We the undersigned, elected representatives of the left in the European Parliament, national parliaments and regional and local government, address our fellow elected representatives of the left, in Europe and internationally. We ask you to act with us in support of the military and civil resistance of the Ukrainian people. Our role as elected representatives in our respective countries gives us this special responsibility.
We propose that we undertake strong and urgent action. The brave, wounded people of Ukraine are fighting for survival as an independent state and nation. This is especially so now that winter has arrived and millions of Ukraine’s inhabitants have to go without electricity, water and heating due to the massive bombing ordered by Putin. Putin, having suffered resounding failures in the face of the resistance of an entire armed people, is now aiming to methodically destroy all strategic infrastructure necessary for human life. In the current winter conditions, with temperatures set to fall further in the coming weeks and months, this bombing of key civilian targets is yet another war crime and risks the death of countless Ukrainians from starvation and cold.
Since the start of his insane war adventure, Putin has repeatedly proclaimed that he wants to annihilate the Ukrainian state and nation, which, according to his imperialist delusions, "does not exist" and is only "a part of greater Russia". The right of peoples to self-determination and independence has always been a goal defended by the left. We must defend it now for Ukraine, just as we did for Vietnam and just as we do for the Palestinian people.
Like all peoples and all our fellow citizens, we are in favour of peace, of solving conflicts by peaceful and diplomatic means. We fight constantly against all wars. But peace must first be just if it is to be lasting. And the first condition for a just peace in Ukraine is the withdrawal of the Russian troops responsible for the aggression.
We must recognise the right of the Ukrainian people to defend themselves with all available means against the terrible aggression they are suffering. This includes the weapons provided to them by the governments of the Western imperialist countries, those whose anti-social and anti-democratic policies we daily fight in our respective countries.
That is why we, elected representatives of the left, must once again fight on our familiar ground and do everything to ensure that the military and economic aid given by our governments to Ukraine is not subject to unacceptable conditions. Firstly, to reject any pressure on the Ukrainian authorities to accept a partition of Ukraine as a precondition for having negotiations about peace. Secondly, to ensure that when the time comes to rebuild the country after the war, that the implementation of neo-liberal policies of austerity and privatisation in the interests of Western imperialist big capital is not imposed on Ukraine.
We therefore propose to undertake the following urgent initiatives as a first step: ▪ Organisation of parliamentary information trips and missions to Ukraine, to meet Ukrainian parliamentarians and elected representatives on the spot, and to convey their information and demands to our countries, to our fellow citizens. ▪ Invitations to our countries of Ukrainian parliamentarians and elected representatives, as well as of representatives of trade unions, the left and progressive movements, in the form of tours, meetings and information and debate sessions in our cities and regions, to inform our fellow citizens and organise solidarity with the Ukrainian people on a mass scale. ▪ Organisation in our regions, cities and enterprises of citizen humanitarian convoys to Ukrainian cities and regions. ▪ Organisation of twinning between our regions, cities and enterprises with Ukrainian regions, cities and enterprises. ▪ Organisation of information campaigns for the citizens of our countries, among other things to counter Putin's false and slanderous propaganda about Ukraine being allegedly "Nazi" and "fascist"; this is a political brainwashing operation specifically carried out to spread confusion among the left internationally and paralyse its ability to act. To start acting together on these goals, we propose to form an international network, “Left parliamentarians and elected representatives for Ukraine”
A press conference will be organised with the first signatories of this appeal.
oOo
List of people signing here. To add your name, please write to representatives@ukraine-solidarity.eu.