CPI and KKE Joint Statement

Bi-lateral Statement

29 July 2009

During a visit to Ireland by a delegation of the Communist Party of Greece, a meeting was held with representatives of the Communist Party of Ireland. The Greek delegation also held a series of meetings with a number of Irish trade unions and social organisations.

Under discussion at the bilateral meeting was the necessity for both parties to continue to work for greater unity of the world communist movement in the struggle against imperialism. Also discussed was the importance of working together to build a greater ideological and political unity of communist forces and to struggle against opportunism.

The two parties have a common understanding of the nature of the global crisis now affecting the imperialist system, sharing the view that this crisis is part of the crisis of capitalism. During the discussions it was agreed that both the Greek government and the Irish government are attempting to compel the working class of their countries to pay for this crisis of capitalism, which is reflected in the growing attacks on public services and on workers’ wages, conditions and social insurance rights and in the growing ranks of unemployed workers.

The parties agreed on the need for workers’ organisations to resist these attacks through their class-oriented struggle. They pointed out that the communist parties need to defend the socialist perspective and vision as the only sure way forward in the building of socially just societies.

In their evaluation of the nature of the European Union the two parties agreed that the workers’ movement throughout Europe must continue to resist this imperialist bloc and its strengthening. They struggle against the approach being taken by the Party of the European Left as a capitulation to the interests of imperialism and big corporate interests, its role being to undermine the revolutionary ideology of the communist movement, leading to a strengthening of the forces of class collaboration within the workers’ movement.

The parties reiterated their criticism of the Irish government and of all the establishment parties—Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Labour Party, and the Green Party—for bowing to pressure from the European Union to subvert the democratically expressed rejection of the Lisbon Treaty by the Irish people. The Communist Party of Greece expressed its support for the democratic forces in Ireland struggling to deliver once again a rebuff to the imposition of this so-called Reform Treaty.

Both parties expressed their solidarity with the heroic Palestinian people in their struggle for a homeland and for a just and lasting settlement. They also expressed their solidarity with the Cuban people and join with them in celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of their revolution. The two parties pledged their continued solidarity and support for the forces bringing about radical social transformations in Latin America, and in particular they condemned the interference by the United States in the overthrow of President Zelaya of Honduras. The parties expressed their solidarity with all those forces struggling against imperialism and those who struggle for socialism in very difficult and extremely hostile conditions.

Finally, the Communist Party of Ireland and the Communist Party of Greece pledged to continue to share their experiences and to further strengthen their co-operation.