Once again the spectre of war is looming, threatening to undermine the efforts of the people of our region to attain sustainable peace, democracy and prosperity. While we welcome the recent success of Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, in averting the outbreak of hostilities, the elements of a potential confrontation remain.
The refusal of the dictatorial regime in Iraq to allow the UN team of inspectors to enter suspected weapons sites, combined with the reckless behaviour of the US administration in sidelining the role of the UN and undermining the pursuit of diplomatic solutions to the crisis has created a very dangerous situation.
The massing of arms and troops in the region by the US and its readiness to imitate the bombing of targets in Iraq has been an attempt to exploit the situation to further its hegemonist designs in the Eastern and Southern Mediterranean, the Gulf region and the Red Sea rather than a reflection of concern for regional peace and disarmament. The United States imperialism and its allies hope that the present crisis will provide them with a pretext for extending their presence in this strategically vital region and tightening their control over its oil rich countries.
We believe that any military adventure in which the US and its allies may yet engage against Iraq will destabilize the whole region and hence further undermine the search for peace and democracy in the entire area.
We believe that every effort should be directed towards finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Such a solution should include unconditional compliance by the Iraqi regime with all UN resolutions on the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, the lifting of the economic blockade of Iraq and the withdrawal of all foreign forces from the region.
While we resolutely condemn the policies of the Iraqi dictatorship as having provided the main impetus for the present crisis. We also declare our opposition to any interference in the internal affairs of Iraq by any other regional or international power. The question of the overthrow of the dictatorial regime is a matter to be determined only by the Iraqi people.
We express our militant solidarity with the Iraqi people in their struggle against the Saddam dictatorship and for peace, democracy and human rights.
We urge the ending of economic sanctions, which have resulted in the inestimable suffering of the people of Iraq. We support the right of the people of the region to secure economic prosperity, peace and stability through self determination and respect within the international community and demand that UN resolutions on all parts of the region, in particular concerning Palestine, to be implemented towards this end.
The above joint statement has been supported by the Communist Party of Iraq, the Communist Party of Greece, the AKEL, the Communist Party of Palestine, the People's Party of Palestine, the Communist Party of Sudan, the Communist Party of Sweden, the Communist Party of Israel, the Communist Party of Britain and the Tudeh Party of Iran.