Tuesday, 13 October
Thousands of people wanted to participate in a demonstration against IMF and World Bank starting on Taksim Square in Istanbul yesterday. But, the police intervened with tear gas, tinted water and water cannons. Clashes occurred in a number of neighbouring districts.
The police intervened with tear gas and the use of water cannons in the demonstration against the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) in Istanbul's central district of Taksim.
The annual meeting of IMF and World Bank started yesterday morning (6 October) in the Istanbul district of Harbiye within walking distance to Taksim Square. Our party (EMEP), other leftist parties, trade unions, professional chambers and various organisations met in Taksim to walk to the meeting's place in Harbiye as a demonstration against IMF and World Bank.
Contemporary Lawyers Associations (ÇHD) told that according to information form different police stations a total of about 200 people were arrested.
The police went in hard against a crowd of about 2,000 people. In the neighbouring districts of Pangalt?, ?stiklal Caddesi, Çukurcuma and Cihangir close to Taksim people are still in custody. The Taksim First Aid and the German Hospital were also affected by the tear gas. One person in the crowed died of a heart attack. Further clashes occurred in the districts of Ni?anta?? and Dolmabahçe (by the Bosporus).
Police intervened as soon as the demonstration started
Before the walk started, the participants shouted slogans such as "Imperialists and collaborators, don't forget the 6th fleet", "The day will come, the fate will return, murders will give their account to the people", "This country, this people are not for sale" and "IMF get out".
The walk started at 11.40 am. The police intervened 5 times with tear gas on Taksim Square. People escaped to neighbouring districts. Also for chasing the protestors the police used tinted water and made use of their firearms. Furthermore, warning shots were fired into the air.
Protest against police intervention
Labour Party (EMEP), Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), Freedom and Solidarity Party (ODP) organized a protest today at 18.30 pm at Taksim square against the police interference at the demonstration.
Labour Party (EMEP) - Tarlabasi Bulvari Kamerhatun Mh. Alhatun Sk. No:25/1 Beyoglu - ISTANBUL - TURKEY
Tel: +90 505 9373757 (Mobile) Fax: +90 212 361 25
"A party is the vanguard of a class and its duty is to lead the masses, not reflect the average mind of the masses." (V.I. Lenin, 1917)
Read the interesting article of PCE (m-l) in Spanish here: Contra la concepción burocrática de la unidad de los comunistas
The member organizations of the International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations repudiate the coup d’état carried out by militarism and the Honduran oligarchy against the government of José Manuel Zelaya. This action, which was known by and had the support of the U.S. government, is not only an attempt to put a brake on the democratic process that had begun in that Central American country; it is also a test and a warning of what the reactionary forces are willing to do to halt and reverse the victories won by the peoples of Latin America, which have resulted in the formation of progressive and democratic governments in various countries in the region.
The development in that continent of a democratic, progressive and left-wing trend, which has blocked the way and in some cases pushed aside the neoliberal forces, worries imperialism and the local bourgeoisies which are conspiring against the political process underway. In April of 2002 they tried unsuccessfully to put an end to the government of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela; in 2007 a first coup attempt by the Bolivian oligarchy against the Government of Evo Morales was denounced. In both cases, the direct involvement of the United States Embassy was condemned.
U.S. imperialism, which has looked at the Americas as its back yard, now has great difficulties in developing its policy in the region. The formation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) was prevented by the struggle of the workers and the people; the proposal for integration and solidarity through the Bolivarian Alternative for the America (ALBA) is receiving the sympathy of the peoples. The resolution adopted at the 39th session of the Organization of American States (OAS), which returned to Cuba its place in that Organization, shows the changes that have taken place in the relation of forces in the American subcontinent.
The developments in Honduras show that social and national liberation can only move forward under the leadership of the workers and are only achieved by the overthrow of the power of the capitalists and the domination of imperialism by the revolution and socialism. As revolutionaries we support any struggle and any democratic and progressive process, but we warn that it is wrong to feed illusions that change is possible by way of reforms.
The ICMLPO expresses its solidarity with the workers and people of Honduras, who have taken to the streets and countryside to repudiate this coup d’état, demanding the return to office of President Manuel Zelaya. The Honduran workers will understand along the way the need to link the struggle for democracy with the objective of the revolutionary transformation of society. In that fight they have our full support.
International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations (ICMLPO)
English – Articles / Skrevet av Redaksjonen
Friday, October 9 2009 23:17
Giving this year's peace prize to President Barack Obama made a whole world speechless, even the Americans shake their heads. The President himself agrees that he feels unworthy, but that has not prevented him from accepting.
Even the most enthusiastic USA-supporters, who have no objection whatsoever on the United States' "war on terror", ask what Obama indeed has done to promote peace. After only nine months in office, there has been much visionary rhetoric, but little action apart from the modification of the missile shield plans in Europe as well as airy wishful thinking about a world without nuclear weapons. Drive and forcefulness will, by contrast, be very obvious when the president shortly signs the order to send an additional 40,000 occupation troops to Afghanistan, as required by his military commander Stanley McChrystal. When Barack Obama ceremoniously receives the award in the heavily guarded city of Oslo, the United States consequently will have 113 000 solidiers on Afghan soil on assignment from the US president. In addition to these come 35 000 soldiers from other states, including Norway. Everything is set for a bizarre performance in Oslo City Hall.
Obama is in fact continuing the occupation politics of his predecessor Bush. Any President of the United States is under the thumb of the monopolies and the military-industrial complex. Giving an American President a peace prize is like spitting every single Iraqi, every Palestinian and every single Afghan in the face. No, it is even worse. It is as though the Nobel committee has engraved their death message on every bullet intended to penetrate the head or chest of any Afghan child, woman or man, who might come within firing range of the imperialists.
A less tail-wagging USA-poodle than the parliamentary Norwegian Nobel committee would at least have awaited what Obama actually might have achieved when his period expires in 2012. But in its eagerness to abuse the will of Nobel in order to underpin American foreign policy, this clique of cleared MPs have no inhibitions. Among the scandals on its record we could mention when the committee handed the prize to mass murderer Henry Kissinger in 1973, while the bombs still were falling over Viet Nam – only weeks after the same Kissinger had orchestrated the fascist putsch in Chile, or when the killer of Palestinians and terrorist Menachem Begin was awarded the prize in 1978. […]
[The Swedish industrialist] Alfred Nobel wanted the Parliament in Norway – which at the time was a young and progressive democracy preparing to liberate itself from union with Sweden – to handle the awardment of the peace prize, because he considered that this would mean less danger of political corruption. At the time of his death, in 1896, he probably was right in thinking so. But since then, Norway has grown to become a greedy imperialist power willing to bargain with and jeopardize its own sovereignty as well as that of other nations, a warmongering state and the world's largest exporter of arms, measured by population. Today, Mr. Nobel would probably rather have chosen for example the Faroe Islands or Åland, with the same justification. If the prize shall avoid complete defaming, it from now on ought to be handed out in Torshavn or Mariehamn.
Barack Obama is an intelligent man who perceives the way of thinking of his Norwegian bootlickers. As he put it in his first press statement: «I do not view it (the Peace Prize) as a recognition of my own accomplishments but rather an affirmation of American leadership».
Our remark would be: You've got it right, Mr. President. In the least as far as the Norwegian bourgeois class is concerned.
But significant portions of the Norwegian people are prepared to defy barbed wires and police repression as well as US leadership and «supremacy» when you arrive in Oslo on 10 December.
Slightly abbreviated. First published in Norwegian on Nettmagasinet Revolusjon on October 9th 2009.
NObama, NObel, NOway! av Nettmagasinet Revolusjon, Jan R. Steinholt er lisensiert under en Creative Commons Navngivelse-Ikkekommersiell-Ingen Bearbeidelse 3.0 Norge Lisens.
Based on original article on www.revolusjon.no.
Athens, October 2009
Pages: 38
Photos: 8
Size: A5
Language: Greek
3 euros
The Movement for the Reorganisation of the Communist Party of Greece 1918-55 released the work of cde Enver Hoxha “The Marxist-Leninist Movement and the World Crisis of Capitalism” that was written in 1979.
The printed edition additionally contains an article for Hoxha’s 100th birthday that was published in our newspaper and an article of essayist Nils Andresson “Enver Hoxha and his time”, that it’s published in Greek for the first time.
See also: Enver Hoxha: The Marxist-Leninist Movement and the World Crisis of Capitalism
Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on September 14th. The government since 2005 has been a so-called red and green coalition between the traditional, Social Democratic Norwegian Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) and its junior partners; the Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti; petty bourgeois, reformist left) and the Centre Party (Senterpartiet; rural petty bourgeois). 
Exposure Comrade Hamma Hammami, the spokesman for the Tunisian Communist Workers Party, upon his return from the French capital this afternoon to a barbaric attack by the political police agents of the Tunis-Carthage Airport. The beat immediately after passing a large number of Customs agents in civilian clothes were beaten and kicked over the whole body and uttered to all kinds of insults and verbal abuse, causing him bruises and several broken glasses and tearing his clothes. It was the attack on Comrade Hamma Hammami bunk, where dozens of agents deliberately police who were mobilized to evacuate the lobby of the airport and prevent many people from going to him so that they can commit their crime dirty free from sight. (...) In fact, Comrade Hamma Hammami pay the price for his bold channels on "the island direct" and "France 24" and called for a boycott of the electoral farce Ben Ali regime is preparing to organize, to struggle for a democratic alternative for the benefit of a real grass-roots groups and ordinary people in our country. Catholic abstention from the Greek parliamentary elections of October 4th decided the community of Grammatikos, so in this way to punish the two major parties on the decided construction of landfills.
As the newspaper "To Vima", says the residents of Grammatikos talk of "mockery" of both parties, New Democracy and PASOK.
The municipal council acknowledges that the abstention from the elections in Grammatiko doesn’t not affect the election results nationwide. It stresses, however, that enables the whole village, like a punch to send the message pitch tomorrow government.
BOYCOTT THE ELECTIONS: ABSTAIN – CAST INVALID BALLOTS
RESISTANCE TO HUNGER, FASCIST TRANSFORMATION OF SOCIETY, CAPITALIST EXPLOITATION AND BRUTALITY
STRUGGLE FOR THE REORGANISATION OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF GREECE
The announcement of elections in October didn’t come “out of the blue sky”. The most non-existent prime minister and his government, the most reactionary government since '74, were both long political collapsed, while bankrupting the country with their extreme neo-liberal policy, long before the outbreak of the global capitalist crisis of overproduction.
The notice of election was merely a formal ratification of this collapse. But the irresponsibility of the incompetent Prime Minister knows no boundaries, since he has to go for elections at the same time with the European elections in June instead of loading the country with quite a few million Euros extra weights.
The Government of the monarch-fascist Right, the government of poverty, hunger, poverty, the Government of the multiple "economic supervisions" by the imperialists of the EU, the Government of hitting the remaining labor rights, further de-industrialization, the sell-off of all public property, the murderous attack against the youth revolt, racist pogroms against immigrants, widespread fascist transformation of society, of cohabitation with the fascists of LAOS and the "re-establishment of the state" by appointing murderers and thugs in the forces of repression, the government of spying, surveillance, cameras everywhere, invasion in individual liberties, the government of the offensive against what is left of public education and the university asylum, the government which is the killer of the environment with the wildfires for the sake of the big capital, the government of the daily scandals involving executives and in synergy with mafia crime, finally collapsed.
The imperialist EU prepares for a new, more painful round of "economic supervision" and in cooperation with the IMF and the local bourgeoisie prepares a worse wave of anti-labor attacks with premeditated unemployment-mammoth, with continued dramatic further reduction in the purchasing power of workers and poor popular strata, with plans for unprecedented measures which they already have announced and even the abolition of the 13th salary, initially to the public services.
This attack cannot advance with an already "dead" government.
PASOK that is party of the great bourgeoisie and tried, obedient servant of the imperialists and of the local capitalism, PASOK, which is the party that supported the shame of EMU, the Olympics of shame, the great theft through the stock fraud, is preparing to take its position in government.
The revisionists, headed by the Khrushchevite traitors, the social-democrats of “K”KE, living away from the pain, the suffering and the anxieties of the working class have been transformed to a typical bourgeoisie electoral mechanism.
The revisionists try to prevent any uprising of the people, claim that the crisis "will pass quickly” and constantly act as a sedative on the working class. They are pleased that the other revisionists die sooner. They observe the dissolution of SYRIZA, which has the same general directions with them, and they do not care about anything that could consist a defensive struggle of the working class to defend its interests. But they are well known: they are social-democratic leaders who denounced the youth uprising in December and supported the police. They are the same people who denounced the heroic uprising of November '73 against the fascist dictatorship, who constantly act against the popular masses rage. They have been, all these years, the permanent lackeys of the reactionary Karamanlis government.
The Marxists-Leninists-Stalinists do not have as a principle to abstain from the participation in bourgeoisie parliamentary procedures although these procedures are considered of secondary importance for the revolutionary class struggle of the proletariat. That would be obviously a childish leftist mistake.
The revolutionary communists are involved in the political activity which is more extensive during any pre-election period. They highlight the policy and priorities for the working class and the revolutionary communist movement. They don’t participate in the elections, when they don’t have the subjective capability to do it. They don’t pretend to be the Party if they are not. The Greek revolutionary communists consider that it would be wrong in this phase (as it did not previously) to participate in the elections as one more separate group. This is not so much because of subjective weakness but first and foremost because of the lack of unity of the anti-fascist and anti-imperialist forces and the continued split with the participation of various groups in the parliamentary elections as separate political formations. This unity is completely necessary condition for a considerable concentration of forces in anti-fascist and anti-imperialist direction in order to fight against fascist transformation of society, nationalism-chauvinism and racism-military adventurism in the capitalist and imperialist EU and all the imperialist powers in general, with the U.S. first.
The individual participation in the parliamentary elections not only offers nothing, because no one gathers measurable political power, but also is extremely damaging because it keeps and perpetuates the split of the anti-fascist and anti-imperialist forces.
The revolutionary communists, however, have to struggle according to the priorities of the class struggle and to call for a united struggle:
For the massive disapproval at the elections of any political power that serves or does not respond militantly and effectively to the exploitative capitalist system.
For the militant response through mass struggles which will have as cutting edge the first degree unions and their strengthening, in alliance with the poor peasants, our immigrant brothers, our militant youth, against poverty and misery, hunger, unemployment, fascist transformation of society, fascist pogroms, attack on labour rights, further selling off of public property, assault on public education and university asylum, environmental destruction, engaging in war adventurism.
- For the unity of all true communists, young and old comrades
- For the reorganisation of the revolutionary party of the working class
- For the reorganisation of the Communist Party of Greece 1918-1955.
Athens, September 2009
Movement for Reorganisation of the Communist Party of Greece 1918-55
P.O. Box 3689, 10210 Athens
BOYCOTT THE ELECTIONS: ABSTAIN – CAST INVALID BALLOTS
RESISTANCE TO HUNGER, FASCIST TRANSFORMATION OF SOCIETY, CAPITALIST EXPLOITATION AND BRUTALITY
STRUGGLE FOR THE REORGANISATION OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF GREECE
Movement for Reorganisation of the Communist Party of Greece 1918-55
P.O. Box 3689, 10210 Athens
The localization of vast gas resources, and high energy prices in combination with global warming, has definitely placed the Arctic at the hub of imperialist rivalry, with Norway in a pivotal role.
«The world is in need of gigantic oil investments in the 25 years to come. That is why it is important to attract the oil companies to the Barents region now», says the International Energy Agency, the newspaper Aftenposten reported in November 2005. «The IEA fears that the anticipated 50 percent heavy increase in demand of energy towards 2030 will lead to heavier dependency on the oil-rich countries of the politically unstable Middle East.» The IEA has received the response they hopefully were awaiting. On March 31st the Norwegian government presented its plan safeguarding the Barents Sea, after heavy internal squabbling amongst the three «red» and green coalition parties. – Fisheries, environment, petroleum, oil and gass will be developed side by side, we will supervise all obligations, said Prime Minister (Labour party - Social Democrats) Jens Stoltenberg. Especially our obligations towards the oil companies and the USA, he should have added.
Vital for ecological reproduction
Although some of the most vulnerable fishing zones are omitted from the plan, as has been a demand from the Socialist Left Party (SV), this is by no means a permanent protection of these vital areas for the coastal fishermen, either. The plan will be revised in 2010.
The environmentalist movements have protested, they strongly condemn the government parties for breaching their promises prior to the election on protecting the environment.
The Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea are natural larders and essential for the whole ecological reproductive system, especially where the Norwegian-Arctic codfish is concerned.
With some exceptions, drilling for oil will be allowed beyond the coasts of Finnmark, bordering to Russia.
The northernmost gas production platform, Snøhvit (Snow White), has recently been put into production. This Norwegian project is in itself of significant proportions. More important is that it is intended to serve as an entrance ticket for Norsk Hydro and Statoil in their attempts to get their feet into the twice as large Shtokman gas field in the Russian economic zone.
Snow White is looking for her Prince Shtokman
In September 2005 the giant Russian corporation Gazprom picked the five companies Hydro, Statoil, Total, Chevron and Conoco Philips to take part in the final competion on which of them should become partners in the development of Shtokman.USA wants Norway as a stable supplier of gas
Profits and expected increases in the market price for oil and gas is of course the initial motive for the rush on the Barents Sea. But geopolitics and imperialist rivalry is an equally important part of the game.
«Norway's importance to the United States when it comes to our national energy policy is increasing year by year», former ambassador John Doyle Ong stated in an interview in Autumn 2005. Norway might compensate for the dependance of the instable Middle East, and would hardly think of threatening to sell its oil and gas in euro instead of US dollars, thereby jeopardizing the hegemony of the dollar and the American card house built upon an overvalued greenback. Ong was an eager applauder of the Snow White project. The shipping of gas from here to Cove Point, Washington DC, will shortly become reality.
On his departure, the ambassador, after cheekily demanding that the US should be a part in trilateral negotiations with Norway and Russia, stated in an interview with Dagbladet that «...Norway's initatives always are compliant with the objectives of US foreign policy. And Norway can in several instances do things that we can not, you being who you are, and we being who we are».
In the Arctic region the US might have extra need of a supervisor, and Norway has earlier proved to be a good choice.
One faction of the Republican party has blocked US ratification of the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) wich was adopted in 1982, thereby leaving the USA on the sidewalk in the struggle for re-division of the oil, gas and fishing resources.
Norway wants to expand its influence
The red and green government that came into office late autumn 2005, has from the start given clear priority to the areas in the far north, whether speaking politically, economically or military. This orientation has been presented not only as a policy for mature and bearing exploitation of natural resources; it has also been offered as proof of an independent foreign and security policy, based on national interests, i.e. as a gentle shift away from total submission to the US of A. It is this version in particular that appeals to, and is promulgated by the governments left wing party, SV.Rivalry between Russia, Canada, Denmark, Norway.
Norway and Russia have long ago put forward territorial demands, and partially taken the law into their own hands. For more than 30 years the two states have been in a dispute about which principles should be applied when drawing the maritime economic border line. Norway insists on the midline principle, while Russia argues that the sector principle should be applied. The area of dispute is called The grey zone, and is one of the favourite areas for pirate fisheries from several nations with large fishing fleets. Norway upholds a self-declared protection zone around the Spitsbergen islands 2) , which is not acknowledged by other states.Footnotes
1) Norway is heavily building up its naval capacity, and has invested $4 billion in five new multi-function warships, manufactured in Spain. The Royal Navy boasts that it will achieve to have the best (not largest) Navy in Europe by year 2010.
2) The Svalbard (Spitsbergen) Treaty of 1920 gives this group of islands a special status. Although under Norwegian jurisdiction, all military facilities are banned and all signatory countries, with certain restrictions, have the right to engage in economic activity.
Slightly abbreviated. First published on the Revolusjon website on 2 April 2006. Published in Unity & Struggle issue 14 (May 2007). In Greek was published in newspaper Anasintaxi issue 236 (15-30 October 2006).
The Danish Communist Youth (DKU) (youth of the Worker’s Communist Party –APK) invited “Movement for the Reorganisation of the KKE 1918-55” to contribute in the “Revolutionary Summer Camp 2009” held in Denmark. It follows a description of our contribution translated from an article in the newpaper “Kommunistisk Politik”.
A Greek comrade from “Movement for the Reorganisation of the KKE 1918-55”, sister organization of APK, made a presentation about the Greek Unrest in December 2008.
In the beginning, the comrade described the tragic event of the murder of the iinnocent 15-year old schoolboy, Alexis Grigoropoulos, by a police officer and the youth’s reaction to this event. The speaker focused mainly in four subjects: a) How did we end up in the murder? b) Why youth’s response was so immediate and strong? c) How the movement was organised at these days and d) The aftermath of the upheaval and Greece’s current situation.
The speaker said that the murder was the culmination of the government's policy of the most extreme fascistisation of the reactionary bourgeois state and social life. In the short past police forces have shown unprecedented brutality: They attacked a Cypriot student in Thessaloniki and send him to the hospital; torturing of immigrants in police stations are very often reported; the Greek government cooperated with CIA to kidnap Pakistanis; police used gasses against protestors without any control; etc. The Greek government used these methods to stop the demonstrations of pupils, University students, teachers which since 2006 are resisting against the further privatization of the Greek education, the cancellation of the Universities asylum, the low salaries. This long-running struggle has resulted to occupations of schools and Universities for months, big strikes that lasted for weeks and tenths of thousands people demonstrating against the government. Government’s result was more and more brutality. The murder was the result of this tense situation.
The bad situation of the Greek economy, the low salaries, the high cost of leaving, the high cost of education in Greece made people displeased with the government and its politics. The murder of young Grigoropoulos was the spark that lighten up the fire. In the young boy’s dead body the pupils saw themselves.
The news of the murder spread quickly. Tenths of thousands sms messages were sent the night of the death. Groups were created in Facebook. The first demonstration was organised in the same day. In the first week after the murder more than 1,000 schools and University departments occupied by young people refusing to return to their classes until justice was given. Thousands of students demonstrated in tens of cities. Police stations and banks became their major symbolic targets: the former as symbols of fascist oppression and police terror, and the latter as symbols of exploitation (a 28 billion Euros "dowry" was given to them according to a recent government decision), the pillars of large capital, responsible for the mass unemployment, poverty and misery that great part of the population experiences.
The comrade critised the stance of the reformists of KKE, who opposed the unrest and cooperated with the government to stop it. He said that the majority of young pupils are the next shift of the working class and the slogan “Down with the government of blood and scandals” was a right slogan for the period. The impact of the revolt forces Sarcozy to postpone the education reform in France and subcommandante Marcos, leader of Zapatistas, welcomed the revolt was a bright example of struggle.
After that, the comrade analysed the current situation in Greece. The Greek movement became more experienced from this but the Greek government started also taking measures to prevent similar situations on the future. The University asylum is now almost cancelled, measures against occupation of Universities were taken, the Greek telephone company asked the National Polytechnic University to locate and reserve the servers of Indymedia network, police started occupations against immigrants, special forces in cooperation with fascist groups attack demonstrators, etc.
The comrade concluded that the teaching of the unrest is great. It helped young people to realise the role of the urban and revisionist parties, especially KKE was exposed for it stance. The whole capitalism system was taken under doubt and at the same time the unrest helped people to realise their capability to do things. On the other hand, the struggle reached a certain limit. This was explained as the absence of a real revolutionary-communist party which will help the masses to their struggle, a party which inspire people and lead the struggle and transform it to a struggle against the whole capitalism system and not only against its consciences, a party based on the principals of Marxism-Leninism.
This is the second edition in the row exposing the counter-revolutionary current of Trotskyism.
Athens, August 2009
Pages: 30
Size: A5
Language: Greek
Available online
