Press Release

Awami Worters Party Delegation Meeting with United Nations Resident Coordinator for Pakistan, Mr. Timo Pakkala

A delegation of the Awami Workers Party (AWP), Pakistan met today (10 September 2013) with Mr. Timo Pakkala, United Nations Resident Coordinator for Pakistan at his office. The delegation handed over a petition to the United Nations Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon, against looming US-led attack on Syria. The two-member delegation of AWP comprised of Mr. Nisar Shah, Secretary Information and Mr. Farzana Bari, Secretary Women’s Liberation.

The delegation conveyed AWP’s deep concern over US imperialist agenda in Syria, which can possibly result into rupture of global peace, particularly strengthening of counter-revolutionary and religious fundamentalist forces in the Middle East. The delegation emphasized that we must not let the USA to us “human rights” and “democracy” to impose it strategic and economic agenda.

The AWP’s petition to the UN Secretary-General calls on members of the UN Security Council to fulfill their mandate to prevent any further rupture of world peace and to stop a military intervention which threatens international security in this volatile region. The General Assembly must urgently meet and take essentially needed measures. The UN Secretary General must proactively involve himself in preventing actions of the President of the United States, who is bent upon inflicting this war. It is the responsibility of his position (UN Secretary General) in relation to peace and world stability to stop actions in violation of international law and the UN Charter. These actions will inevitably provoke more death and destruction and will unavoidably lead to an intensification of the existing conflict in Middle East.

Prior to this petition, AWP also held country-wide protest in 40 cities in Pakistan on 5 September 2013 against US-led attack on Syria

AWP wants to convey to the world community that we understand that a US-led attack on Syria would be a war crime!

We wish glory to the martyrs, healing for the wounded, victory of the popular revolution, and all the power and wealth to the people of Syria.

Please find attached a copy of the petition to the UN Secretary-General, for your reference; and a photograph of the AWP’s delegation meeting with Mr. Timo Pakkala, United Nations Resident Coordinator for Pakistan, for printing in the press.

We would appreciate press coverage.
Attachments:
Press release
Photograph of the meeting
Copy of the petition

Released by:
Nisar Shah, Secretary Information, AWP, Pakistan
0300 2147960

Memorandum to the Secretary-General of the United Nations

Awami Workers Party
1/D, Stree 7, Mohammad Nagar Allama Iqbal Town
Lahore, Pakistan
Tel +(92 42) 36315162
Email awamiworkers gmail.com

9 September 2013

Memorandum to the Secretary-General of the United Nations

We Stand Behind the Syrian Peoples’ Revolution – No to Imperialist Interventions

We the workers of the Awami Workers Party strongly condemn the impending American bombing of Syria. We urge the UN and the international community that they must not allow the United States of America to destroy the world peace.

It is now a well-established fact that the USA and NATO have been patronizing the worst jihadi elements in Syria to destabilize Assad regime, and have now resolved to follow this up with air strikes across that country. Such antics prove that imperialist powers, no matter what rhetoric they employ, are committed only to their narrow geo-strategic interests and will ally with whoever will serve these interests. Only in a world free from imperialism in all its forms can there be substantive democracy and freedom from oppression and want.

We affirm that the Syrian people have every right to oppose, and even depose, the Assad dictatorship, but bombing Syria will only push that country closer to uninhibited civil war and strengthen anti-people forces on both the government and rebel sides of the conflict. In such conflicts it is the most vulnerable elements in society who suffer the most, particularly women and children. This is why there can be no question of even democratic forces condoning military strikes.

It has been almost a decade since the invasion and occupation of Iraq under the false pretext that the Saddam regime possessed weapons of mass destruction. Yet another lie has been concocted by the American establishment and the corporate media to justify the bombing of Syria, and the so-called `international community’ is unwilling to take a firm stand against the war-mongers. It is an established fact now that the US’ track record of invading other countries has been based on lies. We saw this in Bosnia, we saw this in Kosovo, we saw this in Iraq, we saw this in Libya, and we’re seeing this again in Syria. It is lie after lie to achieve their geostrategic objective but the international community is silent despite the blatant truth about US imperialist invasion pattern - demonize, attack, kill and invade.

Our party remains clear that only a genuine anti-imperialist bloc of countries can resist the aggression of Washington and its junior partners, and it is up to anti-imperialists in all parts of the world to close ranks to build such an alternative bloc of countries. We welcome the efforts and statements of Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, China, Cuba, and Russia that have been the only states to openly oppose the imminent military action.

As for our own country: we harbor no pretensions about the posture of our ruling classes, and in particular our armed forces, which have been loyal servants of the Empire since the very inception of the state. In the current conjuncture, contradictions between imperialist powers, the religious right, and our own military establishment have been exposed for the world to see. None of these forces – and the establishment most of all – will ever act in the interest of the working people. This is why we oppose the pro-imperialist establishment and reject their hollow slogans regarding the rights of the Syrian people.

We condemn the hypocrisy of the Pakistani government-armed forces, which claim to be against such aggression but themselves pander to the dictates of imperialist powers. We similarly reject the claims of right-wing parties that are parading themselves as committed anti-imperialists, both in Pakistan and around the Muslim world, claiming it to be an aggression against Islam. In fact such parties have enjoyed a consensual relationship with imperialist powers and ruling classes in Muslim countries to the detriment of the left.

The Awami Workers Party calls on members of the UN Security Council to fulfill their mandate to prevent any further rupture of world peace and to stop a military intervention which threatens international security in this volatile region. The General Assembly must urgently meet and take essentially needed measures. The UN Secretary General must proactively involve himself in preventing actions of the President of the United States, who is bent upon inflicting this war. It is the responsibility of his position (UN Secretary General) in relation to peace and world stability to stop actions in violation of international law and the UN Charter. These actions will inevitably provoke more death and destruction and will unavoidably lead to an intensification of the existing conflict in Middle East.

We stand clear that a US-led attack on Syria would be a war crime!

We wish glory to the martyrs, healing for the wounded, victory of the popular revolution, and all the power and wealth to the people of Syria.

Abid Hasan Minto, President

Fanoos Gujjar, Chairman

Farooq Tariq, Gen Secretary

Attachment: News clippings and photographs of the Awami Workers Party’s country-wide protests in more than 40 cities held on 5 September 2013.

CC: President of the United States of America
President of Syrian Arab Republic
Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan