Comment of the KKE on the intensification of the phenomenon of migration and the government-EU measures

August 19, 2015

In its comment on the intensification of the phenomenon of migration and the government-EU measures, the Press Office of the CC of the KKE notes:

"The KKE had warned, in a timely fashion, that the drama of thousands of persecuted and entrapped refugees and migrants flooding the country, especially the islands of the Aegean, cannot be dealt with through the patched-up measures of the SYRIZA-ANEL government, which, like the previous governments, is looking for "solutions" within the path of the EU migration policy.

The KKE calls on the worker and popular movement to take the lead, intensify its solidarity, isolate racist manifestations and the phenomena of exploitation of refugee needs. The movement should demand: the abolition of the rules of the Dublin and Schengen Treaties, the obtainment of obstacle-free and secure transport of refugees to EU member states, which are their real destination, the immediate hiring of necessary personnel for the services of first reception and refuge, the creation of human reception and hospitality spaces, the abolition of the participation of our country in the imperialist plans of the US-NATO-EU, the non participation in imperialist intervention in other countries, the disengagement from Euro-Atlantic organizations."

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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.

PAME: Response to the Tsipras-Juncker joint statement

The Tsipras-Juncker joint statement is the harbinger of a new, guillotine-type agreement 

P.A.ME

The Tsipras-Juncker joint statement issued today, and relating to labor and social security issues, as well as the presentation of its content as an indication of progress, mean that we are getting closer to new anti-labor and anti-people measures. The joint statement is the harbinger of a new, guillotine-type agreement for the people -- a new "Memorandum."

Just as the "Troika" was rebaptized as "Institutions", so the butchering of whatever labor and popular rights have remained in labor relations and social security is rebaptized "a modern and effective system of collective bargaining" and a "modernization of the pension system."

Do not be fooled! What they announced with the joint statement is the new onslaught that will base itself on laws on which the slaughter of labor and insurance rights was built during all the previous years. It is proved in practice that the bravado of the government concerning alleged "red lines" was thin air!

Tsipras-Juncker Joint Statement

The joint statement:

President [of the European Commission] Jean-Claude Juncker and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had a telephone conversation today. They noted the progress achieved in the last few days in discussions between Greece and its partners on the question of the comprehensive lit of reforms required for the successful completion of the evaluation procedure.

There was special reference to the importance of reforms for the modernization of the pension system, so as to render it fair, fiscally sustainable and effective, in the direction of avoiding the impoverishment of the elderly. 

There was also a discussion on the need to have wage-related developments and the institutions of the labor market play a supportive role in the creation of jobs, in competitiveness and in social cohesion. Within this context, there was agreement on the role of a modern and effective system of collective bargaining, which must develop through broad discussion and fulfill the highest European standards.

The constructive talks must continue within the framework of the Brussels Group.

SKAI

No man's land: On the dismemberment of 14 refugees at the Greece-FYROM borders

Still from Theo Angelopoulos' The Suspended Step of the Stork

The Europarliament team of the KKE condemns the European Union's murderous policy against immigrants and refugees through a question submitted by the KKE MEP, Sotiris Zarianopoulos, to Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission. The question was occasioned by the dismemberment of fourteen refugees by a train, on the railway line Beles-Skopje. They had been entrapped in the Greece-FYROM borders, with no possibility of escape.

In his question, the KKE MEP noted the following: 

«Fourteen refugees were dismembered by a train, which rode over a group of 100 refugees approximately, in the railway line Beles-Skopje. Hundreds of refugees from various countries --victims of imperialist aggression by the EU, USA and NATO-- have been trapped in the neutral border zone of Greece and FYROM for months, without the possibility of escape. They cannot move to other European countries.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Golden Dawn vs KKE at Europarliament

Golden Dawn MEP: Sir Colleague, the right to strike is respectable and sacred, but the right to work is equally respectable. What is your view on the phenomenon of minority groups, coming from a specific political party, which refuse entry to corporations, often using violence, with the final result being to shut down these corporations, leaving everyone unemployed? Thank you.

Sotiris Zarianopoulos (already convicted for striking activity by the Greek courts), MEP KKE: We expected nothing else from the Nazis of Golden Dawn. They are lackeys of capital, they have relations to specific employers. They are funded to terrorize workers, to function as employer offices, as slave traders, so they can place dirt-cheap workers at the service of their bosses. That's what the Nazis are, that's what their role is, and that's what it always was. For this, they must be condemned and isolated by the workers themselves.

A few words on "Euroscepticism"

Discussions of the prospects for a United States of Europe emerged among the European bourgeoisie during the 19th-century bourgeois revolutions and nationalist movements in Europe as a bourgeois-democratic demand. Among its proponents were the French author Victor Hugo and the Italian bourgeois revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini. The dawn of the 20th century saw a revival of the debate as an objective result of capitalism entering its imperialist stage, with the discussions intensifying during World War I.

In the beginning of the 20th century, the debate had an impact on the workers’ movement, with discussions concerning whether the slogan should be adopted or not. It should be reminded that this was the discussion to which Lenin contributed during World War I with his 1915 article “On the slogan for a United States of Europe”, where he pointed out:

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. 

M. Papadopoulos-Negotiations at the Enemy Camp, Part II

A different path to the "frugal life" 

Whatever the outcome of the negotiations, it will not lead to a significant improvement of the position of the working class. The previous big "haircut" of sovereign debt in Greece (PSI) not only did not result in the economic relief of the people but it was accompanied by an escalation of anti-popular attack. This example helps make clear that a change in the management and the level of government debt does not automatically lead to any improvement of social policy or to an increase of popular income. 

As long as the goal of increasing monopoly profit remains, the sacrifice of social needs and rights will continue. Protecting the competitiveness of capital and the recovery of losses of the workers at the same time are not compatible goals. Capitalist development runs counter to popular welfare, whichever management of sovereign debt is chosen. 

M. Papadopoulos-Negotiations at the Enemy Camp, Part I

M. Papadopoulos*

Negotiations at the enemy camp 
Rizospastis [The Radical]: Organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece,
1 February 2015

"Substantial negotiations." This will be the slogan of the post-election trade in hope in the coming months. Both the coalition government of SYRIZA - ANEL and the major bourgeois media are promoting the meeting of the Minister of Finance Yannis Varoufakis with the President of Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, as the starting point of a marathon of negotiations that may lead to better days in Greece and in the EU at large. 

The ideological climate which promotes reduced expectations and demands, one which unfortunately prevails today among the wage earners, is exploited to reinforce the illusion that a "tough", "decisive" negotiation might lead to a shift of the bourgeois administration of the economy in the people's interest. There is an attempt to establish the idea that the large losses in the family income of the Greek lower classes during the crisis period are final, and that this is no longer the issue anyway; at the same time, what is projected as the only way out for future popular prosperity is the speedy return to higher rates of capitalist growth, to economic recovery and increased profits for monopoly groups. 

To expose the myth of hard bargaining that will allegedly lead to "development for all", wherein both monopolies and wage-earners and the self-employed "win", we must examine that myth's content.