Contribution of CP of Denmark [En]

Intervention byHenrik Stamer Hedin

It is a great honour for me – and probably for all of us – to speak here in Hanoi, the capital of the country of heroic resistance against US imperialist aggression – a resistance which inspired an entire generation of young people, my own generation, modelled our view of the world and was the object of a solidarity movement which considerably helped mobilizing and strengthening all democratic forces throughout the world.

In the crisis-ridden world of today, the focus of imperialist aggression is on Syria and in Ukraine. The wars in these countries are interconnected. They are labelled as civil wars, but in actual fact they are imperialist aggressions in disguise; they are bringing the great powers of the world into direct confrontation.

Last year, I mentioned very cautiously the possibility that the fightings in Syria and Ukraine might develop into a global conflict. Very few at that time dared go as far as that. This year, several have used the words ”third world war” – among those a former prominent figure of the Communist World Movement, Mikhail Gorbachov. More are speaking of a ”new Cold War” or, even more cautiously, of an ”approaching” new Cold War. Of course, it is of no use crying wolf, but it must be said that the ”new Cold War” is not only approaching – we are in the midst of it, if not beyond it. The situation is dire indeed.

The term ”cold war” was used about the prolonged period of peace in Europe following the Second World War. This period was one of peace because the Soviet Union and the Socialist Camp were strong enough to deter imperialism from risking yet another continental war. War were waged in other parts of the world – here, for instance – but for almost fifty years not in Europe. The situation today is much more fraught with danger, because there is no Soviet Union and no socialism in Europe, and because imperialism is stronger and more united. Once again, we have seen war in Europe; once again, the great powers are confronting each other, and though Russia is not the Soviet Union, the attitude of the USA towards her is the same; war is raging in the Middle East and has been so for many years now in the Black Sea Region; the Americas are, once again, threatened by dark forces of reaction.

These looming threats to mankind are, luckily enough, one migt say, although it has nothing to do with luck, countered by opposite tendencies. Imperialism may be stronger and more united than fifty or just forty years ago, and indeed it is, but it is also haunted by strong centrifugal tendencies. The European Union was the decisive factor in uniting imperialism; today, the EU is breaking apart. The first blow was dealt already at its founding, by the Danish No to the Maastricht treaty early in the 90’s and the subsequent introduction of four Danish derogations or ”reserves”. This meant that Denmark remained in part independent from the EU superstate. This partial independence was confirmed in 2000, when the Danish people rejected by referendum for the second time the introduction of the Euro; and it was confirmed once again this winter, as yet another of the derogations was put to the vote with the same result: Abolition of the judicial derogation was rejected, which means that Denmark will not fall under the authority of the new Europol supranational EU police force, but will continue to have its own police force, control its own borders and so on – important features of national independence.

The most serious blow sofar came this summer with the British decision to leave the EU – the Brexit. This really shattered the confidence of EU politicians, and the possible dissolution of the EU is discussed openly. Already, the Danish resistance movement is launching a campaign for a new referendum to have Denmark follow Britain and leave the EU altogether – just as, back in ’72, we followed Britain into the EEC, as it was at that time.

Finally, just a couple of days ago the CETA trade deal between Canada and the EU collapsed because of resistance from the region of Wallonia in Belgium. This was a good thing in the first place, because the CETA like the TTIP is tailored to the needs of transnational capital, requiring the world to be one single market with the same rules applying everywhere and the governments being subordinate to the transnational companies, which is the real meaning of the investor protection provisions of the two deals, and for the same reason it is against the interests of ordinary people. But this failure also exposed the weakness of the EU construction and caused even the most high-ranking EU officials to voice serious doubts about its ability to function politically.

Those are three serious blows to the EU project within a single year. They mean not only the liberty of Britain and Denmark and of the peoples of Europe from destructive trade deals; they threaten the very existence of the EU and, thereby, the brakes the EU has put on every progressive development in Europe and in much of the world. In a further perspective, they open a way for lessening of the tensions in the world.

The most important task of Danish communists today is to help get Denmark out of the EU – to support and strengthen the resistance movement, united in the National Movement Against the EU and to take part in the campaign for a Dexit. I think all Danish communists agree to this, despite the division of the movement into no less than 4 different parties. Another important task is to inform the public about what is really going on in Ukraine and Syria and try to break the almost universal media and political consensus. This is a very tough task because the majority of Danes firmly believe in the fairy tales of Putin’s agressiveness and so on; they have never been told anything else.

The Communist movement in Denmark is not only divided, but very weak; maintaining 4 different party organizations wastes a lot of efforts. The two tasks I mentioned very much exhaust our combined forces.