General Strike on December 8th in Greece - PAME calls for massive, militant response of the working class

A general, nationwide strike will take place on Thursday 8th December in Greece. Numerous labour unions, confederations and centers, students and women's associations have called for mass participation in the strike, against the policies of the SYRIZA government, the EU and the Capital.

The Government of SYRIZA, with the EU-IMF-ECB, are realizing the demands of the business groups and plan the imposition of: 

Liberalization of massive layoffsNew cut of the-already cut- minimum wage, Abolition of any benefit left, Complete imposition of individual or company based contracts, in order to cut further the average salary, Further imposition of flexible working relations, New cuts in pensions and social security rights, Legalization of employers’ “lockout”, Imposition of new trade union legislation that will abolish the right to strike and destroy trade union rights and freedoms and more measures.

Fidel Castro's funeral - Ceremonia de inhumación de las cenizas del Comandante Fidel Castro (Full Video)

SYRIZA and Golden Dawn- When Social Democracy met with the Nazis

From the left to right: Ilias Kasidiaris (Golden Dawn), Nina Kasimati (SYRIZA), Dimitris Vitsas (Alternate Defense Minister, SYRIZA), Panos Kammenos (Defense Minister, ANEL), Eleni Avlonitou (SYRIZA). 

The islands of Kastelorizo, Ro and Stroggyli in south-eastern Aegean was the destination of a short visit by Greece's Minister of Defense Panos Kammenos, the Chief of the General Staff Admiral V.Apostolakis and 9 members of the Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense. Among the members who accompanied Kamenos were 5 MPs from SYRIZA, 1 MP from the right-wing ANEL (Independent Greeks) party, 1 MP from the Center Union party and 2 members from the Nazi-fascist Golden Dawn! 

The Turkish government escalates provocative rhetoric over Aegean- Comment by the Communist Party of Greece

Rejep Tayyip Erdogan.

Last Wednesday, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu referred to the eastern Aegean Imia islets as “Turkish soil.” Cavusoglu was responding in writing to a question tabled by a Turkish MP regarding the status of islands and islets in the Aegean.

“As long as the AKP is in power there will be no change in the legal and de facto status of islands in the Aegean,” noted Cavusoglu in his statement. 

Cavusoglu’s comments followed comments made by the leader of the Turkish Republican People's Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu in which he accused Greece of occupying 18 islands in the Aegean.

The Greek Foreign Ministry described the comments by Cavusoglu as “irresponsible and provocative” and a violation of international law. In response, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Huseyin Muftuoglu reaffirmed Ankara’s stance. 

“Turkey’s position on her sovereignty over Kardak Rocks [the Turkish name for the Imia islets] is well known by the international community since 1996. There is no change in our policy in this regard.” said Muftuoglu.

"A more humane society is possible!" - Speech by Fidel Castro on May 1st, 2002 at the Plaza de la Revolución

Speech by Comandante Fidel Castro Ruz at the International Workers' Day celebration at the Plaza de la Revolución, in Havana, on May 1, 2002. 

Distinguished guests;

Dear countrymen:

         We were condemned in Geneva by those who believe that this sea of people gathered here, which can be seen from every corner of the globe, has been deprived of its human rights. I am certain that not one of those Latin American countries that promoted, co-sponsored or supported this project could gather even 5 % of the number here in their respective capitals.

         Are these fanatic, ignorant and uncultured individuals who lack any historical or political knowledge? If we were to ask this mass of people if there were any amongst them who could not read or write; or if there were any functional illiterate people who had never studied beyond grammar school, not one person could raise their hand. But if we were to ask how many of this same mass have the education of a ninth grader or above, more than  90 %, would raise their hands. The only ones who wouldn’t raise their hands would be the students who haven’t yet reached their 15^thbirthdays.

THE TRUTH ABOUT SOCIALIST CUBA: Refuting the bourgeois slanders against Fidel Castro

EDITORIAL

The death of Comandante Fidel Castro Ruz on November 25 sparked a barrage of vulgar statements, declarations and comments from various bourgeois sources. Liberals, neoliberals, conservatives, neo-Nazis and other apologists of Capitalism's barbarity tried to vilify Fidel as a "dictator" and Socialist Cuba as a "repressive dictatorship". Of course, the millions of Cuban people, of every age, who took the streets in order to say farewell to Comandante Fidel gave their powerful response to all these anticommunist slanderers. Was Fidel Castro a "dictator", as the bourgeois propaganda argues, or was he a champion of social justice and a hero to millions of people across the world?

KKE: The people must be ready and vigilant - Statement about foreign policy and the Cyprus Issue

Statement of the GS of the CC of the KKE about foreign policy and the Cyprus Issue.

The GS of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumbas, noted the following on 28/11/2016 in his statements on Foreign Policy and the Cyprus Issue:

“The KKE follows with concern the latest developments regarding both Greek-Turkish relations as well as the Cyprus Issue. The KKE expresses its opinion with responsibility and calls on the Greek people to be in a state of readiness and vigilance.

The major everyday problems which afflict our people are expected to worsen in the coming period, as a result of the second “evaluation” and the government's new agreements with its partners in the EU and IMF.

Fidel Castro — How I became a Communist

I was the son of a landowner—that was one reason for me to be a reactionary. I was educated in religious schools that were attended by the sons of the rich—another reason for being a reactionary. I lived in Cuba, where all the films, publications, and mass media were “Made in USA”—a third reason for being a reactionary. I studied in a university where out of fifteen thousand students, only thirty were anti-imperialists, and I was one of those thirty at the end. When I entered the university, it was as the son of a landowner—and to make matters worse, as a political illiterate!

Condemn the unjust prosecution of young communist- member of KNE by the Greek authorities

Information from 'Rizospastis' and 902.gr.

KILKIS- Numerous working class unions, students and women associations, various bodies of the labour-peoples' movement in Greece have condemned the prosecution by the police authorities of a young woman, member of the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE). The KNE member, a student at Thessaloniki's Aristotle Univerity, was arrested on November 7th outside a high school in the city of Kilkis, northern Greece, after a complaint by the school's director. Her "criminal offense" was that she was....discussing with students the organisation of mobilization and struggle against the governmental policy on Education!

Showing primitive anticommunism the Greek authorities arrested the young comrade and appointed a court hearing on December 2nd. The prosecution was immediately denounced by the KKE Kilkis Sectoral Organisation and the KKE MEP Sotiris Zarianopoulos who expressed their protest to the local police department. 

Solidarity with the communists and people of Sudan

Source: inter.kke.gr.

The KKE denounces the anti-people measures that the government of Sudan has taken in coordination with the IMF, which even further worsen the position of the working class and the poor popular strata of the country. 

It salutes the workers’-people’s mobilizations against the anti-people measures, for the social and democratic rights of the people of Sudan and expresses its solidarity with the CP of Sudan. 

We denounce the attempts to repress the people and the CP of Sudan, whose CC’s offices were encircled in the morning today (30/11/2016) by police forces. 

The authoritarianism of the government and the repression of the people’s mobilizations will not succeed!

Hands off the communists!

30.11.2016.

Comandante Fidel Castro - In His Own Words (VIDEOS)

KKE in the European Parliament: Regarding the issue of the new anti-communist law in Bulgaria

Source: inter.kke.gr.

On the 24^th of November 2016 in Bulgaria a "Law for the amending and supplementing of the Law which declares the communist regime in Bulgaria as criminal” was voted upon in first reading, which among other things provocatively provides for the prohibition of the use and placement of  communist symbols and the removal of symbols, slogans, photographs, signs and other marks or objects from the years of socialism from public spaces or, if it is not possible to remove them immediately, the placement of a sign on these which will refer the following: "the communist regime in Bulgaria during the period 09.09.1944 - 11.10.1989 and the actions of the CP of Bulgaria have been declared criminal by a law voten upon by the 38th National Assembly."

Penalties and large fines are also foreseen for those who do not comply, as well as provisions to the Ministry of Education, the universities, schools, the deans, professors and teachers to harmonize school and university books with this unacceptable law.

Thank You Compañero Fidel Castro!

THANK YOU COMPAÑERO FIDEL CASTRO!

By Nikos Mottas*.

"Rights are to be taken, 

not requested; seized, 

not begged for"

- Jose Marti.

After 25^th November 2016 humanity is poorer. The international working class, the people who fiught for a better world, those who believe in a society without exploitation of man by man, are poorer. Along with the proud people of Cuba, the international communist movement mourns the biological death of one of the greatest, the most emblematic revolutionaries of contemporary History. The heart of the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Comandante Fidel Castro stopped beating, marking the biological end of a life of 90 years full of struggles and sacrifices for the ideals of Socialism-Communism, for a Cuba where the people will be the masters of their destiny.

The death of Fidel, as well as the biological deaths of other extraordinary revolutionaries and communists like Lenin, Stalin, Che, Ho Chi Minch, consists a motive for the evaluation of their revolutionary work and legacy. A work and a legacy which are key factors in the formation of the class conciousness of the working class.

Message of the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE) to Cuba's Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas regarding the death of Fidel

The Communist Youth of Greece (KNE), the youth-wing of the KKE, send the following message to the Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas of Cuba on the occassion of Comandante Fidel Castro's death:

"Comrades of the Union of Communist Youth of Cuba,

We extend the sincere condolences of the members and friends of the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE) for the death of Fidel Castro. 

"My beloved Fidel...": Greece's legendary composer Mikis Theodorakis farewells his friend, Fidel Castro

"My beloved Fidel, 

you left us 
and this is the first time 
I disagree with you".

- Mikis Theodorakis, 26/11/2016.

With the above laconic phrase published in his personal website the internationally-renowned Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis, 91, expressed his farewell to the emblematic Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro. 

Theodorakis, composer of numerous masterpieces such as Canto General (Poetry by Pablo Neruda), Axion Esti, Serpico and Zorba, whose musical genius made a decisive contribution to the cultural renaissance of postwar Greece, had the opportunity to meet with Fidel in Cuba and become a friend of the Cuban leader. 

"Hasta Siempre!" From Moscow to Mexico City, people across the world pay tribute to Comandante Fidel Castro

   

Pablo Neruda- Poem for Fidel Castro (Song of Protest)

Poem by Pablo Neruda- Song of Protest.

"Fidel Castro will always live in the historic memory and the collective consciousness of the people of the world"

During his speech in a political and cultural event in honor of the 98 years of the KKE in Athens, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece Dimitris Koutsoumbas referred to the death of Fidel Castro. Secretary Koutsoumbas expressed the condolences of the Central Committee of the KKE for the death of the legendary Cuban leader. The reference to the name of Fidel caused a generous applause from the audience.

KKE's General Secretary said:

"On behalf of the CC of the Party, from our today's event, we would like to publicly express our deep sadness for the death of the leader of the Cuban revolution, cde.Fidel Castro.

We deliver our condolences to the leadership and the members of the CP of Cuba, to the entire Cuban people.

We farewell a lenendary figure, not only of the Cuban people and Latin America, but of the international communist movement.

Communist Party of Greece (KKE): Statement on the death of the leader of the Cuban revolution Fidel Castro

STATEMENT OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE KKE.

In its statement on the death of the leader of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, the Central Committee of the KKE noted:

«The CC of the KKE, with great sadness, bids farewell to the legendary figure of the international communist movement, the leader of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro.

We express our most sincere condolences to the President of Cuba, Raul Castro, the CC of the CP of Cuba and to the entire Cuban people.

Fidel Castro was born in Birán, Cuba, on the 13th of August 1926 and studied law at Havana University. As a student he began to participate in the revolutionary movement against the Batista dictatorship in Cuba, a dictatorship which was also openly supported by the USA.

Fidel Castro (1926-2016) "Hasta La Victoria Siempre!"

ADIOS COMANDANTE FIDEL CASTRO- Communist Parties react to the death of the legendary Cuban revolutionary

Fidel Castro, former president and leader of the Cuban revolution, died Friday night at age 90, Cuban state television confirmed.

Raul Castro, Cuba's President and Fidel Castro's brother, announced that Fidel would be cremated on Saturday. "The commander in chief of the Cuban revolution died 10:29pm tonight," said Castro.

Communist Parties from all over the world react to the death of Fidel / Source: International Communist Press - To be updated.

John Reed- Ten Days That Shook the World (1919) Chapter II "The Coming Storm"

Ten Days That Shook the World.

By John Reed.

CHAPTER II: THE COMING STORM.

In September General Kornilov marched on Petrograd to make himself military dictator of Russia. Behind him was suddenly revealed the mailed fist of the bourgeoisie, boldly attempting to crush the Revolution. Some of the Socialist Ministers were implicated; even Kerensky was under suspicion. (See App. II, Sect. 1) Savinkov, summoned to explain to the Central Committee of his party, the Socialist Revolutionaries, refused and was expelled. Kornilov was arrested by the Soldiers' Committees. Generals were dismissed, Ministers suspended from their functions, and the Cabinet fell.

Kerensky tried to form a new Government, including the Cadets, party of the bourgeoisie. His party, the Socialist Revolutionaries, ordered him to exclude the Cadets. Kerensky declined to obey, and threatened to resign from the Cabinet if the Socialists insisted. However, popular feeling ran so high that for the moment he did not dare oppose it, and a temporary Directorate of Five of the old Ministers, with Kerensky at the head, assumed the power until the question should be settled.

John Reed- Ten Days That Shook the World (1919) Preface & Chapter I "The Background"

Ten Days That Shook the World.

By John Reed.

PREFACE.

This book is a slice of intensified history—history as I saw it. It does not pretend to be anything but a detailed account of the November Revolution, when the Bolsheviki, at the head of the workers and soldiers, seized the state power of Russia and placed it in the hands of the Soviets.

Naturally most of it deals with “Red Petrograd,” the capital and heart of the insurrection. But the reader must realize that what took place in Petrograd was almost exactly duplicated, with greater or lesser intensity, at different intervals of time, all over Russia.

In this book, the first of several which I am writing, I must confine myself to a chronicle of those events which I myself observed and experienced, and those supported by reliable evidence; preceded by two chapters briefly outlining the background and causes of the November Revolution. I am aware that these two chapters make difficult reading, but they are essential to an understanding of what follows.

Reflections on Jack Rasmus’s "Looting Greece: A New Financial Imperialism Emerges"

Reflections on Jack Rasmus’s book Looting Greece: A New Financial Imperialism Emerges.

By Kostas Pateras* / Source: Marxism Leninism Today.

Looting Greece: A New Financial Imperialism Emerges by Jack Rasmus. Atlanta, Georgia: Clarity Press, 2016. $24.95. 312 pp.

The prolonged capitalist crisis in Greece, the intense labour-people's struggles, the dramatic negotiations and contradictions around the Greek debt (for which the Greek people are not responsible), the rise of SYRIZA have all attracted the interest, and this is only natural, of analysts, commentators, journalists, and, of course, ordinary workers from all over the world.

In the last two years in particular, a plethora of books have been published that attempt to analyze these developments and draw conclusions. One such effort is Looting Greece: A New Financial Imperialism Emerges, a recent book by Jack Rasmus, a professor of economics and politics at St. Mary’s College in California, and a writer for Z Magazine and Counterpunch.