By: Isuru Parakrama
June 24, Colombo (LNW): The People’s Struggle Alliance (PSA) has issued a strongly worded statement denouncing what it describes as an unfolding genocide in Gaza and a wider US-sponsored imperialist agenda across the Middle East.
The group sharply criticised both the recent American strikes on Iran and Israel’s ongoing assaults, warning that such actions may be pushing the region — and the world — toward a catastrophic conflict.
In the wake of fresh US attacks allegedly targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, the PSA described these acts as a continuation of the United States’ long-standing strategy to dominate the Middle East. It accused the US of fabricating nuclear threats as a pretext for military aggression, drawing parallels to earlier interventions in Iraq, Libya, and Syria.
The alliance also took aim at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he had been “crying wolf” about Iran’s nuclear capacity for two decades.
The PSA cautioned that the volatile regional situation — marked by fragile ceasefires and persistent Israeli airstrikes — could spiral into a global war. With nuclear powers such as China, Russia and North Korea potentially aligning with Iran, the group stressed the urgency for international leftist movements to adopt a unified anti-war stance.
They argued that, historically, it is the working class that suffers most in any armed conflict.
The alliance also took issue with Western hypocrisy on nuclear weapons, noting that whilst the US leads calls to disarm nations in the Middle East, it itself possesses over 5,000 nuclear warheads and remains the only country to have used atomic bombs in warfare.
The group drew a grim comparison between the death toll in Gaza since October 2023 — now exceeding 55,000, including more than 18,000 children — and the casualties caused by the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
The PSA condemned US President Donald Trump’s triumphalist rhetoric following the Iran strikes, describing his statements as grotesquely out of touch with the scale of suffering. They reiterated that no nation should possess nuclear weapons and rejected the idea that the US should act as the world’s moral arbiter.
Firmly aligning itself with the Palestinian people, the alliance renewed calls to end the Israeli occupation and dismantle what it described as a siege and genocide in Gaza.
It called out several Western powers — including the UK, EU, Germany, France and Canada — for their direct complicity in funding, arming and enabling Israel’s military campaign.
In a pointed message to the Sri Lankan Government, the PSA criticised the current administration, including members from the National People’s Power (NPP), for adopting an ambiguous stance. They urged the government to cease what they perceive as fence-sitting and take a firm anti-imperialist, pro-Palestinian position.
The PSA laid out a detailed list of demands aimed at severing Sri Lanka’s complicity in Israeli actions. These include halting the recruitment of Sri Lankan workers to Israel, removing Israeli-owned businesses and chabad houses operating in popular tourist regions, and ending police protection for such establishments.
They further called for tighter visa regulations on Israeli visitors, a ban on employment for Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers in Sri Lanka, and action against the spread of Zionist propaganda in public spaces.
The statement also demanded accountability for instances of aggressive or racist behaviour by Israeli tourists and soldiers, especially in the island’s surf communities.
On the international front, the PSA urged all countries to recognise the State of Palestine, end military support to Israel, and advocate for global nuclear disarmament. In a nuanced position, the group also expressed solidarity with the Iranian people resisting authoritarianism at home, even as they oppose US aggression against Iran.
The statement has been formally sent to multiple diplomatic missions and ministries, including the US Embassy, the Israeli and Iranian Embassies, and the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Sri Lanka.
The PSA’s message adds to growing global dissent against the escalating crisis in the Middle East and challenges both regional and global actors to take meaningful steps toward peace and justice.
