International statement against the NATO summit to be held in Ankara on July 7–8.
From Israel’s ongoing genocidal policies against Palestine to the devastation caused by the war in Syria that has been continuing for years, and the escalating regional tensions fueled by U.S. and Israel’s attacks on Iran, West Asia has today turned into a battleground where imperialist competition has intensified. This picture reflects not only regional conflicts but also the crisis of the global capitalist order.
Under these conditions, it is no coincidence that the 36th NATO Summit will be held in Ankara on July 7–8. NATO, which has played an active role in interventions stretching from Palestine to Afghanistan, from Libya to Syria and Kurdistan, continues to function as one of the fundamental tools of imperialist power relations and the militarist order. The fact that Turkey is hosting this summit clearly illustrates the position of the country’s ruling classes within this war system.
Despite all the differences in rhetoric, Turkey’s ruling class is not outside this order of war. While on the one hand “peace” and “opposition” rhetoric is produced, on the other hand NATO membership is maintained, military cooperation is intensified, and active integration into regional imperialist strategies is pursued. The contradiction between the rhetorical opposition to Israel and the ongoing economic and military relations is, indeed, merely a manifestation of the same class interests. Therefore, for us, the struggle against NATO is not a matter of national defense; it is a front in the attack on capitalism and the bourgeoisie.
From the perspective of us workers, both NATO and the other capitalist blocs competing with it such as Iran, Russia, China etc. are parts of the same system of exploitation. Aligning workers behind any of these powers means reserving them for the reproduction of their own exploitative relations. For this reason, the struggle against NATO is not merely a struggle against a military alliance, but a class struggle waged directly against the capitalist system of war.
This struggle also necessitates an internationalist line. Workers, youth, and all the oppressed share a common interest in opposing nationalism, militarism, war policies, and patriarchy. The fate of all workers in Palestine, Syria, Iran, Turkey, Kurdistan, and all over the world is intertwined; borders are ideological lines that conceal these exploitative relations. With this understanding, we must raise international solidarity against nationalism, militarism, and war policies everywhere in the world.
For this reason, we are raising our voices against the NATO summit to be held in Ankara. We call on workers, youth, women, queer people, and all anti-war advocates to strengthen the struggle against militarism, imperialist interventions, and the capitalist order of war.
Our side is neither NATO nor the other dominant powers opposing it. Our side is the possibility for common liberation of all workers in the world.
No to NATO!
Class War Against War!
AnarCom Network 