"In war, the state provides cannons, the rich provide oxen, and the poor their sons. When the war is over, the state takes cannons, the rich their oxen, and the poor count graves. ” - Serbian folk proverb

The wars of the capitalist powers for the interests of their ruling classes have recently entered a new stage. In the days when the United States bombed Somalia, Saudi Arabia bombed Yemen, and Israel bombed Syria, the NATO exponent Ukraine and Russia openly clashed in Ukraine. As in all wars fought in the interests of the ruling class, the biggest loser of these massacres around the world is the working class.

It is clear that the tendency towards the expansion of NATO - the strongest and most aggressive military alliance in the world - to Ukraine, as well as its support for the undoubtedly nazified regime created after the coup in 2014 in that country, was the motive for Russia's attack on Ukraine, as the interests of its ruling class were seriously threatened. It is also obvious that with this war, the United States is disciplining the EU, which was quite ready to cooperate with Russia due to its economic interests. These are, and this is how the relations between the capitalist and imperialist powers function.

Revolutionaries, however, must act in the interests of the working class, and not in the interest of a capitalist formation of any sort. It should be understood that regardless of certain differences between them, which paint them in this or that segment with nicer colors - the struggle against the interests of the working class is common to all capitalist forces.

The new stage of the capitalist wars also opened a new season of arming among the bloodthirsty capitalists. Billions and billions of our money have been directed to the war, to military-industrial machinery. This policy is implemented by all capitalist factions, regardless of party affiliation. It is especially striking to us that the country who is both the main investor in Serbia and whose compradors knit our destiny here - Germany - has also openly started to arm itself to a great extent, thus calling into question the decisions of the 1945 Potsdam Conference.

Faced with the horrors of war, it is very easy to make a mistake and impotently call for peace. However, capitalist peace is not peace. Such "peace" is in fact a differently branded war against the working class. In this situation, a consistent anti-militarist position implies making direct efforts to stop the capitalist war, but at the same time taking control of the situation in the country, and radically changing the socio-economic system - that is, organized class warfare is needed.

Our organization operates in Serbia, an economic colony of the European Union, which is not a member of NATO due to a combination of historical circumstances. However, although it is not a part of NATO, Serbia conducts most of its international military exercises and military-technical cooperation with NATO, it is geographically surrounded by countries that are part of that criminal alliance, and presence of NATO operatives in all Serbian governments in the last 20 years is a constant.

As the task of all revolutionaries in the times of capitalist wars is to fight against their ruling class and its militaristic crimes, the Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative will continue to focus in this context on resisting all imperial and capitalist forces in Serbia, of which NATO currently has the strongest influence. We will also fight against all attempts to abandon neutral status and take sides in wars waged against peoples everywhere.

At the same time, we call on the soldiers of all warring parties to reject the commands of their officers and disable the administration of all capitalist armies. We call on the inhabitants of the warring states to oppose the war, and sabotage the war efforts of "their" states as much as possible. It is necessary to take control of society and the means of production and hand them over to workers' and people's assemblies. Only in this way can we truly end all wars and enable the creation of the foundations of a truly free and peaceful world, without capitalist social relations, states and imperialist destruction.

No war between nations, no peace between classes!

In Belgrade, March 1st, 2022.

Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative, Section of the International Workers' Association