Attacks, casualties amidst the civil population and the violation of the human rights continue to take place. Untangling the difficult situation existing in the area, from Iraq to Lebanon, requires some deep changes that are being delayed for two reasons. On the one hand, we see the incapability of the occupiers to take measures which go beyond arms. There is no progress in favor of the building of some states and governments which can be reliable both in the eyes of their own population and the international community.
On the other hand, the rejection caused by this unilateralism and its effects have not led to necessary changes. The changes are the following: the withdrawal of the troops from Iraq; some progress regarding the right of the Palestinian population to have a nation; a truly political solution for Lebanon, to engage conversations with Syria and Iran, and peace for the region. These changes need to be embodied in a policy based on peace, justice, human rights and the rights of the people to their own sovereignty and integrity. This policy must necessarily be based on multilateral stances. Nowadays, the whole of civil society is responsible for these changes. These changes are a task, firstly, for the social movements in the Middle East, but for Europeans and the rest of the world as well.
The movement against the war nowadays
Less than four years ago, 95% of the Spanish population firmly showed their opposition to the Iraq war initiated by Blair, Bush and Aznar. The demonstrations against the war on the streets and some other mobilizations brought about the withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq. Currently, that movement against the war has taken on a new dimension thanks to the Forum for just peace in the Middle East that will be organized by the southern Madrilenian city halls from the 10th to the 16th of December, especially in the city of Alcorcón from the 14th to the 16th.
During these days more than 150 activists, representatives of trade unions, women associations, solidarity movements, NGOs and cooperation networks will conduct talks in three main panels and over thirty workshops. All of them, European, Spanish and Middle Easterners, will be the most active voice of their respective societies. The driving force of this idea was the Madrid Social Forum, but fortunately nowadays, all the Spanish and Middle Eastern networks have taken over, in an effort to achieve a just peace.
What are the aims of the Forum?
The Forum basically seeks to take steps to sort the situation in the Middle East out relying on the participation of civil society. Additionally, the Forum aims to gather and create forces against military unilateral interventionism firstly, by means of a final declaration showing the amount of forces currently in the Middle East and advocating for a route toward peace marked by the respect for human rights, international law and the full sovereignty of the nations.
Secondly, the Forum aims to achieve this through workshops that will be held in the Forum by different networks and entities.
To sum up, we would like to say that the Forum intends to become larger, by embracing a number of entities which promote a just peace, and to become deeper, by forging and strengthening the bonds and the unity of action of the different campaigns and networks. In this way, the uniqueness of each organization will reinforce the common line. Because of numerous uncertainties, it is not possible to progress in some other way. The hindrance lies in the objective situation, not in the wishes of the entities. The future is open to a number of possibilities.
The Forum will discuss how to gather forces to keep working together and reinforcing one another in search of a common ground. Peace must be forged by the people, and the people can only forge peace by the means of fair and free relationships
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