HAMBASTEGI 82

May 1999

Though NATO provides many justifications for its actions, the truth of the matter is that the US and NATO are asserting the new world [dis]order. NATO’s and the US’ war propaganda is being spewed out to preserve the US’ hegemony after the end of the Cold War which has been filled with ideological uncertainty for the west. As Clinton has so clearly stated, the armed forces are putting "America's military might to work in building a new world" – building it with corpses.

Tens of thousands of sorties and billions of dollars later, the mass destruction and unabated killing continue. Such hypocrisy and deception, parroted by overpaid journalists, though not new, have reached preposterous heights. Clearly, human and refugee rights are not the reasons for NATO’s and the US’ concerns. They have often neglected, perpetuated and been directly responsible for massive human rights violations in other countries, including their own. Turkey, a NATO member, has been eradicating the Kurds in that region for decades. They themselves have perpetuated the reactionary nationalism, which now engulfs Yugoslavia. Also, when it comes to refugee rights, it is they who have paved the way for the diminishing right to asylum.

It is obvious whose war this is and what politics it is in continuation of. We must unequivocally demand an end to the NATO’s and US’ intervention in other countries. We must leave it to the working class and people of Yugoslavia – a people with a proud history of fighting fascism - to rid themselves of their dictator. The bombing only weakens and pushes back the movement in Kosovo and Yugoslavia for freedom and equality.

The ruling elite of the US, NATO, and Yugoslavia have clear interests at stake. So do we. Only we can and must defend the interests of the working class and people of Yugoslavia by giving an unequivocal no to NATO!

In the morning of April 20, 1999, immigration and police officials launched a concerted raid of asylum seekers’ homes across London. As a result, more than 281 asylum seekers, including 131 Iranians, have been detained at Harmondsworth and Campsfield centers in west London and Oxford respectively.

Ironically, these arrests occur at a time when the entire western world’s might has been deployed in the name of Kosovar refugees. The desperate plight of refugees fleeing from death and destruction are used to justify a brutal war in the heart of Europe. Like the Kosovars, the detained asylum seekers in Britain are victims of war, oppression and dictatorial regimes. Their detention is in stark contradiction to all international conventions on refugees and human rights. Furthermore, such behavior at home exposes the real intentions of the British government and its allies in continuing their war effort.

The International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR) Britain Branch strongly condemns this latest raid and detention of asylum seekers. In particular, we condemn the arrests of Iranian asylum seekers who have fled the barbaric regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Needless to say, if these asylum seekers are deported back to Iran, they will face persecution.

IFIR Britain calls upon all organizations and individuals to raise their voices to condemn the latest attack on asylum seekers and demand an immediate and unconditional release of all detainees, an end to deportation, and the recognition of the right to asylum.