(English) FIR is urgently warning of a further escalation of the military tensions in Asia and Latin America by the US government.

21. August 2017

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The International Federation of Resistance Fighters (FIR) – Association of Antifascists is pursuing the growing threat of military violence in the conflict between the USA and North Korea with great concern. Visible signs are not only weapon tests but the increasing numbers of military maneuvers in the region around Korea. We specifically condemn the maneuvers of the US, South Korea and Japan in this area, as well as the military presence of more than 28,000 US soldiers in the South of the Korean peninsula. The deployment of the US missile defense system THAAD in South Korea represents a further escalation stage in the threat strategy and aims at the ability to strike first, which is also against the security of the PR China.

This is justified by the North Korean „nuclear program“, which is also rejected by the United Nations. As a part of the peace movement, the FIR, of course, stands for a worldwide abolition of all nuclear weapons. However, this presupposes, for all states involved, that they are not themselves forced to rise by the nuclear threat posed by other states. We support and therefore demand the peaceful settlement of the disputes between the US and North Korea, as well as the replacement of the armistice agreement of 1953 by a comprehensive peace agreement between both sides.

We recall the devastating consequences of atomic bombing 72 years ago on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This prohibits any consideration of a nuclear first strike strategy, as it is currently being propagated by the US president. An escalation in words and – as it seems, – also in deeds to enforce the geopolitical hegemony of the US in the Pacific region must be stopped. Apparently, only military action seems to be an option for the current US administration. The government in Venezuela, which fights against domestic political destabilization, has also been threatened with military intervention.

We call on the political powers of the world to apply their influence to all parties involved, to renounce any military threat, and to find the way for diplomatic solutions. This includes a demilitarization and nuclear disarmament in the East Asian region as well as the independent and peaceful reunification of Korea.

In a few days we commemorate September 1 as the day of the Fascist invasion of Poland, and the beginning of the Second World War, which cost the lives of more than 60 million people. After the military crushing of German fascism in 1945, the peoples formed the idea, which is still our duty to this day: Never again fascism! Never again war!