Working Group: Joint Statement on Palestine
The parties also express their grave concern for the resulting humanitarian tragedy, and outrage at the intentional targeting of schools and civil institutions, including the UNRWA school in Jabalia Camp.
The Israeli attack on Gaza is in reality an aggression against the entire Palestinian people.
Based on the above, the signatories wish to declare the following:
(1) We salute the heroic steadfastness of the Palestinian masses of Gaza, and stress the fundamental right of the Palestinian people to resist the occupation, a right recognized by the U.N. and international law. We demand the immediate lifting of the siege of Gaza, the re-opening of borders, and the rapid reconstruction of all that was damaged or destroyed by this wanton aggression;
(2) We reaffirm our support for and solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle to regain their legitimate and inalienable national rights, including the right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent and sovereign state with Al-Quds (East Jerusalem) as its capital, as well as the right of return for all Palestinian refugees in accordance with U.N. Resolution 194;
(3) We strongly condemn the perpetuated construction of the racist wall as well as of the colonial settlements in the occupied West Bank which are in flagrant conflict with all the relevant UN decisions.
We demand the immediate remove of the wall and of the settlements as well as the immediate release from custody of all the freedom prisoners in the Israeli detention.
(4) We call on the U.N. Security council and other international organizations to conduct a comprehensive and thorough investigation of the grave human rights violations and war crimes committed by the Israeli army during this assault on Gaza, including its use of internationally prohibited weapons against the civilian population. The parties also call for the formation of special legal commissions to file “war crimes” charges against the Israeli authorities before the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court and/or national juridical structures;
(5) We urge all sections of Palestinian national movement to work seriously and in a responsible manner toward ending the internal split and re-establishing Palestinian national unity. In this regard, the parties confirm the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) is the legitimate and the internationally recognized unified address of Palestinian people, and call for reactivating the role and status of the PLO with an open door to all those Palestinian national forces desiring to join it;
(6) We declare our intention to help build the international campaign to support Gaza and demand emergency assistance from the international community for its reconstruction.
Finally, the signatories commit to the following action measures on behalf of their organizations and members:
(1) to step up their solidarity actions with the Palestinian people internationally and within their respective countries;
(2) to pressure their respective governments to cancel the military and some political accords with the State of Israel;
(3) to organize and send, at the earliest opportunity, a joint party delegation to the occupied Palestinian territories to express our common solidarity with the national struggle of the Palestinian people;
(4) to convene an international symposium in solidarity with the Palestinian people, to be held in Damascus before the end of 2009;
(5) to organize a joint caravan of material aid to Gaza; and
(6) to hold an International Day of Action in Solidarity with the Palestinian people, with particular focus on the demand to break the siege of Gaza.
The signatories extend an invitation to other Communist and Workers’ parties and organizations to endorse this statement, and urge the Working Group of the International Meetings of Communist and Worker’s Parties (IMCWP) to work out the details of implementation of the above program of action, in consultation with the Palestinian and Arab member-parties.
List of Parties and Organizations Co-signing this Statement – February 17, 2009
- Communist Party of Albania
- PADS, Algeria
- Communist Party of Belarus
- Workers’ Party of Belgium
- Party of Bulgarian Communists
- Brazilian Communist Party
- Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB)
- Communist Party of Britain
- New Communist Party of Britain
- Communist Party of Canada
- Colombian Communist Party
- Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (Czech Republic)
- Communist Party of Egypt
- Socialist Worker’s Party of Croatia
- Communist Party of Cuba
- AKEL, Cyprus
- Communist Party in Denmark
- Communist Party of Denmark
- French Communist Party
- Communist Party of Macedonia
- German Communist Party
- Communist Party of Greece
- Hungarian Communist Workers’ Party
- Communist Party of India
- Communist Party of India (Marxist)
- Tudeh Party of Iran
- Communist Party of Israel
- Party of the Communist Refoundation, Italy
- Party of the Italian Communists
- Jordanian Communist Party
- Socialist Party of Latvia
- Lebanese Communist Party
- Communist Party of Luxembourg
- Communist Party of Malta
- Party of Communists, Mexico
- Political Movement –“People’s Resistance”, Moldova
- New Communist Party of the Netherlands
- Communist Party of Norway
- Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
- Palestinian Communist Party
- Palestinian People’s Party
- Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
- Peruvian Communist Party
- Communist Refoundation, Puerto Rico
- Communist Party of Poland
- Portuguese Communist Party
- Socialist Alliance Party, Romania
- Romanian Communist Party
- Communist Party of the Russian Federation
- Communist Party of the Soviet Union
- Communist Worker’s Party of Russia – Party of the Communist of Russia
- New Communist Party of Yugoslavia
- Communist Party of Slovakia
- South African Communist Party
- Communist Party of Spain
- Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain
- Party of the Communists, Catalonia
- Communist Party of Sri-Lanka
- Syrian Communist Party
- Communist Party of Syria
- Baath Party, Syria
- Communist Party of Tajikistan
- Communist Party of Turkey
- Labour Party (Turkey)
- South African Communist Party
- Communist Party of Sweden
- Union of the Communists of Ukraine
- Communist Party of Venezuela
- Polisario Front
- World Federation of Trade Unions
e-mail:cpg@int.kke.gr