Protests in Greece: Hands Off the 8-Hour Working Day!

With mass rallies in Athens, Thessaloniki and other major Greek cities on Thursday, thousands of working class people expressed their strong opposition to the government's anti-labour draft law.

Under the slogan “the monstrous draft law must be abolished – hands off the 8-hour working day”, a large demonstration took place in downtown Athens, being the prelude of the nationwide strike that will be held on June 10th. 

Turkey: 8th anniversary of the Gezi Park protests

The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) made a statement on the 8th anniversary of the civil resistance that started in Taksim’s Gezi Park in June 2013.

Stating that the June Resistance was a people's movement in which secular and patriotic sensibilities were determinant from beginning to end, TKP drew attention to the fact that the hope and confidence that the people aroused through this resistance were tried to be extinguished in the halls of order politics.

Greek communist mayor declares US ambassador unwelcome

Kostas Peletidis, the communist mayor of Patras, Greece's third largest city, has once again expressed his firm anti-imperialist stance by declaring the U.S. ambassador as “persona non grata”. 

U.S. ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt has been invited by a local newspaper to participate in a conference that will be held on June 3rd. Peletidis, a Communist Party (KKE) member  who has been mayor since 2014, issued a statement saying that the presence of Pyatt in Patras consists a “provocation” that insults the people's peaceful sentiments.

Canada's Communist Party marked its 100th anniversary

On May 28th, the Communist Party of Canada marked its 100th anniversary. Being the second oldest active party in the country, the Communist Party was part of the Comintern (1921-1943) and since 1998 it participates in the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties (IMCWP). 

In its editorial titled "May 28 - a day for all workers to celebrate", the Party's newspaper "People's Voice" points out: 

Biden follows Trump's criminal policy against Cuba

Five months after the governmental change in the United States and the Biden administration maintains the genocidal economic, financial and trade blockade against Cuba. Despite all challenges, Cuba has produced five vaccines that will soon be used in a mass vaccination of their people. 

Apart from the blockade, the Biden administration continues the criminal and shameful policy of its predecessor over the so-called "terrorism-sponsor" accusations against Cuba. 

Large KKE rallies in Greece sent militant message of struggle

A powerful and militant message against the anti-labour policies of the government was sent by thousands of people who participated in the political rallies organized by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) in Athens, Thessaloniki and other major cities on Thusrday afternoon.

In Athens' Syntagma Square, thousands of workers, men and women, self-employed and unemployed people, young students and pensioners, joined their voices against the monstrous anti-labour draft law prepared by the conservative ND government. Dimitris Koutsoumbas, the General Secretary of the CC of the KKE, delivered a speech, sending the message: “We refuse to become slaves in the 21st century! The monstrous anti-labour law must not be submitted!”. 

Africa Day: Statement by the Communist Party of Swaziland

The Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) in celebration of Africa Day 2021 salutes all our African liberation stalwarts for the gallant contributions they made in the anti-colonial struggles over the years. 

 

The CPS also salutes all the revolutionaries daily engaged in taking the African liberation struggle forward, particularly struggles against the subjugation of the African continent to imperialist forces. 

Josep Almudéver Mateu, last fighter of the International Brigades, dies at 101

Josep Eduardo Almudéver Mateu, the last surviving member of the International Brigades who fought against the fascist Franco regime in Spain, died on Tuesday 26 May at the age of 101. 

Almudéver, who was born on 30 July 1919 in Marseille to Spanish parents, was 16 and living in the Valencian town of Alcàsser when Franco’s coup triggered the Spanish civil war.

In 1936, at the age of 17, he enlisted to join the fight in defense of the Republic. He participated in the Aragon front where he was wounded. He was sent home when his true age emerged. However, Almudéver didn't give up. He used his French nationality to join the International Brigades so he could carry on fighting.

Irish communists: The hypocrisy of Western governments knows no bounds

Photo: idcommunism.com

In a statement issued on May 24, 2021, the Communist Party of Ireland (Páirtí Cumannach na hÉireann) points out the following:

"The outrage being expressed by the Government and the minister for foreign affairs is all hot air and downright hypocritical, as is the blustering by the European Union, in regard to the Ryanair flight being forced to land in Belarus and the arrest of Roman Protasevich, a passenger on that Ryanair flight.

Nothing about Belarus can be separated from the aggressive political and military strategy of both the European Union and NATO towards that country and towards Russia.

KKE blasts US and EU interventionist policy in Belarus

Concerning the forced landing of the Ryanair flight (operating the route from Athens to Vilnius) to Minsk and the interventionist plans by the EU and the U.S, in Belarus' internal affairs, the Press Bureau of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) issued a statement (here in Greek). 

The statement reads:

KKE MEPs to EU Commission: What is your position towards Israeli state's aggression?

With a question of the MEPs of the Party, Kostas Papadakis and Lefteris Nikolaou-Alavanos, to the High Representative of Foreign Affairs J. Borrell, the Delegation of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) in the European Parliament denounces the murderous attack of the Israeli state in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip against the Palestinian people, while especially underlining the responsibilities of both the US and the EU.

¡Hasta la victoria siempre, Jesús Santrich!

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army (FARC-EP), today known as "Segunda Marquetalia", reported yesterday the assassination of Jesús Santrich, during a Colombian Army operation in Venezuela. 

Santrich was traveling by a truck in Venezuela when it was attacked by Colombian commandos. "The truck carrying the commander (Santrich) was attacked with rifle fire and grenades," the statement of Segunda Marquetalia said, adding that the Colombian commandos left in a helicopter following the attack.

Chile's Communist Party won Santiago mayor's office

Chile's Communist Party (PC) candidate Iraci Hassler won Santiago mayor's office with 38.8 percent of the votes cast in the subnational elections.

Iraci Hassler will be the second woman to hold this office, which has not been headed by a communist since the end of Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship in 1990.

She was elected as a candidate in the citizen primaries convened by the Santiago's Constituent Mayoralty platform, which brought together over 50 social, political, and women's rights organizations.

KKE and PAME express solidarity with the people of Colombia

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) have expressed their solidarity with the working class and the people of Colombia who are mobilizing against the anti-popular policies of the conservative Duque government. 

In a statement issued on 12 May, the International Relations Section of the CC of the KKE points out:

Kazan school shooting: Statement by the Political Council of the Russian Communist Workers' Party

The mass school shooting occurred on 11 May 2021 in Kazan, Russia, led to the 9 deaths and more than 20 injured, The 19-year-old shooter, Ilnaz Galyaviev, was identified as a former student. 

In a statement titled "Ruthless society gives birth to monsters, the Political Council of the the Russian Communist Workers' Party points out the following:

Livorno port workers refuse to load arms shipment destined for Israel

Dock workers in the Italian port of Livorno refused to load a shipment of weapons and explosives after discovering it was destined for the Israeli port of Ashdod.

L’Unione Sindacale di Base (USB), Italy's independent, class-oriented trade union,  pointed out that the ship contained weapons and explosives that will serve to kill the Palestinian civilians, already hit by a severe attack that has killed hundreds of civilian victims, including many children.

Communist Parties from all over the world express solidarity with the Palestinian people

Communist and Workers' Parties from every corner of the world condemn the criminal Israeli aggression in Gaza and Jerusalem and express their solidarity with the Palestinian people. 

Venezuela: Two Communist Party members were shot dead within 48 hours in Táchira

Within 48 hours, two communists, members of the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) and its youth wing, the Communist Youth of Venezuela (JCV), were brutally murdered at the state of Táchira, close to the borders with Colombia. The names of the slained comrades are Oscar Rankel and Tony Rojas.

Comrade Rankel, also known as Cachú, a member of the Communist Youth of Venezuela (JCV) in the municipality of Bolivar, was shot dead by armed individuals in the middle of the street. The method of the assassination points to the activity of paramilitary groups.

Israeli communists and leftists: STOP THE WAR IN GAZA

Following a call by Hadash - the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality - as well as other pro-peace groups and organizations, hundreds of people demonstrated on Tuesday and Wednesday across Israel, demanding an end to the bombing of Gaza. 

In Tel Aviv, under the slogan "Stop the fire", anti-war demonstrators gathered outside the headquarters of Likud party and demanded an immediate ceasefire. In Jerusalem, the protesters marched to Zion Square where police forces forcibly dispersed them and a young woman was arrested. Similar demonstrations took place in Haifa's Ben Gurion boulevard. 

Communist Party of Sweden: Ready for the 38th Congress

The 38th Congress of the Communist Party of Sweden (SKP) will take place between 13 and 16 of May 2021. Due to the ongoing pandemic situation, the Congress is going to be organized digitally.

"The experience we have gained during our party's long history and the in - depth studies we have organized will allow us to make decisions at our congress, which in turn will open new doors, which will increase the understanding of our history and for our future. The Congress will strengthen the revolutionary movement in our country and it will be an important step for us", reads a statement published at the Party's website.

KKE condemns criminal Israeli airstrikes in Gaza

In a statement issued today the Communist Party of Greece calls Mitsotakis' ND government to stop the military cooperation with Israel and to proceed to the immediate recognition of the Palestinian state. 

In face of the recent Israeli airstrikes in Gaza strip and the escalation of aggression against Palestinians, the General Secretary of the CC of the KKE Dimitris Koutsoumbas made the following statement (here in Greek):

Hadash, Communist Party of Israel condemn attacks against Palestinians in East Jerusalem

Israeli police injured 90 Palestinians on Saturday night, May 8, outside the Damascus Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem, 16 of whom were hospitalized, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, after protesters hurled bottles and rocks at occupation forces and the police responded with stun grenades and water cannon.

Arab-Palestinians protested throughout the country on Saturday over the far-right government’s actions in Jerusalem, including its handling of violent clashes at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Friday and the pending eviction of dozens of Palestinians from the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. 

The memory of the Antifascist Victory does not fade away — Socialism is the future!

Statement by the Secretariat of the European Communist Initiative for the 76th anniversary of the Great Antifascist Victory of the Peoples and the defeat of Nazism. The statement reads:

76 years ago, the Red Army raised the Red Flag in the Reichstag, marking the Great Antifascist Victory of the Peoples and the defeat of Nazism. That was a fierce and bloody struggle, led by the Soviet Union with the decisive contribution of many anti-fascist, partisan movements, with the Communist Parties at the forefront.

Rio de Janeiro massacre: Brazilian Communist Party blasts Bolsonaro's "genocidal government"

"We denounce that an extermination is underway, a racist and elitist policy conducted by the extreme right government of Cláudio Castro in the State of Rio de Janeiro, in alignment with the genocidal government of Bolsonaro and Mourão", reads a statement of the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB) following the massacre in Jacarezinho neighborhood which led to the deaths of 25 people.

"Once again the public security policy, with its logic of confrontation and slaughter, led to panic and fear among the population. The result of this criminal action was the largest slaughter (known) in the history of Rio de Janeiro. Bursts of gunfire, helicopters with snipers, armored vehicles and grenades weaved the morning scenery in Jacarezinho, added to reports of home invasions, assaults and illegal seizures of mobile phones", points out the Rio de Janeiro Regional Committee of PCB.