"Middle East and Resistance against imperialism and war"

We would like to invite you to a meeting organised by Workers Democracy together with Iranian political dissidents living in Cyprus on

SATURDAY 14 FEBRUARY 6pm

at the Cyprus University, Room A110

The occupations of Iraq and Palestine are provoking bitterness and unrest in the Middle East and political instability in the region in general. This anger is directed against the US and local rulers who refuse to challenge Bush's imperialist project. That is the backdrop to the meeting.

Some people were lethargic after the defeat of Iraq, even though many socialists we predicted that there would be resistance. This element is reviving the movement everywhere, in Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Egypt. We refer to the anti-war movement in Turkey and the preparations for the mobilisation against the NATO summit in Istanbul in June.

If there were no Iraqi resistance or Palestinian resistance things would be more quiet and much more to the liking of Bush, Blair, Ertogan, Mubarak and the Arab governments. This new resistance, we must stress, it is part of the international anti-globalisation movement, which placed the campaign against the occupation of Irag and Palestine as one of its top priorities, discussed at the ESF last November in Paris and in Mumbai India last January.

The resistance in Iraq and the continued resistance of the Palestinians are the reason for the revival of the opposition. The two governments who benefit from this resistance are Syria and Iran because the resistance makes it less likely for them to be intimidated or attacked.

As socialists living in the south part of the island we see the recent developments regarding the Cyprus question, the political pressure exercised by Bush for a quick 'settlement', as part of the designs of the American and British imperialists to try to 'stabilise' the region and also, in view of the coming elections in the US, for Bush administration to score a 'victory' out of the mess they have created in the Middle East. Contrary to the intentions of the imperialists, we should use every opportunity available in order to advance peace and fraternization among Greek and Turkish Cypriots and to promote the joint fight against the British bases and the fight against imperialism.

It is an opportunity for activists from the wider region, Cyprus to get together to exchange ideas and debate strategy of how we build resistance against the war and imperialism in Middle East given that the next stop for the international movement is the international Day of Action on 20th March against occupation of Iraq and Palestine.

For this reason, we have invited four speakers on the panel, one Iranian, one Greek Cypriot, one Turkish Cypriot and one Syrian. Each speaker will speak for about 10 minutes after which a discussion will follow. During the meeting the language used will be English and we will translate into Greek or Turkish. The meeting should conclude by 8.30pm.

Everyone is welcome to lay down his or her position and contribute to the discussion. Lastly, you are welcome to have a stall outside the room with publications, posters etc of your group.