[iDC] The Current War and The Will of the People

[monica ross]

Dear all,
Greetings from London. I've recently learned the Declaration of  Human Rights
off by heart and performed it at Beaconsfield last winter and PSi, in
London,  in June, under the title 'rights repeated, and will do it 
anywhere else anyone wants me to.
There is a A2 poster of the text at www.beaconsfield.ltd.uk/home.html 
and a pdf at the link below which anyone is welcome to use/ circulate 
as part of any action/ event. the text is edited to amend exclusive 
use of male pronouns in the original english version of the text.
http://molodiez.org/cdc/postertext.pdf
http://molodiez.org/ross_info.pdf>
http://molodiez.org/ross_mr.pdf>

In a few weeks i will burn dvd's of the recitation and can send them 
to whoever wants to use a copy as part of any event as appropriate.

London's second huge demo against the war got 20 seconds coverage on
BBC's main news last night.  As someone said about the wife of one of
the Israeli soldiers captured by Hizbullah who came to the UK last
week to appeal to the British public for support-  I hope her
government is listening because , as we know, ours isn't.

Am incensed by the failure of democracy in this country under a
so-called Labour government, and enraged that the oligarch's then
appoint themselves to decide other countries' fates as well. This is
added to every time i see Bush, a self appointed 'world' leader no one
outside the republican enclave of the US has voted for either.

Have been focusing my efforts on old fashioned parliamentary
processes , battering mp's with letters etc.
It may be boring but, like a lot of people here i am notifying them
now that i cannot vote for them as they have allowed the war crimes
of the Blair government in facilitating US arms to israel  - blatantly
in the last 25 days,- under international law this means the uk,
without the permission of it's voters, is a co-combatant of Israel and the US.
The hypocrisy of two of the chief combatants, Blair and Bush, posing 
as peace negotiators is unspeakable, and it is hypocrisy for those of 
us in the UK and US to criticise Israel, when, whether we want it or 
not, every bomb and missile shattering Lebanon and Gaza also has our 
signatures on it.
It may seem puny but ,at last there is a growing realisation  in the 
uk that as an electorate we have to
claim back our power and use the only mini- instrument of power 
available to us- the vote.

As far as i'm concerned every Labour mp in this country has breached
the Human Rights of their constituents by not representing us and
refusing to recognise that Hizbullah and Hamas members have both been
democratically elected by their peoples to represent them, whether
the west likes it or not. aka:
The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of
government- as in:

Article 21.1.Everyone has the right to take part in the government of
their country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
2.Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in their
country. 3.The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority
of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine 
elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be 
held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

i despair of protests being so often reduced to mere expressionism in
that they have no effect on the real relations of power, are not only
ignored by the power mongers, but also then double up as
convenient advertisements/ illusions that the US/ UK are the best of
democracies. That's not to say i don't think events like the isea one
or these demos are not vital- they are, especially to build
international links and keep another mode of internationalism, as a
counter to corporate, militaristic  globalism, alive and growing.
At this strategic level building these communities is essential, but 
they are just not going to be enough.
Little will change until people are committed enough to give up their 
comforts and take on the
pragmatic actualities of  laborious political struggle. Which is of
course, very difficult. In this regard, Che's pronouncement from some 
time too long ago comes to mind:

-if i cannot tolerate the status quo i must accept that it will not
tolerate me-

monica ross