On May 20th 2004, as criminal attacks on Rafah were being carried out by the Israeli army, and hundreds of houses were being razed to the ground and over 50 Palestinians killed, all in order to way for another section of the Apartheid Wall dividing the Palestinian refugees in Rafah (Egyptian part) and Rafah (Gaza Strip), the USTKE (L’Union Syndicale des Travailleurs Kanaks et des Exploités) in conjunction with CCIPPP (International International Civilian Campaign for Protection of Palestinian People) released a declaration of solidarity with the Palestinian and Iraqi people, passed at the first International Conference of Trades Unions of Nations without States, a conference organized by the Basque Trade Union LAB, and held in Donostia (San Sebastian, Basque Country). The declaration not only condemns Israel’s colonialist policies and the deafening silence of governments all over the world but reaffirms again the need for solidarity among the people.
The official declaration reads:
The First International Conference of Trades Unions of Nations Without States declares its absolute solidarity with the people and the working classes of Palestine, who, over the last few weeks, are again suffering a series of brutal attacks from the State of Israel, with a balance of hundreds of victims and desolation. We firmly condemn the colonialist policies of Israel, that day after day violate all the rights of the Palestinian people, among them the right to work and to a fitting life. The high rates of unemployment and poverty in Palestine are directly related to the extermination policy the State of Israel implements, preventing the Palestinian population from obtaining suitable means for their living and from developing their own economy. We cannot but strongly condemn the unconcern of the international community regarding daily events in Gaza and the Occupied Territories. Such a non-interventionist attitude and low-key criticism make it possible for Ariel Sharon to carry out his plans for turning Palestine into the world’s largest prison-camp. We appeal to working men and women all over the world, as well as to trades union organisations, to keep in mind the Palestinian people and working classes, and show them your solidarity. We also extend our solidarity to the Iraqi people, who suffer and resist under the ferocious multinational military occupation.
From this meeting in Donostia-San Sebastian, we convey our fraternal solidarity to the Palestinian and Iraqi peoples.
Donostia-San Sebastian (Basque Country).
May 20th 2004.
For more information contact:
CCIPPP, 21 ter rue voltaire 75011, Paris, France
https://www.protection-palestine.org
contact@protection-palestine.org