Condemn imperialist provocation and warmongering against Syria!

On June 22, NATO member country Turkey sent one of its planes without warning into the airspace of Syria, a country which for many months now has been battling a fierce imperialist offensive on many fronts. In response to the unprovoked intrusion into its airspace, the Syrian government responded by bringing down the unidentified aircraft – something which it was well within its rights in doing, according to international law.

The downing of the Turkish plane is now being used by US imperialism and NATO to ratchet up their warmongering against Syria. Turkey has called an emergency meeting of NATO to decide on the course of action against Syria. Article 5 of NATO’s constitution provides for full-scale military intervention by NATO if any of its members are attacked.

Turkey, which had initially admitted that its plane violated Syrian airspace, later under US imperialist tutoring claimed that, at the moment that its plane was shot down, it was not in Syrian airspace. This shows both its ill intentions as well as the orchestration of the campaign to increase the pressure on Syria.

In the light of the sordid record of NATO and US imperialism in recent years, in attacking and violating the sovereignty of countries as they choose, it is clear that a most serious situation is developing. Mazdoor Ekta Lehar strongly condemns this latest escalation of the imperialist provocation against Syria. We demand that the imperialists and their agency NATO pull back from launching any direct military action or other intervention against Syria using the latest incident as an excuse.

As a close ally of Iran, Syria stands directly in the way of the plans of US imperialism and its allies to strengthen their domination of the strategic and oil-rich region of West Asia. The imperialists have been organising, equipping and inciting all kinds of opposition elements in Syria to destabilise the country and facilitate foreign intervention in its affairs. As the weeks and months go by, the level of conflict within the country has become much more intense and brutal, with tens of thousands of people being killed and injured and their homes destroyed. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that 1.5 million Syrians are in urgent need of aid, an increase of 500,000 in just three months.

The aim of the imperialists and NATO is not to bring democracy or freedom to the Syrian people. It is to gain control over their country through a combination of direct and indirect means, in order to advance their own interests. If the entire country is plunged into mayhem in the process, the imperialists are not in the least concerned. This is proved by their record in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places.

The Indian working class and people must strongly raise their voice against this undisguised violation of the sovereignty of another country by marauding imperialism and its allies.

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