No True Peace without True Justice
-A Letter to the American People
Dear American people:
We, activists of social movements in Taiwan, have been
devoted to the realization of a democratic, equal, and peaceful
society. Here we would like to express our sincerest sympathy
and solicitude for all the victims of the terrorist attacks on
September 11.
We, just like you, are strongly opposed to such attacks that
would inflict heavy casualties on the civilians. Terrorist atrocity
will never be of any help to realize justice and peace, but do
tremendous harm to people's mutual understanding and solidarity
all over the world and even justify and intensify the rulers'
oppression and domination.
We, nevertheless, are different from those ruling elites
like Bush, Powell, Rumsfeld, and Clinton. As a member of the
Third World, we are clearly aware that what the successive U.S.
governments have done account for the tragedy.
When there are scenes of Palestinian youth on TV celebrating
the attack on the US, we feel heartily sorry. But we also know
that their family and friends are jailed in Israel as a result
of fighting for freedom, or are maimed by the Israeli army. We
can wholly understand the bitterness and resentment of the
Palestinian people-many of them still live in the refugee camps-
when the Israeli government does not cease to hinder the
reconciliation between Palestine and Israel, denies the
Palestinian right to self-determination, colonizes the
Palestinian areas, and assails the Palestinian civilians.
The US government, however, has constantly backed these
atrocities carried out by Israel. On Sep. 3, several days
before the attack, the US government withdrew from the World
Conference against Racism, refusing to denounce the torments
brought about by Israel.
When the US government decides to take revenge by air force,
we cannot help but think of the Serbian people who lost their
lives because of the savage bombing made by NATO chiefly composed
of the US army throughout 78 days. The US troops used a huge
amount of depleted uranium (DU) ammunition, causing unimaginable
consequences. In 1991, 290 tons of DU were utilized in the Gulf
War, and hence 500 thousand people died chronically and numberless
Iraqi children suffered from incurable diseases or deformities;
thousands of the US soldiers caught the "Gulf War Syndrome."
Moreover, the chemical outflows from bombing Yugoslavia have
given rise to the ecological catastrophe in Europe, e.g., made
the blue Danube a dead one.
That the US government starts to deploy ground forces also
reminds us of the American youth who died in the Vietnam War,
and those who were massacred by B52 and ground troops in Vietnam,
Laos, and Cambodia. We know that in Indo-China there are still
hundreds of thousands of deformed children as a result of the
use of "Agent Orange" by the US air force. We can't forget that
on May 4, 1970, four American students were shot dead by the
government for their opposing the Vietnam War. We remember that
the US army had occupied Cuba for a long time since 1899, invaded
Nicaragua in 1909 and 1925, Haiti in 1915, the Dominican Republic
in 1916 and 1965, Lebanon in 1958 and 1982, Cuba in 1961, Grenada
in 1983, Panama in 1989, and so on.
If the US government insists that Osama bin Laden be responsible
for the attack, we have to point out that he wouldn't have had such
power to launch a large-scale attack without the US government's
generous financial aid and training. He is the corollary of the
CIA. When the US government fanned up Islamic fundamentalism and
made use of Bin Laden as a weapon against the Soviet Union, it did
not hesitate about upholding such large-scale terrorist means.
In order to confront Iran, Reagan and Bush administrations had
incessantly backed Saddam Hussein regardless of his suppressing
the Kurd and developing NBC weapons. If Bin Laden and Saddam
Hussein are viewed as terrorists, then the US government is the
arch-criminal that shields and supports terrorism!
When the US government condemns out of a sense of justice
those "rogue states" that shelter "terrorists," we know it has
supported world-wide corrupt dictatorships that crack down on
the people, quell democracy, and suppress social movements over
a long period of time: the racist regime in South Africa, the
military regime in El Salvador and Argentina, Fulgencio Batista
in Cuba, the Somoza dynasty in Nicaragua, Pinochet in Chile, the
Duvalier dynasty in Haiti, Mohammed Pahlavi in Iran, Rhee Syngman,
Park Chunghee, and Chun Doowhan in South Korea, Ferdinand Marcos
in Philippines, Suharto in Indonesia, etc. In Taiwan, our homeland,
the US government had made the long-term KMT dictatorial regime
possible, permitting it to implement the white terror policy,
which remains fresh in our memory. With exporting its capital
to Taiwan, the US government also forces us to build hazardous
nuclear power plants which has brought disaster to our environment
and workers.
When the US politicians ask for more power of intelligence
agencies, we believe that the chimerical ideas in the film, Enemy
of the State, will be embodied in the daily life. The large
expenditure of money on intelligence should have prevented the
tragedy on Sep. 11, but it only served as the weapon against
democracy and social reform. While suppressing civil rights
about domestic issues, the CIA also engaged in overseas
terrorist activities such as overthrowing progressive elected
governments (e.g. Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala in 1954 and Salvador
Allende in Chile in 1973) and eradicating all social movements.
The large number of bones of labor movement participants unearthed
at the former CIA base in Honduras this year were just the tip of
an iceberg. George H. W. Bush, the former president of the US and
father of the current president, was the former CIA director, that
is, a partner in crime.
Dear American people, we believe you are aware that the Bush
Administration lacks for legitimacy, and as you probably know,
this results partly from the systematic deprivation of minority
groups' civil rights. His winning the presidency also depended
on two things: a 5-4 Supreme Court vote and an officially
certified victory of 537 votes in Florida. In nationwide,
the total votes of Bush were even 550 thousands less than
Gore. We, and the rest of the world, were impressed with the
President's inauguration that accompanied so vigorous protests.
While it's pressing to let everyone forget his failure in dealing
with the economic recession, and his breaking the agreement on
environmental protection and arms control, the Bush Administration
must wage war to overcome this eco-political crisis.
Military retaliation will not protect the American civilians,
but stir up more intense hatred; it will not lead to durable peace,
but agitate international tension.
At this moment, dear American people, we have to appeal to
each of you:
1. All of us must be opposed to all the harassment, attack, insult,
discrimination, accusation, ransack, and arrest aimed at Arabian
people, Moslem, and other minority groups. They are not responsible
for what's done by only a few people, not to mention that no direct
evidence is afforded to target at any specific country or group.
From now on, we must stop the right wing from resorting to violent
means that will cause tragedies over and over again.
2. All of us must be opposed to all the US government's
retaliatory measures and its taking advantage of the present
occasion to expand power. Neither military retaliation nor
economic sanction will bring forth peace, but strengthen state
power, justify the suppression of minority groups, women, and
social reform, corrode the institution of democracy, and deprive
people of elementary freedoms. The only way to ensure the American
people's safety and freedom is work together to reject the
government's foreign policy: military intervention, political
domination and economic appropriation of other countries by the
US. ruling elites; suppression and slaughter of the Third World
people in the name of justice and American interests. We will
also oppose the Taiwan government's policy that's erroneously
partial to the US, because it does not take into consideration
the harm done by the US to people all over the world, and possibly
make Taiwan a target of revenge.
Dear American people, in spite of our strong objection to
the US government's unjust policy, we have deep affection for you,
the American people. We know that America maintains a tradition of
tolerance and liberty, for the Declaration of Independence has
impassioned all who long for democracy and liberty. In the history
of America there are unsurpassed social movement leaders such as
Hellen Keller, Engene Debs, Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X.
The women's movement, civil rights movement, student movement and
the resistance of Indians in America during the 1960s have
encouraged all who quest for justice. From the Vietnam War to
the Gulf War, countless Americans bravely struggled against the
government's aggressive policy, and some of them even lost their
lives. We believe, this time the tragedy will all the more unite
us: let our grief be soothed and racial hatred be terminated; let
us stand hand in hand to fight against the US government and
all the unjust regimes and for a society free from fear and
oppression!
Sincerely,
Linkage, Taiwan, 15th September 2001.
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