Asia-Pacific calls for protests during Obama's visits to Guam, Indonesia and Australia

Statement by the Working Peoples Association (Indonesia), People's Democratic Party (Indonesia), Socialist Alliance (Australia), Socialist Worker (New Zealand), Partido Lakas ng Masa (Philippines), Solidarity (Australia), Labour Party Pakistan, Socialist Alternative (Australia), Socialist Party of Malaysia and the Confederation Congress of Indonesia Union Alliance. Supported by James Petras
[If your organisation would like to add their names to the statement, please email international@prp-indonesia.org.]

March 8, 2010 - We, the undersigned progressive, anti-war, anti-neoliberalism and anti-imperialist organisations in the Asia-Pacific region, call for a wave protests to meet US President Barack Obama's planned visits to Guam, Indonesia and Australia in March 2010.

While President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year, in fact his administration is escalating US-led military aggression all around the world and continuing the Bush administration's so-called “war on terrorism” -- which is in reality a return to colonial military occupations in the Third World justified by lies and a campaign of fear and racism. The war-like policies of the US serve to protect and advance its economic exploitation and domination all around the world.

The US has stepped up the war on Afghanistan and spilled it over the border into Pakistan.

The so-called withdrawal from Iraq is a fraud as the US will retain hundreds of bases in and around Iraq and the Persian Gulf.

The US is promoting a civil war in Yemen and is stepping up threats against Iran.

The US is increasing its military bases in Latin America and increasing its military provocations against the progressive governments and movements in the region.

The US is building up its military bases on Guam, a small Pacific nation colonially dominated and deformed by US military occupation.

Through the Naval Medical Research Unit 2 (NAMRU 2), which has recently changed its name to the Indonesia-United States Center for Medical Research (IUC), the US is gathering intelligence and developing an anti-virus industry and biological weapons in Indonesia.

In the agricultural sector, through aid organisations such as USAID, the US government inserted GMO seeds as part of biotechnology experiments by seeds corporation company i.e. Monsanto and Dupont. Often this aid is using food for aid as a pretext.

The Obama administration has allocated US$1 trillion to the military in its latest budget even while millions of workers in the US have been thrown out of work and have lost their homes.

Under President Obama, neoliberal pressure on the Third World has been intensified. Through the G20, $1.1 trillion is to be spent on an economic stimulus to be delivered through the IMF. However, IMF loans to Third World countries come with severe with neoliberal conditions which will further destroy the livelihood of millions, while bailing out the banks and protecting the capitalist system.

The US is supporting the use of dirty energy in developing countries, such as nuclear, agrofuel and coal. Through the international financial institution it controls, funds are given. This shows that US doesn’t have any commitment to save the global climate.

The US is planning to re-support KOPASSUS (Indonesia’s special forces), which is notorious for human rights violation in East Timor and Indonesia. This shows that US doesn’t have any commitment to human rights.

President Obama’s visit to Australia will celebrate and boost the reactionary US-Australia war alliance and his visit to Indonesia is to prop up the slavish and corrupt neoliberal regime of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Obama's visit to Guam is aimed at consolidating US military domination and US colonialism in the Pacific.

We call on the governments of our countries to end their military treaties and agreements with the US and call for the withdrawal of all political and military support for the wars on Afghanistan and Iraq all other imperialist wars.

We demand the removal of all US bases from our countries and all the other 130 countries around the world which currently are the site of US military bases.

We also demand an end to the presence of any US troops who are stationed in our countries, in the guise of conducting “training” exercises, under military treaties.

We also call upon the governments of our countries to support a policy of international peace and cooperation based on demilitarisation and people-to-people solidarity.

In the wake of the global capitalist financial crisis, we also demand that the governments of Guam, Indonesia and Australia end their support for the global neoliberal agenda led by the US imperialists.

We also demand that the governments of the US and Australia cancel all the debts owed to them by Third World countries, which are illegitimate debts, accrued through economic exploitation and subjugation of our countries.

This neoliberal agenda has imposed the pillaging of our peoples and the Earth on an unprecedented scale, while the global corporate elite has grown fat on profits and massive public subsidies. No prosperity and peace will come out from this increasingly greedy and destructive capitalist system which the US uses its military might to defend.

That is why we strive to unite to replace the existing exploitative capitalism system with a new world run and owned by the oppressed and exploited majority and based on solidarity, cooperation and respect for the environment.