liberation coronavirus cyprus middle east iran, iraq, turkey … · 2020. 11. 29. · cyprus...

LiberationWinter 2020/2021 CoRonAvIRUS

Poverty, misogyny andcrisis: Three womeninterviewed

CyPRUSStruggling to reunify theisland nation

MIDDLE EASTIran, Iraq, Turkeysurveyed in Liberation reports

Journal of Liberation

Andrew Murray

Internationalism:What now for the Labour movement?Francisco Domínguez

Latin American left takes the offensive

Liberation

LiberationWinter 2020/2021

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editorial/liberation

4Internationalism/What now for theLabour movementAndrew Murray

5partition/ CyprusThere is only oneway aheade: Work tounify CyprusVera Polycarpou

6interview/women’svoices/Poverty,misogyny and crisisLiz Payne

8survey/Latin Americatakes the offensiveDr Francisco Dominguez

10survey/the near and Middle EastLiberation reports

cover/confrontingthe reality ofIsraeli apartheid

Our mission is‘Liberation’It is no exaggeration to claim that the world we live in hasbeen experiencing unprecedented trauma and upheaval. TheCovid pandemic has fundamentally challenged the capacityof most governance structures in the Americas, Europe,Africa and Asia. The neo-liberal orthodoxy of recent decadeshas been exposed. While China, Vietnam, Laos and Cuba excelled in control-

ling the spread of COVID-19, the governments in the US,UK, Brazil, India and Iran have acknowledged their markedfailure. The figures are there to tell the story. The prime im-portance of state-controlled health systems and the provisionof well-planned and adequately financed public services isnow acknowledged globally.The US administration under Donald Trump has not only

been a disaster for the Americans but created havoc in theMiddle East, Latin America, Africa and Asia. The US Admin-istration’s dealing with international agencies, internationaltreaties and its complete disregard for diplomacy has madea world a less safe place in which to live. Trump’s expressedaim of “making America Great” has brought a new cold warwith China. It has given a green light to the right-wing reac-tionary government in Israel to show flagrant disregard to allUN resolutions regarding the right of the Palestinian peopleto a viable independent state and to live in peaceful co-exis-tence side by side Israel. The US under Donald Trump has mortgaged its foreign

policy to the Saudi Arabian and Persian Gulf Arab kingdomsin exchange for lucrative arms deals. In such a climate, au-tocratic regimes in Turkey and elsewhere have brazenly pur-sued adventurist plans that can only mean more terror andbloodshed.Britain has continued its policy of supporting any dictatorial

government that is prepared to purchase British arms andmilitary technology. Yemen has been turned into a killing

field by the Saudi war machine using British weapons. Andin Britain itself, in the midst of a pandemic and with the econ-omy in free-fall, Boris Johnson has announced a mammothincrease of £16.5 billion to the military budget. This is on topof the annual rise of 0.5% to the MoD’s existing £41.5 billion.Liberation’s mission has always been to contribute to a

safer and more equal world. It was founded in 1954 as acampaigning human rights organisation, the non-sectarianMovement for Colonial Freedom. As such we vigorouslycampaigned for an end to colonial rule. When we changedour name in 1970 to LIBERATION our focus was expandedto address the legacies of Britain’s colonial past.This change was in recognition that, while colonial empires

were in decline, they had been replaced by a new neo-colo-nialist imperialism. Economic and political exploitation andracism continued. Today, fifty years on, imperialism still inflictsharm on the peoples of many lands and still menaces theglobal environment.The government of the USA and its allies are ignoring or

undermining international agreements which seek to developpeaceful cooperation and coexistence between independentnations and protect the global environment and climate.In Cyprus the US and Turkey have taken over where

British colonialism left off. In Azerbaijan and the Caucasus,they are stoking up war against Armenia. In the East Mediter-ranean grave conflicts are emerging in pursuit of oil. At thesame time threats against Iran and the violation of the humanrights of the Palestinian people continue to destabilise thewhole Middle East.Liberation is committed to economic and political self-de-

termination and independence as a basic human right.Liberation will always defend asylum seekers and eco-

nomic refugees seeking safety from imperialist and neo-colo-nialist violence.Liberation stands firm against all forms of racism, abuse

and discrimination. Public awareness, education and activepublic opposition on these and many other issues is vital tobuilding a safe future for all people and our planet.Join with us, affiliate your organisation, encourage your

democratic representatives to support the work, actions andcampaigns of Liberation. Jamshid Ahmadi


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news/liberation

Liberation AGM Save the Date!

Liberation’s Annual GeneralMeeting will be held on 13 March 2021.

We will be holding it using an onlineplatform – probably zoom

There will be plenty to discuss and agree inwhat has been a historic and dramatic year forBritain and the world. Liberation will bereporting on our activity since the last AGM inOct 2019 and presenting our draft strategy toinform and shape our work in 2021 andbeyond.

It will also elect a new Liberation Council. It will be shorter than previous AGMs given

we won't be meeting face-to-face. More information – including the process

for submitting motions and how membersstand for council – will be circulated tomembers in due course.

Please keep the date clear in your diary .Furthermore, make sure you are a signed-up

member of the Liberation by January 1 2021 tobe able to participate (including present andvoting on motions) and stand for council.

You can be a member as an individual or asan affiliated organisation, like a union branch.

You can join and renew your membership atour website (www.liberationorg.co.uk) ; if youare having any difficulties signing/renewingonline, please email us [email protected]

We’d like to apologise to existing membersthat we were unable to hold an AGM this yearas we have been holding off organising it sinceSpring in the hope that the situation withCovid-19 improved to the point that enabled aface-to-face meeting. However, it has becomeclear this was not possible.

Above: General secretary Maggie Bowdenwith former Liberation chair JeremyCorbyn who paid a surprise visit to ourAGM in 2018 and remains an activeLiberation council member

Colonialism,education andLiberationFor Harsev BainsLiberation is acampaigning body fordemocracy, freedomand human rights andsupports the notionfor education at alllevels about theimperialist past ofBritain

The Labour manifesto of 2019 contained anumber of vital pledges, includingcommitments to an unequivocal apology

for the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh andteaching children about colonialism, injustice andthe role of the British empire. Jeremy Corbyn,the Labour leader in April 2019, offering hisapology for the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre,suggested the need to start teachingunromanticised colonial history in Britishschools as a form of atonement.

People in Britain are kept in the dark, blissfully

ignorant of the realities of the British empire andthe impact on its subjects in the colonies. FromIndia, the jewel in the crown, £43 trillion wasexpropriated, millions died in famines as a resultof over taxation to fund wars, with an equivalentnumber killed in massacres and partition, theparting gift of colonialism, thriving industriesdestroyed, national economies made destitute,religious and cast divisions exploited and rein-forced.

There is a new yearning for the Raj, with filmsand TV media extolling the virtues of the colonialpast. Retelling the dreams of the British empire,where the sun never sets, so glorious, so poignant,so bittersweet, against the backdrop of the re-sentful realities of contemporary Britain.

Liberation as a campaigning body for democ-racy, freedom and human rights supports the no-tion for education at all levels about the imperi-alist past of Britain. To learn how those dreamsof the ruling few turned out to be the nightmaresfor the many colonial subjects. Only then willthere be an authentic, genuine atonement for thecolonial past, providing a meaningful considera-tion of historical responsibility, rather than a po-litical gesture with admission of guilt.

This will create the prerequisite awareness ofBritain’s contemporary society and a sound foun-dation for all our future generations. Educationat all levels is absolutely necessary to overcomeimperialism’s selective amnesia of the brutality,massacres and exploitation that took place undercolonialism, slavery and indentured labour. Somepeople will find the historical truths uncomfort-able. However, we have to examine and learnfrom the past to understand the present and shapethe future.

Generations of Afro Caribbean, Asian, Irishand minority ethnic people will be better placed

to understand why they are in Britain. “We arehere, because you were there”. Education has thepotential to galvanise the links of shared historybetween the working class in Britain and the for-mer colonies.

The virtual world of webinars and meetingsusing media to connect with the world has openedup new platforms and provide unprecedented op-portunities. Up until now our deliberations withwell intentioned resolutions were confined to ourorganisations and aired by the Morning Star, theonly daily paper of the left in Britain. Now wecan reach out and connect with like-minded peo-ple around the world.

Education, which hitherto was delivered tosuit the ruling classes to produce and exploit alabour force which supports the neoliberalagenda, no longer remains the sole domain andprerogative of the bourgeoise representatives.

We cannot rely on influencing the nationalcurriculum alone to do the work for us in teachingcolonial history. They will do no different to whathas have done to previous history. The total am-nesia to the contribution of Indian soldiers killedin the First World War. Distorting the historicsacrifice of the people of Soviet Union in the de-feat of fascism. Ignoring the heroic struggles ofthe anti-fascist brigades in Spain and other Eu-ropean countries.

Liberation will make its contribution to edu-cation by initiating and supporting future educa-tion events independently and in partnership thathelp to interpret world events, educate and seekcommon solutions.

Harsev Bains is a council member ofLiberation, National Vice President of theIndian Workers’ Association and trustee ofthe Marx Memorial Library

Does the Britishsecret state stillspy on the IndianWorkers Association?

The British Library contains intelliegencereports which show that the IndianWorkers Association in Britain wassubjected to intense surveiilence by thesecret police in Britain. The India Officedocuments offer extensive details of theIWA and its activists in the British labourmovement and the community.

The India Office Record files link theorganisation to the Ghadr movement; andreveal that the state spied on theundraising activities for the families ofSikhs who had been imprisoned orexecuted in India by the colonialauthorities. The India Office kept theorganisation under close surveillance,fearful of the IWA’s agitations in Britain.

The files are held by the British Library. To see them quote the referenceShelfmark IOR/L/PJ/12/645


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internationalism/Labour

What now for the Labourmovement Corbyn has beenreplaced by Starmeras Labour leader butpressure from themass of the movementon the key issues –no more wars ofintervention, supportfor the Palestinians,no cold war withChina – can make adifference.

by Andrew Murray

The pandemic put paid to the usualconference season for the British labourmovement in 2020. Many union

conferences were postponed, and the TUCCongress was held in an abbreviated form andmostly online. Labour’s conference wasscrapped altogether in its normal form, and wasreplaced by a “Labour Connected” onlineevent, with no policy-making powers.

The usual review of the internationalsituation at these conferences did not take placetherefore. World politics has proceededregardless however, albeit under the shadow ofcoronavirus, and the labour movement ishaving to orient itself in a changing situation.

The changes apply to Labour itself. In April,Jeremy Corbyn, long-standing champion ofliberation struggles around the world, wasreplaced as Labour leader by Sir Keir Starmer,a man without much profile on these issues.Corbyn’s staunch anti-imperialist and anti-warcampaigning was his quality which the hostileestablishment liked least of all.

Nevertheless, Corbyn’s views chimed withParty members. A survey conducted earlier thisyear found that the most popular campaigningorganisations amongst the Labour membership(other than the big affiliated trade unions Uniteand Unison) were the Stop the War Coalition andPalestine Solidarity. The least liked was LabourFriends of Israel.

new directionsThe new Shadow Foreign Secretary LisaNandy has seemed to move in a differentdirection – her pronouncements on China,Russia and other issues have hewed close toestablishment consensus thinking. The driftback towards foreign policy bipartisanship isunmistakable.

This will doubtless be further encouraged bythe election of Joe Biden to the US Presidency.The traditional Atlanticism which has formed alarge part of the outlook of the Labour right-wing for seventy years or more, and has led to

British participation in calamities like the IraqWar of 2003, was a harder sell when DonaldTrump was in the White House. But linking upwith US Democrats has traditionally been thedefault position of the centre and right ofLabour.

Business as usual BidenBiden signals a return to “business as usual”after four years of the racist authoritarianismof Trump. However, business as usual underDemocrats and Republicans alike has meantone war of intervention after another thiscentury, and Biden’s foreign policy teamseems full of “liberal interventionists”.

Starmer pledged, when standing for electionas Labour Leader, to oppose any more suchaggressions, particularly in the Middle East. Asnoted, they are overwhelmingly opposed by theParty membership. However, the desire toalign with a Biden presidency could underminesuch good intentions.

Likewise, the Party will face pressure todilute its solidarity with the Palestinian people.One of the demands raised by Jewishcommunal bodies and others for puttingLabour’s convulsions over anti-Semitismbehind it has been that the Party should returnto being an “honest broker”, even-handedbetween Israel and the Palestinians.

PalestineWhat this means is abandoning anysympathy for the Boycott, Divestment,Sanctions (BDS) campaign which has putsome international pressure on the Israeligovernment and mouthing “two state”platitudes which are increasingly at oddswith the reality on the ground as Israelisettlement in the West Bank proceeds apace,backed by plans for full annexation of mostof the territory of a putative Palestinian state.

Here the labour movement has clear policy.The following resolution, moved by Unite, wasadopted by the TUC at its online conference inSeptember:

“Congress stands united in its full oppositionto the Israeli government’s declared intention toannex great swathes of the West Bank, a movethat is illegal under international law and thatmakes clear there is no intent on the part of theIsraeli government to end the occupation andrecognise the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. It will be another significantstep in the creation of a system of apartheid.For too long the international community hasstood idly by as the Israeli state has beenallowed to carry out its crimes and this cannotbe tolerated or accepted any longer. Decisiveaction is now urgently needed in relation toIsrael’s illegal actions against the Palestinians.Congress therefore resolves to:

i. fully support and play an active role in thePalestine Solidarity Campaign’s actions tobuild a broad coalition against the proposedIsraeli annexation and to urge all affiliates todo likewise

ii. send a letter to the prime minister

demanding that the UK take firm and decisivemeasures, including sanctions, to ensure thatIsrael stops or reverses the illegal annexation,ends the occupation of the West Bank andblockade of Gaza, and respects the right ofPalestinian refugees to return

iii. communicate its position to all othernational trade union centres in theInternational and European Trade UnionConfederations and urge them to join theinternational campaign to stop annexation andend apartheid.”

Thus the labour movement maintains itsrobust stance in support of the Palestinianpeople and against Israeli colonialism.

Biden is unlikely to make a significantdifference here. His view was made clear morethan thirty years ago when, justifying USmilitary aid to Israel, he said: “If there weren’tan Israel, the United States of America wouldhave to invent an Israel to protect her interestsin the region.” No significant pressure onIsrael to abide by international law can beexpected – will Labour take a strongerposition?

Understandably, Labour will align withBiden on other issues, like trying to revive thenuclear arms agreement with Iran, rejoining theParis Agreement on climate change andreviving nuclear weapons talks with Russia.But then again, the Tory government willsupport these positions too.

Bad movesBoris Johnson of course talks of a new“global Britain”, a prospect which willhardly be welcomed in those considerableparts of the globe which have experiencedwhat British imperialism means in practice.However, his rhetoric is belied by the realityof Britain’s position, outside the EU,somewhat estranged from the new USadministration on account of the WithdrawalAgreement’s impact on Ireland amongstother things, and drawn into a quasi-confrontational stance against China.

Alienation from the three largest economicblocs in the world is not a good place to start toassert a new world role. But Labour has toprovide its own alternative version for Britain’splace in the world. Corbyn clearly did that,with his emphasis on the peaceful resolution ofdisputes, and addressing the roots of globalpoverty, injustice and environmentaldespoliation.

This should not be left to Starmer andNandy. Pressure from the mass of themovement on the key issues – no more wars ofintervention, support for the Palestinians, nocold war with China – will be what can makethe difference. The years of knowing that theanti-war and solidarity movements had asupporter in the Labour Leader’s office areover, but campaigning pressure can still ensurethat Labour plays a progressive part.

Andrew Murray is a former adviser to Jeremy Corbyn


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partition/Cyprus

Turkey’s provocativeactions earlier thismonth mean partitionof Cyprus is now alooming threat butCypriots - bothTurkish Cypriots andGreek Cypriots - arerefusing tosurrender our commoncountry to the nATomember.

by vera Polycarpou

For Cypriots, this 15 November wasworse than in any previous year. Thedate marks the illegal proclamation of

a so-called “state” in the occupied part ofCyprus, a secessionist move taken in 1983under Turkey’s guidance. The illegalproclamation came nine years after the 1974fascist coup d’etat and the Turkish invasion,both part of the NATO plan to divide theisland of Cyprus between Turkey and Greece,which at the time was suffering under themilitary junta. Forty-six years of occupationof 37% of the land mass of Cyprus have sincepassed; thirty-seven since the illegalproclamation. Yet, this 15November provedextremely painful for all Cypriots, bothGreek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, whobelieve in a reunified Cyprus.

You may have seen images of TurkishPresident Erdogan walking through Varosha,the “ghost city”. This is the fenced-off area,the southern, the former tourist quarter of thecoastal city of Famagusta under Turkishmilitary control where houses and buildingsstand empty since their owners fled asTurkish troops entered. This provocative acton the infamous anniversary was designed tosignal Turkey’s intention to re-open Varosha

and followed the opening on 8 October of thecity’s coastline coastal front. It constitutes aflagrant violation of UNSC Resolutions,especially 550 and 789, which stipulate thatVarosha should be returned to its lawfulinhabitants and definitely not be reopenedwhile under occupation. Erdogan and ErsinTatar, the new right-wing nationalist TurkishCypriot leader and Erdogan’s obedientservant, celebrated the anniversary of theillegal proclamation by leading the way to a“picnic” under the rain on the Varosha coast;in declaring their intention to open thefenced-off suburb part of the city, they alsostated they would work for a two-statesolution.

Turkey’s aim to control hydrocarbonresources beyond its waters, has caused atense situation in the already troubled EasternMediterranean. The international communityand the EU, to no avail, repeatedly called onthe NATO member to stop illegal drilling inthe Exclusive Economic Zone of theRepublic of Cyprus. It would have been moreeffective if they had all stopped arms sales toTurkey, which is the world's fifth largestimporter of major weapons, and heavilyreliant on US and western Europeansuppliers.

This situation casts serious doubt on theresumption of meaningful negotiations for acomprehensive solution of a bizonalbicommunal federation (BBF), which hasbeen the intention of the UN Secretary-General.

Partition of Cyprus is a looming threatwhich has to be curbed and reversed. Turkeyhas been pursuing a policy of moving settlersto Cyprus, with the aim of assimilating theTurkish Cypriot community and eventuallyannexing the occupied part. Nonetheless, in asignificant move, while when Erdogan wasimposing Tatar (as leader of the TurkishCypriot community) and “picnicking” withTatar in Varosha, thousands of TurkishCypriots demonstrated in protest, refusing tosurrender our common country to Turkey.

We believe that the only way to stoppartition is to insist on the resumption ofsubstantive talks in line with prioragreements on the agreed basis and fromwhere they were left off in Crans Montana in2017. At that time a significant degree ofimportant convergences had been reachedbetween the two sides and the UN Secretary-General had presented a framework thatcould pave the way to a solution. We - allCypriots who believe in a reunified Cyprus -need to insist on that. We need theinternational community to insist on that too,along with the respect of the agreed basis:The framework can be no other but a BBF, aunited state with a single sovereignty, asingle citizenship, a single internationalpersonality and with political equality, asdescribed in the UN texts, with the humanrights and fundamental freedoms of allCypriot citizens guaranteed.

When in 1960 Cyprus finally gainedindependence from the UK, it was left with abitter colonial legacy: a treaty of guaranteeand British military bases that are usedagainst the peoples of our region and beyond.

Today, perhaps more than ever, we alsoneed British politicians, unions and activists,to stand by us to demand a solution that willdemilitarize Cyprus and put an end to theanachronistic guarantees (in place since the1960 Treaty of Guarantee setting the UK,Turkey and Greece as guarantor powers), aswell as to any intervention rights. We wantyou to join with us in fighting for a reunifiedCyprus that is a bridge of peace, cooperationand understanding in the trouble EasternMediterranean.

Vera Polycarpou is the head of theInternational Relations Bureau andcentral committee member of Cyprus’AKEL party

Left: Cypriots demonstrate for unityAbove: Cyprus under occupation

ReunifyingCyprus is the only wayforward


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interview/women’s voices

A view fromBrazil, Indiaand theLebanonThe current economiccrisis ofcapitalism, whichfollowed years ofneo-liberalausterity andgathered momentumfrom mid-2019onwards, was alreadytaking an enormoustoll when CovID-19struck withdevastating effect.

Pre-pandemic, millions of people, mostof them women, in many parts of theworld, were being lined up, as always,

to pay the heaviest price for an economicdepression they bore no responsibility forcreating – through massive job losses and, forthose still in work, huge pay cuts, a sharpdeterioration in conditio

ns and an explosion of insecure contracts.The pandemic broadened and deepened thecrisis, especially for the peoples of countriesstill suffering from the legacy of colonialexploitation and impacted by the continuingeconomic, political and military interventionsof foreign powers and the ravages ofreactionary regimes at home - all in pursuit ofmega profits, without regard for the needs ofthe majority of citizens. Both the economiccrisis and pandemic have had adisproportionate and crushing impact on theworld’s women and particularly on thepoorest and those who are dispossessed. Buttheir struggle continues.

Here, Liz Payne of Liberation (LP) talkswith three world-leading politicians andcampaigners from different continents about

female poverty and misogyny in the contextof the current crisis. Annie Raja (AR) isgeneral secretary of the National Federationof Indian Women and a vice-president of theWomen’s international DemocraticFederation. Marie Nassif-Debs (MND) is apolitician and president of ‘Equality: TheWardah Boutros Association for Women’sRights’ in Lebanon. Socorro Gomes (SG) ispresident of both the World Peace Counciland Cebrapaz, the Brazilian peace andsolidarity movement. Liberation wishes tothank them all for their contributions and, atthe same time, pledges its support for theongoing struggle for justice and equality forwomen everywhere.

LP: It is well known thatwomen across the world aredisproportionally affected bypoverty. Can you comment onthis in respect of women inyour country and say somethingabout the way in which thecurrent economic crisis hasimpacted on them?

MnD: Women are the poorest of the world’spoor and women in Lebanon are noexception. They are held back by illiteracyand unemployment. The majority of womenwho do work are low paid, receiving lessthan 70% of male earnings. Most are notregistered for social security. In the currenteconomic crisis, which exploded in October2019, more than half of all Lebanese peoplelive without work, below the poverty line.

According to the Ministry of Labour, thereare more than a million unemployed people,65% of the adult population. Most are womenand young people. A UN study reports that thenumber of out-of-work women has increasedby 106,750 in a year.

SG: Women in Brazil are the greatestvictims of the economic crisis anddisastrous neoliberal policies, such as cutsin social provision, for example to childeducation and health. This is made worseby the pandemic, with the piling up ofresponsibilities onto women, such aschildcare and looking after the elderly. Thistakes its toll on women’s participation in

Marie Nassif-Debs – leftAnnie Raja – centreSocorro Gomes - right


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the labour market, as evidenced by a dropin the employment rate in 2020 to thelowest in 30 years. These policies have alsoled to greater exposure to the COVIDpandemic.

AR: In India, exclusion of the poor andmarginalized and unprecedented inequalityare the hallmarks of neo-liberalism. Insteadof safeguarding lives and livelihoods,government policies are aimed atperpetuating corporate profits.

As a result, 96% of women have beenpushed into the unorganized sector, withoutrights and solely for exploitation. Women’sparticipation in the workforce has fallendrastically to 20% in 2018-19. Thegovernment has stepped away from basicsectors such as health, education, andemployment. New legislation has beenpassed, for example the Aadhaar Act, makingpersonal digital identity registrationmandatory for accessing basic constitutionalrights. It excludes millions and the biggestvictims are women and children.

LP: To what extent doesmisogyny, both institutionaland individual, play a role inlimiting the possibility forachieving justice and women’sequality in your society?

SG: Brazil has one of the worst murderrates for women, with a femicide onceevery nine hours. Corrosive prejudiceagainst women is deeply rooted in thecountry and a backward misogynisticculture prevails. This permeates the currentgovernment, which is revoking publicpolicies achieved through decades ofstruggle on the part of Brazilian women inareas such as female health, inclusiveeducation, and other important affirmativepolicies. This systematic attack is resultingin a huge reversal of hard-won gains.Attempts to make violence against womensocially acceptable have been given weightby a government known for opposingwomen's emancipation and equal rights.

AR: Even in the 21st century Indiamaintains its patriarchal, feudal attitudetowards women. It creates every type ofbarrier against women’s achievement oftheir full potential. The Indian Constitutionassures equality and justice to all citizens,but governments have not translated thisinto affirmative policies and actionsimpacting the lives of women. Todaywomen are challenged with fundamentalist‘manuwadi’ ideology, which resemblesHitler’s vision of women. Women’sstruggles had succeeded in pressurizing theState to pass numerous ‘women friendly’laws, including equal pay, which serve toensure dignity and a better position. Butthe present government is dismantling all

such legislation. Misogyny has become thenorm, and this reinforces women’ssecondary position in society.

MnD: Misogyny is one of the main causesof widening inequality. In Lebanon, itarises from the sectarian political systemand the various Christian and Islamicpersonal status laws which differentiatebetween women and men and ascribesecondary status to women. Their positionis reflected in both public and private life -starting with parliament and ending withdomestic violence - as well as in the role ofwomen in the production process. It is alsoreflected in a number of civil laws,including denial of the right of women topass their nationality to their children.

LP: In what ways has theCovID-19 pandemic beenparticularly detrimental tothe lives of women and theirfamilies and how will thisaffect the women’s strugglegoing forward?

AR: COVID has accelerateddiscrimination and devastation, destroyingthe livelihood and income of all sections ofwomen, who have become the shockabsorbers of the family. As hospitals turnaway patients, other than those withCOVID, the additional responsibility oflooking after the elderly and sick has fallento women. Women have become unpaidcare-workers. The situation debars themfrom participating in collective bargainingfor their rights as citizens/workers. Duringthe pandemic, violence against women hasincreased.

While schools remain closed, onlineeducation will see an increased drop out ofgirls, millions of whom live in huts withoutsmart phones, electricity, or internet. Theirfuture will become a major challenge.

MnD: In Lebanon too, the impact of theCorona pandemic on working women hascompounded that of the economic crisis interms of job loss and hence loss of income,high rates of dismissal, and increasedfamily and childcare duties, which alreadyplaced a much greater burden on womenthan on men. Hence, our priority in thefuture will be a return to the slogan"Regulate the labour market and providesocial protection for working women!"

SG: The pandemic does not discriminate,but it does disproportionally affect thepoor, those living on the margins and in theslums of Brazil, completely unprotectedand without access to any publicly fundedassistance. COVID has placed a huge extraburden on the shoulders of women, whoare caring for children and other familymembers and supporting their families,

A view from IranThe spread ofcoronavirus hasimpacted every aspectof people’s lives andaffected theirlivelihoods. Iran’seconomy was in a direstate already beforeCovID-19.

by Dr Azar Sepehr

The rate of unemployment among thepopulation of working age is reportedto be 12.4%, at 3 million people.

The percentage of women inunemployment is twice that of men. The mostsignificant areas of employment wherewomen are represented in larger numbers arein education and the health service. Althoughwomen do participate in higher education,they are not able to access appropriately paidwork in their fields. The pay gap betweenmen and women is very high. Universitygraduates with postgraduate degrees have towork for minimal pay, no health insuranceand no holiday pay. Recruitment agentsexploit these young people by only offeringbelow minimum pay. The supply is high, andemployers have no incentive to pay anymore. High inflation further reduces theactual value of any earnings. Jobopportunities are fewer for women as manyemployers, in the public and private sector,prefer men for permanent posts.

Privatisations in the health service havealso led to the worsening of the conditions ofthe workers and the poor, as profits areprioritised over the needs of patients, and thepay of nurses and medical staff are cut. Inrecent weeks news of the dismissal of nursesat a private hospital and the adjustment of thepay scales, while nurses are on the frontlineof the battle with COVID 19, has puzzled thepublic in Iran. Temporary contracts are thenorm, not only in private hospitals, but alsoin state-run hospitals attached to universities.Limited 89-day contracts predominate fornurses, the majority of whom are women.

Employers prevent the nurses fromqualifying for the benefits that contracts over90 days would afford them. In addition,poverty adds a new dimension to the threat ofCOVID-19. It is no secret that death fromcoronavirus is more prevalent among thepoor because they do not have access tohealthcare. The deputy Head of the HealthService in the country has admitted as much.

Women have been also been impacted duetheir role in the home looking after theirchildren, the unpaid housework, and the needto keep a paid job in order to look afterthemselves and their families. Womendominate the number of street vendors whosell their wares on pavements or on theMetro. The reduction in the number of peopletravelling, and a reluctance to purchasethings due to the threat of the virus, hasmeant serious loss of income for thesepoverty-stricken women.

My organisation, the DemocraticOrganisation of Iranian Women (DOIW),continues its work campaigning for equalrights, fighting misogynistic laws, childmarriage, segregation laws that deprivewomen of the right to education, and social,cultural and political life. DOIW continues tooppose the regressive and discriminatoryFamily Protection Law, its campaign againstchild marriage and promotion of UNinitiatives against violence against womenare as relevant today as ever. In its mostrecent statement, our organisation hascondemned the horrific murder of the younggirl, Romina Ashrafi, at the hands of herfather, under the pretext of ‘honour’ killing,an event that shook Iran and yet is all toocommon under the Islamic Republic’s lawsthat do not value girls and women.

What is also needed is the establishment ofanti-discrimination discourse by cultural andcivic institutions and the removal of barriersand restrictions on women's civic, culturaland political participation, freedoms andactivities. The Islamic Republic must bemade to ratify and implement internationalconventions to which it is signatory, such asILO C87, C98. The regime has obstinatelyrefused to sign the Bill for an end to violenceagainst women. It must be made to do so.The government must take measures todeploy women's abilities – their knowledge,expertise and skills - to assist withmacroeconomic and social developmentgoals. Social, economic and politicalparticipation of women should be recognisedas an undeniable right for them and thesociety as a whole. Segregation must end inhigher education. The limits for the numberof female students that gain access touniversity, some at 10%, must end.Employment law must cease to discriminateagainst women and their access toemployment.

This is an edited version of an interviewpublished in Iran Today


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analysis/Latin America

Donald Trump’selectoral defeat atthe 3 november 2020elections may offeropportunities for theLatin American Leftto strengthen itsslow, though visible,politicalrecuperation.

by FranciscoDomínguez

Since the 2008 world economic crisis thathit Latin America hard, US imperialismand its oligarchic allies in the region,

have been able to score substantial victoriesagainst the Left and the advance of democracyand social progress in the region.

In 2009 these retrograde forces managed tooust Honduras’ president Manuel Zelaya; in2010 they waged a near successful coup d’étatagainst president Rafael Correa in Ecuador.They succeeded in carrying out a‘constitutional’ coup against presidentFernando Lugo in Paraguay in 2012.

In 2015, after four years of destabilisationagainst president Cristina Fernandez, rightwing Mauricio Macri, became president ofArgentina; in 2016, through the mostsystematic use of lawfare, right-wingparliamentary and judicial forces impeachedDilma Rousseff, the first ever female presidentof Brazil; they falsely indicted formerpresident Lula, imprisoned him and preventedhim from being a presidential candidate, whichwould eventually lead to the election of fascistJair Bolsonaro as Brazil’s president in 2018.

In Ecuador, after being elected with thevotes of the Left in 2017, Lenin Morenobetrayed and joined forces with the mostreactionary forces in his country; in 2018 theLeft was defeated at the polls in El Salvadorleading to the election of extreme right wingerNayib Bukele.

Also in 2018, Uribista Iván Duque, electedas president of Colombia, would renege on thepeace process, and under his mandate hundreds

of social activists are being murdered; in thesame year, pro-Pinochet politician, SebastianPiñera, was elected president of Chile; and lastbut not least in November 2019, with thecomplicity of the Organization of AmericanStates (OAS) General Secretary, LuisAlmagro1, Bolivian president, Evo Morales,was ousted in a coup d’état inaugurating a defacto racist and highly repressive government.

TrumpFurthermore, extreme right winger DonaldTrump was elected to the White House,whose government launched a host ofeconomic sanctions against Cuba, Nicaraguaand especially Venezuela, setting in motionand financing violent “regime change”offensives in Venezuela in 2016 andNicaragua in 2018. The offensive againstVenezuela continues today.

Some superficial commentators have soughtto explain these setbacks by what they call theend of the “progressive cycle” as though, theclass struggle was a biological phenomenon.But recent developments have demonstratedthat there was more biology than class strugglein the content of their inadequate analyses.

The Covid-19 pandemic threw the rightwing victories, including that of Trump in theUS, into turmoil and disarray. The utterinadequacy of putting profits first whendealing with the pandemic has exposed notonly how useless right-wing governments areat providing a well worked out andcomprehensive plan, but also how unfaircapitalism is. This incompetence hasdramatically affected right wingadministrations the world over, from Poland tothe U.S., Latin America above all. But whereasTrump has been criminally irresponsible indisparaging all protective measures to reduceviral transmission, Bolsonaro has publiclystated people should not be afraid of Covid-19for “Brazil is not a country of queers.”

First fightbackPerhaps the first instance of progressiveforces fighting back against the nastyneoliberal wave that had descended on theregion since 2008-09, was the election inJuly 2018 of left wing politician, AndrésManuel López Obrador (or AMLO as he ispopularly known), to the presidency ofMexico, a country that had been under thegrip of neoliberalism and under the thump ofUS imperialism at least since 1994. AMLOalso won absolute majorities in Congressand Senate, and most of the governorships.

Ever since, he has implemented a slow butsteady reversal of decades of brutal neoliberalpolicies, and is substantially contributing to theregrouping of the Latin American Left bysetting up the Puebla Group 2 that opposesexternal (primarily US) interference in theinternal affairs of the region’s nations. Keymembers of the Puebla Group are Lula, RafaelCorrea and Evo Morales.3

This was followed by the election of

Peronista Alberto Fernández as president andCristina Fernández (no relation) as vice-president of Argentina in October 2019. Theyinherited a country in complete social andpolitical mess, with a staggering external debtof US$270 bn, accumulated in barely 2 yearsthanks to Macri’s criminal irresponsibility andaggravated by the pandemic. Thus theconditions for reversing neoliberal policies aredifficult but as with AMLO, Alberto is slowlysteering Argentina in the right direction. It isimportant to stress that had it not been for bothAMLO and Fernández, who offered asylumand used their influence and good offices, EvoMorales and many of his key ministers wouldhave probably been arrested, maltreated, andpossibly even assassinated. And both havepublicly opposed Trump’s interference andaggression against Venezuela.

Mass resistanceMass resistance, especially from the poorand the indigenous population in Ecuador,Honduras, Costa Rica, Chile, Paraguay,Colombia, Brazil, the United States and soforth, followed the positive developmentsin Mexico and Argentina. They came ontothe streets by their millions to condemn theuselessness of right wing administrations indealing with the pandemic, reject thepolicies that favoured the interests of bigcapital over those of people, and demandedspecific actions to remedy the situation.

They were thoroughly justified. In manycountries the informal sector of the economyis significant and if people cannot work daily,they simply cannot eat. Furthermore, angerwas fuelled by the death and criminal neglectof hundreds of thousands of Covid-19 patientswho, in some cases, were not even buried.Privatisation has become very unpopular.

Mass rebellion in Chile 4 led the masses todemand and win the right to hold a referendumto change not only the constitution bequeathedby Pinochet but also the economic model: free-market neoliberalism. On October 25, over77% voted for this change, throwing intoturmoil the ‘most successful’ neoliberalexperiment in the world.

Even more significant, on October, themass movement supportive of the MAS,Evo’s political party, won the generalelections with 55% (larger than the vote Evoobtained in November 2019 - 47%) andabsolute majorities in both Congress andSenate. Bolivia’s new president is Luis Arce,former minister of economics in Evo’sgovernments and architect of the country’sextraordinary economic performance for overa decade 5.

In mid-November, in Perú in reaction to theright wing controlled Congress’ decision toimpeach president Martin Vizacarra, a massmovement took to the streets forcing theresignation of Congress’ appointee, presidentMario Merino, who lasted only 3 days. Themasses are now in the streets demanding aconstituent assembly.

The left takes the offensive


| 9

comment/Guyana

These developments halt the recentreassertion of US hegemony in the region; ifnot in tatters, it is moving rapidly in reverse.Furthermore, despite Trump’s strenuous effortsto bring about ‘regime change’ in Nicaragua,Cuba and Venezuela, the US President hasfailed resoundingly, even though he has causeda great deal of harm. The OAS is to a largedegree neutralised as a US weapon ofintervention and the Lima Group, set up byTrump to overthrow President Maduro’sgovernment, is crumbling.

As we write news broke out of massrebellion in Guatemala against thegovernment budget. The police are usingbrutal repression and live ammunition(several gravely wounded and many arrests).The parliament building has been set on fireand the country’s vice president, GuillermoCastillo, is publicly calling for himself andpresident Alejandro Giammatei to resign “forthe good of the nation.”

President Luis Arce has restored fulldiplomatic relations with Venezuela andCuba; these had been severed by Bolivia’s defacto racist regime. Bolivia and other LatinAmerican governments are reinitiatingUNASUR and CELAC, regional multilateralbodies central to economic integration. AndTELESUR, cut off by Macri under ordersfrom Pompeo and the diabolical machinery inthe US State Dept., has reopened inArgentina. After 6 December, Venezuela willhave a new National Assembly, politicallypulverising Guaidó6, Trump’s fictional‘president’. And soon Trump will no longerbe in charge. Nevertheless, Uncle Sam islikely to continue interference and aggressionin his ‘backyard’, so solidarity will be neededmore than ever. Venceremos!

1 Luis Almagro must resignhttps://peoplesdispatch.org/2020/10/25/calls-intensify-for-resignation-of-oas-secretary-general-luis-almagro/

2 https://www.grupodepuebla.org/en/a-un-ano-de-su-creacion-el-grupo-de-puebla-se-instala-como-el-bloque-progresista-con-mas-impacto-politico-de-iberoamerica/

3 There is a string of excellent articles onAMLO’s policies by David Raby inhttps://prruk.org, which I stronglyrecommend everyone to read to immunizethemselves from the mainstream media.

4 https://prruk.org/the-battle-for-chile/5 https://www.coha.org/eleven-years-of-the-

process-of-change-in-evo-morales-bolivia/.

Dr Francisco Dominguez is head of theResearch Group on Latin America atMiddlesex University where he; he issecretary of the Venezuela SolidarityCampaign. Dominguez came to Britain in1979 as a Chilean political refuge. Activeon Latin American issues, he is co-authorof Right Wing politics in the New LatinAmerica.

Above left: Bolivian miners march insupport of MAS. Telesur image.

Guyanagovernment

Promising prospects with new People’sProgressive Partyadministration

by Gail Teixeira

The new Government of the CooperativeRepublic of Guyana came into officeon 2 August 2020. This came about

after what are considered historic andunprecedented circumstances, even at theglobal level, following the

2 March General and Regional Electionsand a fourteen month struggle to hold free andfair elections prompted by the successfulpassage of a no confidence motion on 21December 201

In the midst of these events, Guyana wasalso experiencing the spread of the Covid-19pandemic within its borders with no annualbudget for 2020 and no sitting of theParliament for over a year with a caretakergovernment shamelessly engaged incorruption, squander mania, unauthorizedforays in the public purse and the unlawfuldisposal of public resources.

The focus of the [new PPP government ofPresident Mohamed Irfaan Ali pictured aboveleft] has been to respond responsibly to thehealth crisis and reboot the economy, relievecitizens’ burdens, restore hope, rebuildconfidence and re-engineer development tothe benefit of all Guyanese.

Responding to health crisis andimmediate challengesThe former government’s response to theCovid 19 pandemic was hopelesslyinadequate and irresponsible; valuable timewas lost in the early stages to put the healthsector across the country in order withadequate drugs, medical supplies,equipment and staff. The interior regionssuffered the most from neglect; the fact thatthe some of the highest number of the casesare emerging from the three of the fourinterior regions is not surprising.

The new government of foremost priorityhas been to craft a response that iscomprehensive and multifaceted. A nationalmulti-stakeholders taskforce was assembled;increased testing capacity and turnaround

time with the procurement of equipment andsupplies ; acquired adequate supplies ofpersonal protective gear; procurement ofventilators, oxygen concentrators and otherequipment necessary for treating patients;enhanced capacity of regional hospitals totreat coronavirus patients; acquired muchneeded drugs to improve patients’ recovery.Guyana has also signed on to the facilitybeing provided by the Vaccine Alliance toallow it to access a COVID-19 vaccine.

Due to the closure of schools and limitedaccess to connectivity in several regions andlevels of poverty, the government has used amulti- faceted approach to provide childrenwith lessons through radio stations, theLearning Channel (tv), newspapers andworksheets. Face-to-face classes resumed forGrades 10, 11 and 12, only under strictCOVID-19 protocols.

Rebooting the economy,relieving burdensWithin 21 days in office, the newgovernment was able to craft an EmergencyBudget which was passed the NationalAssembly on September 30, 2020. It isaimed at rebooting the economy -stimulating productive sectors, attractingnew investment, creating employment930,000 jobs were lost under the formergovernment) and improving the economy’scompetitiveness- while ensuring that peoplebenefitted from relief measures.

The government launched an almost fivebillion-dollar COVID-19 relief grant which isproviding every household with G$25,000($125USD); almost 60% of the populationhave already benefitted. Frontline workerswill benefit from a G$150M risk allowances.It removed the unconscionable VAT on water,electricity and data services and restored taxexempt status on essential items. We haverestored free water for pensioners andincreased the government- funded old agepensions.

Farmers will also benefit as fees fordrainage and irrigation services and landleases were reversed to the pre-2015 rates.Small grants are available to micro and smallbusinesses through the government.

The government reintroduced the educationcash grant and increased the amount to everychild registered in school; the universalschool uniform allowance was also increased.

Restoring Guyana’s ConfidenceIn the first 100 days, the government hasbegun to lay the groundwork fortransformational infrastructural changeincluding the new Demerara River HarbourCrossing, a bridge link between theRepublic of Surinam and Guyana, a newfour-lane highway to open up new areasand improve traffic, a 250 MW gas project,a mix of energy-generation projects,including hydro and solar power. Guyana’sLow Carbon Development Strategy whichwas banished by the former governmentwill be updated and be the underpinning ofGuyana’s environment friendlytransformational developmental path.

The Guyanese people want theopportunities and chances to improve theirlives and those of their children; whilst ethnicinsecurities, real and perceived, do exist thesecan be overcome with good governance -equal access to government goods andservices, equal access to redress, equalopportunities for training, scholarships andbusiness development.

As Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali said onhis government’s first 100 days in office:“Guyana’s prospects have never been morepromising.”

Gail Teixeira is Minister of ParliamentaryAffairs and Governance pictured above right

This is an edited version of an articlepublished on Liberation website.


10 |

survey/

IranChange is possible

The final weeks ofDonald Trump’s holdon the White Houseare fraught withdanger but a newadministration in theUnited States holdsout the possibilityof change

by Jane Green

The Joint Comprehensive Plan ofAction (JCPOA), widely known as theIran nuclear deal, agreed between the

Western powers, including the United States,and the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2015 wasone of the first foreign policy casualties ofthe Donald Trump presidency. Since theUnited States’ withdrawal from the JCPOA,in May 2018, a period of uncertainty hasexisted in relations between the two countriesand across the Middle East.

The United States has used thedemonisation of the Islamic Republic ascover for changing the balance of forces inthe Middle East, in particular the negotiationof agreements with the United Arab Emirates

and Bahrain to recognise and trade withIsrael. At a stroke Trump has blown apart thefragile alliance of Arab states supporting therights of Palestinians to self-determination, inopposition to the illegal Israeli occupation ofPalestinian territory.

The prospect of normalising relationsbetween Saudi Arabia and Israel, already unitedin their opposition to the spread of Iranianinfluence in the region, and with it thepossibility of military action against Iran maynot be far away. The dangers are underlined bythe recent mission of two US B52 bomberswhich conducted a surprise, round-trip to thePersian Gulf area allegedly “to deter aggressionand reassure U.S. partners and allies”.

TurkeyNeo-Ottomandesigns andthe war in the Caucasus

Right: US and Turkish troops meet in northern SyriaWikimedia Commons/ US government image

In recent years,there has been analarming andincreasingly fierceassertion of Turkey’ssupposed interests onthe internationalstage by theautocraticadministration ofRecep Tayyip Erdoğan

by Payam Solhtalab

IraqPopularprotestscontinuedespiterepression

Rising repression,killing and theintimidation of civilactivists since lastyear’s uprising hasstrengthened theresolve of theprotesters tostruggle for change

by Liberation’s Iraqcorrespondent

The first anniversary of the October 2019uprising in Iraq, an unprecedented eventin the country’s modern history, was

celebrated on 1 October 2020 with mass ralliesin Baghdad and other provinces, demonstratingbeyond any doubt that the spirit of the uprisingis still alive.

On 25 October 2020, thousands of students,youth and women, supported by workers andprofessional unions, marched toLiberation(Tahrir) Square in central Baghdadand in other major cities in central andsouthern Iraq. They demanded once again thatthe criminals responsible for killing more than700 young protesters be brought to justice.Other demands included investigatingcorruption cases, putting an end to the militia-

type armed formations, asserting the rule oflaw and ensuring free and fair early elections.However, an election law that has beenrecently endorsed by the parliament onlyserves the ruling blocs and perpetuates theethno-sectarian power-sharing system installedin the aftermath of the US war and occupationof Iraq in 2003 and the overthrow of SaddamHussein’s dictatorship.

Repressive measuresThe government responded in the earlyhours of Saturday 31 October 2020 bysending security forces into Tahir Square inBaghdad to dismantle by force the tents ofprotesters who had been staging a sit-induring the previous months. In Basra, live


| 11

the Caucasus and the Middle East

With just under two months left in office,there remains the danger that Trump will takea military foreign policy initiative that willdamage the chances of a new administrationbeing able to chart its own course.

ContinuityThe Biden-Harris ticket will not break withUS foreign policy in its support for Israelbut is unlikely to be quite as recklesstowards Iran. As Vice-President to BarackObama, Biden was part of theadministration which orchestrated the Irannuclear deal. That Biden is unlikely toview the deal in hostile terms will not belost on Trump. A last-ditch spanner in the

works to pitch the new administration intoimmediate crisis, should not be ruled out.

Trump will also be aware that the ongoingstruggle to control the COVID-19 pandemicwill be a major priority for a Bidenadministration. With the US still the worldleader in the death count from the disease,Biden is unlikely to want to risk body bagsreturning from a bloody conflict in theMiddle East. The regime in Iran may bemany things but it would not be a pushovermilitarily. Trump will know this and a finalact of provocation could be his legacy.

For the people of Iran, the situationremains bleak. Widespread protests againsteconomic mismanagement and corruption

continue. The tightening of economicsanctions by the Trump administration hasonly served to make what was already a badsituation for the Iranian people even worse.The inability to trade major commodities, oilin particular, has plunged the economy intonear hyper-inflation with the associatedredundancies, job insecurity andimpoverishment which inevitably follows.

The position of the Iranian peoplecontinues to be that of being squeezedbetween the incompetence of the governmentinside the country and the threat of economicand military actions from those outside thecountry, seeking to determine Iran’s futuredirection.

That future direction is one which shouldbe in the hands of the Iranian peoplethemselves. Increasingly the voice of theopposition in Iran is being heard. Continuedsolidarity from the Labour and trade unionmovement in the UK remains a vital elementof support for the people of Iran. Everyeffort to generate support as well as puttingpressure upon the UK government to pressIran on its human rights record must betaken. The long-suffering people of Irandeserve no less

Jane Green is campaign organiser ofthe Committee for the Defence of IranianPeoples’ Rights

This aggressive manoeuvring, whileevident throughout Erdoğan’s tenure atthe top, has seemingly moved up a gear

since the2 failed coup d’état attempted bysections of the country’s armed forces in July2016. This event gave added impetus to theErdoğan administration’s “2023 vision”, a list ofpurported goals and objectives to be achievedby the time of the centenary of the founding ofthe Turkish Republic - also coinciding with thecountry’s next scheduled general election.

The international dimension of this visionentails a resurrection of Turkey’s stature as thepower in the region and reclamation of themantle it lost upon the defeat and demise of theOttoman Empire a century ago.

On 29 August 2018, in a message markingthe 96th anniversary of Turkey’s “Victory Day”,Erdoğan stated, “Turkey reaching its goals for2023 will shape the future of our entire regionalong with that of ours.”

As part of this neo-Ottoman outlook,Erdoğan’s Turkey is looking eastwards and to areassertion of its perceived “natural” positionand role in the Turkic-populated lands of theformer Soviet Union, towards the westernfrontiers of China - and, of course, immediatelyso to the Caucasus region.

Thus, the Armenian people have once morefound themselves bearing the brunt of Ankara’smalevolent designs and intent - with Turkey

looking to cement its influence and prestige inthe Caucasus at the expense of a RussianFederation perhaps perceived as morevulnerable and pre-occupied with the situationselsewhere in the former Soviet Union (Belarusand Ukraine), not to mention its continuingengagements in the ongoing conflicts in Syriaand Libya.

This was made abundantly clear by Turkey’spivotal role in the recent renewed offensive bythe Republic of Azerbaijan on the territories inand around the ethnic Armenian populated andadministered enclave of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). Under the oft-repeated slogan of“Two States, One Nation”, Erdoğan encouragedand facilitated a move by President IlhamAliyev in Baku to break what was essentially astalemate over the issue and its resolution, bymeans of force. Indeed, all major outbreaks offighting (April 2016, July 2020, and September2020) since the 1994 ceasefire that brought anend to the first conflict over the area followingthe collapse of the Soviet Union were provokedby offensives from the Azerbaijani side of theline of contact, with overt backing from Turkey.

Following the cessation of fighting insummer 2020, Turkey conducted joint militaryexercises with the Azerbaijani armed forces. Itis now known that a significant swathe of themilitary personnel involved in these exercisesremained behind in Azerbaijan to oversee the

planning and execution of the autumn offensive– including a tactical battalion, high-rankingofficers, and instructors. Air cover was to beprovided by Turkish warplanes and attackhelicopters. A large amount of high-grademilitary hardware was also built up during thistime, including of “Bayraktar TB-2” and“Hermes 900” military drones – supplied byTurkey and Israel respectively – which weredeployed to devastating effectt.

Islamist fightersTurkey also recruited upwards of 2000Islamist fighters from Idlib in Syria, with asmaller contingent from Libya, fordeployment in Azerbaijan as forward units inthe offensive. Captured Syrian fighters haveconfirmed their brief was to “cut the throatsof the kafirs [non-Muslims]”. Theirdeployment, particularly around the south-eastern flank of Artsakh(Nagorno-Karabakh) meant the presence ofroving bands of Sunni Arab jihadis withinjust a few miles of Iran’s north-westernborder, further destabilising an alreadyvolatile area. Turkey has previous formhere, having helped to assemble a murderousumbrella force – comprising of Grey Wolvesultra-nationalist paramilitaries, Chechenmilitia, and Afghan mujahedin – to act in asimilar capacity during the war in the 1990s.

Also fanned by Turkey, the fiery rhetoric thataccompanied this conflict served to incite ethno-sectarian sentiment unsettling a small but vocalpart of Iran’s huge Azeri ethnic minoritypopulation leading to several demonstrations inthe country in support of Azerbaijan’s offensive.

While, tellingly, the Aliyev regime hasrefused to be drawn on the number of itsmilitary casualties; it is clear that the Armenianforces and Artsakh Defence Army wereunprepared to sustain a similar level. Sincethen, the Armenian government has continuedto publicly reveal numerous instances ofatrocities and human rights abuses perpetratedby the Azerbaijani forces as they advanced.The spectacle of Aliyev gloatingly mockingArmenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in atelevised address following the ceasefireshould leave no one in any doubt as to thenature of this supposed victory and what itrepresents.

Russia may have moved to bring a halt to thewar and re-establish itself as the de-facto powerbroker on the ground in the South Caucasus, yetthis episode has served to underline Turkey’smal-intent and bolster its influence in the region.And, the menace of a revived toxic pan-Turkismdoes not portend well for anyone.

Payam Solhtalab is a campaigner forpeace and détente in the Middle East

bullets were used and a young protesterwas killed. These attacks were aculmination of concerted efforts by rulingforces to put an end to the uprising, usingvarious means to sabotage and contain theprotest movement. They also exposed theduplicity of the current interim governmenttowards the protesters and their justdemands.

Us/Iranian consnensusThe interim government headed by PrimeMinister Mustafa al-Kadhimi had beenapproved by parliament in June 2020 aftersix months of deadlock. But his nominationwas a result of an American - Iranianconsensus and came as a compromise

among the dominant ruling blocs. The recent repressive measures against the

peaceful protesters show that the al-Kadhimigovernment, despite claiming otherwise, haseffectively served the agendas of the forcesthat brought it to power.

The illusion that the protest movementwould end by forcibly removing sit-inprotesters was soon shattered when thousandsdemonstrated in Baghdad demanding jobs.

On 15 November, the media reported that7,000 unemployed university graduates andengineers staged sit-ins in front of threeministries. Another cause of mountingpopular anger is the deterioration of healthservices, with hospitals losing control ascoronavirus cases surge.

The dire economic conditions have beenfurther aggravated by a deepening financialcrisis caused by the sharp fall in oil prices.Iraq’s rentier economy relies heavily on oilrevenues to fund 95% of the budget and stateexpenditure. These revenues have plunged toan average $3.5 billion a month, half the $7billion a month needed to pay urgentexpenses. As a result, in recent months thegovernment had difficulty in paying thesalaries of more than 4 million governmentemployees on time.

Democratic AlternativeThe escalation of repression and the killingand intimidation of civil activists has onlystrengthened the resolve of the protesters

to continue their peaceful, multi-facetedstruggle for radical change.

It has helped to highlight the need to learnvital lessons from their own experience,address the weaknesses in the protestmovement, especially unifying its ranks anddeveloping more effective forms ofleadership at local and national level. It hasshown, once again, that the legitimatedemands and aspirations of the youngprotesters can only be achieved throughdefeating the corrupt ethno-sectarian power-sharing system and laying the foundations forthe democratic alternative: a civil democraticstate and social justice.


12 |

LiberationJournal of Liberation Volume 62 No 1 Winter 2020/21

Liberation was founded in 1954as the Movement for ColonialFreedom. Today Liberationcampaigns for peace, economicjustice, equality and human rights

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In solidarity withLiberation for democracy,equality, peace,socialjustice and freedomNational President General SecretaryDyal Bagri Mrs Joginder Bains

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