Theses of the CC of KKE in view of the Party’s 16th Congress
A. Developments in the
international imperialist system
C. The political proposal of kke regarding the anti-imperialist
anti-monopoly democratic front
E. The party’s tasks during the
period to come
The
CC of the Communist Party of Greece hereby submits the text of its Draft Theses
for pre-congress discussion in view of the Party’s 16th Congress. The text
consists of a report on the Party’s action during a period when the most
reactionary, anti-popular measures of the past 25 years were set in motion,
when capitalist barbarity struck blows against the peoples of
It
seeks to develop a lively, responsible dialogue with the active participation
of KKE and KNE members, but also with thoughts, observations and proposals from
its friends and followers, from cooperating forces, and from every
sociopolitical element of good will.
On
the basis of developments, the 16th Congress is called upon to elaborate KKE’s
political proposal in greater detail regarding the composition of the
Anti-imperialist Anti-monopoly Democratic Front of struggle (AADF), which
provides an answer to the legitimate questions and concerns that trouble the
broader forces in our society:
- How to bring as many
social and political forces as possible into the ranks of resistance and
opposition to the monopolies and imperialism.
- What factors could
have a positive effect on the adverse correlation of forces, so that
barriers are raised to the anti-popular measures and options.
- But the most basic
questions which KKE is interested in replying to are:
- How can a popular
militant majority be created, within the context of a programme and with
targets for struggle, that will be capable of bringing success to the
people’s great effort to overturn the power of the monopolies once and for
all, in order to establish the power of the people, the only power capable
of charting a different course of development for Greek society,
exclusively in the interests of the people, with the leading role in these
developments being played by the people themselves?
- What is the role of
KKE in this critical issue?
- How and with what
criterion will international alliances be sought, with bilateral and
multilateral agreements drawn up for economic collaboration and common
action against a common adversary, imperialism, so that the Greek people
can deal with the imperialist counterattack and the machinery of
intervention; so that the economy of the working people can be promoted
from better positions; so that Greece becomes a factor in the struggle for
peace in the region and for the right of every people to choose its own
path to social development, in opposition to the vested interests of
imperialist associations?
A.
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL IMPERIALIST SYSTEM
A
united front of struggle against capitalist restructuring, the «new NATO
doctrine» and the imperialist associations, with no illusions that an
imperialist war could be of a limited, regional, local nature
1. During the period of time
that has elapsed since the 15th Congress, imperialist aggressiveness has
evolved at an ever faster pace and in ever greater depth: in the economy, in
labour relations, in social policy, in the political system, and in the
ideological and cultural domain. New, crueler conditions of exploitation are
being created for the workforce, with new systems of employment, widespread
privatisation and the commercialisation of social security, health, education,
sport and culture.
The
rapid growth of new technologies and computer systems has provided new
possibilities for adopting the neoliberal administration policy more widely and
for creating a united reactionary, aggressive political block of neo-liberal
and social-democratic parties that have appeared as poles for attracting
centre-left and centre-right coalition governments, in some cases cooperating
with forces that have come from the transmutation of communist parties or from
groups that split off from them after the victory of the counter-revolution.
The
separation into oppressor states and oppressed nations has been reproduced and
sharpened today. Relations of domination and submission have become more acute
and more oppressive. In the capitalist associations, there can be no equality
among member-states. The relevant declarations have proved to be a hoax and an
illusion for the peoples. The more acute the clash in the socialisation of production
on the one hand, and in the concentration of the means of production and social
wealth on the other, the greater the unequal development will be within the
framework of capitalist integration.
Capitalist
restructuring today, in one form or another, extends throughout the capitalist
world, irrespective of the degree of development of the individual countries or
regions. Capitalist relations in the former socialist countries have developed
considerably. Social gains have been abolished or are on the way to being
eliminated. Capitalist restructuring in Latin America, Asia, certain countries
in
The
role of interstate monopoly arrangements has become stronger and more important,
to the detriment of the state monopoly arrangements on a national level, which
have nevertheless retained their role, and indeed function as a support and
necessary supplement to the former.
Within
the framework of the European Union (EU), all the procedures for full market
deregulation and tough competition between monopoly corporations have been
worked out. Large-scale buyouts and mergers are being engineered, mainly in the
fields of telecommunications, energy, the petroleum industry, the transportation
means manufacturing industry, the transport industry, and the financial and
investment sector. The goal is to reinforce the position of the European
monopolies in competition with the
NATO
has become a global terrorist. It has subjugated and taken over the United
Nations, which was already under its thumb. It has also taken over the
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is likewise
acting within the framework of imperialist policy. For the first time,
international imperialism managed to push the UN completely aside and waged the
criminal war against the
Existing
international and regional organisations are being adjusted to accommodate NATO
activities. NATO control over national armies is increasing.
The
rapid deployment forces that are being created promote NATO order and security,
and have become official accessories to NATO strategy. At the same time, the
institution of the mercenary has been enhanced so as to create self-sufficient
military forces, substantially under the control of NATO and of the imperialist
associations.
The
new military doctrine of the
The
problem of nuclear weapons, which early in the 1990s looked as though it were
becoming a secondary one, has re-appeared on the agenda today: in the war
against
The
EU, apart from being the watchdog of plutocratic interests in Europe, is
turning into a global watchdog and competing with the
The
fact that the modern options of imperialist policy have been imposed without
the anticipated resistance by the peoples, the internationalisation of the
class struggle or international solidarity is due above all to the decline of
the international balance of forces to the detriment of the peoples after the
victory of the counter-revolution in Europe, and the repercussions from the
international crisis in the labour, communist, anti-imperialist movement, which
are still strong to this day.
The
conclusion is that the peoples must be vigilant, they must not be complacent,
because the danger of a generalised clash of global significance continues to
exist and, from one point of view, is becoming more intense.
Conditions
are being created for the abrupt sharpening of all the contradictions in the
international capitalist system, and the aggravation of phenomena of corruption
and stagnation
3. On the one hand, the
socialisation of production is more intense, and on the other, the means of
production and social wealth are being concentrated in ever fewer hands.
Monopoly profit is increasing as is the degree of exploitation of the workers
and the peoples.
Productive
forces are being destroyed and downgraded, particularly human resources.
Unemployment, hunger, poverty and destitution are growing by leaps and bounds.
The wave of migration is growing. Social crime and drug addiction are
mushrooming. Millions of people on earth are at the mercy of natural disasters,
deprived of the most elementary protection or ability to defend themselves.
The
contradiction between the potential for social well-being opened out by
progress in science and technology, and discoveries in the field of genetics on
the one hand, and their capitalist exploitation on the other, is becoming ever
more manifest. At the same time, it is clear that capitalism is giving a
special boost to the sectors of science that can offer financial, political and
ideological gains to big capital. Capitalism is indifferent to, or consciously
ignores, the fields of science and their applications that could improve
people’s material and cultural living conditions. The enormous belts of poverty
and disease, the inequities in the dissemination and application of
technological achievements among different countries, both regionally and
internally, are characteristic indicators of the class nature of development
and of a system that is growing old, with the tendency to stagnation and
corruption.
Despite
the efforts and means used by capitalist power to intervene in the depth and
extent of the crisis, in the forced restoration of the disturbed ratios of
capitalist reproduction, it cannot overcome the crises and their repercussions.
This has made capitalism more barbaric and aggressive. The objective conditions
of the more generalised existing crisis will also create the objective features
of a nationwide crisis in one or more countries, sooner in some and later in
others.
The
intra-imperialist contradictions in Southeastern Europe, in Eurasia, and the
Middle East. The Balkan powder-keg
4. Intra-imperialist
conflicts are now going through a new phase of aggravation over the
distribution of markets and the maintenance or conquest of global primacy.
However, despite the competition among themselves, the imperialist forces are
united in their intervention in Eurasia, in Central, Eastern and Southeastern
Europe, in the Middle East, and in North Africa, objects of on-going
negotiations between the most powerful imperialist forces, the
Interstate
monopoly agreements and arrangements reflect the specific correlation of forces
among the three centres (US-EU-Japan), for a greater or lesser period of time,
in favour of the leading imperialist countries within their associations, but
also in relation to the less developed or dependent countries. Among the most
significant and increasingly bitter conflicts is the problem of the debt that
burdens more than 100 countries, as well as the effort to shift the
manifestations of the economic crisis from the leading powers to the periphery.
There
are also the problems of water resources management, the destruction of the
environment that has recently brought about dangerous climate changes, the
waves of migration, the slave trade in human lives, the capitalist application
of the achievements of biomedicine, genetics, and the use of genetically
modified products, etc.
Some
of the former socialist countries in the Balkans are characterised by political
instability; their primary features are a negative rate of development, the
stagnation or decline of their industrial production, their balance of trade
deficit, the destruction and shrinking numbers of their productive forces and
the sharp decline in their peoples’ standard of living.
In
the Balkan region, the main ambition of the imperialists is to create
protectorate states, to carve up the
The
situation along the Greek borders is particularly alarming, with the increase
of irredentism in
An
integral feature of the EU is the existence of «axes» and «counter-axes», which
are upset and alternated according to the conflicts between the leading
imperialist forces and are today focused on the discussion about whether the EU
will develop into a federation with a «European government» and European
bodies, or into a federation of nation-states. The conflict is evolving between
The
strong imperialist powers headed by the US, together with the EU bodies, are
scheming and creating «alliances» with former socialist countries under their
control, with a view to encircling Russia and any countries that aspire to a
leading position in the imperialist system. These forces want to stabilise
capitalism in
In
the cogs of imperialist plans and the competition between the dominant forces
there is also the
Although
the sharpening of the conflict between the imperialist powers and the dependent
countries is not manifested in the same way for all, it can contribute to the
rallying together of the peoples, and to the formation of local or regional
alliances against the imperialist associations. The conflicts are becoming more
internationalised, with a growing number of countries that, objectively
speaking, have an interest in opposing and breaking with the international
organisations and the arrangements imposed by them.
The
working people in the dominant imperialist countries must respond by forming a
united, common front with the working people in dependent countries and
regions. Since there is a common adversary, its strategy against them should be
a common one. Special responsibility for international solidarity against these
associations falls on the labour and generally on the popular movement in the
developed capitalist countries, so that the efforts to promote the myth of the
classless division of «north-south», «rich-poor» countries will not succeed.
The contradictions inherent in the modern imperialist
system are becoming more visible
5. The difficulty of
reproducing social resources, which became manifest in the crisis of overproduction
early in the 1990s, and in the decline of average rate of profit is obvious.
The phase of revitalisation and recovery in the crisis cycle was not
accompanied by any improvement in incomes or living standards, or any increase
in the number of jobs for the majority of the working class and the poor and
middle strata.
Nor
was the phase of recovery in the EU accompanied by any reduction of
unemployment, especially long-term. There are in addition contradictory
predictions about the course of the Euro as a single currency. Any advantages
to European monopoly capital that have appeared in the process of capitalist
integration and monetary union are accompanied by tangible conflicts arising
from unequal development. They were manifested in the disputes over the
evolution of the EU into a federal form, over its enlargement, and over the
role of the European Central Bank in relation to the International Monetary
System. For the first time in official Community circles questions and doubts
are being expressed about the advisability and necessity of enlargement, and
about the danger of the EU being divided into three parts.
In
the
The
bourgeois government (whether held by the classic conservative or the
social-democratic party) has long since abandoned the management of the system
in the form of extensive state ownership of industry, transportation, telecommunications,
the financial sector and tourism, together with the generalised social benefits
that had been implemented mainly in Europe.
Capitalist
restructuring and neo-liberal management created a broad network of economic
integration and reproduction primarily of the middle strata, but also a
«stratum» of highly paid salaried workers in the urban centres. These forces
are used to create a climate of social consent. However, it is not certain
that, in the near future, they will be able to manoeuvre to achieve a firm
alliance with a large segment of the middle classes.
Bourgeois
ideology and propaganda use the classless term «globalisation» to obscure the
class nature of the international imperialist system and to impose the view
that there is just one road to internationalisation, the capitalist one. It is
trying to make the bourgeois state take on the appearance of an executive
staff, supposedly neutral from a class viewpoint, whose mission is to
facilitate each country’s participation in international cooperation. It is
endeavouring to cover up the unequal development of capitalism and the
conflicts within the bosom of imperialism, the relations of domination and
submission that are characteristic of the imperialist pyramid, and the historic
limits of the system itself; it is likewise trying to eliminate from people’s
minds all the historic and modern elements that could create anti-imperialist
orientations.
The
«globalisation» theories have turned their fire against any move toward
emancipation from imperialist policy, against movements for the defence of
borders, sovereign rights and national independence. They are absolutely
hostile to proletarian internationalism and internationalist solidarity.
The
need to organise an international anti-imperialist movement, with the support
of the popular movements on a national level, is high on the agenda. It will be
a movement capable of taking advantage of the contradictions and conflicts of
international imperialism, of demonstrating the weak links in a number of
countries and regions, and of developing and coordinating more general
struggles, thus reinforcing action on a national level.
The countries that are attempting to build socialism
6. Imperialist aggressiveness
and capitalistic restructuring exert an influence on these countries and raise
serious obstacles.
Starting
in the 1980s and more rapidly in the 1990s, the People’s Republic of
The
PR of China recently re-acquired Hong Kong and
The
CP of China declares that it has not relinquished its leading role in the
economy and society. It estimates, on the basis of the targets set at its
recent congress, that through the redistribution of the accumulated wealth from
the free trade zones, by the year 2050 it will have reduced to 50 million the
number of poor among the population. The rates of development being achieved
during this period by the PR of China’s economy (average annual GDP growth rate
is about 7%) have aggravated the competition with the imperialist centres, and
above all the US and EU. Its economy has already had a significant impact on
the economies of Asian and Pacific Rim countries and has provoked a strong
reaction from
It
is indisputable that the general direction of Chinese policy generates complex
problems, both internal (e.g. social differentiation, unemployment,
repercussions on the lives of the farmers, who constitute 66.6% of the total
population), which affect the political system, and in its external relations,
in which it has to confront the aggressiveness of US imperialism in particular,
but also that of the other imperialist countries. The aim of these forces is to
undermine its socialist perspective and limit its ability to play a role in the
international anti-imperialist movement. This situation is leading the PR of China
to seek alliances in order to deal with this aggressiveness. Within this
framework, its agreements and relations with the
The
Cuban people, led by the Communist Party of Cuba and the government, have all
these years been waging great, significant battles to confront the embargo, the
anti-socialist campaign and sabotage. In
The
Communist Party of Vietnam and the country’s government continue their efforts
to raise the people’s living standard. Strategic sectors of the economy have
remained public, but the penetration of certain multinational corporations
should be noted and the integration of part of the economy into capitalist
relations (privatisation, establishment of a stock exchange). Its initiatives
for peace and collective security in the region have increased.
The
People’s Republic of
The modern revolutionary and anti-imperialist movement
In
some former socialist countries, the class struggle is being sharpened by the
growth of labour struggles. Evidence of this is the fact that, in order to
confront the struggle, new anti-communist laws have been passed recently in
Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and the Baltic Republics, in
order to avert an emancipation that would be a threat to their governments. On
the basis of official data from countries like the
In
all the former socialist countries, in particular in the former
8. One of the most
significant events was the appearance of the strong popular reactions and
mobilisations sparked by the war against
Industrial
action broke out against some very powerful international monopolies (strikes
by the workers at Renault, at the Michelin plants, at Candy, Coca-Cola, and Air
France, in the metalworking sector, and in Greek enterprises in
Certain
mobilisations against the Multilateral Agreement on Investments and against the
World Trade Organisation had an international impact, even though they were
supported by extremely heterogeneous forces, such as the protests during the
meetings in
However,
these reactions and resistance, despite their intensification, are still
fragmentary and opportunistic with weak links between them. They have not
acquired continuity, with the result that they lack stability and any immediate
prospect of evolving into a strong anti-imperialist movement which could join
together the most radical, revolutionary forces of our times. Imperialism has
in many instances managed to eradicate, reduce or absorb the poles of
opposition. The international organisations that have acquired or are trying to
acquire an anti-imperialist, anti-monopoly strategy today are very weak. Their
operation is influenced by the dispute between opportunistic and reformistic
viewpoints. They are affected by the efforts being made to absorb radical movements
and radical and communist forces into the policy of imperialism. They have not
been able to contribute to internationalising the efforts being made on
national and regional levels, owing to their inadequate means of communication,
lack of financial resources, etc. The problem in
9. The trends emerging show
the possibility of stepping up the internationalisation of the class and
anti-imperialist struggle. The immediate need is to strengthen the
international alliance of the working class with the anti-imperialist
anti-monopoly forces, in order to regenerate the international anti-imperialist
and revolutionary movement, to bring the class-oriented, revolutionary forces
into the vanguard of the movement, and to deal with the difficulties,
obstacles, and splitting actions of imperialism as quickly and decisively as
possible.
What
is most important today is for the militant, radical forces in the trade union
and generally in the anti-imperialist movement to rally together, so that they
may begin to provide more coordinated and organised support for the
international forces who want and are able to stand up against imperialism and
its associations, thus giving hope to awakening peoples and national movements.
The international communist movement
10. The international
communist workers’ movement, despite the progress that has been made in some countries
on a world level, remains organisationally and ideologically fragmented. The
ideological struggle in its ranks between the opportunistic, reformist and
revolutionary communist forces has been particularly intense. The focal point
is the timeliness of Marxism-Leninism, and the strategy of the communist and
workers’ parties during the transition period from capitalism to socialism,
under conditions of the temporary victory of the counter-revolution and the
adverse change in the international balance of forces. The battle is being
fought on the dividing line between «resistance-opposition» to the system of
imperialism and «adaptation-integration» with it. It is related to the stance
toward the capitalist crisis, imperialist warfare, the capitalist regional and
international inter-state associations, the historic role of the working class,
the natural laws of socialist revolution, and the assessment of the deeper
reasons for the victory of the counter-revolution at the end of the 1980s. The
problem appears to be more acute in the communist and workers’ movement in the
powerful imperialist countries. Defeat and withdrawal continue to burden the
communist and workers’ movement in the former socialist countries, which were
the hardest hit by the victory of the counter-revolution.
Under
these new conditions, there is a need for an ideological counteroffensive by
the Communist Parties and the communist movement, which believe in the need to
overthrow capitalism, in the role of the international anti-imperialist
movement, and in the revolutionary process. In this way, substantial support
would be offered to the effort to internationalise the class struggle, to
create a powerful pole that would resist imperialism worldwide, to provide
thrust and prospects for the fight on the national level, which is today the
linchpin of the people’s positive influence on international developments.
Within
the ranks of the communist movement a stronger dialogue must be developed and
various viewpoints and orientations must be discussed on issues related to and
immediately affecting unified action by communists, and on international
developments; the significant or fundamental differences that have arisen must
also be discussed. The primary responsibility of every party is toward its
country’s working class and people, and each party is thus obliged to take into
account the needs, possibilities and special features of its own country.
However, the internationalisation of life and the struggle further increases
the responsibility of each party in respect of more general developments and
the course of the labour movement. Today there are many more indications of the
significance of ideological and political unity within the ranks of the
communist movement, on the basis of Marxism-Leninism. Not only have the
theories of eurocommunism, the so-called democratic path to socialism, that
circulated in the 1970s and 80s not been vindicated, but they have proved to be
harmful to the popular movements. They have led their organisations to submission
to or agreement with the bourgeois parties, even on issues like the war against
the
B. DEVELOPMENTS IN GREECE
11. Greek state monopoly
capitalism has entered a phase of aggravated contradictions. One factor that
intensifies the situation is proving to be the country’s dependent and inferior
position, especially in a region that is a hub of intra-imperialist conflicts.
On
behalf of the interests of big capital, Greek governments have played and
continue to play an active role in all the imperialist schemes in the region.
Among these was the dissolution of the united
It
acts as an intermediary for US and European investments, with the ambition of
securing the penetration of the Greek oligarchy in the region as well. Despite
the increase in the export of capital and commodities from
The
oligarchy of the rich is taking advantage of the circumstantial detente in the
relations between Greece and Turkey, which is primarily guided by the
imperialist centres (US and EU), in order to extend their capital exports to
the neighbouring country and to achieve corporate collaboration in order to penetrate
markets in the Black Sea region.
The
basic planning of capitalist restructuring is being stepped up. A new level of
concentration and monopoly has been reached.
The
penetration of private monopolies in the social services sector has been rapid,
and this will step up the process of concentration. The industrial sectors of
transportation and telecommunications show an upward trend. Recently the
tourism sector has been strained, while the broader financial and credit system
has spread rapidly. Takeovers, mergers and the development of chain stores are
characteristic of developments in commerce.
At
the same time, small-scale commodity production continues to prevail in the
agrarian economy, and in certain manufacturing sectors such as furniture,
garments, ship repairs, commerce and services.
Neither
the working class nor the poorer strata of the middle classes benefitted from
the revitalisation and increase of economic activity in the second half of the
1990s. The only winner, and indeed scandalously so, was the country’s financial
oligarchy, the international monopolies active in our country, and a «stratum»
that shares in the squandering of EU funds through buying off consciences and
the creation of the mechanisms of assimilation. Integral features include
scandalous bribery, overt profiteering, and the logic of «grab and run»,
kick-backs, and «you die I live».
The
state of the Greek economy has been affected by the more general developments
within the EU, and by the course of the
13. The ideological offensive
on all fronts, the intensification of state violence and oppression, the
orchestrated misinformation on the part of the ruling class and the parties in
power all constitute primary elements of the period that has elapsed since the
15th Congress. To strike at the popular movement, the bourgeois political
system is taking back some limited bourgeois-democratic freedoms. Today there
is a visible danger that fundamental rights of the people, won through tough,
bloody struggles, may be abolished. The policy of oppression is being
readjusted to the increased needs of capital and of imperialist organisations.
The mechanisms of surveillance and oppression have multiplied on both state and
interstate levels. The legal statutory framework has become increasingly more
reactionary. It includes: Greece’s participation in Schengen-Europol and the EU
expeditionary police forces, the agreements and legislative regulations to
«combat terrorism», beefing up the police forces, reorganising and reinforcing
special services for surveillance and suppression, creating a new repressive
police machinery in the Hellenic Police (ELAS) («special guards», «border
police») or cooperating closely with ELAS (municipal police, private police).
The institutions that have emerged in Greek society have been transformed not
only into organs of class collaboration, privatisation and taxation but also
into instruments of intimidation, persecution and the dissolution of the
movement. The Municipal Police, with many of the former responsibilities of
ELAS, and private police is evolving into a supplementary mechanism for state
repression in the workplace, in the municipality, in the neighbourhood, and on
the block.
Under
pressure from the general guidelines set by imperialist organisations and in
particular the USA, an entire system has been created with ways and means to
subjugate the people, to intimidate, force and harrass them, and to manipulate
and buy them off. In comparison to the past, the government and employers show
intractability even to the most limited popular demands. Typical facts are the
thousands of trials of people fighting for their rights, the penalisation of
pupils’ struggles, and open harrassment in the workplace. A special element is
the widespread anti-socialist, anti-communist propaganda and the slandering of
any idea of resistance to the present state of affairs. A systematic effort is
being made to shape the mentality of a «European» «citizen of the world», to
foster cosmopolitanism, consumerism and individualism, and to drive out any
idea of developing the class struggle to overthrow the present status quo, any
idea of cultivating the need for internationalist class and anti-imperialist
solidarity.
Interventions
among the intelligentsia, and in the fields of art and culture in general are
being stepped up. The provincial media are being bought out by big corporate
owners of powerful radio and television channels, newspapers and magazines, in
order to marginalise any independent voice raised against the system. Using the
fact that
Manoeuvres
are being attempted to prevent more militant struggles in order for the
integrated anti-labour package of measures to be pushed through unhindered.
With the logic of «divide and rule» selective benefits are being granted,
especially tax measures to curtail the rapid deterioration of the financial
situation among certain strata of the people and to facilitate the rescinding
of gains and abolition of collective rights. The Greek government is interested
in broadening its relations with the highest paid segment of the working class
and with certain strata, particularly the middle classes, to draw them into the
policy of consent to and active support for its primary choices. The greater
part of the Third Community Support Framework, the Olympic projects and the
revenues from privatisations are being used to this end.
Toward
the end of the government’s 4-year term, the situation will have become worse.
The position of the people will deteriorate due to restructuring and its
repercussions on working and living conditions.
14. The percentage of the
total economically active population belonging to the working class is
increasing. Thus the myth that the working class is shrinking or being
eliminated has been disproved. This theory is based on the anti-scientific and
anti-Marxist view that the working class is exclusively identified with factory
workers and the industrial proletariat, or on totally superficial data coming
from disturbances in labour relations. In 1996, the increase in the numbers of
salaried persons in comparison with 1981 was 34.3%. In the same year, the share
of wage-earning labour among the economically active population increased to
64-65%. In manufacturing, there was a decline in the number of people employed,
including salaried employees. An increase in salaried workers was recorded in
the fields of tourism, food supply, telecommunications, trade, and education,
and in the broader financial and investment field, in real estate management
and in private insurance. The so-called service sector employs 60.6% of
salaried persons.
The
working class lives in conditions of greater relative and absolute poverty.
From all points of view, their position in the system is worse. The minimum
remuneration of shopworkers is lower than the 1989 level and much lower than
that of 1984, the year with the highest index of the quarter-century. The
differences in the earnings of the working people in various branches and
sectors have increased. The minimum earnings in the private sector show a small
real increase (0.6%). The disposable income of the average salaried person is
currently at the 1980 level. A large number of young people from the working
class drop out of senior secondary school, while a significant percentage do
not complete even the nine-year compulsory education. A large number of people
are obliged to pay for health care, services in daycare centres, and other
facilities for people with special needs or the elderly out of their own
pockets.
In
1999, net profits before tax increased by 48.7% against 1998, while the value
of total sales increased by 10%. (ICAP research on a sample of 4,561 industries
and enterprises). That is, the profit margins of large and middle-sized
businesses have increased, while those of the small ones have decreased.
15. The agrarian economy shows
a protracted stagnation of output. During the last two decades, the rate of
increase of capital reserve per stremma (1 stremma = 1/4 acre) has dropped.
This is due to the corresponding reduction in total investments in fixed
capital.
During
the 1990s, the concentration of land and production in fewer hands continued,
as did the forced uprooting of the owners of small and medium-sized farms. The
problem of the aging of the rural population has become more acute, while
employment in farming diminishes by 2.5% every year. The changes that took
place in the percentage of salaried persons out of all those working in rural
areas were insignificant, with the result that salaried people constitute 4.1%
of the total agrarian employment, but provide 12.8% of the total agrarian
labour. Thus family farms are still prevalent in agriculture, except for the
production of white meat and fish farms.
The
stagnation of the agrarian economy, in conjunction with the people’s greater
needs for agricultural products, has increased
In
the next few years, with Agenda 2000 and the anticipated agreement of the World
Trade Organisation, the rates of adjustment of Community agriculture to the
world capitalist market will be stepped up. Rates of increase in production
will fall. Prices of agricultural products will be brought to the level of
international prices, so that the processing industries and agricultural product
multinational corporations can buy produce at ridiculously low prices. The
concentration of land will increase, as will output and the income of the few,
to the detriment of the poor farmer. Farm employment will continue to decline
at rates higher than 2% a year. The deficit in the agricultural balance of
trade will increase and
16. Small firms, which
constitute 91% of the total of small and middle-sized enterprises, are burdened
with many pressing problems. The tendency, objectively, is towards the great
difficulty of survival and ultimately ruination. These firms have a small
turnover, and no possibility of capitalisation, with adverse effects on their
productivity and competitiveness. The cause can be found mainly in the
dominance of the monopolies and in the tough competition between them in
sectors that had once been held by small-scale enterprises. The supply of raw
materials and intermediate commodities, bank credit and trade are subject to
the terms of monopoly competition.
Medium-sized
businesses are characterised by marked stratification. Firms at the low end of
the scale, which are outside the processes of dependence on the monopolies in
the form of cooperation, are squeezed and threatened.
There
is a serious productivity problem, which is associated as a rule with the lack
of specialisation and the difficulty of utilising the labour force effectively
under such conditions.
The
ruin and reproduction of small enterprises may not lead to the reduction of
this stratum, but it does show the contradictory tendency in capitalist
conditions. This liquidity will become stronger through the takeovers and
mergers to effect the greater concentration of capital while, at the same time,
higher unemployment and dismissals will reinforce the trend to small
enterprises.
17. Young people in
In
For
the majority of youth, there is unemployment, insecurity, part-time employment,
partial earnings, and an uncertain future. Young people today cannot start a
family or satisfy their needs, even in the way their parents did. Phenomena of
social pathology are multiplying among young people; drug use is spreading as a
result of the contradictions, impasses and difficulties in their lives, and
because of the more general prevailing ideological and political climate.
Young
people are the specific target of a deliberate effort to keep them away from
radical anti-imperialist ideas and from the organised popular movement.
The
ruling class of
The
instruments of this policy include subsidised educational and other programmes,
the selective financing of youth activities and organisations, and the
ideological utilisation of new technologies to create in the eyes of the
younger generation a false picture of a «self-renewing humanitarian capitalism»
which supposedly guarantees full freedom of individual choice.
These
programmes are combined with the effort to shape and impose a policy of
selecting talented young people to enter into the service of the system and to
disseminate its inhuman values. But despite this, most young people feel the
uncertainty of their future. Among many young people, orientations and conduct
are being created which express the feeling of marginalisation and questioning.
On this ground confusions and illusions come into being and are reproduced
regarding the possibilities of an individual way out. Thus we are shown the
great challenge we must meet as a Party, as KNE, in order to be of decisive
help in transforming this questioning into radicalism: to create a mass,
dynamic youth movement capable of playing an active role in building the
anti-imperialist, anti-monopoly democratic front of struggle.
C.
THE POLITICAL PROPOSAL OF KKE REGARDING THE ANTI-IMPERIALIST ANTI-MONOPOLY
DEMOCRATIC FRONT
18. Today the two radically
different paths opening up for our country and our people, as assessed by the
15th Congress, have become clearer. One is the path of adjustment and
assimilation into the imperialist state of affairs, i.e. in one form or
another, the path of the greater and more rapacious exploitation of the working
people. The other is the path of resistance and breaking with this policy, the
path of creating the Anti-imperialist, Anti-monopoly Democratic Front of
struggle (AADF) which is in the interests of the working class, of broad strata
of people in the city and countryside, and of the majority of the nation. It is
the path that gives the people the ability to take their fate into their own
hands, along with the course of the country and the future of their children.
It is the path of struggle to develop the country’s objective potential and
natural resources, to give a radically different prospect to the people, for
power to the people. The path that brings the Greek people to the side of all
other peoples and forces whose interests lie in fighting against the monopolies
and imperialism on a national and global scale. It is the path that creates the
possibilities for socialist regeneration in
The
AADF is based on the social alliance of the working class and the petty
bourgeois strata in town and countryside, on their common interest in setting
aside their differences to combat their common adversaries, big capital and the
international monopolies. The Front is based on the dialectical relationship
and interaction between social and political alliances. It derives its strength
mainly from the development of the class struggle, from the processes and
realignments brought about by the latter on the social and political level. In
turn it lends a new dynamic to the movement and to the process of changing the
correlation and realignments.
A
decisive factor in the mass participation and militancy of the Front will be
the united progress of the working class, winning its leading role and that of
its party, KKE, in the popular movement through life and action.
The
Front will be profoundly influenced by the situation prevailing in the working
class trade union movement, by the degree of organisation of the working
people, by developments in the international correlation of forces and by the
state of the popular movements in neighbouring and nearby countries, in the EU
and in
- Social movements of
the working class, of petty bourgeois strata in the city and countryside,
mainly small entrepreneurs and poor farmers.
- Youth and women’s movements,
movements in the fields of education, health and social policy, movements
for trade union, democratic, and political liberties and rights and for
the environment, the anti-imperialist movement for peace, movements in the
realms of culture, sport, research and science.
- Political forces,
groups and movements that support the need for the anti-imperialist,
anti-monopoly struggle, and the need for a different path of development
for Greek society, in opposition to the interests of the monopolies and
the imperialist associations.
- Social and political
public figures, patriots, democrats, and progressive people who agree with
and want to take part in action to promote the interests of the people, in
opposition to the choices of the monopolies and imperialism.
To
create the AADF, it is not enough to have joint action based on common or
similar views on the major current problems, or a line of defence against the
offensive our people is sustaining on all fronts. There must also be a certain
level of agreement on the general direction to be taken in solving problems,
and on the need for breaking with the vested interests of the monopolies and
imperialist choices.
The
anti-imperialist anti-monopoly struggle, and the action of the Front as a
sociopolitical alliance, irrespective of the particular composition and form it
will take, will go forward. It may zigzag, depending on the correlation of
forces, the quality and mass participation in the alliance, and the stability,
consistency and capability of action that it will show. There may even be
countervailing trends within the ranks of the Front or vacillations, with
shifts and turns in the struggle, when the maximum decisiveness and
steadfastness will be required, when there will be an urgent need to establish
new priorities for the goals, demands and choices that will undermine the
foundations of the capitalist system. There will be realignments and
regroupings within the ranks of the Front on the basis of the evolving social
and political reality.
As
a social and political alliance, it will utilise the element of compromise in
all its actions, so as to muster the greatest possible assembly of forces, as
long as they do not hinder the dynamic of developments. KKE, in turn, will
exhaust all possibilities to ensure that the alliance does not find itself
vulnerable and trapped in the splitting plans of the ruling class, or in its
pressure to bring as many forces as possible into the line of acquiescence with
and management of the system.
Power to the people. The people’s economy. Terms and
conditions
20. KKE believes that today
the anti-imperialist anti-monopoly struggle is more closely linked to and an
integral part of the struggle against capitalism, since this struggle by nature
contains forces that undermine the foundations of capitalist domination.
However, the struggle of the Front does not necessarily and inevitably lead to
socialism.
The
Party also takes into account the most important factor, that heterogeneous
forces have come under its umbrella which, although they are against monopoly
capitalism and the imperialist associations, also express a different level of
awareness, different viewpoints about the nature of power, and a different
attitude toward socialism. Therefore the AADF is not set up with the prerequisite
of reaching agreement on socialism.
Irrespective
of the differences, the AADF must promote among the people the idea that it is
necessary and realistic for the interests of the oppressed popular forces to be
imposed at the level of power, a target integrally linked with the drastic
change and overthrow of the correlation of forces.
In
other words, a policy must be put forward which is clearly defined and
diametrically opposed to the policy of the bourgeois parties and their allies.
Through its main guiding ideas, it must set out before the people and commit
itself to popular power and the people’s economy. It must commit itself to
fighting for
The
struggle of the Front will be reflected on the level of power according to the
sharpening of the class struggle, the stability of the alliance of
anti-imperialist, anti-monopoly forces, and whether or not a nationwide crisis
exists.
On
the basis of its Programme, KKE argues that the Anti-imperialist Anti-monopoly
Democratic Front, under revolutionary conditions, can take on the
characteristics of a revolutionary front that is fighting to overthrow the
power of the monopolies, with preparedness and the ability to alternate all
forms of struggle. Within this struggle, with the experience and decisiveness
of the popular majority, new institutions of the people are created, that could
reach the level of a revolutionary government. With the victorious outcome of
this struggle, the features of this revolutionary government will be integrated
and stabilised as the power of the working class and its allies, i.e. the
dictatorship of the proletariat, the opposite of the dictatorship of the
bourgeois class and the monopolies.
Under
conditions of class confrontations and the great decline in the influence of
the bourgeois parties and their allies, and even though the conditions will not
have been created for a radical social upheaval and a revolutionary transition,
a government may emerge of anti-imperialist, antimonopoly forces based in the
Parliament. In a brief period of time, the government will be judged on
whether, using the weapon of the maximum popular mobilisation, it will be able
to deal with the reaction of the ruling class, with a view to overthrowing or neutralising
it, and contribute to the maturing of the situation and the onset of the
revolutionary process. In any event, the AADF must have secured the maximum
possible unity so that it can achieve unity of action by the working class, the
rallying of the working people more generally, and organised popular
intervention.
21. Despite its long years of
being plundered by big capital and international monopolies,
A
prerequisite for this is for its natural resources and its basic and
centralised means of production to pass into the ownership of society, to begin
to serve the development of the people’s economy. In such an economy, the main incentive
will be the prosperity of the people, in contrast to the present economy whose
decisive, absolute incentive is superprofits for the monopolies, and the
interests of big capital. Selection of the means of production concerns above
all the fields of energy, telecommunications, mining, water supply,
transportation, and the basic sectors of manufacturing, production of the means
of production, and products for popular consumption; the banking system and the
system for accumulating and channeling economic and material resources more
generally; external trade and the network of domestic trade; and the sector of
basic research and making available its discoveries for the well-being of the
people.
A
vital element is the creation of a central, nationwide economic machinery with
the active participation of the working people. This machinery will manage and
develop natural resources, will effect social and labour control, and develop
democracy in the workplace. Thus not only will the increased popular needs be
satisfied, but also broadened reproduction, the country’s security and defence,
international cooperation, and labour and popular solidarity. Nationwide
planning will include policies adapted to the regional, sectoral and
intersectoral levels.
Central
planning is the instrument by which production and distribution ratios will be
ensured, and domestic output protected from the unrestrained activity of the
monopolies in international markets. At the same time, interstate agreements
will be sought in the fields of trade, in the utilisation of know-how on the
basis of mutual benefit, in the prompt and broad application of the
achievements of science and technology to production and to the sectors of
reproduction of the labour force, i.e. health, education, welfare, housing and
environmental policy.
Central
planning serves the growth of the means of production, the productivity of
labour, the direct liaison between agricultural output and processing, the
policy of decentralisation, protection against floods, fire and earthquakes,
and the real protection of the environment.
Alongside
the state’s popular economy sector will be the cooperative productive sector,
particularly in agrarian production and in manufacturing sectors with a low
level of concentration, which stands in the way of higher productivity.
KKE
believes that our country cannot embark on the path of development for the
people since it has been assimilated into and committed to the bonds of the
imperialist associations, the EU and NATO. The Party is struggling to convince
the majority of the people to demand disengagement from these organisations and
to create the necessary sociopolitical conditions to succeed. It is fighting to
mobilise and take advantage of international solidarity and the conflicts
triggered within these associations by the disparate development, inequity and
dependency that prevail.
A
united
A
higher, socialist form of internationalisation in a group of countries in
Europe and in the world will go forward to the degree that, on the national
level, an effort is made to bring about a substantial breach with the
interstate capitalist organisations, and to the degree that, at the same time,
local and regional cooperations are formed in the economic, commercial and
cultural fields: alliances against the leading imperialist forces. This will
proceed and become a reality to the degree that the working people’s labour
movement in each country acquires the ability to weigh and make use of all the
opportunities that may arise for the transition to socialism and for rifts
within the international imperialist system.
The
AADF, as a sociopolitical alliance of forces whose interests lie in opposing
the strategy of the monopolies, must put forward a policy of resistance,
disobedience and breaking with these international associations. It must demand
the country’s independence from imperialist associations, from military
actions, from interventions to the detriment of the peoples, and from dismal
commitments. It must put forward a political proposal to fight for
international relations, cooperation and alliances, taking into account the
country’s geographical position, its level of development, and productive
potential, as well as the issues of security and peace. It demands the
development of
Without
such a prospect, it is not realistic to talk about development for the people
or their well-being, or the ambition for
22. KKE retains its
independence, a right it recognises for all forces taking part in the Front.
The independence of KKE is not contrary to its action in the Front. It does not
eliminate the Party’s particular responsibility to maintain the unity and
cohesion of the Front. On the contrary, it constitutes a factor guaranteeing
this effort. The formation of the Anti-imperialist, Anti-monopoly Democratic
Front and its progress will depend decisively on the course of the Party’s
political influence and strength and its ability to rally forces, on the unity
of the working class and their ability to fight in a pioneering way for their
rights and to pursue a policy of alliances with petty bourgeois social strata
and with young people.
KKE’s assessment of political forces today
23. KKE judges Greece’s
political forces and parties on the basis of whether they help or hinder the
policy of rallying together against the interests of the monopolies and
imperialist policy, and on their stance toward Greek society’s two paths of
development. Its judgement is not restricted solely to their general
declarations, nor is it hindered by the stance they may have held in the past.
The main criterion is their stance today, i.e. in a period in which choices of
strategic importance are being implemented to the detriment of the people. They
are judged on the basis of their attitude toward and practical contribution to
revitalising the class trade union movement, to assisting the struggles of the
farmers, the middle classes, and young people and, in general, to the rallying
together and militancy of the people.
The
PASOK and New Democracy parties, irrespective of the differences in the face
they put forward today and in their historical origins, represent and serve the
interests of the monopolies and the imperialist associations. The effort to
weaken the political and ideological influence of these two parties among the
people is one of the most significant prerequisites for developing and
sharpening the class struggle, for changing the correlation of power, and for
creating a strong Front, effective in action, whose fight will shape the conditions
for drastic changes at the level of power.
The
processes taking place now on the political scene – particularly within the ND
and PASOK parties, with the logic of «re-establishment» or of creating a
«modern» identity – and the mobility observed with the emergence of new parties
and groupings (Liberals, AEKA, etc.) show that both the ruling class in Greece
and the leading imperialist forces are interested in creating a political
system in our country that is as stable and disciplined as possible, with the
consent of the people, in the service of imperialism, and free of any form of
resistance or opposition.
The
Synaspismos, or Coalition of the
Left and Progress, after its recent congress, has drawn closer to the positions
and policy of PASOK in its programme, irrespective of the course of relations
between them and the discussions about the possibility and type of cooperation
between them. Its official negative stance toward the creation of the AADF
constitutes additional proof that the main direction of its policy is not the
struggle against the modern strategy of monopoly capital and the imperialist
associations. In essence, it has adopted the line of class collaboration and
capitalist modernisation that leads to the intensification of exploitation and
the all-out offensive against the working people and the organised movement. It
supports the imperialist policy of the European Union, on the pretext of the
dangerous view that the EU could become the countervailing power to the
The
Democratic Social Movement (DIKKI),
despite the criticism it levels against the neo-liberal policy of PASOK and the
ND, and against the EU and NATO, does not put forward an alternative that is
defined by the strategy of the monopolies and the imperialist associations. It
makes a positive contribution toward rallying the class forces in the trade
union movement. But the proposals it addresses from time to time for more
general cooperation on the social and political level are imbued with
superficial reasoning and concern piecemeal and secondary current problems. Its
proposals about the EU and political union range within the logic of «the only
way». They obscure the real dividing lines in Greek society and make it
difficult to radicalise the popular masses and rally together the
anti-monopoly, anti-imperialist forces. Since the elections, some ferment has
been taking place in this party, which is completing its programme positions
for its forthcoming congress.
KKE
believes that with this political line and attitude of the above parties, there
is no possibility of reaching any political agreement with them regarding the
creation of the Front. But it will not stop making this proposal, nor taking
initiatives for action in order to help speed up positive processes. It takes
into account that some voters or followers of these parties are progressing
toward positive thinking and tend to diverge from their leaderships’ policies.
But even if the leaderships of these parties constitute an obstacle, it is
possible to have common action and cooperation with forces that belong to or
are influenced by these parties, to the degree that, on specific fronts of
struggle, they maintain a position that helps resistance and the organisation
and orientation of struggles.
KKE
takes into account that the development of struggles can effect changes in the
configuration of political forces, and in the creation of new formations,
political forces and movements on the basis of the fermentation developing
within the parties.
KKE
seeks to continue its cooperation with the forces with which it is already
collaborating in the social fronts of struggle, in establishing PAME
(Panhellenic Workers’ Militant Front) and in the elections. It will continue
cooperation with Communist Renewal, with the sociopolitical public figures with
whom it has developed common action, and with all those who want to help and to
add their strength to the cause of the Front. International developments and
the awakening of popular movements could spark greater action in
From the particular fronts of alliance and cooperation
to the building of the AADF
24. What appears realistic
today is for various forms of alliance and cooperation to be created, on many
levels, both nationwide and regional, with anti-monopoly, anti-imperialist aims
and demands arising from the acute problems of the people and the country:
alliances and cooperation on fronts of struggle against capitalist
restructuring. They will mount resistance and raise obstacles to the choices of
the EU and NATO. They will be linked with the major, acute problems that
concern the people. They will be alliances that fight against nationalism,
racism and chauvinism, the use of religion as a weapon and pretext to divide
the people, and the creation of a climate of hostility toward other peoples.
In
these fronts of struggle, it is possible for the broadest sociopolitical
resistance to be expressed and for concessions or gains to be demanded that
express the contemporary needs of the working people. Nationwide, local,
sectoral or branch alliances with anti-monopoly, anti-imperialist goals and
demands will contribute to the growth of the movement. They will function as
adjacent paths, seeds, streams, and channels that will bring the creation of
the Front closer in a distinctive, nationwide form, with a programme context
and struggle objectives.
Confronting the critical problems of the trade union
movement: the key to the efforts to build the AADF
25. One factor of decisive
significance in strengthening popular resistance, as well as the key to
accelerating the process of creating the AADF, is a strong class trade union
movement capable of meeting the multiple demands of the class struggle, winning
more advanced positions, and waging an effective battle against the prevailing
reformist viewpoints and practices. It is urgent that crucial problems be
addressed that have taken on a more or less permanent character and hinder the
dynamism and effectiveness of struggles and of social alliances. Such problems
include: the prevalence of neo-liberal consent by the leading bodies GSEE (the
General Confederation of Greek Workers) and ADEDY (the confederation of civil
servants’ unions), but also by a large number of federations, sectoral unions
and shops, and labour centres. The majority of today’s labour leadership has
been assimilated into the machinery of the state, management and the EU. It
plays an active role in subjugating and buying off consciences, and in
cultivating illusions through participation in the fictitious «social
dialogue». The state of the labour movement, with strong phenomena of
corruption in its leading bodies, is a serious factor keeping the working
people away from trade union organisation and action and has led to reduced
membership in unions and shops, together with unchecked management intimidation
and the fear of dismissal. If this state continues and becomes permanent, if
the class trade union movement is not strengthened and the class struggle
developed, the ability of the working class to demand their rights and to gain
some elementary concessions will be further undermined, and the process leading
to assimilation will be dangerously reinforced. On the social level, the
development of working class alliances with petty bourgeois strata, and with
women’s, youth and radical movements, will also be undermined.
It
is absolutely necessary and realistic today to strengthen the class forces and
upgrade the role of PAME (Panhellenic Workers’ Militant Front). In the labour movement,
PAME is the pole that can help marshal the class forces, promote common action
and systematic coordination, organise the class struggle and the workers’ and
people’s counteroffensive, and establish the Anti-imperialist, Anti-monopoly
Democratic Front.
The
immediate aim is to organise the struggle of the working class and other
working people to mount a militant, decisive opposition to the new anti-popular
measures promoted by the government, to give battle in the workplace against
their implementation, to prevent the abolition of rights won through struggle,
and to demand the broadening of gains. Among the most urgent issues are: the
class anti-monopoly, anti-imperialist orientation in the action of the trade
union movement; and the fight against the cruel and multi-faceted exploitation
of the labour force in the attempt to convert it into an ever cheaper,
submissive labour force, in complete opposition to its growing material and
cultural needs. The creation of a framework for a programme of action that
includes and is inspired by the ideas and goals of the people’s economy will
meet the modern needs of the working people, and reflect the vanguard role of
the working class in Greek society. This effort is integrally linked with
interventions to change the correlation of forces on labour movement bodies in
favour of class forces, with the increased participation and revitalisation of
action in grassroots sectoral and factory shops, labour centres and
federations, with committees of struggle and militant alliances, and by
throwing off the stifling embrace and intimidation of management.
At
the same time, new thoughts, ideas, and proposals must be investigated, taking
into account the entrenched negative situation prevailing in the trade union
movement in
One
issue of critical importance is to attract women and young people to the unions
and shops and to modern forms of trade union organisation. This can be achieved
if the class struggle is enriched with their particular problems.
An
integral factor in the action of the class trade union movement, and a
significant factor in its reorganisation is the development and forging of the
militant unity of the working class, the development of class solidarity,
organised coordination so that the struggle is fought in a unified way, in
contrast to divisive, splitting actions, to the reasoning of narrow sectoral or
local demands, or of accommodating individual interests. Foreign workers must
be brought into action, and attention paid to their acute problems through the
struggle for equal rights; any spirit of racism or xenophobia must be
denounced.
The
unwavering fight against the machinery of buying off and manipulation, against
the union bosses and bureaucracy – which functions as a conduit for policy not
only of the government and management but also of the EU – must become a cause
for resistance by the working class. A break is required with this practice, as
is confrontation with reformist, opportunist, and compromising views, and with
the line of so-called class collaboration.
Union
shops, committees of struggle, and labour organisations must be firmly rooted
in workplaces. They should extend their action to neighbourhoods as well, to
rally working class families. The working class, with its class forces as the
advance guard, must work systematically and take initiatives to develop forms
of social alliance and joint committees of struggle with shopkeepers, farmers
and other social movements.
The right of the working class and other working
people to social well-being, jobs, social security, retirement and health care
The
planned people’s economy would ensure:
- That social spending,
pensions, education, relaxation, social security, health care, culture and
sport for all, adequate, cheap, modern public transport, the right to
leisure time and its creative use are the state’s obligation. Upgrading
these rights to make them meet modern needs is a basic element in
development for the people, and in raising the living standard of the
working class and other strata of the people in the city and countryside.
In the field of social policy, education and health care, private business
activity will be abolished, as will every form of privatisation. Sport for
all will be ensured. Equal rights will be granted to foreign workers and
their families.
- Reduced working hours,
the target today being the 7-hour, 5-day 35-hour week and the 30-hour week
for heavy, unhealthy and hazardous occupations.
- Protection for all
jobless persons and their families until employment is found. Full social
security coverage. Calculation of the period of unemployment for pension
purposes. Abolition of individual contracts, contracts for unspecified
periods, and all forms of negotiations which split the working people and
favour management intimidation.
- Struggle for the
public nature of transport, cheap fares, the reorganisation and
modernisation of the sector. Enhancing the means of mass transit so as to
reduce travel by private car.
- The development of
fronts of struggle and alliances takes on special significance in
defending the right to work, against dismissals, to limit overtime and
abolish overwork.
- Upgrading the
economic, social and social security rights of the working people. A
single system for social security, health and pensions based on three main
public organisations: one each for salaried workers, the self-employed and
farmers. It would be self-administered and self-managed, adaptable to
particularities on the basis of sector, gender, age and type of
occupation. It would have special funds available for research on diseases
such as AIDS, cancer and other conditions that are on the increase. It
would provide special care and support for persons with special needs and
their families, the elderly, single-parent families, etc. The working
people’s insurance funds would cover workers fully from the moment they
join the productive process throughout their entire lives, on the basis of
contemporary needs and the utilisation of advances in science. The public
health system would provide uniform, equal services to the people without
discrimination. It would be oriented toward prevention. It would provide
the essential link between all levels of health: primary, secondary and
tertiary; and ensure services in the workplace, in the home and in places
where education and training are offered.
The rights of farmers with small and medium-sized
holdings
27. The agrarian economy
should be based on the utilisation of its productive potential to the benefit
of the people and on the reduction of its dependence on the importation of foodstuffs.
The agrarian economy must be able to meet the contemporary needs of the Greek
people. It must make the country capable of participating on an equal footing
in international economic relations and collaborations that help deal with the
global food problem. It must ensure the supply of raw materials to the
manufacturing industry and contribute to the employment of the rural
population. It should encourage a return to the countryside. At the same time,
agricultural development will depend on improving the income of farmers with
small and medium-sized holdings, along with respect for the environment.
The
immediate priorities must be: to increase livestock production and the plant
output that supports it, to develop coastal and deep-sea fisheries, and to find
environmentally suitable locations for fish farming, to protect, upgrade and
ensure the rational management of our forestry resources. To exploit
The
cooperative movement, within the framework of the people’s economy and its
central planning, could become the nucleus for increasing and improving the
quality of agricultural output. At the same time it could support the farm
household, by ensuring a friendly environment and framework of action. Farmers
with small and medium-sized holdings would join together in productive
cooperatives in all phases of the agrarian economy: from the production,
selection and processing of produce to marketing and sales. It would deal with
the structural problems in the agrarian economy, reduce production costs and
improve productivity. It would take advantage of new techniques and
technologies, i.e. it would provide funds to improve employment, incomes,
living standards and the social rights of the residents of rural areas.
Within
the framework of nationwide planning, domestic agricultural research and
technology would be developed as a responsibility of the state, as would the
free training for farmers in their correct use so as to protect both consumers
and the environment. The production of basic agricultural supplies and
machinery would be secured, as well as funding for productive activities by
cooperatives of farmers with small and medium-sized holdings. Insurance for
agricultural output, for plant and animal stock would be provided by a state
agency and would be mainly aimed at active rather than passive protection.
The
struggle for profound changes in the agrarian economy in favour of farmers with
small and medium-sized holdings includes the functional reorganisation of the
agrarian movement, rallying around anti-monopoly targets and demands,
disengagement from the logic of adaptation to the guidelines of the EU, CAP and
the imperialist agreements within the framework of the World Trade Organisation
(WTO).
The problems and needs of people with small and
medium-sized enterprises
28. There is an urgent need
for us to struggle alongside the people to ensure that, within the framework of
planning the people’s economy, the sociopolitical conditions are created to
ensure that people with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) channel their
output through cooperatives for production, supplying raw materials and sales,
in cooperation with the corresponding public sector.
Their
struggle today, within the more general aims to create the AADF, is linked with
the demand for anti-monopoly measures such as: uniform working hours that will
ensure humane conditions for both businessmen and the working people,
cooperatives for production, the supply of raw materials and sales as the sole
line of defence, with small enterprises financed at a low, subsidised interest
rate guaranteed by the state in sectors in which there is large number of SMEs
with particular problems, such as timber, leather and metal.
The struggle against imperialist agreements and
organisations, for peace, and for the right to political independence. Every
country, every people should determine their own path to social development
29. An intense, systematic
struggle is required against the imperialist agreements that violate the
declared sovereign rights of the peoples, that legalise the re-drawing of
borders, and the military interventions that transform the country into an
active ally of imperialism to the detriment of neighbouring peoples, against
world peace, co-existence and cooperation.
The
disengagement of
We
must struggle to prevent
We
must oppose the institution of a professional army, the establishment of which
is being attempted with the demographic issue used as a pretext, with the
period of service reduced. Professional soldiers will be used on missions
beyond
Action
must be taken against the inflated military programmes which the Greek people
are called upon to pay for, even though a large part of these programmes is not
used for the real defence of the country.
US
and NATO installations should leave
We
should stand actively on the side of every people or minority (ethnic,
linguistic, religious, or cultural) demanding their rights. Minorities can and
should constitute bridges of friendship between peoples. Under no circumstances
should they ever become tools in the hands of the imperialists, especially
today when, throughout the length and breadth of the earth, they constitute a
field of action for imperialist interference to justify war and intervention in
all forms.
Under
the conditions of the class society and imperialism’s international action,
minorities must demand their rights in common action with the people of the
host country. Common class interests constitute the basis for confronting
divisive efforts, whether they come from national governments and the foreign
element or from within their own leaderships. Because many times leaderships
want to secede or become independent, not to liberate their peoples from
oppression, but so that they themselves can oppress them or enjoy the rewards
of acceding to the strategic plans of the imperialist countries.
Struggle for democratic rights and the liberties of
the people. Social control by the workers
30. The cornerstone of
democracy is social control by the workers. The freedom of the working people
to demand their rights, to fight against the dictatorship of the monopolies in
every manifestation of their lives, against the anti-democratic, terrorist
interventions of the imperialists, and against state and parastate mechanisms.
The fight for democratic liberties is integrally linked with the fight against
the monopolies and imperialism, and for the overthrow of the present status.
The
workers and the people need to take the cause of democratic liberties into
their own hands, on the basis of their contemporary needs and rights. It is
very important for them in their struggle today to see the essence behind its
official statutory forms, so that the popular movement is not trapped by
institutions that undermine its interests. They should support, broaden and
shape institutions that will promote emancipation from the organs and machinery
of monopoly power, that will reinforce the unity, rallying together and
democratic operation of the mass movement.
Struggle
is required to prevent electronic surveillance, to prevent
Under
class society conditions, the Security Corps (SC) constitutes a repressive
state mechanism. The fight to democratise the SC has its limits, nevertheless
it is necessary and possible to develop a strong struggle to achieve this, so
as to restrict repression through the intervention of the people. The
complaints and demands that come to light through the ranks of trade unionists
in the SC about their being used to suppress struggles should be supported.
Services
for surveillance and repression aimed against the popular movement, the
people’s organisations, and the parties that resist should be dissolved. The SC
should be reorganised and more generally reoriented towards fighting crime.
The
separation of church and state, with whatever this entails in the educational
system, in family law, in the dispensation of justice, etc. will constitute a
significant step forward in the struggle for democratisation.
Another
important battlefield for democracy is the fight against the dictatorship
imposed in the field of information by the state and private media, which are
under the control of powerful corporate groups.
Education, training, research
31. According to pedagogical
science, everybody can and must be educated. The possibilities currently
provided by knowledge and its more generalised application to production have
led to the demand for basic general education to be extended so that all young
people will be able to develop a rounded personality before making any
vocational choice or entering the social division of labour.
Education
must be reorganised with the institution of a uniform twelve-year school system
providing a general education for all young people without discrimination on
the basis of class, racial, geographic, religious or other grounds, which will
be the continuation of a compulsory two-year pre-school education and the
necessary prerequisite not only for university, but also for any vocational
training. Theory should be linked with practice. Curricula and textbooks should
be reformed radically; they should be purged of fragmentary, conflicting and
distorted «knowledge» which in essence «sanitises» the dominant policies of the
monopolies. School life as a whole should be reoriented, to get away from
quantitative learning and despotism. Instead of destroying the collectivity and
creativity of young people, it should contribute to their socialisation, and
teach them to organise their thoughts and their lives.
All
forms of private education should be abolished, as should the indirect privatisation
of education. There should be a generous increase of state spending, and
teachers in the private sector should be utilised in the public one.
Existing
secondary and post-secondary institutions (TEE, IEK, KEK) for vocational
training should be abolished. Vocational education should be built at the
«post-senior high school» level for those occupations that do not require
higher learning, in special free vocational schools that are part of the public
educational system.
Higher
education should be free, public and unified in order to produce graduates who
are proficient in their field and capable of undertaking the overall practice
of their profession. The anachronistic separation between universities and
technical colleges should cease. Within this context, departments of the
technical colleges should be incorporated into the universities, through a
reform of the syllabus, and upgrading of their teaching faculties and
infrastructure, so as to ensure their university level, based on clearly defined
disciplines. All universities should be equal. At the same time, their unified
character should be guaranteed in terms of both undergraduate university
studies that provide comprehensive specialisation leading to the linking of the
degree with a profession, and post-graduate studies that will lead directly to
a doctorate.
Financial
and scientific support should be provided to teachers so that they will be able
to perform their complex social function satisfactorily. This support will
start from their pedagogical training and will continue with periodic further
education. The teaching and research faculties of universities and technical
colleges should be guaranteed exclusive employment, in conjunction with the
coverage of their contemporary needs through remuneration. The main weight will
be given to research, particularly basic research. Research policy will serve
the planned development of the economy for the benefit of the people, the
development of the forces of production and above all, the development and
prosperity of human beings and science which serves them.
Regional development and local government
32. Local government is
increasingly becoming an instrument of capitalist restructuring policy and for manipulating
the people. It is called upon to enforce the application of market laws and
privatisation, and to levy taxes for social and other services under the logic
of «reciprocation», tailored to the dictates of the capitalists. The programme
entitled «Capodistrias» is being used to concentrate and control local bodies,
and to incorporate them directly into state and EU machinery. To this end,
structures are being promoted that circumvent and replace even elected bodies,
limiting the citizens’ participation. They downgrade and transform the
institution of representation into a corporate activity, in the name of local
government efficiency.
It
is today a significant and urgent duty to fight the anti-popular choices
applied by the agencies of local government, and to mitigate civic tax burdens.
It is necessary to consolidate in the minds of the people a new and truly
radical viewpoint about the relationship between regional policy and the more
general policy of opposition to monopoly interests.
Protection of the environment, of the cities and
countryside, and of forest resources against floods and fires; the danger of a
water shortage. Social housing in a policy of anti-seismic protection
Popular
resistance should be organised against the destruction of forests and rare
ecosystems, against turning free spaces into lots and paving them with
concrete. Alliances should be formed to take action for the rational
development of natural resources, against town planning chaos and damage to
cultural monuments.
Anti-seismic
protection, with immediate radical measures and medium-term infrastructure
planning, constitutes a major issue in
The
fight to protect the environment is a primary duty of communists, inseparable
on the national and international levels from the struggle against the
monopolies, against nuclear weapons and war. The working class and its movement
can and must become a vanguard force in this struggle. It is they who, together
with the other popular strata, are subject to the harshest environmental
effects. It is they who defend themselves and fight to build a better world to
hand down to the younger generation. Young people can and must make this
struggle for the environment their own cause, as it is they who will live in
it.
34. Social crime and the
spread of narcotics are characteristic phenomena and expressions of the
contradictions and corruption of capitalism. Addressing them constitutes a
special front for rallying the people, as well as a basic component of the more
general anti-monopoly, anti-imperialist struggle for emancipation from the
bourgeois and petty bourgeois ideology that defends submission to the dictates
of big capital as being the only road.
The
preparations for the Olympic Games in
D. REPORT ON PARTY ACTION
35. After its 15th Congress,
KKE found itself ideologically and politically prepared to deal with the savage
neo-liberal offensive against the working people spearheaded by capitalist restructuring,
and the problems that arose due to
Its
report is a positive one. It made significant efforts to organise popular
resistance and common action and to rally forces. Its action shed light on the other
path of development for Greek society. Efforts were made to deepen the Party’s
investigation of major problems, to popularise its policy in a more spirited
and persuasive way. KKE supported the struggles of the working people, and
undertook significant initiatives. Its activity helped the development of some
processes and differentiations that were expressed particularly in struggles,
in alliances and cooperations.
The
struggles that marked this period demonstrated the growth potential of the
class struggle and of clashes with the anti-popular policy. Qualitatively and
quantitatively, however, they were not sufficient; they were unable to create a
battle-worthy popular movement to resist and make a break. But without these
struggles, developments would have been even more adverse. They helped
cultivate the need to struggle and fight back, and constituted a significant
legacy of experience and militant rallying together. The Party itself acquired
greater experience in leading complex struggles. Cadres and thousands of
members were toughened under contemporary conditions. Thousands of friends and
followers of the Party shared in its positive contribution, as did the forces
who collaborated and rallied with us on specific fronts of struggle and in the
elections: fighters, men and women of the people who supported the Party and
its struggles in a multitude of ways.
The
fact that our political positions and assessments were confirmed, and that our
positions on various problems made an impact among broader segments of the
people should not lead us to the complacent view that we have exhausted the
margins for strengthening the party under the given conditions, particularly as
regards the closer linking of the Party with the working class, young people,
and the popular masses. These steps forward, however, did not lead us to its
overall qualitative growth. We are still a long way from what is required by
present-day circumstances.
Certain
problems still exist today, as they did during the period of the 15th Congress.
These include looseness of relations with the friends and followers of the
Party and with broad strata of the people, a factor that makes it difficult for
the Party to increase its political influence. This phenomenon is also
expressed in the loose and content-poor organisational operation of the Party
as a whole – its most significant expression being in the Party’s Base
Organisations – and the slow pace at which its ranks are being renewed,
particularly by the working class. Another problem is the fact that members and
cadres are weak in terms of their ideological and political education, which
leads to the low quality of the Party’s internal life, particular that of its
most basic unit, the base organisation (BO). These factors, in turn, reduce the
cability for increased contribution to the struggle based on present-day
demands.
Significant
objective factors have intervened in a deterrent way, to one degree or another,
in Party action, particularly in its initiatives, and continue to do so. These
factors include:
- The profound roots of
reformism and the dangerous illusions that PASOK deliberately cultivates.
The change in mentality that was consciously fostered particularly after
- The modern multiform
and many-tentacled spread of anti-communism, which also constitues an
objective source of difficulty in terms of the maximum effectiveness of
KKE action, as does the broad dissemination of opportunism after the
victory of the counter-revolution during the 1989-91 period.
- The significant
changes in the working and living conditions of the working people raised
new obstacles to the forging of social and political awareness, in
conjunction with the phenomena of crisis in the labour union movement
caused by its submissive stance, which in turn affects all social
movements.
- The modern policy of
the repression and manipulation of consciences that was developed early,
even before any resistance was manifested to restructuring and to
The
growth of the Party, however, has not stopped in the face of these
difficulties. It deals with them and on this basis its progress can be judged
objectively.
36. KKE constantly finds
itself facing a well-organised ideological campaign which now has made the
transition to a higher level of tactics and planning, both by the domestic
element and by foreign powers with a view to extending and consolidating
passivity and compromise. The leadership of PASOK and the government has been
responsible for escalating the offensive to a higher level, with lawsuits
against Rizospastis. The essence of
the offensive is to «clear» the air of any annoying voice, so that the new
reactionary measures can go forward unhindered, for the unimpeded «progress» of
imperialist policy. The class enemy, with its machinery, has launched an attack
against the Party – as though it cared about the character of KKE – with the
hypocritical and spurious argument that KKE has altered its personality,
abandoned its world theory, and that it is supposedly being transformed into a
nationalist-religious party.
The
leadership of the Synaspismos (Coalition of the Left and Progress) and some of
its cadres who left the Party in 1989-91, having failed to make it a
social-democratic Party, have lent a hand to the anti-KKE attack. Recent
experience shows that the front against opportunism and anti-communism must be
stepped up, irrespective of the quantitative or qualitative strength of its
organisations.
What
is being sought is that the maximum possible pressure be exerted on the Party
for it to change policy in the name of realism, so that it is assimilated into
the plans to impose a political system which, in the best possible case, will
permit differentiations and shades that are harmless to imperialism and the
bourgeois ideology; for a thick veil to shroud KKE positions, so that the Party
will be cut off from militant popular forces, left-wing and progressive people.
The adversary’s sights are focused on the Party’s strength, which is its
ideological and political unity, its Marxist-Leninist theory, democratic
centralism, its Programme, and the proposal for the AADF.
37 The Party has kept open the
front of opposition to the choices of the EU and NATO. The political positions
of KKE and its efforts to shed light on the deeper nature of the neoliberal
reforms being implemented have contributed to the people’s increasing
dissatisfaction with the EU. Through its activity both inside and outside the
national and European parliaments, it has helped to reveal the true nature of
this interstate regional capitalist organisation.
Developments
in the Balkans, the new structure of NATO and particularly the war in Kosovo,
the handing over of Ocalan, the Clinton visit and the periodic transit of
foreign troops through the ports and over the territory of Greece have drawn
the particular attention of the Party, and have been of concern to broader
strata of the people. With its positions and the effort to take unifying
initiatives for action, the Party contributed decisively to the growth of a
dynamic anti-war movement against NATO with international extensions. The
stability and resoluteness of KKE with regard to imperialist interventions and
the transformation of our country into an offensive bridgehead open up
prospects for creating a broader front of struggle and solidarity.
38. It is significant that the
Party’s political proposal for the AADF has been disseminated and that it has
moved more minds and hearts among radical popular forces than was the case four
years ago.
The
choice made to throw weight behind individual fronts and alliances was a correct
one, taking into account the level of the labour movement, the great delay in
pushing forward social alliances, the unfortunate situation in the organised
mass movement, and also the difficulty of reaching agreement with the other
political forces on an anti-imperialist, anti-monopoly alliance and
cooperation.
The
Party met with broader forces, collaborated with them in struggles, as well as
in election contests. Characteristic examples were: the cooperation and common
action within the framework of PAME during the war against
KKE
supported joint events by youth organisations in which KNE played an active
role.
There
was a significant effort to foster common action in the form of collaboration
in elections held in the mass movement, and in local, European and national
elections.
Some
forms of alliance and cooperation were employed in mass struggles and in
organising mobilisations when the official bodies of the labour movement
followed a line of defending government policy and cooperating with management.
In some cases, this joint action on the social level could not be kept up or
deepened due to government pressure and the attitude of consent by the other
parties. This does not mean that everything possible was done by the Party in
all cases to deal promptly with the difficulties that arose.
Other
forms of rallying were also used, on the basis of current events, with more
advanced political features, such as during the period of mobilisations against
the war in
Parallel
to its efforts to rally together forces in
Although
the necessity of the Front is obvious from every point of view and while many
positive processes have taken place to one degree or another, it is clear that
we have not yet applied sufficient action to the cause of the Front. We have
not succeeded in orienting all the Party’s forces, friends and followers to the
on-going and constant effort to rally together the broadest possible forces in
the front of struggle to cooperate in establishing the AADF.
39. Stronger efforts were made
to develop our ideological work and the ideological front in general, to
promote intra-party education, and to improve the Communist Review (COMEP). Despite all this, this field continues to
fall short of the rapidly expanding needs.
The
Party’s political and ideological intervention has improved. Positions were
worked out on certain issues. A greater effort was launched by the Party to
keep track of developments in the Greek and world economies. Positions on the
imperialist state of affairs, the Balkans, and the EU were enriched and
developed. The level of propaganda was improved, Rizospastis was upgraded, COMEP
broadened its subject matter and raised its theoretical political level. There
was also a significant improvement in the radio station «902 Left FM». Progress
was made in our television channel with informative programmes and discussions,
and programmes on specific subjects. Its contribution to the election battles
was positive. However, further improvement is needed so that it will be able to
respond to current needs. This requires financial resources and an effort to
utilise the broadest possible range of journalists and associates. There has
been a significant increase in the publishing of propaganda material and
although its quality and format have improved significantly, the satisfactory
level required has not been achieved yet, nor has all potential been exploited.
Campaigns
were organised to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Democratic Army and the
80th anniversary of the Party during which, parallel to the effort to increase
membership, an attempt was made to intensify ideological work, publicise the
Party’s historical experience, and foster communist education and training.
Although the results of this effort fell short of the potential and needs, its
contribution was significant. It contributed to the formulation of a better
plan for the Party’s organisational, ideological and political work in the
workplace.
The
organisational rebuilding of the Party has begun and is now under way, as is
the regrouping of party forces, particularly in urban centres.
The
effort to secure economic support for the Party’s political action continues to
be the focus of attention, but the difficulties in this domain remain acute.
Overcoming them will provide the Party with fresh opportunities.
42. KNE has grown stronger and
is moving toward becoming more of a mass organisation. It has played a positive
role in struggles in the field of education, and in the fight for the right to
work. It has upgraded its presence in the struggle against drugs, and in the
cultural field with the recognised institution of its Festival, one of the most
important political-cultural events in the youth movement. KNE’s action in the
anti-imperialist anti-war movement has been multiform and significant. It has
lent dynamism to the more general movement and helped instruct broader sections
of the youth.
43. The basic reason for the delays and weaknesses
shown by the Party today, more than four years after the 15th Congress, should
be sought in the fact that attention was not focused resolutely on certain
issues that provided a greater opportunity for strong bonds to be formed with
the popular strata. These issues included:
- The achievement of a
uniform and stable orientation in action at all levels of the Party, on
the main and basic front of struggle, the trade union movement, so that
the working class, at least its more vanguard section, could begin today
to acquire an awareness of its historic mission.
- The constant, daily
ideological and political activity among the people, focused on their
major, acute problems, and rich in content and forms. The ceaseless fight
against opportunism in all its forms, not only in the political and
ideological realm, but also on questions of Party operation.
- Dedication to the
crucial issues of improving the Party’s operation, fighting against
organisational slackness, and continuing to expand the bonds between the
Party and the people.
It
was necessary to keep fighting systematically against phenomena of detaching
theory from practice, against empiricism, economism, over-emphasis on practical
matters and generally against all the factors that ultimately downgrade the
Party’s leading role and reduce its rallying ability. The required emphasis was
not given to the effort to cultivate a higher spirit of collectivity, in
conjunction with personal responsibility and the ability to take initiatives.
Despite
the Party’s rich experience, both positive and negative, it has not been realised
that we cannot possibly carry out the tasks that are decided upon without
knowledge of theory, without acquiring and assimilating the Marxist-Leninist
method of analysing developments, contemporary societies and economic
phenomena, without assimilating the teaching about the Party and without the
required political education and intellectual cultivation.
These
problems and weaknesses constitute manifestations and symptoms of a deeper
political and organisational problem: the level of the Party’s ability to make
the dialectical link between strategy and tactics under the present-day
circumstances that make it necessary for the confrontation and break with the
monopolies and imperialism to be placed on the agenda as well as the struggle
to overthrow the power of the monopolies and to establish socialism. The Party
has the experience and ability to deal with this problem in a radical way.
Report of the Central Committee
44. The CC, particularly
during the past two years, has shown progress in the effort to popularise Party
policy and to enrich and elaborate it more deeply. It faced the ideological
offensive sustained by the Party, and more generally by the popular movement,
with comparative success. It improved the orientation toward developing mass
struggles and took positive initiatives to rally together broader popular
forces for the struggle. It made a greater effort to create focal points of
struggle with anti-imperialist and anti-monopoly targets and demands. It
improved the line of popular opposition to the interests of the monopolies and
imperialism. It studied international developments in a fuller way,
particularly developments in the Greek economy, and the role of
The
Central Committee met regularly. It increased its collectivity, but did not
reach a level where every member was working on the basis of collective
experience rather than just the narrow experience arising from the division of
labour. It did not focus its attention adequately on the problems of the
Party’s growth. This is one reason for the weaknesses and deficiencies shown by
this leading body in the coordinated, better performance of all tasks.
Although
it gradually improved its effort to orient the Party toward action in the trade
union and youth movements, it did not manage to inspire and convey to the
leading bodies a spirit of resoluteness in dealing with objective difficulties
regarding these two significant movements.
It
attached particular importance to developing the anti-imperialist peace
movement, but in practice did not insist on regrouping and assembling capable
people at the Base Organisation level in order to focus the entire Party’s
attention on a very basic front of struggle, particularly during this period. A
similar weakness was shown in the movement of small and medium-sized
entrepreneurs and in the movement for women’s rights.
Through
its action, the CC helped develop the Party’s ideological intervention, and
responded with comparative success to many of the attacks it sustained in this
regard. For a start, it created certain conditions for training cadres and for
providing ideological help to Party members, organising lectures, and supplying
them with appropriate material. But in many cases it did not persist to the
degree required, and failed to check systematically on whether all this
material was reaching Party members for them to study and apply.
The
CC should have demanded more in order to overcome a tendency to underestimate
the value of theoretical, ideological work that is observed in many cadres, who
invoke daily tasks and workload. It should have been more demanding in promoting
the ideological work programme to be carried out by the bodies it leads that
were directly responsible for this programme.
The
circulation and utilisation of Rizospastis
and the other publications could have been increased considerably if this had
been linked closely with political, ideological and mass party work.
Fragmentary organisational measures are not enough by themselves, as experience
has shown.
One
very serious weakness of the CC is that it did not utilise the materials from
the Panhellenic Conference containing early assessments of the reasons for the
overthrow of the socialist governments. The effort to continue the discussion
would have supplied the Party forces with all the arguments about the
contribution of socialism to the 20th century, the achievements of
socialist power, and mankind’s unprecedented progress towards abolishing the
exploitation of man by man, even within the particularly adverse conditions of
the international correlation of forces. At the same time it would have provided
the opportunity for an objective assessment of the profounder reasons for the
victory of the counterrevolution. And this would be valuable experience for the
struggle today. This weakness was objectively equivalent to underestimating the
influence exerted by the victory of the counterrevolution on the minds of the
working class and the people more generally.
The
members of the CC in their entirety failed to make the task of self-education
and of enriching their work with the problems arising in the ideological
struggle into their own personal cause and responsibility. By utilising their
experience and our publications, they could have expanded their knowledge on
all the great and burning issues, so as to become better informed, beyond their
own special experience and skills in their particular fields of responsibility.
The personal example in this crucial area was not utilised in such a way that
interest in knowledge, political education, ideological training, and the
broadening of one’s knowledge in many issues and aspects of the movement could
be conveyed throughout the entire Party.
During
the past two years, an effort has been made to implement the 15th
Congress decision regarding the regrouping of forces so that the Party’s
primary attention could be focused on action in the workplace, in sectors and
more generally among the working class, but in petty bourgeois strata as well.
An additional reason for this was that developments intervened in labour
relations, with privatisations, the appearance of new enterprises, and the
relocation of industrial plants. It should have shown greater decisiveness with
regard to the difficulties encountered in the regrouping due to established
habits and the reluctance related to increased demands in the operation of the
BOs.
Serious
efforts were made to address the Party’s very acute financial problem. KKE
guided the successful achievement of goals during the financial campaigns in a
positive way. But it could not provide an all-round thrust in this regard, nor
orient the work of the leading bodies more decisively, so that the BOs could
ensure that the constant, daily financial work would be done, to avoid the need
for the inevitable emergency fund-raising campaigns that absorb additional
energy. The Party’s financial work falls short of the possibilities and the
intentions of comrades, followers, friends and ordinary fighters to support the
Party.
The
CC’s Political Bureau was active within the framework of the CC’s guidelines.
It worked out questions of initiatives to rally forces. It progressively
upgraded its performance on matters related to working out mass movement
tactics. It devoted greater attention to the effort to popularise and
disseminate the Theses in a better way. It contributed to the broader political
opening of the Party Organisations, monitored political developments closely
and, in most cases, contributed to orienting the organisations promptly.
One
weak point in the PB’s work was in its leadership of the CC sections, in seeing
to their more appropriate orientation to the cause of building the Front, in
working out the Party’s positions, and in studying ideological and political
issues. In a good many cases, it showed the tendency to give way to the
organisations’ unwillingness to make forces available to support the work of
the CC’s sections. It should have been more demanding and taken care to utilise
Party and broader forces in the work of the auxiliary sections and the two
parliamentary groups. Despite the improvement shown in the CC sections’ work during
the recent period, the PB was unable to guide them toward the better monitoring
of developments in their fields, so that they could acquire more effective
leadership and deepen understanding of their fields.
The
PB did not, to the measure of its share of responsibility, support the activity
of the Centre for Marxist Research (KME) in developing scientific research and
disseminating Marxist theory among the intelligentsia, scientists and scholars.
On
the basis of CC guidelines, it should have dealt more seriously and resolutely
with the question of communist education and with cadre promotion policy.
The
Secretariat of the CC worked positively within the spirit and framework of the
mission assigned to it by the CC. It contributed to drafting and particularising
CC decisions. It made an effort to cooperate with CC sections so as to enrich
decisions with the special needs of individual sectors. It helped to better
orient the organisations regarding the mass movement and the policy of
alliances, as well as to strengthen control over the implementation of
decisions and to accumulate leadership experience.
It
should have been more prompt in helping make the nature and purpose of the
regrouping of the Party Organisations better understood so that this process
could start out earlier.
45. The City, Regional and
Prefectural Committees, through the improvement due to CC help, showed an
upswing in their activity and intensified efforts to improve their links with
organisations and movements. But they were unable to overcome the
«organisationalist» style of work, fragmentation and an opportunistic viewpoint
of duties. They did not utilise the decisions and conclusions of the CC as
required. The leading bodies did not study the problems of young people.
Regarding help to KNE, they limited themselves to assigning this duty to
individual comrades, although it should have been the concern of the body, or
every member of the CC, of every cadre. The appropriate forces were not made
available to help the KNE organisations, to conduct a deeper and more
comprehensive study of the living conditions of young people, and the factors
that shape their awareness. It has not been sufficiently aware that the future
of the Party is, to a large degree, associated with the progress of KNE.
E.
THE PARTY’S TASKS DURING THE PERIOD TO COME
46. The Party’s main task
remains to become stronger ideologically, politically and organisationally, as
an integral part of action to build the AADF. This should not be understood as an
ordinary duty, i.e. to cover the perceived gaps, lacks and weaknesses. The
Party must arrive at the 17th Congress, having succeeded more
substantially in accomplishing the tasks it has set: that of being more
mass-oriented and militant, with new forces, particularly from the working
class and youth, and more strongly rooted in the workplace. It should have
improved its ability to foresee developments and to improve its vigilance so
that, together with its allies, it can give a strong push to progress, to the
revolutionary upsurge of the struggle, to the radical shaping of consciences.
It should be able to stand up to the adversities and offensives that will
increase during the next few years, and have the ability to orient the shifts
and turns of the struggle.
Within
the context of collective responsibility, the permanent concern of the CC, of
the leading bodies and of every BO separately must be the considered
preparation of interventions to create and build alliances on the various
fronts of struggle which may evolve into building blocks, even nucleii, for
building the Front. The issue of the Front should constitute a daily cause and
task of the BOs and of every member and cadre personally because collectivity
is not impersonal.
A
higher degree of assimilation of Party strategy is required, as are the ability
to link tactics with strategy in daily action and the knowledge of ideological
and political issues, government tactics and the other mechanisms of the
system. There should be frequent collective examination of the results,
critical evaluation of efforts, steadfastness and insistence on this political
line, without backing down in the face of hardships.
47. Significant progress can
be made if attention is focused on three main factors that, in relation to
others, play a decisive role:
- Strengthening KKE and
KNE ideologically, politically and organisationally, as demanded by the
times.
- Dealing with the
negative situation prevailing in the working class trade union movement,
and making an effort to put young people in the front lines of the
struggle alongside the working class.
- Disseminating the
ideology of scientific socialism, defending the history of the workers’
communist movement, and averting distortion and slander. Bringing the
tested principles and values of the popular movement to the forefront to
show the titanic effort of the peoples and movements in the 20th
century to gain social emancipation and to liberate humanity from all
forms of exploitation and oppression.
48. If significant, visible
changes take place in these critical fields, we can hope for a broadening of
the Party’s influence and consequently for a greater capability and opportunity
in the struggle to build the AADF.
Within
this context it is necessary:
- For the Party’s
leading role in the labour movement to be upgraded, particularly in the
trade unions and in union struggles, given that the class-oriented trade
union movement constitutes a basic component in building the
anti-imperialist, anti-monopoly alliance.
- For the entire Party,
down to the BO level, to acquire the directest and closest possible
relations with the working class and its organisations at home and in the
workplace.
- For anti-monopoly,
anti-imperialist demands and targets to be worked out more cohesively and
in greater detail. We should have the front of research open constantly,
monitoring developments closely, taking into account the total needs of
the working class family, and all the factors that are linked with
standard of living and present-day rights.
- For the serious
weaknesses and deficiencies in the field of communist propaganda to be
addressed in terms of content, form and quality.
- For a plan to be
developed steadily and constantly, according to the needs, for an on-going
approach and communication with the industrial zones and areas in which
sectors and activities are concentrated. A special study should be
conducted on coordination and cooperation with the party organisations in
- For the Party’s Theses
to be discussed, its Programme and theory disseminated on a daily basis,
especially among the most vanguard groups of the working class and young
people; this discussion should be held with priorities, but also flexibly
according to developments. Classical forms should be utilised,
particularly those which favour lively, direct dialogue and modern, widely
used technological media.
The
Party’s enlightenment and propaganda activity should not be downgraded
exclusively to the level of the needs of trade union action and working class
awareness, especially now when the serious changes spurred by capitalist
restructuring are taking place; science and technology should be utilised under
conditions in which forms of social life and action are being lost, in the
neighbourhood, in the workplace, etc. Communists and friends of the party who
have special knowledge in this field and can contribute to improving the
content and form of propaganda should be called upon to cooperate and assist.
Systematic
disclosures should be made to the working class and, above all, the party’s
positions should be developed to reflect workers’ modern needs and demands, in
terms of the reproduction of the labour force, and the life of the working
class family.
The
Party of the working class must show the working class the conflict between
capital and labour in all of its manifestations, as well as the necessity for
an alliance of the petty bourgeois and middle class strata of the town and
countryside and with radical social movements. The problems of education,
culture and health, the drug problem, nationalism and religious fanaticism,
racism, the environment, and the problem of the imperialist world order must
become the immediate targets of the working people’s action. The modern content
of patriotism should be shown, one that rejects class collaboration and that
rallies people together in an anti-monopoly, anti-imperialist direction and in
the anti-capitalist struggle on the national and international levels. The necessity
must be demonstrated for class solidarity, for proletarian internationalism,
and for the internationalist solidarity of the peoples against imperialist
policy.
A
primary task is to increase the circulation of Rizospastis, COMEP, and the Party’s other publications, which must
be supplemented with special editions for the working class and youth. This
task is associated with the effort to improve their quality, in terms of both
content and form. A special effort is required for Rizospastis to reach every corner of the country, including places
it may not have reached to date.
A
programme of lectures, one-day conferences, seminars, and party schools should
be organised to ensure Marxist-Leninist training for members and cadres. The
personal work of every cadre and the effectiveness of the Party bodies will
depend on the promotion of this programme.
A
more systematic struggle should be waged against the information monopoly of
the state and private media, of the international media and networks. A broad
movement should be supported in this field, with a special effort made to
attract young people.
The
new CC should contribute more substantially, on both the European and
international levels, to the development of the discussion and the taking of
initiatives to address the serious problems in the international labour
movement, particularly in
49. The new CC should work out
a comprehensive programme of action and contribution within the framework of a
joint effort with other communist and workers’ parties, to make known the real
causes that led to the reversal of the socialist regimes, to promote the
vitality of the ideas of socialism, and to provide an objective criticism of
the mistakes that were made under the particular circumstances. Positions and
viewpoints about socialism should be enriched on the basis of the experience
that will result from this. More adequate responses should be addressed to the
anti-socialist, anti-communist campaign that seeks to vindicate the capitalist
system. Rebuttals should be provided to the illusion that it could take on a
more humane character.
Broader
events should be held so that other forces can take part in this effort,
including workers, intellectuals, and progressive people who have their own
views to contribute to ensure that the discussion continues. There should be
cooperation with communist parties that are working on texts on this subject,
or with Marxist scientists and scholars from former socialist countries.
50. On the basis of the
decisions taken and guidelines set by the 16th Congress, the new CC
will proceed to draft a more specialised plan, with initiatives to promote new
fronts in the anti-imperialist anti-monopoly struggle and the alliance of
forces, and to strengthen the alliances that have already been formed in the trade
union movement, in the movements for peace, democratic rights, etc.
The
leading bodies in regions, towns and large municipalities should take their own
similar initiatives, considering the particular conditions and possibilities in
their areas. Only through such local initiatives that embrace broader spheres,
both geographically and sectorally, will it be possible for every BO to find a
field of action; and the BO in turn must support and enrich the more general
initiatives with broader local forces.
The
standardisation of initiatives, and methods and forms of work should stop. A
considered originality based on the particularities of the field in question
should be sought. New methods and modes of operation should be tried. even
experimentally. Positive initiatives undertaken without party intervention
should be supported, as long as they have potential and radicalism.
It
is important for every initiative undertaken by the Party, from its earliest
stages, to be expanded by seeking opinions from all the forces with whom we
cooperate and certainly from friends and followers. From the very first moment,
all those who want to offer their services should be utilised so that this
initiative can be as comprehensive and realistic as possible.
51. The Party should do
whatever it can, but in a more demanding way, to cultivate fertile ground for
the regeneration of a strong anti-imperialist youth movement under modern
conditions. The values of the struggle and the responsibility of the younger
generation for the future should be demonstrated through their stance towards
the problems of the people and the country. Continuing, direct communication
should be maintained with young people.
Substantial
qualitative help should be given to KNE, which must reinforce its political
presence and ties with young people, particularly with young job-seekers and
those who are employed in one form or another.
KNE
must win a significant position in the minds of young people, as the force that
defends their rights to work, education and access to new technologies, and as
the force fighting against drugs, and for culture, sport, and leisure time.
The
erroneous view that it is difficult for Party organisations to get to know
firsthand the problems of youth and the concerns of KNE should be overcome. It
is both possible and feasible. The issue is not to take over the responsibility
of KNE, but to contribute on all fronts of struggle to making known the
problems of young people and the responsibility of the working people to uphold
their children’s rights.
Young
people must learn about the history and struggles of the people. They must
learn firsthand what KKE is and what it wants. They must be helped as much as
possible so that more young people are not influenced by anti-communist and anti-socialist
propaganda. The need for and realistic prospect of socialism, and the future of
a communist society should be demonstrated. Young people should develop
resistance and immunity to manipulation and capitalist barbarity.
Special
initiatives and activities should be undertaken in the fight for equal rights
to education, health, culture and sport for foreign children and youth.
The
way in which KNE sections can be helped through cooperation with Party sections
should be studied in more detail.
The
main task among the petty bourgeois strata, especially people who have small
businesses or are self-employed, is to deal with the problems of organising
them on the trade union level. A labour organisation should also be established
in the spheres of new occupations and activities. At the same time, systematic
party work should be organised in these areas, the Party’s positions and
prospects should be put forward, and existing prejudices should be overcome
regarding the Party’s position with respect to the small entrepreneur. On such
a basis, the more general effort to extend action to their trade union movement
may be effective.
An
integral element of Party work in building the Front, and in fighting for the
rights of the working class and the other working people is the ideological,
political and mass struggle to solve the special problems of women. There is an
immediate need for the unions to engage in a joint struggle with radical
women’s organisations and movements.
Strengthening
the Party presupposes the renewal of its ranks with women from the working
class and other popular strata, the promotion of women cadres to Party bodies,
and the increased membership of young women.
53. The policy regarding
cadres should be harmonised with the increased and complicated requirements of
present day conditions. It should correspond to the nature of the Party and its
purpose. Every leading body, starting with the CC, should have a plan for its
cadre needs and particularly for specialised and trained people in different
fields of work. At the heart of the plan should be its social composition, i.e.
the mass promotion of cadres from the working class, the preparation of KNE
cadres, and the promotion of women, particularly from the working class. At the
same time, consideration should be given to preparing cadres suitable to meet
serious needs in ideological work, teachers for party schools, propagandists
and teachers for work among young people. There are serious needs in the realm
of research, in promoting and utilising communist scholars and researchers, and
in the field of culture.
Any
element of slipshod work and subjectivism should be rejected. Today much more
is required in terms of the maturity and development of the largest possible
number of cadres. Planning should embrace KNE, the basic hatchery for producing
the new generation of cadres who will take the cause of the Party onto their
shoulders. The planned renewal and alternation of duties for cadres will expand
their experience and help avoid routine and the standardisation of tasks.
Regarding
the policy on cadres, among other things, they require study in party schools,
periodic participation in seminars and lectures in the form of adult education
or assistance in specialised fields. The primary responsibility falls on the
CC, which should not give in to the excuses cited by organisations to the
effect that giving Party leave to cadres for education creates gaps and
difficulties in the current party work; such excuses are an example of
short-sighted adherence to practical matters, but above all they underestimate
the nature of the Party’s tasks and mission.
The
periodic criticism of cadres’ work should be organised more systematically,
whether by examining sectors of work, or in separate processes. The opinion of
the BOs should be sought frequently about the cadres who lead them, and this
should apply to the higher bodies as well.
Every
cadre, irrespective of his or her particular division of work or experience, is
obliged to reach a higher level in relation to the past in terms of theory,
ideology, political training and ability, and to seek links with the working
class and the popular masses. Cadres should act creatively, with initiatives in
their own fields. They should be able to see through the complex reality and
discern the main trends, the main cause and the basic link, and to understand
the problems of the people in depth.
The
necessary specialisation in one field of work should not lead to the
distraction of interest from the overall duties of the Party or from the
problem of building the party. The knowledge and experiences of cadres
specialised in one field should be utilised by the entire Party. It is the
responsibility of the leading bodies to pass on the discussions and conclusions
about particular problems and sectors of the movement to the organisations.
Special help should be provided to cadres working in specialised sectors to
help them acquire deeper knowledge of their subject, and to overcome the
tendency to one-sidedness and to becoming distracted from the general Party
tasks. This is in reference particularly to cadres elected to mass
organisations, to the parliament and to local government.
An
issue of critical importance is the stance of cadres toward the efforts made by
the class enemy to exploit the hardships and fatigue that appear under
conditions in which the results are not obvious, or under conditions that
change abruptly, requiring the rearrangement of tasks and rapid adjustment to
new forms of work and new goals.
The
cadre is judged by his or her abilities, skills, and constant efforts to
improve, in order to combat the existing danger of routine and stagnation; and by
his or her creative concern in following events, and in participating actively
to raise awareness of new problems and needs.
These
virtues can be utilised by the Party and the labour movement as long as they
are combined with a steel will, endurance, heroism in daily work, dedication
and sacrifice in the interests of the people.
The
response to the long years of heroic traditions of communists in
Cadres
should possess and have developed to the maximum degree the irreplaceable
principle of collectivity, which is not exhausted by holding meetings and
taking part in discussions. It is dependent on participation in practical
action, on thinking responsibly, on speaking one’s opinion freely, but also on
combatting the tendency to subjectivism, and the narrowness of personal
experience. Cadres must seek the opinions of other comrades, those with whom
they work and those they lead.
54. One immediate task which
must be performed in the first months after the Congress is to complete the
regrouping of Party forces, which is integrally linked with the orientation of
action toward the working class and its movement, to social forces of the
Front. It is a basic precept of the Statutes regarding organisation on a
productive-geographical basis. The nature of the Party as the conscious
vanguard of the working class must be reflected in the organisation of the BOs.
Care
should be taken not to underestimate the difficulties existing today that
affect the organisation of party life, such as changes in labour relations and
the lengthening of working time, particularly for those who have more than one
job because of the insecurity of part-time employment.
But
these difficulties cannot be a justification for slackness, flabbiness, failure
to contribute or to participate in Party procedures. The leading bodies and
bureaus of the BOs should ensure maximum participation, regular briefing, and
comradely help so that everybody offers what they can, giving ever more time to
the popular movement, to the Party, and to the cause of the Front.
The
leading bodies have the primary responsibility for upgrading the discussion of
general political issues in the BOs, and for gathering, studying and utilising
opinions. Any element of formality and routine in the BO should be rejected.
The frequency of meetings and the various forms of internal party life are not
determined solely by statutory obligations, but also by developments, events,
and the lively reality that exists in the BO, or in the sector to which it
belongs. Internal party life will become richer and more interesting when BO members
and cadres maintain, develop and broaden the Party’s links with the popular
masses, with their problems and struggles.
An
end should be put to the phenomenon of general political issues being discussed
exclusively. The internal life of every party link should be oriented toward
its own planning and the examination of specific sectoral or local experience.
The organs and BOs should use forms of political information such as special
meetings or BOs convening in groups so that there is prompt orientation
whenever necessary without time-consuming procedures. Lectures should be held
on important or new issues. Special briefing on serious issues handled by the
leading bodies should be organised with greater consistency, with a view to
increasing the participation of Party members in dealing with and solving
problems. Individual cooperation at the BO level should be organised
methodically so that BO meetings are relieved of practical issues and can focus
on drafting decisions, checking results and working out experience.
The
frequent briefing of friends, followers and associates should be ensured at the
BO level, through both individual work and collective forms, and it should take
on a relatively organised form in thematic units and in support committees of the
Party and its friends.
55. The new CC should secure
support for its work with auxiliary staff suitable for present day needs, and
utilise the modern media and possibilities for scientific substantiation. It
should monitor the leading bodies and organisations, and vice versa, be
monitored itself in this regard. It should secure the creative and correct
operation of party groups throughout the Party, as recommended in the Statutes.
All forms of internal Party operation should be used effectively to increase
collectivity, to exchange experiences and to utilise all proposals and ideas.
Given the role of new technologies under modern conditions, a special section
should be organised in the CC that will provide continuity to the work and
applications that have been carried out today, that will provide more
systematic monitoring of technological developments in Greece and
internationally and their application, in close cooperation with other CC
sections. More particularly, studies should be conducted to determine the
effects of the new technologies on the intensification and deepening of
exploitation and oppression, on social stratification, on social alliances and
on issues of democracy.
56. Rizospastis, COMEP and the
Party’s publications more generally can and should be improved in terms of
their content and form, so that they can cover a broader range of ideological,
political and social issues, according to the nature of each publication.
The
communists working at Rizospastis
need more help so that they can broaden the range of their theoretical and
political knowledge. They should improve their ability to write lively articles
and reports, with greater depth in their thinking and greater clarity. COMEP also has room for further
improvement based on articles from all cadres, and utilising all forces that
can offer their services.
But
the main issue concerns the need for a change of stance on the part of the
cadres above all but of the members as well, toward studying, reading and books
in general. Party organisations should have closer contacts both with Rizospastis and COMEP and the Party bookstore «Synchroni Epohi». Their articles and
texts should be utilised in political and ideological work, together with certain
books, to raise the political and educational level, and to expand information
horizons about developments in
57. The KKE will continue its
effort, in common with other communist parties that think in a similar way, to
deal with problems of joint action so that the pole of the communist movement
can become more visible worldwide, based on the positive experience of the 20th
century, and at the same time having learned from the negative events that
occurred at times. During the years to come, it will continue its efforts to
create a distinct form of coordination and cooperation on the international and
regional level, higher than what has been achieved to date through initiatives
by communist and workers’ parties. At the same time, it will step up its
activity to create alliances focused on confronting imperialist aggressiveness
against the living standard of the working class and the other poor strata of
the people, NATO and the so-called new world order. Some positive experience
has already emerged from the international meetings of CPs and broader
anti-imperialist forces.
Integral
parts of the ideological counteroffensive include: defending the scientific
theory of socialism as established by Marx, Engels and Lenin and as developed under
modern conditions, and defending the contribution of the socialism we have
known. At the same time, the discussion must continue of the reasons why the
counterrevolution prevailed. The real problems that existed under the
particular conditions must be revealed. Convincing, clear replies must be given
to the bourgeois and petty bourgeois criticism levelled today about socialism
in the 20th century.
The
defence of the revolutionary role of the working class, its alliances with
other poor strata of the people and with petty bourgeois forces on the social
and political levels should be based on the line against the monopolies and
imperialism on the national and international levels. The problem of power
should be studied, as should the participation of CPs in bourgeois or petty
bourgeois governments under conditions of monopoly dictatorship. Criticism
should be levelled at the utopian view that a different management model could
lead to an improvement in social prosperity without affecting the strategic directions
of the international imperialist system. The confrontation between the two
paths to internationalisation and the dialectical relationship of the struggle
on the national and international levels should be examined.
As
regards coordination and common action today, conditions are more mature than
ever before for the following directions and actions: regional alliance and
common action in Europe, an inter-Balkan alliance on the problems of the
region, with special focus on stepping up efforts to reorganise the communist
movement, in cooperation with the respective parties, development of relations
with anti-imperialist, progressive forces and movements in Balkan countries,
broadening of contacts on a bilateral level between CPs that are interested in regional
alliances and cooperation on various broad fronts, but also in the exchange of
experience.
The
new CC will discuss the annual publication of the thoughts and experience of
the Party for international use. It will discuss the establishment of a solidarity
committee for persecuted communists and other militants and exchange thoughts
with parties interested in this.
58. The Party’s financial
difficulties are largely associated with objective problems. The complex
developments and the struggle demand not merely adequate finances from the
Party, but a surplus that will assist the modernisation and development of
today’s more expensive propaganda means. The financial issue has evolved into a
significant prerequisite for Party action to grow. The new CC must examine the
problem of the Party’s entrepreneurial activity. It must get away from
amateurism. The financial field has many pitfalls, given that the class enemy
intervenes in every way to bring the party down economically and to limit its
political activity. Resolving the Party’s chronic financial problem,
particularly under present conditions, must become a cause undertaken by the
leading bodies and the BOs, as well as by its friends and followers.
The
new CC must study a plan for the decisive improvement of the Party’s electronic
media, particularly television. It must proceed to the appropriate
collaborations, mobilising broader forces, but without losing its character as
a political information channel that serves popular struggles and democratic information
and supports positive efforts in culture and science.
* *
*
The
cause of effective popular resistance to capitalist barbarity and the task of
building the Front will largely depend in the years to come on progress in the
ideological, political and organisational strengthening of KKE, on the
reinforcement of the class trade union movement, on the mass militant struggle
of young people alongside the labour movement, and on the strengthening of KNE.
It will also depend on the contribution of KKE and the popular movement more
generally to the global anti-imperialist struggle against capitalist barbarity,
and for socialism.
Despite
today’s great difficulties, communists retain their optimism.
They
are heading toward the 16th Congress with responsibility and with
the certainty that the struggle will have results and prospects.
They
believe that with the contribution of its members and friends, KKE can, through
its 16th Congress, take an important step forward in response to the
modern conditions of the class struggle and to its historic mission.
The
CC of KKE
September
2000
e-mail:cpg@int.kke.gr