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Dear Friends and Comrades,
Following please find the resultant documents of the Founding Conference of the Resistant Arab People's Alliance which was held in Cairo, March 27-29, 2006.
The gathering had participations from organizations and individuals from all over the Arab Homeland and the world.
The documents are:
2- Appendix: The Strategic Basis of the Alliance.
3- The Work Program for the next year.
4- A Solidarity Letter to the Protests Against the Labor Law in France.
5- A Letter of Condemnation Against Not Allowing Some of the Participants to Enter Egypt.
Please distribute widely. Any comments or notes for developing the idea and work for the next year are more than welcome.
With Warmest regards,
Hisham Bustani
1- The Closing Statement of the First Founding Conference of the Resistant Arab People's Alliance
The World is in a crisis...It is the crisis of the global counter-revolution manifested by the US neo-fascism that has swept the world in the name of the American "values" and for spreading the fake American "democracy"; it is the war that is characterized by paranoia, the worship of "force", enslaving people and the take-over of their resources. A war waged by the US Empire that has dug its grave in Iraq which turned into a swamp where the Imperialist authority has deteriorated and where the Arab people have risen in defense of their rights and existence.
It is the counter-revolution that aims at making the Zionist entity a regional axis of hegemony and the deletion of the Arab history, identity and future. Thus it has moved to eliminate the resistance in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Iraq.
The United States is trying to impose the Imperialist/Zionist project on our Arab Region and all the countries in the region the US call "Broader Middle East".
Egypt is targeted by fragmenting Sudan and transforming it into cantons sponsored by the Empire. In this context, we think Egypt should re-capture its leading role towards the unification of the Arab Nation.
The uprising people in Arab Palestine are imposing their existence and respect on the world and on the Zionist entity with the strength of armed resistance, thus the Zionist entity has failed in encircling and subjugating Arab Palestinians to its liquidation projects. These heroic people in Palestine meet today with the revolution of the Iraqi people that has strategically defeated the US strategic plan in the region and looking ahead towards securing the frank victory and the total defeat of the Imperialist enemy.
We in the Resistant Arab People's Alliance Conference convened in Cairo from 27-29 March 2006, stress on articles mentioned in the call/invitation of this conference as a strategic basis for the Resistant Arab People's Alliance (see appendix), and call upon the people of the world to gather under the banner of the Internationalist Support for the Arab Resistance, to confront the Imperialist aggression.
We in the Resistant Arab People's Alliance Conference, as we take the side of our people in Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan and Egypt, we also take the side of all the people in the world, and take the side of the all revolutionary movements that are confronting the US Empire's aggression, from South America to South East Asia, passing through Europe, and reaching the American people who suffer from exploitation, racism and tyranny.
Iraq: We stand with the right of our people in Iraq to resist the occupation by all means and on top of these means: armed resistance. We refuse all the secretions of the occupation and their collaborators, and we consider the resistance the legitimate representative of the people in Iraq, and we stand with it in the same trench, and we refuse all the attempts aiming at mutilating the image of the resistance, and we condemn the ordered, intentional assassinations of Iraq's scientific and academic expertise by the occupation and the collaborators.
Palestine: We consider the Arab struggle in Palestine a struggle of existence and not a struggle of borders, thus we refuse all "settlement" solutions, and we stand with our people in Palestine in one trench for the liberation of the entire Palestinian soil, and we stress on the right of all Palestinians to return to their homes and land.
Syria and Lebanon: We refuse the US-French mandate on Lebanon and Syria, and the interference in their internal affairs, and the attempts to cancel the right of the people in Syria and Lebanon to resist, and we condemn the collaborators in supporting this mandate.
Sudan: We stand with our people in Sudan in the face of the US fragmentation project and we condemn all who are collaborating with it, and we refuse any presence of UN forces in Sudan.
We stress on the struggle for the liberation of all prisoners and detainees in the prisons of the US and Zionist occupations.
We stress on the need to work for the establishment of public liberties in the Arab Homeland and to struggle for the release of all political prisoners.
We stress on the necessity of spreading the "culture of resistance", and building alliances with the movements that are resisting the Imperialist/Zionist project in the world.
Cairo, March 29, 2006
2- Appendix: The Strategic Basis of the Resistant Arab People's Alliance
By comprehending the nature of the struggle in the Arab Homeland, and for the confrontation of the Imperialist and Zionist attacks on our Arab countries, and due to the increase of defeatist attitudes, a number of organizations and activists took the initiative of stressing the necessary foundations for the formulation of a principled resistant vision, and they agreed on the following foundations as a basis for building a Resistant Arab People's movement that is unified with the principled international anti-Imperialist, anti-Zionist movements.
First: Imperialism is the main enemy of the people, and it is not "one" but multiple. The biggest, most influential, more developed and most aggressive of Imperialisms is the US Imperialism. US interests may conflict with other Imperialisms, but that does not mean in any way that the other Imperialisms are allies to our struggle. This also does not mean that there are any uncertainties towards the priority of the struggle against the US Imperialism which will deepen the contradictions between it and the other Imperialisms. We stress here on the Imperialist content of what is called "globalization" on the light of what is mentioned above, and as represented by the "Bigger Middle East" project nowadays.
Second: The ruling classes and regimes in the Arab countries are subordinate classes of Imperialism and represents Imperialism's interests, and they cannot be on the side that supports peoples' rights. The so called "reform" that these regimes promise to implement is a big lie. Therefore, the struggle against the regimes is an important part of the struggle against Imperialism.
Third: The struggle against Imperialism in the Arab East (Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria ...) is a continuation of the struggle against Colonialism and subordination, and represents now the main center of struggle against Imperialism globally. The defeat of Imperialism in the Arab East will be a main step towards the defeat of Imperialism on the Arab and the global levels.
Fourth: We stress on the illegitimacy of the Zionist racist entity, and the refusal of its transformation into a normal, continuous and accepted state in the Arab region, because the real normal relationship with this entity (past, present and future) is the relationship of resistance and the dismantlement of the colonized occupation. We also stress that the main contradiction in our region is between the Arab liberation project on one side, and Imperialism and Zionism and their projects on the other. The struggle between them can not end by any settlement: it is a struggle of existence. Any project that includes the integration of this entity in the Arab region is a project of hegemony and must be resisted. Therefore Anti-Normalization on all levels, locally and globally, must be upheld and maintained since normalization is an important means for supporting Zionist hegemony. Also, the right of return of the Arab Palestinian people to their original cities and villages is an unconditional, absolute right, it is both a personal and a collective right that can not be delegated or renounced, and no authority has the right to negotiate it or give it up in any form. We stress here that this right is a collective Arab right and is a part of the Arab liberation project.
Fifth: The complete refusal of the occupation of Iraq and all its secretions and products.
Sixth: We stand in the trench of the resistance by all means against occupation, and on the top of these means is Armed Resistance.
Seventh: The so-called "International Legitimacy", reflect and strengthen the US and Imperialist hegemony over the world. The legitimacy we acknowledge stems from people and their natural, historic and ethical rights, thus the people have the right to accept or reject "international resolutions".
Eighth: The unity of struggle in the Arab Homeland, which is based on humane non-chauvinist principles that respects the diversity in culture, ideology and belief, is the basis of achieving victory, and at the same time it is the basis of achieving Arab Unity as a humane project that will add to the Internationalist struggle which will ultimately lead to the decisive defeat of Imperialism.
Ninth: The struggle for Liberation and Democracy is a state of continuous confrontation with Imperialism and their subordinate regimes. Liberation and Democracy are only achieved on the basis of securing the economic and social interests of the popular classes and the sovereignty of people over their land and resources.
Tenth: The refusal of foreign funding, and the governmental and non-governmental organizations that are based on foreign funding, and their agendas, as they are tools to strengthen Imperialism and fragment basic Arab issues into bits and pieces that are isolated from the historic and militant context. They are also tools for weakening the Arab revolutionary project, and the "domestication" of intellectuals.
Eleventh: We stress the importance of theoretical analysis that is based on a dynamic and evolving knowledge to understand and comprehend the structure of Imperialism and its colonialist project in the Arab region and the world, and to understand the nature of the ruling dictatorship regimes. We also stress on the necessity of the formation of an Arab People's strategy that will defend Arab causes and rights, and defend all the causes and rights of peoples' struggles around the world for liberation and progress, which is the correct prelude for effective peoples' action that will in turn, enrich the political attitudes and correct them.
Twelfth: Any individual or organization, on the Arab or global levels, who agrees on the basic points mentioned above, is part of the anti-Imperialist anti-Zionist front, and is an ally in the struggle. (Note: this call is open for development on the basis of the foundations mentioned).
3- Work Program of the Resistant Arab People's Alliance for the coming year
First: The Arab individuals and groups outside the Arab Homeland, and the international groups that are part of the alliance, will prepare different campaigns and activities to push the global anti-war movement towards adopting more principled positions towards its transformation into a "pro-resistance" movement.
Second: Organizing an Arab/South American conference or gathering to establish militant connections between the Arab popular movement and its South American counterpart.
Third: Printing a magazine as an organ of the alliance, the first issue will be the proceedings and some papers of the first founding conference.
Fourth: Establishing a website for the Alliance for publishing articles, analyses and activities of the different groups, concentrating especially on the "basics" of the Arab/Imperialist-Zionist struggle, in both Arabic and English.
Fifth: Establishing a separate website called: "Resistance News Agency" focused on the informational aspect and relaying resistance news in all regions objectively and with high credibility, both in Arabic and English.
Sixth: Declaring the 15 of May (the annual memory of Al-Nakba; the occupation of Palestine in 1948 by the Zionists and declaring the Zionist entity) a joint day of action under the slogan: "Supporting Resistance Everywhere, and By All Means". We also stress on supporting all international activities against the aggression and occupation in their declared dates.
Seventh: Designing a logo that represents standing in the trench of resistance by all means so as to make it a symbol for all resistant forces and distributed to all countries so that it can be printed and produced as posters, badges...etc.
Eighth: Formulating a small statement against the Zionist project in Palestine and work on the popular level to gather as much signatures as possible on this document which will be released in the second conference.
Ninth: We call upon the European and International groups to invite representatives of the Resistant, principled views to talk in different conferences in Europe and internationally, and to represent this analysis themselves.
Duties for all groups individually:
-Opening discussions locally and internationally with all organizations to spread the strategic basis of the alliance
- Contacting all organizations that agree on the strategic basis of the alliance to invite them for active participation and broadening the alliance on that basis.
- Spreading CDs, articles, pamphlets, pictures, documentaries, documents, organizing festivals and activities all related to the resistance.
- We call on the Palestinian and Iraqi groups specifically to establish a record for the name of martyrs and injured along with their life stories as a prelude to establishing a data bank on this issue, and to re-introduce the victims as human beings rather than numbers.
4- A Letter of Solidarity and Support for the Popular French Movement Against the Modification on the Labor Laws
The Founding Conference of the Resistant Arab People's Alliance salutes all the militant movements in Europe for social justice and against Capitalism, exploitation and police oppression, and especially the massive popular uprising against the French Capitalist attack on what's left of the results of the social struggles since the 19th century.
What is going on now in France is a continuation of the uprising in the suburbs in November 2005, and the uprising of the high-school students in the spring of that same year. These uprisings confronted a series of laws and practices where Arabs and immigrants were also targeted.
All what's going on in the world in the form of popular movements and resistance forms requires us to connect between the internal policies (that mean "racism and poverty") and the external policies (that mean "colonialism) of the capitalist countries like France.
This means that we cannot face this attack unless we were together in the same trench. Our Arab countries are still under the whip of subjugation and oppression and are still targeted directly with military occupations such as in Iraq and Palestine and Sudan; and are still threatened with force like Syria and Iran. Thus all the movements struggling for the causes of social justice and against capitalism, exploitation and police oppression is the objective ally of the popular resistance movements against Imperialism and Colonialism.
From this position in the Founding Conference of the Resistant Arab People's Alliance we call on all those poor and annexed in the French suburbs to widely join in this popular uprising, and we call on all the active French movements and forces in the battle field to comprehend this participation and integrate it in the battle proceedings and the resultant acquirements.
Cairo, March 29, 2006
5- A Letter of Condemnation for Not Allowing Some Participants of the Resistant Arab People's Alliance to Enter Egypt
The Founding Conference of the Resistant Arab People's Alliance condemns the position of the Egyptian Authorities that has abstained from giving visas to a number of activists, who wanted to participate in our founding conference which was held in Cairo from 27 to 29 March, 2006.
We consider this position an extreme violation of the freedom of movement and travel for the one Arab Nation in their one Arab space. (An Arab is supposed to move within all Arab countries without a visa).
We also consider this act which is nothing but forbidding people to participate in this conference, a proof of the collaborationist position of the Egyptian authorities with the forces of colonialism and hegemony and against any form of popular Arab resistance.
Cairo, March 29, 2006