5-06-05, 8:56 m

WFTU STATEMENT ON THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VICTORY OVER FASCISM IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR

From WFTU On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War on 9 May 2005 and the historic victory over fascism and militarism, the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) expresses its international solidarity with trade unions, working people and nations the world over engaged in the struggle to end all wars and build peace and security for nations and peoples all over our planet. On this solemn occasion, the WFTU pays homage to the memory of the valient heroes and heroines of the Soviet Red Army, the armed forces of the anti-Hitler coalition who made supreme sacrifices, to the resistence forces, and the millions of people all over the world who perished in the wars and in the concentration camps and genocides unleashed by the German and Japanese fascist regimes. The WFTU also pays homage to the great role played by the trade unions and other anti-fascist organisations all over the world who made a an irreplacable contribution to the victory. The WFTU recalls that after the defeat of the Hitler regime and its fascist allies, to prevent the outbreak of another such global conflict, the anti-fascist governments and peoples established the United Nations. he trade union organisations from the countries which established the UN met in London and Paris in 1945 and founded the World Federation of Trade Unions, as a symbol of unity of the trade union movement in all countries in the struggle against fascism and militarism and for a new and better world upholding democratic freedoms and trade union rights. On 3 October 2005, we also observe the 60th anniversary of the World Federation of Trade Unions, which is among the first international non-government organisations accorded Consultative Status at the United Nations and its Specialised Agencies.   These outstanding achievements of peace-loving and democratic forces were undermined by the cold war which was unleashed in the late 1940s. The cold war and the arms race - especially the nuclear arms race - that followed, blocked the implementation of the UN Charter and imposed splits in the world and division in the world trade union movement and other democratic organisations of the working people. The WFTU and its affiliates in all countries convey their congratulations to peace-loving forces the world over and the United Nations on its 60th anniversary and reiterates its support to the Millennium Goals adopted by the UN which is specially focussed on the need to eliminate poverty and unemployment and to assure a decent life for every man, woman and child on our planet. It is extremely urgent that immediate steps be taken to implement the UN resolutions calling for DISARMAMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT, in order to find adequate resources for economic and social development. At the same time, member States of the UN should take effective measures to stop the ongoing wars such as the US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, and to insist that all countries respect the principles of the UN Charter and refrain from policies of aggression and occupation such as practised by Israel in occupied Arab territories in Palestine, Syrian Golan and parts of Lebanon. Peace forces the world over are alarmed at the new threats to peace and security in the world emerging from the declared aims of the Bush Administration in the United States to dominate the world, seeking regime change and interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign countries, impose blockades and sanctions and the concerted efforts to establish total control of the transnational corporations, particularly the global oil companies, in the world economy in the name of globalisation. It is also essential that UN agencies like the UN Human Rights Commission are not misused by certain countries, particularly the United States, to impose hegemony and undermine the UN Charter. The WFTU strongly condemns the recent re-emergence of neo-nazism, the attempts to falsify or distort history in relation to the Second World War and demands that these attempts be rebuffed resolutely. The WFTU appeals to all trade unions the world over to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War to mobilise world public opinion in the struggle for peace and security all over our planet, to demand an immediate end to the aggression and occupation of Iraq by the US and its allies, to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian and other Arab territories, to impose the policy of Disarmament for Development and to ensure that all Member States respect and implement the U.N. Charter.