Syrian CP, Contribution to the Athens Meeting 21J2002

by Ammar Bagdash

Before the International Meeting of the Communist and
Labour Parties
Athens - June 21-23, 2002

Dear Comrades,

Let me, in the beginning, forward many thanks to the
Central Committee of the Greek Communist Party for their
efforts organising these periodical meetings among the
representatives of the communist and labour parties all
over the world.

The Syrian communists highly appreciate all steps towards
more co-ordination and solidarity among the world communist
and labour parties, and we should say that Athens meetings
are among the most important events in this context.

Our present meeting wears special significance for the
simple fact that it is expected to formulate a common
vision with respect to what is going on throughout the
world as a result of the increasing aggressiveness f the
American imperialism especially after September 11th.

It was obvious for us, since the beginning, that these
events were used as a tool to get out of the acute crisis
that struck the imperialist centres (especially the
strongest and most aggressive one: the American
imperialism).

The American imperialist circles wanted to evade the impact
of the periodical economic crisis by increasing the
military spending and accelerating the armament race. It
wanted to use this military hysteria to ease the internal
social tension by forging the image of an external enemy
against which all the forces of the American nation should
unite. Benefiting from this situation, the American
imperialism wanted to strengthen its direct military grip
on a region with significant importance in the competition
with other imperialist centers ... a region that would
guarantee the economic as well as military superiority as a
step towards realising complete dominance, i.e. the Caspian
Sea region.

We can say in general that September events (and the
consequent events) were just an attempt to get out of the
socio-economic crisis that threatened the very foundation
of the imperialist centers.

Let me here make some historical comparisons: I think that
these events resemble the well-known assassination in
Sarajevo in 1914, the Reichstag fire in 1993 or the attack
against Gleyvits in 1939. The only difference is that those
historical events were used on behalf of the German
financial capital, while September events were used on
behalf of the financial oligarchy ruling the United States
and especially the civil Jewish capital that has an
extraordinary influence in this chief imperialist den.

Let us try to analyse the American imperialist policies
after September 11th. Have these policies achieved the
expected results picking the United States up out of the
economic crisis and strengthening its global position?

Some may, at first sight, answer yes! But the in-depth
analysis will show us the contrary:

- It is right that the enormous increase in the military
and security spending have resulted in certain economic
recovery, but we all know that this kind of growth is
almost cancerous and may cause big structural deformation
in the economy leading to deeper crises and stronger
troubles.

- In spite of the efforts being made to show a kind of
national unity between the exploiters and the exploited
inside the imperialist centers, the level of the social
aggravation seems stronger and more eminent than the
terrorist campaign waged by the imperialist media. The
clearest evidence in this regard is the growing campaign
against the imperialist globalisation, in addition to the
increasing labour strikes and other types of labourers'
struggle.

- Here, we should underline the fact that the imperialist
media is trying its best to equalise between terrorism and
the popular movement of the labourers, but it is obvious
that this movement is just a type of class violence
directed, as a reaction, against the larger violence being
performed against the majority of our globe inhabitants,
i.e. the violence of the capitalist power and capitalist
state.

We cannot denounce all types of violence whatsoever. We
think that there is a justified type of violence without
which the peoples would have never been liberated and the
world largest progressive changes would have never
occurred, including the English and French revolutions and
the American civil war that lead to the complete dominance
of the capitalist production relations and helped the
bourgeoisie assume the political power and practise its own
violence or class dictatorship in different means including
the bourgeois democracy.

- America was not able to overmaster the whole imperialist
camp. The capitalist leaders undoubtedly declared their
support and sympathy with the United States after September
events (though they could do nothing with the hysterical
atmosphere prevailing at that moment), but soon afterwards,
all the world realised that the United States was not
taking its allies' interests into account at all especially
those of the western European trusts. It seemed that the
Americans were not willing to give their partners even the
smallest crumbs in spite of all previous promises in this
regard. Now we all see how the differences between the
Americans and the Europeans are becoming more obvious in
many areas ( The Caspian basin, The Middle East and Africa)
not to mention the aggravating economic wars 9such as steel
and food conflicts).

- We believe that the one-sided American withdrawal from
the Anti-Missile Arms Limitation Agreement, though
ostensibly directed against Russia, is ultimately directed
against Europe because the United States always considers
all possibilities of future confrontation with over
imperialist competitors.

Some people might say that it is misleading to talk about
differences between America and Europe because they are all
imperialists in the end. This argument is right as far as
their interests in plundering the other peoples are
concerned, but there are serious despots about the portions
from this plundering. So the differences are really
existent and the international revolutionary movement must
benefit from this reality.

The increasing influence of the far right in certain
western countries is very significant in this regard. It
reflects the accelerating contradictions among the
imperialists. This far right seems to defend the monopolist
capitalism of its own country against the American
competitors more openly than the Socialist Democrats who
look more cosmopolitan i.e. willing to yield to the
interests of the American imperialist. The stern attitude
of the traditional right in blocking the social development
of the labourers plays an important role in this regard but
we think that the Social Democrats are not so deferent from
the far right in this context.

- The only concrete benefit the United States was able to
realise was its military interference into Caspian Sea
region (Afghanistan and the Middle Asia and ex-Soviet
Caucasus regions). Here we should remember that the history
has proved that it is easy to enter Afghanistan but it is
very difficult to leave. As for the interference into the
Middle Asia and Caucasus countries, we think that the
United States would have not been able to do this had the
Moscow regime, prevailed by the Zionist influence, not
shown complete defeatism towards the Russian national
interests.

The process of the world events shows us that a
comprehensive imperialist war is being waged against the
peoples of our globe. One of the several arenas of this war
s the Arab and East Mediterranean region as a whole. The
Arab countries are facing continual aggressive actions
committed by the two ferocious allies (United States and
Israel) that adopt expansionist policies.

Everybody Knows that Israel occupies Arab territories (the
Palestinian land and a part of the Syrian land, and also
there are the Lebanese territories most of which were
liberated recently thanks to the heroic fighting of the
Lebanese National Resistance strongly supported by Syria).

Occupying the others' land is in itself the ugliest type of
terrorism and violence. In addition to this, the Israeli
occupiers are practising brutal actions derived from the
Nazi arsenal. The pogroms perpetrated in Qana (Lebanon) and
Jenin (Palestine) are two irrefutable examples of this
brutality. Mass massacres have become an Israeli tradition,
since Deir yassin in 1948 to Sabra & Shateela in 1982 and
Jenin in 2002.

Some trying to say that Saron personally is responsible,
but we believe that Sharon is just a sample of a savage
aggressive system .. the Zionism that we can confidently
describe as the contemporary Nazism.

In addition to its brutal suppression against the
Palestinian people, Israel has imperialist plans for
expansion in the Arab area and against the peoples if the
whole region. In order to realise their project in full
co-ordination with the White House rulers, the Zionist
leaders are now calling for an ambiguous plan of building a
Palestinian petty state .. a state without borders and very
similar to sporadic pantosanes .. a state deprived from
national sovereignty. In return for this they ask all the
Arab countries to normalise relations with Israel, which in
fact means that they are asking for an unconditional Arabic
surrender to the Zionist expansion that ultimately aims to
establish a fourth imperialist center totally controlled by
Israel in our region.

The American imperialism is taking part in the aggression
against the Arab peoples not only through its comprehensive
support to the Israeli aggressive actions but also through
direct military actions repeated against Iraq and through
its military existence in our region. In this context, some
of the Arab leaders are palying the role of an executive or
a broker on behalf of the imperialist/Zionist plans.

The American-Israeli aggression is facing greater
resistance by the Arab peoples. The most significant
examples in this regard are the brave resistance of the
Palestinian people and its heroic Intifada and the solid
patriotic attitude of Syria that has always stuck to her
rights and bravely confronted the increasing imperialist
and Zionist extortion.

On the other hand, the Arabic street is becoming more
effective where most Arab Capitals witnessed mass
demonstrations protesting against the American goods and
break off all kinds of relations with Israel is acquiring
momentum in many Arab countries.

Dear Comrades,

We believe that all means of struggle against the
destruction and extirpation actions of the Zionist
occupiers are justified and legitimate. No one has the
right to cry against the killing of Israeli civilians
especially the representatives of the Anglo-Saxon
colonialism who destroyed Hiroshima and Dresden under the
pretext of combating the Japanese militarism and the Nazi
Germany.

We should declare that those, shedding crocodile tears on
an Israeli killed in a cafe built on an occupied
Palestinian land, are audaciously ignoring the corpses of
the Palestinian children whose houses were demolished above
their heads ... which is a daily scene in the Palestinian
territories.

Dear Comrades,

The current situations point out that the national
liberation movement is increasing its struggle against the
imperialism. This movement has realised important victories
confronting the imperialism from Mexico to Indonesia.

Since the Arab National Liberation Movement is an important
squad in the world national liberation movement, the
communist parties and the international communist movement
as a whole must increase solidarity with the different
groups of the national liberation movement all over the
world, simply because this movement, together with the
protest actions by the labour movement in the capitalist
states, constitutes the essential core of the international
revolutionary movement. The human future depends on the
alliance between two basic revolutionary tributaries.

We believe that the main task at the moment is to establish
an international united front that should include all the
live forces combating the imperialism. And, as communist
parties, we have to strengthen the links among us and
increase the co-ordination among our efforts for the simple
fact that we are combating the same enemy i.e. the supreme
power of the monopolist capitalism. Such strengthening and
co-ordination cannot be realised but through a solid unity
based on an associated theoretical background.

We should say that the current events world-wide prove the
rightness of the Marxism-Leninism theory in that the only
alternative after the bourgeois dictatorship, which is
based on the private ownership of the production means. And
it is only through implementing its alternative that
humanity could safety move to a society whose foundation is
the free development of its individuals.

The social ownership of the production means has become a
necessity because it not only meets the interests of the
working class and other labourers but it is necessary to
make the humanity avoid the possibility of utter
destruction. Upon that, this slogan is turning into a
common slogan among all the democratic forces,

We have all seen how those communist parties, which kept
their values and stuck to their principles, have maintained
their position and respect, and how they are moving ahead
successfully under the Marxism-Leninism. While the
communist parties, which ran after false innovation i.e.
tried to graft the scientific theory of socialism by
liberal, bourgeois concepts and elements, have not only
lost their credibility and revolutionist nature but also
their impact and effectiveness because the masses stayed
away from them no matter what the banner they tried to
raise was. These renegade parties, that denounced their
original thought and traditions, have equally lost their
own future turning into a mere appendix to the Social
Democrats of forming an impotent leftist folklore entities
that will end in the bourgeois antique shops.

Dear comrades,

Yes, the future will be in the hands of those parties who
have stuck to their values refusing to make any concessions
and are not ready to sell their own future as well as the
future of their peoples in return for trivial and temporary
benefits.

Long live the Marxism-Leninism ...
the thought of the present and the future
Let us confront the power of the world capitalism under the
slogan
World Workers! Unite!