Russia: Communist Party gets big boost in elections

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) is considered the big winner of the 2021 legislative elections despite the victory of Vladimir Putin's governing United Russia party.  

 

Russian authorities have been accused of large-scale vote rigging in the election process over the weekend, while the Kremlin denies the allegations.

With 95.05% of the voting results processed, CPRF gains 19.20% of the votes, while the United Russia party secures 49.63% of the ballots on the party list to the State Duma (lower house of parliament).

Thousands of people attended KNE Festival in Thessaloniki

It was one of the largest festivals organized by the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE) in Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, during the last 30 years. Thousands of people of every age visited the KNE-Odigitis Festival which was organized on September 16-18 at the open space of Karatasou multidisciplinacy park under the slogan "live, dare, move on - for the society of true freedom, Socialism".

The General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Dimitris Koutsoumbas visited the festival on Thursday 16 September, while the central political event took place on Friday with a speech delivered by the KKE Political Bureau member Kyrillos Papastavrou. 

"No to AUKUS, war and imperialism", says Britain's YCL

The Central Committee of the Young Communist League of Britain (YCL) has issued the following statement in response to the announcement of the new AUKUS (Australia-UK-US) nuclear aggression pact.

The YCL completely opposes the reckless and aggressive actions of Boris Johnson’s Tory Government, at the command of their US puppet masters in the White House and the Pentagon, to create a new hostile pact aimed at attacking China and exerting imperialist control over South East Asia.

Anti-imperialist protest against NATO Military Committee summit in Athens

“Neither soil nor water to the murderers of the people”. With this slogan, thousands of working men and women, trade unions, the Greek Committee for International Detente and Peace (EEDYE), the Federation of Greek Women (OGE) and students' unions marched on Friday in Athens against NATO's Military Committee which convenes in the Greek capital on 17-19 September.

The protesters gathered at Eleftherias Square and then marched towards the U.S. embassy, denouncing the strengthening of the so-called Greece-USA “defense agreement” which turns the country into a vast US-NATO military base. The demonstrators called for the decisive organization of the struggle against the dangerous policy of the Greek government, against the country's involvement in the US-NATO imperialist plans which pose grave threats for the people. 

Russia Duma elections: Communist Party (CPRF) denounces law violations and censorship

Parliamentary and local elections began on Friday in Russia and will last three days. Voters are electing 450 MPs for the Duma (parliament) in Moscow and a number of cities have introduced electronic voting. 

President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party is expected to win despite the decline of popularity in the last few years. 

In a statement the International Department of the CC of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) denounces attacks on the party, law violations by the government and censorship by mass media. The full statement is the following:

KKE MEP denounces EU machinations against Cuba

Once again, the European Union and its mechanisms play a leading role in promotin counterrevolutionary “voices” against Cuba. This time, the anti-Cuban show was staged at the EU Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) under the mantle of “activism” and with the known pretexts of “democracy” and “human rights”.

In his intervention, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) MEP Kostas Papadakis strongly denounced the anti-communist provocations against Cuba. More specifically, the KKE eurodeputy said:

Communist employees turn London arms fair upside down

Employees organized a surprise protest at an arms fair in London, by setting off flares and smoke grenades during the event. 

The men were working at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair at the ExCeL in east London when they set off the flares.

In footage posted by the Young Communist League (YCL), the protesters stood on a carpet outside a stall for security firm Lockheed Martin while dressed in high-viz jackets. They then lifted their arms in the air and set off their smoke grenades as men dressed in suits shuffled past.   

Communist Party of Venezuela: Maduro government returns to the IMF, gives in to imperialism

In a statement concerning the second round of negotiations between the social democratic government of Nicolas Maduro and the pro-US opposition in Mexico, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) points out:

"The second round of negotiations between the two opposing groups of the national bourgeoisie took place in Mexico from September 3 to 6. Both sides have announced two initial partial agreements as being a great advance for the interests of the country and the Venezuelan people. One agreement refers to "the defense of the sovereignty of Venezuela over the Essequibo Strip" while the other comes under the title of "an agreement for the social protection of the Venezuelan people”. 

Abimael Guzmán, leader of Peru's Shining Path, dies at 86

Abimael Guzmán, the historic leader of the Shining Path, died on Saturday at the age of 86 in Peru while serving a life sentence in the maximum security prison of the Callao Naval Base.

Also known by the name "comrade Gonzalo," Guzmán died due to a generalized infection at the Naval Hospital, where he was being treated for deterioration in his health.

A former philosophy professor, he had been serving a life sentence for terrorism and treason since 1992. In 1969 Abimael Guzmán and 11 others founded the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso in Spanish), a guerrilla group of Maoist influences which tried to lead a "people's war" to overthrow Peru's bourgeois democracy. 

Big rally by TKP in Istanbul: Now is the time for socialism!

Photo: sol.org.tr

Under the slogan "Now is the time for socialism", thousands of people, men and women of every age, gathered at Kartal Square, Istanbul, in order to attend the rally organized by the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP). 

Speaking at the rally, TKP Secretary General Kemal Okuyan said among others: "We are a family, a growing family that fights against lies and exploitation. TKP is acting with great self-confidence at its 101st year, it is spreading and growing. Come and be a part of this struggle, if you are still not in the ranks of the TKP. We are the future of Turkey". 

Stop violence against communists in India!

In a statement the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) condemns the recent violent incidents unleashed against the Party premises in the state of Tripura by right-wing mobs:

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the violence unleashed in Tripura by the ruling party, the BJP, against the CPI(M) and the Left Front. 

In a pre-planned fashion, the offices of the CPI(M), including the state headquarters, were attacked by mobs of BJP men.  Among the offices which were damaged or burnt down are the Udaipur sub-divisional office, Gomati district committee office, Sepahijala district committee office, Bishalgarh sub-divisional committee office, West Tripura district committee office and the Sadar sub-divisional committee office. 

Greece: Thousands joined PAME rally, sent powerful message to Mitsotakis' government

Thousands of workers, self-employed people, farmers, pensioners, young men and women participated on Saturday evening in a massive rally organized by the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) and Trade Unions on the occasion of the inauguration of the 85th Thessaloniki International Fair by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Under the slogan “Only the people can save the people. The justified indignation must become a force of organization and struggle”, numerous protesters from Thessaloniki and the broader region of Central Macedonia sent a militant message to the ND government and the employers. 

"As long as the Soviet Union existed no one was hungry"

A white t-shirt with the initials of the Soviet Union in Russian (CCCP) and the sickle and hammer were enough to infuriate anti-communists in social media. 

Julia Nova, a Greek model and TV presenter (photo), decided to share with her followers the happiness of pregnancy by uploading a photo on her Instagram profile account. 

The photo of her wearing a t-shirt with the "USSR" initials on it provoked the angry reaction of anti-communists, right-wingers and various social media trolls who attacked her. Julia, who is of Ukrainian origin, became the target of rude and derisive comments by some users who apparently can't stand in the view of the sickle and hammer.

Portugal: Festa do Avante! 2021 successfully held in Seixal

The Avante! Festival, the annual festival organized by the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), took place with remarkable success on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of September at Quinta da Atalaia, Seixal, with the participation of thousands of people and more than 40 international representations of communist parties and other progressive forces from 4 continents.

In his speech on September 5th, the General Secretary of the Communist Party Jerónimo de Sousa stated: 

Communists of the world bid farewell to Mikis Theodorakis

Communist Parties from Russia to Chile and from Turkey to Mexico express their condolences for the death of the legendary Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis who died on September 2nd aged 96. 

In a message published on Twitter the President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez pays tribute to the late composer: 

"Mikis Theodorakis died and the world accompanies the mourning of Greece for one of the greatest musicians of all times. Cuba, which always had his militant solidarity, also mourns. Let the Canto General sound in his memory". 

Ukrainian communist leader Tamila Yabrova dies

Tamila Yabrova, President of the Union of Communists of Ukraine, editor-in-chief of the journal "Marxism and Modernity", passed away on September 3rd. Her death was announced by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE).

Yabrova was an economist who fought passionately against the counter-revolutionary process in the Soviet Union which led to the restoration of capitalism. She participated actively in the "Marxist Platform of the CPSU" movement and in the effort for the re-organization of the communist movement in the territories of the USSR.

Mikis Theodorakis: I want to leave this world as a communist

Mikis Theodorakis, anticipating the end of his life, had contacted by telephone the Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece, Dimitris Koutsoumbas, giving him the stigma of his last wishes.

In his personal letter on October 5, 2020, to Dimitris Koutsoumbas, he wrote: "Now at the end of my life, at the time of reckoning, the details fade from my mind and remain the big picture. So I see that my most critical, strong and mature years were spent under the banner of the KKE. That is why I want to leave this world as a communist."

Statement of the KKE on the death of Mikis Theodorakis

In a lengthy statement, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) pays farewell to Mikis Theodorakis, the world-renowned  Greek composer who died on Thursday morning aged 96. 

 

Statements concerning the death of Mikis were also issued by the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE), the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME), the National Union of Fighters of the National Resistance and the Democratic Army of Greece (PEAEA– DSE), Trade Unions and Associations.

The full statement of the KKE reads:

Turkish Communist Party calls for rally in Istanbul on 12th September: Şimdi sosyalizm zamanı!

The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) has called for a rally in Kartal Square, Istanbul, on Sunday, September 12, 2021, saying, "Do not delay, do not linger, do not settle for less!” The statement said, "If we do not want to live in a country where our resources are plundered, people become worthless and nature is slaughtered for the sake of profit, we must get rid of this order first.”

The statement of TKP, which said, "This country has not a day left to lose," is as follows;

Afghanistan Crisis: Statements by Communist Parties

Since the beginning of the rapid developments in Afghanistan and the comeback of Taliban in the power, Communist and Workers' Parties from all over the world have issued statements concerning the situation in the country. 

 

The vast majority of statements refer to the disastrous role of US-EU imperialism, the military intervention in 2001, as well as the immense responsibilities of the U.S. and European governments for supporting the rise of Taliban in the 1980s, primary in the war against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. 

Read here the statement of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). 

All Greek governments supported the imperialist wars in Afghanistan, says KKE MEP

The hypocrisy of the U.S, NATO and EU, as well as the responsibilities of the Greek governments for the current situation in Afghanistan were highlighted by the Communist Party (KKE) MEP Kostas Papadakis during an interview on “Real FM” radio on Tuesday 24 August.

Papadakis, who is also a member of the Central Committee of the KKE, pointed out that those powers which today present Taliban as potential partners are the same ones which, some years ago, presented them as a threat and used them for reactionary changes against the Afghan people. The KKE MEP said that these powers financed and equipped Taliban in the war against the Soviet Union and the people's revolution in Afghanistan. 

Swaziland's dictatorship intensifies brutality against anti-monarchy protesters

On Sunday night, 15 August 2021, King Mswati’s soldiers tossed a young man, Mcebo Mamba, into a raging fire and severely assaulted him with sjamboks.

The assault followed a protest action in Zombodze Emuva in the Shiselweni region, Swaziland, also known as Eswatini. During the protest, burning tyres had been placed on the road. The soldiers picked on Mamba, without any evidence as to his involvement in the burning and forced him into the fire.

Former KKE MP Antonis Skyllakos dies at 72

Antonis Skyllakos, a long time cadre of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and former MP, died today aged 72 after a heart attack. 

Born in Larissa in 1949, Skyllakos studied Law in Athens and participated actively in the anti-dictatorship movement. In 1974 he joined the Communist Youth (KNE) and in 1975 he became member of the KKE. 

He was a member of the Party's Central Committee from 1982 to 2009. 

Britain's Young Communist League holds its 50th Congress

Under the slogan "Our Congress, Our Struggle, Our Future", the Young Communist League of Britain (YCL), the youth wing of the Communist Party of Britain which was founded 100 years ago, in 1921, holds its 50th Congress this weekend.

On this occasion, the following article written by YCL's General Secretary Johnnie Hunter was published in "Challenge" magazine:

"Greetings and solidarity to all of the delegates attending the YCL’s historic 50th Congress this weekend at Ruskin House and to all the comrades and branches who have participated in Congress debate and discussion this year from the length and breadth of Britain.