The tragedy of NDP support for NATO bombing of Libya

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Dudley Laws, Toronto anti-racist fighter SOCIALIST ACTION APRIL 2011 9 The NDP Socialist Caucus federal conference held on March 17 at U of Toronto declared its opposition to the imperialist intervention into Libya (the bombing and rocket attacks to impose a “no-fly zone” and impose “regime change”). The SC will campaign across the country for the anti-intervention position reflected in the resolution below, leading up to and at the NDP fed­ eral convention, June 17-19 in Vancouver:

“NATO Hands off Libya! Whereas the mass up­ rising of the people of Libya that began on Feb. 15, 2011, which seeks to oust dictator Muammar Gaddafi and end his police state, is part of the wave of popu­ lar democratic revolt sweeping the Arab world; And whereas Gaddafi for the past decade has cooperated with Washington and NATO, been compliant with the U.S.-led wars of occupation, while privately pocketing billions of dollars of oil revenue;

“And whereas Washington and its NATO allies seek to control Libya’s future, and can use the claim to pro­ viding ‘humanitarian aid,’ including a ‘no fly zone’ that would be accompanied by extensive bombing and inevitably massive civilian casualties, to launch an armed invasion of the country, “Therefore Be It Resolved that the federal NDP ac­ tively campaign against any U.S. or NATO interven­ tion in Libya, against the proposed ‘no fly zone,’ and demand the withdrawal of Canadian warships from Libyan waters, and demand an end to Canadian firms selling/exporting military equipment, munitions and supplies to the region.

“And Be It Further Resolved that the NDP actively encourage the opening of Libya’s borders with Tunisia and Egypt so that partisans of the Arab democratic re­ volt can come to the aid of the Libyan insurgency, and that the NDP organize solidarity with the movement of the Libyan and Arab peoples for democracy and self-determination.”

Sadly, NDP MPs joined the business-class parties in Parliament in support of the Western military inter­ vention in Libya, which now is conducted by NATO under the command of Canadian Lt.-General Charles Bouchard. The lessons of history seem to be lost on Leader Jack Layton and his NDP Caucus.

For generations, the Canadian state has been consis­ tently on the side of Israel, and against Egypt and the Arab countries. That includes during the Israeli wars against Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Ottawa has condoned (sometimes with mild criticism) Israeli atrocities committed repeatedly in Gaza and the West Bank, the construction of the Apartheid Wall, the on­ going confiscation of Palestinian homes and farms, and the threats to bomb Iran.

Whether Conservative or Liberal, the federal govern­ ment has overseen, promoted and facilitated Canadi­ an military exports to 16 countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Those countries included Mubarak’s Egypt, Gaddaffi’s Libya, and Netanyahu’s Israel. Be­ tween 1990 and 2006, the value of these exports of weapons, munitions, armoured vehicles, jets, helicop­ ters, drones, surveillance equipment and more, was about $1.8 billion.

Today, Canadian warships ply the waters of the Per­ sian Gulf in support of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, and in support of the U.S. embargo and its military threats against Iran. Now the HMCS Charlottetown is anchored in waters off the coast of Libya, in support of a bomb­ ing campaign involving Canadian CF18s, in the name of a “no fly zone.” It is a prelude to an armed occupa­ tion by U.S./NATO forces (or their control of the rebel regime by other means), which is why socialists op­ pose it.

In opposing imperialist intervention, and the diplo­ matic charade that usually accompanies it, socialists uphold the principle that injustice knows no boundar­ ies; solidarity knows no borders. But solidarity starts with opposition to our own capitalist rulers, includ­ ing their interventions for power, plunder and profit abroad.

This brings us to the NDP, the only mass labourbased political party in North America. Has the NDP leadership consistently opposed imperialist inter­ vention, the arms industry, and militarism? Certainly, that approach would correspond to the interests of its 100,000 members, its 300,000 labour-union-affiliated members, and its 2.4 million mainly working class vot­ ers. Sadly, the opposite is the case.

It took years for the Canadian movement against the war in Vietnam to win the federal NDP to an “Out Now” position, to get the party to adopt a policy expressed in the slogan “NATO, NORAD, ICC, End Canadian Com­ plicity.” It took years to convince the party at conven­ tion to adopt “Canada Out of Afghanistan Now.” The NDP Socialist Caucus and allies succeeded in achiev­ ing this at the federal NDP convention in Quebec City, September 2006.

And even now, NDP MPs sometimes say, “Canadian forces can play a role as trainers or infrastructure builders in Afghanistan”—though that would mean supporting the corrupt, U.S.-imposed Karzai regime. Canadian Forces would still be engaged in combat “outside the wire,” since insurgents do not, as a rule, recognize military “training” or “building” by an occu­ pying power as friendly activity.

ocratic union in the 1960s through the 1990s. CUPW can show the whole labour Andreas Lazarou / AFP / Getty Images (Left) Qatari jet takes off from Cyprus for Libya action.

Sometimes NDP MPs, including the Leader, speak wistfully about “rede­ ployment” of Canadian forces to Dar­ fur or elsewhere in Africa where oil or gold or other valuable commodities cannot be harvested due to obstruc­ tion by pesky nationalists who want to control their own resources. That brings us to the current wave of upris­ ings across the Arab world.

In early January, when the Tunisian masses launched their revolt, the fed­ eral NDP issued a statement support­ ing the Tunisian people. It said, “stop attacks on civilians,” but failed to demand that dicta­ tor Ben Ali step down. On Jan. 28, NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Paul Dewar released a statement on Egypt that expressed hope that democratic aspirations would be peacefully realized. But again, it said nothing about what millions of Egyptians demanded: Mubarak out!

On Feb. 11, Jack Layton issued a statement that Mubarak’s resignation had opened the door to mean­ ingful change. It urged the government of Canada to use diplomatic means to ensure the process is legiti­ mate and acceptable to the Egyptian people. But what about pledging support for the demands of Egyptian workers? Their unions ask that all the companies and resources Mubarak privatized be now returned to public ownership under democratic control. Democ­ racy is about the economy too, not just about parlia­ ment.

On Feb. 22, an NDP statement on Libya expressed concern for protesters and condemned the regime’s use of deadly force against civilians. But instead of urging support for the struggle of the insurgents, the NDP urged the UN Security Council to establish a nofly zone in Libya’s airspace. That required, as U.S. De­ fense Secretary Robert Gates openly stated, extensive bombing of Libya by U.S. and allied forces—and still could lead to armed invasion.

NDP leaders are caught in a life-long contradiction. Their interests in becoming mainstream politicians conflict with the interests of millions of workers who look to the party for social justice, equality, human rights, peace, environmental sustainability—in other words, for socialism.

The Socialist Caucus is dedicated to shining a light on that contradiction, to winning the fight for socialist policies, and to challenging the cancerous global sys­ tem known as capitalism. That starts with opposing the war makers at home. The uprisings in Egypt, and across the Arab world, show that the days of imperial rule, of capitalist rule, are numbered. NDP members should be part of that awakening. n talist crisis. The fightback starts with a strong strike mandate. n Elizabeth Byce is a retired postal worker and activist in the Toronto local of CUPW.

as a welder and taxi driver.

Laws was most known for founding the Black Action Defence Committee in 1988, following the Toronto police shooting of Lester Donaldson. He was once the head of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, a Marcus Garvey-inspired organization. Under his leadership its name was changed to the Universal African Improvement Association. He was deeply concerned with the education of youth and helped many young people, including my son.

Laws became prominent in the 1970s and 1980s as a critic of the then Metro Toronto Police Force, due to a number of young Black men being shot by police constables, as well as level­ ing other allegations of racist practices against the police.

He was also prominent as an advo­ cate for immigrants and refugees, and worked as an immigration consultant in the 1990s. He was able to travel to Cuba and spoke highly of what he saw in that society. n