http://www.nkp.no/ , mailto:nkp@nkp.no

Comrades,

Many thanks to the Lebanese Communist Party for hosting this 14 ^th international meeting of Communist and Workers parties in Beirut, the first meeting on Arab soil, in the midst of imperialist bloody assault on the Syrian and the Palestinian peoples. The developments in the region express the intensity of the imperialist aggressiveness and the sharpening of the inter-imperialist competition for the acquisition of new markets and the exploitation of the natural resources in the region.

USA, EU NATO and their allies will do as in Libya; bring down the Assad government with the aim to weaken Iran as well. They work in close cooperation with Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, who have been pouring money, arms and even importing international jihadists into Syria. Turkey hosts Sunny-Islamist militias working openly within the refugee camps, recruiting warriors, in violation with international regulations. CIA and MOSSAD and Turkish intelligence are training militias for the “Free Syrian Army” in military camps in Turkey. Furthermore as stated in the joint “Statement on the conflict in Syria”, imperialists and their corporate media label the pro-imperialist forces as “revolutionary”, and thereby try to justify the imperialist interventions in the Middle East in the eyes of the people. We the communist and workers parties condemn this, and call on all real revolutionary and peace-loving forces and the peoples of the region to raise the struggle against the imperialist aggression in Syria and the threats against Iran.

Communist Party of Norway and other peace-loving forces demonstrated against the Israeli terror in Gaza on the 17 ^th of November in front of the Israeli Embassy in Oslo Norway, and released following statement:
“STOP THE ZIONIST ISRAELI OCCUPATIONAND GENOCIDE IN GAZA, AND THE US, EU, ISRAELI AND NATO WAR-PREPARATIONS IN THE MIDDLE-EAST!
Communist Party of Norway condemns the Israeli military bombardments of the Palestinian peoples in Gaza, the murder of Palestinian leaders, the bombing of civil Palestinian governmental buildings, and the bombing and killing of civilians and children….. The US president and the Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide supported the Israeli right to attack Gaza. The so-called “red-green” Social Democratic government and the bourgeois parties aggressive political positions in this case is supported fully by the USA/Israeli imperialist orchestrated “news” in the corporate, and state television medias. The Norwegian peoples are taught anti-Syrian, anti-Iranian and anti-“Hamas terrorist” propaganda. This is part of the psychological warfare, to make the Norwegian people accept the USA, EU and NATO planned war against Syria and Iran.

In Norway only the Communist Party, and the peace organization Norway for Peace are anti-imperialist and anti-NATO. Our Communist Party and Communist Youth have a large and important task to educate progressive people learn to understand the intrinsic crises of the Capitalist system, how imperialism works, and NATO as the military tool of USA, EU and western imperialism is combatting the upcoming new
Economic powers. Without basic understanding of capitalism of today; imperialism and the intrinsic crises of capitalism, it is very difficult to understand what is going on in the world, and that another world both is possible and necessary, that capitalism is the problem, and socialism is the solution.

Norway is one of the richest countries in the world. The state has no debt. In a small nation of 5 million inhabitants the state owns a huge investment fund of 500 milliard Euros, and the fund is increasing due to high oil production and prices. At the same time more and more people are getting poor, and the gap between rich and poor has risen considerably. Because of social dumping, part time work, and work through private companies renting out deputies has become more regular, working conditions and incomes are deteriorating. Harder working conditions, pressure on efficiency has thrown many workers out of their work position, many around the age of 50, and many younger people with only minor disabilities. The official statistical unemployment rate in Norway is 3 %, but in reality when you include laid off workers living on only small state allowances, it is much higher. Workers, who are laid off, receive after 52 weeks of sick leave, allowances from the state much lower than their salaries. The expressed “morale” is that people out of work shall not receive reasonable allowances from the state to exist, because “then they will not work”. ”People must learn to get up in the morning,” and so on.

Norway is not a member of the EU, but is associated through the EEA agreement. Despite our sound economic position, both bourgeois and Social democratic governments acknowledge and incorporate all EU directives into Norwegian laws, and thereby attacking the national trade union tariffs and the democratic rights of the workers and the people. The goal of the monopolists and finance oligarchs are the same; to reduce the price of labor power, to improve monopoly capital profits.
The “more radical” trade unions fight hard against social dumping in Norway.

The only way out of the capitalist crises for the working class and the people of Norway is the same as in any other capitalist nation, by rupture and not by assimilation. We struggle against the monopolies and their power. The opposition must be organized on the grassroots level of the trade union movement, building and developing the people`s alliance between the working class and the social forces with objective interest in fighting the monopolies and capital, with stronger participation of women and young people. The direction must be towards the overthrow of the power of the monopolies.

Also in Norway we experience the challenge of a large xenophobic political party, who is efficiently serving as a splitting and dividing force in the working class, and give strong support to monopoly capital. Norwegian Intelligence were preoccupied with Islamists and Communists in their “fight against terror”, when the Neo-Nazi Anders Behring Breivik bombed the Norwegian Governmental buildings and murdered 77 people mostly youth, in cold blood 22 ^nd of July 2011. Even after this terrible attack, Norwegian intelligence is even more occupied by Islamists, and less by the violent Neo-Nazi radical right wing. Norwegian Intelligence obviously is working as an integral part of imperialist NATO policies, and not for the security of Norwegian citizens.

75-80 % of the Norwegian people are opposed to the EU and only 15 % support it. Thorbjørn Jagland General Secretary of the European Council is at the same time President of the Nobel Peace-price Committee, situated in Oslo, Norway. The former Social Democratic Prime Minister managed together with the right wing bourgeois members of the committee to award the Peace-price to the EU, to try to raise the prestige of the imperialist organization in the eyes of the Norwegian and the European people.CPN will take part in a broad demonstration in Oslo 9 ^th of December 2012 against this monstrous award of the Nobel Peace-price to EU.

The most important fight for the working class and the people of Norway, is to win the fight for dissociation of Norway from the EEA association to EU. Radical trade unions, and the grassroots of LO (Trade Union Central) are working hard to win a majority for the stand, for Norway to renegotiate the EEA agreement, on the LO Congress in May 2013. The dissociation of Norway from the EEA will be a decisive step for the working class and the people, on the road to overthrow the power of the monopolies in Norway.CPN strength in the labor movement of Norway is far behind. Active participation in this fight is strengthening the position of the Communist Party of Norway, who in 2013 will celebrate her 90 year Anniversary fighting for the interest of the working class and the people.
Thank you for your patience!