CRFI and Christian Rakovsky Center at International Meeting in Beirut!

The "Beirut International Meeting in Support of the Resistance" was organized during 16th-19th November, by the participation of representatives from the US to Cuba, from Brazil to Argentina, from Greece to Italy, from Iraq to Palestine, from Syria to India. Under the name of "anti-imperialists from Turkey", we attended the meeting with a group of 40 people belonging to different leftist organizations. Within the context of the Beirut Meeting, on the general political plane, there were two big sessions together with the smaller workshops about Strategy, Media, Law and Arab Unity. Furthermore, we snapped at a chance to visit Southern Lebanon and outer suburbs of Beirut where Zionist aggression is intensely experienced as well as resistance against Zionism, and to witness the destruction of the war.

We, Workers' Struggle, were represented by two comrades, who acted according to our internationalist tasks during the entire meeting. At general sessions, we distributed the declaration that was prepared after the massacre in Qana by the Balkan Socialist Center Christian Rakovsky. We also distributed the declaration signed by the CRFI sections from Italy, Greece and Turkey for the withdrawal of UNIFIL troops from Lebanon. We tried to make the best of all opportunities to represent the Christian Rakovsky Center and the CRFI to all the political organizations and other militants. Besides discussions at the meeting, one of our representatives who delivered a speech to Hezbollah's radio, "Voice of Resistance", as a member of the Rakovsky Center and the CRFI, celebrated the victory of Lebanese people by stating the support to the resistance and indicating the importance of its development on an internationalist ground.

The most significant character of the conference is that it focused on the support of the resistance, rather than its legitimacy. Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon were emphasized as the triangle of resistance and the imperialist threat against Iran was condemned. The participants also discussed different subjects like media and war crimes along the same axes, that is, on the support of resistance. This character definitely differentiates Beirut International Meeting from social forums which are surrounded and dominated by pacifism.

We intervened in the discussions by expressing Rakovsky Center and the CRFI on three major points. First one is about demanding the withdrawal of UNIFIL troops from Lebanon. Since Hezbollah is one side of the cease-fire, they do not contend such a demand, although they are in favor of the withdrawal. Moreover, Communist Party of Lebanon adopts an indifferent position. On the basis of these facts, we highlighted the importance of exposing the real aspect of UN and pro-Zionist character of its troops. Our initiative was not only limited with the intervention of the discussions, but also gained a militant character with a press conference organized mainly through our effort and the delegation of "anti-imperialists from Turkey". We demanded primarily the withdrawal of Turkish and then the other UNIFIL troops. For us, this protest was the most meaningful and impressive experience of the meeting. The second point was about the terrorist and illegitimate character of the Zionist Israeli State. Finally, we stressed that the Kurdish people should not be considered as if it only consisted of Barzani and Talabani leaderships, who collaborate with imperialism, and proposed to the conference to call for support of the resistance of Kurdish people, in particular inside Turkey. This proposal carried a significant internationalist sense at a conference in which Arab nationalism is clearly perceived.

All in all, the Beirut meeting is an impressive event with its various dimensions. Villages and suburbs of Lebanon obviously showed the Zionist brutality. However, both Lebanese people and Hezbollah stressed the victory of the resistance rather than this violence. In this sense, the Beirut Meeting, at the same time, became a call for the resistance, built up morale and gave realistic hope for the refoundation of the Fourth International in the Middle East.

Long live the victory of the Iraqi, Palestinian and Lebanese resistance!

Long live the Socialist Federation of the Middle East!

Long live the Fourth International!