The Europarliament Group of the KKE on the dangerous developments in Ukraine

In a letter addressed to the President of the Europarliament, Martin Schulz, the Europarliament group of the KKE has condemned the adoption of a reactionary law imposing Mass Media censorship in Ukraine as well as the initiative of a Czech MEP, known for his anticommunist activity. The letter is as follows:

"With the present letter we would like, first of all, to denounce the new, reactionary law of the Ukrainian government, which imposes a regime of censorship on the Mass Media, publishing, films and every cultural and artistic creation, in the name of "protecting national security" and preventing the "fomenting ethnic hatred." This law constitutes another dangerous element of the politics of the forces that seized power after the intervention of the USA-EU-NATO in Ukraine, which took place in the midst of competition with Russia and the antipopular schemes of the Ukrainian bourgeoisie.

This is another strike of the Ukrainian government against the people; supported by fascist forces, the government continues to bomb Donbas and has banned the CP of Ukraine, while abductions, persecution and threats against communists and other workers and racist murderous attacks by fascist shock troops continue.

G. Marinos-Speech at Kiev, May Day 2015

The May 1 rally of communists and veterans of the antifascist war was held in the Ukrainian capital in an atmosphere of intense repression, provocation and police intimidation. The delegation of the KKE, comprised of G. Marinos, member of the PB of the CC of the KKE and Elisseos Vagenas, member of the CC and Responsible for the International Relations Section of the CC of the KKE, was in Kiev at the invitation of the CP Ukraine.

Speaking at the event, G. Marinos noted the following:

Dear comrades,

The CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), thousands of members and friends of the party and the Communist Youth (ΚΝΕ), thousands of workers, express their internationalist solidarity with the CP of Ukraine, with the communist men and women of your country and decisively denounce anticommunism, the wave of persecution that is being organized by the government, by the Ukrainian authorities.

We denounce the anticommunist law 2558 that was recently passed in the Ukrainian parliament and we demand its annulment.

Delegation of KKE joins May Day celebration in Kiev

On Thursday, 30 April 2015, a Delegation of the Central Committee of the KKE, composed of Giorgos Marinos, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of KKE, and Elissaios Vagenas, member of the Central Committee and Cordinator of the Department of International Relations of the CC of KKE, will depart for Kiev, after the invitation of the Communist Party of Ukraine.

The KKE Delegation will participate in Labor May Day activities organized in Kiev by the CP of Ukraine, a few days after the Parliament ratified the unacceptable law that equates communism and fascism and that forbids communist symbols and the propagation of communist ideology.

902, trans. Lenin Reloaded

KKE Parliamentary question on Ukraine statements by Min. Kotzias

KKE MPs Giorgos Marinos, Liana Kanelli and Thanasis Pafilis have submitted the following Parliamentary question:

«During his recent visit to the USA, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias stated, after meeting with American counterpart John Kerry (Washington, D.C, 20/4/2015), that he informed his American colleague of the "aid we provide to Ukraine at present."

This statement comes at a moment when:

- The Ukrainian Parliament has approved an anti-historical law that equates fascism and communism and uses this as a basis to obstruct the activity of communists and the propagation of communist ideas.

- Historically legitimated local fascists, belonging to the so-called Ukraine Liberation Army, through another law.

- Dmitro Yarosh, head of the Nazi organization "Right Sector", is appointed as consultant to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

The European Parliament Group of KKE denounces the escalation of the attempts to ban the Communist Party of Ukraine and condemns the anti-communist persecutions by the Ukrainian government

The ongoing acts by the reactionary Ukrainian government which, with a law it voted on, attempts to ban the Communist Party of Ukraine, while at the same time cooperating openly with fascist parties and their armed gangs, are condemned by the European Parliament Group of the KKE through a Question of the MEP, Kostas Papadakis to the High Representative of Foreign Affairs and Vice President of the EU Commission, F. Mogherini. The question highlights the following:

"After the fiasco in which the trial to ban the Communist Party of Ukraine developed in, the government rushed defiantly, shortly before the 9th of May -the 70th anniversary of the Antifascist Victory of the Peoples - to pass a law that, ignorant of history and based on the unacceptable notion promoted by the EU, equates fascism and communism and calls to "prohibit their propaganda". The law aims only on the actions of the communists and the fighters who opposed against the imperialist intervention of the EU - US and NATO in Ukraine. At the same as the trial to outlaw the Communist Party of Ukraine is pending and there was recently a request for the prosecution of its President Petro Simonienko, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, the Ukrainian government is by law making heroes out of the fascists of the so-called Ukrainian Liberation Army, which acted in World War II. The reactionary government of Ukraine is at the same time using fascist parties and their armed criminal organizations, as shown by the recent appointment of Dmytro Yarosh, head of the Nazi organization "Right Sector", at the position of adviser of the Ministry of Defence.

Letter of KKE GS Koutsoumbas to Ukraine President Poroshenko

Thursday, 16 April 2015

To the President of Ukraine Piotr Poroshenko

Mr. President,

On 9 April 2015, one month before the 70th anniversary of the antifascist victory, the Parliament of your country approved Law 2558, "on the condemnation of communist and nazi totalitarian regimes in Ukraine and the prohibition of their propaganda and symbols." On the same day, the Parliament of your country approved another law, which glamorizes the local Nazi collaborators.

These decisions are a provocation for those who fought against the fascist monster. They are blasphemy against the millions of people who gave their lives in the struggle against fascism during the Second Imperialist World War. They aim at the unacceptable equation of the Soviet Union to Nazi Germany, whilst the contribution of the USSR, under communist leadership, in bearing the principal burden of the war against fascism, is well known. These decisions are an insult against the communists of other countries, such as Greece, who stood at the forefront of the struggle against fascism and imperialism, for popular rights and freedoms.

SYRIZA's "Red Notebook" on Ukraine, 22/2/2014

The "Red Notebook" is a political and economic analysis website maintained by the "Red-Green network" of SYRIZA. Several of its authors also write in the main party newspaper "Avgi", and its theoretical influences include Trotskyism and Althusserianism (particularly via Poulantzas, probably the most central figure in the political orientation of this group). Some of the top SYRIZA cadre members it features are economists Euclid Tsakalotos (Deputy Min. of Int. Fin. Relations) Yannis Dragasakis (gov. Deputy leader) and John Milios, and intellectuals including Costas Douzinas and Aristeidis Baltas (Min. Ed.). The article that follows was published on the 22nd of February, after the first phase of the Maidan coup. The translation is mine.

***

On the Ukraine Uprising

Simonida Argyrakou

The Left must understand the needs of poor strata and support their demands. On the other hand, it must also stand against imperialism -- both EU-USA and Russian imperialism.

Contemporary history involves several examples of social uprisings in which, whereas the causes of the problems are clearly of a class nature, their failure to express themselves in Left terms --whether because of the inability of people to complete their demands beyond the political change in personnel or because of the exploitation of popular rage by nationalists-- make some segments of the Left see the whole enterprise negatively.

SYRIZA on Ukraine, Russia and EU sanctions: Interview with Minister Nikos Kotzias, 7 March 2015

The following are extracts from the interview of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias (elected through SYRIZA ballot) to the German TV networks ZDF and ARD, during his visit to Riga.

***

Journalist: Mr. Minister, what is your view of the EU stance toward Ukraine?

N. Kotzias: We have already stated that we want peace in Europe, peace and stability in Ukraine. We support the Ukrainian government in its struggle to obtain the country's independence and to safeguard its sovereign rights. [...]

Journalist: Are you satisfied with the EU stance toward Russia?

N. Kotzias: The EU stance toward Russia was shaped through the contribution of Greece as well, and I am satisfied with it.

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.

The KKE denounces the anti-communist persecution against the CP of Ukraine

The KKE carried out an intervention in the EU Parliament’s Foreign Affairs’ Committee in order to denounce the persecution of the CP of Ukraine and the dissolution of its parliamentary group. This committee carried out a special meeting, where the President of the Ukrainian Parliament, V. Groysman, was the central speaker.

The MEP of the KKE, Kostas Papadakis, stressed in his speech: “Mr Groysman in your country, which the Chair E. Brok in his presentation characterized as a country that could be an example to be emulated, the reactionary government that is supported by fascist forces dissolved the Parliamentary Group of the Communist Party of Ukraine.

In the same country, the President of the Administrative Court of Kiev that is conducting the Ukrainian government’s political persecution against the CP of Ukraine, resigned and made accusations that on the 16th and 17th of February he and other members of the judiciary were subject to searches in their offices, to searches of their computers and personal items. The president characterized these acts as being illegal and refused to bow to the pressure. 10 other judges of the same court demanded exemption from the specific trial in support of the President of the court.

Announcement of the P.O of the CC of KKE on New EU Sanctions Against Russia

The Press Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) has announced the following on the subject of the new sanctions of the EU against Russia:

«Today, the European Union made public the new "black list" of persons of public office in Russia on whom sanctions are imposed, using as justification their involvement in the Ukraine conflict. Among those "punished" by the EU is Valery Raskin,  an MP of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, and the Vice Chariperson of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

It is clear that, like their predecessors, the new sanctions, imposed after the implementation of the Ukraine ceasefire agreement, do not contribute to any resolution of the problems of the Ukraine crisis.  Furthermore, these sanctions belie the arguments of representatives of the SYRIZA-ANEL government, that it was thanks to their stance that new sanctions against Russia were not imposed. It is factually proven that the SYRIZA-ANEL government did not only agree to the same sanctions against Russia with which the previous, ND-PASOK government had agreed, but also to their perpetuation and further escalation».

16 February 2015.

902

Text translated by Lenin Reloaded.

On the Peace Agreement concerning Southeast Ukraine

On the Peace Agreement concerning Southeast Ukraine

Statement of the International Relations Section of the CC of the KKE

The peace agreement concerning the Southeast Ukraine, which was arrived at after marathon talks between the Presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin, Ukraine, P. Poroshenko, France, F. Hollande and the Chancellor of Germany, A. Merkel, contains the element of a temporary compromise between the powers that came into bloody conflict in Ukraine in the previous period.

Much will depend on the course of the implementation of this agreement (and the related compromise). Also, there are many crucial points that are not clarified by the framework of this specific agreement. However, the most important aspect is that the causes that led to the crisis and the armed confrontation remain active to a greater or lesser extent. We are referring to the struggle over the control of the shares of the market, the natural resources and the energy transport routes. The outcomes of the naked intervention of the USA and EU in their competition with Russia remain, such as the existence of the reactionary Kiev government, which is also supported by fascist forces.

Consequently, it is too early for celebrations.* The compromises and agreements can not safeguard peace and security for the peoples, as long as the system that gives rise to competition, imperialist interventions and wars remains in place.

ATHENS 12/2/2015
KKE

* According to the CPG's website, and in confirmation of its skepticism, 11 people are reported dead in hostilities in Donbas in the first 24 hours after the Minsk Peace Treaty.

George Soros and the purpose of his "struggle against austerity"

The "cream of civil society"

Wake Up, Europe

George Soros

New York Books

November 20, 2014 Issue

Europe is facing a challenge from Russia to its very existence. Neither the European leaders nor their citizens are fully aware of this challenge or know how best to deal with it. I attribute this mainly to the fact that the European Union in general and the eurozone in particular lost their way after the financial crisis of 2008.

The fiscal rules that currently prevail in Europe have aroused a lot of popular resentment. Anti-Europe parties captured nearly 30 percent of the seats in the latest elections for the European Parliament but they had no realistic alternative to the EU to point to until recently. Now Russia is presenting an alternative that poses a fundamental challenge to the values and principles on which the European Union was originally founded. It is based on the use of force that manifests itself in repression at home and aggression abroad, as opposed to the rule of law. What is shocking is that Vladimir Putin’s Russia has proved to be in some ways superior to the European Union—more flexible and constantly springing surprises. That has given it a tactical advantage, at least in the near term.

On the EU's Provocative Answer to KKE regarding Ban on CP Of Ukraine, 17/9/2014

The EU’s provocative answer to the KKE regarding the attempt to outlaw the CP of Ukraine

17/9/2014

The response of the High Representative of Foreign Policy of the EU to the question of the EU parliamentary group of the KKE in relation to the attempts to ban the CP of Ukraine was provocative. The EU parliamentary group of the KKE made the following reference in its press statement:

“The EU’s full support for the reactionary Ukrainian government and its aim to outlaw the CP of Ukraine and to escalate its persecutions against communists has been confirmed by the High Representative of the EU’s Foreign Policy C. Aston, with her answer to the Question of the EU parliamentary group of the KKE, which denounced the government’s persecution of the CP of Ukraine.

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. 

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.