blood to win its freedom from British colonialism, such display of slavery by its rulers is simply unpardonable.
Kowtowing to the American masters is, of course, not the only crime being committed by India’s saffron rulers. They are cynically manipulating the present situation to advance their fascist agenda within the country. Warlike conditions are being created around the border with Pakistan. Following the communally motivated ban on SIMI, a virtual witch-hunt has been launched against the Muslim youth in many parts of the country. Anti-war protesters are being harassed and arrested and the new anti-terrorism ordinance marks the beginning of a new war on democratic rights and civil liberties.
Meanwhile, the goons of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad are working overtime to whip up communal tension and war frenzy. The way Ashok Singhal and his men were allowed to enter the so-called makeshift Ram Mandir in the same place where the Babri Masjid once stood signals a sinister saffron design to vitiate the political climate on the eve of the crucial UP elections.
All burning issues concerning the livelihood of the people are bound to be the worst casualty in such a communally charged situation. Even as the spectre of starvation and unemployment haunts the country, Vajpayee has audaciously dismissed all news of starvation deaths as lies.
As American bombs batter Afghanistan and the air in India gets thick with communal venom and war hysteria, we see all symptoms of a hated autocracy maturing before our very eyes. We must resist this danger with all our might.
Worldwide, the forces of peace and progress are getting organised against the ongoing imperialist war and devastation. We, the people of India, with our glorious tradition of anti-imperialist struggles, must emerge as a powerful constituent of the global camp of peace.
In the name of fighting terrorism, the BJP rulers are only enveloping all of us in greater terror. We must defeat this fascist terror and uphold the banner of peace and democracy with redoubled strength and determination. We must do all we can to strengthen the bonds of people’s unity and communal harmony and foil the fascist conspiracy of the Sangh Parivar and the Indian state.
Central Committee
CPI(ML)(Liberation)
19 October, 2001