AKEL, "Marxism-Leninism", and the "solution of the Cyprus problem"...

From the "unofficial" visit of the GS of AKEL to Mehmet Davutoglu, 23 January 2016, Turkey

Interview with Toumazos Tsielepis, Head of AKEL Committee on the Cyprus Problem, 16 January 2016:

On imperialist war in the Middle East as an auspicious conjuncture for the solution of the Cyprus Problem:

- "It is true that at this moment, there is a conjuncture that is advantageous to the efforts for a solution. All the international players have an interest in a comprehensive solution of the Cyrus issue, like never before. The same goes for the rational interests of Turkey, though its current leadership is unpredictable."

On the need for cash liquidity the solution will imply:

- "Our job is to find the solution. When we find it, we need to come up with a final cost and then address that to the international community, asking for its aid so this solution can be implemented. The international community must procur us with the money, either as a gift, or as low-interest, long-term loans.  It goes without question that in that case there cannot be a Memorandum logic at work, because then the Federal state would be mathematically led to collapse!"

Entry to British Sovereign Base in Dekeleia, Cyprus. Written into the Cyprus Republic's Constitution of 1960

- On why the "International Community" [sic] should support the cost of the solution given its own financial problems: 

"The Cyprus problem is a political problem giving the international community a headache for the last 50 years. It should be dealt with as such: with political, not with economic and Memorandum-like terms. The solution to the Cyprus problem is linked to major political, but also economic interests. Doesn't the EU have an interest in the solution to the Cyprus problem? Doesn't it, for instance, desire the natural gas of the Eastern Mediterranean in a manner that puts an end to its dependence on Russia? Doesn't the solution to the Cyprus problem work in the interests of the Southeast wing of NATO? The 10 or 20 billion that may be necessary for funding the solution is small change for the international community. On the contrary, the benefits it will reap are infinitely larger."

From statements of Mevlut Çavosuglu, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affrairs, after his meeting with AKEL GS Andros Kyprianou, 23 January 2016:

"Asked how he views AKEL's positive views on a solution to the Cyprus Problem given that in 2004 it had voted against the Annan Plan, the Turkish minister stated that back in 2004, the leadership of AKEL was Mr. Christofias, who had different views, and added that today's AKEL leadership has a different position."

P.S.: AKEL describes itself as a "Marxist-Leninist" party...

Lesbos Labor Center Announcement against the new NATO base in the Aegean

In the 66 years since the creation of the imperialist mechanism of NATO, humanity has experienced dictatorship, war and terrorism. This was and remains the role of such a mechanism, whose goal is to serve the interests of the plutocracy -- who created it in the first place -- and to repress and murder the peoples. The governments of our country, worthy supporters of capital all these years, not only did not oppose imperialist plans, not only chose to remain passive observers in all the wars close or far from our "neighborhood", but actively participated in them, since they sent the army outside our borders and offered military bases to assist the butchers of the peoples, to provide Americans, the EU and NATO with their attack base.

Anti-imperialist island chain against the NATO base

The Samos Peace Committee (member of the EEDYE-Greek Committee for International Disarmament and Peace) and the Samos Labor Center are calling for a PanAegean mobilization against the creation of a NATO base in the Aegean that was announced by the SYRIZA-ANEL government. The mobilization will take place on Thursday, 18 June at 7.30 pm; it will take place in all islands at the same time, so as to raise a popular wall in the defense of national independence and sovereignty and to create a human, anti-imperialist and pacifist chain from Lemnos to Kastelorizo. This chain will shout:

- No to the plans of the SYRIZA-ANEL government for a NATO base in the Aegean.

- No involvement of our country in the imperialist interventions of NATO, the EU, and the USA.

- No earth and no water to the murderers of the peoples.

Anti-NATO banner in Rhodes Castle

In response to the SYRIZA-ANEL coalition government plans for a NATO base in Karpathos or another island of the Aegean, the Rhodes Peace Council hung a giant banner on the Rhodes Medieval castle. 

The banner states, in Greek and English: "No NATO base, not in Karpathos, not in the Aegean".

Def Min P. Kamenos suggested creating a NATO base in the Aegean-Response of the KKE

Minister of Defense P. Kammenos announced that the SYRIZA-ANEL coalition government will propose the creation of a NATO base in the Aegean, a fact that involves the country even further in the dangerous imperialist plans of the wolf pack.

Speaking at an "Economist" conference, P. Kammenos noted that he will submit this proposal during his upcoming visit to the U.S.

Confirming that the elaboration of this proposal is at an advanced stage, he mentioned that there is a Ministry study that takes into account the Suda, Crete base and NATO needs. However, he did not reveal the island on which the proposed base will operate.

The excuse he gave for the creation of this new attack base in the NATO war machine was that with this base the "Alliance" will have direct knowledge of Turkey's behavior. Of course, through the previous years, the elevation of NATO to the status of an arbiter of Greek-Turkish differences not only did not prevent Turkish provocations, but legitimated Ankarra demands, as NATO does not recognize borders in the Aegean.

No to the murderous migration policies of the EU

NO TO THE MURDEROUS MIGRATION POLICIES OF THE EU

Joint Statement of the Communist Party of Greece, Communist Party, Italy, Communist Party of Malta, Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain

At the initiative of the KKE, the Communist Parties of 4 European countries of the Mediterranean, which are receiving the largest waves of refugees and immigrants, denounce the political line of the EU and point to the causes of the problem, as well as the direction of the communists’ struggle on this issue. The joint statement is as follows:

The KKE, CPI,PC Malta, PCPE wish to stress the following regarding the unspeakable tragedy unfolding in our countries’ seas in relation to the refugees and immigrants:

The ongoing tragedy has a “name”: it is the political line of the EU and other countries, like the USA, that is responsible for the wars in the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa. This tragedy is rooted in the capitalist system itself, on this terrain we have the manifestation of poverty, the class exploitation and oppression of the working class and peoples by reactionary regimes, the sharpening of the imperialist contradictions, which cause the imperialist wars and interventions.

Announcement of the KKE on the unacceptable statements made in the USA by P. Kammenos

The Press Office of the Central Committee of the KKE has issued an announcement on the unacceptable and dangerous statements of the Minister of Defense, where it notes the following:

"The Minister of Defense of the SYRIZA-ANEL government, Panos Kammenos, has made a series of unacceptable and dangerous statements during his visit to the USA.

He attempted to present the proposition of sharing of the energy wealth of the Aegean sea and of the country more broadly with the United States as a panacea for the capitalist crisis. However, life has shown that energy issues, in capitalist conditions and in conditions of the intensification of intra-imperialist antagonisms, not only fail to secure prosperity but are in fact a "magnet" for conflicts and bloody contests, the "source" of the dismemberment of states and of other evils.

The government bears grave responsibility. The invitation to the USA to act as a transatlantic arbiter of the energy wealth of the country, and its presentation as a force guaranteeing stability, are a provocation to our people.

Experience has shown that "solutions" of this nature not only undermine sovereign rights but lead our people to new adventures, as has been shown by a series of developments in other countries, who are close allies of the USA in the region, like Georgia and Ukraine. The shared exploitation of resources, to which the Minister of Defense has invited the USA, relates to the "dinner fest" pursued by American energy monopolies along with local businessmen, on the backs of the working class and of other popular strata.

Equally dangerous are the Minister's statements regarding an extension of the united defense doctrine of Greece and Cyprus "with the participation of Israel, in combination with tighter co-operation with the USA." For they involve our country even further within intra-imperialist competition, while peace in the Aegean and the Mediterranean cannot be safeguarded by those responsible for scores of crimes on earth, those who continue to butcher the people of Palestine.

The Minister of Defense has offered once more to have the country support the aggressive plans of NATO and the USA, which are under preparation in the Middle East and Northern Africa with the excuse of "the war against Terror."

The above, as well as the hymns to the USA to which Mr. Kammenos has resorted, and his statement "fear not, Greece is not changing its course", constitute the guarantees offered by the SYRIZA-ANEL government to the USA. These statements come on the heels of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' visit to Moscow. They show the desire of the new government to use risky maneuvers in the geopolitical conflict of capitalist "mega powers", intending to guarantee the greatest possible benefits for the country's bourgeoisie. However, it is well known that "when buffalo fight in the swamp, the frogs pay for the fight." For this reason, the KKE position for disengagement from the imperialist alliances of NATO and the EU, for the unilateral cancellation of debt, for the socialization of economic instruments, of the wealth produced by the workers, under popular power, is necessary and timely. Under this orientation, the mineral wealth of the country, which is in fact the people's property, can be used with the criterion of the people's interest instead of being offered up or sold to monopolies."

902, trans. Lenin Reloaded

Addendum: P. Kammenos' statements to V. Nuland (in Greek)

"Avgi" on the NATO war on Yugoslavia: "Srebrenitsa", 9/7/2005

From KKE obstruction of NATO train missions to Yugoslavia

The following article was published in the newspaper "Avgi" (Αυγή) on the 9th of July 2005. At the time of the article's publication, SYN, the basic party "Avgi" expressed, had already become the main constituent party of SYRIZA, which was founded in 2004. Its author, Dionysis Gousetis, later abandoned SYN to become a candidate for the neoliberal party "Action-Liberal Alliance." Like many others, the article is no longer accessible in "Avgi's" newspaper archives, but it is hosted by a neoliberal site associated with Mr. Gouseti's later alliances, and both its original venue and the date of publication are clearly visible.

***

What is a genocide? It is the most hideous of crimes: you kill the other exclusively on the basis of what they are. Srebrenitsa, 11 July 1995; ten years ago to the day; the first genocide in Europe after the Jewish and Roma Holocaust  in Hitler's hands; Srebrenitsa; 8,000 Muslims dead because they were Muslim; Srebrenitsa; a wound that remains open as long as those responsible remain unprosecuted; Srebrenitsa; the wound of civilized Europe.

In the “minefield” of the imperialist competition

While Victoria Nuland, the USA’s Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs was meeting in Athens with the Greek Prime Minister, A. Tsipras, the Deputy Defense Minister, K. Isychos was traveling to Moscow.

It is becoming obvious that the new Greek government has made a choice to approach as many imperialist centres as possible, playing the card of the country’s strategic value, in order to upgrade the position of the Greek monopolies, of course, with its stable euro-atlantic orientation unchanged and particularly the “strategic cooperation” of Greece with the USA.

KKE: The US-NATO stance on Ukraine is provocative; Greek government shares responsibility

KKE: The US-NATO stance is provocative; The Greek government stance on the Ukraine crisis aims to blind the people to the facts

The Department of International Relations of the Central Committee of the KKE has issued an announcement on the Ukraine crisis, which states:

«The US-NATO stance is provocative; the Greek government stance on the Ukraine crisis aims to blind the people to the facts

In the last few days, and despite the Minsk Treaty, the US and NATO have continued their intervention in the Ukrainian crisis, threatening the peoples of the region with a further ignition of conflict and bloodshed. More specifically:

- Three hundred US military personnel have arrived at the Lviv base in the Ukraine and have started the training of local troops. Hence, the US is making its military presence in the Ukraine, for which it has already approved 19 million dollars, more intense.

SYRIZA and NATO: April 2014 Exposec Conference -- and an Update

The American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and SGT are convening for the second consecutive year for the international defense & security conference, EXPOSEC-DEFENSEWORLD to take place April 7 & 8, 2014 at the Hotel Grande Bretagne.

The conference entitled "Defense & Security Policy: Meet the Future Challenges” is to be held under the auspices of the Ministry of National Defense, and remains the point of reference for stakeholders seeking to be informed on the latest developments in, and potential of, Greek defense & security policy issues. Exposec-Defenseworld is taking place at a critical geopolitical juncture, when Greece isexperiencing economic crisis and, at the same time, is called to regain its international credibility, strengthen its defense industry by leveraging existing infrastructure and creating strategic alliances, and ensure necessary governance and orderliness at internal and external security levels.

On SYRIZA, NATO and the Middle East (Part I)

The people should be concerned with participation in interventions in the Middle East:

Government plans of "geopolitical upgrading"

The Coalition Government is exploiting the excuse of confronting Jihadists

Rizospastis, 1 March 2015

Translated by Lenin Reloaded

"Let us utilize the geopolitical dynamics of the country for the negotiating power of the government", said Alexis Tsipras at the SYRIZA Political Bureau meeting, foregrounding one of the goals of his government. This is a line he has been developing since early February, when, upon visiting Nicosia, Cyprus, he characterized Greece and Cyprus as "two important pillars of stability in the turbulent Southeast Mediterranean." He proposed, on the other hand, that Greece and Cyprus play the card of their geostrategic position in negotiations with their creditors: "The EU and the Eurozone are both amputated without Greece and Cyprus to their southeast ends, the borders that today, more than ever, must be stable and secure. Greece and Cyprus are pillars of stability and security in a geopolitically turbulent environment in the broader region. Those who do not understand this and are only making economic calculations will soon be proven wrong, because economists are fine, but if we rely only on them, we are in danger of leading Europe to a major disaster."

What IS Syriza's position on NATO?

Some folk abroad have expressed concern with the very sensible question reflected in the title: they want to know what SYRIZA's position on NATO is.

As with all things SYRIZA (the party that is all things to all people -- except commies), however, the answer is a lot more complicated than the question; I've done the work of tracing it already for Greek readers, so here it is in translation. Enjoy.

1. NATO has had no reason to exist in the last twenty years. Attica Administrative Ruler Rena Dourou, June 2012.

2. Disengagement of Greece from NATO. April 2012, SYRIZA Press Announcement.

3. Disengagement of Greece from NATO is a stable and unchanging position of the party. June 2012,  Election program of SYRIZA.

4. Disengagement from NATO, closure of NATO military bases, prevention of military cooperation with Israel, no Greek soldier in war fronts outside the country. SYRIZA Party Program Resolution, 2012.

5. Exiting NATO is a stable SYRIZA position. MP Karagiannidis, January 2013, "Ethnos" interview.

6. Greece has no intention to leave NATO. MP and Minister Yanis Varoufakis (and James Galbraith), NYT, 23 June 2013.

7. "I say, with all the strength of my voice, Greece is a country that belongs to the West, to the EU and to NATO. This is not under question." PM Tsipras, 15 May 2014.

7. Leave NATO. MP and Minister Dritsas, 5 September 2014.

8. Struggle for NATO to dissolve itself. MP Vitsas, 8 September 2014.

9. It's not to be taken for granted that Greece will stay in NATO. PM Tsipras, 14 September 2014.

10. Greece will stay in NATO, as long as its national interests are not affected. PM Tsipras, 14 September 2014 (in the same statement as #9).

11. It's not a SYRIZA priority for Greece to leave NATO, though NATO has no reason to exist and must be replaced by new institutions. PM Tsipras, Thessaloniki Press Conference, 16 September 2014.

12. Against NATO, but leaving it is not a priority. Panos Trigazis, SYRIZA Foreign Relations Coordinator, 1 October 2014.

13.  Our good relations with NATO will not be harmed. Panos Kammenos, ANEL leader and Minister of Defense of the SYRIZA-ANEL government. 5 February 2015.

14. We want an active role on the side of NATO against terrorism. Panos Kammenos (in the same statement as #13).

KKE GS D. Koutsoumpas, on the "Left", Parliament speech extract 10/2/2015

Since a number of people here claim to speak on behalf of the Left, often addressing KKE:

The Left, those who fell in the battlefield, were shot, were imprisoned, were persecuted, joined the struggle in "the years of stone", of the harsh battles of EAM, ELAS, EPON, of December 1944, of the Democratic Army of Greece, of 1-1-4, of the anti-dictatorship struggle, and, after the dictatorship, of "Out with the US and NATO", of "EU and NATO are the same trust", of the socialization of big corporations, etc...all those people have not authorized anyone in here to speak on their behalf. Neither are "passports" whose expiry date has passed valid.

Really, can you place the banner of EAM, of ELAS, of EPON of the Democratic Army next to NATO's flag, which SYRIZA and its government hoists high, thrusting us in the maelstrom of bellicose adventurism in the "Bermuda Triangle" of the Ukraine, Syria and Libya, like its parading ministers said?

The statement of the MEP of the KKE, Kostas Papadakis, on the trial to outlaw the CP of Ukraine

The trial regarding the outlawing of the CP of Ukraine began on Wednesday (4/2) in Kiev. The accusers of the CP of Ukraine in the trial are the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, the Ministry of the Interior and the National Information Agency. They accuse the CP of Ukraine of “divisive propaganda”. Similar acts of persecution against its cadres and members are underway all over the country with baseless and untenable accusations, which are refuted and exposed by the party’s cadres. A representative of the KKE, Kostas Papadakis, member of the CC and MEP, attended the trial at the invitation of the CP of Ukraine. 

At the press conference organized by the CP of Ukraine for the Ukrainian mass media, K. Papadakis noted the following: 

 “Today’s trial, which will continue, is just a part of a barrage of persecutions that is underway at the expense of the CP of Ukraine, and also against its individual members and cadres. The persecution and machinations to outlaw the communists and their activity are unacceptable and reprehensible. They attack the people themselves and their rights. The communists of Ukraine made a great contribution to the struggle of the Ukrainian people, to all their achievements, both during the Great Anti-fascist Victory of the Peoples and also during the years of socialist construction, as well as today. 

On SYRIZA and an article by "Morning Star"

The Morning Star on the 17/1 featured an article on the developments in Greece and the prospects regarding the election of a SYRIZA government (“Athens stands on the verge of its liberation” by Kevin Ovenden). The writer paints a picture of the situation in Greece today that has nothing to do with the reality and misleads the paper’s readers. Specifically, he states that SYRIZA belongs to the “Radical Left” and that the impending election of a SYRIZA government marks a rupture with the European establishment. Indeed, he attempts to depict SYRIZA as the historic continuation of the titanic struggles of the communist movement in Greece in the 20th century. This is an anti-historical approach and although an analysis of these issues is beyond the scope of our article, we would merely like to note that EAM, ELAS and the DSE came into fierce confrontations with the fascist occupier, US and British imperialism and the class enemy in Greece, paying the price with thousands of dead, years of persecution, torture and exile and in contrast to all this, the President and leading officials of SYRIZA are feted in the mansions of the plutocracy, the IMF, in Texas, in the Bilderberg Group of Italy’s (Ambrosetti Forum) meeting in Lake Como, in the City of London and provide assurances and loudly declare that our country’s membership of the EU and NATO is not disputed. 

Empty Blustering

The bargaining between the SYRIZA-ANEL coalition government and the staff of the EU officially began on 30/1, when J. Dijsselbloem, the Eurogroup President, visited Athens. 

In his meeting with the Prime Minister, A. Tsipras, and the Finance Minsiter, G. Varoufakis, the new government's dedication to the competitiveness of capital, balanced budgets, primary surpluses and restructuring was confirmed. 

At the same time, the more general antagonisms of capital manifested themselves more intensely. The formulation of J. Dijsselbloem was characteristic: in response to the position regarding an "international conference" about the Greek state debt, he stated that the "conference has a name, it is the Eurogroup". In other words, he stated that whatever decisions are taken will be taken at the level of the EU without interventions from other sides, such as the IMF, for example.