Statement of the PB on the international developments and the crisis in Caucasus

1. The bloody war in South Ossetia was launched at the request of the US and NATO by the government of Georgia that they control, taking advantage of the well known contradictions between Georgia and Russia. It was one more episode in the “series” of terror caused by the intensification of the contradictions between the imperialist powers in a wide region, extending from North Africa to the Arctic and from the Balkans to the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea.

The competitions between USA, EU, Russia as well as other regional powers in the imperialist “pyramid “ are unfolding with the goal of increasing the superprofits of the monopolies through the control of wealth resources, energy pipelines, markets and spheres of influence.

Thus, a dangerous conflict over the so Called “Big Middle East” is being escalating. These developments are related to the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan , but also to the preparations of war against Iran, and may result in domino effects affecting our region, even our country.

EU and most of its member-states, which are also members of NATO, on the one hand cooperate with the US , and on the other they compete for the sharing of the loot. They even try to hold the “reins” in a series of regions as it was demonstrated by the active interference of France and Germany in the Caucasus crisis At the same time, the contradictions within the EU concerning the stance towards Russia grow stronger.

2. The other political forces of our country, which celebrated the overthrow of socialism in Europe and the dissolution of the USSR, have been proven false. That development caused only pain, blood and suffering for tens of millions of workers living in the territories of the former USSR. It has also brought a general setback in the life and the rights of millions of workers all over the world. The road to the restoration of capitalism, to the integration of these countries in the global capitalist economy, was paved by the corpses of the international conflicts, caused by the imperialist powers which compete for the control of the region’s wealth and the increase of the exploitation of workers.

The uneven development of capitalism has led, over the last years, to the emergence and strengthening of new global economic forces, with high economic growth rates, such as Russia , China , India and Brazil . These forces claim a share of the world market and they cause serious reshufflings at the global imperialist “chessboard”. Their economic growth is inevitably followed by the increase of their political and military power. It leads to the intensification of the competition with the currently leading powers such as the US and EU and to the formation of new “axes” and “anti-axes”.

3. The US tries to maintain its hegemonic position, both generally and in relation to Russia specifically. Through the deployment of the so-called “antimissile shield” in Poland and Czech Republic they aim at overturning the current nuclear balance of forces with Russia. This move will inevitably bring an answer by Russia. It will escalate the armaments race with negative consequences for the people. At the same time the USA promotes the militarization of space, the further expansion of NATO towards the Balkans and countries of the former USSR and the installation of a new network of military bases in order to surround and weaken Russia.

The workers in our country should not have any illusions about the role of today’s Russia as it has a distinctly different class and social content from the USSR. Today’s capitalist Russia, as well as the EU, can neither become a “counterweight” to the USA nor a factor of international balance and security as they are both made of the same “material”, the “material” of the harsh class exploitation and injustice, of the dominance of capital and of the oppression of workers. The ruling class of Russia collides with the US and EU imperialists only in order to defend the interests of its own monopolies. At the same time is willing to accommodate with the USA and the EU for the further exploitation of the workers, the deprivation of their gains and the restriction of their social and political rights.

4. Greece gets engaged more and more in this knot of constantly intensifying contradictions. The Greek bourgeoisie, whose interests are now expressed by the government of ND, on the one hand utilizes all the benefits of the passage of Russian oil and gas through Greece, on the other hand is actively participating in the imperialist campaigns in Afghanistan, the Balkans, the Persian Gulf and elsewhere as an active member of NATO and EU and an ally of the US. ND and PASOK are trying to trap the people by promoting the notion of “security” that is allegedly provided by the country’s participation in the plans of the EU and NATO.

The other political parties, namely SYN and LAOS, have a similar stance, as they promote the need to support the EU imperialist bloc.

The workers should have no trust for the “safety” that is supposedly offered by NATO and EU; it has been proven fake. The experience so far demonstrates that these organizations not only don’t offer “safety”, but they are factors of destabilization, continuous ordeal of the peoples! The participation of our country in the adventurous Euro-atlantic imperialist plans can lead to serious mishaps for the workers, the youth and the popular strata in Greece.

The vague declarations of the bourgeois forces about “peace”, “negotiations” and “reasonability” are used to throw dust in people’s eyes in order for the imperialist blocs to impose their interests.

5. It is imperative to put now an end to passiveness and waiting. The peoples must lead their own way, by forming the real counterweight to imperialism in every country. KKE calls upon the working class, the small and medium scale farmers, the self-employed, the youth, the anti-imperialist, peace-loving forces of our people:

- To support the policy which voices a clear NO to the imperialist choices and commitments, the warmongering plans, to the imperialist organizations, the military bases and paves the way of peace, prosperity, cooperation of the people, of socialism.

- To back the policies and struggles of KKE:

• Against NATO and its new expansion
• Against the “anti-missile shield”
• No engagement of Greece in the imperialist wars and operations, against no people around the world.
• Against the participation in the so-called “peacekeeping missions” (no matter how they will be called in the future) in Caucasus or elsewhere in the world.
• Not to comply with any obligations deriving from the participation in NATO and the EU that engage our country militarily directly or indirectly.
• To shut down now the military base in Souda bay
• To bring back home all the Greek troops that are outside of our borders
• No foreign troops in Afghanistan , Iraq , Balkan countries or elsewhere.

The situation will sharpen as long as inter-imperialist competitions and interests exist. The hopes of the people for a peaceful and safe world are intrinsically linked with the with the struggle for the overthrow of the imperialist plans, the disengagement from the imperialist bonds, from the imperialist unions like NATO and EU, with the building of a society free from exploitation of man by man.

The Politburo of the CC of KKE
Athens, August 25 2008