DiEM25 in Netherlands spokesperson Lucille Cornelius spoke at the Hands off Iran! demonstration in front of the US Consulate in Amsterdam on March22

A demonstration was organised on March 22 by the Amsterdam based Global Solidarity Coalition. In her speech DiEM25 in Netherlands spokesperson Lucille Cornelius called for organised resistance to the falling US empire in solidarity with those hardest hit by the bullying US empire, be it Iranians, Palestinians, Lebanese, Venezuelans, Cubans or any other oppressed peoples.

She also drew from her experiences from her native South Africa and the power of the people that brought down the apartheid regime through sanctions and boycotting.

Lucille Cornelius’ full speech

Greetings one and all.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all Iranians and anyone else celebrating a happy new year – and to all my Muslim brothers and sisters: Eid Mubarak.

My name is Lucille Cornelius. I am part of DiEM25 in the Netherlands, and a South African living here. So: revolutionary greetings from South Africa: Amandla awethu! Power to the people!

People united will never be defeated.

A new year, but the same global bullying

We all wish for a new year of hope, safety, and peace. But instead, we face the same global bullying. The same life-altering decisions made for the entire earth — while poor men and women die in the name of “global stability” and other blatant lies.

We ask this embassy: How much is enough?

When will the combined killing machine of Israel and the USA decide that enough innocent blood has been spilled? When will their bloodlust be satisfied?

The US consulate stands obstinately in the background here – a reminder to all of us that the USA is still welcomed as an ally in most Western nations and other parts of the world.

They pretend to want diplomatic ties with us – after they’ve used us to further their industrial-military complex. They create chaos with endless wars, and then come along as saviours, offering weapons for “peace”.

Right now, EU member states are paying NATO 5% of our GDP. Hands off our money!

We are awake

We want you to know, USA: We see you. We know you. And we won’t be fooled any longer.

We know what you did last summit. We are awake – and no one will put us to sleep ever again.

We saw your president come and ask for money so he could sell his weapons back to us. You need wars to survive. We do not. We have to survive your hatred and your killing — but we do not need NATO and we can do without you.

Shame on you!

The terrible twins

Sadly, the world is now worse than it has ever been. We have a madman at the helm who will bomb nations because they supposedly didn’t accept his deal. We have another madman willing to destroy the entire Middle East and Gulf – maybe the whole world – just to sustain his reign of terror, without even considering the cost to the lives and welfare of his own citizens.

The Terrible Twins are rocking our world, while we stand and watch it burn.

So I am here to ask this question: Now that we know what we know — what should we do?

I am here to inspire you to get up, mobilise, and radicalise in solidarity.

Our only hope is each other

We have no other recourse. We have no bombs. We have no weapons of mass destruction.

But we do have the power of the people. Yes, we have voices and platforms. We have friends and allies. We have national and global consensus. We have radio and media, newspapers and cities.

I call on millions of us to refuse to allow our money to be used for murdering other people’s children.

Perhaps the most important thing we have – the thing they want – is our money. So I call for an international shutdown.

And the other powerful thing we have: Love. It is powerful in the face of hatred. [In John Lennon’s words:] All we are saying… is give peace a chance.

I know that might sound a bit “Kumbaya” to some of you, if you’re radicalised and want to get in the face of these bullies. But let me tell you: Love scares them. They are afraid of the power inside us when we break down corridors and show love instead of hatred — when we unite instead of separate. That scares them.

A message to global leaders

If by any chance my speech is heard by global leaders, I would like them to consider this – because I believe this is the only answer.

The entire world should politically, economically, and militarily abandon the USA and Israel.

As a South African, I can tell you: it was international sanctions that brought down the bully called Apartheid. Divestment and BDS brought them down.

We, the people, need to pressure our governments – especially here in the Netherlands – to abandon their outright support of these warmongers.

The world is capable of trading in other currencies, able to survive without US imports and exports.

Do you agree?

Organise. Decentralise. Resist.

We need to organise farming communities, local markets, local produce. Take care of one another socially. Break the system by doing things that confuse the algorithms.

We need to organise in large numbers, use alternative methods of communication, and abandon the techno-box. The solution is within our communities.

Artists, poets, wordsmiths – rise to the occasion.

If not you, then who? If not now, then when?

Ask your neighbour that question.

Local, national, international solidarity

I call people of every race, colour, and creed to unite for peace. Point-blank refuse to participate in their bloody wars.

Organise your homes. Organise your towns, your cities, your neighbourhoods, your nations.

We know the Iranian people are hurting. We do not forget about Gaza, Congo, Sudan, Lebanon, Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba – and all other nations affected by these warmongering thieves.

By the way: my own nation, South Africa, is next on their watch list – because they are after our naval base.

We call for a world without war. We call for peace and respect for humanity.

Resistance is existence

Organising on the ground – and politically – is the only way to break their power.

Vote for people who care about the world. Not for politicians.

Resistance is existence. 

And now we join with the Palestinians who say: *Existence is resistance. Hands off, here and everywhere.*

Go home, Yankee. Go home.

I thank you.

Lucille Cornelius is an activist with DiEM25 Netherlands. This article is adapted from a speech delivered outside the US Embassy in the Netherlands.

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