War and the struggle against Imperialism

War and the struggle against Imperialism

The focus of this third edition of the Khanya Journal is on war. As we go to print, the US war against the Iraqi people is escalating.

This is genocide – the deliberate destruction of a nation, of women and children. While UN inspectors assisted in disarming Iraq and paving the way for the US invasion, the UN has not even condemned US aggression. Instead, the UN general secretary, Kofi Annan, hand-picked by the US, speaks of humanitarian aid in the midst of the US’s barbaric destruction. While the US has had to admit that it will take longer ‘to liberate’ Iraq, the people of Iraq have no choice in their ‘liberation’. The resistance of the Iraqi people under these conditions has been a matter of political will and principle. While the war destroys all life, millions of people all over the world, from different walks of life, have demonstrated opposition to the US war. This is confirmation of our hope in humanity.

Solidarity with Iraq!

While the US façade is one of patriarchal invincibility, the roots of the war lie in capitalist crisis, economic decline and weakness. Despite US military superiority, the struggles of the Vietnamese and the Palestinian Intifada are testimonies of the human spirit’s capacity to resist. Together with people all over the world we pledge our solidarity with the people of Iraq, and all those struggling against US imperialism!

Five themes

In this edition we cover five themes related to the US-war in Iraq. It is important for activists and the emerging movements to have clarity on the war, and to know who are allies and what strategies and tactics to pursue to end the war. The five themes include the following:

1. The sources of the war
2. Women and war
3. Resistance to the war internationally
4. South Africa and the war and
5. Related struggles against neoliberalism

1. Sources of the war

The war is directly linked to the US’s desire to control its strategic (oil) interests in the Middle East, including Iraq’s quality oil reserves. This will also give the US control and access to the oil reserves from the Caspian Sea. For some time now there has been a crisis of profitability internationally, manifested in declining economies and declining profits. The US government itself survives on huge debt. To some extent the war will assist the US armaments’ industry with economic revival, but this is not sustainable. (The war also profits the South African parastatal, Denel, which is providing armaments to both the US and the UK!) However, the main source of the war seems to be about the oil currency and competition between imperialists powers. This aspect of the war has not been adequately covered in the mainstream media, if at all. In November 2000, Saddam Hussein shifted from US dollars to the Euro as the currency for trading Iraqi oil. Iraq has profited from this switch as the dollar depreciated against the Euro since late 2001. The Euro gained 17% to the dollar since then. Saddam also switched the $10 billion in Iraq’s UN ‘oil for food’ reserve fund, to euros, (previously held in dollars). The US fears that the Oil Producing Exporting Countries (OPEC), including Iran and Venezuela (no friends of Bush), will also shift from the dollar to the euro for trading oil. The shift in currency to the Euro would shift the balance of power in the world economy in favour of the European Union, particularly France and Germany.

This shift in currency to the euro, will not be confined to trade in oil, but will have a ripple effect on all international markets. Since 1945, the dollar has been the reserve currency. While the US economy has been in decline for some time and the government is heavily in debt, the shift in currency at this juncture would signal the demise of the dollar, and would drastically affect the US economy, and US (political and economic) dominance internationally.

The US defeat of Iraq is therefore necessary. This will enable the US to re-convert the currency for oil trading back to the dollar. The continued US military presence in the Gulf will ensure that Iran and the other OPEC states, adhere to the dollar currency.

The sources and the nature of the US war against Iraq is developed in the first article of the edition by Oupa Lehulere. In ‘Imperialism, Globalisation and the War on Iraq’. Lehulere argues that this is an inter-imperialist war, and that the war is a struggle for the hegemony of the dollar in the world economy. The article has been edited for this edition but given its usefulness for generating debate, the Khanya Journal is printing it in full as our first occasional paper. In the same section, Mothobi Mokheti in ‘US grooms dictators’ discusses the US’ role in ‘grooming dictators’ such as Saddam Hussein as long as they act in the interest of the US.

Closer to home, the African continent has been plagued with social, political and economic instability, leading to wars of one kind or another. While the peace process is seemingly underway in Angola, and being followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, civil war continues in parts of Africa. In ‘What Causes Civil War and Unrest in Africa’, Mohau Mpheko discusses the sources of civil wars in Africa.

2. Women and war

A focus on war is incomplete without discussing the impact of war on women. In addition to the human destruction, war has impacted specifically on women as a result of their gender and their unequal position in society. During war situations, the gender relations or the unequal power relations

– based on the economic, social, political and cultural relations – that operate in society are exacerbated. Under capitalism and patriarchy, women are subordinated and are often seen as mere ‘possessions of men’. This view is extended in the war situation and violence against women during war is a lethal weapon to break down opponents’ defences, psychologically, socially and collectively. This violence includes sexual abuse and rape of females, both young and old.

In this section we include some of the inputs that were given at the International Women’s Day (8 March 2003) Anti-War Coalition seminar on women and war. In her address, ‘Women opposed to Militarism’, Makoma Lekalakala,

pays tribute to anti-war campaigner and socialist, Rosa Luxemburg, and calls on women to join the anti-war movement today. This is followed by Guy Bailey’s article on ‘The role of Rape in War ’. Bailey looks at the links between sexual violence and war, and discusses the use of sexual violence by the military in Burma. The Palestine Solidarity Committee discusses ‘The impact of Israeli Occupation on Palestinian Women’ and ‘The Rose has Thorns …’, by Donna Smith, focuses on violence and hate crimes against lesbian women.

3. Resistance internationally

Even before the outbreak of the war, mass demonstrations took place opposed to any war against Iraq. In capital cities and small towns on all five continents, people have made a resounding statement: No blood for oil! Despite overwhelming popular and active opposition to the war in the

US, Britain, and Australia, the BUSH/BLAIR/ HOWARD axis continues – the true nature of the democracy of the so-called ‘liberators’ is revealed as a sham.

The international demonstrations uniting about 30million people have been unprecedented. The demonstration of 30 000 high school students in Australia was particularly inspiring! In this edition we have a special anti-war barometer, compiled by Anna Weekes, which traces some of the major demonstrations and opposition to the war internationally. We hope to continue the anti-war barometer until the war ends.

In addition we include: The Call of the World Social Movements from the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil (documents section). In ‘AGOA’, Rajni Lallah argues that the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) aims to colonise Africa and make it a US military strong hold. Maria van Driel reports on the People’s Forum held in Mauritius to oppose AGOA in ‘Africa is not for sale!’. The Peoples’ Forum ‘Platform Against Bush Politics’ is included in the documents section. This is followed by a report on the African Social Forum in Ethiopia by Mondli Hlatswayo, and an article by Joel Korvel, discusses ‘The US anti-war movement’. We end this section with a statement by one of the global union federations, the Public Services International’s, Africa Statement on US Aggression against Iraq (documents section).

4. Resistance in South Africa

Wars are generally inclined to bring out differences of perspectives. There are differences within the anti-war movement in South Africa and these are probably best expressed through the Anti-War Coalition (AWC) and the Stop the War Campaign (STWC) based in Johannesburg. In Cape Town, there is one coalition organisation but there are still differences in perspective. The AWCs are made up of largely of ngos, political organisations and the emerging social movements such as the Anti- Privatisation Forums. The STWC is made up largely of organisations that have been historically close to the ANC government such as COSATU, the South African Council of Churches and the ANC itself. Some of the differences have hinged on the following:

1. Whether opposition to war extends to war that is sanctioned by the UN, or only to war when it is conducted ‘unilaterally’ by the US.

2. Attitude to the UN and the role it has played in the Iraq conflict, as well as in other conflicts like Palestine.

3. The SA government’s commitment or lack of commitment to peace against the background of the fact that Denel, its parastatal, is providing armaments to the US/UK in the war.

While there are fraternal relations between the two coalitions in Johannesburg, the AWC is active, mobilising broad sections, particularly working people, through its marches, pickets of EXXON and DENEL, and the daily picket of the US Consulate in Johannesburg.

In his article, ‘Denel and the SA government: profiting from the war in Iraq’, Andy Clarno discusses some of the differences in perspective between the two anti-war coalitions in Johannesburg. He also advances the view that the South African government’s continued provision of arms to the US and the UK, despite calls for peace, should be understood as positioning itself in the ‘global capitalist empire’. Michael Sachs in ‘A line in the sand’, argues that the deployment of unilateral force by the US amounts to an attempt to replace the multilateral system with the military power of the US. Terry Crawford-Browne in ‘Denel: Swartklip – an ammunition factory in a residential area of one million people’ discusses the harmful impact of the armaments industry on workers, communties and the environment in Cape Town. We also include here the platforms of the Johannesburg-based AWC ‘No blood for oil!’ and the STW ‘Stop the war ’; and the Cape Town anti- war declaration called ‘Stop the war! Defend the Iraqi People!’ (documents section).

5. Struggle Against neoliberalism

We have two additional articles under this theme. One of the features of the current neoliberal period is Third World debt. Despite thousands of dollars repatriated to the north, it only services the interest on the debt. Third World debt has become pivotal in the transfer of wealth from the south to the north. In ‘Third World Debt: an instrument of control’, MP Giyose contrasts the London Agreement (1953) which dealt with the reconstruction of a defeated Germany after World War 2, with the IMF/World Bank’s approach to Third World debt. Giyose argues that the debt is the means to control the Third World.

In her article ‘AGOA’, Rajni Lallah discusses the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and its conditionalities as part of US strategy aimed at enslaving the African continent further. She also discusses links between US trade policy and US militarisation on the continent.

A New Regular Feature

A regular feature of Khanya Journal is the barometer of struggle compiled by Anna Weekes. We request readers to inform us of struggles taking place in their country/region, for inclusion in the barometer.

In this edition we introduce here a new regular feature of the Journal, a focus on progressive websites. Given the control of the corporate media on information, this regular feature on progressive websites is an attempt to make information more accessible to activists. We introduce this feature here with brief reviews of some anti-war websites compiled by Eli Kodisang. We request readers to send us reviews of progressive websites, on any aspect relevant to the struggles of the emerging social movements, for inclusion in future editions of

Khanya Journal.

Yours in Solidarity with the People of Iraq!

Maria van Driel

Convening Editor