Statement of the PB of the CC on Kosovo and the FYROM issues

The Polit-Buro of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) met and studied the conditions created in the Balkans after the unilateral declaration of "independence" of Kosovo from Serbia by the ethnic Albanians as well as after the latest developments regarding the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and the mediation to the governments of Greece and FYROM of Matthew Nimitz representative of the UN. It notes the following:

1. After the end of the criminal NATO bombing against Yugoslavia in June of 1999, there was imposed on Kosovo a protectorate regime "under international administration". The 1244/99 resolution of the UN's Security Council, that established the US-NATO protectorate, did not question that Kosovo constituted an integral part of Serbia. The KKE has been since the first moment explicitly against the creation of the protectorate. It has repeatedly asked the immediate withdrawal of the Greek soldiers and to not participate in any expedition of the imperialist euro-atlantic new order. It has called the Greek governments, both of ND and PASOK, to say "NO", to not sign any decisions for the independence of Kosovo.

The government of ND, after the unilateral decision for the declaration of independence of Kosovo, can not pretend they are clueless nor can they act hypocritically.

The government of ND, but PASOK as well, even though they don’t opt for immediate recognition of the Kosovo independence, they substantially agreed to the decision of the EU to deploy the police-judicial EULEX force to Kosovo for "stability and rule of law", as well as to the perpetuation of the NATO presence of.

So much for hypocrisy. The expeditionary forces of US or EU "brand" are forces of occupation, repression and oppression of the peoples of the region.

The unilateral independence of Kosovo, despite the celebrations, will not benefit the residents of Kosovo of Albanian descent. It leads to the reinforcement of the imperialist policy of "divide and rule". It will induce uncontrollable situations in the Balkans. It signals new changes of the borders and afflicts the territorial integrity of countries. It leads to a new round of disputes, wars and imperialist interventions.

Remarking on the dangerous developments in the Balkans, mainly caused by the intra-imperialist competitions and conflicts of the US, EU and Russia over the energy issue, the KKE asks from the Greek government to not recognize the protectorate; to not participate with military forces and to immediately withdraw the ones that are in the region.

2. Closely tied with the Kosovo issue is the issue of the relations of Greece and FYROM, regarding the constitutional name of the latter and the search for a "mutually acceptable solution". The proposals about a double name, that either have been disclosed or are heard as rumors that Matthew Nimitz, the special mediator of the UN, suggests, do not seem to be acceptable solutions by both parties.

The KKE reiterates its position, for which it has steadily stood since 1992, that: The main issue is not the name but the safeguard of relations of peaceful cooperation and of the development of good neighbouring relations; the safeguard of inviolability of borders; the avoidance of every irredentist propaganda and of actions that hinder the approach and cooperation of the two countries.

For the name issue the KKE repeats that if the pursue for a mutually acceptable solution, as determined by the "intermediate agreement" of the two countries, contains the term "Macedonia" or one of its derivatives, it should be geographically and not ethnically defined.

3. The KKE, vis-a-vis the very serious developments, will build a manifold of multiform activities in our country and internationally in the immediate future:

• The Secretary General of the Central Committee will meet the President of the Republic, Karolos Papoulias, on Wednesday February 27.
• The Central Committee of the KKE will organize a meeting for the developments with the participation of social and political figures of our country, on Monday February 25.
• The KKE supports with all its strength the initiative of the World Peace Council and the Greek Committee for International Peace and Detente for the organizing of a meeting of peace committees from the Balkans in Salonika on the weekend of March 1st and 2nd.
• The Polit-Buro welcomes the Common Declaration of 16 Communist and Workers' Parties from all continents, which took the initiative to condemn the declaration of independence of Kosovo and it calls all the Communist and Workers’ Parties to endorse it.
• It supports every form of action and mobilization that contributes to the correct approach of the issue, aiming against every form of imperialist intervention.

Athens, February 19, 2008
The PB of the CC of the KKE