Pro-zionist left splits mobilisation
War president Bush, scheduled to come to Vienna on June 21, will face protest action also in Austria as in nearly any other place in the world he is coming to. The amplitude and resonance of the mobilisation reflects the widespread popular feeling against the American Empire imposing its rule by the permanent war.
The most important element is, however, not quantity but quality. The coalition of forces organising the protests invited Awni al Kalemji, the spokesman of the Iraqi Patriotic Alliance, as one of the main speakers. This means that the Iraqi Resistance, in favour of which al Kalemji will speak, has gained a lot of terrain in comparison to the past years. We just want to remember the vicious campaign of isolation and criminalisation not only the Iraqi Resistance but also the anti-imperialists supporting it suffered. Thus the very fact that the proposal of the anti-imperialist to lend the word to Kalemji is a big step ahead.
Obviously this did not pass uncontested. The pro-Zionist parts of the left, which has been integrated into the imperialist system, led by the Socialist Youth and the Communist Party broke away from the coalition. They did not even accept to mention the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people. They are determined to carry on the campaign against the anti-imperialist forces, which they continue to slander as anti-Semitic, and the Iraqi as well as the Palestinian Resistance.
While this was not surprising the really unfortunate aspect is that the mainstream Muslim leadership aligns with Social Democracy and the pro-Zionist forces. This stems from the fact that the Social Democrats are offering a lot of privileges and all day live support different to other European countries providing also some shelter from excessive institutional harassment. In return they have been enjoying the loyalty of the Muslim leadership which provides for that no anti-imperialist mobilisation is supported.
Anti-imperialist Camp
