Dear Editor,
OVP joins with all those demanding that Guyana immediately sever diplomatic and trade relations with the State of Israel, just as we did with the murderous Apartheid State of South Africa.
The international boycott of Apartheid South Africa played a major role in its final downfall. The mass murder of more than 10,000 Palestinian civilians since October 7th is genocide, is incomprehensible and must not be normalised. With at least 4,324 of those killed being children, UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres accurately described Gaza as a “graveyard for children”.
This is a Nakba (Catastrophe) not only for the Palestinians but for all of humanity. People in their millions are on the streets in every town and city worldwide decrying the atrocities being carried out by the State of Israel. Let us stop saying with political and financial backing from the US, Britain and the EU, because they are not simply supporters of these crimes against humanity, but are active participants, bearing full responsibility for the unbearable daily murder of Palestinian men, women, children and the elderly. Gaza is a concentration camp and all those who are imprisoned there are being targeted for extermination.
We salute the Palestinian armed resistance. We are outraged by the Western media and other apologists for the Israeli Apartheid regime that insist on beginning every discussion with the question “do you condemn Hamas”, and then proceed to blame Hamas for what is happening in Gaza, as if what is happening began on October 7th, and if Hamas did not exist there would be no issue. If we condemn Hamas, then we must condemn Nat Turner and all those who took part in slave rebellions and burned down the Masters’ homes, killing all those who imprisoned and enslaved them.
We must condemn Nelson Mandela who remained in prison for 27 years because he refused to condemn his people’s right to armed struggle against Apartheid. Also, we must understand that the only reports we have regarding what took place on October 7th are from the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Reports are now surfacing that it was the IDF that were responsible for many of the deaths of Israeli civilians that day and Hamas leaders are demanding an investigation, claiming that the IDF version of events is far from the truth. The “beheading of babies” story that the IDF attempted to circulate has been exposed as a complete fabrication. We have heard from elderly hostages that have been released that they were treated very well by their captors, and these same hostages have been admonished by the Israeli government for telling the truth.
The Palestinians have no army, air force or navy. Israel on the other hand is the 4th largest military power the world has ever known, with nuclear weapons. Their nuclear capability is endorsed by the Western powers, while Iran is being sanctioned allegedly for developing nuclear technology, and Arab States, most notably Iraq, have been literally obliterated under the cover of what the whole world now knows was a lie, that is, having weapons of mass destruction. The Western powers have made it very clear that the nuclear club is a ‘white boys club’. In fact, one of the conditions that Mandela was forced to accept in order to end Apartheid in South Africa was that he would hand over decades of Apartheid South Africa’s research into weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, making it clear that the Western powers would not sanction such knowledge being in the hands of a Black-led South Africa as they had a White-led South Africa. Of course, we all want a world free of such weapons, however, after seeing what was done to Libya following its abandonment of all research and development of weapons of mass destruction, and witnessing the kind of violence that the Western powers are capable of unleashing around the world, and now in Gaza, it is understandable that nations want to develop such capabilities.
The Empire’s racism and hypocrisy has become unbearable for the masses of humanity. What is taking place in Gaza is not a battle between Jew and Palestinian, many Jews, both inside the State of Israel and worldwide have denounced Israel’s war crimes, making it clear that this genocide is not being carried out in their name. Neither is it a battle between Muslims and Christians, Black and White. This is a battle between oppressed humanity of every race, colour, creed and religion against the Empire.
It is fitting that the battle line was drawn in Gaza, where the world’s largest captive population is held. Let it be known that the resistance that began on October 7th, 2023, in Gaza will not end until Palestine is free, and this Empire falls. This horrendous act of brutality spells their end. People worldwide are actually watching a genocide in real time on their screens and are traumatized. The “era of the masses”, predicted by Muammar Qaddafi, is upon us. It is not governments that are demanding the end of this brutal Empire, but rather the masses of humanity in every corner of the globe. Everywhere, north and south, the people in their millions are crying out for an end to the irrational violence, brutality and repression that has characterized our existence on this earth for too long.
Guyana may be a long way from Gaza, but we are a part of the global community and as such, in the face of this genocide, we must hold down our corner and do all that we can to stop this genocide. South America led the charge, with Bolivia being the first country in the world to cut all diplomatic ties with Israel as a result of this current campaign of terror, quickly followed by Colombia, Chile and Honduras. South Africa, Jordan, Turkey, Chad and Bahrain have also now cut ties. Of course, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, North Korea and Cuba to their credit already had no diplomatic relations with this rogue state. Let us in Guyana take our place among those nations who have decided to be on the right side of history. As one protestor aptly put it, “I am not protesting against the genocide in Gaza because of my race, religion or ideological preference, I am protesting because I am human”.
Gerald A. Perreira
Organization for the Victory of the People (OVP)