ELA demands the Russian government to stop the war and urges negotiation and a diplomatic route to overcome it

Mar 14, 2022

In view of the dramatic warlike setting that we are facing, ELA wants to show its solidarity with all the victims of this war, particularly with the civil population that is suffering this tragedy. Likewise, we urge solidarity with the refugees, of which there are already over two million. All the people fleeing from wars need reception policies by Europe, a legal obligation for hospitality and protection that cannot depend on the origin or the nationality of the victims.

ELA considers that when faced with the absurdity of this war, political solutions must be imposed. The construction and consolidation of peace between peoples needs willingness and dialogue. Diplomacy and the political agreements to guarantee the end of the war must be given central stage. The respect for rights of the peoples and human rights must always prevail. The invasion and occupation of Ukrainian territory must end and a step must be taken towards political negotiation.

ELA categorically rejects the unilateral and illegitimate decision by the Russian Government to invade Ukraine and it demands the immediate halt of the war, which is nonnegotiable. Additionally, the trade union rejects the attempt by governments and the dominant media to hide the background that has contributed to this setting, such as, amongst other factors, the breach of the agreements after the dissolution of the USSR, the 2014 coup d’état in Ukraine, the authoritarian and anti-Russian policies of the Ukrainian governments or the open warfare in the Donbass territories.

NATO’s responsibility in this conflict should also not be hidden. In recent decades, this alliance has only contributed to the increase in the tension by way of its military expansion. Russia’s demand for a safe space has been assumed in the international area. For this reason, a pulling back of NATO’s expansion in the countries adjacent to Russia must be one of the unavoidable points of the political negotiation.

Likewise, the right to free determination by the peoples must also be respected, also inside Ukraine. Neither the military imposition, nor the dogma of the territorial integrity should prevent the people from, freely, peacefully and democratically, choosing their internal articulation and their place in the international arena. We must recall that the Donbass territories have been coping with a conflict for years, deliberately forgotten by the West and by Europe, which has already cost the lives of over 10,000 people.

ELA denounces the militaristic slant that the governments of the European Union and the EU itself, are carrying out. It also does not agree with the economic sanctions that worsen the suffering of the working classes, increasing their poverty and vulnerability. It also does not accept the double standards being applied by European governments regarding the different conflicts existing on the planet.

Faced with the very serious disinformation that we are seeing, ELA is demanding basic freedoms such as the freedom of the press and the freedom to march. Society as a whole needs to know the facts, as well as the contexts, the causes and the consequences of the conflicts. The constraints set by the governments against the opposing media and journalists are unacceptable. For this reason, we demand the immediate release of the Basque journalist Pablo González, arrested in Poland. Likewise, we denounce the repression and arresting of thousands of people in Russia who have been protesting against the war over the past few days. The commitment and peaceful determination of these people gives a message of hope and a fundamental reference for the resolution of these conflicts.

ELA, therefore, repeats its call to bring a halt to the military escalation, moving towards an immediate ceasefire. There must be an end to all outside interferences in Ukraine. We cannot assume as natural that the major powers establish by way of military and economic violence what they call their “areas of influence”. For this reason, all the agents involved in the conflict must stop armed actions and start real dialogue processes.

The war must be stopped in Ukraine, as well as many other forgotten armed conflicts, such as the ones that are being fought in Yemen, Syria, Ethiopia, Western Sahara or Palestine. Mankind must concentrate all its efforts on facing up to the great challenges to civilisation that we are facing, such as climate change, generated by human action and the enormous inequalities, instead of insisting on war.