The 19th Pancyprian EDON Congress, held from 4 to 6 January 2019 in Nicosia, after an in-depth discussion of the situation in the Middle East, concluded:
A. At the heart of the imperialist competitions, at this stage, is the effort to control energy sources and pipelines, shipping routes and their markets. The wider region of the south-eastern Mediterranean brings the greatest interest of the imperialists, due to its geostrategic place, the control of energy and commercial roads as well as the concentration of large energy deposits.
B. The NATO-American invasion and occupation of Iraq was only the beginning of the plans for the redeployment of the region and the implementation of the NATO- led plan for the creation of the " New Middle East ". The chain of events that followed the so-called "Arab Spring", accompanied by the intervention of NATO, the EU and its allies in the region (Turkey, Israel and the Arab Gulf states in particular ) in order to take part in the control of the new situation. NATO's expansion to the region is taking place, sowing death and refugee. The rebirth of the border is done with the blood of the peoples of the region, mainly civilians, women and children and the thousands of migrants and refugees drowning in the Mediterranean Sea.
C. In this context, with the support of the fascist parties and others, the US and the EU intervened in Libya, causing a continuing chaos, and with the same tactics they intervened in Syria, which led to a civil war that got out of control. They equipped, trained and financially assisted extremist and paramilitary organisations, in order to use them for the further destabilization of the region.
D. What they have established is to liberate the forces of the " Islamic State ", which have committed horrific crimes against local populations and against civilians from other countries (Lebanon, France, Turkey, Russia). NATO plans and its allies in the region, associated with fitting and indirect support of the "Islamic State", nevertheless realizing that the situation has escaped and that the "Islamic State" is in huge risk and for their own countries, now they are rushing to deny and stop what they have supported before, since they have admitted that they themselves created, equipped and trained those groups. In fact, the actions of the "Islamic State" in the region are serving their interests, since it is a major destabilization and factor, epicentre on Syria in order military interventions and weak substantial resistance can exploit their energy resources country.
E. The Middle East and North Africa are still in a huge battleground. Libya and Yemen are still in chaos, because of religious and sectarian conflicts, which fuelled the continuing US operations and their allies. Iraq, after years of American occupation, is de facto separated in three parts. In Afghanistan, the US has secured the establishment of its military presence.
F. The Syrian people have been faced with foreign interventions and civilian armed conflicts for years, as the country has become a conflict between regional and global imperialist powers. The war in Syria counts thousands of dead and wounded people, while the millions of Syrian people who became refugees, has created a serious refugee crisis across Europe. The war in Syria has affected neighboring countries like Lebanon with its continued instability and ongoing Israeli challenges.
G. The Palestinian people continue to suffer the violation of their democratic and human rights, while Israeli aggression is dangerously sharpened. The US move to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the transfer of its embassy there is an aggravation of the US imperialist aggression against the Palestinian people and a full cooperation with Israel that undermines efforts to create an independent and viable Palestinian state at the 1967 border with its capital East Jerusalem.
H. Under these circumstances, unresolved international problems (Cyprus , Kurdish and Palestinian) continue their course in an increasingly complex international and regional situation.
Taking into account the above situation, the 19th Pancyprian Conference of EDON concluded:
1. In this context, the massive struggle of the youth against imperialist plans is more than imperative for the immediate end of all interventions in the Middle East that replicate violence, chaos and bloodshed and create the worst conditions for the peoples of the region.
2. We call on the youth to follow the path of organized struggle and forge a resistance against any reactionary, obscurantist, fascist and fundamentalist power. Young people should be supported and actively participate at national and international level towards the anti-imperialist and peace support organisations in a struggle against imperialism, against this system that produces war, occupation, fascism and exploitation.
3. We firmly believe that the future of people and youth cannot depend on the various imperialist projects, the intra-imperialist contrasts and the antagonisms. We therefore, call on the people and the youth to take the future in their own hands and to fight for lasting peace, in a society that guarantees freedom, independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and social justice
JANUARY 2019, NICOSIA