BELARUS: In the “millstones” of the exploitative system

The opposition to Lukashenko with the old flag of the country,
which was used during the German occupation

The article was published in “Rizospastis” newspaper, Organ of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), on 22/8/2020, under the title "BELARUS: In the “millstones” of the exploitative system".

The “baton” of imperialist intervention ended up in Belarus

By Elisaios Vagenas.

On August 10th, the day after the recent Belarus presidential elections, a tanker docked at the port of the Lithuanian city Klaipeda,  carrying 76,000 tons of crude American oil,  ordered by the “last dictator of Europe”, as the western Mass Media likes to call the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko.

Slovak communists denounce their exclusion from official event honoring WW2 resistance

Every year Slovakia celebrates the armed insurrection organized by the Slovak resistance movement against the Nazis and their collaborators during the Second World War. 

The known as Slovak National Uprising (SNP), in which the communists played a decisive role being the main organizers of the anti-fascist struggle, was launched on 29 August 1944 from Banská Bystrica.

This year, the authorities of the Slovak National Uprising Museum, which organizes the annual memorial events, decided to exclude the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS) from participating in the official commemoration event for the 76th anniversary. For this decision, the SNP Museum invoked the COVID-19 pandemic situation and the fact that the event, scheduled for August 28-29, would be held as an "apolitical event" with limited participation. 

Philippine Communist Party (PKP-1930) marked its 90th founding anniversary

On August 26, 2020, the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP-1930, the Philippine Communist Party) celebrated the 90th anniversary of its founding with a virtual conference participated in by a number of its provincial, city and municipal committees from Cagayan Valley to Southern Luzon. While this anniversary used to be celebrated with mass gatherings, community quarantine regulations under the present COVID-19 pandemic required that the celebration yesterday be held through a virtual conference using information technology methods of video-conferencing. 

Turkish lawyer Ebru Timtik dies after 238 days of death fasting

In a message posted on Twitter, the People's Law Bureau announced the death of Ebru Timtik, a lawyer from Turkey who was on the 238th day of death fasting demanding a "fair trial". 

Timtik, whose health condition had been deteriorated lately, was held at Dr. Sadi Konuk Training and Research Hospital in Istanbul's Bakırköy.

A member of the Proggerssive Lawyers' Association (ÇHD), Timtik was sentenced to 13 years 6 months in prison for "terrorism-related" offenses following a deeply flawed trial in March 2019. Her partner, also a lawyer-member of ÇHD, Aytaç Ünsal, was jailed for 10 years. 

KKE in the European Parliament: Denounces the intervention of EU-NATO-U.S in Belarus

During an extraordinary meeting of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee regarding the situation in Belarus, the representative of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Kostas Papadakis denounced the intervention of the EU, NATO and U.S. in  the country. 

As 902 portal reported, in his speech the KKE MEP pointed out the following:

"From here, we denounce that these days' events in Belarus are linked to the intervention of  the EU, NATO and the U.S. The pretexts of the EU and its allies are the known ones which were used in Syria, Libya, Ukraine, Iraq, etc.

BELARUS: Statements-reactions by Communist and Workers Parties

With statements and declarations Communist and Workers Parties from Europe and across the world have reacted to the situation in Belarus which remains tense since the presidential elections of August 9th. 

Below you can read a collection of statements issued by CPs in face of the developments in Belarus: 

Click here to read the statement by the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). 

EU and 'Black Ribbon Day': The anti-communist falsification of history shall not pass!

By Nikos Mottas.

Once again the European Union resorts to hideous anti-communism on the occasion of the so-called “European Day of Remembrance for victims of Stalinism and Nazism” (known as "Black Ribbon Day" which is observed annually on August 23rd. 

In a joint statement, the vice-president of the EU Commission Vera Jourova and the EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders reproduce the same old anti-communist slanders about the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Without any respect for history, the EU officials reproduce the blatant lie about the supposed “alliance between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany”. 

WFTU endorses the campaign for the Nobel Peace Prize 2021 to Cuban Medical Brigades

In an open letter addressed to its affiliated organizations, friends and workers in all over the globe, the Secretariat of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) expresses its endorsement for the campaign to nominate the Cuban "Henry Reeve" International Health Contingent for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. 

The statement reads:

“Our country does not drop bombs on other peoples, nor does it send thousands of planes to bomb cities. Our country does not possess nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, or biological weapons. Our country’s tens of thousands of scientists and doctors have been educated in the idea of saving lives” - Fidel Castro.

Belarus’ white and red flag: A symbol of Nazi collaborationists and counterrevolution

A characteristic of the recent Belarus protests is the use by the demonstrators of the white-red flag. Shortly after the announcement of the elections’ result on August 9th, the streets of Minsk flooded with opposition-backed protestors waving white-red flags. 

But what is the actual meaning of the Belarusian white-red flag and what’s the history behind it?

It was used for the first time by the short-lived anti-Bolshevik Belarusian National Republic (BNR) between March 1918 and February 1919. During the interwar period, it was occasionally used by political and non-political organizations, including the conservative Belarusian Christian Democracy (1927). 

Austria: The Party of Labour (PdA) to take part in Vienna municipal elections

In a press release, the Austrian Party of Labour (PdA) announced that it will participate in the municipal elections at Vienna-Ottakring district which will take place on October 11, 2020. 

The statement reads:

On 14 August 2020 the Party of Labour of Austria submitted its nomination and list of candidates for the district assembly election in Vienna-Ottakring to the electoral authority. During the recent weeks the necessary number ofendorsement signatures has been collected, despite the difficult circumstances and the bureaucratic procedure that had been maintained by the Social Democratic and Green city governmentregardless of the corona epidemic. Thus, on 11 October 2020 the Party of Labour will be on the ballot for the district assembly of the 16th district of Vienna. 

KKE condemns foreign intervention in Belarus, calls the people to organize their own struggle

In a statement issued on Monday 17 August, the Press Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) condemns the foreign intervention in the internal affairs of Belarus and calls the working people to organize their own independent struggle against capitalist barbarity.

The statement, which was published in 902 portal, reads:

German communists: “Without the Berlin Wall, there would have been war”

In an article published on “Unsere Zeit” portal, the newspaper of the German Communist Party (DKP), General Secretary Patrik Köbele referred to the conditions under which the Berlin Wall was built on August 13, 1961. 

After mentioning that the decision to build the Wall wasn’t an easy decision, Köbele points out: “The state border between the GDR and the “West” was also the border between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, ie the border the two strongest military alliances at the time. NATO always aimed at destroying socialist construction in the Warsaw Pact’s states by all means – arms race, diversion, sabotage and, if necessary, military aggression. It was prevented from doing so due to the security of the GDR state border”.

Russian Communist Workers' Party on Belarus: The "Belarusian Maidan" must be prevented

In a declaration about the elections and the ongoing protests in Belarus, the Political Council of the CC of the Communist Workers’ Party of Russia - Revolutionary Party of Communists (RKRP-CPSU) points out that a possible “Belarusian Maidan” must be prevented. 

The RKPR-CPSU notes that “the opposition did not recognize the results even before they were announced, even long before the elections”, adding that “it does not really matter whether this right-wing opposition is pro-Western or pro-Russian” because “in any case, it is pro-imperialist”. The Belarusian opposition – states the party – is “clearly nationalistic in nature” and “in many respects similar to the Kiev Maidan”.