This brutal war should be stopped immediately and compel parties to establish a ceasefire

The JVP states that Israel should stop its attacks of killing thousands of ordinary people, including children, and go to a ceasefire immediately, adding that the vast majority of countries in the world accept a free Palestine and a free Israel except America and a few puppet states that support it.
This was stated by the National Organizer of the JVP, Bimal Ratnayake, at a press conference held at the head office of the party at Pelawatta yesterday (31st).
The JVP National Organizer said, “The stand of the Janata Vimukthi Peramuna has been, since the beginning, that the killing of the ordinary people in Palestine should be stopped immediately and the policy of an independent Palestine and an independent Israel accepted by the United Nations should be implemented regarding the two countries. In 1948, independent Israel was established with the intervention of the United Nations, but independent Palestine has not been established until now. The Palestinian people live like the black people of South Africa did when they were oppressed under colonization.
The Palestinian people and the Israeli people have been suffering for the past 75 years due to the conflict. Especially in the Gaza Strip, which is part of Palestine, the biggest tragic war of the 21st century has been launched by the Israeli government and the American government. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced, and thousands of children have died. It is why we thought it essential to clarify our position.
It has been predicted that the world economy will collapse by 5% due to this war. Also, any problem that occurs in the Middle East region will affect Sri Lanka in terms of oil prices. On the other hand, nearly two million Sri Lankans work in that region. Sri Lanka, as a sovereign state and the JVP, as a progressive left party, should clarify their position regarding essential issues in the world.
With the attack on the people of Israel by the Hamas organization on October 7, the western war-hungry media propagated the view that this problem started on October 7. However, immediately after Israel was recognized as an independent state by the United Nations in 1948, a collosal number of Palestinian people fled their villages. Since then, the Palestinian people have been the largest displaced people in the world. It’s 14 million. 6.9 million of them are in Palestine, and the majority, 7.1 million, are refugees in other countries. The majority of those refugees are in the countries around Palestine, including Jordan. This issue has been going on for 75 years since the United Nations and world powers created Israel and failed to create a Palestinian state.
On May 28, 2021, the American New York Times reported, with photographs, about sixty children who died in Israeli airstrikes. We emphasize that this problem did not arise because of the attack by a Palestinian militant organization on October 7. From 2007 to October 7, more than six thousand Palestinians and hundreds of Israelis have been killed. During that time, about 170 villages belonging to Palestinians had been annexed to Israel. The Palestinian people in those villages fled. The American President, the Israeli Prime Minister and all warmongers have named more than 8500 children and others killed by bulldozing the Gaza Strip as terrorists. However, the voluntary organization called ‘Save the Children’, created by Western countries, has revealed that the number of children who died in the Gaza Strip in three weeks is more than the number of children who died in war conflicts in the world in five years. This organization has insisted that it is not the militants who are dying but the children. Also, a statement issued by the Secretary General of the United Nations and the organization itself indicates that on October 29, the flag of the United Nations office was flown at half-mast, and a day of mourning was announced. Fifty-nine people who worked in the programmes implemented by the United Nations in the Gaza Strip have been killed by Israeli and American bombings.
Militants try to interpret this issue as a conflict between Islam, Christianity and Judaism. However, even Christian churches that are more than a hundred years old have been destroyed by the Israeli attack. The Jewish people all over the world are shouting that the government in Israel is a Zionist racist group and are pressuring them to stop these attacks carried out in the name of the Jews. We admire the humanity shown by the Jews against the Zionist racist group. The Vatican also has taken the position that an independent Palestine should be created. It has been stated that there is no Islam-Christian conflict here and that there is an intervention by the US-led militarists. The Vatican is among the countries of the world that admit that what Israel is carrying out today is a more brutal massacre than the apartheid that existed in South Africa. Progressives all over the world have accepted that the war is not due to a religious issue. The Pope and the Vatican also hold that position.
Some people have raised various questions regarding the JVP’s position in this regard. It is clear that Sri Lanka is not isolated from the world in acting for justice against the attacks when it comes to this issue. The position of the JVP has been built not from an opportunistic point of view but from a humanitarian point of view.
In a resolution submitted to the United Nations, 11 of the 15 countries of the Security Council approved a resolution to go to a ceasefire. However, the United States used its veto power to defeat the ceasefire proposal. Then, a ceasefire resolution was passed in the United Nations General Assembly. 120 countries supported it, 14 countries opposed it, and forty countries abstained from voting.
The vast majority of countries in the world are against militarism and have taken the position that this should be stopped. We appreciate Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry for voting in favour of the ceasefire. If we fall in line with the governments of Israel and America, we will be isolated from the world. We have prepared our position based on the acceptance of a free Palestine by more than 138 countries of the world. Except for a few countries that tow the US line, the vast majority of states, for more than 50 years, have been in the position that an independent Palestine should be created. Even though the United States accepted this policy, they did not allow it to be implemented. As such, the United States has been pushed to a point where they act against themselves. A free Palestine has been recognized by more than 150 international organizations, including the United Nations. The warmongers in the world today had joined the apartheid regime of South Africa and acted against the people of that country. Nelson Mandela was called a terrorist. Nevertheless, after Nelson Mandela and the whole world united and liberated South Africa, the warmongers had to accept that administration.
As Sri Lankans and as the party, we are saddened by the death of Anula Ratnayake from Sri Lanka, who died due to this war while working in Israel. The Sri Lankan government should act to ensure the safety of Sri Lankans working in Israel. Sri Lankans working in an environment where bombs are being dropped on the Gaza Strip and the refugee camps in the West Bank should be looked into.
Under this insecure situation, some business organizations are working to provide jobs in Israel. The government should prevent Sri Lankans from being sent to unsafe areas. In terms of finding solutions to this problem, our position is that Palestine and Israel should find a solution that is acceptable to the people of both countries. It should be emphasized that the United Nations, which created this issue, has a primary responsibility to resolve it.
We emphasize the position that there should be a free Palestinian state just like the Free state of Israel that exists today. We express the position that Brazil, which holds the presidency of the Security Council, should intervene and act to bring about a practical ceasefire. The prisoners held by both sides should be exchanged. Even though Sri Lanka is a small country and our voice is not strong, I would like to give one example. During the nationalization of the Suez Canal, the powers bombed Egypt in the same way they bomb Gaza today. In the 1950s, the Sri Lankan government advocated for the right to nationalize the Suez Canal. Sri Lanka acted in the diplomatic committees established for that purpose. There is an appreciation for that even today. In order to get such an advantage for Sri Lanka, it is essential to act from a fair and just position.