Saturday, December 29, 2007

CMKP Condemns Bhutto Assassination

Press Release 30-12-07

Karachi, Dec 29: The heinous horrified assassination of PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto, a most popular leader and former prime minister, has once against testified the magnitude of the tyrant savage system controlled by military establishment. What she fell prey to the suicide bombing and so-called Islamic militancy were the culmination of the politics of Islamisation and Jihad that where put into motion by the military Zia regime and still being done by a section of establishment and supported by a group of fanatics. The objective has been just to brutalise the society and thwart the democratic aspirations of the people, to prolong the undemocratic rule. This has also showed the fault of the existing socio-economic and political system that needs its elimination through sincere and protected struggle. Moreover, nobody is safe under military-dominated rule.

In a press statement, Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party Pakistan (CMKP) Chairman Sufi Khalik Baloch condemned the brutal murder of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, while urging to expose and punish all those involved in such crime against humanity and decency. He added that at such a sad moment, he shared the shock and grief equally with the leaders and workers of PPP as well as her family. He paid tributes that she died bravely as she was conscious of the threat under the cover of religious extremism, although the fact is that she became the target for the dislikeness of domestic cliques that are counted in the politics of Pakistan. He hoped her blood could not go in vain but helpstrengthen democracy and socio-economic rights of the people.

CMKP Website:- http://cmkp.tk
CMKP YahooForum:- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cmkp_pk
CMKP News:- http://cmkp_pk.blogspot.com
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The 9th meeting of the revisionist parties in Minsk

Article published in Anasintaxi issue 264 (15-31/12/2007)

The 9th meeting of the revisionist parties was held in Minsk, Bellorussia (3-5/11/2007), on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the October Revolution. In this meeting, parties from the whole revisionist spectrum took part including, of course, the social-democratic “K”KE sending 5 delegates (Papariga, Koutsoumpas, Angourakis, Vayenas, Pontikos) a fact that indicates the importance it attaches in these meetings.

Overall, 73 parties took part in the meeting, compared to the 70 in Lisbon in 2006 and the 77 in Athens in 2005. This shows that the parties that form the core of these meeting seem to stabilize. At the same time:

a) The final statement of the conference, apart from the Khruschevian views it contains, is characterized by a lower level of political analysis compared to the Athens declaration in 2005,

b) an increasing number of the European parties that participate in these meetings establish relations with the so called Party of the European Left.

It goes without saying that the premises of all the conference talks on the October Revolution was not revolutionary Marxism, that is Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism, but the counter-revolutionary Khruschevian revisionism, a variation of bourgeois ideology, whereas the level of these talks, in terms of political analysis, was very low.

All the parties that participated in this meeting are bourgeois parties of the social-democratic type (=Khruschevian parties), and some of them are openly reactionary, maintaining the appellation “communist” only to deceive the working class.

There were parties like CPRF and “K”KE in which nationalistic and Christian trends are openly dominant. We remind only one characteristic example: “The Russian deputy Victor Zorkalchev defended the cohesion of the “orthodox” and “Christian” Europe. The member of the Communist Party of Russia said that “without the orthodox faith Europe is not going to be a unified body” and claimed that “the devoid of evidence anti-deism is a current that has caused great damage in the world” (“Eleytherotypia”, 29/6/2001).

There were others like the Iraqi “C”P that participated in the first puppet government of Iraq formed by the Anglo-American invading forces (outdoing, thus, in treacherous behavior “K”KE which, in the period of 1989-1991, formed a government, initially, with the monarcho-fascist party of ND and then, afterwards with both of the bourgeois parties ND-PASOK) or the “C”P of India and “C”P of India (M) which played a leading role in the murderous police attacks against the rising peasants in Nadigram.

In the conference there was Kosuta’s Party of the Italian Communists which together with the Italian reactionaries bombed the people of Yugoslavia and also Voronin’s Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldavia which while in power the country joined NATO and send troops to Iraq (see “Anasyntaxi”, issue 202). Finally, we should not forget the “Party of Workers of Belgium” headed by Ludo Martens former Gorbachev’s fun and, today, prima ballerina of the international Khruschevian revisionism.

It is more than obvious that if these parties aim at any kind of coordination the latter will be towards the further split in the working class movement and the preservation of the exploiting capitalist system.
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Friday, December 28, 2007

Benazir's Murder and the Inconsolable Grief of the Pakistani People

Taimur Rahman

Tragically, the fate of the first female prime minister in the Muslim world has met with a violent end. The people of Pakistan are gripped by inconsolable grief at the news of the murder of Benazir Bhutto.

In the PPP the people of Pakistan saw a mainstream political party that spoke about the rights of poor people. The slogan of roti, kapra, makan (bread, clothes, housing) galvanized millions against the military dictatorship of Ayub Khan in the late 1960s. The democratic reforms undertaken by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto challenged the interests of the traditional ruling class of Pakistan. The ruling class in turn began to support Islamic fundamentalism and military rule as a counter-weight to this democratic upsurge. After Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged by the religious fundamentalist regime of Zia ul Haq, Benazir Bhutto led the PPP for the restoration of democracy. Despite the ostensible return of democracy in 1988, the establishment continued to harbour intense hatred and refused to reconcile themselves to the "populist" currents of the PPP. General Pervaiz Musharraf treated the PPP no different than all previous military dictators. Political rumors notwithstanding, repression within the country forced Benazir into an eight year exile.

The "war on terror", however, forced the army to renege with great reluctance its long-standing collaboration with religious fundamentalists. Seething with hatred, the fundamentalists made a serious bid for power this July leading to the episode of the lal masjid (red mosque). Benazir was the only national leader with the courage to take a clear and uncompromising stance against Islamic extremism. Moreover, she was the only political leader with the popular support that made such a statement legitimate and gave it weight.

Given the precarious position of Musharraf's dictatorship, Benazir's stance opened up the opportunity for a softening of the attitude of the military towards the PPP. The military saw it as an opportunity to stabilize their rule. The PPP saw it as an opportunity to get their principle leader back into the country. The West saw this as an opportunity to stabilize Pakistan and keep it focused on the "war on terror". People, groaning under poverty and increasing cost of living, saw it as an opportunity to obtain some relief. And the fundamentalists saw it as the incarnation of their greatest mortal enemy. The latter openly declared that they would kill Benazir if she dared to return. In October, upon Benazir's return to Karachi, they tried and failed. Today they did not.

The overwhelming number of people hold the military dictatorship of General Pervaiz Musharraf responsible for failing to provide adequate security. Furthermore, the finger of suspicion cannot so easily be lifted away from elements within the establishment. Benazir herself stated that in addition to Islamic fundamentalists in tribal areas, she suspected that certain elements within the ISI also wanted her dead.

While there will be many who try to minimize the public outcry against this incident by pointing to the many short-comings, inconsistencies and faults of the PPP, it is clear that the biggest fault of Benazir was that she spoke for the secularism, democracy and most importantly for the rights of the poor and dispossessed of Pakistan. For this fault, she was prepared to and did pay the ultimate price.

The Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party condemns the murder of Benazir Bhutto.

Down with religious fundamentalism and military rule!
Long live a peoples revolution!

CMKP Website:- http://cmkp.tk
CMKP News:- http://cmkp_pk.blogspot.com
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Thursday, December 27, 2007

Moldova: P"C"RM's split and transformation to a openly social-democratic party

Article published in Anasintaxi issue 202 (15-31/3/2005)

Important and rapid developments took place in the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM). PCRM – a continuation of the brezhnievite Communist Party of Moldova (part of CPSU) – had achieved an important victory in 2001 elections having openly adopted social-democratic views and, of course, the country’s accession to the EU*. At that time, the local social-democratic leadership of “K”KE was writing hymns in “Rizospastis”: (“The developments in Moldova, a ray of light”, “R”, 14/4/2002, p.3, “A ray of hope for the people of Moldavia. Ten years after the great overthrow, a ray of light was seen two months ago when the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova came first in the parliamentary elections” “R” 22/4/2001, p.19).

Aleka Papariga – who, in the past, a few months before the official collapse of the USSR, had presented Gorbachev with a statuette of Hercules “for the Herculean effort he makes” – congratulated the PCRM secretary V. Voronin with the words: “You helped the kindle of hope in this tragic decade” (“R” 18/4/2001, p. 3). As a matter of fact, the “K”KE leaders went as far as to present the PCRM’s revisionist program – a program that denies the revolutionary struggle and adopts the revisionist theory of two stages – as revolutionary! In PCRM’s program is mentioned that in the first stage “the communists (i.e. the brezhnievite revisionists) in collaboration with the progressive forces will succeed in eliminating the negative consequences of the reforms” without the establishment of proletarian dictatorship and without armed struggle! Actually they admit that “the operation of the private sector will be permitted mainly in the sphere of production and distribution of consumer’s goods and services” (!) (“R” 22/3/2001).

Today, four years later, after the “achievement” of having its number of deputies reduced in the 2005 elections compared to 2001, from 71 to 56, and after forming an alliance with the Christian-Democratic People’s Party (11 deputies) in order to secure the country’s presidency for Voronin (in the ballot that took place on the 4th of April), PCRM made another step towards the completion of its social-democratic course. According to the Russian newspaper Komersant, the leader of the Christian-Democratic People’s Party, Yuri Roshka, decided to support Voronin after an agreement on passing the new mass media legislation and the European course of Moldova. After a recent plenary meeting of the CC of PCRM, Voronin, in a statement broadcasted by Itar-Tass, said that within the next two years PCRM has to become a party of social-democratic orientation and change its name.

At the same time, as the INFO TAG news agency announced, cadres of PCRM left from the party and they established a new one under the name “Communist Party of Leninist Type”. As the executive secretary Igor Kucher stated, 429 delegates from 20 cities and provinces of Moldova took part in the founding congress. Kucher accused PCRM of betraying the principles of Leninism and weakening the national sovereignty of Moldova with its internal and foreign policies.

In any case, PCRM is a party, for which “K”KE expressed its “unreserved solidarity” (“R”,13/4/2001, p. 4) and claimed that it is an example that “the international communist movement is alive and that is developing…”!, that has taken openly its course, the course chosen by its leaders in the 20th Congress of CPSU, the course of social-democracy and assimilation to the capitalist system.

* Voronin maintains exceptionally good relations with the U.S. Moldova participates in the occupation forces of Iraq with 42 soldiers.
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Saturday, December 22, 2007

Toufan: Demand the Immediate Release of Arrested Students in Iran!

A Letter to the Marxist-Leninist and Worker Parties and Organisations

Demand the Immediate Release of Arrested Students in Iran!


Dear Comrades,

In recent days, the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran has waged a wide spread and barbaric offence against the freedom-seeker university students, particularly against the students of Tehran University.

This is not the first time that the regime of the Islamic Republic confronts the student mass, the scientific asset of the society, with such a barbarism and cruelty. The capitalist regime of Iran has resorted to naked suppression and despotism in the universities in order to silence the justice and freedom seeking students' voice, a voice that reflects the general crisis of the society. But the revolutionary and combatant students ridicule the terror and arrest by the regime's military and security forces and intensify their just struggles.

On the occasion of 16th of Azar(*), the Students Day, the students of many universities demonstrated by carrying banners and placards and issuing statements demanding equal rights for women, the withdrawal of all military and security forces from the universities, freedom of expression and pen, separation of mosque from the state, the unconditional release of all imprisoned students, and the freedom of all political prisoners and defended the political and occupational rights of workers. Alongside these just and democratic rights, the student movement condemned any imperialist aggression against Iran and opposed any interference into the internal affairs of the country.

Dear Comrades,

Due to its rotten and reactionary nature, the regime of the Islamic Republic is in fear of the student movement becoming wide spread and to link itself with the struggle of the working class and of the other strata of the society. To remain in power, the regime sees no other option except falsely accusing the student activists and creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.

In the past 10 days, more than 30 left and progressive student activists were arrested and no information is released about their situation.

The Party of Labour of Iran (Toufan) is calling on all Marxist-Leninist and worker parties and organisations and all progressive individuals to protest in any preferable form the policy of suppression and despotism of the regime of the Islamic Republic and to demand the immediate and unconditional release of all students.

Long Live the International Solidarity!

For Immediate and Unconditional Release of all Imprisoned Students!

The Party of Labour of Iran (Toufan), Foreign Office

December 11, 2007

WWW.Toufan.org

(*)On the day of 16th of Azar (9th of December) 1953, students of Tehran University were gunned down when they demonstrated against Richard Nixon arrival in Iran immediately after the CIA coup de'tat. Since then, the 16th of Azar has become the Student Day in Iran.
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Friday, December 21, 2007

The “K”KE leadership supports widely the quislings of the Khrushchevian Iraqi “C”P

The “K”KE leadership supports widely the quislings of the Khrushchevian Iraqi “C”P

On the 22/11/2005, the Politburo of the Iraqi Communist Party announced the death of two of its cadres, Abdul Aziz Jassim Hassan and Yass Khudhayer Haider, in Al-Thawra on their way to the local party offices by a group of gunmen who escaped in the midst of shooting.

This assassination of I”C”P cadres by a group of partisans – because their party has joined the government of quislings formed by Anglo-American occupation forces –was not the first one. We remind that on the 13/11/2004, another member of the Politburo, Wada Hassan Abdul Amir (Saadoun), together with two other party members, were killed by rebels. The same happened to Hadi Saleh (Abu Furat), leading party cadre and member of the Executive Bureau of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (one of the “democratic” institutions established by the American imperialists) and two other party members on the 5/1/2005 as they were traveling from Baghdad to Kirkuk. “Two members of the Iraqi Communist Party were killed by a bomb explosion outside the party offices in Baghdad. The men were killed on Thursday evening when the explosion almost smashed the offices to pieces; we are referring to Yasir Abud and Sakir Yasim Ojail”. (From the announcement of the I”C”P, 23/1/2004). “Only in the last five days five of them were killed including a Politburo member” (“Kyriakatiki Eleutherotypia”, 5/12/2004). “In the Mahmudiaya area, south of Baghdad, the Iraqi Communist Party cadre, Saadi Abdel Jabar al Bayati, kidnapped a day earlier, was found dead” (“Eleutherotypia”, 29/12/2004, p.12). “On Wednesday, Hadi Saleh, leading cadre of the Iraqi Communist Party, was found strangled with his hands tied behind his back. He had also Swedish citizenship” (“Eleytherotypia”, 7/1/2005, p. 11). Saleh was murdered after being tortured by a gang who broke into his Baghdad home. His IFTU comrades described the killing as bearing all the hallmarks of the former security services. His union files and membership records were ransacked.” (“The Guardian”, 20/1/2005). Finally, it was announced that “Muhammad Nuri Akraui, ICP cadre, was kidnapped late in the afternoon by unknown people” (“Rizospastis”, 26/1/2005).

All this time the I”C”P didn’t stop accusing the supporters of Sadam Hussein and “other terrorist forces” of murder in an attempt to create the false impression that these acts do not have popular support and aim at the restoration of Sadam Hussein. As a matter of fact, it never omitted to ask the people to support the occupation forces in their effort to eliminate the “terrorists”, in other words, it openly invited the Iraqis to become collaborators of the invaders and traitors of their country.

The “K”KE, through Babis Angourakis, member of the CC in charge of the International Relations, sent, on the 29/11/2005, a letter of condolences whereby he condemned assassination of cadres of the treacherous-collaborationist I”C”P by the rebels writing that “K”KE is “a political force that consistently campaigned against the dictatorial regime of Sadam Hussein, against the imperialist war and occupation of Iraq and the multi faced foreign interference aiming at the legalization and perpetuation of the occupation.”!!!(Our bold).

The above is nothing more than an exact copy of the statement made by the I”C”P delegate in the Athens meeting where he had said that “in reality the armed operations launched by shadow organizations, whether they include Muslim extremists or Sadam Hussein’s supporters, provide the occupation forces with the pretext to extend their presence and perpetuate an atmosphere of fear and tension among the citizens.”

This view was known from before. Since the 14th of September 2003, the Iraqi Khruschevian pseudo-communists, on the occasion of the assassination of a Provisional Council minister by the Iraqi Resistance, wrote in their newspaper “Tareeq Al Shaab” the following: “It is not enough to point to the forces behind this act of murder […] But we draw attention to those forces which lost their privileges after the fall of the hated regime as well as to all these who feel uncomfortable with the democratic orientation, no matter what the defects are, and the restoration of law and order. These forces have started reorganizing and become aggressive. They pose the main threat against the social security and progress”. In this way they demonstrate how well the analysis of the I”C”P and the views of their local “K”KE comrades fit one another.

In the same letter, “K”KE does not omit to praise the “struggle”! of the Iraqi comrades and “to express its solidarity to all the progressive forces fighting against the foreign occupation”! in an attempt to disorientate and create the impression that the quislings of the I”C”P – collaborators of the Anglo-American occupation troops – are waging allegedly a “struggle” for national independence disguising thus and approving of the treacherous, collaborationist attitude of the Iraqi Khruschevian.

The quislings of the Iraqi ”C”P are fighting against the foreign occupation as much as all that criminal scam that constituted the Greek collaborators of Germans fought against the latter in 1941-1944 while they were murdering our people on daily basis with their arms and under their command.

The ”K”KE leadership, knowing that the party’s rank and file members would definitely disapprove of its collaboration with the Iraqi quislings, did not allow the above letter (29/11/2005) to be published in “Rizospastis”. However, it was translated in English and put on the I”C”P website.

This continuous and conscious defense of the Iraqi collaborationists from the social democratic leaders of ”K”KE – putting shamelessly forward the stupid and reactionary claim that they fight against the foreign occupation – shows that these reformists have reached the highest stage of their treason because they, among other things, try to poison the people and the working class with treacherous opinion that the invaders’ collaborators are allegedly in a position to fight against the foreign occupation.


“K”KE leadership: Outrageous lies in order to cover I”C”P and excuse its attitude
On the occasion of this year’s meeting of the reformist parties in Perissos, the “K”KE leadership gave a press conference in which D. Koutsoumpas, member of the Politburo, refer to the I”C”P. We quote the corresponding excerpts from “Rizospastis” (17/11/2005, p.11) adding our comments.

“Our position concerning Iraq is known.” Here obviously reference is made to the statement in Rizospastis (24th of July 2004): the reasons why the CC of Iraq decided to participate are of course known and respected…But we have reservations and concerns about the consequences of this action…(KKE) is reckoning that this decision is not of assistance to the necessary effort of the Iraqi people to master its own fate”.


“We have discussed in the past about the Iraqi CP.” The “K”KE leadership has never, up to now, condemned the participation of the I”C”P quislings in the government as it is implied, did not discontinue relations with it; on the contrary it is inviting it in meetings and continuing to support its national treacherous political line. It reckons that “the reasons for which the “C”P of Iraq decided to join the first quislings government, installed by the Anglo-American occupation forces in Iraq, should be respected.”


“I do not know whether the Iraqi CP will come; last year it did.” But in the same issue of “Rizospastis”, on exactly the same page, the I”C”P is included in the list of the participant parties, whereas the Politburo representative states that he “ignores” this fact!!! The revisionist leaders have been exposed to such a degree that are literally at a loss.


“If it comes, we will clearly state our view concerning this issue and, of course, we will be informed of its position”. The position of the I””C”P is more than known even to people who have no idea what is happening in Iraq. The Americans made sure to sufficiently advertise this party. The day Sadam Hussein was captured, the snapshots with the jeering crowd, showed on CNN, were taken in front of the central I”C”P offices in Baghdad. How openly “K”KE spoke about Iraq, can be seen in A. Papariga’s speech where there is no reference at all to Iraq and, especially, to the treacherous attitude of their Iraqi comrades.






“As far as I know it does not either take part in the government or it supports the occupation forces”. But the I”C”P did participate in the first provisional quisling government formed by the Anglo-American occupation forces (the Iraqi resistance “thanked” them for that by assassinating its cadres and this participation has caused two splits. After this, it took part in the parody of elections on the slate “Popular Unity” acquiring 0.83% of the votes and electing two deputies in which the I”C”P secretary Hamid Majit Mousa (Abu Daud) was included.



“Finally, the international news agencies record as an important participant in the elections the Popular Union, the slate that the CC of Iraq supports and includes representatives of all nationalities and sects including the Constitutional Monarchist Movement of Iraq”
. (“Rizospastis”, 30/1/2005). It doesn’t participate in the current government not because it doesn’t want to but because, after the elections, the majority parties formed their own government excluding this as well as the other parties.


The claim that the Iraqi “C”P is allegedly not “supporting the occupation forces” is a crude lie because first Iraqis themselves stated this clearly in a speech delivered in the 2004 meeting in Perissos which we reproduce below second, exactly because it continues to “support the occupations forces” the Iraqi rebels very recently, on the 22nd of November 2005, killed two of its cadres. It was exactly for this occasion Babus Angourakis sent a letter of condolences, which we also reproduce below.


The two following documents demonstrate not only the treacherous collaboration of the Iraqi “C”P with the occupation forces but also its continuation and, additionally, the continuous support of the “KKE leadership.



Speech of the Iraqi “C”C in Perissos in 2004: Open admission of the treason against the Iraqi people

The Iraqi “C”P took part in the annual meeting in Perissos in which all the reformist and revisionist parties are gathered.
We present excerpts from the speech of their party’s delegate in the meeting which demonstrates their participation in the American-inspired Government Council and their attitude towards the Iraqi resistance. “K”KE intentionally didn’t reveal this speech and never published it.

Dear Comrades

I convey to you the warmest greetings of the Iraqi Communist Party and its best wishes for the success of this International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties. Allow me also to join other speakers in thanking the comrades of the fraternal Communist Party of Greece for hosting this important meeting and for their consistent efforts to sustain this event as a forum for open and free exchange of views about the urgent issues and challenges facing Communists all over the world. […]

The setting up of the Governing Council, with limited but important powers, and with the participation of al major political parties at the time, was therefore a compromise, reached with active mediation by the UN.

Our Party stressed that the Council was only one arena and one platform, among others, for our struggle to achieve national sovereignty and independence. (note: here we have a clear-cut rejection of the Iraqi resistance and illusion that national independence can be achieved through the intervention of the American forces!). We always emphasized the need to continuously combine between our work within the Council, and in the present interim government, and our efforts of a mass character, as well as strengthening relations with all forces that want to achieve the transition to end the occupation and build a united federal democratic Iraq. [..]

The forces behind the deteriorating security situation are mainly supporters of the previous regime and anti-people terrorist forces of various shades.(note: the I”C”P, through its newspaper, is constantly making appeals to the Iraqi people to isolate the “terrorists” and collaborate with the American security forces). […] Through subversive and criminal activities, these elements want to assert themselves as a power in the political scene. It is worth mentioning that some forces in the US administration want to deal with and accommodate these elements in order to contain the current complicated situation. (note: here the I”C”P delegate is complaining about the fact that the American forces don’t strike the Iraqi resistance more efficiently).

The letter of Babis Angourakis to the Iraqi “Communist” Party

Iraqi Communist Party Central Committee

Dear Comrades, We condemn the assassination of Addul Aziz Jassim Hassan and Yass Khundhayer Haider and the criminal attack against the rally of your party in Al Thawara City. We, the Communist Party of Greece, as a political force that consistently campaigned against the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein, against the imperialist war and occupation of Iraq and the multi faced foreign interference aiming at the legalization and perpetuation of the occupation we express once again our full solidarity with all the progressive forces fighting against the occupation troups, in struggle to end the foreign occupation, for full restoring of the sovereignty and for the democratic and social rights of the working people of Iraq. Please convey to the members of your party as well as to the relatives our sorrow and condolences.

B.Angourakis
Responsible for the international section
29-11-2005


The open collaboration of the Iraqi “C”P and “K”KE in the context of the American imperialistic designs

It has been more than four years since the Anglo-American imperialist troops invaded Iraq causing a bloodshed without precedent.

From the first moment, the Khruschevian Iraqi “C”P was an ally of the imperialists in the “reconstruction” of Iraq (a unique case of a party in the history of the Khruschevian revisionism since it participated in the occupationist pseudo-government under the auspices of the Americans outdoing in treachery even “K”KE which, in the period of 1989-1991, formed a government, initially, with the monarch-fascist party of ND and then, afterwards with both the bourgeois parties ND-PASOK).

Through its newspaper and public statements, I”C”P makes appeals, on daily basis, to isolate the rebels and to turn them in to the American invaders, and participated in all the pseudo-elections the American imperialists set up.

The Iraqi Resistance is rewarding this Iraqi ”C”P’s “contribution” to the Iraqi people with attacks against its offices and executions of its cadres. According to an announcement issued by the I”C”P Politburo on 1/4/2007, Najim Abed Jasem (Abu Zanaib), trade union party cadre and member of the CC of the Engineering Society, was murdered after being kidnapped while on 1/5/2007 Muthanna Mohammed Latif (Abu Thabit), leading party cadre and secretary of the regional committee of the Nineveh province, was also murdered.


“K”KE (’56) has been one of the most ardent supporters of I”C”P during all these 4 years. It hasn’t limited itself just to the expression of “condolensences” for the collaborationist leaders I”C”P murdered by the Iraqi resistance (see letter of B. Angourakis to the I”C”P published in the 217 issue of Anasyntaxi) or the propaganda of its treacherous views on the pages of “Rizospastis”. “K”KE has played a leading part in the attempt to present the Iraqi “C”P as “communist”! by inviting it in all the meetings of the Khruschevian parties in Athens and signing together various documents.

One of the most revealing documents of this open collaboration between I”C”P and “KKE is the resolution adopted by a conference organized by “C”P of Finland in 2004 which is signed by a series of revisionist parties delegates including N. Seretakis, member of the CC “K”KE, and in which is mentioned: “We, the undersigned, representatives of political parties, movements and organizations, participants in the Congress of the Communist Party of Finland, held in Helsinki during the period 15–16 May 20, having considered the situation in Iraq, express our full solidarity with the Iraqi Communist Party and Iraqi democratic forces in their struggle to end the occupation, restore national sovereignty and independence, and build a new unified, democratic and federal Iraq”!!! This statement can be found in English on the “C”P of Finland web page and it has been published in English in the Athens Indymedia (http://athens.indymedia.org/media_download.php?id=5730) and in the Iraqi “C”P’s page (http://www.iraqnews.tareekalshaab.com/issue-1-04/issue-1-04.htm)
The quislings, collaborationists of the Khruschevian Iraqi “C”P “are fighting against the foreign occupation” as much as the Greek collaborators of Nazis were fighting against the latter during 1941-1944 while, at the same time they were daily murdering our people. This attitude of national treason displayed by the Iraqi Khruschevians cannot be covered up no matter how many lies are written in Rizospastis. As a matter of fact the “K”KE leaders went so far that they claimed ignorance about I”C”P’s participation in the government.(“Rizospastis”, 17/11/2005)

The “K”KE leadership being, of course aware that its rank and file members disapprove of the collaboration with the Iraqi quislings made sure so that also this document doesn’t appear in “Rizospastis” precisely like the above mentioned letter signed by B. Angourakis (29/11/2005).

The continuing and conscious defense of the Khruschevian I”C”P’s quislings by the socialdemocratic leaders of “K”KE and the signining of a statement which openly refers to “a federal Iraq” shows that the reformists have entered the final stage of their treason by essentially accepting the designs of the American imperialism, the world’s number one terrorist, which attempts to redefine the spheres of influence by shedding the blood of the Iraqis and other peoples of Middle East.


The “K”KE leadership and its quislings comrades of the Iraqi “Communist” Parties

Quite often the readers of “Rizospastis” read in the paper’s columns about the quislings of the Iraqi “governments” but there has never been any reference either by the socialdemocratic leadership of “K”KE or by anybody else to the fact that these national traitors include also their comrades, the Khruschevian revisionists of the Iraqi “C”P, who rushed to participate in the government of traitors installed by the invading Anglo-American imperialist troops.
It is not only that the “K”KE leadership never condemned the treacherous and collaborationist attitude of their I”C”P comrades, that is their participation in the Iraqi government installed by the invaders, but it hasn’t broken off relations with them until now. What is more, the “K”KE leadership invited I”C”P in the last meeting of the revisionist parties that took place in Athens in 2004 although this party continued to take part in the “Governmental Council” installed by the Anglo-American invading troops.

Apart from systematically hushing up the collaborationist and treacherous role of its fraternal party, “K”KE leadership “understands”(!) and “respects the reasons behind the participation”(!) of the I“C”P leaders in the infamous “Governmental Council” and has only certain “reservations” (!) about this inconspicuously treacherous and extremely provocative attitude displayed by its Khruschevian comrades.

The only time that “Rizospastis” wrote about this issue, was on July 2003; this reference is revealing of the “K”KE leadership’s treacherous role in this matter too, provocatively justifying collaborationism. Having “Rizospastis” informed its readers that “we have received the news that the Communist Party of Iraq decided to participate in the Governmental Council of the country” and that “every party, of course, reserves the right to decide and set its course but adhering to the principle of independence doesn’t exclude the expression of a different view”, it tells that “the reasons for which the CC of Iraq decided its participation are, of course, known…However, we have many reservations and even more worries about the consequences of this act” (“Rizospastis”, 24/7/2003, p.5)

From this view, it follows that the “K”KE leadership and “Rizospastis” actually support the treacherous and collaborationist attitude of the Iraqi Khruschevians. In addition to this, the “K”KE leadership, a whole year since the I“C”P’s participation in the Iraqi quisling government, invited it to send a delegate in the international meeting in 2004 (“Rizospastis”, 12/10/2004, p. 7) where he would “advise” the Greek working class and our people to show a similar, to the Iraqi Khruschevian collaborationists’, attitude in case ever our country is occupied by imperialist military forces, namely to enter the service of the latter.

In an act of extreme provocation and impudence, the delegate of the Iraqi “C”P declared in this meeting: Our Party always stressed that the Council was only one arena and one platform, among others, for our struggle to achieve national sovereignty and independence. We always emphasized the need to continuously combine between our work within the Council, and in the present interim government, and our efforts of a mass character”. And elsewhere, as a true mouthpiece of the Anglo-American invaders, he maintains: The forces behind the deteriorating security situation are mainly supporters of the previous regime and anti-people terrorist forces of various shades…in reality, the armed operations launched by shadow organizations, whether they include Muslim extremists or supporter’s of Sadam’s regime, provide the occupation forces with the pretext extend to their presence and perpetuate an atmosphere of fear and tension among the citizens.”

Therefore, according to the Khruschevain collaborationists of the Iraqi “C”P and the “K”KE leadership, not the Anglo-American occupation forces but the people of Iraq who fight against them should be held responsible for the “deteriorating security situation”; moreover not the Anglo-American invaders but the Iraqi people who took the arms against them are named “terrorist forces”. But the avenging hand of the heroic Iraqi people sent some of these Khruschevian collaborationists to the Jannah, the Islamic paradise, depriving them of the happiness of the Anglo-American earthly one. The word was spread that in the International Meeting in Athens in 2004, following Papariga’s proposal, one minute of silence was kept to honor the memory of those killed for the sake of the Americans!!!

The socialdemocratic leadership of “K”KE also showed a pro-American and pro-imperialist attitude, following the example from its Iraqi comrades, during the rallies against the war in Iraq because the basic slogan was: “Greece out of the war”(!) instead of the right one: “Anglo-American imperialist occupation forces out of Iraq” removing, in this way, then blame from the Anglo-American imperialists and, essentially, justifying the invasion-occupation of Iraq by them.

Before sinking to this level of despicable treachery, the Khruschevians of the Iraqi “C”P invited and received the Anglo-American occupation troops as “liberators” of their country.

Both the leadesrhips of I”C”P and “K”KE achieved a sad record. If the leadership of the Iraqi “C”P is the first one in the history of the international Khruschevian revisionism to sink so low as to become a collaborator of invaders, the socialdemocratic “K”KE leadership was also the first in the history of this counter-revolutionary trend to form a government with the monarch-fascist party like that of “New Democracy” in 1989.
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Wednesday, December 19, 2007

13th Plenary of the Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations

To the workers and peoples of the world, to the democratic, progressive and revolutionary forces

The 13th Plenary of the Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations (ICMLPO) was successfully held.

This event, which was held in an atmosphere of enthusiasm and high communist spirit, unanimously approved the report presented by the Coordination Committee to which were referred the activities carried out since the previous Plenary. It emphasized those related to the commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the October Revolution, an activity that, among others aspects, was expressed in the publication in Spanish, English, Russian, French, Italian, Turkish, Portuguese, German, Greek, Basque, Catalonian and Galician of the Declaration of the Conference. In addition, the special issue No. 15 of the journal Unity and Struggle was published in various languages, and various meetings, conferences, mass rallies, radio and TV programs, etc. took place.

The 13th Plenary of the Conference also dealt with the theme of Socialism, which was debated in an important manner, arriving at the need to deepen the study and debate in each organization and in the next Plenary. It was recommended to write the evaluation and the contribution of the parties should be sent opportunely to the Coordination Committee. It was decided that the study and the analyses of this theme should be linked to the struggle that the working class and the peoples of the world are carrying on against the bourgeoisie and imperialism. This theoretical struggle is part of the struggle against the reactionary bourgeois and capitalist theories.

The 13th Plenary adopted certain resolutions, among which were: 1) On Pakistan, condemning the state of emergency and the repression against the people; 2) Iran, denouncing the preparations of the Zionism and imperialism for aggression against this country; 3) Kurdistan, demanding the rights of the Kurdish people to their self-determination; 4) Against the Treaty of the European Union, which is becoming another superpower; 5) Denouncing the revival of xenophobia in Europe and in solidarity with immigrants.

Additionally, various activities were approved to be held in 2008, among them:

1) To commemorate the Centennial of the birth of the outstanding and exemplary communist Enver Hoxha, in October of 2008.

2) To call for participation in the Seminar "The building of the European Union as a new superpower" organized by the fraternal party of Denmark, October of 2008.

3) To call on the workers to participate in the International Trade Union Meeting that will be held in May of 2008 in Europe.

4) To call on the youths of the world to participate in the International Camp of Anti-Fascist and Anti-Imperialist Youth to be held in Brazil, at end of July and beginning of August of 2008.

5) To carry out various activities for the 55th anniversary of the death of comrade Stalin.

6) To carry out an intense publicity campaign around the Statement "The international situation and our tasks" and to publish numbers 16 and 17 of the journal Unity and Struggle, organ of the ICMLPO.

Finally, we announce that the 13th Plenary approved the site for the next Plenary, set its work plan and concluded by electing a new Coordination Committee.

December of 2007. Committee of Coordination of the International Conference of Parties and Organizations M-L



Resolution on Pakistan, Iran and Kurdistan

On November 3, General Pervez Musharraf, who came to power by means of a military coup, declared a state of emergency after proclaiming himself president of the country. In that way the constitutional cover with which the military regime protected itself has disappeared. As soon as the state of emergency was announced, thousands of trade unionists, students, defenders of Human Rights, as well as leaders of the opposition were arrested. Many people have been wounded in confrontations with the police.

Nine years ago in Pakistan, the military regime of Musharraf trampled on the fundamental rights and political liberties. The International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations (ICMLPO) looks anxiously upon the latest events in Pakistan, condemns the declaration of the state of emergency, which is contrary to the aspirations of the majority of the population. The ICMLPO supports to the Pakistani people in their struggles against the military regime and demands the lifting of the state of emergency and others repressive measures

The threats of intervention and occupation against Iran are being stepped up. U.S. imperialism, in carrying out its plans, is increasing the pressure in order to take over the oil fields of Iran and to control the Persian Gulf. The United States is trying to reinforce its position of superiority in competition with other imperialist forces and blocs, as well as to advance its strategic positions in the framework of the "Greater Middle East Project". They are preparing the terrain for a military attack against Iran to crush it and convert it into a colony, as they have done with Afghanistan and Iraq. The peoples of Iran and the forces for peace in the world should not be deceived by the propagandistic lies of Yankee imperialism about democracy, and they will know how to resist in case of aggression.

Meanwhile we the ICMLPO denounce the aggressive plans of U.S. imperialism and Zionism against Iran, and we declare our total solidarity with the anti-imperialist resistance in the region. For some time Turkey has been carrying out preparations for invasion and of military operation against the North of Iraq (the autonomous Region of Kurdistan). They have recently increased their threats, blackmail and concrete preparations. The real objective of the possible intervention, which the Turkish government presents as the only solution for putting an end to the "terrorist threat", is to prevent the struggle of the Kurdish people for their freedom and the right to self-determination.

Turkey, as a country of great strategic importance and military strength in the region, is acting with imperial ambitions. Turkish reaction, which is voluntarily collaborating with U.S. imperialism, has maintained its position of not recognizing the rights of the Kurdish people. The Kurdish problem is a political question of self-determination for a people which has been divided historically among various countries of the region. The solution to this problem cannot be military; it must be a political solution of recognition of equality of rights.

The International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations condemns the interventionist activities of the reactionaries of Turkey, and gives its total solidarity to the struggle of the Kurdish people for its freedom.

U.S. imperialist occupiers out of the region!

Long live the fraternity and the solidarity of the people!


Greetings to the Peoples Liberation Army (EPL) of Colombia on its 40th Anniversary of Combat

The 13th Plenary of the International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations greets the commanders and fighters of the Peoples Liberation Army (EPL) on its 40th anniversary of struggle and combat against U.S. imperialism and the lackey bourgeoisie and in favor of the revolution and the socialism.

This military detachment of the Colombian people has had to endure tests against the internal and class enemies which have been very severe. However, under the wise leadership of the Communist Party of Colombia Marxist-Leninist, today it has taken its place among the vanguard of the working class and peoples of the world, contributing in the sphere of armed struggle to successes in the accumulation of forces for the seizure of power.

Imperialism, especially U.S. imperialism, is increasing its fascist offensive against the peoples of the world, in Latin America and in particular in Colombia, with their plan of extermination called Plan Colombia. The EPL, together with the proletariat and peoples and other manifestations of the guerrilla and mass struggle, has dealt harsh blows and defeats to the strategy of recolonization of the continent. These struggles are in addition to the national liberation struggles in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, and to the victories obtained by the workers and peoples by other methods in Venezuela, Ecuador and Cuba, adding more and more victories in the anti-imperialist struggle.

We send our message of solidarity to Comrade Francisco Caraballo, your public spokesperson, and to all the commanders and fighters detained in the cells to which they have been confined by imperialism and Colombian reaction. The sacrifices in lives that our comrades of the EPL have made are not in vain. On the contrary, they fertilize the countryside and cities, from where there arise more and more fighters for social change and revolution. We express to them our joy for the celebration of such a great event.

Long Live the Peoples Liberation Army, Long Live Proletarian Internationalism!


No to the "modified" European Treaty

The European Constitution tries to indelibly set neo-liberalism and to impose it on all of the countries of the EU as the only possible policy. However, it was clearly and massively rejected by the workers and peoples of France and the Netherlands, who were consulted by means of referenda. Since then, opposition to that plan, which is for the exclusive benefit of the monopolies, has not stopped growing and the European Commission has continued to impose neo-liberal directives and to accelerate the process of privatization of public services, of transportation, energy, education, health, etc.

All the governments, particularly those of Germany, France, Spain and Italy, have agreed to language that recognizes the full content of the Constitution, but they are trying hard to formulate it in the technocratic language of earlier European treaties.

Together with the peoples of the European Union, we denounce and fight against that ¨modified¨ treaty which reinforces the power of the monopolies and which is one more step in the building of an imperialist power, in competition with the others, against the workers and peoples.

We support the demand of the peoples to be consulted by a referendum, so that they can show their opposition to that treaty.


Against the Increase of Racism, Xenophobia and Fascist Attacks in Europe

In the last months we are witnessing in Europe an increase of racism, xenophobia and attacks of a racist and fascist character against immigrant workers and anti-fascist, progressive and left-wing militants.

These attacks are linked to a general process of reduction of freedoms promoted by the most reactionary forces of the European oligarchy, to the economic crisis that is beginning to affect the capitalist economy, and to the criminalization of immigrant workers by the European governments. These immigrants are demagogically targeted by the reactionary, extreme right and fascist forces as being responsible for the crisis. This is an attempt to play off the immigrant workers against the native-born workers, dividing the working class. Likewise we point out that in some countries there is a disturbing wave of activity of extreme right and fascist gangs who are protected, tolerated and financed by the most reactionary bourgeois forces.

As a result, the ICMLPO calls on all the progressive and left-wing forces to confront the increase of racism and xenophobia, and the danger of the fascist gangs in some countries. The struggle against racism and xenophobia should be confronted jointly by the immigrant and the native-born workers, jointly breaking the policy of isolation and division by nationalities that the bourgeoisie practices. It is necessary that the immigrant workers understand the importance of uniting and joining in the class, trade union and political organizations, together with the native-born workers in the struggle for their common rights, confronting the European big bourgeoisie which is responsible for the economic and social crisis that is striking the working class.

Europe, November of 2007

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Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Labour Party of Turkey (EMEP): Telekom Strikers Won

04.12.2007

44 day strike at Turk Telekom, Turkey's telecommunications giant owned mainly by the Saudi Oger company, ended as 25,000 worke went back to work after a deal was struck between the Haber-İş trade union and the employer.

The deal, hammered out between management and the union, provides for pay hikes of 10 percent this year and 6.5 percent plus inflation in 2008, as well as several fringe benefits.

Workers will also receive one-time bonuses of 200 YTL ($168), and the settlement will cost the company 30 million YTL. The one-time bonuses will act to compensate strikers' lost pay during the action.

“This is a good agreement. It was a successful strike and we won,” said Levent Dokuyucu, the head of Haber-İş's Istanbul First Branch and General Excutive of our Party (EMEP). Dokuyucu said: “A demand by the company was actually deterring workers from becoming union members. The employer in the end agreed to change its position.”

Another crucial point for the union was the demand by the worker that working time should be more than five days and 45 hours a week. The company also shelved this demand, on the condition that if a worker works for six days and 45 hours a week, he/she should get an extra 200 YTL.


A total of 1,100,000 working days were lost due to the strike, one of the longest strikes in the past decade. This figure dwarves the total of lost working days in all strikes combined during the last 11 years, according to data compiled by the Anatolia news agency.

The strike especially affected maintenance and repair work. Also, new land-line subscribers endured significant delays. It was also the first strike in the history of Turk Telekom.

The Saudi Oger company owns 55 percent of the company, while the rest belongs to the state. The government plans to sell all of its stakes in an initial public offering next year.


www.emep.org

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