WE ARE WORKING FOR GLOBAL PEACE AND JUSTICE
2008 is the year of raising the struggle against the war and occupation
The Global Peace and Justice Coalition is preparing with an intense struggle programme. In January 2008, we will have press conferences and activities about the closure of the İncirlik Military Base, eliminating the nuclear war heads in the base synchronous with the demonstrations in different countries. On 16 – 17 February, we will attend the Meeting and Demonstration Against the Military Bases in Greece.
We will continue to campaign against the occupation of Iraq which is in 5. year and against the possible occupation of Iran. We will display the role of the İncirlik Military base in the military operations of America in the region.
We will organise a pres conference in Turkey on the 26th of January with the call of World Social Forum.
On the 5 anniversary of the 1st of March, we will organise an international symposium with speakers from Iraq, USA and Turkey. We will continue to send delegations to the international ant-war meetings throughout the year.
We will build PEACE FAIR in Kadıköy, in İstanbul between 7 – 9 March. This year the theme of the fair is that “Being a child in Iraq”.
We will prepare with two months campaign to the demonstration which will be held on the anniversary of the attack of USA to Iraq, 15 March 2008. We will try to make sure to provide the largest participation.
In September, we will attend the EPA meeting in Sweden-Malmo. We propose to have the ESF 2010 in Turkey.
We will organise all these activities with coalition form, we will continue to take all decisions with consensus. Because, we are for a world developing solidarity with its’ all political, economical and social associations, defending peace and justice, raising the participation, elevating the diversity and promoting democracy.
What we have done in 2007
The war continues with its’ all injustice. Its’ destructive impact which makes people enemy circuits on the world like a nightmare with its’ all racism and destruction. The war kills hundreds of people in the poorest countries of the world, children, women, older people… The war blackens the future of the lands that it has passed.
We havee been seeking to have a widespread campaign on a global scale against the war, predicting that after the comprehensive attack on an unprecedented scale to the Twin Towers of The World Trade Centre in New York on 11th of September, 2000, the world has entered a war process which will cause a long term and global damage.
We knew that, the occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq, launched by George Bush administration of America by ignoring the international diplomacy, are the global hegemony struggle area of the elite called neo-cons.
Global anti-war movement
The global anti-war movement launched campaigns in all the world with this prediction. We also started campaigns as an active part of the global anti-war movement in order to embody the anti war state of mind in Turkey, to transform it into an action, to make people take to the streets.
The process of World Social Forum, has gathered together hundreds of campaigns in a mass dialog and action processes and also it had a very clear approach against the occupation policies of America. In all countries, the war policies of America, the corruption of the arguments which were produced by Bush as reason for the occupation have been exposed.
15th of February and 1st of March
On the 15th of February, 2003, is an unforgetable day for the anti-war movement. In 600 hundred cities millions of people took to the streets saying “No to War” and they were against the agression of America towards Iraq. 15th of February, is the day that another superpower, the aversive power of the anti-war movement which bides struggle, direct action appeared on the scene.
The alike of 15th of February in Turkey is the 1st of March, 2003. The American army wanted to come into the Iraq from Turkey with 66 thousands soldiers. The anti-war movement had prepared for the 1st of March by including all the associations, intellectuals, mass organisations, children, women, unemployed people. On the 1st of March, the Turkish Parliament rejected the permit making the intervention of Turkey to Iraq law. On the 1st of March hundreds of thousands people representing the anti-war mood shouted the slogan of “No to war, no to permit!”. And the permit was rejected. The anti-war movement won. This is the first acquisition of the struggle of the anti-war movement not only in Turkey but also in the world.
The Iraqi people felt better, they gained time in order to resist to the occupation. In Turkey, 1st of March stil has been talked. It had been a clap to the militarists, pro-wars and accessories of the imperialism. 1st of March was a very important victory showing that the social opposition can win despite the rulers.
The ABD’s talking about 1st of March whenever it is in trouble is the indicator of the fact that the anti-war movement which also wants peace, justice, equality, freedom can achieve so many things. The Global Peace and Justice Coalition has risen from this fact.
The Global Peace and Justice Coalition
In 2003, in June, The Global Peace and Justice Coalition (Küresel BAK) founded through a text which was opened for signature by intellectuals such as Tariq Ali, Howard Zinn first in the world and then in Turkey and it has not interrupted struggling against the war, displaying the war lies, building solidarity with the people living in the occupied regions.
We have three main targets while we have been building widespread anti-war campaign unity.
– Our first target is that to organse a mass movement campaigning in different centres at the same time, using the same slogans, urging the governement about keeping away from the war policies and from collaboration with America through exerting pressure from below.
– Our important second target is that, establish more organic relationship with the global anti-war movement.
– Our third target is that, as it is stated in the Global Peace and Justice Coalition foundation text, “mobilising the unorganised people”, opening channles to the anti-war people, so they can mobilise and take to the streets by using these channels.
We have taken pain over moving in accordance with these targets. We have sticked to the first text of the Coalition.
Struggle against the occupation
The main aim of the ant-war campaign is that to struggle in order to end the occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq. The main aim of the Global Peace and Justice Coalition is that to make America to be defeated particularly in Iraq and to end the occupation of Iraq. Struggling against our own government is very important in terms of that aim.
Whatever the barons of war said initially, ABD is in very bad situation both in Afghanistan and Iraq. On the one hand the global anti-war movement, on the other hand the struggle of the Iraqi people caused the breakdown of the occupation policy of George Bush.
This shows that, how important to have campaign against the collboration of the governement with America, against Turkey having a role in the “New American Century Project”. The USA’s being isolated is teh first responsibility of the anti-war movement in each country. Therefore, while the most important slogan in Britain is that “Soldiers must come bak”, we have been campaignin about the closure of the İncirlik Military base in Turkey and we have been displaying the collaboration of the governement with America in this campaign.
We know that the field on which the history is written is the field of the ocuupation of Iraq by America. We would experience another history if America copes in Iraq, and we would experience another one if it fails as it did in Vietnam. The main function of the Global Peace and Justice Coalition is that to have an active role in the writing of this history, to campaign in order to defeat this economic and military superpower of the world.
Until today, we have not seen any governement which does not love America. Also we have not seen any government which does not want to be part of the war, does not open the doors of the military bases, does not ignore the main rights of the workers in favor of private capital.
The “war against teror” perspective of America which has evaluated from “Islamic terror” to “Islamic fascism” caused every state which is afraid of its’ own people searching terrorist and interestingly finding them in a very short time. Turkey is not an exemption.
Anti-Globalisation movement
In Turkey and in the world there is another aspect in which the voice of peace echos against the darkness of war. We are in a growing and developing movement which emerged in 1999 November, in Seattle against the World Trade Centre and this movement says that the problems of all the oppressed people are the same and it urges united dialog and action forms in order to solve these problems.
We see ourselves part of this movement. We have been struggling against war for a long time. We are campaigning together, we are organising the global movement together. On the one hand we are moving with the approach of “Unity, diversity, resistance”, on the other hand “We think globally and organise locally.”
Our ideological diversity does not prevent our resistance, on the contarary, it gives weight to the struggle. Wea re discussing when we are resisting together. While we are happy to see the immensity of the issues that we have similar approahes, we are coinuing to discuss the isuues that we think different.
The global resistance continues to make its mark on the world. Latin America is resisting and winning. Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Paletsine are resisting … We are resisting.
We call everybody, all activists, women, workers, trade unionists, students, young people to the struggle in order to resist stronger, to discuss the problems of the anti-war struggle, movement more widely, tos hare the global and local struggle experiences of the movement, to say “End the occupation in Iraq” all together.
A chance to peace…
The permit rejected on the 1st of March 2003, came to agenda again in October, 2007 with the name of authorization about military operation beyond border including Turkey violating the borders of the neighbour countries and being a occupation force. And again we were against this permit as the anti-war people. We declared that we were against any intervention to any country, war and any occupation.
We were against the military operation beyond border towards the Northern Iraq in December 2007, as we were against being part of occupation of Iraq in 1st of March 2003, as we were against the intervention to Afghanistan and Lebanon. Because, the boms dropped in Northern Iraq, make Turkey part of the occupation of Iraq.
We have seen until today that war and occupation do not solve anything. These kind of operations can not solve anything as well. We had a campaign called “Give chance to peace” saying that the guns must be silenced, the pro-peace people must talk. We organised panels and meetings, street activities in big cities and pres conferences.
The Global Peace and Justice Coalition