British communists say "No to Putin's war, no to NATO"!

Britain's Communists have reiterated their opposition to Russian president Putin's invasion of Ukraine and urged people to step up the campaign for a ceasefire and a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

'The working class and peoples of Ukraine, Russia and elsewhere will not be the winners of this war', Carol Stavris told the Communist Party's executive committee at the weekend. The CP women's organiser highlighted the huge and lasting impact of the Russian offensive on hundreds of thousands of women and children fleeing Ukraine.

D. Koutsoumbas: "The people of Ukraine have become a punching bag among ruthless imperialists"

On 14 March, Dimitris Koutsoumbas, GS of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), delivered a speech at a political rally in Corinth, noting, among other things: “More than 10 years have passed and the Greek people are still paying for the successive capitalist crises with impoverishment, three memoranda, and hundreds of anti-popular and anti-labour laws. They also pay for the recovery by constantly making new sacrifices to shield the profitability of a few business groups.

Now they are being told that they must pay the price of Greece’s participation in imperialist war. To pay ‘the price of participation in the war for freedom’, as the Prime Minister, K. Mitsotakis, said.

Putin is one of yours, western hypocrites!

The following comment was first published in "Rizospastis", the daily newspaper of the CC of KKE, under the title "Putin is one of their own":

All those who today denounce Putin's “authoritarianism”, in order to cover up their crimes against the people, are the same ones who were celebrating when a “liberal” and “democrat” was taking over as Russia's Prime Minister back in August 1999, at the behest of the then President Yeltsin who played a key role in the dissolution of the former USSR in line with US-NATO imperialism.

Austria: Marxist-Leninist youth front was formed

In March 2022 the new youth organisation of the Party of Labour Austria will start its activities. It bears the name "Youth Front of the Party of Labour" (in short: Youth Front; German: Jugendfront) and functions as a Marxist-Leninist organisation of working and learning youth and young people in Austria. 

 

The first step is the founding campaign "Youth in a common front - get organised!". Youth and young people are to be addressed, politicised and organised with the campaign. It will conclude with the founding congress, which is expected to take place in autumn 2022. 

Ukraine: Communist Youth Union members beaten badly, remain detained in Kiev

Mikhail and Aleksander Kononovich, both members of the Leninist Communist Youth Union of Ukraine are still alive, according to updated information given by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY).

More specifically, a recent post by the WFDY reads: 

"Finally, after 6 days without any news, we have received an update on the situation of comrades Kononovich. 

-They are arrested in a pre-trial detention centre in Kiev. 

Russian communist lawmakers condemn Ukraine war

 Oleg Smolin, Mikhail Matveyev, Vyacheslav Markhaev

Three Communist Party members of the Russian Duma, Oleg Smolin, Mikhail Matveyev and Vyacheslav Markhaev have expressed their condemnation for the military attack against Ukraine. 

 

Despite the official position of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) which views positively the government's war campaign, the three lawmakers joined the anti-war movement in Russia by publicly denouncing the launching of a full-scale war by President Vladimir Putin. 

The stance of the communists towards the imperialist war in Ukraine

By Nikos Mottas.

The inter-imperialist confrontation between the Euro-Atlantic powers (USA, NATO, EU) and Russia in Ukraine inevitably brings to the fore serious ideological-political disagreements and chronic contradictions that exist in the international communist movement.

The Russian invasion and the war in Ukraine emphatically highlights the misconception that exists in part of the communist movement concerning the issue of imperialism. A number of self-proclaimed “communist” forces are either unable, or deliberately avoid, to conceive imperialism through Leninist criteria. Instead, they disconnect economy from politics, overlook the fact that the competition between the monopolies is the basis for the sharpening of international conflicts and focus unilaterally on the aggressive foreign policy of specific states and alliances (e.g. USA, NATO, EU). 

KKE in EU Parliament: Urgent question about the arrest of Kononovich brothers in Ukraine

With a question submitted to the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, the European Parliament Group of the  Communist Party of Greece (KKE) denounces the arrest of the two members of the Leninist Communist Youth Union of Ukraine, Mikhail and Aleksander Kononovich (read here) and demands from the EU Commission to express its position on the issue of anti-communist persecutions in the country. 

More specifically the urgent question submitted by the KKE MEP Kostas Papadakis reads:

Women's Day 2022: Statement by the World Federation of Trade Unions

In a statement about the Working Women's Day, the Secretariat of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) stresses out:

8 March 1857 – 8 March 2022: 165 years later

165 years ago, when the women workers in the New York textile mills, on March 8, 1857, went on strike and demonstrated for “ten-hour work, bright and sanitary workrooms, wages equal to those of male textile workers and tailors”, they certainly did not imagine that in 2022 all these demands would still be demanded.

War and the dirty role of social democracy

From left to right: Olaf Scholz, Alexis Tsipras, Pedro Sanchez.

The following article is based on a piece published in the weekend edition (5-6 March, 2022) of "Rizospastis", the daily newspaper of the CC of KKE, under the title "Social democracy's dirty job in times of war":

“If you had picked up the phone to call the party leaders, I might have told you my opinion, but not now after the fact, like the other political leaders. I would tell you that it would be better to send humanitarian aid, it would be better to send non-lethal equipment, like Spain and Italy did”. 

Alert: Ukrainian authorities arrested Communist Youth leader and his brother

In an urgent statement posted in social media accounts the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) points out:

"The First Secretary of our Ukrainian member organisation, the Leninist Communist Youth Union of Ukraine, Mikhail Kononovich, and his brother, Aleksander Kononovich, have been arrested by the Ukrainian neo-fascist regime during the last hours. 

 

They have been accused of being Russian and Belarusian spies. They will be possibly murdered in the following hours.

Cuba to host the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties in 2022

Havana, Cuba's capital city, will be the hosting place of the 22nd International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties (IMCWP) on October 27-29, 2022. 

According to 902 portal, the decision was taken in yesterday's session of the Working Group of IMCWP in Lisbon, under the participation of 25 Communist and Workers Parties, 

Statement by the Cuban Government on Ukraine war

In a statement issued on February 26th, two days after the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the Revolutionary Government of Cuba stressed out the following:

"The U.S. determination to continue NATO’s progressive expansion toward the Russian Federation’s borders has brought about a scenario with implications of unpredictable scope, which could have been avoided. 

European Communist Initiative on Ukraine war

In a statement on the recent Russian invasion in Ukraine, the Secretariat of the Initiative of Communist and Workers Parties stresses out the following:

"Three decades after the dissolution of the USSR and the imperialist war in Yugoslavia, a new war broke out on European territory. The unacceptable Russian military intervention and invasion of Ukraine has been prepared all the previous years through the USA, NATO, and EU intervention, their support for the reactionary government of Kyiv, the paramilitary mechanisms andfascist groups in Ukraine as well as the plan for the economic, political, and military encirclement of Russia.

KKE condemns blocking of "Russia Today" and "Sputnik" transmission in Greece

In a statement issued today the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) condemns the ban on the transmission of “Russia Today” and “Sputnik” news networks in Greece, calling it an “unacceptable and dangerous action”. The KKE also points out that the sanctions on RT and Sputnik is part of an effort to enforce the propaganda and fake news directed by the Euro-Atlantic side.
 
More analytically the KKE statement (here in Greek) reads: 

KKE leader Koutsoumbas blasts PM Mitsotakis on Greece's involvement in Ukraine war

The government of the right-wing ND party with the support of the other bourgeois parties of the social-democratic “left” SYRIZA and the also social-democratic KINAL/PASOK proceeds with the deeper involvement of Greece in the ongoing imperialist war in Ukraine, always on the side of the USA–NATO–EU. This was apparent in the discussion between the leaders of the political parties in the Plenary Session of the Parliament on 1 March 2022.

In his speech, Dimitris Koutsoumbas, GS of the CC of the KKE, stressed, among other things, the following:

South African Communist Party condemns racism and discrimination against Africans in Ukraine

In a statement, the South African Communist Party (SACP) condemns the disrespectful attitudes unleashed recently against African people by state actors and others in Ukraine. 

 

The statement also slams NATO aggressive expansion eastwards and calls all parties involved to work towards a peaceful resolution in the situation.  

 

More specifically, the statement of the SACP reads: 

KKE MEPs reject EU Parliament's resolution on Ukraine

The MEPs of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) voted against the European Parliament's resolution “On the Russian aggression against Ukraine” because it moves in the - dangerous for the people- direction of escalation of the EU-NATO-US conflict with capitalist Russia. 

 

The resolution promotes the directions of increasing the aggression of the EU and its monopoly groups it represents in the imperialist war that is taking place on Ukrainian territory. It calls for a new round of EU sanctions against Russia, including blocking her from the ports of EU member-states. 

Dimitris Koutsoumbas: No to imperialist war! Greece’s involvement must stop immediately!

On 27/2/22, the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) organized an event in the city of Lamia in honour of the 80 years of the Greek People’s Liberation Army (ELAS), which was the military wing of the National Liberation Front (EAM). Both EAM and ELAS were founded following a decision of the KKE and fought against the fascist triple foreign occupation (German, Italian, and Bulgarian) of Greece during the imperialist Second World War.

The event took place in Lamia, the native city of Aris Velouchiotis, leader of ELAS and cadre of the KKE.

Communists of Sweden and Finland: "We do not choose between imperialists; we choose socialism!"

In a joint statement on the developments in Ukraine, the Communist Parties of Sweden (SKP) and Finland (KTP) point out the following:

"We do not choose between imperialists; we choose socialism!

"The undersigned communist parties in Sweden and Finland state, in the face of mounting contradictions in the region in and around the Ukraine, that we refuse to choose between the rival imperialist powers.

KKE blasts Greece's military aid to Ukraine

Following a decision by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece will send to Ukraine two C-130 with military equipment thus advancing its involvement in the imperialist war. 

In a statement about Greek Government's decision to send military aid to Ukraine, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) points out:

“By sending military equipment to Ukraine in the framework of NATO's directions, the Government of ND upgrades the country's involvement in an imperialist war that is unfolding with unpredictable dimensions and great dangers for the people. 

Russian Communist Workers' Party on Ukraine war

In a statement titled “No to fascism! No to imperialist war”, the Russian Communist Workers' Party (RCWP) refers to Russia's invasion in Ukraine, stressing out that the actual aims of Vladimir Putin's government is to “strengthen the position of imperialist Russia in the world market competition”.

“Neither the Russian authorities nor the US and EU leaders pay much attention to the working people. We have no doubt that the real aims of the Russian state in this war are imperialistic”, the statement of the RCWP states. The Party acknowledges that “the source of the conflict is the inter-imperialist contradictions between the US, the EU and Russia”, adding that “the goal of the more powerful US imperialism is to weaken its Russian competitor and expand its infuence in the European market”. 

Joint statement by KKE and TKP for the 70 years since the accession of Greece and Turkey to NATO

Joint statement by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) on the 70th anniversary of the accession of Greece and Turkey to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The statement reads:

"Seven decades ago, Greece and Turkey joined the imperialist organization NATO, established by the United States and its Western European allies.

PCTE: No to imperialist war! No a la guerra imperialista

Statement of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain (PCTE): NO TO IMPERIALIST WAR!

The conflict between imperialist powers and blocs has entered a new stage with the start of direct military actions by the Russian Federation against military targets on Ukrainian territory. In these difficult times, when there is a serious risk of the outbreak of a widespread imperialist war, the Political Bureau of the PCTE sends the following reflections to workers and to the ensemble of our people:

"There is no good imperialist": Greek communists send a powerful message against the war in Ukraine

Thousands of workers, youth, people of every age participated in a large anti-imperialist, anti-war rally organized in Athens by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and its youth wing KNE on Friday afternoon.

Under the slogan "No to the imperialist war - Stop Greece's involvement", the protesters sent a powerful message against the war in Ukraine, denouncing the Russian invasion and the dangerous warmongering US-NATO-EU plans in the region. 

Mobilizations were staged in the Embassies of the Russian Federation and the United States in Athens. 

World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU): Statement on Ukraine war

In a statement about the developments in Ukraine, the Secretariat of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) points out:

In 1999, at the heart of Europe, NATO, the USA, the EU, and their allies bombed Yugoslavia. Today, in 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine in an unfair and destructive war.  Nevertheless, where are hidden all those who in 1991 were trying to persuade all the peoples that the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the overthrows in the countries of Eastern Europe were taking place in favor of international security and global peace?

UKRAINE WAR: Joint Statement of Communist and Workers’ Parties — No to the imperialist war!

No to the imperialist war in Ukraine!

An independent struggle is needed against monopolies and bourgeois classes, for the overthrow of capitalism, for the strengthening of the class struggle against imperialist war, for socialism!

1. The Communist and Workers’ Parties signing this Joint Statement are opposed to the imperialist conflict in Ukraine, which constitutes one of the consequences of the tragic situation for the peoples shaped after the overthrow of socialism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Both the bourgeois and the opportunist forces, which for years have fought against the USSR and recently celebrated the 30^th anniversary of its dissolution, silencing the fact that the restoration of capitalism meant the dismantling of historic workers’ and people’s achievements and brought the peoples of the USSR back to the era of class exploitation and imperialist wars, are completely exposed.

KKE: STATEMENT ON THE RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE

30 years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the overthrow of socialism, which many hailed because it would supposedly make the world more “peaceful” and “safe”, one more imperialist war broke out in European territory, after the war in Yugoslavia and elsewhere.

The formal beginning of the war is the despicable Russian military intervention and invasion of Ukraine; however, the region has been sitting on a powder keg for many years now.

KKE: No to Greece's involvement in US-NATO plans in Eastern Europe

Following the rapidly escalated situation in Ukraine and the Greek government's siding with the US-NATO-EU alliance against Russia, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) issued today a statement underlining that the country's involvement in the imperialist plans pose great dangers for the Greek people. 

More specifically, the KKE statement (here in Greek) reads:

Stalin statue erected by residents in Georgian village

No matter how hard the anti-communist and anti-soviet propaganda tries to slander him, the name and legacy of Joseph Stalin remains respected by the majority of people in the former USSR Republics. His native Georgia couldn't be an exception.

Recently, despite the objections of local authorities, residents in the Georgian village of Varani, in Gori municipality, erected a monument dedicated to the legendary Soviet leader. 

Communist Party of Turkey: "Socialism and not Russian nationalism is the antidote to NATO expansionism"

In a statement about the recognition of independence of the so-called "People's Republics" of Donetsk and Luhansk by the Russian government, as well as the anti-communist, nationalist remarks of President Putin, the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) points out:

"Imperialism is an order of destruction and war. For every bourgeois government that tries to get an upper hand for itself in this rotten order and to expand its sphere of influence, it also means that it aims at the oppression of other peoples. The crutches of expansionist policies are nationalism, racism, and chauvinism. This is the meaning of Putin’s statements made yesterday on the recognition of the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics.

KKE: On the recognition of the so-called "People's Republics" of Donbass by Russia

Following Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement about the recognition of "independence" of the so-called "People's Republics" of Donetsk and Luhansk, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) issued a statement (here in Greek).

 

The statement of the KKE reads:

"The decision of the Russian Federation to proceed to the recognition of the so-called “People's Republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk which seceded from Ukraine in 2014, in the Donbass region, is another step that complicates even further the situation in the region and leads to the escalation of imperialist competitions, in the context of the confrontation of the US, NATO and EU with Russia. 

Italy: 200,000 students in the streets declared "No to the school of capitalists!"

"No to the school of capitalists", reads the banner.

On Friday 18th of February, under the slogan "No to the school of capitalists", approximately 200,000 school pupils held massive protests in more than 40 cities across Italy, demanding the government to end the obligatory work placements in the last three years of school.

The demonstrations, in which the Front of Communist Youth (Fronte dela Gioventú Comunista) has a leading role, were triggered after a student, 16-year-old Giuseppe Lenoci, died in a road accident on Monday while he was on board a truck for a school-work internship. 

Fidel Castro — NATO’s Genocidal Role

In October 2011, Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz wrote an article, divided in four parts, under the title "NATO's Genocidal Role". In his article, the emblematic Cuban leader reflects on the role of the North Atlantic imperialist alliance on the occasion of the then NATO military intervention in Libya. 

Read Fidel Castro's full article below:

NATO's Genocidal Role

KKE: "ALERT! NO PARTICIPATION OF GREECE IN THE WAR"

In face of the escalation of conflict between the Euro-Atlantic powers and Russia in Ukraine the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), as well as its youth wing KNE, mobilizes against any participation of Greece in the dangerous warmongering plans of USA-NATO-EU against Russia. 

 

In a poster issued on Saturday, the KKE expresses a warning about the dangerous situation in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. 

23rd Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist): Extracts from the Draft Political Resolution

Following a decision by the Central Committee, the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) will take place in Kannur, Kerala, between 6 and 10 April 2022. 

 

The Party has published the Draft Political Resolution (click here for the full text) for the upcoming Congress, extracts of which you can read below:

70 years of Greece's NATO membership: A black anniversary

By Nikos Mottas.

The 18th February marks a black anniversary for the Greek people. It was 70 years ago, in 1952, when the Greek Parliament ratified Greece's accession in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the infamous imperialist alliance of NATO. 

This anniversary comes in a period when the imperialist competitions in Ukraine have reached a very critical stage and the clouds of a generalized military confrontation are gathering over the broader region. 

European Communist Initiative: "Capitalism is responsible for Covid pandemic casualties"

In a statement, the Secretariat of the Initiative of Communist and Workers' Parties (European Communist Initiative) stresses out:

The Covid-19, which was first detected in late 2019 and declared as a worldwide pandemic in March 2020, has been going on for almost two years. During this period, 271 million people were infected, and more than 5 million people died due to Covid-19. The vast majority of deaths have been in the United States, which has the most market-oriented healthcare system in the world; however, “developed” European countries with big economies also lead the ranking of deaths.

KKE votes against the new large armament programme, calls for Greece's disengagement from NATO-EU

On 15/2/22, the Plenary Session of the Greek Parliament approved the bill submitted by the Ministry of National Defence regarding the purchase of three French “Belharra” frigates and six “Rafale” jets (in addition to the already acquired eighteen ones). Right-wing ND, social-democratic KINAL/PASOK, and right-wing Elliniki Lysi (Greek Solution) voted in favour of the bill while social-democratic SYRIZA voted “present”.

This is another large armament programme integrated into the criminal USA–NATO–EU plans in which the local bourgeoisie is actively participating to enhance its role and business in the wider area while ND, SYRIZA, and the other bourgeois parties, despite their remarks on specific points, support its interests.

On the escalation between Euro-Atlantic powers and Russia

 By Eliseos Vagenas.

In the past weeks, the confrontation between USA–NATO–EU and Russia is sharpening, focusing on the developments in Ukraine. The verbal and diplomatic confrontation is accompanied by troops movements and major military drills by both sides as well as secret diplomacy.

This is not about the “Golden Fleece”

Today, it appears improbable that the peoples would enter a war and shed their blood for the “Golden Fleece” or “Helen of Troy”; however, the pretexts utilized to feed the monster of imperialist war have far from ceased.

A Leninist approach to the inter-imperialist clash in Ukraine

By Nikos Mottas.

 

“The working class”, V.I Lenin was stressing out, “in case it is conscious, will not support any group of imperialistic predators” (1). More specifically, concerning the stance of the workers' movement towards imperialists, he was using the following characteristic example:

 

“A country, let us say, possesses three-fourths of Africa, whereas another possesses one-fourth. A repartition of Africa is the objective content of their war. To which side should we wish success? It would be absurd to state the problem in its previous form, since we do not possess the old criteria of appraisal: there is neither a bourgeois liberation movement running into decades, nor a long process of the decay of feudalism. It is not the business of present-day democracy either to help the former country to assert its “right” to three-fourths of Africa, or to help the latter country (even if it is developing economically more rapidly than the former) to take over those three-fourths. Present-day democracy will remain true to itself only if it joins neither one nor the other imperialist bourgeoisie, only if it says that the two sides are equally bad, and if it wishes the defeat of the imperialist bourgeoisie in every country. Any other decision will, in reality, be national-liberal and have nothing in common with genuine internationalism. [...] In reality, there can now be no talk of present-day democracy following in the wake of the reactionary imperialist bourgeoisie, no matter of what “shade” the latter may be“ (2).

Ukraine Crisis: Statement by the World Peace Council

The World Peace Council (WPC) expresses its deepest concerns about the escalating tensions in Eastern Europe and particularly around the Ukraine, caused primarily by the growing aggressive expansion of NATO towards Eastern Europe, its massive deployment of troops from the Baltic Sea to Bulgaria, and creating a belt aiming at the encirclement of the Russian Federation.

Since the coup d’état of 2014 in Kiev and the takeover of the government by reactionary and pro-NAZI forces sponsored by the USA, NATO and the European Union, NATO has been planning and implementing its further expansion aiming at the integration of the Ukraine into the biggest war machine which has committed wars, crimes and coups throughout its history.

Brazilian Communist Party launches Sofia Manzano as pre-candidate for 2022 presidential election

In a statement, the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB) announced that Sofia Manzano will be its pre-candidate for the presidential elections that are scheduled to take place on 2 October 2022. 

 The full statement in English and Portuguese is the following:

The Central Committee of the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), meeting this weekend, decided to launch professor Sofia Manzano as a pre-candidate for the presidency of the Republic. Economist, PhD in Economic History from USP and PCB activist since the age of 17, Sofia Manzano is a professor at the State University of Southwest Bahia (UESB) and has a long trajectory in the struggles of youth and the trade union movement. 

KKE condemns the murder of two Greek expats in Ukraine

In a statement, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) condemns the murder of two Greek expatriates and the injury of two others by Ukrainian troops in the village Graninta in Eastern Ukraine. 

According to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, those responsible for the double homicide are three soldiers of the Ukrainian army, who argued with the Greeks over a trivial cause. The statement (here in Greek) of the Communist Party reads: 

14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Australia

The Communist Party of Australia (CPA) celebrates its 14th National Congress on 25-27 February 2022 with the slogan “Build the Party for a Socialist Future”. 

The slogan recognises the strategic role of the Communist Party in the seizure of power and the building of socialism.

The CPA turned 101 years of existence on 30th October 2021 and we continue to be committed to build on the experience accumulated over a century of struggle for the Australian working class.

Communist Party of Canada on "Freedom Convoy": A far-right, dangerous movement for the working class

In a statement about the so-called "Freedom Convoy", the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party of Canada points out:

Communist Party of Canada views the “Freedom Convoy” as a public expression of the increasingly organized and assertive far right. The clear links between the organizers of the convoy and far-right networks indicate that this is not a spontaneous working-class demonstration. On the contrary, it is part of a global phenomenon: the rise and mainstreaming of the far right, which is demonstrated by the strong support (ideologically and financially) from the US far right and circles close to Donald Trump and the Jan. 6th insurrection.