Stop the imperialist military intervention!
Solidarity with the resistance of the rebel movements in Chad against the Austrian and EU troops!
Declaration of the Liga der Sozialistischen Revolution (League of Socialist Revolution, Austrian section of the League for the 5th International) on the incoming intervention of the Austrian army in Chad
The Austrian government will send 160 soldiers as part of the military intervention of the European Union in Chad. The League of Socialist Revolution protests against the sending of a detachment of Austrian soldiers to Chad and calls all antiwar-activists to get active.
The detachment of Austrian soldiers as part of an EU military contingent (EUFOR) with more than 3.000 soldiers is nothing other than an imperialist colonial policy. Social democratic defense minister Darabos are trying to sell the military intervention as a “humanitarian assistance action”. This is quite simply a lie! In reality the goals of the ruling class in the EU and in Austria are the following:
* Consolidation of the EU’s influence in Chad which exports bigger quantities of oil since 2003.
* Military and political support for the dictatorship of General Idriss Deby who came to power in 1990 via a coup d‘etat.
* Support for an imperialist military intervention in neighboring Sudan, being planned for 2008.
France – which provides half of the EUFOR contingent and has already stationed troops in the country for some time – supports the governmental troops of President Deby in the struggle against the rebels.
The armed rebel movements UFDD and FUC protest with full justification against the EU colonial intervention and declare: „From this moment we are at war against the French army and any other foreign military power on our national terrain.“
The League of Socialist Revolution calls for resistance against the military intervention. We stand for unconditional international solidarity of the workers and the oppressed people against imperialism, war and occupation.
For all workers, youth and migrants who reject war and imperialism it is clear: The Austrian and EU troops have no business to be in Chad! We, the workers and youth of Austria, have no interest in colonial occupation for great power interests and for control of oil resources! Therefore the League of Socialist Revolution demands:
Austria and EU: Get Out of Chad!
The announced resistance of the rebel movements against the Austrian and EU occupation troops is therefore fully justified and deserves the solidarity of all progressive workers, youth and migrants and all antiwar-activists. We have nothing in common with the ruling class in Austria and the EU. Independent of skin colour and passport – our brothers and sisters are not the capitalist professional politicians in the government, not the army generals or the corporate bosses in our country but the workers, peasants and youth who resist in Chad!
Without analysing the groups participating in the civil war in Chad and without supporting the bourgeois policy of UFDD and FUC in any way we say unambiguously: In the case of armed clashes between the rebels and the EU troops we are without hesitation on the side of the rebels. The Austrian and EU occupation soldiers must leave Chad – dead or alive!
The Austrian military intervention shows once again that the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), is – despite the assurances of the social democratic youth leadership – no party of the workers but a party of Austrian imperialism. The left wing inside social democracy only plays the role of a progressive fig leaf bourgeois party bureaucracy. This is why the League of Socialist Revolution a new party, a workers party with a revolutionary program is necessary which fights consistently against imperialism and colonial policy.
Vienna, 06.12.2007
Political Bureau of the League of Socialist Revolution