BEIRUT,
September 18 (IslamOnline.net) – Activists of anti-war and
anti-globalization movements from around the world have called for
drawing up an international strategy to close ranks of resistance
against all forms of occupation and oppression and finding an
alternative action against imperialism.
Opened
here on Friday, September 17, the three-day assembly brings together
movements working on the media and grass-root levels with an
opportunity to exchange experiences and find alternative solutions in
many troubled and war-stricken regions, chiefly in occupied Palestine
and Iraq.
The
event was held in coordination between the International Working Group
– composed of a number of anti-war coalitions, social movements and
trade unions – and the Lebanese Welcoming Committee with
organizations ranging on Lebanon's political spectrum from secular to
religious.
Up
to 2,000 Palestinians were killed at the massacre, perpetrated by
Israel with the help of the Israeli-allied phalangist militia during
Israel’s invasion of Lebanon.
In
tribute to the victims of Sabra and Shatila, an organized visit and
march for the assembly participants was offered to the Shatila camp to
send a message of solidarity to Palestinian refugees.
‘Another
Superpower’
Salim
Vally, representative of the Anti-War Coalition in South Africa,
pointed out that there are three main purposes for the meeting.
The
first is the exchange of views and experiences over the different
challenges facing anti-globalization movements today.
The
second is the critical assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of
the global movement, and the third is setting out an international
strategy of action ratified by all participants as a way to come to a
unified form of action.
Valley
hoped that with a more powerful global non-governmental movement,
"another superpower" would emerge to remain a constant
challenge to the US.
America
would no longer remain the world's only superpower, he added, with an
evident outpouring of enthusiasm and determination.
Unifying
Resistance
To
that effect of breaking the monopoly of the United States, the
participants agreed the need to act in unison.
Walden
Bello, executive director of Focus on the Global South, a
Bangkok-based research organization in Thailand, stressed that all
authorized forms of resistance should be brought together under the
same umbrella, regardless of creed.
One
of the leading welcoming organizations in the meeting is Hizbullah,
present as an example of successful, targeted and organized
resistance.
Ali
Fayyad, member of the Hizbullah Central Council and chairman of the
Academic Center for Documentation, stressed that Islam's message is
one of unity and collaboration, not division.
Israel
pulled all its troops out of most Southern Lebanon on May 24, 2000,
ending a 22-year military occupation after the Hizbullah fighters have
put on a fierce resistance.
But
the group vows more resistance as Israeli forces still keep occupation
of the strategic Shebaa Farms in the south, let alone continued raids
on the south despite the withdrawal.
