In an interview to "Kathimerini" (4 August 2024), Kourtellaris stressed that we are fighting for the goal of a society of socialism-communism in which the working class will have the power.
Read the full interview below:
What need was behind the creation of the Association «Communist Initiative of Cyprus» (CIC)?
The need for the reconstruction of the working and popular movement and the need to put forward a different perspective for society and the economy, outside the existing socio-economic capitalist system that creates suffocating dead ends and reproduces poverty. The need to fight for a society in which the working class is in power.
Which system do you propose?
In our perception classes exist, the working class and the bourgeoisie, so there is a class struggle, contrary to what the AKEL candidate for the 2018 presidential elections declared for a while. Therefore, we are fighting with the aim of establishing the society of socialism-communism, in which the working class will have the power, i.e. those who produce the wealth of the country. We have come to put forward proposals that are not within the framework of the capitalist system, unlike all the parties that have governed this country.
But what you are proposing has been implemented and failed.
An implementation of 70 years with weaknesses and mistakes, but also with great achievements, cannot be a presumption that the system is a failure, in contrast to the capitalist system that for two centuries has been dominant, which has destroyed the environment and burdened the people with destructive wars, poverty and misery.
People who lived in the socialist system say they cannot imagine going back to that time when they waited in line for some bread.
Despite all the anti-communist propaganda, all surveys in the years since the overthrow of the socialist countries show that the majority of the people of those countries claim to have had a better time then than afterwards. The so-called free economy, on the other hand, for example in Cyprus, currently has 150 thousand of our fellow compatriots on the poverty line.
Is there any example that is in place that covers you, e.g. China or Cuba?
I must say that we stand in firm solidarity with the Island of the Revolution, but the context of Latin America is different. Nor do we believe that a country that tomorrow will be in the sphere of socialism should copy another country.
To speak today of a socialist-communist society sounds retrograde.
And yet we say it is the novel and the rousing. People came close to our Initiative, especially young people who are still fascinated by the ideals of communist ideology.
Will you remain an association or will you evolve into a party?
The Association is the precursor of an attempt by people who are communists and children of the working class. We aim to create a Communist Party that will also participate in elections.
Starting with the 2026 parliamentary elections?
I think our position is clear.
What will the party be called and what will be its emblem?
We are not ashamed to declare ourselves communists, which is why the name of the party will have communist in its title. The emblem will surely be the honoured symbol of the struggles of the working class around the world, the hammer and sickle.
You, like other members of the Communist Initiative, became politically active in AKEL, but you chose to leave instead of fighting the battle within. Why?
The history of AKEL for many, many years has been a history of struggles for the people and the working class. We are not here to replace or substitute AKEL. We are here to propose a different development for society and the economy. We have left AKEL because it does not cover us ideologically and politically.
So, you don’t consider AKEL to be a communist party.
Currently, there is no parliamentary communist party in Cyprus.
Your grandfather, Christos Kourtellaris, was an important member of AKEL. Were you approached by the party to prevent you from becoming politically autonomous?
No, there was no intervention by AKEL.
Your relationship with the Communist Party of Greece (KKE)?
We honor the KKE, we respect it, we admire it, we have a common language and common visions.
Is there a cooperation?
No, there is no cooperation.
Your relationship with Omonoia 29th May?
There is no relationship with any football club.
What are your basic positions on the Cyprus problem?
We are fighting for a Cyprus that is intact and independent, without foreign troops and bases, without foreign guarantors and protectors, for a Cyprus with one international personality, one citizenship, one sovereignty and a single economy. We are fighting for a state with one people and not two constituent states, so that the class nature of the confrontation is highlighted, instead of the ethnic conflict as it is presented today.
Do you accept the BBF as the basis for a solution?
The BBF has content and we saw it in the Annan Plan and in Crans Montana. BBF is a solution that reinforces ethnic segregation and is not a federal, but a confederal settlement between two constituent states.
But it is the basis for a solution that is defined by the UN Security Council resolutions.
Bi-Zonality did not exist from the beginning in the UN resolutions. In any case, today there is such a balance of power in the UN that it is in favour of NATO and Turkey.
Which model do you support?
We don’t want to give a name to the solution and say unitary state, federation, etc., but we are setting out the principles that must govern any solution.
How do we use the Turkish Cypriots in the effort to solve the Cyprus issue?
We also have Turkish Cypriot members of the CIC. The Turkish Cypriots are our compatriots and that is why we aim at a united class front that will clash with imperialism for a truly just solution of the Cyprus problem and for lasting peace.
On the Russian invasion of Ukraine, what is your position?
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is unacceptable. But we should also note the dirty role played by the US, NATO and the EU behind Zelensky. The war being waged is an imperialist war and is being waged in the interests of the bourgeoisies of the countries in the conflict. The price of this war is being paid by the ordinary people, both Ukrainian and Russian, but also by the peoples of the EU.
About the war in Gaza?
This is not a war in Gaza. It is the genocide of the Palestinian people by the murderous state of Israel.
You mentioned the EU. We are a member state. What is your position on the European status of Cyprus?
Some time ago we prepared an in-depth analysis on the EU that proves its reactionary character. We are fighting for disengagement from the EU, together with the parallel organisation of the struggle for another society.
So you’re saying let’s leave the EU and the eurozone. Should we go back to the pound?
It is not the currency that determines the character of an economy. We substantiate with evidence that the people became impoverished after the accession to the EU, small industries were destroyed, the agricultural economy was levelled, small and medium-sized enterprises disappeared and the Co-operative Movement was dissolved.
There is the view that EU membership has essentially determined the western orientation of Cyprus.
For us, the correct orientation is the one determined by the interests of the working class.
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