|
For a Canadian Foreign Policy of Peace! Statement – Canadians for Peace and Socialism Box 168 Slocan BC V0G 2C0 Canada 1 250 355 2669 October 13, 2010 The rejection by a majority of the member states of the United Nations, of the bid by the right-wing minority Conservative Government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper for a seat on the Security Council of the UN is a stinging defeat for the pro-NATO, pro-Israel, pro-war, anti-people’s program foisted on the UN by the leading G7 imperialist states led by the U.S.A. The Harper defeat at the U.N. paves the way for further defeats of the right-wing minority Conservative Government at home and its ouster in the next federal election. It would be a mistake to consider the defeat of the Harper right-wing Conservatives as strictly a Canadian affair. It is much more than that. This incident deserves a deeper analysis by the left progressive forces for peace and socialism as to the significance of the complex struggles unfolding among UN member states. The majority of member states are less inclined to subsume their interests in those of the leading G7 states. Given the opportunity via a secret ballot to elect another avowed representative of the pro-U.S., pro-NATO, pro-Israel lobby at the U.N. a majority of the U.N. member states refused. There should be no doubt that the minority right-wing Harper Conservative Government was delegated by international reaction led by the U.S.A. to attempt to seize another position on the Security Council to strengthen the extremist pro-war forces in the inner circle of the UN. The Harper administration is viewed by international finance capital as a reliable representative of extreme reaction, an avowed and open exponent of subverting the U.N. to the purposes of U.S. imperialism. The defeat of the Harper Government’s bid is a significant event in the struggle to preserve the integrity of the original intent of the U.N. and its Charter. The left progressive forces in Canada need to remain sober and calm about appraising events at the U.N. It is a fact that both the extreme right and the irresponsible extremist “left” unite on the issue of abandoning the U.N. as a useful institution for peace, disarmament, and human progress. The invitation of these extremist forces to abandon the U.N. is wrong and does not help the cause of peace. The left-progressive, anti-monopoly, pro-peace forces do not voluntarily concede any ground to international reaction and the proponents of NATO led interventionist wars. Like it or not, the UN is an important forum for gauging international trends and whether the anti-imperialist forces are gaining or losing strength. The defeat of the reactionary right wing Harper administration is an indication that there remain powerful forces, not yet fully mature but developing which seek a new path forward for international relations and consider the U.N. as an important battle ground of that struggle. The open exposure and severe censure by the progressive left of U.N. decisions that coincide with the designs of the leading imperialist states as it unfolds in both the Security Council and the General Assembly is fully justified and must be intensified. Gilding the lily as some pro-U.N. advocates do, and who refuse to see and condemn attempts to subvert the U.N. to the purposes of NATO instigated wars, occupation and oppression deserve rejection. That complex process is the one of the important and inescapable realities of the struggle for peace in the 21st Century. The challenge to the left peace forces is to get better at it as we move forward. The struggle for peace is long and protracted and complex and involves victories and defeats along the way. This week the forces of peace won a small but significant victory that has the potential for defeating another extreme right wing faction in the imperialist camp. The propaganda of the Harper Conservatives that they exclusively uphold Canadian values, and do so with the support of the Canadian people has been dealt a sharp rebuff. The defeat of the Harper Conservatives at the U.N. foretells a more thorough rout for his Government in Parliament and its defeat in the next federal election. The Canadian peace movement, the left progressive forces, the organized labour and democratic movements of the people of Canada that have led the struggle against the Harper foreign and domestic policy have been a major factor in his defeat at the U.N. Canadian public opinion supports a Canadian presence at the U.N. without Prime Minister Harper. That is the significance of his Government’s defeat this past week. The popular opposition of the front of anti-monopoly forces that emerged during the G20 events in Toronto in June, combined with the setback for Prime Minister Harper at the U.N., demonstrates that the Canadian people are also part of the international process of anti-monopoly, pro-peace, pro-democratic struggles now underway in leading European states. Given yesterday’s Economic Update of Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty of a weakening global economy, Canadians, as Europeans are doing, will reject attempts of the Harper Government to impose austerity, wage roll backs, plundering the EI and the CPP and militarization of the economy as an acceptable economic policy for Canada. The defeat of the Harper Government at the U.N. once again illustrates the truth that it is impossible for a Government to pursue an oppressive domestic policy and a progressive foreign policy. The minority Conservative Harper Government is a full spectrum right wing anti-people, pro-war administration. The Harper Government’s defeat at the U.N. foretells its defeat in Canada and for the same reason; state-monopoly capitalist government is incapable of acting for the common good. Now is the time for the left progressive forces to unite, in every way and manner possible to strengthen that process. Don Currie, Chair, Canadians for Peace and Socialism Left Turn Canada! |