Marc Botenga
I am not surprised to see that today many far-right forces are among the most enthusiastic supporters of Israeli policies and the Netanyahu government, just as many of them supported the South African apartheid regime and are still today denying the crimes of European colonialism. The fight against imperialism and colonialism and the fight against fascism and racism have always been intrinsically linked.
Historically, colonialism provided an ideological and material antecedent and sometimes blueprint for fascism. Fascist or similar regimes imported the racial hierarchies, the dehumanization, the indiscriminate mass violence, and authoritarian governance perfected in colonies to Europe, applying similar brutality domestically to maintain total control and oppress the working class. We do not speak about this enough, as European colonial history and crimes are routinely downplayed in the public debate, but colonial suppression methods inspired and molded fascist terror tactics. Think of the debate on how techniques and ideologies, such as the use of concentration camps and racial science, developed by German colonialism in Namibia subsequently influenced Nazi policies. Recently a French political journalist also launched a fiery debate on parallels between Nazi crimes against villages in France on the one hand and those the French committed in Algeria on the other.
The repression of Palestinian solidarity movements in Europe is huge.
But it is not only about fascist or far-right regimes. Even within the current political systems, dehumanizing rhetoric has made it to mainstream European political parties. European governments or local authorities import Israeli techniques of crowd control and digital surveillance into Europe. Israeli forces train their European counterparts. Weapons and military technology are sold to European countries with the Israeli stamp of “battle-tested” or “combat-proven”. In other words, we are importing technology and equipment used for illegal mass repression and surveillance, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid. Sooner rather than later, these techniques will be used against workers, trade unions and social movements.
The repression of Palestinian solidarity movements in Europe is huge. I have just seen images of German police violently assaulting protesters opposing genocide. This is not unique to Germany. People are being arrested, and losing their jobs for speaking out for basic human rights. Fundamental freedoms, like the freedom to demonstrate or the freedom of expression are under fire once you criticize the crimes of Western governments. This is not new. Look at the police repression, harassment and censorship movements against the Vietnam War or in favor of Algerian independence faced in the West. Neither is this repression limited to the movement against genocide.
Unions are a core part of the broader fight against occupation, discrimination, and economic oppression. Let us not forget how in the past as well trade unions played a big part in global campaigns supporting self-determination, anti-colonialism, and anti-apartheid struggles. In several European countries, port or airport workers have refused to be complicit in arms exports to Israel. Trade unions have set up important international solidarity campaigns with Palestine. This has gone from public action to the funding of solar panels for hospitals in Gaza. The most recent Congress of IndustriAll Europe, the European federation of industrial trade unions, called for the suspension of arms deliveries and the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
In contrast, the UN Report “From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide” published in June shows how the corporations are benefiting today from Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. From Google to British Petroleum, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Caterpillar. These are the same ones exploiting workers in the so-called Global North. It shows how workers in the Global South killed and oppressed by colonialism and imperialism, and those in the so-called North fighting for decent living conditions are facing the same enemy, the same governments, the same corporations looking to maximize their profits by obtaining cheap resources and labor. Europe should be at the forefront of the battle against genocide. There is the living memory of the Holocaust of course, and this year we also commemorate thirty years since the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica, where the role of Dutch peacekeepers was widely condemned. And it does not stop there. From Namibia to Rwanda, European countries bear blame in several genocides. Every single time, the people said “never again.” Yet, our ruling classes are once again actively sponsoring a genocide.
Great Job Marc Botenga & the Team @ Jacobin Source link for sharing this story.
