NE W S R E L E A S E EMBARGOED UNTIL 14.00 HRS SATURDAY 15 FEBRUARY 2003
SPEECH BY STUC GENERAL SECRETARY, BILL SPEIRS, TO "JUSTICE NOT WAR" RALLY, GLASGOW, 15 FEBRUARY 2003
This great march and rally has been organised by the Coalition for Justice Not War. Other speakers have eloquently spelled out the case against launching a war on the people of Iraq, and I want to associate the STUC with that stance, before saying a few words about the "Justice" element of the coalition's title.
The STUC was part of the movement which founded CARDRI, the Campaign Against Repression and for Democratic Rights in Iraq. We were campaigning on behalf of Iraqi trade unionists, socialists, communists and democrats of all descriptions when Donald Rumsfeldt was in Baghdad selling Saddam the weapons being used to repress them. We believe that war will not advance the cause of democracy and progress in Iraq. It will kill many, many innocent people in the interests of big business in general, and US big oil in particular.
But we need to do more than oppose the war. We need to take seriously the "justice" part of the coalition.
That means campaigning for justice for the Palestinian people. The UN resolutions in support of their right to an independent, sovereign state of Palestine seem to be second class resolutions in the eyes of our masters. Those eyes have to be opened, because without justice for the Palestinian people there will be no peace in the Middle East, and peace in the mis-named Holy Land is necessary for peace in the world.
Tel: 0141 337 8100 / Fax: 0141 337 8101 / Email: bspeirs@stuc.org.uk
We need to campaign for justice in the workplaces of the world. It may seem a mundane issue as we stand on the brink of war, but core labour standards enforced by strong trade unions across the globe are vital if we are to build a world where all have access to economic justice, and workers are not played off against each other in a downward spiral of wages, conditions and hope for the future. That is vital if the War on Terror is to be won.
Which brings me to September 11, 2003.
September 11 will be the anniversary of an evil, brutal assault on a peace-loving people and their democratically-elected government and President.
September 11 will be the anniversary of an attack on democracy which resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent people. The organisers of those deaths have still to be brought to justice.
September 11 is the 30th anniversary of the attack on the socialist government of Chile, and the murder of its President, Salvador Allende. It was orchestrated and supported by the US Government, and the weapons used were supplied by the United States and Britain.
That in no way justifies the murder of thousands of US civilians in New York and Washington on the other September 11. But neither does that terrorist outrage justify the bombing of the people of Iraq, and the invasion of their country.
The way forward for humanity, throughout the earth, has to be justice, not war.
E N DS
For further information and comment, contact:
Bill Speirs