04) TRAGIC ANNIVERSARIES: 1973 and 2001
People's Voice commentary
This issue of People's Voice marks the anniversary of two highly significant events which took place on September 11: the U.S.-backed fascist coup against Chile's Popular Unity government in 1973, which destroyed democracy and killed thousands in that country, and the terrorist attacks within the United States itself in 2001.
In each case, the progressive and democratic movements in Canada responded immediately, to mobilize solidarity and warn of the dangers posed by these events. Rallies and protests across Canada in the fall of 1973 condemned the Pinochet coup, helping to force the Liberal federal government to allow many exiles to escape the fascist terror which engulfed Chile.
Over the past 38 years, during the military dictatorship and then decades of neoliberal governments, Canadians have continued to express solidarity with the people's movements in Chile. We have also learned much from the courageous struggles of the Chilean people for social justice and human rights. The Chilean community in Canada, today estimated at some 50,000, has made a contribution far beyond its size to the movements for social change in this country. On September 11, we join in paying tribute to President Allende and his comrades, whose defiance of U.S. imperialism during the Popular Unity years of 1970-73 became a beacon to the peoples of the world.
The mainstream media will instead focus on the 2001 attacks against the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. Once again, the official message will be that the 3000 who died in those attacks were heroic victims of terrorism, while the millions killed and wounded by the U.S. and its allies in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Palestine over the past decade are ignored.
One result of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, was a massive flowering of anti-war and anti-racism movements. A wide range of forces - trade unions, faith groups, social justice organizations, students, women, racialized communities and many more - came together in the days and months after 9/11 to resist the drive towards war, racism and fascism. The largest single day of public action in human history took place on Feb. 15, 2003, as some 15 million people took to the streets around the world to condemn the build-up for war against Iraq.
But the post-9/11 years have been a decade of aggressive attacks by imperialism. Faced with deepening economic and social crises, and by mounting popular opposition, the U.S. and the other imperialist powers have increasingly resorted to war and repression.
Unfortunately, many social democratic parties and governments succumbed to this reactionary agenda. But some political forces stood by their principles, despite intense pressures to retreat or keep silent.
A look back at the immediate response to 9/11 by the Communist Party of Canada is highly revealing. On Sept. 12, as the forces of fascism and war demanded full support for U.S. imperialism, the CPC issued a public statement condemning the demands for "retaliatory attacks" and removal of civil liberties.
Like its fraternal parties in other countries (such as Cuba), the Communist Party of Canada condemned the Sept. 11 attacks, expressing sorrow and grief. "Acts of terrorism undermine the struggle for progressive change," the CPC pointed out. "They sideline and neutralize the mass movement, create fear and disorientation in the broad people's fightback, and provide imperialism and reaction with a powerful pretext to intensify repression."
At the same time, the CPC stressed the reality of "growing anger and resentment around the world. Three‑quarters of humanity
are forced to tolerate the rampaging spread of mass poverty, economic plunder and social disparity in their respective countries; and they must do so under conditions imposed upon them by a handful of dominant imperialist powers led by the United States, and including Canada and the other leading capitalist countries. When countries and peoples have refused to succumb to dictates from Washington, they have fallen victim to U.S.‑organized state terrorism, from Cuba and Chile to Iraq and Yugoslavia..."
The CPC warned against the "grave danger that ... the U.S. Administration will launch so‑called `retaliatory' attacks against certain countries or movements around the world. We call upon the peace forces across Canada and throughout the world to mobilize to prevent a unilateral military response by the U.S., and instead to demand a political solution to this festering problem..."
"The CPC will strongly oppose any attempt internationally or domestically to use this tragic episode as a justification to limit democratic rights including the rights to assembly, privacy, legal due process or extend repression against the people," the statement continued. "The Communist Party condemns tendencies in the mainstream press to `scapegoat' Arab Canadians in the wake of these terrorist acts, and will strenuously combat any and all attempts to victimize or marginalize any national, ethnic, religious or political minority or community in Canada. We call on all labour, progressive and democratic forces to defend democracy and the cause of peace, and oppose all attacks on these principles in the name of 'fighting terrorism'."
As the Communists warned, less than a month later, Canada joined the United States in launching the deadly occupation of Afghanistan, which has extended to the horrific "drone war" against Pakistan. While public opinion blocked the Chretien Liberals from full participation in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Canada gave logistical and tactical assistance to this U.S./British war. Canada also gives full support to the brutal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. In total, these bloody military campaigns have cost over a million lives.
Back in Canada, the years since 2001 have seen a relentless push to restrict civil liberties and free speech, and to build up the state's military, espionage, prison and policing systems.
On September 11, Canadians will have much to consider. This is not a day to praise our "heroic troops". It is a day to demand to bring the troops home, to protect and expand democratic freedoms, and to reverse the accumulation of wealth and power conducted by the ruling class under the cloak of "fighting terrorism."
(The above article is from the September 1-15, 2011, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist 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.)