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The Palestinian People’s Party speech to

The International Meeting of the communist parties

Dear comrades

Please allow me on behalf of the Central Committee of the PPP to extend our appreciation and gratitude to the Greek Communist Party in hosting this important international meeting of the communist and workers parties.

We believe that convening such meetings among our fraternal Parties, will deepen and expand the scope of discussions and exchanges, to seek the best means to consolidate cooperation and coordination among us and to promote our joint struggle to serve the interests of the working peoples of the world in dealing with the threats and challenges facing them.

Our meeting in these days in Athens becomes more significant under the current difficult and complicated conditions in Greece, in our region and all over the world.

A deep capitalist crisis continues to prevail in the international situation. A crises within the Capitalist system itself and not simple defects and bad management that could be solved as the leaders of the capitalist countries declare. A crisis that led and will continue to breed the policies of exploitation, oppression, aggression and wars. Such situation necessitates full mobilization by the communists and workers parties and continuous struggle in order to defeat them. Our meetings today and the coming days should draw the appropriate conclusions on how to achieve our goals and make socialism a realistic future for all the humanity.

On other hand it seems until now that developments in the Middle East and North Africa are still unfolding. The changes taking place has still not settled. The rise of the Muslim fundamentalist current after the last elections in Tunis, Morocco, Egypt (others are on the line), is an extreme back lash against the former situation. For the moment it is symptoms of history rather than a real reflection of the situation on the ground. One thing that’s obvious is that the kind of forces that organized the revolution does not have the skills to run in elections. And so it’s not surprising that the Muslim current has done well. It’s perfectly fine to come in with a slogan that “Islam is the solution”, but this slogan will not be applied when they will try to solve a housing crisis, or infrastructure, or unemployment. They do not have the proper answers to solve the hardships that exist on the social level. This rising process of the Muslim current sooner or later is going to come to an end.

As it is stated in the draft of the final declaration that is going to be released after our meetings , these “developments confirm the necessity of strengthening the Communist and Workers’ Parties in order to play their historical leading role, to further strengthening the workers and people struggle in defence of their rights and aspirations”.

In spite of everything our party salutes the wide spread Arab people’s struggles and uprisings for profound change, deep reforms, democracy and social justice, at the same time we condemn the Imperialist intervention that aims to contain these uprisings and derail them into a wrong path. "The US is known for its support of all dictatorships that collapse and for disowning these dictatorships immediately after their fall.

We fully agree that what is going on now in the Arab states constitutes a significant experience that the communist movement should study and utilise.

But what concern us in the time being are the direct effects of these uprisings and changes on the Palestinian problem. The so called Arab spring relay a big question: Until when the Arab regimes will remain locked into their former distorted policies towards Israel and the US? As a fresh example of such policies, all the Arab states have advised the PLO not to go to the Security Council for the recognition of the Palestinian state on the borders of June 4, 1967. Thanks for the popular support in Palestine and the Arab states that make this bid possible.

The proposal to go to UN for recognition has been initiated by our party long time before it was adopted by the leader ship of the PLO. In addition to that this initiative was recommended in a several meetings of the Communist and Workers parties in Syria, Athens Cyprus, and also by the Left block in the EU Parliament in the international meeting that was held recently in Jerusalem.

From our point of view the UN initiative should be a beginning step in a wider Palestinian new strategy, which situates the Palestinian problem again on the international agenda. It is a clear proof on the failure of the past negotiation. This initiative should depend on three main elements: 1) Reconciliation and ending the internal division. The longer Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza lead separate lives under separate leaders, the greater the chance of permanent division creating two separate 'Palestine' 2) Mobilizing a popular resistance in all kinds. 3) Stopping the negotiations with Israel until halting completely its settlement activities and recognizing the terms of reference of negotiations. Settlements and a two-state solution were mutually exclusive.

The move towards the UN should not be a tactical one but a strategically path.

We are certain that the main lesson from the change in the Arab world and the triumph of the popular revolution mainly in Egypt teaches us that mass resistance can brought the conflict and the occupation to an end much faster than anyone imagines. Tahrir Square will liberate us too.

The US and EU, should draw the proper conclusions from the popular revolutions in Egypt and Tunis. The sweeping, victory of these revolutions will eventually influence the Palestinians. And that is bad news for "Israel” which believes that maintaining the occupation, and the control over millions of Palestinians by means of superior military and intelligence, is a viable option. A popular mass resistance is likely to render Israel's military strength impotent.

We think that the communist and workers parties and civil movements have a main task now, by leading and supporting an international movement to recognize plainly and strongly the state of Palestine and adopt more political initiatives that put emphasis on the borders of the Palestinian state on the lines of June 4, 1967. Such initiatives should establish connection between dismantling settlements and statehood.

More over we call upon Parliamentarians, Social figures, Political Parties, Civil Organizations, Trade Unions to lead and support the campaign to file "Law fare" cases against Israeli criminal officials.

Israel itself is one of the world's big boycotters. It has imposed a cultural, academic, political, economic and military boycott on the Palestinian people in the west bank and Gaza. It is time to boycott the boycotters, and to support the victims of boycott.

We think that tremendous efforts should be made in order to exercise these demands into practical international measures.

Our party recognizes that there can be no just and sustainable peace in the Middle East without the involvement and support from the international community and from the real friends of the Palestinian people mainly the Communist, workers and leftist parties.

The PPP seizes the opportunity and this important event to express our deepest gratitude to our international friends and partners, and encourage you all to take a leading role in the struggle, for justice and peace in the Middle East, and the entire world.

Thank you

December 9, 2011

Palestinian People’s Party