The 13th Congress of KNE kicked off in Athens

13th Congress of KNE. Photo: 902.gr

Under the slogan “We are the spark that will turn darkness into light”, the 13th Congress of the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE), the youth wing of the KKE, began its works on Friday 10 February in Athens.

The opening of the Congress took place at the KKE headquarters in Perissos, with the participation of 28 Communist Youths and Anti-imperialist groups from all over the world. Among the attendees were representatives from the Embassies of Cuba, Vietnam and the Palestinian Authority, MPs and MEPs of the KKE, the President of the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY), representatives of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), trade unionists, professors, journalists, people of arts, athletes, etc.

Turkey Earthquake: The Communist Party (TKP) on the frontline of solidarity and material aid

From the very first time after the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit southern Turkey and parts of Syria, the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) mobilized all its resources in order to provide aid to the affected people. Members and supporters of TKP participated in rescue teams while others gathered humanitarian aid in numerous cities across the country. 

TKP has issued reports for the days following the earthquake, describing the situation and the role of the Party in providing actual solidarity to the earthquake-hit people.

Ukrainian regime removed the statue of Soviet hero Nikolai Vatutin who liberated Kiev in WWII

The statue of Soviet hero Nikolai Vatunin in Kiev.

In another episode of anti-communist, anti-soviet frenzy in Ukraine, the authorities of Kiev proceeded to the removal of the monument of Nikolai Vatunin, the Soviet General who led the liberation of the Ukrainian capital from the Nazis in World War Two. 

During the Soviet offensive to retake right-bank Ukraine, Vatutin led the 1st Ukrainian Front, which was responsible for the Red Army's offensives to the west and the southwest of Kiev and the eventual liberation of the city. The removal of Vatunin's statue is another link in the chain of the so-called "de-russification" in Ukraine, an anti-communist process that identifies the Soviet Union with capitalist Russia thus leading to the demolition of Soviet-era monuments and memorials (Read: Kiev street renamed to honor neo-Nazi criminals).

Letter to Turkey: “Stay strong my comrade Mehmet”

By Nikos Mottas.

The powerful and destructive earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday brought memories from the 17 August 1999 earthquake (7.6 magnitude earthquake) in Turkey's Kocaeli province, causing approximately 18,000 deaths. 

Two days later, on 19 August, the front page (photo) of the party newspaper of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) “Rizospastis” was reading: “Stay strong my comrade Mehmet”. It was an article written by journalist Pavlos Rizargiotis, emphasizing on the proletarian solidarity expressed by the workers and the people of Greece towards their neighbors. Freely translated, the article, a magnificent sample of internationalist solidarity, was the following:

Stay strong my comrade Mehmet

Greek communist MEPs call the EU to lift sanctions against earthquake-hit Syria

With a letter addressed to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the MEPs of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), Kostas Papadakis and Lefteris Nikolaou-Alavanos, demand the immediate lift of the embargo against Syria.

More specifically, as 902 portal reported, the two KKE eurodeputies write:

Communist Party of Turkey-TKP: Organizing people's solidarity after the earthquake

The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) has released a statement following the powerful earthquake that hit the country early on Monday, February 6, calling on the citizens to grow solidarity.

Dear comrades,

We are in deep grief and very sorry to inform you that the destruction and damage caused by the earthquake seem quite massive.

For a brief information: 

Türkiye — Suriye halkları ile dayanışma | التضامن مع شعوب تركيا — سوريا | Solidarity with the people of Turkey and Syria

Greece's PAME calls for material aid to earthquake-hit people of Turkey and Syria: "You are not alone"

In a statement following the devastating earthquake that hit regions of South Eastern Turkey and Syria, the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) expresses its full proletarian solidarity and calls for the collection of material aid for the earthquake-hit people:

"PAME stands by our brothers and sisters, the workers and the peoples of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and all the neighboring countries affected by the massive earthquake in the morning of Monday, 6 February. We are shocked to see the images, especially from the region at the epicentre of the earthquake, where once again natural phenomena have victimised the poor people.

KKE expresses full solidarity with the earthquake-hit people of Turkey and Syria

Statement by Dimitris Koutsoumbas, General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), concerning the disastrous earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria:

"We express our full solidarity with the peoples of Turkey and Syria, who currently need urgent and coordinated international aid to rescue the missing persons and provide effective support to the people affected by the earthquake. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and our wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured.

Greece: Protest against the presence of USS George W. Bush in Piraeus

Thousands of protesters attended a militant rally organized by the local organization of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) on Saturday in Piraeus, sending a resounding message against the presence of USS “George W. Bush” aircraft carrier in the country's largest port.

With slogans like “neither land nor water to the murderers of the people”, the demonstrators made clear that they won't tolerate the transformation of Greece into a vast US-NATO military base and the country's participation in the warmongering imperialist plans. 

Justice For Tyre Nichols!

The brutal murder of 29-year-old African American Tyre Nichols by five police officers on January 7 in Memphis, Tennessee, brought memories of George Floyd's murder in 2020, sparking nationwide protests against police violence and racial discrimination.

In a statement, the African American Equality Commission of the Communist Party, USA (CPUSA) writes:

The Communist Party USA condemns the recent brutal police killings of Tyre Nichols, Keenan Anderson, Manuel Esteban Paez Teran (aka Tortuguita), and Herman Whitfield III. We demand justice for all victims of police crimes and terror, and an end to police killing Black people and the mentally ill.

Stalin bust unveiled in Volgograd to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Stalingrad victory

A new bust of Soviet leader Josef Stalin has been unveiled in the Russian city of Volgograd ahead of Wednesday's 80th anniversary of the Red Army's victory over Nazi invaders in one of the most significant battles of World War Two.

The bust is flanked by two others - legendary Soviet commanders Georgy Zhukov and Alexander Vasilyevsky - beside the Museum of the Battle of Stalingrad - Volgograd's name from 1925 to 1961, the local news outlet V1.RU reported on Tuesday. 

KKE: Resolution of the Central Committee on the political developments and the upcoming elections

Resolution by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) on the political developments and the upcoming electoral battle:

1. The Central Committee of the KKE met and agreed on the Party’s programme of action for the following period, based on the political and economic developments and with a view to the upcoming battle of the parliamentary elections.

It approved the main body of the Party’s candidates in the parliamentary, regional and municipal elections and elaborated key issues concerning the content of the political call in view of the election battles. 

France: Workers protest against government's pension reform in the largest mobilizations of the last 20 years

Huge crowds marched across France on Tuesday to say "non" to President Emmanuel Macron's plan to make people work longer before retirement. 

According to the estimations of Trade Unions, yesterday's mobilization in Paris is the largest since 2000. 

The French Interior ministry said that a total of 1.272 million people took part in the protests nationwide, up slightly from the first nationwide demonstration on Jan 19. In Paris, a total of 87,000 people marched, compared to 80,000 on Jan. 19, it added.

Spanish communists denounce PSOE-Unidas Podemos government for sending weapons to Ukraine

Statement by the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain (PCTE): 

On the Confirmation of the Delivery of Heavy Weaponry to Ukraine by the Spanish Government

After the authorization by the German Government to deliver Leopard armored car models to the Ukrainian Army, the Spanish Government has immediately announced that our country will collaborate in the delivery of some dozens of its own A4. 

Mass event of the KKE in Thessaloniki

On Saturday 28/01, the “Palais des Sports” stadium in Thessaloniki was filled with thousands of toiling people of all ages who responded to the invitation of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and participated in the mass political-cultural event of the Party Organization of Central Macedonia of the KKE. The speech was delivered by Dimitris Koutsoumbas, GS of the CC of the KKE.

The event highlighted the positive impact of the KKE’s call to the people to turn the page and write their own story, focusing on their needs.

Grover Furr: Message for Nikos Mottas' book on Stalin and Anti-communism

Message sent by Professor Grover Furr on the occasion of the presentation of Nikos Mottas' book titled "Yes, but Stalin..." in Athens:

"I am glad to hear that Nikos Mottas’ book exposing and opposing the attacks on the Soviet Union, especially on the period of Soviet history when Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Communist Party and, for some period, of the government of the Soviet Union.

Communist Party of the Workers of Spain: Assessment of the three years of PSOE-UP coalition government

Statement of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain (PCTE): Adopted by the 6^th Plenary Session of the Central Committee

January 14^th, 2023

Assessment on the Three Years of the Government of Social Democratic Coalition

On December 30^th, 2019 Pedro Sánchez and Pablo Iglesias signed the “progressive coalition” agreement that led, in January 2020, to the inauguration of the first Spanish Government of coalition after the Transition with Pedro Sánchez as Prime Minister.

Czech historians indicted for challenging the official narrative on the Katyn massacre!

Josef Skála

On 31 October 2022, Tomáš Hübner, single judge of the Prague 7 District Court, sentenced Josef Skála, a well-known Marxist intellectual and former vice-president of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM), together with Vladimír Kapal, and Juraj Václavík, all three indicted, to eight months’ imprisonment, under Article 405 of the Criminal Code of the Czech Republic, for having challenged the version attributing the Katyn massacre (the killing of thousands of Polish prisoners of war on the territory of the USSR, occupied by the Wehrmacht in the summer of 1941) to the Soviet leadership.

KKE MEPs: On the “creation of a special tribunal for Russia” - The peoples must judge and condemn the imperialist war

MEPs OF THE KKE 

On the “creation of a special tribunal for Russia” - The peoples must judge and condemn the imperialist war

A resolution on the “creation of a special tribunal for Russia” was adopted on 19/1/23 by the People’s Party, the Social Democrats, the Liberals, the Greens and far-right groups in the European Parliament. The 2 KKE MEPs voted against it.

In a statement on the resolution, the MEPs of the KKE stress the following:

Venezuela: The PCV is in the streets to confront the anti-popular policies of the Maduro government

"The PCV is in the streets, fighting for the construction of the broadest unity of action to confront the offensive of capital and its allies in Miraflores," affirmed Janohi Rosas, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Venezuela, during a press conference this Monday.

The statements coincided with a new national day of protest by the education workers, who had planned to gather outside the Ministry of Education but had to concentrate in the surroundings of the Central University of Venezuela after the National Government ordered a last minute partisan act to avoid the protest.

KKE condemns the murder of Latif Afridi in Pakistan

Abdul Latif Afridi, prominent jurist, former member of the CC of the Communist Party of Pakistan and former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, was murdered by a lawyer inside the Peshawar high court. 

 

The gunman fired six shots at 79-year old Afridi's chest from less than a foot away, a witness said.  

 

Latif Afridi was a staunch human rights defender, leaving behind a significant legacy of decades-long struggles for democracy and the people's rights. 

Trade unionist leader Muhammad Shaban Azouz dies

Muhammad Shaban Azouz, prominent trade unionist leader from Syria and former President of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), died on Monday in Damascus, aged 70. 

Azouz, a native of Aleppo, was a long-time member of the central leadership of Al-Baath Arab Socialist Party.

In a statement, the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) stresses out:

"With great sorrow, the WFTU informs about the passing away of comrade Mohammad Shaban Azouz who served as president of the WFTU.

Dutch communists: "The Netherlands should not be a transit port for the US military"

The New Communist Party of the Netherlands (NCPN) and the Communist Youth Movement (CJB) condemn the dangerous decisions of the Dutch government to make the port of Vlissingen and Dutch territory available as a transit port for a huge transport of heavy military equipment of the US army.

At Vlissingen port, 1,275 US tanks, armoured vehicles and other military equipment are currently being unloaded and transported across Dutch territory to Poland and Lithuania. They are destined for a US land force unit, which will be stationed there to further increase pressure on Russia.