DOIW statement on the International Day of Peace: wars of aggression serve the interests of imperialism and the arms industry
The United Nations has declared September 21, corresponding to Shahrivar 31, as the International Day of Peace. This day was first recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981 and since 2001 it has been named as the Day of Non-Violence and Ceasefire. On the anniversary of this day, people of the world have witnessed with horror and disgust the crimes, committed by Netanyahu and his warmongering and racist cabinet, against the innocent people of Gaza. The crime that started with airstrikes and cutting off water, food, and electricity by the occupying government of Israel has taken the lives of more than 40,000 people of Gaza so far. It is estimated that thousands of people have been buried under the rubble of buildings, while residential areas and even infrastructure and sanitation system have been destroyed. In addition, the criminal government of Netanyahu has sentenced the Palestinian people to death from hunger and suffering from the spread of diseases such as polio.The Israeli army’s killing of three Israeli hostages who tried to surrender to that army, showed that the Israeli authorities claim that these brutal attacks on innocent Palestinian people and children are being carried out to free the hostages who were captured on October 6 is nothing but a lie. At the same time, the unconditional support of the American President, the British Prime Minister, and the leaders of the European Union has shown that the claims of Western leaders about respect for human rights and international laws are only political gestures and for show.
The repetition of the view that Hamas is a terrorist organization, and that Israel has the right to defend itself is only intended to silence the cries of ordinary people and the awakened conscience of the world. Hundreds of people have been killed in the West Bank and the increase in settler attacks on Palestinians and the usurping of their homes and lands is a new phase of Netanyahu’s criminal operations, which takes place against a background of the despicable silence of his imperialist supporters.
Photographs of bloodied bodies of Palestinian children and innocent civilians, victims of the oppression of the extremist and racist Israeli government, have become so normal in the media that major media such as the BBC do not bother to report them regularly. Netanyahu’s claim that the Gaza war was aimed at defeating Hamas and returning the Israeli hostages who were kidnapped on October 6 is only aimed at prolonging the prime minister’s rule and avoiding pending court cases.
The Israeli occupation forces continue to force the displaced survivors of these brutal attacks to take refuge in new places every so often. Hundreds of these refugees, who have been displaced several times, have also died under the attacks of the criminal Israeli army in new and so-called safe places. Imposition of hunger and new and spreading diseases impacts the war wounded and the disabled even more severely.
This Israeli strategy alone is a war crime. The catastrophic outbreak of polio caused the United Nations to implement vaccination in several locations. The news of the death of children due to hunger continues to increase. (Al Jazeera 09/07/2024)
Another dangerous goal of Netanyahu’s racist government is to expand the war in the Middle East, especially to Lebanon and Iran. The assassination of Palestinian political figures, the bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, and the assassination of the leader of Hamas in Tehran, are among the terrorist operations of the Israeli government to drag other countries in the region into a large-scale military conflict, with the support of the American and European governments.
The recent wave of exploding pagers in Lebanon on September 17 and 18, 2024, in which according to current reports, at least 14 people were killed and more than 2,800 people were injured, pursues the same goal. In addition to the war crimes in Gaza, every day in the West Bank, Zionist settlers are usurping more Palestinian lands with the protection of the Israeli army.
Even Israel’s indictment by the International Criminal Court has not stopped the flow of Western arms to the country, a clear sign that right-wing world leaders support Israel’s brutal actions. The recent decision of the British government, which came to power in the elections of June this year, to ban the export of certain weapons to Israel, is a sign of the pressure of public opinion and international progressive forces and the British people. However, it is reported that the ban covers only about 30 out of 300 arms sales licenses to Israel. Arms sales have long been an important part of the income of the exporting country and the arms industry it represents.
War in Ukraine
The imperialist instigated war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022, with Russia’s attack on Ukraine, has so far resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. In the meantime, on Tuesday, September 20, in a joint statement, France, Germany and England sanctioned Iran for sending missiles to Russia.
The hypocrisy of imperialism and their expressions of outrage at the killing of innocent people in Ukraine, at the same time, their silence in the face of the killing of more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza by the Israeli army is an obscene spectacle. It is reported that the military and political support of the West has caused the use of advanced military equipment for the invasion of Russia’s Kursk region. Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure continue to add to the casualties of this war.
The leaders of these countries show no compassion for tragic deaths of thousands of innocent people and the destruction of their lands. This is a reminder of the destructive slogan “war, war until victory” of the Supreme Leader that Iranians experienced during the Iran-Iraq war in our not-too-distant history. The strategy of imperialism and NATO to defeat Russia militarily by sending as many military weapons to Ukraine as possible, while disrupting the resolution of the crisis through peace talks, has at the same time increased the risk of World War III.
Catastrophic war and destruction in Sudan
In the past year, we have also seen tragic events in Sudan. The result of a coup that took place with the aim of defeating the revolution of democratic and patriotic forces and with the aim of restoring the Muslim Brotherhood regime in Sudan.
The disaster that has befallen Sudan since April 2023, and has entailed the army confronting the Rapid Support Force (RSF: the military group involved in Libya and Saudi Arabia’s invasion of Yemen, among others). Another tragedy is the imperialist and proxy wars in which various governments and groups are involved. The Burhan group is said to receive drones from Iran and tanks and helicopters from Turkey. The Ukrainian special forces are supporting the Sudanese army against the RSF and the Russian-linked private military company Wagner. Meanwhile, the RSF receives substantial military aid from the United Arab Emirates and recruits from Mali, Niger, and from pro-General Haftar groups in Libya. These foreign interferences are fueling the war even more.
The United Nations had announced that the number of victims of the Sudan disaster would be between 13,000 and 15,000 by February 2024. In addition, tens of thousands of people have been killed in Al-Jazariyah province. The number of injured since April 2023 is estimated to be around one hundred thousand people. Due to the destruction of more than 70% of hospitals, diseases such as cholera have become an additional threat to people’s lives.
Hunger is widespread in war-torn areas. More than nine and a half million people have been displaced. More than 4,000 young women have reportedly been victims of violent sexual crimes and more than 170 children and young women have been taken into sexual slavery by RSF militants. The RSF is said to be responsible for most of the crimes, like the massacre of people and sexual violence. The regular army and the Muslim Brotherhood have also been involved in committing crimes. The United Nations and human rights groups have described the crimes as war crimes and genocide. As always, we have witnessed many casualties, especially among women and children, and widespread destruction of natural and human resources in all these civil wars. Wars of aggression serve the interests of imperialism and the military industries. Warlords are always looking to expand the scope of wars. Progressive and popular forces must force the leaders of their countries to be held accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Photo above: Displaced Palestinian women and children in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip – Published in Aljazeera
Democratic Organization of Iranian Women 20 September 2024
