Workers’ Party Statement on Syria, the UNSC resolution and the calls for further intervention

 

The internal frictions in Syrian society manipulated by the imperialist powers intent upon foreign intervention have created a situation which now poses a major threat not only to Syria, but also the entire region and the world. The arming of terrorist groups determined to undermine the Syrian state has brought war and terror to Syria and beyond. Today Syria is exposed to a humanitarian catastrophe.As a consequence of this war millions of Syrian citizens have fled their homes and have become internally displaced refugees in neighbouring countries living in miserable conditions requiring food, shelter and medicine. Thousands of people fleeing violence, insecurity and terror attempt a treacherous journey across the Mediterranean to reach Europe. Each year, countless lives are lost on these journeys. The vital infrastructure of the Syrian state and its cultural heritage are being destroyed. Death, suffering and destruction is on a massive scale.

 

The United Nations Security Council has passed resolution 2249, condemning terrorist attacks and calling on member states to act against ISIL. It has deliberately avoided the real causes and responsibilities for this situation.

A coalition of ultra-reactionary and obscurantist religious forces; an alliance of anti-democratic, tyrannical and despotic states in the region; Israel and the imperialist powers,have been determined to prepare the way for intervention and the occupation of Syria with a view to destabilising and neutralising Syria, undermining its strategic importance in the region, altering the balance of power in the area and creating a region of weak but compliant, loyal client states. This would strengthen the aggressive and expansionist designs of Israel and guarantee unlimited access by the monopolies to the valuable natural resources of those states, including new energy deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean and important transport routes. These plans, in turn, come into sharp conflict with the monopoly interests of other powers in the regions, such as those of Russia, China, and their regional allies.

Resolution 2249 urges member states to “take all necessary measures, in compliance with international law” against ISIL and to eradicate the group’s safe havens in Iraq and Syria. Now we are witnessing an attempt to use these attacks, and the Resolution, under the guise of combating terrorism, as a pretext for further imperialist involvement in Syria.The aggressive actions of Turkey in shooting down a Russian jet is also a serious escalation in the conflict and has further heightened tensions in the region.

 

The UN resolution, which was co-sponsored by the UK, calls on nations to “redouble and co-ordinate their efforts to prevent and suppress terrorist attacks” using “all necessary measures”. David Cameron, the British Prime Minister is pressing for support in the British parliament for UK air strikes against ISIS although the resolution fellshort of invoking Chapter VII of the UN charter which authorises military action.

 

There is great danger in the vague and unidentified “necessary measures” contained in the resolution which is likely to be utilised by those forces which have persistently sought to intervene in Syria to the detriment of the Syrian people and the benefit of imperialism. In this context the size and composition of the permanent membership of the United Nation Security Council is conducive to the interests of imperialism.The UN General Assembly comprises 193 member states. Under the present system the UNGA may consider any issue within the scope of the Charter but may not take decisions on international situations that the Security Council is considering. In these circumstances it is an illusion that the Security Council can be a neutral referee.

 

Although the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan, TD has referred to the “UN-led process to find a lasting and sustainable settlement of the conflict” and the need for the“resumption of meaningful peace negotiations at the earliest possible opportunity” the Irish government has failed to condemn the threats of intervention or the role of countries in the region which have been actively involved in promoting and intensifying the conflict. The Irish government has the opportunity, which it has failed to take, to use its membership of the United Nations to demand respect for the principles of state sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of Syria and to demand an end to the war in Syria by cutting off support and logistics for terrorist groups by the USA, NATO and the EU, and their allies in the region, Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

 

Turkey’s support, including arms, funding and refuge, for the Syrian armed opposition is notorious, including permitting ISIS to sell oil through Turkey. The US has bombed Syria since September 2014 in violation of international law and with limited impact on terrorist groups.The US has been involved in training and arming a military insurgency in Syria, assisted bySaudi Arabia, Qatar and others. At the same time the bourgeois media has spearheaded a propaganda campaign to demonize the Syrian state (while ignoring oppression in US allies Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar) and the US has repeatedly used or attempted to use the UN Security Council to sanction Syria and to lay the groundwork for more violence against Syria and the Syrian people.

 

It is in this context that the latest United Nations Security Council resolution and the demands for further bombing advanced by Cameron and others must be viewed. This has nothing to do with defence or action against terror. The only solution which is possible requires full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria. It is for the people of Syria to alone to determine their future,free from external interference. There must be an immediate end to all overt and covert financial, logistical and military assistance to the so-called Free Syrian Army and other armed terroristopposition groups. There must be no intervention by imperialism against Syria. There must be an end to sanctions against Syria and urgent steps must be taken to facilitate a peaceful and political solution through a comprehensive national dialogue.

 

The Irish government must refuse to assist in any war against Syria, including a refusal to permit any over-flight of its territory or any use of its facilities to assist any attack against Syria. We must learn the lessons of Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. Imperialist intervention, bombing and war is no solution. The devastating consequences of such an approach are clear.

 

International Section

Workers’ Party of Ireland

25 November 2015