On Wednesday, August 16, the Socialist Equality Party of Germany (Partei für Soziale Gleichheit) will hold its main meeting in Berlin in the run-up to the Berlin state election on September 17.
This election must be seen in light of profound changes in the international situation. Israel’s brutal attacks on the Lebanese population and the Palestinian territories, carried out with the full support of the United States, are the prelude to even broader military conflicts and wars. The US government is determined to carry out “regime change” in Syria and Iran in order to secure control over the massive energy reserves in the Middle East and the Caspian region.
The German government, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel (Christian Democratic Union-CDU) and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Social Democratic Party-SPD), share responsibility for this illegal war of aggression and the atrocities being inflicted on the Lebanese civilian population. Their unconditional support for the American and Israeli governments has served to strengthen and encourage the warmongers.
Their support for the war is directly bound up with attacks on the basic democratic rights of the German people. This was made clear by Berlin Interior Senator Erhart Körting (SPD), who has banned banners and signs supporting Hezbollah from demonstrations and public meetings, in flagrant violation of the constitutional right to free political expression.
For its part, the Left Party-Party of Democratic Socialism not only sits alongside the SPD in the Berlin Senate, where it has collaborated in implementing devastating welfare cuts over the past five years, it also lines up with the SPD on the issue of war.
The Socialist Equality Party (Partei für Soziale Gleichheit) decisively rejects this cowardly subordination to the official political line. We are taking part in the election to fight for a socialist orientation. In our election manifesto we state: “Our participation is a step towards the construction of an international party that opposes war, defends democratic rights, and fights for social equality and the eradication of poverty.” The Socialist Equality Party stresses the close connection between social issues and the struggle against war. As our manifesto states: “Our aim is not to beg for alms or reform capitalism, but to replace it with a socialist system in which the economy serves the needs of working people, rather than the profit interests of a financial oligarchy and the greed of corporate bosses.”
We warmly invite all readers of the World Socialist Web Site and supporters of the Partei für Soziale Gleichheit to attend our public meeting to discuss these issues.
Wednesday, August 16, 7 p.m.
Town Hall Schöneberg, Room 1108
John F. Kennedy Platz, 10825
Berlin
Speakers: Ulrich Rippert, chairman of the Partei für Soziale Gleichheit and candidate in the Berlin state election, and Peter Schwarz, secretary of the International Committee of the Fourth International.