Stop U. S. Imperialist War on Middle East!
Never Let Japanese Imperialism dispatch Self-Defense Forces to Middle East!
Let’s Fight in solidarity with the Uprisings in Iran, Iraq, and the rest of Middle East!
On 3 January 2020, the U.S. President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes and killed Iranian major general Qasem Soleimani of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Abu Mahdi al-Mauhandis, top Iraqi militia commander/founder of Kataib Hezbollah militia and several others. This action is state terrorism of U.S. Imperialism, desperately carried out on the verge of collapse of U.S. control over Middle East. Trump targeted not only the Iranian and Iraqi governments or their military leaders. It is an intimidation and the declaration of war against the indomitable uprisings of the people in Middle East and North Africa.
Japanese working-class people are fighting against the Abe cabinet’s decision to dispatch Self-Defense Forces to Middle East and its complicity in Middle East war. We absolutely and vehemently oppose to the violence of U.S. Imperialism. We join with all the people in the world protesting Trump and vow to fight in solidarity with people in Middle East.
In Iran and Iraq, vigorous protest actions were immediately taken against Trump and demonstrations exploded everywhere across both countries. Iran responded by counter-attacking Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops with missiles. But when the truth was revealed that Iran mistakenly shot down Ukrainian passenger plane killing all people on board and shamelessly concealed it, the working-class people stood up to protest Iranian government.
From 1980s, especially from the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Middle East had been devastated by the United States-led wars. On top of it, neoliberalism has come to dominate and plunder the working-class people in Middle East and North Africa. At last their anger has exploded and developed into an all-out uprising with working class as leading power and young workers, students and women all together since the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
Since last year massive anti-government protests have spread across the countries in the region. The working-class people of Iran and Iraq at the head, those of Lebanon and the Arab Spring uprising countries like Tunisia, Egypt and Sudan, stood up to resist the political corruptions and devastation of public services. While continuously fighting against the US Middle East War, they never yield to the violent crackdown of their governments and the massacre of several thousand people, their protest actions are incessantly taken everywhere chanting, “Enemy is not only U.S. Imperialism. Enemy is also at home”
To establish firmer control over Middle East, the U.S. Imperialism schemed to crash the national liberation struggles, split and dismantle labor movements, and inflamed the sectarian conflicts. Consequently, these U.S. maneuvers led Iran-Iraq War (1980-88), Gulf War (1991), Iraq War (from 2003) and so on. In the process, neoliberalism has developed and expanded everywhere in Middle East, West Asia and Africa. Against this situation, anti-government protests, uprisings, and rebellions called Arab Spring spread all over the region. U.S. Imperialism embarked on a suppression of Arab Spring. The U.S. instigated and intervened in Syrian Civil War and made Syria the battlefield of international struggles involving Russia and others.
Now the uprisings of the working-class people are starting to shake the whole structure of this area under U.S. aggression.
In the midst of bankruptcy of neoliberalism and the serious situation of world depression, the whole world is on the brink of world war with the confrontation between US and China as the core momentum.
With the KCTU’s (Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’) struggle on the forefront of workers’ struggle of the world, the fierce struggle in Hong Kong and the Yellow Vest Movement in solidarity with the long-running strikes of railroad workers as its core part in France have been developing. Furthermore, in Middle and South America such as Chile, and also in India, people is rising up in an unprecedentedly large scale against the exploitation by neo-liberalism and the war.
The people’s uprising in Middle East and North Africa have become the crucially focal point for the change of the whole world. These struggles will emancipate people from the battlefield of imperialists like the US, Europe and Japan, and Russia and China.
Now is the time worldwide working people should rise up in their workplaces against union-busting and war-mobilization policy by ruling class, and struggle together with people in international solidarity, declaring to overthrow their own governments.
In face of this explosive development, the Abe government is pursuing the constitutional revision for establishing the system of waging war. It also conspires intervention in Middle East war by dispatching Self Defense Forces under the pretext of securing oil supply. Abe visited the reactionary governments of Iran, Saudi Arabia etc. and has been acting openly against Middle Eastern people. We, workers of Japan, never forgive him.
In Hiroshima, New York and Soul, fresh struggles have been started. Let’s fight against war and oppression together with Middle Eastern and North African people!
Smash the US imperialist Tramp’s Iran-Iraq war by international solidarity of working class!
Never allow the Abe’s intervention in Middle Eastern War by dispatching SDF!
Stop the constitutional revision for mobilizing people to aggressive war!
Support the uprisings of working people in Iran, Iraq and Middle East!
Let’s construct new era of the world by solidarity of huge scale of people in the world fighting against aggressive war and neo-liberalism!
February 1, 2020
International Labor Solidarity Committee of Doro-Chiba
