Press Release

To unify the people’s struggle for democracy, peace, and social justice, from the South to the North
The Mediterranean Conference of the left, held in Palermo 5 to 7 October 2012, has been a great opportunity to meet, exchange and analyze in a useful and rich way the complex situation experienced by the countries of Mediterranean area. We live in a time of deep crisis of capitalism and of its neoliberal model. It is a crisis that deepens social inequalities and increases unemployment and insecurity for working classes especially young people and women. The great changes that have gone through the whole Mediterranean area, starting from Tunisia and Egypt, arise from the failure of the neoliberal model, demanding bread and democracy have inspired millions of men and women who took the streets asking for work, dignity and social justice.

A demand of social justice and democracy grows in the northern cities of the Mediterranean and in Europe too against the austerity policy of the banks and governments which makes the people pay for the crisis.

Popular uprising in the south bank have been replied in the capitals of southern Europe, with massive mobilizations struggling to conquest a true and effective popular sovereignty.

The high hopes of change sparked by those popular uprisings are now in danger. There is a great attack against the people’s demands coming from an alliance between imperialism, the reactionary forces of the area, as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and the political parties their allied and now in power, like muslim brotherhood,  that are now serving the geopolitical plans of the imperialism and of the capitalism and neoliberal system in the entire region. We believe that only a radical change of the dominant social and economic order can give an answer to the question of social justice that grows in the North and South of the Mediterranean.

The task of the left and of the forces of the labor movements in this moment is to create an alternative to rebuild a hope for change for a society based on social justice, democracy and peace, for equality and freedom, for socialism.

For this purpose it’s necessary to unify and bundle the forces of the left in the south and the north.

The Conference expressed its concern about the deepening of civil war in Syria and the risk of an external military intervention, threatened by Turkey , Usa and NATO. The conference, denouncing the unacceptable interference of the petro-monarchies and Turkey in fomenting the militarization of the conflict and the brutal repression of the regime, expressed its opposition to any interference of imperialism and to a new war in Syria or in Iran. It hopes that the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people for a democratic change in their own country can be reached through a political peaceful way to avoid the deepening of sectarian civil war and conflict which avert the division of the country and its break or derives into a confessional state and to prevent a human catastrophe.

The conference has expressed its support to the struggles for the recognition of civil and human rights throughout the entire region, to the struggle to end the occupation that still exists in the Mediterranean and the right for self-determination of peoples.

For this reason, the conference expresses its support for the cause of the Palestinian people in their struggle against the occupation, for the right to self-determination and to have their own state with arab Jerusalem as capital. Condemn the policies of apartheid and of colonization through settlements, carried out by Israeli occupation, supported by the US and the EU. We oppose the construction of the wall and forced expulsion from Jerusalem and all the West Bank of the Palestinians, and we welcome and support the popular resistance movement against it.  We ask the recognition of Palestine in the UN, as asked by PLO. We ask to stop and to dismantle settlements building and for the recognition of the right of return for the Palestinian refugees. We ask for the end of the inhuman siege on Gaza. We require the release of Palestinian political prisoners, of Ahmed Sadat and Marwan Barghouti.

The conference expresses its support for the solution of the question of Western Sahara through the referendum for the self determination of Saharawi people, in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations and calls for the respect of human rights and the liberation of Saharawi political prisoners.

The conference calls for an end of the repression of the Kurdish people in all the countries. In Turkey, we postulate the stop of the persecution of BDP, its activists and leaders. We support a political and negotiated solution that means first the Freedom for Kurdish political prisoners and for Abdullah Ocalan.

In Cyprus is also time to end the Turkish occupation and support the reunification of the island, free from foreign military bases.

We want a Mediterranean free of nuclear weapons and free from the military bases of NATO.

We call for a free nuclear weapon zone in middle-east. Israel State must sign the non proliferation treaty (TNP) and entering the international disarmament process. The nuclear powers must stop research and development in nuke and miniaturization.

The Conference welcomes the struggle of the peace movement in Sicily against the new draft of the American radar.

We want a Mediterranean that defends the environment and the common goods like water and all public services. We denounce the responsibility of European companies in the deterioration of people’s life condition in the South Mediterranean countries. We support democratic and popular control of the natural resources and public services.

We fight against racism and xenophobia and reactionary forces, for the civil and human rights of all migrants, for secularism and against racial, religious or gender discrimination.

We denounce the European union policy of militarization and externalization of borders.

The first conference of the Left of the Mediterranean is a first step. We need to continue and strengthen the cooperation between our parties, as well as youth organizations and women, between the trade unions and social activist, artist, intellectuals, etc.

We agree to create a coordination team to prepare the next round of the conference in a country in the south of the Mediterranean, in 2013, a working group that allows to continue on this path as well as to find the proper way of communication and of establishing working groups on the various items of the conference

This coordination allows to continue on this path and to encourage the participation and inclusion. We propose that the coordination team meets next March in Tunisia on the occasion of the World Social Forum

In these same days we met in Sicily, the governments of Euro-Mediterranean area met in Malta. Their attempt is to continue the imposition of neo-liberal and neo-colonial models, despite the bankruptcy of the model that puts profits before people, based on the robbery of resources and war.

We want to build another Mediterranean; Peace, solidarity , citizenship and social justice.
Together we can do it. Together we will do it.
Long live international solidarity.