Dear Comrades,
I`m very glad to hold the first meeting of the Secretariat of the World Peace Council, in Portugal after the elections in the Assembly of Caracas. Here there is a people with rich traditions of struggle and inestimable contribution to the peace in Europe and in the world. I thank with all my heart and soul to the Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation to host this Meeting in a high level of organization and excellent work conditions.
Few weeks ago the humanity has followed in a mix of surprise and emotion the majestic spectacle of the Olympic Games in Beijing. The beauty of choreographies in the overture and closing ceremonies, the excellence of competitions, the happiness of athletes, the proud of each delegation to be representing their countries have marked the international society during two weeks. The Olympic ideal, the harmonizing among nations and peoples express at the symbolic level the human ideal itself for peace represented by our movement. It is not by chance that the last Olympic Games` theme was "A world, a dream". The humanity has the right to dream and construct a better world, which supreme values are the solidarity and peace.
But unfortunately the reality is so far from this dream. It is a dark reality, marked by insecurity, menaces and aggressions. The scurrility of the promoters of war reaches this point: at moment in that all the world was distracted by the overture of the Olympic Games, among more than a hundred of Chiefs of States, in Caucasus the war weapons were rumbling.
Instigated by US and European imperialism, the retrograde government of Georgia has unleashed bellicose operations against the South Ossetia through aggressive actions that were resulted in death of thousands civilians. As it was predictable, Russia - menaced by this and other aggressive and provocative developments, as the expansion of NATO to the East and the installation of antimissile shield at the Czech Republic and Poland-, have reacted hardly, what has elevated even more the tension in the Caucasus region. Everything shows that it is ongoing a dispute involving important strategic and economic interests in region. In my opinion, we must defend the stop of all hostilities in Caucasus and claim for this conflict can be solved on a basis of peaceful principles and within the international law rules. WPC must vehemently condemn the USA and European Union intervention directly or through puppets governments from region.
Dear Comrades,
This first meeting of the Secretariat of the World Peace Council after the election of new directive board at Assembly of Caracas held last April has in front of important tasks. The mandate we has received in that Assembly implicates immense responsibilities drew up at the Final Statement. That document signs that it was created a crucial situation for the humanity, it is marked by increasing intensity of aggressiveness of the US world strategy which are strived to impose and consolidate the new world order based on war and oppression. Seven years ago, with the Afghanistan invasion and bombing under the pretext to hunt a terrorist and to annihilate his criminal net, the USA have initiated the epoch of preemptive wars and punishment military actions which have resulted in the destruction of national sovereignty and vilipend of the international law. After that it has drew up the aggressive war against Iraq did on behalf of faking pretexts, and that can be characterized as one of the most Dantesque episodes of the contemporary history. About hundreds of thousand peoples were dead, massacres were done, the destruction of infra-structure has made the country backwards decades in its economic and social development level. One of the most ancient cultural patrimonies of humanity was criminally mutilated. Iraqi scientists, political leaders, important intellectuals citizens were persecuted, tortured and murdered. The occupation forces have increased the military presence during five years long, since the March 20, 2003 when the aggressive occupation was initiated, by the incorporation of mercenary troops to the regular ones, stimulating and tooling the militias.
In Lebanon and Palestine the aggression perpetrated also have assumed a face of tragedy and genocide against those martyr peoples. Since some time ago, it has passed to the order of day of the US imperialism agenda the preparation to the aggression to Iran. Menaces, economical sanctions, all kind of pressures have been made by US against that country.
What we can see is that is in a free way the strategy to transform the Middle East with the shape of the US interest in that is being known as the "Great Middle East". They do no mind if to do this they are perpetrating lese-humanity crimes. The US Secretary of State herself has admitted this when - during the highest point of Israeli bombing against Lebanon in 2006 - in face of the international public opinion claim and the appeal to stop firing of several governments , she has declared that the suffering of the Cedar-Country mint the `"labor pains of a new Middle East".
Aggression, torture, arbitrary exertion of power, violation of international law - after all , State terrorism - are the weapons used by those present themselves as the "champions of the antiterrorist struggle". Now when the mandate of that one that will pass to history as one of the most abominable death`s men of peoples, it is being debated among the US circle of power, what are the best strategies and tactics to perpetuate the imperialist system. In face of the failing of unilateralism and the repudiation from a considerable part of the international society, it is being discussed the thesis to create the "Democratic League" that would be a new stage of political coordination among the imperialist powers, practically a multilateralism under the ruling of US imperialism aiming to combat that the US judges its own criteria the "tyrannical governments". Simultaneously, there is a shadow on the debate about the end of occupation. One of the candidates to White House is talking about `to return just with victory", the other is proposing a confused and vague chronogram of the withdrawal of occupation forces from Iraq, but increasing the military presence in Afghanistan.
Therefore, I think that the present WPC priority struggle - and I affirm this based on the discussions held at Assembly during the World Peace Conference and the spirit of the Final Statement approved in there - it is and continues being the struggles against the aggressive wars of US imperialism and it allies, by the withdrawal of aggressive armies out of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Our of this task, is also at order of day the struggle against the militarization of the planet, the military bases, a nuclear war menace, the expansion and strengthening of NATO. Recently the USA has re-organized its naval troops and has re-launched the 4th Fleet, which was been extinct in beginning of 1950`s. The 4th Fleet has the aim to monitor the Caribbean Sea and South Pacific and South Atlantic oceans. The US warships are among the biggest of all the naval US fleets, they move by nuclear propulsion and they are base to launch nuclear weapons. It is a strategic maneuver of high reach that aim to intimidate progressive governments from region and secure that USA will have access to the natural resources of Latin American countries and peoples. It is not by chance that the announcement of the reestablishment of the 4th Fleet was been done just after the discovering of oil mega-mines at special economic zone of the Brazilian Coast. It was very correct the Statement have approved in Assembly of Caracas, when we remarked: "WPC express its solidarity with the increasing movements by the abolition to the foreign military bases, which are tolls for the war and aggression". I think that besides the solidarity, we must head with other organizations and nets, a world campaign against the military bases.
Dear Comrades,
Within three months, the humanity will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the promulgation of the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights, which claims by the same democratic and peaceful principles of the WPC. By the way, WPC has appeared at same historic moment and under the influx of the same developments and ideas that gave origin to that Declaration.
After 60 years, the humanity is under the arms of new shapes of fascism and State terror which correspond to the same nature and oppressive essence of the capitalism. Beside the massacres and genocides from preemptive wars, we can observe that the concept of the "war against terrorism" is used to put a limit the democratic right of peoples, through the hypertrophy of the police State, of the promulgation of a plethora of "antiterrorist" laws that aim criminalize the popular movements, to use torture, the illegal interception service and kidnappings. It is part of this politics the persecution to the immigrants and the Draconian laws of deportation.
While claiming by the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights and condemning the new kind of fascism that little by little is becoming the governments of the imperialist countries we can not let to mention the case of five Cuban patriots that since then years ago are in US prisons. Two of the Cuban heroes, Gerardo Hernandez and Rene Gonzalez, did not can be visited by their wives, since it was denied the US entry visa. It is our humanitarian duty - since this is a humanitarian cause - to impulse a campaign towards the US authorities and the UN High Commissariat for Human Rights to the concession of the entry visa to the wives of these two Cuban patriots US prisoners.
Dear Comrades,
As strugglers by a radiant future for the humanity, same time we are evidence the severity of the danger to peace and menace to the international security, emanated by war politics imperialism, we observe, with a great optimism, the possibilities of development of the popular struggles and the conquests and victories, even partial ones. We greet the Iraqi resistance, that are imposing defeat to the occupation forces, the Lebanese resistance that has defeat the Israeli aggressors and are walking towards to defense of the sovereignty of the country. We also greet the Palestine resistance that heroically faces the siege and the strangulation attempt. We see with a great hope the positive developments of the democratic and progressive struggles in Latin America, the struggles of the African and Asiatic peoples against the colonialism and for development with justice social and the resistance of the European workers and peoples against the imposition of Treaties that injury and national sovereignty. We are convinced that on spite of the forces correlation still unfavorable, it is up surging a new beneficial moment to the development of popular struggles for peace, the cooperation, the development, the independence and sovereignty of national States in opposing to the imperialism offensive to impose its power by force on behalf the perpetuation of a economic an social system historically condemned.
There, comrades - and so I put an end to my words - I consider this moment propitious to rise, to amplify and to strengthen the World Peace Council. By means of well oriented campaigns with an ample, unitary and massive character, it will increase the influence and force o our organization. It is our duty to explore all possibilities of action, qualifying ourselves, as our tradition, as the believable interlocutors of the democratic governments and international organizations of the UN multilateral system, to develop a unitary work with other organizations and nets which aims are convergent to ours to strengthen our organization deep its roots in regions and national States to foment the entry of new organizations, to improve the functioning methods and dynamics, as well as communication and diffusion of WPC ideas and positions. More and more, it appear propitious conditions to practice the massive internationalism of peoples to elevate the level of the anti-imperialist conscience.
Dear comrades, thanking once more the hospitality of the Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation, the presence and attention of you all, I would like transmit you the confidence and sureness that from this meeting will result right resolutions and a profitable planning of work that stands to the giant challenges of WPC. Thank you very much.
Socorro Gomes, Chairwoman of the WPC.