Press Release: About the meetings of the delegation of the CC of KKE, headed by the member of the PB G.Marinos, with representatives of the diplomatic missions of Iran, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.

A delegation of the Central Committee of KKE headed by the member of the Politburo, Giorgos Marinos, visited on Monday morning the embassies of Iran, Lebanon, Syria and the diplomatic delegation of the Palestinian Authority in Greece. The delegation met with the Ambassador of Iran Mehdi Honardoost, the Ambassador of Syria, Houda Al-Houmsi, the head of the Diplomatic Delegation of the Palestinian Authority, Samir Amou Gazale and the charge d’ affaires of the Embassy of Lebanon, Rania El Abdallah.

The purpose of these meetings was KKE to get informed about the latest developments and in turn to present its positions as regards to the dangerous situation developed for the Greek as well as for the other peoples in the region due to the imperialist plans and the involvement of the Greek government of PASOK.

Giorgos Marinos expressed the deep concern of KKE about the developments in the broader region of Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East and after the visits to the diplomatic missions proceeded to the following statement regarding the latest dangerous processes for the peoples:

Statement of Giorgos Marinos

• The government of PASOK has become more deeply involved in the imperialist designs.
• The peoples in the region, the class labour movement and all the anti-imperialist and peace-loving forces should be vigilant in struggle.

“New war scenarios and diplomatic machinations are being prepared by the imperialist centres against the peoples of Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Palestine, shaping new dangerous developments. Today’s meeting in the embassies of the above mentioned countries first and foremost expresses the solidarity of ΚΚΕ with the peoples in the region. This solidarity has been expressed all these years by our party and the class labour and anti-imperialist movement not just in words but with continuous and consistent actions.

Today, we have to cope with the particular threatening ultimatums of the US and Israel against Iran, that are carried out with the support of the EU and the NATO. Despite the pretexts employed by the imperialists, these acts of aggressiveness must be massively condemned by the peoples.

At the same time, the warning attacks of the Israeli war machine in the border line with Lebanon indicate the increasing aggressiveness of Israel in order to ensure that it will exploit the energy resources in the broader region, ignoring the rights of Lebanon.

Under these circumstances the involvement of the Greek government of PASOK in the affairs of the Middle East has been intensified and was condemned by KKE. This recent, supposedly “active” presence of the Greek prime minister and president of the Socialist International in the region underlined the deepening of the relations of our country and of the EU with Israel while continues the slaughter of the Palestinian people. The exchange of visits between the Greek and the Israeli government, the announcements and statements that followed, have nothing to do with the interests of the peoples in the region, the peoples of Greece and Israel. On the contrary, they confirm and promote the economic, political and military cooperation between the two countries in order to increase the profitability of the capital as especially in conditions of capitalist crisis and intensification of the inter-imperialist conflicts and rivalries, the need for raw material, for the exploitation and control over sources of wealth, for investment and markets increases. At the same time the situation in the Middle East has become more complex as the imperialist aggressiveness has intensified.

The pursuit of the Greek bourgeoisie to develop an active role, opposite to the so-called “pro-Palestinian” role that is lately promoted by the Turkish bourgeoisie in the region, reveals that behind the “round tables” and the “extended joint ministerial commissions between Greece and Turkey” strong antagonisms exist and sharpen between the bourgeoisies not only of the most powerful imperialist countries but also between the bourgeoisies that seek to play a regional role in the imperialist plans. In this geopolitical game each force participates according to its economic, military and political power in the imperialist pyramid, to its position in the international system and its geographical-strategic position.

No matter how much they try to present this multiform collaboration of the government of PASOK with Israel as ”a diplomatic success” of the government, in reality it is a provocative acquittal of the imperialist aggressiveness that makes once again the government of PASOK to “dip its hands in the blood” of the victims of Israel, the US, the NATO and the EU. Therefore it should be condemned just like the support to this political line given by the other parties that serve the capital, the ND and LAOS.

Moreover, the recent statements of Papandreou-Netanyahu showed that the result of their bilateral contacts is to exert greater pressure and to blackmail the Palestinians whom they seek to lead with the “gun on their head” to another “dialogue” on what they are to lose. At the same time the assassinations of Palestinians, the construction of the wall of shame, the mass settlements, and the recent assassinating attack against the flotilla in the waters of Gaza continue.

Once again it has been confirmed that the allegations for the excellent relations of the Greek government with the Arab countries and Palestine are hypocritical while as regards to Palestine, it talks about equal responsibilities equalizing the victim with the perpetrator. The Greek government has excellent relations with the monopolies, not with the peoples of the region.

KKE considers that in view of this situation the class anti-imperialist struggle needs to strengthen and impede the plans for the so-called “democratisation of the wider Middle East” with the creation of a "New Middle East". However, these plans during the last years have met obstacles due to the armed and overall resistance of the peoples of the region.

A basic task of peoples’ struggle is to condemn NATO that is preparing to adopt a new strategy against the people. This new doctrine will be discussed at the summit in November 2010 in Lisbon and provides amongst others the intensification of interventions against the peoples under many pretexts, including, apart from combating terrorism, internal and energy security, political and economic crises, even climate change. It is further revealed that the International Law that the people knew in the period of active presence and action of the Soviet Union and the socialist system on international affairs, no longer exists. The UN follows the same direction, constituting a field where inter-imperialist conflicts are manifested as well, a tool for the implementation of the imperialist designs.

KKE will continue to struggle against the imperialist unions, to implicitly oppose to the dispatch of military forces of our country in missions abroad. Thus, today, we demand the return of dozens of Greek military missions outside the borders of the country. Not only because of their exaggerated cost, while in the name of the crisis social benefits on health and education are cut down, but also because these military missions are integrated in the designs against other peoples and by no means serve the interests of the working class and the popular strata in our country. It is significant that the intervention of the US and NATO in Iraq and Afghanistan has the same results: deaths, poverty and greater profits for the capital. KKE defends that all peoples should have the right to make sovereign decisions on the path of development of their country, without foreign imperialist intervention and patrons.”

In conclusion, Giorgos Marinos said:

“In our opinion it is necessary worker‘s and people’s struggle in the Eastern Mediterranean and in the Middle East to acquire a singular class-oriented, political character in order to develop a front that will struggle not only against the imperialist plans but also according to the conditions in each country, it will forestall the instigation of religious, secessionist and ethnic divisions and conflicts, and will define the perspective for the overthrow of the power of the monopolies, for socialism.

We demand:

• The Greek government to abandon military drills and to stop the military cooperation with Israel.
• The recall of all Greek military missions that are outside the borders of the country.
• The respect of the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of each country against any imperialist threat and intervention that might occur under any pretext.
• The withdrawal of the Israeli army from the occupied Arab territories (Golan Heights, West Bank etc)
• Full dissolution of the settlements and the creation of a Palestinian State next to Israel (Gaza Strip and West Bank) with East Jerusalem as its capital.
• The resolution of the issue of the refugees. The return of the Palestinian refugees according to the 194 Resolution of the UN General Assembly and in accordance with other resolutions of the UN Security Council.
• The immediate release by Israel of all Lebanese and Palestinian political prisoners as well as of Palestinian ministers and MPs.
• The restoration of the territorial integrity of Lebanon and the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the occupied territories in South Lebanon including the Shebaa region.

We call upon the peoples in the region, the class labour movement and all anti-imperialist and peace-loving forces to be constantly in militant vigilance.”