Athens Meeting 8-10 Meeting 2004, Contribution of CP of
Bangladesh
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From: SolidNet, Wednesday, October 20, 2004
http://www.cpbdhaka.org , mailto:cpbdhaka@aitlbd.net
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International Meeting Communist and Workers' Parties

"Resistance to Imperialist Aggressiveness. Fronts of
Struggle and Alternatives"
8 10 October 2004, Athens
Contribution by
Comrade Manzurul Ahsan Khan
President, Communist Party of Bangladesh

Following is the corrected version of the speech delivered
by the president of the Communist Party of Bangladesh at
the recent International meeting in Athens.

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Comrade President,
Members of the Presidium
And dear Comrades

The Communist party of Greece, true to its internationalist
traditions, has once again provided us a great opportunity
to get together from different parts of the world, to find
out ways to fight aggressive imperialist forces.

1. Humanity is at the crossroad of grave danger of
extinction on the one hand, and fulfilling its immense
possibilities for a peaceful, happy and prosperous future
due to extraordinary advances in science, technology and
knowledge.

2. Never before in history has imperialism been so
aggressive and fascist in character, perpetrating a
protracted global war for exploitation and plunder.

3. Never before in history has mankind possessed such
immense potentials to provide for the well being of the
people to save them from hunger, poverty, disease,
illiteracy, backwardness, erosion of nature, and other
scourge.4. Even after the dissolution of the Socialist
Soviet Union, the US imperialism has failed to resolve its
inherent contradiction and has fallen into a whirlwind of
crisis, facing isolation from the whole world.

5. The United States at present has the highest
unemployment and homelessness recorded in its recent
history. It is the highest defaulter in the UN and other
international bodies. The crisis in the share market,
soaring national debt, trade deficit, the collapse and
bankruptcies of big companies and the fall of GDP etc.
indicate the deep crisis of imperialism and capital.

6. During the 2nd world war United States kept itself aloof
from the devastation of war and reaped its commercial
benefits. While in many countries in Europe and Asia the
economy was war ravaged, USA took full advantage of this
situation to become a mighty economic power. The USA also
used its position to take special advantage in economic and
other sectors. Fidel Castro rightly said: ?US has the
peculiar privilege of issuing the currency in which the
central bank and the trade bank deposits world wide keep
most of their hard currency reserves. The trans national
companies of the nation whose citizens have the lowest
saving rates are purchasing the worlds riches with the
money saved by people in other countries and the money
printed without gold backing agreed upon in Bretton-Woods
in 1944 and unilaterally ended in 1971.?

7. Despite all these manipulation the economic hegemony of
US is being threatened. The fall of US share of world GDP
has come down from 50% to 25%. US economy and its currency
- the dollar - are facing challenges from various economic
centres round the world.

8. The United States is becoming more and more incapable of
retaining its hegemony by economic means. It is taking
recourse to economic terrorism, political, diplomatic,
cultural, media manipulation and military aggression to
retain its economic grip and establish a unipolar world
order under its hegemony.

9. The so-called war against terror - the right to
pre-emptive attack and the present global assault of US
administration ? in reality, is tantamount to an open
declaration of war against rest of the world. Geared
towards imposing the US military dictatorship globally and
to ensure its economic hegemony.

10. The United States government is now the most powerful
and ruthless terrorist on this earth, with a huge arsenal
of weapons of mass destruction, capable of destroying this
earth many times over. Out of 189 countries US military is
present in 140 countries. Besides US soldiers in Iraq there
are 20 million US soldier in 400 military bases round the
world.

11. Like many other countries who liberated themselves
after the Second World War, the struggle for independence
of Bangladesh in 1971 also faced severe resistance from US
imperialism. The USA supported genocide in Bangladesh
perpetrated by Pakistani rulers- partners in SEATO, CENTO
and other US- Pak military pacts. The United States moved
several resolutions in the UN against our liberation
struggle, which was foiled by Soviet Vetoes. United States
also sent its Seventh Fleet to the Bay of Bengal in a bid
to defeat the victorious march of Bangladesh Liberation
Forces.

12 The US pressure, intrigue and conspiracies continued
even after the liberation of Bangladesh. Economic
sanctions, overt and covert conspiracies, and support to
the most reactionary and religious communal forces inside
the country continued. The US also used the ?food weapon?
abruptly in 1974, redirecting shiploads of food grains from
the shores of Bangladesh to another destination causing
famine. This created the backdrop leading to the
assassination of the leader of our independence struggle
President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This assassination is also
attributed to the notorious CIA and the then US Secretary
of State Henry Kissinger, personally.

13. Not only in Bangladesh, but the reputation of the US in
murders, subversion and criminal violence is infamous
worldwide. This reputation has been gained greater currency
in recent years. We have witnessed targeted killing of the
leaders of the Palestine movement, for example.

14. Today in Bangladesh, the sufferings of various sections
of our people are directly connected with Imperialist
policies imposed upon us. Largely, because of the
structural reforms and privatization programmes imposed on
Bangladesh by the US dominated World Bank, IMF and other
global financial institutions. These organizations have
caused de-industrialization of the country and huge
unemployment. More than 7 thousand big factories have been
closed down including the Adamjee Jute Mills, the biggest
of its kind in Asia, at the direct instance of World Bank.
According to one estimate, during the last 5 years more
than 5,64,000 small industries and establishment have been
closed down. Industries and banks have been sold out to
private sector at throwaway prices. In most cases such
privatised factories and establishments have been
ultimately closed down.

15. Despite high subsidies given to its own agriculture
industry, the US authorities pressurised Bangladesh not to
give subsidy to agriculture and leave the peasants at the
mercy of the capitalist and imperialist market. Agriculture
and peasants have been made dependant on multinationals and
indiscriminate use of chemical fertiliser, pesticides,
genetically modified and terminator seeds etc. without
caring about its devastating effect on nature. At present
almost 75% of the peasants are landless.

16. Unemployment has soared to about 35 million. Due to
closing of many Jute and sugar mills, thousands of peasants
agricultural labourers engaged in growing jute and sugar
cane, the two main cash crops in our country have been laid
off.

17. Imperialism is converting our entire planet into a
global market, subservient to its own interest.
International trade, manufacture, finance, communication,
travel and tourism, banking etc are becoming integrated,
leading to new form of worldwide slavery in the hands of
the TNC's and MNCs. The third world has been turned into a
one big duty free zone.15 TNC?s working in 120 countries
now control 70% of world trade.

18. Despite all the hullabaloo of an open market economy in
reality, the Bangladesh market is only open to the
investors from rich countries, but their markets are not so
open for the rest. According to WTO, next year, our export
oriented garment sector will be in deep trouble. Already
several garment factories have closed down causing
redundancy to 200,000 workers. By ext year it is expected
another 1.8 million, mostly women workers, will lose their
jobs

19. The so-called free market is not that much free for
developing countries like Bangladesh. Free market allows
free flow of capital, profits machineries and commodities
but do not allow free flow of labour or manpower.
Bangladesh if allowed to export manpower freely, it can
very soon make giant strides to overcome its backwardness
and poverty. Presently export of manpower earns the biggest
foreign currency in Bangladesh. On the other hand, 46 least
developed countries including Bangladesh have to pay 30 %
more tariff than the world average.

20. Western powers have now set their eyes on our meager
gas and oil resources, electricity, port, telephone, mobile
etc. Pressure has been mounting on the governments in
recent times.

21. United states has compelled Bangladesh to sign several
agreements such as HANA(Humanitarian Assistance Needs
Assessment),TIFA(Trade and Investment Framework Agreement),
PISCES (personal identification, secured comparison and
evaluation system.), agreement, giving indemnity to all
Americans from being tried in Bangladesh or international
court, Scientific and technological co-operation (giving
American access to sensitive information), Peace Corps. WB
and IMF are also trying to get such immunity for them.

22. All these agreements have greatly limited the
sovereignty of Bangladesh . Top US officials have openly
demanded base facilities in Bangladesh and creation of
logistic support for US army.

23. The imperialist powers are interfering openly in our
internal affairs, and compelling the bourgeois parties
contending for power to compete with each other in offering
more concession to rich countries.

24. The natural resources and the Geopolitical situation of
Bangladesh being at the centre of China, India, Nepal,
Myanmar and Bay of Bengal has made Bangladesh more
vulnerable to US intervention. The recent electoral defeat
of communal and fundamentalist forces in India and
installation of a government backed by the Left was not
palatable to the Americans. The US is trying to compensate
this setback by escalating its presence and control on
Bangladesh, to ensure its domination of the region.

25. Terrorist President Bush has raised a human cry against
Muslim Fundamentalism. This is ridiculous! George Bush
himself is under the influence of Christian Fundamentalism
and has declared ?crusade? Against the whole world. He also
openly supports Jewish fundamentalism in Israel, and backs
up Hindu fundamentalism in India. In Afghanistan and Iraq,
US imperialism first supported and provoked communal,
religious fundamentalist militants, and extreme right wing
fascists and later went for military intervention on the
pretext of suppressing the very fundamentalism, which they
themselves created.

26. There is no doubt the danger of fundamentalism in
Bangladesh is increasing, they are in the government and
strengthening their numbers in the administration. What is
the source for their funding and support? In this regard,
a directed exploration towards the Middle East and the
imperialist government may be required.

27.There are also reasons to believe that this is perhaps
what is going to happen in Bangladesh, too. Several Bomb
blasts and killings, hauling of huge modern arms, exposure
of training centers run by fundamentalist, financed by
reactionary pro US, Middle Eastern and Arab regimes has
created a dangerous situation in our country. CPB, which is
in the vanguard of the struggle against fundamentalism, was
the first political party to be the victim of bomb blast in
2001. Six of our comrades died and hundreds were injured.
Recently there was another bomb blast in the meeting of the
main opposition party Awami League killing 22 and injuring
hundreds.

28. Donald Rumsfeld on the way to his recent visit to
Bangladesh asked the US Marines stationed in Singapore to
be prepared to intervene in case of a threatened rise of
Muslim fundamentalism in a moderate Muslim country of South
Asia pointing to Bangladesh. US officials at the same time
continue to certify Jamaat-e ?Islam, a religious
fundamentalist party who actively supported Pakistani
rulers and participated in the genocide. Its leaders were
convicted of war crimes in the Peoples Court. Two such war
criminals are now in the right wing Government of
Bangladesh. The Jamaat and other such parties still
maintain paramilitary forces arms training center and carry
on killings and programs like the Talibans.

29. Communist Party while fighting against fundamentalism
is also trying to build up broad mass struggle on all
fronts against imperialist conspiracy and pressure.

30.The CPB along with other left and patriotic forces
organised massive demonstrations against US attack on Iraq,
including a country wide general strike, ?hartal? as we
call it on 12th April 2003, against US aggression and the
failure of the Bangladesh government to condemn the war
against Iraq.

31. Our party, while trying to forge unity of communists
and left forces, the most consistent against imperialism is
opposed to any sectarian approach. We are patiently trying
to mobilize other political and mass organizations and
broadest sections of the population.

32. We fully support the global actions against various
manifestations of imperialist aggression organized in
Geneva, London, Seattle, Prague, Barcelona, Genoa and other
places. Communist Parties should take further initiatives
and coordinate such actions with enhanced participation.

33.In Bangladesh anti imperialist struggle are developing
in all the fronts such as trade union, peasants,
industrial, commercial and banking sector, environment and
cultural field. Worker struggle is becoming more powerful
and militant because of the direct consequences of W.B.
pressure. In 1990,s twenty workers died due to police
shooting at a demonstration. Last year on 16 Sept workers
organized strike against WB and government decision to
close down Jute Textile mills. CPB and other political
parties supported the countrywide strike. The Government
was compelled to re-open 4 Jute Mills. On 6 October last
workers went on a 24 hour strike to redress their
grievances most of whom were caused by imperialist
prescriptions.

34.CPB and the left organized several long marches covering
thousand of kilometres against sale of our meagre natural
gas to notorious UNICOL for export, and leasing our main
seaport at Chittagong. The government has been compelled to
retreat due to the movement, but US pressure continues.

35. We are trying to build up a Left Democratic alternative
to replace the present bi-party system where in the
bourgeois parties compete with each other to get western
support in their bid for power. At the same time we
consider it most urgent to mobilize widest possible forces
to resist imperialism, fundamentalist fascist forces and
anti people rule.

36. To fight against a reactionary media propaganda it is
also very important to impress upon the broad masses that
it is possible to resist and defeat imperialism
successfully exemplified in China, Cuba, Vietnam, DPR
Korea, Laos and several other countries where recent mass
upheavals brought to power governments which resist
imperialist dictates.

37. We are trying to build up a struggle against
imperialism on every front, inside the country, at the
regional and also at the global level. Our party hopes that
the proposed regional meetings of the Parties in the SAARC
region will soon be organised to coordinate our actions
against urgent problems facing us such as pressure of
imperialism WB IMF WTO, religious fundamentalism,
terrorism, and to face challenges to our development and
progress. As a Marxist-Leninist, and true
internationalists, we should play a far more greater,
active and decisive role in building up more wide and
effective global struggle. Global assault of imperialism
and capital must be fought by global actions of labour and
broad masses.

Thank You