News Line Editorial: Thursday June 13, 2002

BLAIR ENTERTAINS THE BUTCHER OF SHATILA

CLEARLY the Jenin massacre, the destruction of the entire infrastructure of
the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the repeated attacks on the compound of
President Arafat and the threats to eject him from Palestine, are not a
problem as far as the British Prime Minister Tony Blair is concerned.

The proof of this is his welcome at 10 Downing Street yesterday for the
Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, known as the Butcher of Shatila.

Even an Israeli inquiry found him responsible for the fact that Israeli
troops allowed hundreds of Lebanese Phalangists into the Sabra and Shatila
refugee camps in 1982, where over 2,000 mainly old men, women and children
were massacred.

The PLO had evacuated Beirut, after the city's leaders had pleaded with them
to do so, so that the city would be spared the kind of treatment that
Ramallah, Nablus and Jenin have suffered.

Before the PLO left, the US gave its word to its leaders, that Israeli
troops would hold the Phalangists in check and prevent them from massacring
the remaining Palestinians in the city. However, the Israeli guards of the
two camps allowed the Phalangists in and the massacre began.

Today in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip the same policy of massacre and
destruction is being carried out. That the US leader, President Bush,
manages to describe Sharon as a 'man of peace', shows that there is no limit
to the cynicism of the US ruling class when it is seeking to achieve its
strategic aims in the Middle East, and everywhere else for that matter.

That Blair greets, shakes hands and talks with the architect of the deaths
of so many thousands of Palestinian civilians, at the same time as many
Israeli reservists are in prison for refusing to serve in the West Bank,
re-emphasises that he is just a running dog for United States imperialism.

Sharon arrived in London fresh from his talks with President Bush, boasting,
both of the degree of agreement that he had with Bush and of the very good
relationship he enjoys with the British Prime Minister.

There is not the slightest doubt that Blair will toe the Bush line - that
President Yasser Arafat is not to be trusted, that Sharon is a man of peace,
that there can be no question of a Middle East peace conference yet, and
that the building of the Palestinian institutions is far more important than
the declaration of a Palestinian state.

It is a disgraceful situation, that while counter-revolution is able to
flaunt itself openly between Washington and London, the friends of the
Palestinian people are silent. It is high time that they spoke out and acted
in defence of the Palestinian people, their struggle for their independent
state, and in defence of their leadership centred on President Yasser
Arafat.

There is not much point in the trade unions in Britain just passing
resolutions declaring their support for the Palestinians, when the time is
here for action. The TUC must be made to call a massive national
demonstration to advance the struggle for a Palestinian state on the 1967
borders, free of Zionist settlements, with East Jerusalem as its capital and
with Palestinian refugees having the right to return. Central to this must
be the defence of President Yasser Arafat.

The trade unions must further insist that the TUC imposes a complete trading
boycott of Israel, so that the movement of all Israeli goods and services is
stopped in its tracks, and the already weak Israeli economy further
weakened.

This trade boycott should be held on until the independent Palestinian state
is a reality. Furthermore, the trade unions must tell Blair that any attempt
to remove Yasser Arafat from Ramallah and expel him from Palestine will be
met with a campaign of political strikes to bring down the Blair government,
which along with the Bush administration is Israel's chief ally and
supporter. This is the road that the British trade unions must take.