The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) of Sri Lanka will hold a public lecture in Colombo on Wednesday against the US-led occupation of Iraq. Entitled “Stop the war on the Iraqi people! Withdraw US troops from Iraq!”, the lecture will be delivered by Wije Dias, SEP General Secretary and member of the WSWS International Editorial Board.

Just one year after the illegal US invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration is brutally suppressing the opposition of the Iraqi population. Hundreds of men, women and children have been killed and thousands wounded during the past two weeks. In the wake of the crisis meeting of Bush and Blair last Friday, where both leaders insisted there would be no turning back, even greater violence is being prepared.

Washington is confronting nothing less than a heroic popular uprising against its neo-colonial occupation of Iraq. The revolt, which has spread from the impoverished slums of Baghdad to the cities of Fallujah, Najaf, Nasiriya, Basra and other areas, has served to shatter the myth of US invincibility.

Workers around the world must support the resistance of the Iraqi people. The US occupation is aimed not at establishing peace and democracy in Iraq, but at securing Washington’s dominance over the country’s oil reserves as part of its broader plans for hegemony throughout the Middle East and Central Asia.

The SEP condemns the criminal silence of the entire Sri Lankan establishment—including those political parties that claimed to oppose the US-led invasion. The SEP is the only party that has consistently demanded the unconditional and immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from Iraq. We insist that all those responsible for planning and organising this aggressive war be publicly exposed and tried for war crimes. We urge all SEP supporters and readers of the World Socialist Web Site to attend this vital meeting.

Venue:
Gurumedura (Sri Lanka National Teachers Union Hall, behind the People’s Bank Headquarters)
Colombo 2

Date: Wednesday, April 21, 2004

Time: 4pm