International working-class solidarity: SACP

The Central Committee of the South African Communist Party (SACP) held its first Plenary of this year from Friday to Sunday, 4 to 6 April 2025, in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. SACP General Secretary Solly Mapaila presented the political report discussed by the Central Committee. The Central Committee also received and discussed the organisational and other reports, as well as additional presentations, contributing to the discussions held and the decisions made on a wide range of issues.

A Central Committee statement was issued April 6 that included a comprehensive look at the international situation.

International working-class solidarity

The SACP rejects the ill-considered decision to invite Volodymyr Zelenskyy to South Africa. This move must be reversed without delay. Zelenskyy’s term as President of Ukraine has expired. No new elections have taken place in Ukraine, unlike in Russia, rendering his status illegitimate. He remains a puppet of the US-led imperialist bloc, serving the interests of the NATO political, economic, ideological and war machinery. His invitation has the effect of placing our country on the wrong side of history and the global class struggle.

The SACP stands in militant internationalist solidarity with the oppressed peoples of the world:

• With the people of Swaziland fighting heroically for democratic change against monarchical dictatorship.

• With the working class and poor of Sudan demanding an end to the civil war.

• With the people of Western Sahara resisting the colonial occupation by Morocco.

• With the people of Syria and the anti-imperialist axis of resistance in the Middle East including Iran and Lebanon, resisting aggression from the apartheid Israeli settler regime and its imperialist patron, the US.

Despite relentless imperialist attacks and economic sabotage, the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela has maintained participatory democracy and recently reaffirmed its legitimacy through the re-election of President Nicolás Maduro. We pledge our solidarity with the people of Venezuela against imperialist aggression and machinations.

Further, the SACP reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people, and with the broader resistance forces in Syria, Lebanon and across the region. Zionism is a form of settler colonialism that must be confronted with sustained internationalist resistance.

The SACP will deepen ties with the Communist Party of Vietnam and the People’s Republic of Vietnam, whose continued advances in socialist development remain a beacon of anti-imperialist resistance.

We stand firmly with the Rohingya people of Myanmar who are victims of state-led ethnic cleansing and systemic oppression. Their plight demands revolutionary solidarity and mobilisation to end apartheid-like conditions and forced displacement. Following the recent earthquake in Myanmar, which has caused devastating loss of life and infrastructure, the SACP calls for humanitarian assistance anchored in solidarity, not charity. We urge the international working class to support all efforts aimed at reconstruction under the democratic leadership of the people.

The SACP’s revolutionary solidarity with socialist Cuba remains unshaken. We condemn the ongoing US blockade and reaffirm our support for the Cuban people and their socialist project.

The SACP maintains its consistent stance: peace in Ukraine will never be achieved without addressing NATO’s eastwards expansion and the imperialist provocation it represents. Russia’s position that Ukraine must not become a NATO outpost is a legitimate security concern. Any peace settlement must reflect the need to dismantle imperialist military encirclement.

The trade war launched by US imperialism against the People’s Republic of China is part of a broader attempt to undermine the global shift towards a multipolar world. Hikes in US tariffs aim to contain China’s advancing economic development. In response, China has implemented retaliatory measures, including tariffs and export controls on key minerals, exposing the contradictions of the global capitalist order.

China’s development is rooted in its strategic investments in real production, infrastructure development and global co-operation through initiatives such as the Belt and Road. The US, in contrast, relies on bullying, fictitious capital, financial speculation and unsustainable debt, while its infrastructure crumbles and social inequality widens.

The emergence of BRICS Plus co-operation represents a potential reconfiguration of global power. As the US unipolar dominance fades, the working class internationally must seize the opportunity to deepen co-operation among progressive states, strengthen anti-imperialist alliances and advance the struggle for socialism in the 21st century.

The SACP congratulates Comrade M.A. Baby on his election as General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). We also commend the successful conclusion of the 24th Congress in Madurai and extend our revolutionary greetings to the newly elected 18-member Polit Bureau.