Public Meeting in Mumbai Condemns Israeli Attacks on Lebanon

A public meeting was organized by the Forum against War and Terrorism on 17th August 2006 in Mumbai to condemn the barbaric Israeli attacks resulting in the killing of hundreds of innocent people in Lebanon and Palestine and to demand an immediate withdrawal of all its forces from occupied territories. The forum consisted of Communist Ghadar Party of India, CPI, CPM, Samajwadi Party, JD(S), LNP, CPI(M-L), AITUC, CITU, TUCI, Sarva Shramik Sangh, IFTU, UTUC, BUILD, TUCC, Yuva Bharat, Awaz-e-Niswan and Forum against Oppression of Women.

The call given by the above organizations held US imperialism and its allies responsible for encouraging Israel's genocidal attacks as well as blocking any resolution in the United Nations Security Council that would condemn Israel and punish it for its violation of the sovereignty of Lebanon and Palestine. It pointed out that US imperialism is unleashing terrorism to push its own interest and it is using its slogan of "war against terror" to suppress any country and people who refuse to tow its line. The call also condemned the way the Indian government was harassing ordinary people of Muslim faith while they have failed to find the real culprits. Among the demands put forward in the call, were demands for prosecuting the Israeli government for crimes against humanity according to International laws, release of all Palestinian representatives and all other illegally detained people and that the Indian government annul all its agreements with Israel.

The meeting was addressed by representatives of the CGPI, LNP, CPM, SUCI, CPI, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and CPI(M-L) amongst others.

The representative of the CGPI postively appraised the work of the Forum Against War and Terrorism in the present national and international conditions. She elaborated on the work that the CGPI has been engaged in in building a powerful united front of all those forces in India who want to fight against imperialism, fascism, state terorism and imperialist war. In this context, she dwelt on the different lines in the movement which were harming the forging of such a powerful anti-imperialist front.

She spoke about the attempts by the bourgeoisie and its agencies to split the anti-imperialist forces on the basis of religion in the wake of massive protests during the visit of US chieftain George Bush as well as subsequently. The bourgeoisie has been insidiously propagating through its media that communists must not work with Muslim organisations in building a powerful anti-imperialist front, but must confine themselves to "uniting secular forces". She pointed out that the CPIM was playing into the hands of the bourgeoisie by raking up the diversionary issue of religious "fundamentalism" and thus dividing the anti-imperialist forces. She explained that raising this issue was tantamount to conciliating with the imperialist line that "fundamentalism" was responsible for terrorism and objectively worked to split the ranks of those coming out to oppose imperialist war and terror. It is Israel who uses the label of 'terrorist' and 'fundamentalist' against the people of the region and uses it as a justification against its naked aggression as an act of 'self defence'.

It was natural, the representative of the CGPI pointed out, that people persecuted on the basis of belonging to a particular religious community build defence organisations of their community to defend their right to conscience as well as other human rights. She exhorted that communists must stand for the right to conscience of all and for a communist party to demand that Muslims must swear by "secularism" or "liberalism", as the CPI(M) and some others are doing, means to deny people their right to conscience. To divide the anti-imperialist forces into 'secular' and 'fundamentalist' camps was to play into the hands of the US imperialists and help justify its aggression against nations and peoples. By raising the issue of religious beliefs, and creating sectarian splits on that basis, CPIM is objectively weakening the struggle against state terrorism, fascism and imperialist war. Their line is creating roadblocks in the path of forging a politically united anti-imperialist front that will stay the hands of imperialists. It is objectively working against the interest of this Forum itself.

She concluded by pointing out that historically terrorism has been used by imperialist and reactionary capitalist states by covertly organizing terrorist actions to discredit and put down national struggles of the people. She called upon the Indian people to cut across all religious, party and ideological lines to unite with anti-imperialist forces across the globe to strengthen the anti-fascist, anti-imperialist and anti-war front and defeat the diabolic aggressive plans of imperialism.