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| George Mavrikos, WFTU General Secretary. |
In a statement issued on Thursday, the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), which represents more than 92 million workers worldwide, publicly denounces the U.S. government which has refused to issue entry visitor visa to the Federation's General Secretary George Mavrikos.
More specifically, as it has been revealed, the U.S. State Department has classified the WFTU in the "Terrorist Travel" list which refers to terrorist organisations!
As the statement of the WFTU points out "the stance of the U.S. State Department is anti-democratic and aims to prevent the free trade unionist activity and strengthening of the militant trade unionist movement of the workers in the USA. At the same time it consists an intentional discrimination against the WFTU and its right to exercise its role in the United Nations; a role that exists since 1945".
The WFTU underlines that "the consistent anti-imperialist and anti-monopoly policy of the WFTU is not pleasing for the U.S. governments and they think that through anti-democratic prohibitions will stop our internationalist activity for the benefit of the people [...] The WFTU is a mass, class-oriented, international Trade Unionist Organisation with 92 million members in 126 countries of the world. Since its foundation on October 1945 until now, it has a public and known history. It never worshiped the imperialists. It never worshiped the multinational corporations. It will not sell out its history".
"We assure the working people of the USA", writes the WFTU statement, "that regardless of the difficulties and the obstacles, the WFTU will stand by their side in their just struggles".
Except from the U.S. authorities, the WFTU also denounces the stance of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs which declined to provide any facilitation in the issue.
The General Secretary of the WFTU, prominent trade unionist and former MP with the Communist Party of Greece, George Mavrikos, has scheduled to visit the U.S. on March 2018 in order to attend events in New York and Los Angeles.
