France (AIL): Anti-NATO and Antiimperialist War Rally in Paris

Anti-NATO and Antiimperialist War Rally in Paris

Following a call from the platform against NATO and imperialism, a demonstration was held in Paris on Saturday 4 July against the 36th NATO summit in Ankara on 7 and 8 July. Partizan, the JC, the LAI and the FSE were present in large numbers, alongside around fifteen other organisations. In total, nearly 300 demonstrators gathered. Attempts at intimidation by the police and fascists failed to disrupt the event!

“Dear comrades,
As the Antiimperialist League, we would like to begin by sending our greetings to all political prisoners. In this march, we shall once again raise the voices of all our revolutionary comrades who, from the past to the present, have stood alongside the oppressed peoples against imperialism and its reactionary collaborators of every kind; who have fought for them, suffered torture, been imprisoned, and even killed. We know that we have been waging a just struggle from the past to the present. Whilst they fight over markets, resources, trade routes and spheres of influence; we are waging the struggle of workers, students, women, children, nature – in short, everyone whom the imperialist system has oppressed and is trying to suffocate.

We know that the diplomatic negotiations, ceasefires or rhetoric of stability spoken of by the imperialists cannot build peace. We know that all these discourses are merely tactical manoeuvres designed to pave the way for new balances of power. For we know that imperialism is not a system that prevents wars, but one that constantly reproduces them.
As opportunities for economic expansion narrow, competition between monopolies turns first into political, and then into military, conflicts. Material destruction, mass migrations, humanitarian crises and social collapse are the inevitable consequences of this system’s normal functioning. Consequently, as long as this system exists, it is impossible for these problems to be eradicated. History itself proves that as long as this system persists, wars, social and economic crises, and environmental destruction will never cease.

One need only look at the severed arteries of Latin America, the grain of rice on an African plate, the napalm that scorched Vietnam, or the Abu Ghraib torture chamber in Iraq. The crime is clear; the culprit is known. Imperialism! In other words, comrades, it is not history that repeats itself, but the system itself. As long as the same relations of production and domination persist, similar historical outcomes will inevitably be reproduced. The current situation we find ourselves in is also an expression of this reality. Whilst contradictions between imperialist powers are deepening, the US is attempting to maintain its hegemonic position in the world in the face of China’s rise. One of the main focal points of this struggle is the Middle East. The multi-actor nature of the Syrian civil war, in which Turkey is also involved, the attacks on Iran, the political and military support provided to Israel, and the ongoing interventions in the region are concrete manifestations of this rivalry. The war in Ukraine, the increasing military build-up in the Asia-Pacific and NATO’s expansionist policies are manifestations of the same imperialist rivalry on different fronts. All these developments—and others we have not listed here—are not independent local crises. Consequently, neither the NATO-centred imperialist alliance, nor Russia, nor China can act in the interests of the oppressed peoples or defend those interests.
All ruling classes are curtailing democratic freedoms, strengthening their apparatus of repression and, where necessary, attempting to preserve their power through massacres by channelling the people’s anger towards external enemies. But to no avail. From Palestine to Iran, from Cuba to Albania, from Nepal to Morocco, from Paris to Ankara, the oppressed peoples continue to resist.

For where there is exploitation and oppression, there is resistance!
Palestine and its heroic resistance are a beacon of this historical truth. Those who dare to resist will, sooner or later, defeat the oppressors. Palestine will surely triumph!

Comrades, since they are insisting on continuing their bloody policies and strengthening their military alliances at the 36th NATO Summit to be held in Ankara, we too are expanding international solidarity with legitimate determination wherever we are!

Long live international solidarity!
Long live the struggle of the Palestinian people!
Down with NATO! Down with war! Long live the struggle of the oppressed peoples!
Down with NATO operations! Freedom for the prisoners!”