Second Terror Attack Comes to Britain
Statement by the RCIT in Britain, 5th June 2017, https://rcitbritain.wordpress.com
On Saturday 3rd June at approx. 10pm at night 7 people were killed when a van mowed people down on London Bridge near Borough Market. 48 people were also reported to be injured as the assailants started stabbing people on or near the Bridge. The attackers are purported to be members of the Daesh. The three attackers were shot dead by police.
The Guardian reports: “At least seven people have been killed and 48 injured after three attackers drove a van into crowds on London Bridge and then went on a stabbing rampage in nearby Borough Market. Police said armed officers shot dead all three attackers within minutes of receiving reports of the terrorist attack unfolding in central London. The three men appeared to be wearing suicide bomb vests that were later confirmed to be fakes.” [1]
This second terrorist attack must be understood because of the years of imperialist interventions in the Middle East generally. Not content with invading and occupying Afghanistan and Iraq using overwhelming military power, they now continue their barbaric aggression. In Iraq, Syria and other countries like Somalia and Yemen, the Great Powers rain down missiles, drone strikes and the rest of imperialist armaments on defenseless civilians killing, maiming and mutilating entire families, young, old, men, women and children. Is it any wonder given these circumstances that young men, and they have all been young men who have become alienated and bitter and feeling that they need to hit back, that they do and as they carry out these barbaric acts they in fact mirror the barbarity of the imperialist powers?!
With only 4 days left until the result of the British General Election the Daesh or Daesh inspired militants have struck causing maximum publicity during this heightened period of electioneering. There has been an immediate response on social media for the General Election to be suspended in light of these attacks.
“Politicians are coming under pressure to suspend the General Election after the latest terrorist outrage. Within hours of the attack on London Bridge, there were calls on social media for Thursday's poll to be postponed. The call for political activity to be put on hold was made by Mark Oxley in a petition he posted on the Change.org website His views were shared by many on Twitter”. [2]
The RCIT in Britain denounces unreservedly this cowardly and reactionary attack on people enjoying a night out, including migrants and ordinary workers and their families. In our statement after the Manchester attack at the Aria Grande Concert we made clear our position on the role of the Daesh.
“The Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT) unequivocally condemns these attacks as utterly reactionary. Like the Paris attack, indiscriminate deadly violence was directed not against a military target but against ordinary civilians. The ruling class of the imperialist powers will use these attacks to justify and intensify its reactionary offensive against the oppressed peoples of the Middle East, as well as its repressive policies domestically targeting the working-class in general and Muslim migrants in particular.
This attack clearly demonstrates yet again the reactionary character of Daesh/IS. This hateful organization wages war mainly against oppressed people, not against imperialism or reactionary regimes. The RCIT repeats that it is the task of the workers and peasants organized in popular militias to wage the struggle against Daesh/IS. Workers and the oppressed must oppose any actions by the Great Powers and their allied butchers, like Assad, since it is the imperialists and their dogs who are the biggest terrorists of all, and they are cynically using the struggle against “terrorism” only as a pretext to advance their own interests. We say: Fight Daesh by fighting its causes – the exploitation and wars of the Great Powers and their crony dictators in the Middle East!
This attack must not be used by the capitalist state to increase its dictatorial attacks on migrants and refugees. The RCIT Britain reiterates its principled opposition to all forms of racism and oppression and for the defence of democratic rights. We will continue to campaign for open borders and defend the democratic rights of migrants and other oppressed sections of the working classes.
The RCIT Britain reemphasizes the absolute necessity for European workers, migrants and youth to unite in the struggle against racism, state oppression, and attacks on democratic and social rights. Furthermore, it is urgent that we mobilize in order to drive the Great Powers out of the Middle East. We also call upon the workers and oppressed to support the Arab Revolution against the dictatorships and the refugees of the Middle Eastern wars who wish to come to Europe.
We warn against May and the Tories using this terrible event to shore up her struggling campaign for the 8th June election with racist propaganda. The workers movement must make sure that she cannot utilize this as a kind of Thatcher's Falklands/Malvinas moment”. [3]
The RCIT in Britain puts forward the following demands to unite the working class, migrants and youth.
* No to Daesh and its terrorist attacks!
* Against any “State of Emergency” regime and mobilization of the army!
* Fight racism and repression directed towards Muslim migrants in Britain and the whole of Europe!
* Drive Britain and all other Great Powers out of the Middle East! Support the Resistance against the imperialist aggressors!
* Support the Arab Revolution against the region’s dictatorships!
* Open the Borders of Europe! Down with the EU’s Iron Wall against refugees!
* Forward in the building of a revolutionary World Party!
Footnotes
3) https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/europe/manchester-terror/