Tenth Anniversary of Historic
February 15 Two-Million March

February 15^th marks the tenth anniversary of the largest ever demonstration in Britain when in 2003 two million people demonstrated on the streets of London, along with millions of people worldwide, against the invasion of Iraq.

This was a defining moment because it demonstrated in the most graphic terms what the people of the world have been saying, that these wars are not in their name and that another world without war is possible. Not only did it create such a popular mass movement against war but also it placed at the centre of the political life of this movement and of the country the demand for an end to pro-war government and for an anti-war government. At the same time, when the Blair government carried on after the February 15 mass demonstration and joined with the US in its bloody and criminal invasion of Iraq it showed not the weakness of the anti-war movement but how far the executive power is at odds with the will of the people. It demonstrated the predatory attitude of the Anglo-US governments, who consider themselves above the rule of law, who violate the sovereignty of weak countries, who flout international norms, who carry out wholesale massacres, torture of people and demolition of whole countries and their material resources and cultural heritage.

Ten years on, it can be seen that at every stage Britain, along with the US, and their warmongering NATO alliance, has continued to intervene, with “justifications” on “humanitarian grounds”. The revived Nazi theory of the so-called R2P (Responsibility to Protect) is to force regime change and occupation on peoples with bombs and bullets, intervening directly and indirectly to seize the assets and resources of sovereign countries as they have done with Libya, Syria and now Mali. Whether the chaos, insecurity and bloodshed that they cause is calculated, or just a matter that they cannot calculate, because when it comes down to it they have no respect for the sovereignty of peoples and countries, nevertheless they continue to cause a very dangerous situation everywhere in the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, Asia, the Korean peninsula and in Africa.

There is thus the responsibility of the people, of the anti-war movement and all the forces of the working class movement and people of Britain, to block these criminals in government who put themselves as judge, jury and executioner of the world’s people. It is a responsibility to get organised, as we have done over these ten years, but now on this tenth anniversary to strengthen that conviction, to unite in action. And there is the task to get the organised workers movement in all its forms, including the trade unions, to be part of this movement for a future without war, which means hitting at the source of war, no matter which party in Westminster (or Washington) is in power. It is both a matter of principle, and a matter of the future of humanity. For us, it is not a matter of calculation; it is a matter of organising the people to provide the bulwark against war, to be the decision-makers, to unite internationally with everyone affirming their right to be in a world without war.

For the Peaceful Resolution of International Conflicts!
Britain Out of NATO!
No Troops on Foreign Soil!
Fight for an Anti-War Government in Britain!
For a Future without War!

DPRK launches satellite rocketThe adoption of a UN Security Council "resolution on sanctions" masterminded by the US against the DPRK over its successful launch of satellite Kwangmyongsong 3-2 must be seen as an assault on the DPRK’s defence of its sovereignty. The UNSC resolution is a hostile act against the DPRK motivated by animosity to its ideology and its social system. In other words, it is an anti-communist act which violates proper international norms of friendly relations between countries and peoples.

As the Korean Central News Agency makes clear, defending the right to the peaceful use of space is not just an issue pertaining to the right to develop space but an issue related to the destiny of a nation as it defends its sovereignty and fulfils its goal of achieving a prosperous country. Sovereignty, KCNA says, is what keeps dignified Kim Il Sung's nation and Kim Jong Il's Korea alive. The army and people of the DPRK have never allowed the nation's sovereignty to be encroached upon and the supreme interests of the nation infringed on.

The DPRK never forgets that grief that Korea suffered as a weak nation, and consequently will never take down its socialist banner and the development of satellites and long-range rockets in the future will take the defence of its sovereignty to an ever higher level.

The British Foreign Office had no justification for summoning the Ambassador from the DPRK to deliver a lecture on so-called provocative acts. The response of the government is to be utterly condemned. It is well-known that it is the big powers who wish to have a monopoly on missiles and their testing, not to mention the illegal use of drones in pursuit of the politics of assassination against undefined imminent threats. It is the US which has the largest number of offensive missiles in the world. The newspaper Rodong Simun points out that what the US wants “is the establishment of a missile-strike network around the Eurasian Continent. Now, the US focuses on setting up MD systems in East Asia and the Middle East. These systems tend to sandwich the potential enemies in Asia-Pacific region. Their plan is to extend the missile defence network from Alaska, south Korea and Japan as far as Australia. Their final aim is to mount missile attacks from all corners of the world.” In contrast, it is the right of the DPRK, as of any country, to develop the peaceful use of space.

Not only that, but it is a notable victory for a relatively small country like the DPRK to develop rocket science successfully. This is even more remarkable considering the decades-long political, economic and scientific blockade imposed on it by Anglo-US imperialism. There is also the commercial potential of the DPRK satellite programme, which is obscured by the imperialist hysteria. It is noteworthy that at the same time the DPRK launched its satellite into space, a private consortium of Boeing and Lockheed Martin through a very lucrative contract with the US military launched a military shuttle into space on a top secret military mission several months in duration. The new shuttle is a drone satellite-type weapon, a smaller version of the original shuttle that can return to earth and be re-used.

It should be noted that the sponsors of the UNSC resolution raised no fuss about recent missile tests by south Korea, Japan or the United States itself. Thus, far from being peaceful, Anglo-US imperialism and its allies are deliberately escalating the situation, with the aim of painting the DPRK as the aggressive party and thus attempting to prepare the ground for aggression themselves. However, it is the stand of the DPRK and its army, government and people which is just, and The Line of March calls on all justice-loving forces to combat the hysterical disinformation propagated against the DPRK and to strengthen their unity with its people against the imperialist attempts to threaten its right to be.

Joint Celebration Meeting to mark the "Day of the Shining Star"

(the anniversary of the birth of Kim Jong Il) and to celebrate the continued advances of the people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and their contribution to international peace and progress.

Saturday, February 9, 2013, 7.30 pm
Marchmont Community Centre,
62 Marchmont Street, London WC1N 1AB
  (nearest tube: Russell Square)  

All friends of Korea and anyone interested in the DPRK are warmly invited to participate.   With a number of short presentations highlighting the significance of Kim Jong Il's life and work and the international significance of the just stands of the DPRK. With a film; picture and literature exhibitions; and period for discussion and QA.;  

Organised by the Participating Organisations of Friends of Korea
friendskorea@yahoo.co.uk