British Elections: Dear comrades, be aware of social democracy bearing gifts

EDITORIAL

On Saturday 8^th June, the working people of Britain will be called to choose between two versions of bourgeois management: The Conservative Party of Prime Minister Theresa May or the Labour Party of Jeremy Corbyn? Despite their existing individual differences regarding the mix of policies, both parties serve the capitalist system. They are both thoroughly bourgeois parties, fully committed to the goal of promoting the profits of the capitalists.

"Our revenge will be the laughter of our children"- Bobby Sands 1954-1981

Bobby Sands (1954-1981), a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, died on hunger strike while imprisoned at HM Prison Maze on 5 May 1981. He was the first of ten hunger strikers to be murdered by Thatcher's government in its battle to crush the Irish republican movement through the use of the infamous H-Block prisons. On the occassion of the 36th anniversary since his death we remember who Sands was and what he stood for. 

Bobby Sands MP / Source: bobbysandstrust.com.

Bobby Sands, Roibeard Gearóid Ó Seachnasaigh, was born in 1954 in Rathcoole, a predominantly loyalist district of north Belfast. His twenty-seventh birthday fell on the ninth day of his sixty-six-day hunger strike. His sisters Marcella, one year younger, and Bernadette, were born in April 1955 and November 1958, respectively. All three lived their early years at Abbots Cross in the Newtownabbey area of north Belfast. 

KKE: Statement regarding the attack in London

In a statement, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) condemns the recent attack in London. More specifically the statement says:

"The KKE condemns the murderous attack in London, expresses its condolences to the families of the victims and its solidarity with the british people who must be vigilant- like the other people- regarding the role that various criminal mechanisms are playing, the actions of which are utilized for the strengthening of oppression measures, xenophobia and their intimidation".

Source: 902.gr / Translation: In Defense of Communism ©.

Political event by KKE in Edinburgh: "The current political situation and the viewpoint of the Greek Communist Party"

The KKE Party Branch of Britain organises a political event in Edinburgh, Scotland on Sunday, October 30th. The event's title is: "The current political situation and the viewpoint of the Greek Communist Party" and will take place at 3 pm local time, at David Hume Tower building, room 4.18. 

'Rizospastis': Brexit and the perspective of the EU

Brexit and the perspective of the EU.

Source: Rizospastis / Translation: In Defense of Communism.

The result of the british referendum for exit from the EU has pulled to the surface contradictions between various imperialist centers regarding the future and perspective of the EU. The interventions of forces during the last days, both inside and out of the EU, confirm that. The President of the USA Barack Obama spoke about the need to avoid hysteria, because NATO exists and the Transatlantic Alliance hasn't been dissolved. On the same time, his criticism towards the process of the so-called political and economic deepening of the EU is of special importance. In order to explain what happened, he points out: "Regarding the issue of full European intergration, the pause button has been pressed", adding also that "the way the British voted is explained by the fact that, probably, the EU was moving faster than it should have". He expressed with clarity the dissagreement of the American monopolies regarding the way the German side promotes the deepening of the EU. Disagreements which of course meet other, respective dissents which are expressed also within the EU on the account of the bourgeois classes of France, Italy etc. Those who, the SYRIZA-ANEL government presents as "allies" of the Greek people, the same time when they crush the working-peoples' rights in their countries.

What kind of 'Left' does Jeremy Corbyn represent?

COMMENTARY:

Let's get directly to the subject: Why so much noise about the UK's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn? First of all, Labour Party is a bourgeois party which poses no threat to the capitalist establishment. We don't speak about a revolutionary party of Marxist-Leninist principles, but about one of the two pillars (the other is, of course, the Conservative Party) of the British bourgeois political system. There is nothing revolutionary in a purely social-democratic party like the UK Labour Party. Having said that, let's go now to it's leader, Jeremy Corbyn. 

What is the kind of "Left" that Corbyn represents? Like his party, is he, or not, fully committed to the capitalist system? The answer is absolutely clear: Corbyn is a bourgeois politician, a social-democrat with some so-called "progressive" ideas. The fact that he is "more progressive" than Tony Blair or David Cameron doesn't make him a choice for the country's working class. In the history of the UK Labour Party we have seen numerous ‘left-wing’, ‘progressive’ members, scores of leaders and senior MPs who have had what they referred to as ‘socialist’ politics- even more radical than Jeremy Corbyn. However, that doesn't change the political nature of the party as a vehicle of Social Democracy. 

Communist Party of Greece (KKE): Statement on the result of the EU referendum in Britain

STATEMENT OF THE PRESS OFFICE OF THE CC OF THE KKE ON THE RESULT OF THE REFERENDUM IN BRIΤΑIN IN RELATION TO BRITAIN'S WITHDRAWAL FROM THE EU.

The result of Britain's referendum demonstrates the increasing discontent of the working class and popular forces towards the EU and its anti-people policies. However these forces must disentangle themselves from the choices of sections and political forces of the bourgeoisie and acquire radical and anti-capitalist characteristics. The result records the dissipation of the expectations, which had been fostered by all the bourgeois parties-in Greece as well-together with the EU's mechanisms that the peoples could allegedly be prosperous inside the framework of the EU.

The fact that the issue of the departure of a country from the EU was posed so intensely- and indeed a country the size of Britain-is due on the one hand to the internal contradictions in the EU and the unevenness of its economies and on the other to the confrontation taking place amongst the imperialist centres, which sharpened in the conditions of the economic recession. These factors reinforce the so-called euroscepticism, break way trends, but also trends that seek a change in the form of political management of the EU and Eurozone.

#Brexit triumphed, but Capitalism is still here

COMMENTARY:

With 52% over 48%, the voters in Britain decided in favor of a Brexit in yesterday's EU referendum. The Communists of Britain who stood against the EU and the mainstream media propaganda deserve our congratulations for their stance and struggle. A significant proportion of Britain's working class- the class which has been largely affected by the antiworker, antipeople EU policies- voted in favor of 'Leave'. However, the triumph of Brexit does not change the capitalist framework of the country: the power remains in the hands of the bourgeoisie, the monopolies continue being the dominant force of British economy, the working class remains under capitalist exploitation. 

Britain's working class must have no illusions whatsoever: Unemployment, zero-hour contracts, layoffs, cuts in wages and social services will continue. The country, as a powerful imperialist member-state of NATO, will continue paying huge amounts in defense budget and participating in criminal, imperialist interventions.

KKE political event held in London - The political developments in Greece and Britain's EU referendum

Source: 902.gr / Translation: In Defense of Communism.
Read the full speech of G.Marinos here.

A successful political event organised by the KKE Party Organisation of Britain took place in London, with major speaker being Giorgos Marinos of the Political Bureau. The subject of the event was "The political developments in Greece, the British EU referendum and the positions of KKE". A large number of Greek immigrants, as well as British people, attented the event.

In his introductory speech, Giorgos Marinos refered to the anti-people policy of the SYRIZA-ANEL coalition government: "The political route of this government must be condemned in the peoples' conciousness, this is a precondition for the development of class-struggle and the confrontation of the fake dilemmas which favor the phony bipolarism between SYRIZA and New Democracy [...].

Brexit: Why workers in Britain should vote to leave the EU

Why British workers need a Brexit.

Source: Proletarian (CP of Great Britain, Marxist-Leninist), 

Issue 71, April 2016. 

Leaving the EU would undoubtedly weaken the ability of British, European and even US imperialists to dominate the globe, thus taking our struggle for socialism one small step forward.

“From the standpoint of the economic conditions of imperialism – ie, the export of capital and the division of the world by the ‘advanced’ and ‘civilised’ colonial powers – a United States of Europe, under capitalism, is either impossible or reactionary ...

“Of course, temporary agreements are possible between capitalists and between states. In this sense a United States of Europe is possible as an agreement between the European capitalists ... but to what end? Only for the purpose of jointly suppressing socialism in Europe ... On the present economic basis, ie, under capitalism, a United States of Europe would signify an organisation of reaction.” (On the slogan for a United States of Europe by VI Lenin, 23 August 1915).

The New Worker- Leave the EU to save our steel

Leave the EU to save our steel.

Republished from "New Worker", the weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain.

SAJID Javid, the Business Secretary, has been running round like mad going to India to plead with the giant company Tata to go slowly with its process of selling off the last remaining working steel plants in Britain. He has been talking about a “responsible sales process”.

And the big steel unions have also been pleading to Tata not to go for a fire sale to asset strippers, who will cherry pick the lucrative bits and ditch the rest, leading quickly to the complete demise of the whole industry.

The New Worker- Thieves falling out

Republished from "New Worker", the weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain.

PRIME Minister David Cameron has had a hard week, first the President of the United States has launched a bitter attack on him over Libya and then his own mother joined the Liberal Democrats.

President Obama came to power nearly eight years ago on a pledge that he would not embark on any more foreign wars, and he blames Cameron and former French President Nicholas Sarkozy for dragging him reluctantly into the attack on Libya. It smacks of naughty boys caught out stealing sweets — when it all goes wrong and they get caught blaming each other: “It’s not my fault — he made me do it”.