Brigandism of the United States must be stopped at any cost


Imperialism has today emerged as the greatest danger to world peace and even the very survival of human civilization. Ever since the debacle of socialism in Soviet Russia and Eastern Europe, imperialism has gone on a rampage, tramping the sovereignty of nations, endangering democracy, freedom, economic development and security of nations, creating obstacles in the way of their natural development, destroying the fabric of human culture and value system. Overlordism and bullying by the US imperialists in particular have grown menacingly during these years. Out of a great concern at the threat posed by aggressive imperialism, our Party, the Socialist Unity Centre of India felt the need of building up broad based anti-imperialist fronts in different countries to advance militant anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist movements and to strive for global co-ordination of anti-imperialist struggles in all countries through mutual cooperation and consultation.

This led to the organization of an Anti-imperialist Convention in Calcutta on November 14-17, 1995, in which delegates from Belgium, Russia, Cuba, The Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Zaire, Turkey, Iran, Nepal, Bangladesh and India participated. Organizations from many other countries could not attend the Convention, but expressed solidarity with its aims and objectives. The Declaration adopted at the Convention warned about the political, economic and cultural onslaught of belligerent imperialism on weaker nations, the exploitation of the toiling people in the name of globalization and privatization and the hegemonism of US imperialism in particular. The Convention called upon the progressive and peace-loving people of all countries to take initiative to form broad based anti-imperialist organizations in their own lands through suitable means on the basis of agreed common programme. The anti-imperialist organizations of different countries should strive to coordinate these movements on an international scale for building up mighty worldwide resistance movements against the onslaught of imperialist forces. The All India Anti-imperialist Forum (AIAIF) was set up at the Convention.

Since its formation the AIAIF started to vigorously build up organizations from the grassroots level in the different States of India and organized people’s demonstrations and protest movements on various issues, e.g., against fresh sanctions imposed on Cuba by the United States, against barbaric missile attacks on Iraq by USA, US and British interference in the internal affairs of India — notably on the Kashmir issue, against renewed nuclear weapons testing by USA, against Government oppression and torture on political prisoners in Turkey etc.
In 1997 an International Discussion Meet was held in Calcutta on November 16-17, attended by delegates from Russia, USA, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and different States of India. The theme of the discussion was “Necessity to develop anti-imperialist movement in the present global context”. Solidarity was expressed by like-minded organizations from Zimbabwe, Palestine, South Korea, Japan, Philippines, Italy, Libya, Sweden, New Zealand, Greece, Norway and Britain. In a unique expression of international solidarity the assembled delegates from the different countries and the activists from the different Indian States marched to the US consulate in Calcutta on November 17, 1997, protesting against the impending military intervention in Iraq and handed over a Memorandum addressed to the President of the United States of America.

In the following years State level Committees were formed in 20 States of India and under their leadership people’s movements on various anti-imperialist issues and against imperialist aggression in different countries were organized, e.g., imperialist war in Kosovo, Israeli attack on Palestinian people, US-led aggressive war in Afghanistan etc.

AIAIF took note that the Government of India was moving closer to the imperialist powers like USA, UK, Israel on several international questions and was holding joint military exercises with them. It was itself behaving like a junior partner of the imperialist camp and was aspiring to emerge as a regional superpower in South Asia. AIAIF raised a strong demand for the India Government to give up its pro-imperialist stand and the pro-globalization exploitative economic policy.

Last April it held a protest demonstration against the naked aggression of Israel on the Palestinian people with active support of the United States. On June 22, it observed the International Action Day, protesting against imperialist aggression on Iraq and Palestine and affirmed its solidarity with International Conference in Seoul on these issues.

After devastating Afghanistan, USA is now brazenly threatening to mount attack on Iraq, defying all international norms and ignoring public opinion all over the world and in the USA itself. There is not an iota of evidence to support the allegations of USA and UK that Iraq is amassing weapons of mass destruction and manufacturing chemical, biological and nuclear armaments. What United States is bent on doing is nothing but international terrorism and AIAF strongly condemns US gangsterism. We have to expose before the people the real reasons for these wanton acts of aggression by USA. The warfare in Afghanistan was to open up and control the corridor to the oil reserves of Central Asia, and its attack on Iraq is to establish control over the vast oil resources of Iraq. But other capitalist states, notably France and Russia, also have their eyes set on the Iraqi oil. Centering on this issue, contradictions are sharpening in the imperialist camp and there is real danger of war breaking out which would engulf the whole world,

After the debacle of socialism in Soviet Russia and Eastern Europe the capitalist world was gleefully expecting an enlargement of the market, which would lessen the inherent crisis in capitalist economy. But the subsequent events have belied this expectation and the crisis has further intensified. So to artificially stimulate the economy and to pander to the military–industrial complex the imperialist powers have to be engaged in the business of war. So the war manoeuvres of USA have nothing to do with the interest of the toiling masses or to make the world a safer place to live.


The brigandism of the United States must be stopped at any cost and it is the bounden duty of all peace-loving people to build up worldwide movements to restrain US administration in its war mongering. The All India Anti-imperialist Forum expresses its solidarity with the countless American citizens who will be assembling in Washington on October 26 to stage the massive anti-war demonstration and renews its pledge to build up mighty people’s movements, which alone can deter the aggressive onslaught of the imperialist powers. Imperialism can be defeated if movement against it is combined with the struggle to bring about anti-capitalist socialist revolution and emancipation of the working class in different countries. Comrades, let us advance on the struggle to defeat imperialism and to bring about the ultimate victory of socialism and emancipation of the toiling masses.

Manik Mukherjee
Vice-President
All India Anti-imperialist Forum
Calcutta, India