Communist Party of Britain: The UK-EU Brexit trade deal is a compromise between the big monopoly capitalists

In a statement about the recent UK-EU Agreement on Trade and Cooperation, the Communist Party of Britain's General Secretary Robert Griffiths and international secretary John Foster point out the following:

The UK-EU trade agreement is a compromise between the interests of British state-monopoly capitalism, on the one side, and those of German and French monopoly capital – represented by their states and the EU – on the other.  

Happy and Militant 2021: Messages by the WFTU and PAME

In a video message, with the Athens' Acropolis in the background, the General Secretary of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) George Mavrikos sends his best wishes for a Happy New Year "with faith and knowledge". 

 

Farewell to comrade Kostas Pateras

Comrade Kostas Pateras, a humble communist and member of the Communist Party of Greece , has died at the age of 42. “With great sorrow, the KKE bids farewell to cde Kostas Pateras who died so early, at 42 years of age, after a strong battle”, reads a statement by the Press Bureau of the CC of the Communist Party.

Born in London to a Greek-British working class family, Kostas was deeply affected by the militant past of his grandfather, a British communist who fought in the Spanish Civil War through the ranks of the International Brigades. 

Pakistan's communists condemn the violation of human and citizen rights in the country

The International Department of the Communist Party of Pakistan (کمیونسٹ پارٹی آف پاکستان) has issued a statement concerning the violation of human and citizen rights in the country. The statement is as follows:

The Communist Party of Pakistan strongly condemns the Pakistani establishment particularly the military establishment inhuman practices of suppression and violation of human and citizen rights.

The matter of missing persons, mutilated dead bodies in the province of Baluchistan, khyber  Pukhtoon Khwa and Sind provinces are the well known facts and still need answers.

George Blake, famous British double agent who worked for the KGB, died at 98

George Blake, the legendary British double agent who fled to the Soviet Union, has died in Moscow at the age of 98, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service reported.

Blake, a member of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), became affiliated with the communist ideology while serving as a prisoner of war in Korea. He said he volunteered to work for the Soviet Union after witnessing the atrocities of U.S. army in North Korea.

Arya Rajendran: India's youngest elected mayor is a communist

Arya Rajendran, a 21 year-old member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has been elected mayor of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala.

Arya, a second year Mathematics student, is set to become the youngest person to hold a mayoral post in the country, the Hindustan Times reported. She presently serves as the state president of Balasangam, a children’s organisation affiliated to the CPI(M). 

State vandalism in Ukraine: Lviv authorities plan to dismantle monument dedicated to the Red Army

Another disturbing episode of anti-communist frenzy comes from Ukraine as the local authorities of Lviv are planning to dismantle the city's Monument of Glory – a memorial dedicated to the heroic Red Army soldiers - by the end of February 2021.

The decision was strongly condemned by the country's communists. Petro Symonenko, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine, said that the dismantling of the monument is “an act of state vandalism and moral terrorism” and added: “This is a crime against the memory of the soldiers of the Red Army, a crime against the memory of compatriots who died in the fight against the fascist infection, it is a slap in the face of the international community and all members of the anti-Hitler coalition”. 

KKE: Démarche against the attempt to ban the Communist Party of Poland

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) made a démarche to the European Commission representation in Athens and the Polish embassy in Athens, against the new attempt to ban the Communist Party of Poland at the request of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Polish government. 

In the démarche delivered by the KKE MEP Kostas Papadakis to the European Commission, it is noted: "The attempt of the Polish government to ban the CP of Poland as well as the methodical distortion of history are unacceptable. The EU also bears huge responsibilities, since the equation of the fascists - Nazis in the past and the present with those who fought against Nazism is an EU direction contained in anti-communist resolutions and declarations. This is a stance that encourages the action of the fascist-Nazi criminal formations". 

Capitalism is the virus, Socialism is the vaccine!

By Nikos Mottas.

The 2008 global capitalist economic crisis, the effects of which are still visible today, was a tremendous opportunity for the big capitalists to increase their wealth. During a period of ten years, from 2008 to 2018, the number of billionaires was doubled, like their profits. It has been proved that the crisis generates more capitalists.

The Coronavirus pandemic, which has plagued the world since the beginning of 2020, comes to confirm that capitalist barbarity “feeds” from the people's death, poverty, impoverishment and exploitation. The recent report by Forbes is revealing: 

Russia: Joseph Stalin's birth anniversary was honored in Moscow

In a simple but highly symbolic event in Moscow's Red Square, men and women, workers, members and friends of Communist Parties and Youths honored today the 142nd birth anniversary of Joseph Stalin, 

Holding red banners and portraits of the Soviet leader, the participants laid flowers to the tomb of Stalin in the Kremlin Necropolis. At the end of the ceremony, a statement to the reporters was delivered by the Chairman of the CC of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) Gennady Zyuganov.

Reaganomics Exposed: Keeping tax low for the rich doesn't boost economy, new research says

The so-called Reaganomics will be remembered by the people as a set of cruel, anti-worker economic policies in favor of the big capital, associated with supply-side theories and eliminating and restrictions on the free-market economy. 

The economic policy that U.S. President Ronald Reagan advocated for pushed for lower taxes for the wealthy and less business regulation by the government. The idea was that showering the rich with even more money would - supposedly - result in a greater supply of services and goods, at lower prices, and an increase in employment.

10 years after the illusion of the "Arab Spring"

It was like yesterday, 10 years ago, when an event that took place in Tunisia was to go down in history. It was the self-immolation, out of desperation, of young fruit seller Mohamed Bouazizi outside the local governor's office at the small town of Sidi Bouzid. It was an act which marked a wave of protests that the bourgeoisie named “Arab Spring” and which continued in Northern African countries, Libya, Egypt and crossed into Syria. In fact, opportunist forces, like SYRIZA in our country, talked about a “popular revolution”. 

WHY does the EU refuse to disclose COVID-19 vaccine contracts with pharmaceutical companies?

The European Union has officially declined to disclose the contracts with the pharmaceutical companies over the COVID-19 vaccines thus violating the right of the people to full transparency about issues directly related with their safety and health.

As 902 portal reported, the EU Parliament group of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) raised the issue during the discussion for “EU's vaccination strategy against COVID-19” in the Parliament's Plenary. In his intervention, KKE MEP Kostas Papadakis asked from the Commission to publish the contracts between the EU and Pharmaceutical industries concerning the COVID-19 vaccines. 

Kerala: Communist-backed LDF alliance wins landslide victory in local body elections

As counting of votes in the local body elections in the Indian state of Kerala is inching towards the final lap, the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) has gained a clear edge in village, block, district panchayats, municipal and corporation councils. 

The LDF, which had won a majority of local bodies in 2015, is poised to either retain its existing numbers or improve its tally further.  

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that it will be a historic election and the Left Democratic Front will win seats even in areas which have not been its strongholds earlier. 

KKE: Greek government's 2021 state budget is a "monument of unpopularity"

The 2021 state budget submitted by the conservative New Democracy (ND) government is a "monument of unpopularity against the working people", said the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Dimitris Koutsoumbas during a speech in the Parliament. 

Koutsoumbas strongly denounced the policies of the government during the pandemic, adding that the measures announced aim at strengthening the capital at the expense of the workers and people's rights. The KKE General Secretary pointed out that ND, opposition party SYRIZA and all the other bourgeois parties in the parliament are "strategically aligned" in the same policy, despite minor differences. 

Questo è il capitalismo: Queues form outside Milan food banks as capitalist crisis deepens

The scenes you are going to see are from Milan, the industrial, commercial and financial center of Northern Italy and one of the Europe's wealthiest cities. Hosting a significant number of large multinational groups (e.g. Amazon, Apple, Coca Cola, HP, Huawei, IBM, Microsoft, Nestle, Samsung, Siemens, Vodafone, Whirpool, etc), Milan has in terms of GDP the second-largest economy in the EU after Paris.

But behind the impressive facade of capitalist growth, there is another Milan which reflects the deepening class inequalities and the results of long-time policies by the bourgeois Italian governments and the European Union. 

Teleconference of the Parties of the European Communist Initiative: "The necessity of Socialism is highlighted every day"

A Teleconference of the full Plenum of the European Communist Initiative (ECI) parties took place on Sunday 13 December.

The following parties participated in the Teleconference: Party of Labour of Austria, Union of Communists in Bulgaria, Socialist Workers' Party of Croatia, Communist Party in Denmark, Communist Workers' Party - For Peace and Socialism (Finland), Communist Revolutionary Party of France, Pole for the Communist Revival in France, Unified Communist Party of Georgia, Communist Party of Greece, Hungarian Workers' Party, Communist Party, Italy, Socialist Party of Latvia, Communist Party of Norway, Communist Party of Poland, Russian Communist Workers Party, Communist Party of the Workers of Spain, Communist Party of Sweden, Communist Party of Turkey, Union of Communists of Ukraine.

EU's stance is a 'green light' for Turkish aggression: Statement by KKE General Secretary Dimitris Koutsoumbas

The outcome of the recent EU Council and its failure to adopt sanctions against Turkey was sharply criticized by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). After hours of decisions, the EU leaders proceeded to the usual verbal condemnations of Ankara's aggression in Eastern Mediterranean but deferred decisions on trade tariffs or arms embargo until they have consultations with the US President-elect Joe Biden and his administration. 

In Athens, the General Secretary of the CC of the KKE Dimitris Koutsoumbas made the following statement:

Who will pay for the crisis? Lufthansa receives $10 billion state bailout and cuts 30,000 jobs

On November 14th we were writing that at least 90,000 people will lose their job by the end of December as a result of mass layoffs by major U.S. airline companies. Aviation giants, such as United Airlines and American Airlines laid off 32,000 workers last October in an attempt to blackmail the U.S. government for higher subsidies.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a serious impact on the aviation industry due to travel restrictions and a significant slump in demand among travellers. No travellers means less profits for the big airliners. In order to reduce losses, the monopolies of aviation proceed to a series of anti-labor measures, including pay cuts, furloughs and, of course, layoffs. 

Polish government's plan to outlaw the Communist Party shall not pass!

By Nikos Mottas.

It's been a long time since Poland, under the far-right government of Andrzej Duda, is driven into a very dangerous, anti-democratic path. With the EU's tolerance, or even encouragement, the authorities of Poland have unleased a persistent “witch-hunt” against the country's communists.

We have many times referred to the persecutions and legal proceedings against the Communist Party (KPP) and its newspaper “Bzrask”. Communist and Workers' Parties across Europe and the world, such as the KKE, have undertaken numerous initiatives in the international forums (e.g. EU Parliament) about these anti-communist persecutions and restrictions imposed by the Polish government. 

Venezuela Elections 2020: The Communist Party (PCV) is back in the National Assembly!

The parliamentary election in Venezuela is over, the people voted and the Communist Party (PCV) is back in National Assembly! Despite facing censorship and blockade by the media, the electoral alliance “Popular Revolutionary Alternative” (APR), backed by the PCV and other political groups, received 2.75% of the votes.

The Communist Party will be represented in the National Assembly by its General Secretary Oscar Figuera who has been elected a deputy.

With a low turnout of 30.5% of eligible voters, Nicolas Maduro's social democratic United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and its allies swept the December 6th parliamentary elections and regained control of the National Assembly. According to the National Electoral Council, the PSUV-lead “Great Patriotic Pole” alliance has gained 68% of the votes and is projected to win at least 189 of the 277-seat assembly. 

John Lennon's Communist Manifesto

John Lennon, the legendary English co-lead singer of The Beatles and one of the most popular songwriters of the 20th century, was murdered 40 years ago, on December 8th, 1980 in New York City.

A vocal opponent of the Vietnam War and a sharp critic of British government's crimes in Northern Ireland, Lennon expressed himself politically through some extraordinary songs. Among these are “Give Peace a Chance”, “Working Class Hero” and “Imagine”. 

India: Communist Party member stabbed to death by right-wing criminals in Kerala

A 52-year-old activist of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was stabbed to death in Kollam district, in the Indian state of Kerala, on Monday 7 December. According to local CPI(M) leaders, the murderers belong to the nationalist, right-wing RSS paramilitary organization.

This is the fourth CPI(M) worker murdered in the state in the last four months.

CPI(M) state secretary in-charge A Vijayaraghavan said the killing was an attempt to disrupt peace ahead of polling for the first phase of today's local body elections.

Swaziland communists struggle for women's rights, denounce Mswati regime autocracy

In the tiny landlocked south African country of Swaziland (also known as Eswatini), the local Communist Party is fighting for democracy, workers rights and women's emancipation against the autocratic monarchical regime of Mswati III. 

In a statement published on December 1st, the Communist Party of Swaziland refers to the deepening crisis in the country, the treatment of women as objects of sexual exploitation and Mswati’s insatiable thirst for splendour. 

Greece: New orgy of governmental authoritarianism and police repression — Statement by KKE leader Dimitris Koutsoumbas

Almost 20 days after the brutal attack of Greek police against a peaceful KKE rally on November 17th, another orgy of police repression and violence took place earlier today in Athens, on the 12th anniversary of the murder of 15 year-old Alexis Grigoropoulos by a special police officer. 

Grigoropoulos had been murdered by special police officer Epaminondas Korkoneas on December 6, 2008. Korkoneas had been convicted to life sentense. However, in 2019, a court reduced his term to just 13 years and, on the basis of the new legal code introduced by the then SYRIZA government, he was ultimately released from prison on July 2019! 

Tudeh Party of Iran: Condemns the murder of nuclear scientist Fakhrizadeh and opposes any foreign intervention

The Tudeh Party of Iran has issued a statement condemning the murder of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh and expresses its opposition to any foreign imperialist intervention in the country. The full statement is the following:

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, head of the Research and Innovation Organisation of the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics, was killed in a terrorist attack in the Absardvicinity of Damavand on Friday, November 27, according to Iranian and international media. Fakhrizadeh, who was involved in research and development activities in the nuclear industry of the Islamic Republic of Iran, had been [a name] cited for several years in relation to the Iranian nuclear issue. 

Letter of the KKE to the National Electoral Council of Venezuela: On the anti-democratic censorship against PCV and APR

In a letter addressed to the President of the National Electoral Council of Venezuela Indira Alfonso, the member of the Political Bureau of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and MP Giorgos Marinos denounces the exclusion of the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) and the Popular Revolutionary Alternative (APR) electoral coalition from public and private media coverage ahead of the December 6th parliamentary elections. 

Read more about the censorship imposed on PCV and APR here. The letter is the following:

Cuba and Vietnam celebrate 60 years of a genuine friendship

Shortly after the successful revolution, on December 2, 1960, the Republic of Cuba, under the leadership of Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro, became the first country in the Western Hemisphere to establish full diplomatic relations with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

This week, Cuban and Vietnamese senior leaders celebrated the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which they described as exemplary.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities: Statement by the World Federation of Trade Unions

Today, December 3, is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The Secretariat of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) issued the following statement:

On the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3, the World Federation of Trade Unions reiterates its support and solidarity with people with special needs and supports their demand for free, public and high quality healthcare which become even more urgent during the Pandemic of COVID-19.

Cuba: Who is behind the San Isidro counter-revolutionary show?

Recently, a small group of U.S-backed mercenaries in Havana, Cuba, tried to stage a despicable anti-Cuban show seeking to destabilize the country. This group of 14 people became the center of a new counter-revolutionary, sponsored and supported by the U.S. government, farce in San Isidro neighborhood in Old Havana.

But who is behind the anti-Cuban show in San Isidro? The following article published in Granma newspaper is revealing:

Who’s behind the anti-Cuban show in San Isidro? 

Friedrich Engels Bicentennial: Joint edition of Marx and Engels selected works to be published by PCM and PCTE

On the occasion of the 200 years since the birth of Friedrich Engels, the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain (PCTE) and the Communist Party of Mexico (PCM) announced their initiative to publish a joint edition of Marx and Engels Selected Works. Read the statement in English and Spanish below:

Being the bicentenary of Friedrich Engels’ birthday, the Communist Party of Mexico (PCM) and the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain (PCTE) consider that it is necessary to contribute to the diffusion of the work that he devoted most of his life to along with Karl Marx.