India - Bilkis Bano case: Communists vehemently condemn the release of rapists and murderers

Bilkis Bano was five-months pregnant when she was attacked by a Hindu mob in 2002 as anti-Muslim violence gripped the western Indian state of Gujarat. Bano, then 21 years old, was gang-raped by sword-wielding men from her neighborhood. Fourteen of her family members were killed, including her 3-year-old daughter, who was snatched from her arms and bashed against a rock.

A few days ago, on the 15th of August, 11 men serving a life sentence for the crimes were released from prison on remission by the Gujarat state government, sparking widespread outrage and an emotional appeal for justice from Bano. 

The 1968 Prague Spring — Counterrevolution as the “Trojan Horse” of Imperialism

By Nikos Mottas

 

It was August 1968, in the capital of the Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia, Prague, where the internationalist solidarity of the Warsaw Pact countries crushed one of the most significant counterrevolutionary efforts of the Cold War era. The events in Prague consist a milestone in the struggle of the socialist world against imperialism. At the same time, the then events continue serving as a source of anticommunist propaganda by various bourgeois and opportunist forces.

For many decades, the bourgeois historiography- supported by opportunists and counterrevolutionaries (trotskyites, eurocommunists, social democrats, etc.) refers to the “soviet tanks” which, as they argue, “drowned Prague in blood” thus ending prematurely the effort for a “socialism with a human face”.

10th anniversary of Marikana massacre: Statement by the South African Communist Party

On the 10th anniversary of the Marikana tragedy, the South African Communist Party (SACP) reiterates its call for workers and trade unions to unite with each other and together wage the common struggles against exploitation by capitalist bosses and for a capable and accountable democratic developmental state.

The SACP, once again, conveys its message of sincere condolences and solidarity to all the families of the workers who were killed before, during and after that tragic day, 16 August 2012, to the workers who were victimised, attacked and displaced, and to all the women workers who were sexually abused and raped. 

Israel: Communists protested against new Gaza attack

Photo: Zo Haderech.

Protests were held in several locations across Israel last Saturday 6 August against the Israel Defense Forces’ deadly operation ongoing in Gaza, launched a day earlier. 

 

Protests were held in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Shefa-amr, Umm el-Fahm, Sakhnin, Rahat, Kufr Yasif, Jaffa, Taibe and opposite the house of Prime Minister Yair Lapid in Tel Aviv.

At a protest in Haifa, Joint List chairman MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash) said: “A round [of fighting] brings another round, more killing and more resistance. The circle of horror needs to stop. We came out to protest together for the only way that will benefit both nations – real negotiations to end the occupation, founding a Palestinian state alongside Israel and a just peace.”

Sri Lanka protest leader Joseph Stalin released on bail

Sri Lanka trade union leader, General Secretary of Ceylon Teachers Union, Joseph Stalin who was arrested on August 3 has been released on bail.

Upon his release on Monday 8 August, Stalin told reporters that Sri Lanka’s youth-led Aragalaya (Struggle) protests will continue against what he called the suppressive actions of President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government.

Sweden Elections: SKP election campaign in full swing

The electoral campaign is underway in Sweden, with the comrades of the Communist Party (SKP) being in the streets and residential areas thus spreading the message of the class struggle.

According to Riktpunkt, the official newspaper of SKP, members and friends of the Party in various cities, such as Uppsala, Sveg and Burlov, distribute flyers and talk to the people in working class neighborhoods and places of labour. 

KKE expresses solidarity with Cuba's Communist Party and people in face of Matanzas fire

On the occasion of the disastrous fire at the oil facility in Matanzas, the International Relations Section of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) sent a solidarity message to the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). As Rizospastis reports, the message reads:

“Dear Comrades,

Please convey to the Central Committee of the PCC, the government and the people of Cuba our internationalist solidarity for the large fire and destruction caused by powerful lightning at the Matanzas oil facilities.   

Hiroshima Child — Poem by Nazim Hikmet

The poem "Hiroshima Child" (The Little Girl), written by Turkish communist poet Nazim Hikmet in 1956, is a reference to the horror of the most barbaric crimes of the 20th century — the dropping of the atomic bomb by U.S imperialists in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945 respectively. 

The actual aim of the imperialist crime was to intimidate the peoples, to send a “message” to the Soviet Union and to the rising communist movement, as World War II had in fact already ended and the use of nuclear weapons didn’t play a role in its outcome. 

KKE: On the tension between the USA and China

In a statement about the recent escalation of tension between the United States and China over the visit of Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) points out (here in Greek):

“The recent visit of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives in Taiwan, the mobilization of US military forces and the broader tension in the Indo-Pacific, are links in the chain of the dangerous competition between USA and China for the primacy in the global capitalist system. 

Ho Chi Minh's bust to be erected in Greece

A bust in honor of the Vietnamese communist revolutionary and statesman Ho Chi Minh will be erected in the northern Greek town of Edessa, Greece's Foreign Minister announced on Monday during an official visit in Hanoi.

Following a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son, Greek Minister Nikos Dendias wrote on Twitter: “President Ho Chi Minh, the founder of Vietnam, fought on the Macedonian Front in the period ‘16-'17 serving in the French army. We, therefore, agreed that a bust of him should be erected in Edessa to highlight this fact”.

PCV denounces British court ruling that endorses the theft of Venezuelan gold by Guaidó

In a statement issued on June 29th the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) stresses out:

 

"The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) expresses its energetic repudiation of the recent judgment of the High Court of London in favor of the administration of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) illegitimately appointed by Juan Guaidó with regard to the custody of the gold property of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, deposited in the Bank of England.

Thoughts prompted by the film "The Young Karl Marx"

By Nikos Mottas.

“Der junge Karl Marx” (The Young Karl Marx) is a historical drama that covers the revolutionary, theoretical and political activity of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the period from 1843 to 1847. This is the period when Marx and Engels began the joint work which became the foundation of the scientific worldview of the proletariat.

Within the limited framework of a film, Raoul Peck tries his best in order to present both the rich theoretical work of the two revolutionary thinkers as well as their militant activity. Despite the difficulty of the task the director uses effectively the powerful tools provided by cinema as a means of disseminating ideas. 

Iraq Crisis: Communist Party calls for early elections organised by an independent interim government

The Iraqi Communist Party has called for the organisation of fair and honest early elections that express the true will of the Iraqi people, to be organised by an independent interim government.

The Political Bureau of the party said in a statement that it issued yesterday, 27th July 2022: "At a time when the repercussions of the political impasse and their negative repercussions on the stability of the country and people's lives and livelihoods are intensifying, we hold the forces that still adhere to ethno-sectarian power-sharing as a system for managing the state fully responsible. 

Brazil presidential election: Meet the Communist Party candidates Sofia Manzano and Antônio Alves

The Brazilian Communist Party (PCB) has presented its pre-candidates for the presidential election of October 2nd. Sofia Manzano, professor and economist, is the presidential nominee and Antonio Alves, trade unionist, has been selected as the candidate vice president. 

 

The PCB candidates have presented an anti-capitalist political program while engaging in dialogue with workers throughout Brazil about their needs and demands. 

Russia: Communist local deputy fined for appealing to Putin for peace

On May 27th, Communist lawmakers in Russia's far east Primorye region expressed their disagreement over the imperialist war in Ukraine and called President Vladimir Putin to end the military campaign (read here).

We demand the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. We demand an end to military action”, legislative assembly member Leonid Vasyukevich had said during a session. Vasyukevich, member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) back then, said continuing Russia’s three-month campaign in Ukraine “would lead to an imminent increase in military deaths and injuries.” "During a military operation, people become disabled. These are young people who could be of great use to our country," he added.  

Italy: Massive rally in Piacenza against the persecution of trade unionists

With a massive demonstration held in Piacenza, in Italy's northern region of Emilia Romagna, thousands of workers, men and women, people of every age, demanded the release of the eight trade unionists of Si Cobas and USB who remain under house arrest.

The trade unionists were placed under house arrest and searched on July 19th, based on a 350-page indictment of the Piacenza Public Prosecutor’s Office against USB and Si Cobas unions. 

Venezuela: New anti-communist attack against the PCV and the workers' movement

In a statement titled "Fresh anti-communist attack against the PCV and the workers' movement", the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) denounces the new aggression of Venezuela's state authorities against the Party and the workers' mobilizations. 

The full statement reads:

On July 21, the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) was the object of a new aggression that demonstrates the Nicolas Maduro government's repressive escalation against the struggles of the workers' and popular movement that confronts the neo-liberal adjustment and government policies that destroy workers' wages. 

Tudeh Party of Iran: Message of the 7th Congress to the communist and workers parties of the world

Message of the 7th Congress of the Tudeh Party of Iran to the Communist and Workers Parties of the world:  

There needs to be a widening of international solidarity with the Iranian people's struggle for freedom, independence, social justice, peace, and national sovereignty!

Dear Comrades, 

Delegates participating in the 7th Congress of the Tudeh Party of Iran extend their warm fraternal greetings to the communist and workers parties (CWPs) of the world who have supported the struggles of the working-class and working people of our country in defence of peace, progress, and democratic rights and freedoms overt he recent difficult and turbulent decades. 

Ukrainian death-list "myrotvorets" must close down!

By Nikos Mottas.

For almost eight years now, the Ukrainian state fosters and promotes the unacceptable and dangerous targeting of persons who are regarded as “enemies of Ukraine” by the government which emerged after the 2014 coup. 

The targeting takes place through the infamous, Kyiv-based website "myrotvorets.center" (“Peacemaker”) which publishes personal information, including photos, home addresses, social media accounts, etc, of people who are labelled as “persona non grata” by the far-right Ukrainian establishment.

KKE: Hands off the communists of Venezuela! Solidarity with the Communist Party of Venezuela

In a statement, the International Relations Section of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) denounces the attack of Venezuelan police authorities against a workers' demonstration in Caracas and expresses its solidarity with the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) and the country's popular-labour movement. 

Hands off the communists of Venezuela!

Solidarity with the Communist Party of Venezuela and the labour–popular movement of Venezuela

Ukraine and Russia governments unleash attack against workers' rights

Presidents Zelensky and Putin, both enemies of the working class.

In the midst of the imperialist war, the governments of Ukraine and Russia are promoting and implementing bills that undermine the rights of the workers in favor of the big capital.

Ukraine's Parliament Verkhovna Rada has passed two bills that obliterate workers' rights to collective bargaining and other fundamental labor protections, and allow employers to put up to 10% of their workforce on “zero hour” contracts leaving them without any control over their working lives. 

Communist Party of India (Marxist): Growing assaults on people’s livelihood by Modi government

The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New Delhi on July 16. It has issued the following statement:

Growing assaults on people’s livelihood

World Bank data shows that the annual growth of the Indian economy over 2020-22 was a mere 0.8 per cent.

PAME denounces the attempts to criminalise trade union action in Italy

In a statement the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) stresses out: 

In Italy the USB and Si Cobas unions are facing a 350-page indictment by the Piagenza Public Prosecutor’s Office in which the unions and trade unionists are accused of “crimes” such as picketing strikes, protests and mobilisations in the logistics sector. 

On the basis of this indictment, a police operation has been carried out since this morning with searches of trade unionists’ homes and the arrest of 4 USB trade unionists.

George Orwell, an anti-communist traitor

By Nikos Mottas.

A few days ago, the name of George Orwell came to the spotlight during a discussion in the Greek Parliament. In one of their usual dogfights, Prime Minister Mitsotakis and major opposition-Syriza leader Tsipras referred to Orwell's concept of “totalitarianism” in order to attack each other. Mitsotakis quoted the novelist's aversion towards “left totalitarianism”, while Tsipras replied that his party has always been critical towards the actually existing socialism. Their reference to Orwell is no accidental: Despite their particular differences, bourgeois politicians find themselves on the same camp when it comes to anti-communism.