The twin cruelties of imperialism and terrorism
Described as Europe's worst terrorist attack in 11 years, a series of coordinated attacks in Paris on the evening of November 13 left at least 129 dead and 352 injured--and the country reeling. The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria reportedly claimed responsibility for the assault in which three teams of men acting in unison shot at people and carried out suicide bombings at a concert hall and soccer stadium, among other locations.
Declaring a state of emergency, French officials quickly announced that at least one of those involved in the attack was a Syrian refugee who had passed through Greece--leading to fears of a backlash against immigrants and a wave of Islamophobic sentiment. French President François Hollande vowed to "be unforgiving with the barbarians from Daesh." Prime Minister Manuel Valls ratcheted the rhetoric even higher, stating, "We will act, we will strike, we will strike this enemy to destroy it...We must annihilate the enemies of the republic, kick out all of these radical imams, as we are already doing, strip those who besmirch the French spirit of their nationality. There won't be a moment of rest for those who attack the spirit of the republic."
In a statement released the day after the attack, France's decried the attacks and described how the left must push back against the tide of racism and Islamophobia that will be the inevitable result.
THE HORRIBLE attacks that took place in Paris on Friday evening killed more than 120 people and caused dozens of casualties. This blind violence has provoked only revulsion and indignation. The NPA shares these feelings and expresses its solidarity with the victims and with their friends and relatives. This tragedy is all the more terrible because it targeted innocent victims--these murderous attacks were aimed at the general population.
This contemptible cruelty in central Paris comes in response to the equally blind and even more fatal violence wrought by French bombing raids in Syria under orders of President François Hollande and his government. These strikes are supposedly fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the terrorist jihadists--in fact, along with Russia's intervention and air raids, they are merely protecting Bashar al-Assad's dictatorship, the regime responsible for the martyrdom of the Syrian people.
And, in fact, civilians in Syria are the main victims condemned to live in terror or to risk their lives and flee. Imperialist cruelty and Islamist cruelty feed off one another, both fighting to control oil supplies.
IN A pitiful televised address, Hollande broke down, stammering some words to the Republic. Our president, who is playing at war and who himself bears an enormous responsibility in this new tragedy, asks for our "confidence." He decreed a state of emergency throughout France, deciding that an appropriate response to the attack was to trample on basic freedoms. Sarkozy immediately supported Hollande's actions. The authorities can now ban public meetings and censor the press.
Once again, the people principally responsible for this surge of barbaric violence are calling for national unity. They are trying to turn this terrible situation to their advantage in order to choke off indignation and revolt, and they have a ready-made scapegoat: Muslims. We reject any national unity with those responsible for these ongoing wars--the bourgeoisie, Hollande, Sarkozy and Le Pen. We denounce the racism peddled by the state supposedly in defense of the "values of the Republic," even as it simultaneously threatens democratic rights, all under the guise of fighting terrorism.
The only proper response to wars and terrorism is the unity of the workers and the people, regardless of their national origins, their skin color, their religions and across borders. The workers and the people must fight together against those who want to silence and dominate them in order to do away with a capitalist system that generates such cruelty.
To put an end to terrorism, we must put an end to the imperialist wars that perpetuate the plundering of peoples dominated by the multinationals, and we must force the withdrawal of the French troops from all overseas interventions and occupations--most immediately, in Syria, in Iraq and in Africa.
Montreuil, November 14, 2015
First published at the New Anti-capitalist Party website.
