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International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties

New Delhi, November 20-22, 2009

Communist Party of Finland

Juha-Pekka Väisänen, Member of Political Bureau, CC

Dear Comrades,

We Communists are internationalist from our nature. We have gathered here in New Delhi, India because our ideology. Communism is not a frozen concept preserved in history books. We are here to make up date analysis of the state of our struggle, strength of our solidarity and new collective tasks.

Socialism is not a tool used by the antiquarians. This 11th international meeting of communist and workers’ parties can be a lively example of the active use of the political tool we have for our common ideology. Let´s use it for strengthening our togetherness and finding more friends than enemies.

On behalf of the Communist party of Finland, I want to salute the organizers both Communist Parties of India and participating parties from all over the world. I am sure that we can express our strength in those issues that will bring us more and more close in ideological questions and concrete actions for a better world.

We all know that every one of us faces a multitude of daily socio-economical and political problems in our countries. It is not a news to tell that once again we suffer world vide from global economical crisis.

In Sao Paolo last year we said that the crisis is probably the gravest crisis since the Great Depression commenced by the 1929 crash. We declared socialism is the alternative and the victories of the left forces in Latin America inspire us. In Minsk Belarus we said that the Ideas of October 1917 are more relevant than ever before. In Lisbon we concentrated in the strategy of imperialism and the energy issue….

The word “We” is so much more than the alone standing “I” word. We communists expressed few months ago our solidarity with Palestine and Syria at the Syrian Israel border and demanded to free the Golan Heights. The extraordinary meeting held in beautiful Syria underlined the right of Palestinian people for their independence, freedom and peace. Solidarity both in words and concrete actions is essential and important.

Dear Comrades,

Finland is known for thousands of lakes, sauna and high technology innovations. Our political map today is drawn by young conservative urban professionals and “green” businessmen based on an idea that “Everything is for sale” .You may call it ultra liberal or neo liberal but in the end it is a concrete example of repulsive capitalism.

Right wing Finnish politicians have tried to create new faces to show how surprised they are by the actual global crisis. Capitalists say that the crisis came like the “first snow”. We Nordic, Finnish communist are not surprised at all that the cold capitalist system has not been able to take care of the basic needs of people like right to work, health care, home, environment and peaceful living. We communist are not surprised at all that the rich have become even richer and the poor have become even poorer.

We representatives of the working class and oppressed should pay more attention in our speeches how to direct our ideological, theoretical brainstorming into clear understandable message that brings concrete actions around the words of our ideology. We may not have the advertising companies to help us do the talks, campaigns and calculate the public opinion. But we always have the theory of Marx and Lenin and the working man´s dream. It is no use to be surprised. It is no use to stay passive and let egoists takes the stage. Theory without action works perhaps in academic seminars held at universities. Current situation urges us to find action to find the way out of the capitalist crisis.. We can´t make the big mistake and leave the practical part of political struggle, the action for the big money, for the capitalist and racists new nationalist parties. They will surely run campaigns like the Lisbon treaty of the European Union to privatize and to militarize whole continents. Capitalist direct their neo-liberal power in creating new positions like presidents and foreign ministers like EU these days does.

New radical ways of protest against capitalist’s politics of privatization have burst out of peoples creative initiatives. The alternative has origins in peoples own initiatives. We communist can function as a power center of political know-how and develop communal and social strategies together with a large number of different left and progressive forces, trade-unionists and action groups.

Who would have imagined that thousands of Finnish nurses quitted their jobs during a strike to make the demand for better wages more effective? Who would have expected that famous artist sing in records and meetings fighting against closing down paper mills? It wasn´t only because of the communist that some changes for better were done or it wasn´t only for the radical activists one could say by names. It was the collective power that was shown. It was the unity of the people that made the difference. Mass movements are our political tools. Our only way out of crises, the economical, ecological and political crisis is to organize and join mass movements, class based trade-unions, non-governmental organizations and in different groups that have influence in the civic society. Our way out is collaboration and solidarity. Even little success can lift up the resistance and political consciousness. “First we were only three activists and soon there were thousands protesting on the streets”.

Marxist education of new carders is essential. At the same time when party collaborates with actions groups, it must have a clear vision how to educate new young and older party members to a Marxist analysis. We like to talk a lot about our scientific approach to ideology. For example I have not an education as a scientist. I have higher academic degree but it does not directly mean that without a special training I could start produce scientific Marxist analysis. Therefore it is important to understand different needs of Marxist education in the party work. A nurse does not have to feel underestimated in the party because her analysis and Marxist theory is not a scientific one. I dare to think that we even more need the working mans vision and participation in bringing new perspectives in our political analysis. We need a large variety of perspectives and a bright intellectual collective mechanism to produce that political vision into a national and global plan of action.

In Finland we have created new Marxist study groups that combine actual and local political questions and people have shown growing interest in studies. Communist Party of Finland has just published a book with a title “Actual crisis and Marx”. Even if we struggle with very tiny budgets every time a new Marxist book comes out it gathers the new and old activist to debate about the actual political questions like Climate change and wars, European extreme right and nature crisis, Poverty and Pandemics’, Marx and working class today just some topics to from our new book.

Currently in Finland we are fighting concretely against right wing government’s labor politics which demands workers to lower their wages in the name of competitiveness and productivity. Private and state owned companies have increased their profits in huge numbers. During the last decade (1999-2008) Finnish companies made some 325 milliard profits in Euros which is almost the same number of national state budgets summed up during the same years. During the period we are observing companies have paid profits more that 128 milliards in Euros. Essential is to understand that neo liberal politics that has increased the companies profits and competitiveness has not had any positive influence on employment.

Dear Comrades,

Public opinion in Finland is against NATO membership. Political elite and the right wing forces are campaigning for a future NATO membership of Finland. Not so many say it with open and direct words but concrete actions and steps to prepare joining the Nato has been taken over the years. Finnish troops take part the Nato-led operation in the Afghanistan war. Just few weeks ago the government decided to buy a new US-Norwegian air defense system that is in use in NATO countries. The total price for the system, which includes a new radar system, will exceed over 520 millions of Euros. The purchase is the biggest for the Finnish Defense Forces since the Air Force acquired US-built F-18 Hornet jet fighters. Finland has also agreed to give NATO all radar information from its territory.

There is a new type of campaign against NATO. Actions groups use Face book and other social media in this campaign. There are groups like Mothers, Librarians, students, nurses, journalists, gays, lawyers, artist etc. against Nato. These groups play an important role in giving concrete faces to the majority that is against NATO. It is important that a variety of arguments is presented in this struggle for a better world without wars, oppression an injustice.

Dear Comrades,

Finally I want to underline the importance of the unity of all left forces in our common fight against capitalism and imperialism, for democracy, peace and socialism. The experiences of the Indian communists and other left forces in developing this unity are important for us in Finland, too.

I thank you for your attention.

Long live internationalism!

Long live friendship!

Long live solidarity!