Main Panel: Assault on democratic rights. Terrorist hysteria, Guantanamo, kidnappings, terrorist laws, black lists, white cells.
Speaker: Aliyah Brunner - ATIK, Turkey

The Anti-terror concept and its impact

First of al in behalf of the Confederation of Workers from Turkey in Europe (ATIK) we want to extend our warmest and anti-imperialist salutes to all of you. It is of great importance that we have been able in a period like this to gather and discuss further on how to advance the struggle against imperialism and their local collaborators and how to unite on this common goal.
The imperialists once more implement "new" arguments against us in a period where imperialist aggression is intensifying. This new concept, mainly implemented by US imperialism, has united with its allies, collaborators and lackeys to put this concept into practice; the name of this concept is the "war against terrorism"!
Besides the fact that this concept is on the agenda of all ruling classes, US imperialism and EU imperialism bring this policy alive in either their own countries or in countries that depend on them. To "justify" this concept they broaden it by putting out the frame of the so called "anti-terror" laws.
This concept finds its basis in the beginning of 2000 when the deepening crisis that imperialism had entered started to intensify. After 9/11 this concept started to be used with the above mentioned excuse as "war against terrorism". The beginning of the years 2000 and after was a time where the broad popular masses started to upraise more and more because of the results of the crisis imperialism had entered. This made the ruling classes take serious "precautions". These "precautions" meant to declare an open war that would broaden the political-economical- ideological war and its front. This also means that they left two choices, "either you are with us or you are against us". In short, this means that, either the people would accept attacks, plunder, pillage or oppression made direct or indirect by imperialism and bow down to them or would take a stand against it. While those that accept this policy also are those that accept a life in slavery, those that did not accept "must be annihilated with the most violent methods possible". As we can see, this is the point where "war against terrorism" started!
Briefly, terror-terrorism contains violence, something that carries a political aim, a meaning that takes innocent people as goal to be attacked and to harm, to scare the masses, to intimidate and to create broad fear and horror; because of this those that have practiced this directly or indirectly were throughout history the ruling classes themselves. The reason why they did this was to strengthen their power and to broaden it. The times when the ruling class is in crisis, are times where "state-terror" intensifies the most. Phrases like "terror", "terrorism", and related to this "terrorist" have always been used by the ruling classes against those that demanded rights and were struggling for them. Also for years the broad popular masses were called with these words. While US imperialism, also with the support of the western imperialists, had founded numberless reactionary Islamic regimes together with their allies against the "red danger", after the crash of the Soviet Union in the beginning of the 90’s they weren’t needed anymore. Besides, this imperialism always worked with lackey-collaborators or their politicians, on the other side it provided that Israel becomes stronger on a military-political-economical basis. It also equipped Israel with weapons.
The first bloody assault against the Palestinian people made by Israel under the name to take hand of "the promised land" occurred in 1948. Together with this assault, it brought the Intifada that lasted until today, turned into an organised resistance. But besides this, it is open today that the imperialists used a double standard in concern of the definition of the phrase "terror", especially in Palestine. While the western imperialists called the justified struggle of the Palestinian people, which had turned into popular resistance, "terrorism", when Israel made massacres against the people like women and little children then it was, and still is, called "national security". But this is not only used against the Palestinian people; they use this so-called "national security" either directly or by using regimes that are under their directive all over the world against the struggle for independence, democracy or social and national liberation. In the opinion of imperialism the people attacked are either "non-victims" or became victims by "accident". Imperialism, especially US imperialism, considered the massacres against the Palestinian people as "justified" and aim to form total control over the Middle-East. This is a part of their implementation of their policies in that region. And they are the real terrorists. Because the terror policies practised in the Middle-East through Israel are practised in other regions either directly or through their lackey-collaborator regimes, especially in Latin America countries.
In Nicaragua, the imperialists supported the Para-militaries; in Salvador the death squads continue their being. In Guatemala mass massacres were realized. All of this was realized because of the popular mobilisations and the revolutionary rises.
In consideration of their strategy their aim was not to kill, it was to scare the potential of dissidents. For example, only in Salvador in the beginning of the 1980’s 70.000 Salvadorians had been killed under the security forces of the government led by US imperialism. With the same politics similar things happened in Chile where 20.000 and in Argentine where 30.000 people were killed.

The people are being denounced as terrorists by imperialism…

Ιn the beginning of the 2000’s, the policies of imperialism came out in the open. The crisis of imperialism deepened more and more and the reflection of this were not only seen in countries depending on imperialism. To increase the number of imperialist aggression they had to create new "enemies". After the "mystery" of 9/11 the name of the new enemy was set: "Fundamentalist Islamic Movements". In order to be able to remove those movements, the people in countries where such movements were in power needed to be "freed". The movements were declared "terrorist" and were called a "threat to humanity". Immediately after the invasion in Afghanistan where the fundamentalist Taliban were in power was realized. During that occupation, while bombs were dropped and heavy chemical weapons were used, US imperialism said that the people are "freed" for good. It came out very soon that it was a lie that Afghanistan was occupied with the reason that those responsible for 9/11 were Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, and that they were hiding in Afghanistan. Because after the occupation the documents that came out showed that 9/11 was planed one year before the attack occurred. They reality was that they wanted to obtain the rich soil including the oil in the Middle-East and to open the way for imperialism in the Middle-East and Asia to expand. The next country after Afghanistan was Iraq and the next occupation happened. They claimed that Iraq owns chemical weapons, where it is known that a long time ago imperialism itself formed this dictatorship and put Saddam in power to control the region, but also to be able to blockade the social and national struggles. The other excuse was that Iraq "supports terrorist organisation". The thesis of "support to terrorist organisations" comes from the CIA, in 1980 included in the frame of "international terror".
The definition was as follows: "to carry out terrorism towards foreign nations, institutions or governments with the support of certain foreign government or organisation". This definition was produced in the imperialist kitchen against the Soviet Union and countries like Libya. The main aim of this was to always create new enemies to "justify" their aggression against the people, for this they spread around fear about this "terrorism" to the people living in the own country. After the break down of the Soviet Union, it was the fundamentalist movements that were denounced "enemy" and "dangerous". It must be said that these movements were used by imperialism for many years against the "danger of communism", under the name of the "green generation project". Al Qaeda and the Taliban were created and educated by the imperialists. The so much mentioned "war against terrorism" is, in its specific, nothing else then a war against the popular masses that are struggling against imperialism and their collaborators. Those that struggle have been declared "terrorist"; in short this means that the people in the world and their struggle has been declared "terrorist".

Anti-terror laws…

Today in imperialist countries they want to speed up the period of implementing the anti-terror laws as a part of the development of the social destruction policies. The phrase "war of civilisations" is also a part of the anti-terror concept and tries to confuse the masses. In those countries, through different racist-fascist phrases, laws and different provocations incite the labouring masses from different nations against each other, just like we were able to witness in Denmark with the example of the caricature crisis. As it is known, it did not just stay inside Denmark; it was spread around on purpose and became a crisis in many countries in the world. The caricature "crisis" was again something from which mostly US imperialism was making a profit! Because the people this time did not just shout their rage against US imperialism but also against EU imperialism, with this US imperialism has "shared" the rage of the masses against it.
This situation also was a sign that from now on the following occupations and attacks will be even if not for real will be supported or even with participate directly of EU imperialism. We were able to witness how much EU imperialism is in a crisis especially in the strike explosions in France, first the rise of the migrants and refugees in the suburbs, then the newest wave of protest against the new workers laws in which thousands of students and other young people were on strike for more then a week.
These anti-terror laws are also on the agenda in countries that depend on imperialism. One of the examples for this is the Philippines. The Macapagal-Arroyo government is, just like the other governments before, under the directive of imperialism, mainly US imperialism, and is putting their policies into practice. Besides the many recent executions, kidnappings and arrests of many trade-union leaders and other democratic mass leaders and the general attacks towards dissidents has reached its highest level. US imperialism wants to implement the "anti-terror" concept in the Philippines even more, because their aim is to smash the social liberation struggle that directly goes against imperialism and their local collaborators in other Asian countries like Nepal and India and Philippines that are advancing and growing. The 1017 proclamation from February this year in the Philippines, in where the martial law was declared and that lasted for more then one week is a result of this. In that week many progressives and revolutionaries, including former ILPS chairperson Crispin Beltran, were imprisoned, demonstrations were prohibited, newspaper offices were raid and the attacks against the masses were openly practiced. Even today the proclamation has been suspended in the Philippines, the state-terror still continues. In the frame of these attacks the ILPS chairperson Jose Maria Sisson, who lives in exile in the Netherlands, has been one of the goals of these attacks.
Also one of the most affected sectors in Europe of this "anti-terror" concept and laws are the many refugees and migrants. With new laws their right of free expression and the right to demonstrate are blockaded. The "question sheet" that was published in Germany in order to become a citizen just shows the racist character of the imperialist-capitalist system in Europe.
Even if the "anti-terror law project" hasn’t been released openly, in many cases it is already practiced. Under the name of "war against terrorism" all over the country there is a broad wave of attack. Recently in Turkey-Kurdistan there were different operations and the people have been protesting against this suppression. Also in the month March, 14 HPG guerrillas were brutally killed with chemical weapons. This also happened under the "anti-terror" concept.

Prisons and the using of isolation and F-Types……

Isolation cells are still a common goal of imperialism to lock up their dissidents. Turkey is full of examples of this. The massacre on 19 December 2000, which was made to put the political prisoners into the F-type jails, started with things like cutting of the rights of the prisoners and attacks to them. The prisoners made protest-actions against these aggressions and protested against the plans of the F-type prison. The HS and the DF started before the massacre and continued after it under heavy conditions and long seasons. Until today, 120 people have lost their lives in the DF. In concern of the Iraq occupation, the torture of Abu Gahrib and the torture and bad treatment in the Guantanamo base show us how serious the attacks really are.
Besides all of this the Guantanamo base and what is happening there is no coincidence. It is all part of this concept and this has not just been used or prepared after 9\11, it only came out in the open. And what happened in that base is still in our minds. After Abu Gahrib and Guantanamo other "secret torture centers" came out in the open.
We could go on with this list even more but what is important is that we, as progressive, anti-imperialist, movements and democrats, unmask these politics of imperialism and their reactionary collaborators and lackeys. It is important to strengthen the unity amongst these forces and to take a clear stand and give and carry the struggle against it further and give active support to social and national liberation movements. On this context, we believe that this event will contribute to our struggle.