People's Democracy

Left to Protest on Obama Visit

 

The Left parties, viz. the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, All India Forward Bloc and Revolutionary Socialist Party, issued the following statement on October 29, 2010.

 

THE president of the United States, Barack Obama is visiting India. Being the first Afro-American president and coming after the neo-conservative Bush regime, there were expectations of positive changes. These, however, have not materialised. 

 

On this occasion, the Left parties have decided to organise a countrywide day of protest on November 8, 2010. The United States, as part of its global hegemonic designs, is pursuing policies which are inimical to the national sovereignty and the people’s interests of many countries. As far as India is concerned, the United States is aggressively pressurising the government to adopt economic policies which are detrimental to the people in the name of a strategic alliance.

 

Contrary to the official view of the ruling establishment regarding the role being played by the United States, both globally and vis-à-vis, the Left parties would like to convey the views of the vast mass of the people of India.

 

The Left parties will highlight the following issues on the protest day being organised on November 8:

 

1) Justice for the victims of the Bhopal Gas accident; to make Dow Chemicals pay for the damages and for the clean up of the factory site; US should extradite Warren Anderson to India to stand trial.

 

2) The United States should stop pressurising India on foreign policy and to open up agriculture, retail trade, education and other services for American capital and multinational companies.

 

3) Scrap the Indo-US Defence Framework Agreement which seeks to convert India into a military ally of the United States. Stop pressurising India to give up liability claims on US nuclear suppliers.

 

4) Withdraw the remaining 50,000 US troops in Iraq forthwith; have a political settlement in Afghanistan to establish an independent and neutral state and withdraw US-NATO forces immediately.

 

5) End the US embargo on Cuba; stop all assistance to Israel till it vacates the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories.

 

The Left parties call upon all its units to organise demonstrations and rallies on the above demands on November 8.

 

The statement was signed by Prakash Karat of the CPI(M), A B Bardhan (CPI), Debabrata Biswas (AIFB) and Abani Roy (RSP).