Press statement issued by the Congress of South African Trade Unions.

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Monday, January 27

COSATU would like to join and strengthen the call by President Thabo Mbeki, thousands of South Africans, and millions across the world against a new, US-led war on Iraq.

We are disturbed by what appears to be an unacceptably two-faced foreign policy by the Bush administration, which swears that its only aim is to rid the world of "weapons of mass destruction" controlled by "rouge states". The same administration has gone out of its way to handle North Korea, which has revived its nuclear proliferation programme, with kid gloves. Global civil society has rightly concluded that what drives Bush in Iraq are the oil interests of the large US corporations that bankroll his administration, and the bizarre family feud that began with tit-for-tat assassination attempts between Saddam Hussein and George Bush snr. Bush's inability to provide credible leadership to the American people, particularly his hopeless performance on the economy, is yet another reason for a fresh military campaign. Nothing like a good ol' war to focus the minds of the American people on 'the issues'. The strategy of using war and death as diversionary tactic is a well-established part of American presidential politics.

Also disturbing is the fact that Israel, the US's number one client state, continues to secretly develop weapons of mass destruction with impunity. Because of its decades-old oppression of the Palestinian people, Israel still remains the leading clear and present cause of instability in the Middle East. Over the past weekend alone, Israeli forces massacred 12 Palestinians as part of Ariel Sharon's re-election campaign.

The world should be particularly concerned by the threat from the Bush gang to jettison the entire United Nations system in pursuit of dangerous unilateral military action in the most volatile region of the world. COSATU, our government, the people of South Africa, and all progressive people across the world stand united in declaring: NO BLOOD FOR OIL!!!

COSATU Press Statement

vukani@cosatu.org.za
082-821-7456
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