Statement: SFG slams US over call on Ghana to condemn Syria

The United States is at it again; doing what it does best-bullying dependent nations to toe its bellicose line of action in international politics.

A case in point is the call on Ghana by the United States Embassy to join the so-called international community to condemn Syria on its alleged use of chemical weapons against its own people.

The United States so far has not been able to provide any shred of evidence directly linking the Syrian government with the chemical attack thus the use of such bland statements and words like 'unclassified intelligence', 'the Arab league has decided to hold the Syrian regime fully responsible for this crime', 'the regime must be legally and morally held accountable for this heinous crime'.

These are barren claims that do not get to the substantive issue already stated: Where is the evidence?

The US has not been able to provide this evidence yet would want to bully the Mahama administration into condemning Syria. The most ridiculous of these statements is from Secretary John Kerry, 'The question is not what we know but what we are going to do about it'. In other words there is no reason to establish the facts of the Syrian government guilt in this matter. What is important is to obey orders. If this does not smack of arrogance and disrespect for Ghanaians what else can it be? Can anybody think of the Ghanaian embassy in the U.S asking the White House to do the same thing?

But need we be surprised? The history of the U.S in its relations with other governments is replete with such lies. In the Iraqi war it claimed Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, but when it finally occupied Iraq, there were no weapons of mass destruction except the ones which existed in the mind of George Bush.

While spewing bellicose language, the U.S is at the same time also commending Ghana for its commitment to the rule of law, democratic processes, and peaceful resolution of the election dispute. If the U.S is indeed interested in the peaceful resolution of the problems why is it massing up its arsenal in the Mediterranean, and why did it torpedo all attempts at a peaceful resolution of the Syrian conflict?

Clearly the U.S is not interested in peace except the kind of peace that leads to the mass destruction of life, property and displacement of populations.

As Socialists, we understand that war is an inherent feature in the capitalist system of production especially its variant monopoly capital.

We know the end result of the bellicose stance of the United States is to provoke a war with Syria to bolster the profits of the military industrial complex; throttle the genuine struggles of the Arab people against Israel led by Syria and eventually attack Iran.

The Socialist Forum of Ghana would therefore want to state that for as long as capitalism exist the working class would always be enlisted by the ruling class to fight wars for the beneficiaries of capitalism i.e, the owning class.

The Forum unreservedly condemns the United States for trying to bully the Ghana Government into condemning Syria; and showing gross disrespect to Ghanaians.

Aidan Adongo For Convener.