Palestinian People's Party, Contribution to the Athens
Meeting 21J2002

By Bassam A.O. Salhi

THE 2nd ACT OF THE WAR "AGAINST TERRORISM"

I want to thank you, the leadership of the Greek Communist
Party for this initiative and the repeated meetings of
Communist and Labour parties that are taking place in
Athens in order to discuss important issues that concern
our parties as well as our nations.

I would like to begin by making certain observations on the
international situation after the events of September 11th.

Let me say, to begin with that the term "war against
terrorism", is an expression that marks the post cold-war
era, and a phase that will last considerably. Essentially,
we are at the beginning of a new war that goes far beyond
the events of September 11th and the end of terrorism here
and there, a war aimed to impose imperialistic dominance
over the world under the pretext of fighting terrorism.

We must face this matter as an intricate situation rather
than a mere passing circumstance in this or the other
country. This war against terrorism has in fact begun
without there being a single, commonly acceptable
definition of the notion of terrorism.

All those within the United Nations that attempted to
supply such a definition failed. The United States forced
them to silence and so the United Nations could not come up
with a different definition of the word "terrorism".

Furthermore, the "Fight against terrorism" is being fought
in order to globalize the political security of the United
States. The most obvious aspect of this effort is the
imposition of security agreements on all countries of the
world, so that they are under the American umbrella of
security. The United States are using all the military
might they dispose of to enforce this plan.

In this context, the war against terrorism is aimed at
neutralizing all the enemies of the United States by
branding them as terrorists. And so, under this pretext,
there is violation of human rights and, in many countries
personal rights as well.

I would also like to point out that in the area of the
middle-east lays the second chain-link of the war against
terrorism after Afghanistan. We in Palestine are especially
considered as the direct target of this war to impose these
new notions in the middle-east. What is happening today in
Palestine is a rerun of the model that the United States
imposed after September 11th, which is the violent
enforcement of "solutions" by force of arms, and state
terrorism. It is exactly what Israel is doing today against
the Palestinian people.

On the other hand any prospect of peace in the Middle East
is completely lost. We want to stress that what is
happening to=day in our country is just one more image of
the model the United States are trying to impose on the
whole world. This model consists of the use of major
military violence against a national liberation movement in
the context of the so-called campaign against terrorism.

From September 11th until today the government of Israel
has tried and is still trying to be integrated into the
anti-terrorist camp. Unfortunately the Israeli government
has managed, with one way or the other to distort the image
of the Palestinian struggle and to make people believe that
the target of the Israeli policy is to deal with
Palestinian terrorism, as they call it, and the need to
review and amend the composition of the Palestinian
Authority.

In what concerns the attacks upon Israeli civilians I would
like to note summarily that it is the Israeli policy that
is primarily responsible for these acts by certain
Palestinians. Israel has not left the Palestinians many
options to face this barbaric invasion and occupation.

Our Party, however, makes a distinction between the
legitimate armed fight against the Armed Forces of Israel
and the colonists on the one hand and the acts of violence
against civilians, that our party deplores, on the other.

But we believe that what drives certain Palestinians to
such acts is the situation caused by this Israeli policy.

Finally I would like to suggest, especially in what
concerns the Palestinian issue:

First, I propose we develop a campaign boycotting Israeli
products by initiative of the left-wing and communist
parties and further expand this campaign, especially
against those Israeli products that are produced on Jewish
settlements on Palestinian territory.

We salute the campaigns that have already begun in several
countries and hope they will develop further.

Second, I propose setting-up solidarity campaigns for the
people of Palestine. Such campaigns have already been
undertaken and we know that our comrades in Greece have
organized many such solidarity campaigns. We know there
were protest marches to the Israeli Embassy in Athens and
we hope that similar mobilisations will take place in other
countries as well.

Third, I suggest we develop direct communication between
parties and movements as well as on a popular level between
common citizens families, for instance, from the camp of
Jenin.

Fourth, we have prepared a text addressed to the Secretary
General of the United Nations Organization by which we
request the release of Palestinian prisoners and especially
two prisoners: Marhuan Barghuti, member of the Executive
Committee of the P.L.O., and Mahlu. Our comrades from
Greece will distribute it among you so that you sign it.
We thank you all.