The following comment, published in the daily newspaper Rizospastis, the organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece, responds to the provocateurs:
“Notorious provocateur Patelis, acting on orders, is once again attempting to slander the KKE. In a new Internet rant, he believes he can achieve his goal, this time by taking advantage of the sudden passing of comrade Ammar Bakdash (Bagdache), General Secretary of the Syrian Communist Party, and asking the insidious question, ‘What did the KKE do to support the sister Communist Party of Syria and protect the life of its Secretary?’.
The KKE has long-standing comradely and internationalist relations with the Syrian Communist Party. It maintained regular contact with Comrade Bakdash, and developed joint actions on issues concerning the international communist movement.
And it couldn’t be otherwise. At an anti-imperialist rally of the party at the Sporting Stadium in Athens in 2015, comrade Ammar Bakdash himself emphasized this when speaking about the KKE: ‘The stable party of principles, the glorious Party that holds the Red Flag high in the sky of glorious Greece, the flag of Marxism-Leninism, the flag of the bright socialist future for the Greek people and the peoples of the whole world. The Red Flag symbolizes proletarian internationalism and the militant solidarity of the proletariat worldwide against capitalist tyranny. The glorious KKE proves its devotion to these ideals day after day.’
The KKE has supported the struggle of the Syrian communists and people in every difficult period, opposing imperialist interventions and attacks by the US, NATO, the EU and Israel. Our party has also strongly condemned the recent imperialist intervention that led to the overthrow of Assad and the establishment of the jihadist regime.
Based on these fraternal and internationalist relations, the KKE hosted comrade Bakdash from the moment he arrived in Athens, following the jihadists’ takeover. The KKE ensured the best possible conditions for his stay, and supported him in every way, thereby further strengthening the comradely relations that he held in such high esteem.
The KKE maintained daily contact with him to address any issues that arose. We exchanged views on international developments and the situation in Syria, and expressed our practical and unwavering solidarity with the struggle of the Syrian Communist Party under conditions of illegality.
With faith and dedication to its internationalist duty, the KKE stood by comrade Bakdash’s side, supporting him politically and legally in his quest for obtaining political asylum. Thanks to these efforts, our comrade obtained an asylum seeker’s card in a short period of time, and gave his first interview on the matter. A second interview was scheduled for the coming days.
The comradely relations that have been built up over the years with the Syrian Communist Party and comrade Ammar Bakdash, under difficult conditions, will continue and no provocateur will be able to disrupt them.”
16/07/25
