Troops out of Iraq now! Repeal the 'anti-terror' laws!

[The following is a statement by the national conveners of the Socialist Alliance issued on September 11.]

The September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the World Trade Center in the United States made it much easier for the Bush administration to present its own aggressive designs on the world as an urgently needed “defence against terrorism”. It has used the 9/11 bombing to try to pull the mass of American people into supporting Washington's agenda for achieving world economic and political supremacy.

The tragedy of the September 9 bombing outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta will be cynically used to similar ends — to whip up more fear in the Australian population in an effort to silence the now far-reaching condemnation of Australia's participation in the imperialists' so-called war on terror, and specifically its role in Iraq.

The Socialist Alliance condemns the latest bombing in Indonesia, as we condemn every terrorist action. The targeting of innocent civilians is horrendous and we express our sympathy with all the victims and their families and friends.

However, we reject the further efforts that will be made from this tragedy to create an “anti-terrorist” hysteria. Bush, Blair and Howard, by launching their criminal war on Iraq, have created more, not less, terrorism.

Terrorists are not born with terrorist ideas; they are produced by lives of poverty, hunger, repression, violence and humiliation. The bombing of the Australian embassy in Indonesia is one more reflection of the universal violation of democratic and human rights by the global capitalist system. In the absence of powerful movements of popular resistance, terrorism is the inevitable and predictable response.

Troops out now!

The Socialist Alliance condemns the occupation of Iraq and calls for all foreign troops to be withdrawn immediately. We demand that the Iraqi people be paid massive war reparations to enable them to rebuild their country, and that they be allowed to determine their own future. The Socialist Alliance will continue to work to build an anti-war movement strong enough to stop the Australian government from participating in any more unjust wars.

No military ties with Indonesia!

The Socialist Alliance opposes the Australian government increasing its military and intelligence support to governments in the Asia-Pacific. Such “engagement” simply means boosting the capacity of these regimes to repress movements for democratic rights, for example the Indonesian army repression of independence movements in Aceh and West Papua. We will continue to campaign in solidarity with the movements for democracy and equality in the Asia-Pacific.

Repeal the `anti-terror' laws

The Socialist Alliance opposes the raft of “anti-terror” legislation introduced by Coalition and Labor state and federal governments. These laws, which give ASIO and police forces the power to harass, persecute and prosecute ordinary people with impunity, do not reduce the risk of terrorist attack, but they do drastically reduce all of our civil liberties and democratic rights. We condemn, in particular, the systematic use of these laws against Middle Eastern and Muslim Australians, the scapegoats in the Australian government's fearmongering campaign.

For international solidarity