The CC of the KKE organized a two-day Scientific Conference of Bertolt Brecht

The two-day Scientific Conference organized by the CC of the KKE on the leading intellectual, playwright, poet and director, Bertolt Brecht was concluded on Sunday afternoon (28/4). The GS of the CC of the KKE, cde Dimitris Koutsoumpas made a greetings speech at the conference as well as the Secretary of the CC of KNE, Theodoris Chionis. The Conference was held in Athens, in the packed conference hall of the CC of the KKE. A rich programme of activity had been organized by the CC of the KKE in all the previous months, with theatrical productions, film showings of B. Brecht’s works which were attended by thousands of workers who came into contact with the important work of the German communist writer, poet and playwright.

In his greetings’ speech , the GS of the CC of the KKE, D. Koutsoumpas noted amongst other things: “ In recent years we began this effort to organize scientific conferences, dedicated to the work and personality of major, pioneering intellectuals-artists, such as Giannis Ritsos and Kostas Varnalis. This year we are taking a daring step- I would characterize it a leap- by dedicating the Conference to Bertolt Brecht, the greatest playwright of the 20th century, director, poet, intellectual, politically committed to the cause of liberating the world from the exploitation of man by man. Brecht was a great communist intellectual, a multi-talented artist. He gave all his strength, concentrating on the problems of humanity, to showing –through his work- the path of liberation of man from class exploitation and war as one of the forms of this class exploitation(…) Brecht, committed to the struggle, displayed unique courage, the courage to place politics in art, politics as an integral element of art and vice-versa.”

Mass and dynamic Mayday strike rallies of PAME in Athens and 80 other Greek cities.

The Mayday strike rally of PAME in Syntagma Sq., outside the parliament, was mass and dynamic, sending the message that this strike battle was dynamically and tirelessly waged by the workers, the unemployed and the militant rallies of the self-employed (PASEVE), the poor farmers (PASY), the students (MAS) and the women (OGE) from the popular strata, in every workplace, in every neighbourhood. Mass Mayday strike rallies were also held in 80 other cities all over Greece. Thus an answer was given to the government’s attempts to move the holiday or strike of Mayday to another date in order to deal a blow against the historic messages of May 1st in the consciousness of the working class, which decisively demonstrated that “May 1st is not a holiday, it is a strike. It is the red day of labour, it is the bloodstained day of the workers of Chicago and the workers all over the world.”

The contingents of the trade unions, pensioners’ unions, self-employed associations, the student unions, the women’s associations, the People’s Committees and Unemployed Committees in Athens reached Syntagma Sq. with slogans and a militant atmosphere.

A large delegation of the CC of the KKE participated in the rally, headed by the GS of the CC, Dimitris Koutsoumpas, who stated that: “We would like to address a call for the people to rally with the KKE, so that the way out for the capitalist crisis in favour of the people and not again in favour of the monopolies, the EU and their system, becomes a reality.”

The rally began with a greetings’ speech by Ilia Ahmet, an immigrant from Bangladesh, who read the letter of the 200 immigrant agricultural workers from the strawberry fields of Manolada, who rose up against their bosses, having worked unpaid for months in wretched conditions. The letter of the workers to the strike rally of PAME was a message which recognized the historic contribution of PAME to their struggle.

46 years since the military dictatorship of the 21st April

The GS of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumpas, spoke at the event of the Attica Party Organization which took place on Monday 22nd April with the theme “46 years since the military dictatorship of the 21st of April”.

The event was held in the Eleftheria Park in Athens which was jam-packed with people.

The GS of the CC of the KKE stressed amongst other things in his speech:

“At today’s event of the Attica Party Organization in Eleftheria Park the former EAT-ESA [ military police] base, we honour the militants of the anti-dictatorship struggle, the communists and other militants who were murdered, tortured, imprisoned, sent to places of exile, we honour the communists of the illegal organizations of the KKE and KNE, of the other organizations of the people’s and youth movement (…)

A party capable of acting in conditions of parliamentary democracy without losing sight of the main thing, its objective, but it is also capable of acting in conditions when the developments will bring the people and the labour movement face to face with the mechanisms of state repression and violence, with the mechanisms that restrict its activity, with the strengthening of anti-communism.”

When the forces of the Party of the European Left and opportunism support the partition of Cyprus

In the framework of the discussion of Turkey’s progress report, regarding the Cypriot question in the European Parliament last week, the Green group, represented by Daniel Cohn-Bendit, denounced the EU because it did not pressure Cyprus for re-unification. And so he tabled an amendment which demanded that the President of the European Council “invite two observers to represent the Turkish-Cypriot community in the European Parliament, in light of the next European parliamentary elections in 2014” In essence he posed the de facto partition of Cyprus. The amendment was rejected with 412 votes against (amongst them the 2 MEPs of the KKE) and 135 in favour, amongst them leading officials of the Party of the European Left such as Jean-Luc Melenchon and Younous Omarjee from France as well as the MEP of the German Die Linke party, Jurgen Klute, demonstrating in practice who supports the de facto participation of Cyprus through the recognition of the fake state and the application of pressure for a new “Annan Plan”.

Message of greetings to the 19th Congress of the KKE by the FARC-EP

KKE

Immediate response of the communists and the working class

“Greek and foreign workers united” “profits bathed in the blood of the workers in all Greece and Manolada” “The law is what is right for the workers” were the slogans shouted by the Greek and foreign workers in the centre of Nea Manolada as well as in Athens, Thessalonica, Giannena, after the call of the KKE, denouncing the murderous attack that was unleashed by the big strawberry farmers of Nea Manolada on 17/4, in response to the obvious demand of the immigrants to be paid for their hard work.

The communists, who for many years have been at the side of the immigrant workers, participated in the demonstration of the KKE in Nea Manolada alongside many agricultural workers. “This situation cannot go on, as the evil committed in Manolada and the wider region by the big business men in strawberry production and their thugs has gone on too long” stressed Dimitris Tzavaras, member of the CC of the KKE and secretary of the Pelopponese region of the party, at the demonstration “the attack against the immigrant agricultural workers is an attack on the whole working class, its movement, its vanguard. The immigrant agricultural workers of Manolada are a section of the Greek working class, so they are with us and we with them. While against us we have the capitalists and their thugs, and all those who provide support and toleration (state, mechanisms, political forces). The stance of each person regarding this issue tells us about their quality, about what interests they serve.” Dimitris Tzavaras noted.

THESES OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF GREECE FOR THE 19TH CONGRESS

Click to read the Theses of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece for the 19th Congress. 

There is also explained what the term People's Alliance stands for.