01) STOP ISRAEL'S MASSACRE OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE!

 

Communist Party calls for immediate end to airstrikes, for Baird to resign

 

    The Communist Party of Canada condemns the murderous bombardment of Palestine by the Israeli Air Force, and calls for this aggression to end immediately. Israel's attacks have already killed hundreds of people and left several thousand wounded and displaced. The Communist Party reiterates its support for the right of the Palestinian people to resist occupation in their territories, and for their legitimate struggle for an independent Palestinian state.

 

    Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Baird, has once again taken a shameful position in this crisis, stating support for Israel's attacks and criticizing the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights after she called for an immediate ceasefire and raised questions about the legality of Israel's airstrikes. These comments are part of the effort by Baird and the Harper government to reduce Canada's foreign policy to uncritical support for Israel, cloaking its aggressiveness in the language of "self-defense" and "anti-terrorism."

 

    We also condemn Prime Minister Stephen Harper's apologetics for the flagrant war crimes being committed against civilians - especially women, children and elderly - by blaming the victims, saying that Hamas activists were using their families as "human shields". Harper's "we bomb your home, and if your family is killed in the process, it's your fault" represents unbelievable and offensive double-think that reflects his aggressive, imperialist foreign policy.

 

    It is pitiful that the opposition parties, including the NDP, have adopted positions that ape the Conservatives and attempt to sideline the historical basis for this crisis. As the Communist Party noted in November 2012, "Those who seek to assign "equal blame" for the crisis ignore the decades-long Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories in contravention of international law and many important resolutions of the United Nations." Israel's warning for all Palestinians to flee Gaza if they want to survive is tantamount to ethnic cleansing at the point of the gun. We call upon the opposition parties to demand that the Canadian government press Israel for an immediate ceasefire and to open genuine peace talks. Further, the Communist Party calls for John Baird to resign as Foreign Minister, on the basis that he is pursuing a foreign policy based on illegal positions.

 

    The Communist Party supports the struggle of the Palestinian people for a viable independent state, within the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital. We demand the right of return for all Palestinian refugees, and the release of all Palestinian political prisoners from Israeli jails. We reiterate our support for the right of the Palestinian people to resist occupation in their territories. We call for the wall of separation to be dismantled and condemn all efforts to divide the Palestinian people and territories.

 

    The Communist Party supports the rapid mobilization of peace and solidarity movements in Canada and around the world, to oppose Israel's criminal bombardment and prevent escalation of the attacks. We encourage the labour and progressive movements in Canada to continue protests, and to build a mass mobilization to force the Canadian government to end its uncritical support for Israel and adopt a foreign policy of peace. Furthermore, the Communist Party encourages all individuals and organizations in Canada to actively support the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign, as a concrete, powerful and effective way to apply pressure to end Israeli apartheid.

 

- Central Executive Committee, Communist Party of Canada, July 15, 2014

(The above article is from the August 1-31, 2014, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)