Belarus under the threat of a "color revolution"?

The landslide victory (with 80.23% of the votes) of incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus’ presidential elections on Sunday sparked violent protests by supporters of the opposition in Minsk and other cities. A protester was killed and dozens were injured following clashes with police forces. 

Opposition leader  Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who received 9.9% of the votes, refused to accept the results, stating that they were rigged. 

“I consider myself the winner of this election” Tikhanovskaya said in a statement before leaving the country for Lithuania.

Greek and Turkish Communists: No to a military confrontation for the interests of the bourgeois classes and imperialist alliances!

In a joint statement, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) express their deep concern over the latest dangerous developments in the relations between the two countries and declare once again that the people of Greece and Turkey have the right to live in peace and shape their future, against capitalist exploitation and tensions created by the interests of the bourgeois classes and the imperialist alliances.

You can read below the statement in English, Greek and Turkish language.

Turkey-Greece tensions: The USA-EU stance adds fuel to Turkish government's aggression

Tensions in Eastern Mediterranean are, once again, at high level after the NAVTEX issued by Turkey on Tuesday, with which Ankara blocks the maritime zone south-east of the Greek island of Kastellorizo in order to carry out seismic surveys. 

From its side, the Greek government filed a protest demarche to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and raised the issue with the EU, NATO and the United Nations. 

“Today’s announcement of Turkish surveys in a section of the Greek continental shelf through a new illegal NAVTEX constitutes an escalation of tension in our region”, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement issued on Tuesday. 

Hagia Sophia: The EU-NATO policy stimulates Turkey's provocation and aggression

The European Parliament group of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) condemned on Monday the decision of Tayyip Erdogan's government to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque. 

As 902 portal reports, in an urgent question submitted to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, KKE MEP Kostas Papadakis points out:

Five years since the 2015 Greek referendum — The stance of the KKE was totally vindicated

By Nikos Mottas.

The 5th of July marked the fifth anniversary since the bailout referendum in Greece. The 2015 Greek referendum, a milestone event in the four year governmental term of SYRIZA coalition government, is one of the biggest political frauds in post-1974 Greek history. 

In the referendum, the Greek people were asked to choose whether or not they agree with the bailout conditions proposed by the so-called “Troika”, the EU Commission, the IMF and the European Central Bank (1). The outcome was a triumph of the “No” vote with 61.31%, contrary to 38.69% of “Yes”. 

SYRIZA’s hypocrisy has no limits

On the right side, the front page of SYRIZA's newspaper "Avgi".

What happens when hypocrisy and opportunism meet anti-communism? 

SYRIZA, Greece’s major social democratic party which governed the country between 2015 and 2019, provides us the best answer to the question. 

Last Saturday, 9th of May, the front page of SYRIZA’s party newspaper “Avgi” (Dawn) was dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Great Antifascist Victory, depicting the iconic photo of the Soviet soldier waving the red flag in Berlin. 

9 May 2020: The European Communist Initiative for the People's Great Antifascist Victory

Statement by the European Communist Initiative on the 75th anniversary of the Great Antifascist Victory of 9th May 1945:

75 years ago, the Red Army raised the Red Flag in the heart of Berlin,signaling the great anti-fascist victory of the peoples and the defeat of Nazism, after a hard and bloody struggle, led by the Soviet Union, to which decisively contributed many anti-fascist partisans and movements, led by the CPs, from many countries who responded to the call, committed to crush the reactionary forces headed by Italy and Germany.

The "New Marshall Plan" — The new, yet very old, "Great Idea" of the European capital and the communists' response

The following article, written by the General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Dimitris Koutsoumbas, was published in the weekend edition of "Rizospastis" newspaper on 11-12 April 2020: 

THE "NEW MARSHALL PLAN"

The new, yet very old, "Great Idea" of the European capital and the communists' response

Communist MEPs call the EU to take immediate protection measures in face of Covid-19

According to a report published on 902 portal, Communist Party of Greece (ΚΚΕ) MEPs Kostas Papadakis and Lefteris Nikolaou-Alavanos sent a letter to the presidents of the European Council, EU Commission and EU Parliament, demanding immediate measures of prevention and protection by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In their letter addressed to Mr Charles Michel, Mrs Ursula Von Der Leyen and Mr David Maria Sassoli, the KKE eurodeputies point out the great difficulties that doctors and medical staff face in their fight against COVID-19 outbreak. 

21 years since NATO's crime against Yugoslavia - We shall never forget!

Today, March 24th, marks the 21st anniversary since the beginning of Yugoslavia's bombing by NATO forces. On this day, twenty-one years ago, the sirens of war and destruction sounded in Belgrade, Pristina, Novi Sad and other cities, marking the beginning of a massacre that lasted 78 days. 

The following article was written and published last year, on the occasion of the twenty-years since the imperialist crime against the people of Yugoslavia.

Marco Rizzo: "Covid-19 killed EU and capitalism. The only solution is socialism"

Interviewed by affaritaliani.it, the General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party, Italy (Partito Comunista) Marco Rizzo analyzed the actual reasons behind the dramatic situation that exists in Italy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The dramatic health situation that Italy is experiencing these days shows clearly how in the last 30 years, since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disappearance of the Soviet Union, the entire welfare state and public healthcare of our country has been dismantled”, points out Rizzo. 

Refugee Crisis: Militant intervention by Greek communists in the developments

The following article provides a thorough outline of the position and initiatives of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) regarding the ongoing refugee situation in the borders between Greece and Turkey and the Greek islands: 

Militant intervention by the communists in the developments concerning the Refugee question

By Nikos Sofianos*

Greece must not become EU's refugee prison, says KKE MEP Kostas Papadakis

Communist Party (KKE) eurodeputy Kostas Papadakis.

The immense responsibilities of the European Union and NATO in the creation and perpetuation of the refugee situation in the Greek-Turkish borders, as well as the need for the abolition of EU's Dublin Regulation and the EU-Turkey migrant deal, were highlighted by Kostas Papadakis, MEP for the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), during his intervention at the EU Parliament’s plenary in Brussels. 

More specifically Papadakis pointed out the following:

Dimitris Koutsoumbas on refugee crisis: "Dublin Regulation, EU-Turkey deal must be abolished"

The General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Dimitris Koutsoumbas gave an interview to “Real News” newspaper where, among other things, he refered to the ongoing refugee situation in the Greek-Turkish borders. Below you can read the excerpts of his answers:

“There is no greatest depravity than using uprooted, tortured people for your own aspirations, like Erdogan does, who blackmails for more support by the EU and NATO for his intervention in Northern Syria as well as in his other plans. For that reason, the needed protection of the borders can neither target the refugees nor acquitting EU and NATO which uproot people and have led to the entrapment of thousands of refugees in the Aegean islands and in Evros, thus playing Erdogan’s game. And certainly it cannot be utilized for the emboldenment of reactionary, racist voices”.

Greek workers' movement stands in solidarity with refugees — Statement by PAME

In face of the latest developments with the refugee situation in the Greek-Turkish borders and the Aegean islands, the vanguard of Greece's class-oriented labour movement, the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME), issued the following statement:

The trapping of thousands of refugees and immigrants in the Aegean islands and the Greek-Turkish border in Evros, in the most dramatic way, highlights the barbarism of imperialist organizations, the EU and NATO and the active involvement of all Greek governments in these organizations.

Statement of the Political Bureau of the KKE on the refugee crisis in Greek-Turkish borders

On March 3, 2020, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) issued a statement regarding the refugee situation in the Greek-Turkish borders and the measures announced by the government. You can read previous statements by the KKE about the issue here and here. 

The statement is the following:

The latest developments, with the entrapment of thousands of refugees and immigrants on the Aegean islands and at the Greek-Turkish border in Evros, confirm once again that the EU and NATO policy that the Greek governments have followed and are fervently adhering to now is, on the one hand, responsible for the dissolution of countries and the uprooting of peoples and on the other,  for the entrapment of uprooted peoples on islands and at borders. This policy has paved the way for Erdogan to try to impose his own objectives, using the refugee situation as a vehicle.

KKE slams Greek government: "Demonstrate your strength to EU and NATO, not to refugees"

Greek riot police forces behind the fences at Kastanies
border crossing, 29 February 2020 EPA/EFE.

After a meeting on Sunday chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece’s Government Council on National Security (KYSEA) decided to step up the level of deterrence to the maximum point at the Greek-Turkish borders in Evros. 

The conservative ND government also decided to suspend new asylum applications, while the presence of army units and police forces across Kastanies border gates has been strengthened. Additionally, Athens has requested from EU border agency FRONTEX to provide additional aid in the protection of the borders.

Refugee flows are a result of the interventions by US-NATO-EU and Turkey in Syria — KKE

During the last 48 hours, the tension in the Greek-Turkish borders in Evros has been escalated, with thousands of refugees and migrants gathering at Kastanies/Pazarkule border gate. “We will no longer keep the doors closed for refugees who want to go to Europe”, a senior Turkish official said as a response to the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in Idlib Province, Syria. 

At the same time, the Greek government decided yesterday to suspend border crossing at Kastanies, sending additional riot police forces to the area. In a message, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote: “I want to be clear: no illegal entries into Greece will be tolerated”, announcing the increase of border security. 

EU migration policy turns Greek islands into prisons for refugees — Statement by KKE

The Press Bureau of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) sharply criticized New Democracy (ND) government’s legislative act which introduces requisition of land and facilities for migration purposes. 

Stelios Petsas, the governmental spokesperson, announced on Monday that the current administration will issue a Legislative Act by which the state will be able to proceed with the requisition of public and private properties where new migrant camps (hotspots) will be constructed.

KKE in EU Parliament: On the 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz by the Red Army

On the occasion of the event in the European Parliament regarding the Holocaust and the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, the Europarliament Group of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) issued a statement that was published on 902 portal. 

The statement reads:

"The memory of the Holocaust, one of the most atrocious crimes of Nazism, is an eternal tribute to its victims, to all those who alongside Jews suffered in Nazi crematoriums: the thousands of communists, anti-fascists who fought nazism in occupied Europe and in Germany herself, such as the murdered by the Nazis heroic Secretary of the German Communist Party, Ernst Thälmann. The Nazi hell of Auschwitz is a reminder of the criminal nature of fascism, of the barbarity of the capitalist system that creates it, just as the german, european and american business groups funded Hitler.