24 September 2005
Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America

Solidarity With Anti-War Demonstrations

On behalf of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement, the Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America send solidarity greetings to the anti-imperialist contingent at today's anti-war demonstration in Seattle, Washington, and to the participants in other demonstrations taking place in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington DC.

Around the globe, anti-imperialists are recognising that the battles being waged in Iraq are central to their own struggles. The Iraqi resistance to occupation shackles the armies of imperialism in place in Iraq, limiting their ability to respond to challenges they confront in Venezuela, Colombia, Iran, and elsewhere. The costs of the occupation prohibit them from purchasing peace in the class war at home through reformist measures. The successes of the resistance fighters help to counter the propaganda image of the imperialists as being impossible to challenge. Accordingly, anyone who opposes the continuation of capitalism at home must support the resistance to imperialism in Iraq.

At this moment in history, it matters little if one is Sunni or Shia, Muslim or Christian or atheist, Arab or African or American. The dividing line is simply this: are you for or against imperialism? All those opposed to imperialism must defend the Iraqi resistance. It is not sufficient to oppose the occupation. The occupation is a reality that cannot be denied. What remains is to choose a side. To support the armies of the occupation is to align oneself with imperialist oppression, capitalist exploitation, violation of national sovereignty, and brutality against humanity. The only option in opposition to these evils is to support the resistance.

Irish republican socialists know full well what it means to be oppressed by imperialism, and we stand in solidarity with all peoples struggling against such oppression. Over the nearly thirty-one years the IRSM has existed, members of the Irish Republican Socialist Party and the Irish National Liberation Army have struggled against British imperialism in Ireland, sometimes to their death. We stand in solidarity with the oppressed, no matter who or where they are.

We demand an immediate end to the occupation of Iraq. Not slowly withdrawing or waiting for some unspecified time in the future, but immediately. We also demand full reparations to the Iraqi people for the war and the years of harsh economic sanctions which preceded it, as well as returning all economic resources to the Iraqi people.

Here at home in the US, the primary task is to pursue the class struggle with vigor. That is the only way to defeat the capitalist class and prevent future imperialist wars. The organisers of the anti-imperialist contingent in Seattle have raised the slogan of "Oppose Democratic Party hijacking of the anti-war movement!" We concur. The Democratic Party is as much a party of the ruling class as George W. Bush's Republican Party is, and while it may question a particular war or how it is prosecuted, its ultimate interests are those of imperialism. The only way to make war history is to make capitalism and imperialism history. The American working class must organise to achieve that goal.

In conclusion, we say no to more wars of imperialism and no to further sacrifices of working class men and women in those wars. US out of Iraq, Britain out of Ireland, and for the American working class: no war but the class war!

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