Karapatan strongly condemns the United States’ latest act of aggression against Iran and Iraq which clearly violates people’s rights, especially the right to self-determination of the people of Iran and Iraq.
Karapatan strongly condemns the United States’ latest act of aggression against Iran and Iraq which clearly violates people’s rights, especially the right to self-determination of the people of Iran and Iraq.
“The murder of General Qasem Soleimani of Iran, on Iraq soil, does not only contravene international law; it also directly and violently attacks the rights of Iranians whose country has been kept in imperialist war and plunder by the US for the extraction of its natural resources. It has become a prime target of the US war machines for how many years, to secure its control over the Middle East as it intensifies its imperialist plunder and to secure strategic locations for its economic and political domination,” Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said.
According to the Karapatan officials, aside from the shameless act of using unilateral military power, the US has already subjected the Iranian people to abject poverty through interventionist actions and economic sanctions: “Such hegemonic tactics have been also faced by other countries standing up for self-determination and sovereignty and against US imperialism, such as Venezuela, Cuba, and the Philippines which, until today, still suffer from US economic, military, and cultural dictates.”
The US-led militarization of vulnerable countries which led to restlessness breed more injustice as civilians continue to suffer the consequences of imperialist wars: homes being destroyed by aerial bombardments, families being separated, and indiscriminate firings victimizing the lives of civilians.
Timed by US president Donald Trump to influence impeachment proceedings against him and the upcoming US elections, Palabay said that the attack is a declaration of war that did not receive the US Congress’s approval. “It should therefore be deemed illegal even by US laws, as the US government subjects poor and working-class American youths as cannon fodder for a war that will serve only US imperialist interests,“ she added.
“Karapatan stands in solidarity with the peoples of the world, especially of the Middle East, particularly of Iran and Iraq, who are fearlessly marching in the war-torn streets to protest for their rights,” said Palabay.
“Time and time again, we are bound to resist such designs with utmost outrage. We should mobilize to demand a just and lasting peace and the immediate pull-out of US troops not only in Iran and Iraq, but also in other parts of the world,” she concluded.