Introductory speech by Dimitris Koutsoumbas, General Secretary of the KKE, at the quadripartite meeting of the 8th of July 2022

On 8 July 2022, a quadripartite meeting between the CP of Greece, the CP of Mexico, the CP of the Workers of Spain, and the CP of Turkey was held in Athens, at the headquarters of the CC of the KKE. The opening speech of Dimitris Koutsoumbas, GS of the CC of the KKE reads as follows:

“Dear comrades,

We are always happy to welcome the delegates of fraternal Communist Parties at the headquarters of the CC of the KKE. All the more so today, after the pandemic, which had limited our in-person multilateral contact.

Thus, we are very glad that you are here with us today for this important quadripartite meeting of our Parties and that you are going to participate in this year’s anti-imperialist events of KNE.

Our Parties have truly achieved a high level of cooperation. We jointly participate in the International Meetings of Communist and Workers’ Parties (IMCWP), in the International Communist Review (ICR), and —the three European Parties— in the European Communist Initiative (ECI). We jointly struggle on many fronts. We focus on the problems faced by the working class and the other popular strata and the strengthening of proletarian internationalism.

Our Parties have actively expressed solidarity with the workers’ struggles and the popular uprising in Kazakhstan that took place early this year. Moreover, a few months ago, we took the important initiative to issue a Joint Statement of the CPs on the imperialist war in Ukraine, which was supported by a significant number of Communist Parties and Communist Youth Organizations.

This activity prepared the ground for today’s meeting in Athens to discuss the developments concerning the war in Ukraine and the important international developments overall, to exchange experience from the struggle of our Parties, to contribute to the development of the joint activity of the CPs and the effort to strengthen the unity and regroupment of the international communist movement on a revolutionary basis, and to arrive at our joint activities for the following period.

In this regard, we believe that we can provide impetus by all means to strengthen the class struggle, to concentrate and prepare workers’–people’s forces in the struggle for the overthrow of capitalist barbarism. Besides, the necessity of socialism emerges from the developments, the suffering, and the acute problems faced by the working class, the popular strata, the youth, and women of a working-class origin in our own and other capitalist countries.

Our Parties have condemned the imperialist wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Mali in Africa, and many other parts of the world, which, from time to time, have been in the eye of the storm of imperialist plans.

We have fought against imperialist aggression and the dangerous role of the USA, NATO, and the EU and we decisively continue on this path. At the same time, we highlight and steadily raise the issue of the risk posed by imperialist competition that gives rise to wars. We expose the conflict between monopolies, bourgeois states, and their alliances over raw materials, mineral wealth, commodity transport routes, geopolitical pillars, and market shares.

Today’s developments are marked by the imperialist war in Ukraine, which has been waging for almost five months now between the USA–NATO–the EU and Russia.

Its causes lie in imperialist competition and the confrontation between bourgeois classes. The powder keg that led to this war started storing after the counter-revolution, the capitalist restoration, and the dissolution of the USSR, when all the hard-won achievements of the Soviet people became a commodity once again; when the factories and land, all the means of production were turned from social ownership to private capitalist ownership again and ended up in the hands of domestic and foreign exploiters.

The conflict in Ukraine emerged through this process aiming to include the country in various plans of capitalist unification as well as to install a reactionary government with the support of the USA–the EU–NATO, which even utilized fascist forces in those plans, that is, reactionary forces that in the previous period emerged and were reinforced, among other things, with the financial support and the political cover of Russia as well.

That is why we underscore that the claims about denazification invoked by the Russian leadership together with the bile spewed about Soviet power, Lenin, and the Bolsheviks are rather pretextual. However, we know that the struggle against fascism cannot be waged with consistency by those who conceal the fact that fascism is a product of capitalism and at the same time promise to implement a ‘proper denazification’ in their country! Furthermore, the reasons why the USA, NATO, and the EU are promoting their criminal plans in Ukraine to allegedly safeguard the free world, ‘democracy’, the struggle against ‘revisionism’, etc. are equally pretextual. Behind all these, they hide their true pursuits and their strategic plans for the promotion of their interests in Eurasia before the major conflict with China over supremacy in the imperialist system.

The plans against the peoples and their deeper exploitation are prevailing on both sides.

The highlighting of the imperialist character of the conflict on both sides is a very important issue for the orientation of the peoples’ struggle and consists of one of the contentious issues of the debate and struggle within the ranks of the communist movement.

Historical experience has shown that when the CPs are put to the test in conditions of imperialist war, pressures are exerted, and a solid theoretical and political basis is needed for the independent activity of the CPs, in order to separate their position from bourgeois classes and imperialist alliances.

In these conditions, of great significance is the position that we do not align with one or the other capitalist camp in the war, that we clash with bourgeois classes and we are on the side of our peoples’ struggle for the disengagement of our countries from the war and the strengthening of the struggle to eradicate the causes of war, overall for the overthrow of capitalism that gives rise to it.

That, therefore, is the right side of history!

Parties violating this principle or still fantasizing a ‘peaceful cooperation’ in the framework of the international capitalist competition through a utopian ‘non-aggressive’ imperialism or an imperialism whose aggression would supposedly be tamed through various ‘security architectures’ in today’s so-called multipolar world, are in practice dragged behind the pretexts used by one or another ruling bourgeois class and eventually only support its pursuits. In this way, they are ideologically–politically and organizationally disarmed and, thus, cannot respond to the tasks of the struggle against the massacre of the peoples.

We believe that in the current era and phase, those issues must be clarified by the greatest number of parties possible since the risk of a generalization of the imperialist war is real.

This is suggested by the mobilization of large military forces of NATO countries in Europe, the threats of nuclear weapons, the new imperialist unions in the region of Asia, the plans drawn up during the recent NATO Summit in Madrid, etc.

The peoples are already paying the price for the war, either with their blood or the unbearable economic burden, the so-called green transition, the competition over the division of the pie of the energy resources, the situation formed by the course of Europe to wind down dependence on Russian natural gas and oil, the sanctions, and the rampant food crisis.

There is need to systematically monitor the bigger picture, the entirety of competition permeating capitalism all over the world, the developments in the Asia – Pacific region and, in general, wherever the competition between the USA with China —the greatest economic power of the contemporary capitalist world that is increasing its military power— is strongly manifested.

Greece, Spain, and Turkey are NATO member states. They maintain strategic relations with the USA, as does Mexico.

Moreover, Greece and Spain are EU member states and Turkey is a strategic partner of the EU. Our countries have been involved in the imperialist war in Ukraine, for example, through the US bases. More and more workers realize the necessity to struggle for disengagement and participate in popular demonstrations for the closure of US–NATO bases, which far from guarantee peace and security for the peoples.

We must say that the bourgeois classes of Greece and Turkey, two NATO member states, are intensifying their competition and pose serious risks for our peoples. In these conditions, the KKE and TKP have taken a stand on the developments in our region, have opposed any attempt to change the borders and the treaties that define them, struggle against nationalism, and promote friendship between our peoples. We will do our best to deepen and increase the relations between the communists of Greece and Turkey and for these relations to provide a positive imprint on the relations between the two peoples.

At the same time, we cannot be abstracted from the overall situation of the international communist movement, which we have assessed that is facing a chronic ideological, political, and organizational crisis. The powerful opportunist current, which has abandoned scientific communism and the scientific laws of socialist revolution and construction, recycles serious ideological issues that hinder the struggle and the joint action of the CPs, and the ideological identity and unity of the ICM.

Such problematic approaches are, for example, the ones that:

• Promote the vain attempt to supposedly ‘humanize capitalism’ and ‘democratize imperialist unions’.
• Develop erroneous, unfounded, and outdated views about:

- A ‘governmental cooperation with social democracy’;

- ‘New anti-fascist fronts’ as a basic element of the popular movement, detached from their strategic link with the essence of capitalist barbarism;

- ‘The unity of the left’ with coalitions of heterogeneous forces, the eradication of the independence of the communist movement, the effort to co-opt radical forces into bourgeois management, etc.

Furthermore, views that:

• Approach the international alliances of the bourgeois classes (the EU, NATO, BRICS, etc.) in a non-class manner.
• Do not take a clear stance as regards nationalism and racist perceptions developed against refugees and immigrants, as well as other minorities.
• Promote notions about a ‘multipolar world’, the ‘laws and rules of international law’ and understand those laws and rules as a supra-class product of peaceful settlements rather than as a reflection of a specific correlation of forces, etc.

We would like to elaborate on some of the above approaches.

We believe that many of these problems are due to the fact that, unfortunately, several Parties could not adjust their strategy to our era —the era of imperialism, that is, the domination of the monopolies— and the direction of the struggle for the passage from capitalism to socialism, for the resolution of the basic contradiction between capital and labour corroborating the character of the revolution as socialist. Their programmes still include some old and outdated positions, as proven by historical experience itself. These positions concern vague, intermediate stages between capitalism and socialism which would supposedly facilitate the transition to socialism, entirely ignoring the historical experience which teaches us that this strategic approach only led the reactionary, capitalist forces to win time to regroup and attack the progressive, revolutionary forces and also to corrode the labour and communist movements. Thus, it ultimately led to the loss of time for the revolutionary process itself that those Parties supposedly served.

Some Parties have not clarified their stance towards bourgeois governments, rejecting to support or participate in them in the framework of capitalism. Unfortunately, they continue to collaborate with the sinful social democracy, when in practice it has repeatedly confirmed its role as a political force representing the interest of the capital, as a manager of capitalism that is used to gain control of the workers’-peoples’ consciousness, impose anti-labour and anti-popular measures, and perpetuate the exploitative system. We also witness cases of support for, collaboration with or tolerance towards bourgeois and even nationalist and chauvinist forces hiding behind the cloak of patriotism.

We believe that many Communist Parties in the International Communist Movement have not yet managed to collectively study:

- The history of the International Communist Movement and their own historical experience;

- The causes of the overthrow of socialism in the Soviet Union and the other socialist countries;

- They could not draw conclusions about the corrosive work of opportunism;

- The heavy consequences of the violation of the principles of socialist revolution and construction.

It is also evident to all of us that a considerable debate is being held within the communist movement, a struggle is being waged over what imperialism is. The prevailing analysis is the one that only or mostly limits imperialism to its reactionary–aggressive foreign policy, resulting in its identification principally with the USA and the most powerful EU member states.

Some Parties still consider China as a state building socialism, against the scientific laws of socialist construction and reality itself, which shows that capitalist relations of production now prevail entirely in China. Other Parties, while accepting that Russia is not the Soviet Union, are entrapped in positions disputing the imperialist character of Russia, which is supported by powerful monopolies and is the second capitalist military power in the world following the USA.

The stance of our Parties regarding the above and other issues is valuable. Our Parties can help, particularly in the framework of the ICR and the ECI.

Of course, an important qualitative element is that those two forms of multilateral cooperation of CPs (the ICR and ECI) proclaim that they are based on the world view of scientific communism; however, there can be several different ideological–political approaches, even confusion, which is a characteristic example that declarations or intentions alone are not enough. A more substantial discussion is therefore needed to overcome problems, lay a more solid foundation, and enrich our framework of struggle and activity in the coming period.

Comrades,

The KKE is currently waging tough battles. Mass demonstrations are taking place in our country against imperialist war and Greece’s involvement. The demands for all soldiers and military officers to return home from missions outside our borders and for the closure of the US–NATO military bases are growing stronger.

This struggle is combined with the struggle so that the people do not pay the consequences of the war and the so-called green transition; the struggle against high prices and energy poverty; the struggle for the survival of the popular family, the abolition of heavy taxes, the strengthening of the income of popular families, the contemporary social needs and rights of the working class and the popular strata overall.

These are struggles that are inextricably linked with the course of forging the social alliance between the working class and small-medium urban and rural strata, with the cause of workers’-people’s power.

We receive messages of hope from sectors where the workers, through crucial and tough struggles, managed to sign Collective Labour Agreements, such as the workers of the COSCO monopoly in the Port of Piraeus and the Federation of Construction Workers.

There are also encouraging signals in workplaces where the workers are regrouping their trade unions and strengthening the militant forces as distinctly happened in the case of the health sector, where, during the previous period, the workers waged a heroic struggle to tackle the pandemic, in unacceptable conditions, due to the policy of commercialization and shrinking of Public Health pursued by all governments.

There is also a dynamic in the recent university students’ elections, where the list of ‘Panspoudastiki’ supported by the KKE and KNE took first place for the first time after 1986, as well as in the recent National Congress of the All Workers’ Militant Front (PAME), in which more than 500 trade unions, federations, and Labour Centres across the country took part, aiming to strengthen the organization of the struggle of the working class in our country.

We see that your struggle is strengthening in your countries as well and we believe that the joint struggle of our Parties can develop on many fronts. It is necessary to exchange experience from the political activity of the Parties and the struggle in the workers’–people’s movement and the youth.

We can reinforce our cooperation to step up the effort for the revolutionary regroupment of the international communist movement, utilizing the steps taken in the ICR, the ECI, and the IMCWPs.

We take this opportunity to wish every success to the CP of Cuba, which has undertaken to host the 22nd IMCWP in late October.

There are a lot of issues on which our Parties can expand their cooperation.

The initiative taken by our Parties —the CP of Greece, the CP of Mexico, the CP of the Workers of Spain, and the CP of Turkey— to issue a Joint Statement signed by 42 Communist and Workers Parties and 30 Communist Youth Organizations, to express our opposition to imperialist war and raise matters of principle, is of particular importance.

However, this is not enough. New initiatives and forms of activity are needed in this direction to continue our work against imperialist war, imperialist plans, wars and interventions overall; against NATO and the EU; against all kinds of imperialist alliances and with a line of disengagement from them, with the people in power; for the closure of military bases in our countries and the cancelling of all agreements entangling them in imperialist plans.

Furthermore, we can further deepen our study on issues of socialism built in the 20th century, the causes of its overthrow, and the history of the international communist movement.

At the same time, we need to strengthen our joint action in the international labour movement and the mass international anti-imperialist organizations.

We also need to strengthen internationalist solidarity, as regards both the struggle against persecutions of communists and communist parties and the activity on the side of peoples facing imperialist aggression, on the side of refugees and immigrants.

We need to strengthen the struggle for labour and social security rights, for the workers’ needs, against state oppression and intimidation by the employers.

Comrades,

The new phase in which we are struggling is very demanding. These conditions require the escalation of the ideological–political struggle with all sorts of bourgeois parties.

Positions focusing only or mainly on the struggle against neo-liberalism lead to the acquittal of social democracy and the other bourgeois forces advocating the “market regulation” by the state. Both liberal and social democratic parties manage capitalist exploitation and are responsible for the sufferings of the peoples, perhaps in different ways but always shifting the burdens of the system to the workers.

Today, the communists’ tasks regarding the struggle against opportunism, which expresses the influence of the bourgeois ideology and policy on the labour movement, are increasing. Its action undermines the class struggle, which is the driving force of social development, and leads to the disarmament of the working class and its co-optation in the capitalist system.

Capitalism has decayed; it gives rise to poverty, unemployment, wars, and refugees! Exploitation is intensifying, the gap between, on the one hand, the scientific and technological achievements and the potential of our era and, on the other hand, the life of the working class and the popular strata, is constantly widening. The necessity and timeliness of socialism, workers’ power, the socialization of the means of production, and central planning are confirmed. The importance of the social alliance and the anti-monopoly and anti-capitalist direction of the struggle is highlighted on a daily basis.

Our discussion will not end here. Today we are laying the foundation for closer and more substantial cooperation, a study of the developments, and an exchange of opinions for the development of the joint struggle and the contribution to the regroupment of the communist movement.

With these thoughts, I would like to thank you for your participation and contribution to today’s meeting of our four Parties and to comradely and fraternally wish you strength and health!”