CP in Denmark, Contribution to the Athens Meeting 21J2002

by Betty F. Carlsson

The new situation in the world after September 11.

We should have expected something like the situation
September 11th. Capitalism not to mention the armament
industry needed badly a new enemy. And they needed new and
better tools to control and to damp down the growing
unsatisfaction and solidarity in/ and among working class
and oppressed people.

Very rapidly the situation was abused to make similar bills
in the countries to narrow down our democratic rights in
the so-called anti-terror bills. One could get the
suspicion, that the bills already where prepared, laying in
the drawer. In Europe the European Union created the
framework for similar bills, and the member states
confirmed it. In our country, Denmark, the law is already
confirmed by the new bourgeoisie government with their
supporting right winged party, but the official discussions
about it have not ended. All experts on law have protested
against this law, which is a violation of our constitution.
Many organizations of refugees have protested and
demonstrated against being on �the terror list� made from
the EU.

We have build up a movement called �Under suspicion �,
which many well known people join. The point is that we
demand our national constitutional democratic rights. This
action is also arranged to put a spotlight on the
preparations into the EU, creating a common constitution
for the European Union to be decided in 2004. A
constitution which will be more like the spirit in the
anti-terror bills than I think any current national
constitution in Europe.

From July the first and to the rest of this year, Denmark
takes the chair in the EU. September the 12th.-13th the
ministers of justice meet in Denmark. During that weekend
we, (The broad �Stop the Union initiative�) are arranging
protests, manifestations and a conference on the EU policy
on justice.

Many other activities will take place during the Danish
chairmanship, ending with a we hope big demonstration at
the summit December the 14th. We have in Denmark succeeded
to build up a very broad NGO movement. We are in a special
situation, as the government has decided to sponsor the NGO
activities during the chairmanship. It gives us the
opportunity to arrange for example an international
conference for Trade unionists with professional
translating, to discuss the attacks on labour rights we all
are exposed to in these years. We also want to discuss the
privatizations and how together we can defeat this policy.

Concluding my remarks on the activities in Denmark to stop
the EU during our chairmanship, the official Denmark not
only is sponsoring the NGO activities, but also has the
ambition, that Denmark shall be the first country with big
international demonstrations taking place without violence.
All agree to that except the secret intelligence, who has
crowned days in the precent time. But like in many other
countries, the common police hates the secrete police. We,
the NGO�s tells incessant the public and the common police,
through our negotiations, that we don't want provocations
from the police. Secretly or official.

We also see a contradiction in the EU. Denmark has joint
the Schengen agreement, which means, that the borders
between EU member countries are open to all citizens from
the EU. During our chairmanship the borders will be closed
as an exception from the Schengen agreement, because the
government and the police want to control, that no foreign
terrorists get into Denmark. We have tried to point out,
that Europeans are not foreigners any more. If they want to
use their democratic rights to protest against the
decisions which will be taken at the EU summits, having a
great consequence for their daily life, they will have to
travel around in Europe, where the summits are to be hold.
Likewise the people from the countries where the political
elite has asked for membership. Remember that the
conditions on the so-called enlargement of the EU shall be
finished during this year in Denmark.

I have mentioned some of what is going on in our part of
the world, and that many of our problems and tasks are
similar. Regardless to which of the three imperialist
centres we are living and struggling in.

It is of great importance that we can meat here in Athens
every year to discuss the world situation, our strategy and
how we together can react and mobilize, at the
international and national level. Also our Solid Net is of
great importance to get information's, and we warmly thanks
the comrades, who are doing this work and paying the costs.

The Canadian Party has made a proposal on raising a
worldwide unity in action against imperialism by setting up
a standing international Coordinating Committee. We agree
in the need of such a step. We have proposed a modification
to the proposal, but we agree in the spirit. Honestly we
have to say, that we don't have the strength to go into
such a standing committee. Just to translate our documents
or reports into English is difficult and taking mush
strength from us. If we shall translate into other
languages, we real have a problem. All our comrades are
sending into the field, and we call them when wee need
translations, but then we takes them from other political
work.

Certainly it would seem more effective if we coordinated
our national activities on major issues. Not only on the
struggle against the Globalization, the WTO, the IMF and
likely. Other examples could be the next coming US war
�against terrorists�, in Europe the EU proposal on
punishing countries, who will not take back refugees, send
back from the rich but closed Europe, the struggle against
privatisation and many other issues. Actually the terror
war Israel makes against the Palestinians.

In Denmark we have succeeded to declare a �Boycott Israel�
campaign. �Don't buy any goods produced in Israel � is the
slogan. In Denmark it now is a media scandal if somebody
discovers that a store has hidden the stickers from where
the goods are coming or has put other stickers on. We have
good experiences on that form of action from the Boycott
South Africa campaign from the early sixties running to the
fall of the apartheid regime. Big demonstrations have been
too, against the Israeli war. The religious Jewish society
has protested and organized E-mail campaigns against the
biggest Danish Trade Union, who is in front of the
campaign. They try to confuse the conflict into a conflict
against the Jewish people, but as a big trade union say:
Holocaust doesn't justice genocide.

The Palestinian tragedy has opened the eyes on at least I
know the Danish people on the idea of �terrorists�. All
Danish people have seen the pictures from Palestine, heard
the reports. Now they better understand why the
Palestinians are refugees. The latest news, that the PFLP
has been put into the �terror list� in the EU, strengthens
the mistrust to which the power force shouts out as
terrorists. The resistance movement during the occupation
in the Second World War was, as known, shout out likely.
We would like to bee inspired in this solidarity struggle
from you.

Mentioning this, I have to get back to my remarks on the
strength we have to our disposal in our different parties.
Of cause our prim work is to raise working class and our
alliances in the national struggle for the daily demands
and against the imperialism as it acts all over the world.
In our party we often have a bad conscience on the entire
solidarity struggle we cannot join. We have to give
priority, considering how mush we can overcome.

But in spite of the new tactic of capitalism, creating so
called Muslims and the oppressed people in the world- as
new enemies and possible terrorists , Capitalism has over
reacted.
The people have remarked the consequences of the " New
World order" through the attack on our democratic rights
besides the attack on our collective, social and labour
rights. People live in daily fear for a war and for an
attack from the strongest power in the world, besides the
daily poverty.

President Bush isn't the most reliable leader. Everybody in
the world knows that. It is our task to prevent their
strategy on splitting the world wide opposition, and to
raise common action against the policy of imperialism.

In Denmark we have got a new government. Bourgeoisie as in
many other countries. They are relying on a very right
winged and xenophobia party. Working class has also voted
for this government and their supporting party, but it was
not a vote for their policy. Their slogan was � Time for
changes better social secure�. The result from the
election was a choose off to the social democrats, like in
many other countries. Now people are disappointed. The
government and their support party have decided terrible
bills in the first 100 days against working class, against
social and democratic rights and against refugees and
immigrants.

It has created a situation, where working class and the
Trade Unions are raising in actions and in strikes against
this government and its policy, making bills which will
violence our century long tradition on agreements among
employers and Trade Unions on labour conditions. Our
activities during the coming chairmanship in the EU will
further put the spotlight on these attacks on labour
conditions from the European centre of imperialism.

The international situation is serious bad. Capitalism
maybe think they are on the top, but working class and
others sacrificing for capitalism is reacting. Our
community shall inspire, organize and give strength to this
class struggle.