Attempting to Force a "Moment of Choice"

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Attempting to Force a "Moment of Choice"

Points Raised By Iraq No Obstacle to Return of UN Inspectors

Brutal Security Measures of Colombian President Condemned

"Vote for Lula, vote for a new direction to Brazil!"

Tony Blair’s speech in Belfast on Thursday makes it clear that the British government is no passive observer to the divisions in the north of Ireland, a body which can simply cave in to "Unionist threats". This just cannot happen.

Rather, the British government is attempting to force a "moment of choice", as Tony Blair put it, on the people of the north of Ireland. First the government treated the Northern Ireland Assembly as though it were composed of school children, egging on the Unionists and staging a hullabaloo about a Sinn Fein spy scandal. But with Tony Blair’s speech, events have taken a more serious and sinister turn. The British government is to all appearances intent on wrecking the Peace Process with its all-Ireland dimension for its own interests. It is doing this in the name of putting "intransigence and hatred" in the past, while refusing to recognise the right of the people of Ireland, including in the Six Counties, to govern themselves.

While blaming the Irish people for the violence which hung over Belfast "like a cloud", and putting the onus on the Republican movement for not disarming, in the face of the facts, Tony Blair wants to keep a monopoly of violence in all its forms in the hands of the British government. This is a fact which his recognition in words that "nationalists" were treated as "second-class citizens" is not only meant to cover over, but perpetuate in further stirring up divisions with the aim of maintaining the British annexation of the Six Counties.

Tony Blair denigrates the achievements of Sinn Fein and the Republican movement, and once more seeks to rake up history by branding their methods as terrorism. The achievements of the years since the Downing Street declaration of 1993, and especially since the Good Friday Agreement, are to be wiped out. It is done through the assertion that the north of Ireland is at a crunch point. "The fork in the road has finally come." This is another assertion that Britain will do everything to ensure that the people will not be left to sort out their own problems and come to solutions which favour them, as they have been doing. The "threat of violence" is being made the stumbling block. And this is so while the "threat of violence" is being painted as the only way forward to sort out Iraq. The message is that only through British intervention and following the British interests can the world move forward.

Tony Blair has the nerve to adopt the words, rhetorical in his mouth, that "the only way of having a lasting peace is to have a just one". It is precisely a just and lasting peace which the British government has done its utmost to prevent not only in Ireland but in the Middle East and throughout the world. He does not fail to link his argument with his credo after September 11 that "there is a complete hatred for terrorism". So while insisting that "we must implement the Agreement in full", direct rule from Westminster is to be the only "solution" and the Irish people in the Six Counties are denied their political institutions.

Recent communications from Iraq were not a sign that Baghdad was reneging on agreements reached early this month in Vienna on the return of United Nations weapons inspector, the chief UN monitor said on Tuesday.

Hans Blix, Executive Chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), told reporters there were some points raised by Iraq in two recent letters that needed clarification, but that he did not expect them to be a serious obstacle to the return of UN inspectors after a nearly four-year absence.

"There are some loose ends, yes, and I reported on those to the Council" today, said Mr. Blix outside the Council’s chambers following his briefing. But "I don’t think the remaining ones are of such a nature that we would have delayed deployment because of them."

As for any timetable for when the inspectors would actually arrive in Iraq, Mr. Blix stressed that his team was waiting for a new Security Council resolution before proceeding. He reiterated that it would be better to have a new mandate in place before heading to Iraq rather than receiving different instructions from the Council after the team has been deployed and begun its work.

"We have waited now for nearly four years, so we’ll have a little patience with the Security Council," Mr. Blix said. "What I hear from the members of the Council is that they are themselves impatient to get to such a resolution." He said such a resolution may contain, "and we have seen some signs, of things that may affect us, so it is better to have a little patience with [the Council]."

Following on from similar criticisms from organisations such as the Colombian Commission of Jurists, the Inter-American Human Rights Commission – part of the Organisation of American States (OAS) – has added its voice to those opposing the new security measures implemented by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez.

Speaking before the Permanent Council of the OAS on October 7, Juan Mendez, president of the Commission, said that his body had "expressed time and again our concerns over the progressive deterioration in fundamental human rights in Colombia and the lack of effectiveness in implementing the Commission’s recommendations". He went on to warn of the risks posed by the new measures being taken by Uribe such as placing certain regions under military rule and said that such decrees must not be allowed to exonerate the Colombian government from complying with their human rights responsibilities.

Mendez drew specific attention to the climate of impunity that exists in Colombia and said that among those most effected were displaced communities, trade unionists, human rights defenders and community leaders. He also called on the government not to interfere in the judicial process as Uribe has threatened to do.

Meanwhile, on October 3, the United Nations announced that it would not even consider a proposal by President Uribe to certify Colombian troops to serve as peacekeepers within Colombian territory. In an effort to improve the image of the armed forces, Uribe had requested that the UN allow Colombian troops to "serve as peacekeeping ‘blue helmets’ under UN auspices so as to defend the displaced population from attacks".

A United Nations source in Colombia told the news agency ANNCOL that Uribe’s proposal was considered to be ludicrous. "It is bad enough that he is proposing to use the same army responsible for the displacement to allegedly protect these people, but he must be mad if he expects that the UN would back him in such an endeavour", the source said.

We are reprinting the Statement of the Political Commission of the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB) following the first round of the Brazilian elections, in which Presidential candidate Luis Ignacio "Lula" da Silva came to the brink of victory. Lula is from the Workers’ Party, and his campaign has the support of the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB) and the Liberal Party (PL), as well as the Greens. The second round now takes place on October 27.

The left and the Opposition were strengthened by the elections on October 6. Both PT (Partido dos Trabalhadores, Workers’ Party) and PCdoB obtained historical results. Lula received 39,443,765 votes, 46.4 percent of the 84,928,134 valid ballots. On the other hand, José Serra, the government’s candidate, did not receive half the votes of the main opposing candidate: 19,700,395 ballots. The renovation rate of the House of Representatives reached 47 percent: 240 out of 513 posts will be held by politicians who do not take part in the present legislature. More than 180 oppose the current government, which supporting representatives diminished. In the Senate also there were significant changes that favour the Opposition. Two thirds of the 81 posts were disputed and the renovation rate almost reached 50 percent. Out of the 54 new senators, 10 are affiliated with PT, 4 with PDT, 3 with PSB, 2 with PL and 1 with PPS — all parties that opposed the government’s league. In state elections, the Opposition won four governor offices and disputes nine during the runoff, including states of great electoral concentration, such as São Paulo, Ceará, Rio Grande do Sul and Pará. It was clearly shown that the Brazilian people understood that the present path trodden by the country is disastrous and that they are willing to change the policies imposed by the government of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. The people intend to build a new destiny that grants national dignity, participation in decisions regarding the country and new political methods. Cardoso’s economic orientation favoured a minority that profited a lot with the high interest rates and speculation involving our currency. This orientation sacrificed the vast majority of the population who want a new direction involving development, the generation of more jobs, meeting the basic needs regarding health, education, transportation, worthy wages, etc.

Broadening the political and social alliance

The current situation of severe economic crisis has political implications that constitute the objective bases for the broadening of the political and social alliance that may grant Lula’s victory on October 27. Broader sectors of the workers, of the middle strata of the population, business people, intellectuals and military may be gathered around the national project of the new government, resuming growth, strengthening the domestic market, creating jobs, widening democracy.

The expressive votes received by the Coalition Lula for President has shown it is the main focus of the will to change. Lula is the only candidate able to unite the majority of the Brazilian citizens around a new project, a new direction for Brazil. In order to guarantee the victory in the important battle during the runoff of the elections, the Coalition must therefore reaffirm its programme of change, in defence of Brazil, democracy and the rights of the people. The runoff will also take place for the government of the Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Sergipe, Ceará, Pará and Amapá states and the Federal District — where PCdoB is part of the coalition in the contest. In states where the Party does not take part in the contest during the runoff, it supports candidates that will be involved in the Coalition Lula for President. PCdoB understands that the struggle for these state governments, its relation to Lula’s presidential campaign and — with the victory of the Opposition — the relation between state administrations and the federal government will play a fundamental role in the implementation of policies that will build a democratic, progressive, sovereign and dignified Brazil. Since 1989 the Communist Party of Brazil has taken part, along with PT, in the political centre that searches for a democratic, popular and progressive way out of the impasses being faced by Brazil. The possibility of victory in this project has never been so near in the whole history of the country. The communists must multiply even more their efforts in order to guarantee democratic victories in states where the runoff will take place and the election of Lula.

Making the Party grow and strengthen

In the first round the participation of the Communist Party was victorious. It elected 12 federal representatives, 17 state representatives and the vice-governor of the state of Piauí. As long as the votes for the House of Representatives are concerned (votes cast for both candidates and the Party), PCdoB received 1,967,135 votes, reaching 2.25 percent of the 87,532,533 valid ballots. In the elections for the Senate, it received 6,185,951 ballots. Wagner Gomes, in São Paulo, almost reached 3,5 million votes; the Party obtained 17 percent of the votes in the Federal District and 13 percent in Bahia, among other great performances. Even where no communists were elected, such as is the case of Alagoas and Paraíba, PCdoB’s candidates to the Senate received expressive votes. PCdoB received a total of 9,281,543 votes for senators, federal and state representatives. In the runoff, along with the active participation in achieving votes for the Presidency of the Republic and for the candidates of coalitions of which it takes part, the communist militancy will make efforts to strengthen the Party. PCdoB must multiply the bonds that link it to labour movements, especially the union movement, youth social entities, boosting the consciousness and the organisation of the people. In the last effort of the electoral campaign, the communists must extend the party organisation to all places, affiliating thousands of new militants, constituting hundreds of new committees in municipalities, intensifying the insertion of the communist bases.

This historical October is an extraordinary opportunity for PCdoB to reach a new level in its existence. The challenge of affiliating and organising new bases, preparing the structure of new committees and consolidating existing ones is already present. Our members must thank the trust of voters wherever communist candidates were elected. And it must join the celebration of the victory achieved by the Brazilian people in this first round wherever mandates were not achieved. Campaign committees must keep active in the battle during the runoff. Militant plenary sessions must be organised in order to plan the tasks of the politic and electoral dispute and strengthen party ranks. PCdoB will keep on contributing to the strengthening and broadening of the national and democratic front. Communists reaffirm their commitment with the broad civic movement to elect democratic governments in the states and for the victory of Lula, beginning a new era for Brazil.

São Paulo, October 10, 2002.

Political Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Brazil