Shortly after it was first revealed that the US National Security Agency was using its enormous technological resources to spy on computer and telecommunication networks and gather billions of pieces of information from countries all over the world, including India, more revelations of this nature have come to light.
Shortly after it was first revealed that the US National Security Agency was using its enormous technological resources to spy on computer and telecommunication networks and gather billions of pieces of information from countries all over the world, including India, more revelations of this nature have come to light.
Apart from snooping on countries that allegedly pose a threat to US “national security”, it has been exposed that the US also regularly spies on its closest allies, including the countries of the European Union. In other words, the excuse that such espionage is justified by the need to deal with “enemies” and to “counter terrorism” etc., has been exposed as nothing more than a farce. Furthermore, the US imperialists have used all kinds of sophisticated methods to spy on at least 37 diplomatic missions, including the Indian diplomatic mission. This is in direct violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, which upholds the inviolability of the diplomatic premises of all countries. It is clear that if the US imperialists know exactly what is being communicated between a government and its diplomatic mission abroad, they will use such information in their own interests and at the expense of the other country.
It has further come to light that the US government has passed a law which demands that all government organisations within the US, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Peace Corps, etc are duty bound to report whether any of their employees are showing “suspicious behaviour”. In other words, working people are being asked to spy on each other, and report their colleague’s political comments to the authorities. Otherwise, they too will be deemed to be supporting “terrorism”. This is a throwback to the McCarthy era in the US, during the cold war, wherein people with progressive views or views opposed to the government of the day, were persecuted and even killed, as “communists” and “agents of the Soviet Union”. This means that American citizens and organisations, who question the US foreign policy or its motive behind the “war against terrorism”, are being considered as “national security threats” and being targeted. This reflects the growing fascisation of life in the US.
The US imperialists carried out a huge open and hidden campaign to persecute the Wikileaks chief Julian Assange, who is now holed up in the embassy of Equador in UK. At that time, a US army man, who is now facing trial for sedition, revealed the conversations of US Embassy staff on foreign leaders. Now, the US has launched a world wide campaign to persecute a person in the ranks of its intelligence, who has revealed that the US does similar things and more.
The US imperialists have regularly hurled charges against China, as well as against Iran and North Korea etc., that these countries engage in cyber-espionage, and they have used this to whip up hysteria against these countries and portray them as renegades from international law. Now it has been confirmed that the biggest violators of international law are the US imperialists. Immediately following the leaks on US espionage on its allies, the governments of Germany and France amongst others were forced to demand an explanation from the US for this by public opinion. The immediate cause was that the EU offices had been bugged, whereby the US capitalists gained an advantage in negotiations with the EU.
The response of the Indian state to these developments reveals the course the state is pursuing. The foreign Minister, Salman Khurshid, declared “As far as we are concerned, there are no issues at stake,” he said. “I don’t think we should be raising it to such a high level… that it becomes a matter of serious question. It is only a computer study of patterns. It is not snooping.” Even more shamelessly, he accepted without question the “reassurance” from US President Obama and US Secretary of State Kerry: “Kerry and (US President Barack) Obama have clarified, there is some information that they get out of scrutiny and they use it for (anti) terrorism purposes.”
There has been justified uproar amongst our people against the US policy of spying. But why is this spokesperson of the Indian state not even bothering to protest?
There are two reasons for this.
Firstly, the Indian bourgeoisies has long been on the course of fascising. State terrorism including state organised communal massacres are part of its preferred policy to crush the struggles of the working class and people, and to settle contradictions amongst the ruling class. Just like the US, under the garb of “democracy”, it spies on its own people and does not recognize their human rights, including the right to free speech and free expression, the right to conscience and the right to privacy. It is steadily moving towards monitoring each and every move of the people using the most advanced technology available to it, under various schemes and through various mechanisms. The National Cyber Security Policy announced at the beginning of July only goes further in this direction.
The second reason is our colonial legacy. The ruling class of our country, as well as their parties, have complete faith in the Anglo American imperialists and their concept of “democracy” including fascism.
The ruling class of our country is on a fascist course. The state, on behalf of the ruling class, is spying to monitor, harass, blackmail and persecute people and organisations who oppose it and its activities and want to renew the system in favour of people. It is also spying to deal with inter capitalist contradictions in the favour of this or that monopoly group against another. We communists must make the people conscious of the growing fascisation of life which is proceeding under the signboard of democracy, not just in US and Western Europe, but also in our own country.
It is not this or that political party which is the spearhead of fascism, but the most reactionary, chauvinist, sections of finance capital who are seeing in fascism and war a way out of their crisis.