G.H. (Bill) Andersen

National Secretary

"Capitalist society is always an endless horror"

The whole situation arising from the terrorist air attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon raises our obligations in respect of the struggle for the very existence of life on this planet.

Failure to arrest all terrorist and military aggressors will see the very cruel and tragic possibility of major military conflicts and much more terrorism. The use of nuclear weaponry must also be considered as a real possibility which, if it eventuated, would destroy much of the worlds population and many resources that we rely on to live now.

The tragic loss of life in the WTC and Pentagon attacks need to be measured against many years of US government military terror attacks in many parts of the world and the loss of life concerned.

Terrorism and war have become more and more interlinked as war technology has become more 'sophisticated'.

Our immediate and longer term strategy must be to resist counter terrorism by the US and its allies as such counter attacks will inevitably result in retaliatory attacks with each escalation pushing the contestants towards the nuclear button.

In order to deal with terrorism and war we need to evoke a lot of new thinking about the size and intensity of this new level of danger that has developed. However, we also need to creatively explain the root cause of aggressive war and terrorism i.e. the activities of the global corporate and the imperialist system that spawns and protects these exploitative global monsters.

On five previous occasions the NZ people have demonstrated quite clearly that they are capable of mass activity that shapes our political stance.

Firstly, the great Maori Land March, which together with the Bastion Pt struggle, provided a great impetus to the Maori Rights struggle.

Secondly, the street demonstrations to secure NZ troop withdrawal from the US aggression against the Vietnamese people.

Thirdly, the successful maritime workers action and mass protest that prevented US nuclear warships entering our ports.

Fourthly, the great anti-apartheid actions of 1981 which turned our country's policy around on the apartheid issue.

Fifthly, the great national union stoppages of the 1979 - 82 period against the vicious anti-worker attacks of the then Muldoon National Government and the successful campaign to defeat that government.

These successful mass movements were built on the basis of developing the widest possible united action on the immediate issue concerned whilst various left parties identified their own political positions in their own way.

The lessons learnt in these great mass movements need to be studied and applied in growing the mass movement for an immediate stop on US military attacks as the most urgent priority.

G.H. (Bill) Andersen

National Secretary

Socialist Party of Aotearoa

Phone: (w) 09) 622 - 8351

(H) 09) 627 - 5547

Fax: 09) 627 - 5548

Mobile: 021) 226 - 9375

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