Since January the 1st, 2016, 132 000 people entered into Europe (of which more than 100 000 through Greece), say thirty times more than the previous year during the same period. Almost all of them flee wars, misery or persecutions of which imperialist powers, in particular those of the European Union, are the main culprits. Since 2015, it is more than 1.2 million asylum seekers that were registered by the European Union. Since two years, 7 000 of them lost their life at the doors of Europe, of which several hundreds drowned.

They are treated in an absolutely inhuman manner, as recently the violent eviction of part of the “jungle” of Calais by CRS. The “democratic” European bourgeois governments of Merkel, Hollande, Cameron, Renzi … apply the programme of the Pegida, the FN, the BNP, the UKIP, the FPO, the PS (True Finns), the Jobbik, the XA (Golden Dawn), the PVV, the SD …: the massive assassination by drowning of Arabs, Blacks and Afghans, apartheid for survivors.

Capitalist governments repel and expel Syrian refugees

During the European summit of March the 7th, the German chancelor Merkel présented an anti-migrant plan that proposes to expel to Turkey any refugee “illegally” arrived in Greece. This “German-Turk” plan was directly negociated by Berlin and Ankara, then was accepted by the 28 governments of the European Union. It provides for sending back to Turkey all Syrians arrived in Greece through racket networks of smugglers, in order to set up later a “humanitarian corridor” according to the principle “1 Syrian admitted for 1 Syrian expelled”. The expelled ones will then be confined in Turkey where more than 2.7 million people already live in camps. In order to succeed, the March the 7th summit plans to finance up to 6 billion euros the Turkish islamist government and to facilitate the acquisition of visas for its nationals.

This barbaric plan of expulsion and sending back of refugees follows various nationalist measures that each European bourgeoisie adopted, in violation of the EU rules (Schengen Agreement), against proletarians from Asia and Africa. Unable to receive 2 to 3 millions human beings (for a European population of 500 millions), most European bourgeois states restored controls at their borders, imitating the Orbán government of Hungary that had initiated them in 2015. In order to achieve that, the same who boasted having brought down the Berlin wall erect barbed wire, unleash police dogs both inside the Schengen space and at its borders, confine immigrants.

The Schengen Agreements explode. Seven countries in this space have already restored border controls (France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden). The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, clearly warned refugees that they are not welcome by screaming to them “do not come into Europe!” (Le Monde, March the 3rd, 2016). As the Balkan countries followed the decision of Austria to close its borders, the heads of State validated the blocking of refugees on Greek soil: “The irregular flows of migrants along the road of Western Balkans have henceforth ended” (Declaration of the Heads of States of the European Union, March the 7th, 2016). In order to sort and expel all these workers, the Greek government opened sorting centres, the EU finances them up to 300 million euros by way of a “humanitarian help”. In 2016, the EU also reinforced its police in the Mediterranean (Frontex) and on the request of Merkel, the NATO and its English, French navies patrol since February in the Egean sea in order to “save” embarcations of immigrants and “bring them back to Turkey”.

Xenophobic measures threaten to extend themselves to UE nationals. Thus the Cameron government demands in order to maintain Great Britain inside the UE that workers from other member countries should have the right to be exploited, but not to benefit from social welfare before 7 years of residence on the territory.

The working class must unite to impose the opening of borders and the stopping of imperialist bombings!

The world imperialist system, that is, the world capitalist groups and the States that serve the interests of capitalists of their country (United States, China, Germany, Japan, France, Great Britain, Russia …), keeps the greatest part of the world in misery. The imperialist States intervene militarily in dominated countries (Iraq, Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Mali …). Regional powers (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Israel …) that are linked to some of them take part to wars in other countries (Syria, Iraq, Yemen …), or even colonize (Palestine).

Imperialism is the main cause of migrations of millions of workers and young people towards Europe (or North America). Rotting capitalism carries far fascism. On the one hand, the xenophobic and fascist parties carry to its end the racist logic of “democratic” bourgeois parties, gather strength in elections. The Nazi gangs attack immigrants in Greece, in Germany, in Sweden … In the Middle East, the Islamo-fascist gangs encouraged yesterday (IS-Daesh) or still today (Al-Nosra) by the United States, France, Germany, Great Britain, Israel, Turkey and the Gulf monarchies attack the labour movement, women, religious and national minorities …

Only the working class is today progressive. Alone it can break with declining capitalism, for which there are too many human beings opposite the perspectives of profit, alone it can ensure the development of dominated countries, satisfy all basic needs through collectivization of the means of production and planning by the producers, spare the environment of the human species. Migrant workers are part of the working class for the same reason as its national origin component, their struggle is the same.

One must revive proletarian internationalism, build a revolutionary workers’ international. Across Europe, all wage workers’ unions, all parties of workers’ origin must demand:

• Down with the EU expulsion plan for Syrian refugees! Closure of containment camps! Freedom of movement, of settlement and of work for all migrant workers and their families! Freedom of movement  and of residence for students who want to visit Europe or train in it!
• Same rights, including political ones, for all workers!
• Stop bombings and interventions in Syria and in Iraq of the American, Russian, Belgian, British, Danish, French, Dutch special forces and armies! Closure of all American, Russian, French and British military bases of the region!
• Enough of police persecution of refugees and Romas! Repeal xenophobic laws! Dissolution of Frontex! Organization of the joint defense between national and migrant workers against police repression and fascist and racist aggressions!
• Socialist United States of Europe, Socialist Federation of the Mediterranean!

March the 9th, 2016

International Bureau of the Permanent Revolution Collective