THE WORKERS' PARTY OF IRELAND

NATO - a threat to World Peace!

Joint statement of the international Communist & Workers' Party, May 2012

NATO, a threat to world peace!

In an international situation marked by the deepening crisis of capitalism and by the violent imperialist offensive against the achievements and rights of the workers and peoples, a NATO summit will take place on the 20th and 21st of May, in Chicago, USA.

In the context of an ever-deeper crisis of capitalism, imperialism embarks on a militaristic and interventionist escalation.

Having renewed NATO's strategic concept in 2010 - a new and dangerous qualitative step in its interventionist ambitions, of which the aggression against Libya was an example – the USA and NATO, which has the EU as its European pillar, seek to expand their sphere of influence, promote an arms race and ever greater military spending and invest in new weapons and in their worldwide network of military bases.

Imperialism militarizes international relations, proceeds with occupations, threatens new aggressions and promotes conspiracies and manoeuvers of interference in countries of every continent and through a permanent militaristic escalation, violates the existing agreements for international disarmament. The principles of the UN Charter are seriously jeopardized and there is a growing instrumentalization of the UN, with a view to providing a cover for imperialist violence. The process of destruction of International Law that emerged from the defeat of Nazi-fascism in World War II, paves the way for the imperialist goal of controlling resources and of dominating the planet on a military and geo-strategic level.

As imperialism's main instrument in its quest for world domination, NATO is an enormous threat to world peace and security.

But, as the facts are demonstrating, imperialism's force-based response to the crisis of capitalism is coming face to face with the progressive and revolutionary struggle of the peoples, who in various parts of the world are taking into their own hands the defense of their rights and the sovereignty and independence of their countries and are resisting in the most diversified ways, imposing setbacks to the strategy of imperialist domination.

Reaffirming their commitment to the struggle for peace, for the right of every people to determine freely its destiny, for social progress and socialism, the Communist and Workers' Parties signing this declaration:

- Demand the immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan, as well as from all other imperialist interventions in the world;

- Reject the escalation of war in the Middle East, namely against Syria and Iran;

- Demand the dissolution of NATO and support the sovereign right of peoples to decide to disassociate their countries from this aggressive alliance;

- Reject the deployment of the US and NATO's new antimissile system in Europe and demand an end to foreign military bases;

-         Demand an end to the arms race and nuclear disarmament starting with the world's major nuclear powers – such as the USA - and the complete destruction of all chemical and biological weapons;

-         Express their solidarity with the peoples that resist imperialist occupation, aggression and interference, namely in the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and Africa

Peace, Work, Democracy & Class Politics