Monument and flag outside the headquarters of the Communist Party of Greece
The 22nd International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties (IMCWP) was held October 27-29 in Havana, Cuba.
The IMCWP is an annual meeting of Communist and Workers' parties that began in 1998 at the initiative of the Communist Party of Greece. 145 representatives of 78 Communist and Workers' Parties from 60 countries attended in Havana.
On November 7 English language versions of some of the key statements from the assembled parties were released.
Here we share resolutions condemning the blockade of Cuba, on the imperialist war in Ukraine, and in solidarity with the people and Communist Party of Venezuela.
The undersigned delegations attending the 22nd International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties, held in Havana in October 2022 express:
Our strongest condemnation of the unjust, illegal and inhumane blockade maintained by the government of the United States against Cuba and demand, once again, its immediate and unconditional end.
We urge the international community to demand that the U.S. government comply with the numerous UN General Assembly Resolutions condemning the blockade and calling for its lifting.
The blockade represents a flagrant, massive and systematic violation of the Cuban people’s human rights and poses the main hurdle for the country’s development.
We reject the tightening of this criminal policy, including the adoption of 243 measures during Donald Trump administration, aimed at worsening the financial suffocation and the commercial siege, which remain in place up to date.
We firmly denounce the opportunistic application of these measures, even at a time when the Cuban people were facing the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, thus making the blockade a true "Crime against Humanity" committed against the Cuban people.
We also condemn the attempts to destabilize the internal situation in Cuba, using unconventional warfare instruments, subversion and media campaigns against the heroic people of Cuba and its government.
We reject the unjust inclusion by the U.S. government on the spurious and unilateral list of countries allegedly sponsoring terrorism to Cuba, a country that in solidarity takes thousands of doctors, nurses and teachers to all countries in need, as has been demonstrated in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
We ratify our firm solidarity and commitment to the Cuban people, the revolutionary government and the Communist Party of Cuba to preserve the sovereignty and independence of Cuba and to maintain the decision to build the socialism unchanged.
Cuba is not alone, and it will not be alone!
Down with the blockade!
Long live Socialist Cuba!
We, the participants of the 22nd International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties in Havana on 27-29 October 2022, reconfirm our strong commitment to the struggle of the proletariat on a global scale, as well as our support to the many years of heroic anti-fascist struggle of the proletarians of Donbas and the resistance of the workers of Ukraine and Russia to the militarist policy of imperialism:
1.We condemn all the criminal actions of the representatives of the world capital: the USA, imperialist alliances and blocs, the Russian Federation and the ruling circles of Ukraine itself, who have used the last means to resolve their contradictions in the age of imperialism - war - on the territory of Ukraine. At the moment, these contradictions have reached such a depth that it seems impossible to predict how long this war will last.
2.We support anti-militarist sentiments and actions within Ukraine and the Russian Federation as a struggle of the exploited class against the exploiting class. Not only the logic of Marxist analysis, but also the eight months of ongoing war show the falsity of the goals declared by the Russian government as their implementation obviously leads to directly opposite results: humanitarian disaster, thousands of civilian deaths, militarization of Ukraine alongside with the destruction of its industrial enterprises and cities, increase in anti-Russian sentiment and the numbers of fascist militants. Thus, as before in history, the ruling elites of both countries are manipulating the slogans of a "just war" for their political points, economic gain and the mobilization of the deceived peoples to achieve goals alien to them.
3. We strongly disclaimany involvement of the Russian government policy in the anti-fascist movement or, even more so, in the "pro-Soviet" sentiment. The Russian Federation, being a bourgeois state, is only nominally, in the framework of bourgeois law, the inheritor of the USSR, while it has nothing in common with the USSR either in its basis or superstructure. During the 30 years of "independence" of the Russian Federation, financial and monopolistic capital was created; industry, education, and health care sectors were systematically destroyed; unemployment increased, and the gap between the rich and the poor grew, labor rights and democratic freedoms were eliminated.
The proxies of the bourgeois ruling circles of the Russian Federation have seized power in the people's republics of Lugansk and Donetsk, the red field commanders - the people's nominees - have been eliminated, and the political activities of communist organizations have been banned. All the goals stated by Putin and the official authorities of the Russian Federation regarding the "special military operation" failed. This "special operation" is not only false but also criminal whichis confirmed by the humanitarian catastrophe affecting the civilian population of Ukraine.
4. We strongly condemn the militarization of Ukraine, promotion of an extremely reactionary nationalist ideology, incitement of inter-ethnic hatred, creation of nationalist militant groups. The evacuation of civilians from the war zone is essentially carried out by the people themselves. Labor rights and freedom of speech have been significantly curtailed; persecution and repression of political opponents has not ceased.
5. We are certain that it is only the Ukrainian working class united with the Russian proletariat and supported by the world labor that is able of stopping the imperialist slaughter. Ukraine’s, Russia’s and world bourgeoisie mobilized and armed workers.
It is necessary that these armaments be aimed at the governments of war, to convert the imperialist war between the peoples into a civil war between classes. It is only this that will enable the working class to put an end to imperialism as a source of wars and form labor power bodies, as well as transform the combating states in the interests of working people.
It is shameful and criminal for communists all over the world to trail behind the governments of bourgeois countries and work for the interests of their national bourgeoisie, to support one or another bloc of bourgeois countries. Our immutable task is to help workers all over the world realize that imperialist wars do not lead to the emancipation of labor, on the contrary, they enslave it even more; that in the imperialist conflict the working class has no allies among the ruling circles, only enemies; that their friends are only the proletarians, no matter what nationality they may be.
The duty of the communists is to bring about the end of capitalism as such, both nationally and internationally: to end capitalism is to end wars.
For this noble cause, communists all over the world, unite with your proletarians!
The undersigned Communist and Workers' Parties, gathered in Havana, Cuba, October 27-29, 2022, in the framework of the XXII International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties (IMCWP), express our solidarity with the people of Venezuela in the face of the aggression and sanctions illegally imposed by U.S. and European imperialism, which fundamentally affect the living conditions of the Venezuelan working class and popular strata. We reiterate our demand for the immediate lifting of the illegal coercive measures and the return of the assets owned by Venezuela, which have been usurped by imperialist powers.
Likewise, we express our solidarity with the struggles of the Venezuelan class-conscious labor and trade union movement, which is mobilizing in broad unity of action for just demands; such as the right to a living wage equal to the basic food basket, the reestablishment of collective bargaining agreements, the right to union organization and to strike, and against the processes of deregulation and flexibilization of labor relations. We condemn all attempts to persecute and criminalize these legitimate struggles of the Venezuelan labor and union movement. In this sense, we reiterate our demand for the immediate release of the workers who remain unjustly detained for fighting for their rights.
Likewise, we express our concern over the systematic campaigns of slander and attacks that have been directed against the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV); such as the infamous accusations of receiving financing from U.S. imperialism, as well as the media censorship to which they are subjected, the illegal blocking of the exercise of the right to speak by the PCV deputy in parliament and the impediments to present candidacies in past electoral processes.
We exhort the different instances of the Venezuelan state and government to cease the attacks against the PCV, as well as cease any attempt to advance in the building of scenarios aimed at justifying the criminalization and prohibition of the political activity of the PCV. The full exercise of the political and democratic rights of the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) and of the Venezuelan working class must be guaranteed.
For all statements and declarations from the meeting see: Solidnet | page