Thursday, December 8, 2011

Occupy Berlin Publishes Declaration Against War

By David Swanson

»Occupy« Declaration against War – Demand to stop preparations for war against Iran and Syria!

- by Occupy Berlin

Starting from Tunisia and Egypt, spreading to Spain, Greece and other European countries and finally to the USA in 2011 protest movements developed that work towards a profound political, social and economic change in the system.

We are globally networked people who feel inspired by these international events and who are motivated to join together in order to be politically active.

Our main demands are »real democracy« – that is real participation – and thus social justice and peace on Earth!

This includes the disbandment of international operating private banks, the disempowerment of the multinational corporations and the military industrial complex, because these three factors largely influence and determine all political decisions in the existing system.

A neo-liberal economic policy that knows no boundaries, the massive indebtedness of the public sector but also of many private people as well as harsh cuts in our social welfare systems have caused the gap between the poor and the rich to broaden even further. Unemployment, lack of perspective and mass poverty are the consequences of this kind of politics.

In the area of foreign policy we are witnesses of ever more escalating military conflicts and interventions in the name of »Western Democracy«, while internally we are being confronted with overarching surveillance in every sphere of life and increasing police violence. Political decision-making processes become more and intransparent and withdraw themselves from democratic control.

The situation is grave. That’s why we call upon you: Come, join us!

More than a 1,000 cities worldwide have seen the rise of protest movements and protest camps this year. They protest against the existing power structures and for true change.

We demand change!
We are change!

But all these peaceful global aspirations are increasingly threatened by war-mongering:

War-mongering is a well-tried tool to use fueled conflicts to distract the public from internal problems.

In light of the dispute over Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program, threats of a possible military attack against Iran, especially in the U.S. media and in Europe are expressed more openly now. This is especially true for the Republican candidate to the U.S. Presidential Elections in 2012.

The sanctions imposed by the British government against Iran and the withdrawal of the British ambassador to Tehran are further evidence that there is less and less interest in finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Also, it is important to note that Russia and China both maintain very close trade relations to Iran. Both countries have signalled openly that they would intervene in the conflict should it escalate further.

At the same time, sanctions against Syria are tightened and rebel forces are supported with weapons. In Syria we see the same severe conflicts of interest with Russia and China.

It is a known fact that by now the Libyan »Transitional Council« (an administrative instance supported by Western governments) collaborates with armed groups in Syria. It is becoming clearer that armed opponents of the Syrian regime receive massive support from abroad, just as before in Libya. We want to make very clear that we do support our brothers and sisters in the Middle East in their peaceful protests. We therefore condemn the Western governments’ intentions to intervene and disturb the processes of social change taking place in these countries to gain justification for an eventual military intervention.

After occupying Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya now NATO seems to have laid their eyes on Syria and Iran as the next targets for a forceful change of regime. International efforts to find a peaceful solution at the negotiating table are being nipped in the bud. This type of politics has already resulted in countless victims of war in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya and has brought massive destruction of infrastructure and ecosystems over these countries.

Mainly big Western corporations profited from the subsequent reconstruction and reallocation of resources while the cost for weapons, military bases and warfare were paid for with tax money from the citizens of the NATO member states.This adds to the massive indebtedness of Western governments.

Leading members of the German government have repeatedly expressed their support for a military intervention in Iran in the context of the country’s alleged nuclear weapons program.

Established mass media have also repeatedly voiced opinions in favour of the »military option«.

However, the Charter of the United Nations expressly prohibits the use and threat of force in international relations. There are only two exceptions to this »prohibition on the use of force«: The right to individual and collective self-defense according to article 51 and peace-enforcing measures according to chapter VII of the Charter.

Article 25 of the German Constitution (»Grundgesetz«) decrees that the general rules of International Law are part of German Federal Law, that they supersede national law and cause immediate rights and duties to the German citizens.

We say: End all Preparations for War against Iran and against Syria Now! End all Wars Worldwide Now!

We demand immediate de-escalating measures to defuse these conflicts sustainably!
We will pay close attention as to what will be real de-escalating measures and which actions and words only cover up provocation and escalating intentions!

We announce stiff resistance against any further escalating steps on the part of »our« governments and »our« corporate or public media.

We are many. We are the 99%. Expect us.

- »Occupy Germany«, December 6, 2011

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german
“Occupy”-Erklärung gegen Krieg – Schluss mit den Kriegsvorbereitungen gegen den Iran und gegen Syrien!

http://ow.ly/7RtBS

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