The enlargement of NATO is a threat to the peoples — Statement by the European Communist Initiative

In a statement issued today, 9 June, the Secretariat of the European Communist Initiative stresses out:

"The Secretariat of the European Communist Initiative deplores and condemns the plans of the bourgeois classes and governments of Sweden and Finland to join NATO. This is a move that entangles the peoples of both countries, the whole of Scandinavia, and overall in great dangers and adventures.

The KKE denounces the sending of weapons to Ukraine by the Greek government

Giorgos Marinos, member of the PB of the CC of the KKE and MP, made an intervention in the Standing Committee on National Defence and Foreign Affairs demanding that the Minister of National Defence inform the Committee about the sending of military equipment to Ukraine and not hold a briefing behind closed doors. 

 

He stressed that the issue is crucial and linked with the dangerous involvement in the war and the US–NATO plans. 

Sweden: Communist Party was denied the right to use its name in the elections

More than 170 years since the publication of the Manifesto of the Communist Party by Marx and Engels, the "spectre of communism" still haunts the bourgeois class.

The news come from Sweden, the country which alongside Finland submitted an application to join NATO, where the Communist Party cannot participate in September elections under its own name! In a communique, the Communist Party of Sweden (SKP) points out:

New Communist Party of the Netherlands (NCPN): The 7th Party Congress held in Amsterdam

On the Saturdays of the 14th and 21st of May, the 7th Party Congress of the New Communist Party of the Netherlands (NCPN) took place in Amsterdam. This was preceded by months of collectively refining the Congress documents and discussing them with the members in the base organisations. With the decisions of our Congress, we will work in the coming years to strengthen the struggle for the interests of the working class and to take steps in party building.

Mexican communists: On the participation of Mexico in U.S. Southern Command military drills

In a statement about Mexico's participation in inter-imperialist military drills sponsored by the U.S. Southern Command, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Mexico (PCM) stresses out:

We condemn the participation of the Mexican State in inter-imperialist military exercises and the strengthening of forces of repression.

We consider it very serious that the Mexican army is participating in the Tradewinds military exercises sponsored by the U.S. Southern Command. This action is an expression of the inter-imperialist alliances in which various bourgeois states participate (Belize, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, the United States of America, France, Guyana, Holland, Jamaica, the United Kingdom, the Dominican Republic, and Suriname).

World Environment Day: No more exploitation of the environment and workers for the sake of profit

"No more exploitation of the environment and workers for the sake of profit" says the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) on the occasion of the World Environment Day. The full statement of the WFTU reads:

No more exploitation of the environment and workers for the sake of profit

Undoubtedly one of the issues that has been raised in the public debate in recent years is the environmental crisis and its various implications. Climate change, global warming, extreme weather events, sea level rise, environmental degradation, deforestation, pollution of air, water, soil, seas and forests, the degradation of biodiversity and the ecosystem, the uncontrolled and unregulated capitalist economic activity in mining, agriculture, stockraising, the production,  The creation of conditions for the outbreak of pandemics and diseases are issues for which scientists have been revealing data and sounding the alert for years.

Working Class Heroes: KKE event in honor of political prisoners held in Anafi island

In an emotional event held earlier on Saturday 4 July in the Aegean island of Anafi, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) honored the hundreds of communists and other political prisoners who were exiled in the island for several decades throughout the 20th century. 

Paying tribute to all those heroes of the class struggle, the Central Committee of the KKE unveiled a monument created by sculptor Antonis Myrodias. 

On the unacceptable stance of the RCWP towards KKE

To the CC of the RCWP

Athens 03/06/2022

Comrades,

We received your reply to the CC of the KKE of 6 May 2022 and we also read the article which was published in SOLIDNET.

First of all, we are saddened with the style and the unacceptable accusations addressed to our party in both texts, which are absolutely baseless and unacceptable. The leadership of the RCWP is well aware of the fact that the KKE has supported your party as well many CPs, that it has essentially assisted them in difficult moments, and that it has expressed its solidarity in practice, faithful to the principle of proletarian internationalism. These facts refute the slander of arrogance on our party which are used in order to justify the mistaken positions of the leadership of the RCWP, positions that are far away from our principles.

Denmark's communists stand up against NATO and EU

In the referendum held on June 1st in Denmark the government's proposal to join the EU’s common defense policy was approved by 67% of the voters, while 33.1% voted against. The referendum comes just a weeks after the applications of Sweden and Finland to join the imperialist alliance of NATO.

“Tonight Denmark has sent a very important signal. To our allies in Europe and NATO and to Putin”, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen declared echoing the aspirations of the Danish bourgeois class. “Denmark now can partake in the European cooperation on defense and security. And for that I’m very, very happy”, the Prime Minister added. 

Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee: 70 years of hurt

The following article was originally published in Challenge Magazine, the official organ of the Young Communist League of Britain (UCL), under the title "Seventy years of hurt", on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II's 70th anniversary since her ascension to the throne.

By James Meechan*

Armed constables amass in Westminster; police drones and helicopters flutter in the skies; Her Majesty’s homeless subjects are cleared from the streets. Tom Cruise takes a moment out of promoting Top Gun: Maverick to gurn through a televised royal circus show. The bunting flies resplendently above emaciated high streets. ‘Midst the worst immiseration in 40 years, there’s momentous pomp, procession, and pageantry — the platinum motherfucking jubilee.

G. Marinos (KKE): The joint struggle of the communists against NATO and the imperialist war

Following an invitation of the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain, the KKE and the Communist Party of Turkey attended an event in Madrid on the occasion of the NATO Summit that will take place in Madrid in June 2022, under the tile “Your wars, our dead – no to the imperialist war”. Giorgos Marinos, member of the PB of the CC of the KKE, delivered a speech on behalf of the KKE, which reads as follows:

“Dear comrades and friends,

We would like to thank you for the opportunity given to the KKE to participate in today’s event, which is organized by the CP of the Workers of Spain on the 40th anniversary of the accession of Spain to NATO, and to shout out loud our will to strengthen the joint struggle against bourgeois classes, against NATO and all imperialist alliances, against imperialist wars and interventions. 

Down with Erdogan's repression: Solidarity to Turkish communists and Gezi Park protesters

Source: haber.sol.org.tr

Once again, the government of Rejep Tayyip Erdogan resorts to violent repression against protesters, young men and women who resist his authoritarian regime.

On the 9th anniversary of the Gezi Park protests, known as June Resistance, dozens of people were detained following a police attack against protesters in Taksim, Istanbul. Among the detainees are 16 members of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) and its youth. 

KKE slams Mitsotakis' government for sending tanks to Ukraine

BMP-1 tank of the Greek Armed Forces.

The Greek government's decision to supply additional armored vehicles to Ukraine consists a “very serious development” which boosts the dangerous participation of the country in the war, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) stresses out in a statement. More specifically, the KKE statement (here in Greek) reads: 

 

“The ND government continues unabated and “gets off the ground” the dangerous participation of our country in the Ukraine war, this time through the sending of armored vehicles. In fact, the issue became known by the German Chancellor Scholz, announcing a Greek-German agreement for their replacement, while Mr Mitsotakis concealed it in his own press conference.  

Greek communists: Alexandroupolis must be a port of the peoples, not a base or a target of the imperialists!

On 27–29 May, the organizations of the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE) in the universities of Eastern Macedonia-Thrace, Central Macedonia, and Western Macedonia, set up a camp in Alexandroupolis, sending a strong message against the transformation of the city into a launching pad for war and the involvement of the country in the imperialist war. 

Based on the new Greece-US agreement on bases, Alexandroupolis has been selected for the establishment of a new US base, while it is already being used for the transfer of NATO weapons and troops to Eastern Europe.

100th anniversary of the Young Communist League of South Africa

In a statement about the 100th anniversary of the Young Communist League of South Africa, the South African Communist Party (SACP) points out:

"The South African Communist Party (SACP) salutes the Young Communist League of South Africa on this important occasion, the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Young Communist League of South Africa. Young Communist activity in our country, to be more specific in the centre of our economy, Johannesburg, dates back to before 1922. It dates back to 1921, just after the formation of the Communist Party. However, it was not until the 25th of May 1922 that the Party established the Young Communist League as a national youth organisation, as the scientific socialist voice of the South African youth.

Communist Parties held anti-NATO event in Madrid

Source: PCTE Twitter

Communists from Spain, Greece and Turkey joined their voice against NATO and the imperialist war in a political event organized by the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain (PCTE) on Saturday 28 May in Madrid. In a fully packed hall at Centro Cultural El Madroño, under the slogan “Their Wars, Our Dead”, the participants denounced the criminal role of NATO and claimed the disengagement of their countries from the imperialist organization. 

 

Representatives of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) were invited and attended the event, delivering speeches on behalf of their parties. The KKE was represented by Giorgos Marinos, MP and member of the Political Bureau, while the TKP was represented by Ekin Sönmez, Central Committee member and responsible for international relations. 

Russia: Communist Party deputies in Primorye region demand an end to Ukraine War

CPRF deputy Leonid Vasyukevich.

Defying their Party's official policy, two communist lawmakers in Russia's far east Primorye region on Friday expressed their disagreement over the imperialist war in Ukraine and called President Vladimir Putin to end the military campaign.  

“We demand the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. We demand an end to military action”, legislative assembly member Leonid Vasyukevich said during Friday’s session. Vasyukevich, a member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), said continuing Russia’s three-month campaign in Ukraine “would lead to an imminent increase in military deaths and injuries.” 

Portuguese Communist Party slams anti-democratic remarks by Ukrainian associations

In what seems to be a blatant intervention in the internal affairs of Portugal, the president of an association of Ukrainian refugees (Refugiados Ucranianos) proceeded to unacceptable remarks against the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP).

Speaking during an event in Lisbon earlier this month, Maksym Tarkivskyy targeted the PCP over its position in the Russia-Ukraine War, saying that he cannot understand how “a democratic country continues to have a Communist Party”!

KKE on the seizure of Greek ships in the Persian Gulf

"The policy of flag-bearer of the US-NATO plans pursued by the Greek government exposes the country and the Greek people to great dangers”, underlines the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party Greece (KKE) on the occasion of the seizure of two Greek-flagged ships by Iranian naval forces in the Persian Gulf on Friday.

More specifically, the KKE statement (here in Greek) points out:

Jean-Luc Godard: "Cannes Festival is a propaganda tool - Zelensky a bad actor"

The 75th annual Cannes Film Festival  kicked off on Sunday 22 May, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appearing on a video message during the opening night, giving a speech about the importance of film-making in the midst of war. 

Commenting on Zelensky's propagandistic appearance at Cannes, the legendary French-Swiss film director Jean-Luc Godard, one of the most influential European filmakers of the 20th century, wrote:

On Sweden and NATO: Interview of SKP leader Andreas Sörensen in Evrensel

Andreas Sörensen, the chairman of the Communist Party of Sweden (SKP), was interviewed by the left-wing Turkish newspaper "Evrensel" on the issue of Sweden's accession to NATO. Read below the text of the interview:

— "What is your approach to Sweden's (and Finland if you'd like to comment also) NATO membership process? Why are you against it?

— As communists, we oppose the strengthening of every imperialist alliance. This applies to NATO as well, in particular as it is the strongest imperialist alliance in the contemporary world. 

Western media glorifying Ukraine's neo-Nazi criminals

The recent fights in Azovstal and the surrender of the paramilitaries to the Russian army, provided another opportunity to Western media to present them as heroes within the broader effort to “whitewash” the neo-Nazis of Azov Battalion. The fact that the Azov fighters are now part of the Ukrainian army do not absolve them from their Nazi ideology and the heinous crimes they have committed since 2014. 

According to Reuters, in 2020 the number of paramilitaries in Ukraine reached 120,000, accounting for about 40% of the country's Armed Forces. Their ranks are filled by mercenaries of various nationalities, who were equipped, trained and funded by the United States, Canada, Britain and France. 

Greece: Mass rally at the Ministry of National Defence against involvement in the imperialist war

A mass rally was held on Sunday 22/5/2022 at the Ministry of National Defence of Greece, the finishing line of the 40th Marathon Peace March, which had started at 8 am from the Marathon Tomb, conveying the message of opposition to the imperialist war, Greece’s involvement in it, and the country’s entanglement in the dangerous plans of NATO.

The march was organized by the Greek Committee for International Détente and Peace (EEDYE), which on the same day organized other mass anti-imperialist demonstrations in Thessaloniki as well as in cities in the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, Macedonia, and Thrace. 

British Communist Youth: No NATO, no nukes! Shut down all US bases in Britain!

Air Force base in Lakenheath, Eastern England

In a statement the Young Communist League East of England explores the grave dangers of US Nuclear Weapons' presence in Britain and demands the immediate disengagement from NATO and the closure of all US bases in the country. The statement reads:

England has for many years been plagued with an unwanted menace, growing like cancer across its green fields and spilling over into its towns and cities. It began in the summer of 1949 when two groups of American B29 bombers arrived supposedly for “training purposes.” It was a short stay, the government said — they soon would be leaving us.