Oppose ID cards and other “anti-terror” curbs on rights!

Hands off Iran, North Korea! UK and all imperialist troops out of Iraq, Afghanistan, Ireland, Sierra Leone!

With imperious and imperial appeals to defend “our” country, “our” democracy, “British” values, and “our” way of life, the government has responded to the 7 July London bombings by deepening its “war on terrorism.” This war, however, is not directed primarily against “terrorists.” Abroad the targets are any governments in the colonial world that stand in the way of the imperialist rulers as they seek to defend their increasingly crisis-ridden world order. At home, as the employers anticipate resistance to assaults on living standards, job conditions, and the social wage, they step up probes to restrict the political rights of the working class to organise and act.

The UK government has energetically participated in the invasions and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, including the current campaign to “Iraq-ise” the post-Saddam Hussein regime. On the pretext of “the hunt for Bin Laden,” it is sending special forces to Afghanistan’s southeast and the Pakistani border in order to consolidate a new regional set-up anchored in greater imperialist domination of Pakistan. London spearheaded the joint US-UK drive against Libya, successfully threatening Tripoli with the “Iraq treatment” if it didn’t get into line. Today it is taking a leading place in the threats against Iran. Some of these states stand accused by imperialism of organizing terrorist cells in other countries. Each has demonstrated that it has, or is on the way to developing, weapons (conventional or nuclear) and delivery systems that could deter imperialism’s use of its military might.

This, not climate change or ending poverty in Africa, is the foreign policy course of the British rulers, despite what they trumpeted at the G-8 summit. What they have in store for the African continent is not ending poverty but deepened capitalist penetration, combined with military force when necessary to back up this penetration. This has been shown by the UK’s dispatch of troops to Sierra Leone; their collaboration with the regime in Nigeria; their pressure on South Africa over Zimbabwe; and the involvement of well-placed ruling-class figures in the aborted coup in Equatorial Guinea.

This foreign policy course is the extension of their war against working people in the UK, where the deepening economic crisis compels them to go after living and job conditions, pensions, and benefits secured over decades of struggle. Recognising they will meet growing resistance as they continue on this course, the British rulers are systematically strengthening their hand—to equip themselves for battles they know are coming. The fighting capacity of working people and of their trade unions, not “terrorists,” is the rulers’ chief concern. They use events like 7/7 to further strengthen measures against all working people. Anti-terrorism may be the banner, but anti-working people is the course. Witness farmers protesting rising fuel prices threatened with action under the Terrorism Act.

The government has enacted three new Terrorism Acts since 2000. It has recruited thousands more cops and members of the secret services. It has enlisted the army to jointly patrol with the police in a number of “trial” areas. It has led EU moves to strengthen international spying. And it has introduced a compulsory ID card bill. The labour movement and all democratic-minded people should speak out against each and every such curb on rights.  
 
‘National unity against terror’
Following the bombings, the government has launched a campaign for national unity against “barbaric acts.” It has announced a two-minutes silence for 14 July; a Trafalgar Square vigil has been called for the same day. Such patriotic appeals are aimed at politically hitching workers and farmers to the interests and course of the exploiters. They are trying to convince working people to accept cuts in our living standards in order to turn around the crisis of their profit rates. But we don’t share a common “way of life” with them. Working people need to reject such nationalistic demagogy and turn toward strengthening our solidarity in action and using our unions to resist the bosses’ attacks.

The government has found willing accomplices. The Trades Union Congress is building support for the two-minutes silence and has announced its intention to call a demonstration against “terrorism.” The Rail, Maritime and Transport union and its general secretary Bob Crow have called for the police or army to provide enhanced security on the Tube. The Muslim Council of Britain has called for Muslims to “unite in helping the police.”

London mayor Ken Livingstone cited bloody-handed imperialist war dog Winston Churchill as his authority in condemning what he called “criminal mass murder.” Singing Westminster’s song sheet, Livingstone called on people to “come forward” with information for the police, joining the “war against terror.”

Two weeks ago, the left joined government-backed Make Poverty History marches. Today it is marching to the government’s tune “against terrorism.”  
 
Working-class alternative
The Communist League fights for working-class clarity and unity in action in face of the bosses’ drive for “national unity,” a unity that can only be imperialist in character. Within hours of the bombing, League members were on the streets, selling The Militant newspaper and New International magazine, with signs demanding “UK and all imperialist troops out of Iraq, Afghanistan, Ireland and Sierra Leone” and “Oppose ID cards and other ‘anti-terror’ curbs on rights!”

The communist campaigners explained that whoever may have carried out the London bombings—and the resulting deaths and injuries—these actions have nothing to do with mobilising working people and their allies to defeat capitalist exploitation and imperialist oppression.

Wars of conquest, economic dislocation and ruin of exploited producers, and assaults on human dignity at home and abroad—all this will continue until working people in the United Kingdom take power out of the hands of the capitalist ruling class and establish a workers and farmers government.
 
 
Related articles:
British gov’t uses bombings to deepen antilabor assault
Bosses press wars abroad, ‘national unity’ at home  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home