PEACE-LOVING YOUTH OF THE WORLD UNITE TO STOP AERIAL BOMBINGS IN PALESTINE, INDIA, MYANMAR, AND THE PHILIPPINES

[SIGN THE UNITY STATEMENT HERE: bit.ly/StopAerialBombings]

Imperialists and their fascist cohorts across the world have launched indiscriminate aerial bombings on communities, hospitals, schools, churches, and other civilian infrastructure. Despite being a war crime that targets mostly civilians, aerial bombings, shelling, and strafing are being used more and more as a primary instrument of terror by murderous governments led by Netanyahu in Israel, Modi in India, and Marcos Jr. in the Philippines.

In occupied Palestine, the destruction and human toll caused by the aerial bombings have been given a spotlight on the international stage. Since October 7, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have launched a nonstop campaign of aerial bombardment on Gaza and the West Bank. The death toll has now surpassed 13,000, including 5,000 children. Almost 1,800 more children are still missing under the rubble of razed buildings.

In India, an aerial bombing campaign in Bastar was launched in April 2023 targeting the border regions of Chattisgarh and Telengana for the fourth time in three consecutive years. The aerial drone attack was carried out in the villages of Madkanguda, Mettuguda, Bottethong, Sakleer, Madinaguda, Kannemerka, Pottemangam, Bottalanka, Rasappalli, Errapadu in Kishtaram and Pamed areas of Chhattisgarh state and killed a tribal woman named Pottam Gangi.

In the Philippines, an aerial bombing campaign has battered the rural communities of Negros, Cagayan, Batangas, Kalinga, and other provinces since 2021. The new Marcos Jr. regime has inherited his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte’s fondness for aerial bombing. Within his first year as President, Marcos Jr. already tallied more than 7,000 victims of aerial bombings. The aerial bombings in Cagayan and Kalinga, in particular, are seen as a measure to pave the way for the construction of US bases in Northern Luzon.

In Myanmar, the ruling junta has unleashed at least 643 airstrikes and drone strikes since the 2021 coup, killing 772 on the spot. This, together with the 871 shellings, has led to thousands of noncombatants’ deaths, especially affecting farmers, indigenous peoples, and rural food producers. These bombings have impacted Karenni, Sagaing, Chin and other states of the country. In the Karenni state, where over 84% of the population is now internally displaced, the Karen people, long fighting for their land rights, have borne the brunt of these violent activities.

We see that under the cover of eradicating armed resistance, these fascist governments are wantonly committing war crimes in order to spread terror among the civilian populace. These attacks do not only cause immediate destruction of lives, but also long-term damage to irrigation systems and agricultural land of the targeted communities, which are mostly farmers.

Youth are particularly affected by bombings and militarization, given the destruction of the communities they will inherit and causing harmful trauma that will stay with them for much of their lives. And yet, youth have always been at the forefront of fights for justice, from the anti-war struggles in support of the people of Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq among others. Youth have also led the world in all social justice movements, from farmworker justice campaigns, revolutionary student and workers movements and anti-racist struggles in all corners of the globe.

We, the undersigned peace-loving organizations and individuals across the world, commit to the fight against indiscriminate aerial bombings. Governments must immediately stop these campaigns, conduct urgent, thorough, and impartial investigations, and provide support and rehabilitation for victims. We also condemn the imperialist United States for sponsoring these attacks on civilians through military aid and for supplying weapons to these anti-people governments.

Signed:

International League of Peoples’ Struggle – Commission on Youth
League of Filipino Students (Philippines)
Revolutionary Students Front (India)
Democratic Students’ Association (Kerala, India)
Palestinian Youth Movement
All Burma Federation of Students Union
Myanmar Student Organization
Asia Young Indigenous Peoples Network
Youth for Food Sovereignty
National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates Youth (Philippines)
Siklab Philippine Indigenous Youth Network
Gempar Papua (West Papua)
Sulong UBC (Canada)
Anakbayan USA

State-Sponsored Hellfire

At least 2,905 State-sponsored bombings of indigenous and rural communities in the past three years alone.

See interactive map here– https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/fYNmA/1/

Israel bombed Palestinians 2476 times in 3 years.

The US-backed Israeli occupiers have bombed and killed nearly 15,000 Palestinians in the past three years, 9 in 10 of whom in the last two months alone.

See interactive map here– https://www.datawrapper.de/_/7qR7n/