Selected speeches from the 19th International Meeting of the Communist and Workers' Parties. PCC, KKE, TKP (to be updated)
ICP, 3 November 2017
During the 19th Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties held in Leningrad the Chair of International relations department of Central Committee of Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), José Ramón Balaguer, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of Communist Party of Greece (KKE), Dimitris Koutsoumbas and the General Secretary of Central Committee of Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), Kemal Okuyan addressed to the delegates.
Balaguer opened his speech with referring to the Great October Revolution in Fidel Castro’s words as most important event of the 20th century. He also reminded Fidel saying that a socialist revolution in Cuba could be possible thanks to the Soviet Union. Balaguer commented that October Revolution not only demonstrated the alternative path of development for human kind, but also disseminated most progressive ideas which gave impetus to the foundations of communist parties around the world, contributed to struggles for national liberation against the colonizers and set the humanity free from the yoke of fascism.
Cuban representative stated that building socialism, as the only real way of development of mankind has become even more difficult under the conditions of a dangerous international conjuncture. He added, “it has become more complicated with the arrival of the current President of the United States, Donald Trump. With the support of the ultra-conservative neo-fascist elites of the United States, he is making efforts to prevent the fall of the American empire by any means. Those unforeseen events that take place in the White House complicate the solution of political problems, those conflicts that the world is facing. This jeopardizes important international agreements, raises fears that a new war may break out.”
Referring the resolution voted in United Nations General Assembly, against the US genocidal policy of blockade towards Cuba, Balaguer highlighted the isolation of US as the sole country together with Israel that voted against the resolution. Balaguer also expressed the solidarity of Cuban Communist Party with the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela, which is under heavy attack of big international capital and US government.
Cuban representative finally addressed the efforts in Cuba for updating the economic and model of the country, which will ensure the continuity of the process of socialist building. The plan, Balaguer informs, which was improved with people’s participation and contributions will finalize next year.
He reiterated that towards the 59th anniversary of the Cuban revolution the entire Cuban people raise the banner of the ideas of their leader Fidel Castro. The Communist Party of Cuba, Balaguer concluded, strengthens the leadership of the Party and always raises the banner of Lenin's ideas.
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the KKE, Koutsoumbas in his address remarked the fact that the experience of socialist construction demonstrated only the tendency of development of society as a whole and an impressive increase in the level of social welfare, but same experience can not give a true picture of the possibilities of socialist construction in today's conditions, when science, knowledge and labor abilities, productivity objectively reached another level.
Koutsoumbas noted that October 1917 opened the era of the overthrow of capitalism; the road to the future was shown and the era of socialist revolutions began. On the question of whether reform or revolution is the more feasible way for the salvation of the humanity, general secretary maintained reform is out of question since none of the organs of bourgeois power can become humane. “The line of social democracy from the beginning of the last century to our days has failed, caused great harm, led to the defeat of the revolutionary communist movement, helped the workers to get adapted to the capitalist exploitative system, disarmed the militant, progressive forces of social development, " Koutsoumbas added.
On the lessons of the collapse of the USSR, the general secretary reiterated the consideration of his party that "the theory and practice of" market socialism "is detrimental to socialist construction."
Koutsoumbas contended that each Communist Party must develop a line against the involvement of their country and their people in military imperialist interventions and wars, which at the same time protects the sovereign rights of each country. The communist parties also need to develop a line that demarcates them strictly from the local bourgeoisies and a strategy to overthrow these bourgeoisies, a strategy that opens the path to genuine peace and welfare of people, the general secretary added.
Kemal Okuyan started his address by pointing out the timeliness of the socialist revolution, and added that a century on the centenary of the Great October Revolution “nothing can set this fact aside, nothing can push it back to an uncertain date”.
The General Secretary of TKP, Kemal Okuyan started his portrayal of the current political situation in Turkey by referring to the fallacies of some “left-wing” groups in Turkey when Erdogan first came to power. Their support to Erdogan with the belief that he would bring about the demilitarization and democratization to country came to nothing; Erdogan showed everybody what democracy meant in bourgeois order. The truth, which is obvious to everyone now when the prisons of Turkey are crammed, was said years ago by TKP. TKP was also proven in its position on the Kurdish issue, Okuyan maintained. Reminding the Kurdish national movement’s convergence with Erdogan and US with the assumption that Kurdish issue can be resolved through negotiation with these powers, Kemal Okuyan added: “They have made the principle of the self-determination of nations, which Lenin firmly associated with a revolutionary strategy, a pretext for adopting a position in conflicts within the imperialist system, made it an excuse for dividing the working class movement. In the end, neither the Kurdish issue has been resolved, nor could it be possible to prevent the consolidation of hostilities between peoples.”
General secretary stressed that the experience of Turkey revealed the impossibility of improvement of a bourgeois dictatorship through reforms and the outcomes of collaborating with bourgeois actors since capitalism does not reconcile with democracy, freedoms or peace.