Make Imperialism History!

international | anti-capitalism | opinion/analysis Wednesday July 06, 2005 23:31 by Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America - Irish Republican Socialist Party irscna at irsm dot org IRSCNA, PO Box 8266, Austin TX 78713-8266, U$A

IRSP - IRSCNA issued the following statement regarding the Group of Eight meeting in Scotland.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

6 July 2005
Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America

Make Imperialism History

On behalf of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement, the Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America has issued the
following statement regarding the Group of Eight meeting in Scotland and the Make Poverty History campaign, and sends its solidarity greetings to those protesting against the G8 meeting.

The G8 meeting is nothing less than a board meeting of some of the most powerful imperialist nations on the planet, who exploit the developing world for the benefit of their capitalist masters. The G8 governments and corporations are historically responsible for most of the problems of developing countries, and remain so today, yet their
propaganda machine is hard at work to convince people of their good intentions.

On June 10, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown announced that the G8 would cancel the national debts of the 18 poorest countries in the world, which comes to roughly $34 billion Euros, but this will not end the imperialist exploitation of those countries. In exchange for debt relief, those countries will be expected to remove any barriers to further exploitation by
multinational corporations.

Meanwhile, the Make Poverty History campaign and Bob Geldof's Live 8 project have been trying to gather support for doubling aid, fully cancelling debt, and delivering trade justice for the developing
world. The reality is that these measures, even if fully enacted, will not make poverty history in nations brutally exploited by imperialism because they don't challenge the root cause of that poverty. The only
solution is to put an end to poverty and exploitation by putting an end to the system which is their root cause. If the people involved in these campaigns genuinely want to end poverty, they must start by working for truly revolutionary change.

The Live 8 project has specifically targeted aid and debt reduction for Africa, yet has said nothing about supporting the struggle for
African self-determination and the struggle against the exploitation of their people and resources by imperialist nations and
multinationals. Kofi Maluwi Klu, a leading Ghanian Pan-African activist, has said: "We have a saying in the African liberation
movement - 'nothing about us, without us'. Make Poverty History is a massive step backwards in this regard...The campaign is
overwhelmingly led by Northern NGOs and its basic message is about white millionaire popstars saving Africa's helpless. The political movements still fighting for liberation on the ground are completely
erased."

In conclusion, on behalf of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement,
we give our unconditional support to the masses in Africa and elsewhere who are struggling to liberate themselves from the shackles of capitalism and imperialism. We do not advocate reformism which
alleviates some debt but leaves the imperialists in the driver's seat, nor do we wish to erase political movements fighting for liberation on the ground. We also send our solidarity greetings to those who are
protesting against the G8 meeting. The only way to make poverty history in the developing world is to make imperialism history.

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Irish Republican Socialist Party - Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America
PO Box 8266
Austin TX 78713-8266
USA
irscna@irsm.org
http://www.irscna.org/