Tuesday, June 7, 2016

KKE political event held in London - The political developments in Greece and Britain's EU referendum

Source: 902.gr / Translation: In Defense of Communism.
Read the full speech of G.Marinos here.

A successful political event organised by the KKE Party Organisation of Britain took place in London, with major speaker being Giorgos Marinos of the Political Bureau. The subject of the event was "The political developments in Greece, the British EU referendum and the positions of KKE". A large number of Greek immigrants, as well as British people, attented the event.

In his introductory speech, Giorgos Marinos refered to the anti-people policy of the SYRIZA-ANEL coalition government: "The political route of this government must be condemned in the peoples' conciousness, this is a precondition for the development of class-struggle and the confrontation of the fake dilemmas which favor the phony bipolarism between SYRIZA and New Democracy [...].

Cde G. Marinos pointed out: "The so-called left government has been tested and through it's policy confirmed what KKE was stressing from the beginning, that governments of bourgeois management which wear the mask of the 'Left' in order to entrap large popular forces serve the interests of the big capital, provoke big damage to the labour movement and try to transform it into a tool of class collaboration and support for the capitalist development".

"This is the role of social-democracy and the center-left, that is proved from the experience of France, Italy, Cyprus, Portugal, Brazil and other countries" he underlined.

Regarding Britain's EU referendum which take place on June 23rd, Giorgos Marinos said: "One section of the British bourgeoisie that supports the REMAIN vote assesses that it has the strength and robustness to meet the requirements of the competition inside the EU and identifies its interests with remaining in the EU, utilizing its historic exemptions and choosing to struggle in alliance with the USA for a better position in its competition with Germany
The other section of the bourgeoisie that supports the LEAVE vote assesses that is at a disadvantage due to the strong presence of Germany and is impeded by the EU’s legal framework of restrictions and controls. It aims to form new conditions to maintain the markets it has already acquired and to win positions in new markets in the BRICS countries and elsewhere. It even looks to the formation of a centre in the framework of the British Commonwealth, which includes India, Australia, South Africa and other states that are former British colonies.
In any case, whether with a vote for REMAIN or LEAVE, the British bourgeoisie will continue to negotiate with the EU to serve its own interests"


"We appreciate that a large part of the working class says 'NO' to the EU".

"The communist movement must utilize the contradictions in the imperialist camp, reinforcing its independent ideological and political struggle that will draw strength from and be nourished by the struggle to overthrow monopoly power.".


In another point of his speech, Cde Marinos said:

"Many states are not members of the EU, many bourgeois governments of various shades have tried out different forms of  management, but their common denominator in every continent is the accumulation of wealth on the one side and poverty on the other, the maintenance of the exploitation of man by man.
When we have such rich experience, including the experience provided by the referendum in Britain and the division of the monopoly groups into the REMAIN and LEAVE camps, in the service of their own interests, we can more decisively confront the illusion that withdrawal from the EU and the Euro on its own can be a step or stepping stone to radical changes and ruptures without posing the conditions that connect the necessary condemnation of the EU and disengagement from it with the struggle for capitalism's overthrow, for socialism.

Because this is the absolutely necessary precondition for the socialization and the taking into people’s ownership of the means of productions, the instruments of economic development, mineral wealth, energy, telecommunications, transport, land, retail. It is the necessary precondition for the development of scientific central planning and for the satisfaction of the contemporary needs of the people, abolishing the base that gives rise to capitalist profit and exploitation.

We should think about the value building socialism in a powerful capitalist country like Britain, where the material preconditions for the construction of the new society are overly ripe and show the way forwards. We should think about the major impact such an enormous development would have and what serious responsibilities the working classes in countries that are at the summit of the imperialist pyramid have to fight against their co-option by the system and to stand tall and defiant"

The KKE Political Bureau member underlined that Britain's EU referendum- and the monopolies' divisions between 'YES' and 'NO', for their own interests- provides an opportunity for the communist-labour movement to confront the illusion that the exit from the EU or the Eurozone can be, by itself, a step of radical changes without connecting the needed condemnation of the EU with the struggle for Capitalism's overthrow.