Socorro Gomes: On the day of Peace, we strengthen our anti-imperialist resistance

Friday, September 22, 2017

On the International Day of Peace, 21st of September, the peoples have manifested their desire for a fairer world, an egalitarian international order and respect for the nations’ sovereignty, pillars for the end of wars, imperialism and colonialism, respect for the environment and solidarity between the peoples. Yet, they have also reaffirmed their resistance to the warmongering and interventionist policies promoted by aggressive and offensive policies such as those of the US president Donald Trump at the UN General Assembly.

By Socorro Gomes

On this day, overwhelming numbers remind us of the urgency of our struggle and of the dramas of humanity that each of these estimates represents. They are more than mere numbers, they are separate families, victimized by the catastrophe of war and the offensive or exploitive policies of the world's greatest powers and their local allies.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 22.5 million people with recognized refugee status (more than half of them, under 18), of whom 5.3 million are Palestinians only, survivors of an ongoing catastrophe of colonization, plundering and genocide promoted by the Zionist leadership. Altogether, 65.6 million people are forcibly displaced and 10 million are stateless, without any protection.

Imperialist interventionism and interference are the main culprits for the suffering of peoples, as well as neoliberal policies that impose misery and despair on humanity, and neocolonial policies, which seek to keep entire nations under subjection.

In the 16 years since the invasion of Afghanistan, the 14 years since the invasion of Iraq, the six years of war against Syria, the 42 years of military occupation of the Western Sahara by Morocco and the 50 years of occupation of Palestine by Israel, and the 100 years since the Balfour Declaration - in which the United Kingdom has promised Palestine to the Jewish people, without consulting its inhabitants - the peoples unite to reinforce their struggle against domination and war, unveiling the pretexts of "war against terrorism” or “security” used by the world powers to maintain their control over the planet.

But this year we also celebrate the great victory of peoples, the centenary of the October Revolution, which is still a source of hope and inspiration. We have redoubled efforts in support of great achievements such as the strides in the process of a peace with social justice in Colombia, the creation of the new political party of the Alternative Revolutionary Force of the Common (FARC) and the negotiations between the government and the National Liberation Army. We reaffirm our solidarity with the peoples that fight for their nations’ sovereignty and for democracy, as in Venezuela and Cuba, still under the threat of US interference, under blockade and under constant coup attempts.

The world was shocked by the belligerent rhetoric of Donald Trump at the UN General Assembly, where he specifically offended the People's Korea, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba. In the new international order that people demand, the anachronistic discourse of the US as the absolute hegemonic power, or rather an imperialist war machine, does not fit. Against Trump’s astonishing tone, the leaders of the countries targeted have answered loud and clear that they will not bow to the threats nor surrender to the belligerent, confrontational, environment that Trump seeks to impose.

In this scenario, peace-loving forces strengthen their struggle, redouble their efforts and strengthen ties of friendship and solidarity among peoples around the world. In the determined resistance against the militarization of the planet, weapons of mass destruction as an instrument of foreign policy, interventions and military bases scattered throughout the world, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and other manifestations of imperialist policy that we seek to eradicate, we remain convinced that together we can defeat the forces of war, oppression and exploitation!

Socorro Gomes, president of the World Peace Council