The new European Communist Initiative

By New Worker correspondent 

Andy Brooks greets comrades

GREEK communists and their supporters met in north London on Sunday to hear a report by a leading member of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) on the new European Communist Initiative and the ongoing struggle against reaction, opportunism and social-democracy at home and abroad.

            The meeting room at the AKEL Cypriot communist centre in north London was packed for the Sunday lunch-time meeting called by the British Branch of the KKE to mobilise their members in Britain to register at the Greek embassy and vote in the forthcoming local and European Union elections in May.

            Comrades were greeted by New Communist Party leader Andy Brooks who summarised the NCP’s role in the Initiative of the Communist and Workers’ Parties of Europe and the NCP’s consistent stand against the European Union. This was followed by a lengthy report from Kostas Papadakis, a member of the Central Committee of the KKE, on the current situation in Greece and the struggle against the bourgeois offensive throughout the EU.

Andy Brooks said that the NCP had opposed the European Union and the Treaty of Rome from the very beginning when the Party was founded in 1977 and that the Initiative was: “An important first step towards building a common front amongst the genuine communist forces of Europe to confront the ruling class offensive that is seeks to impose the entire burden of the slump on the backs of working people.

“The Initiative is also the first step in building a popular campaign to challenge the myth of the ‘super-state’ that Franco-German imperialism and its supporters within the British ruling class spread to popularise the anti-people and dictatorial policies of the European Union and build the progressive platform needed to launch the fight in all members states for the break-up of the EU.”

This was followed by a far-ranging KKE briefing that began with an analysis of the Greek political scene and the bogus choices offered by the mainstream conservative New Democracy party, the old and new social-democracy of PASOK and Syriza, and the fascist Golden Dawn. They all “trade in fear and dead-end hopes” while  “the consequences of the capitalist economic crisis and the anti-people measures of the government-EU-IMF are becoming more and more tangible, unbearable, even more suffocating for the workers, unemployed, the poor farmers, the youth and the women from the popular strata,”  Kostas Papadakis said.

But there was a way out of the crisis and that way was by mobilising and decisively strengthening the KKE, Kostas declared.

“The workers, the youth, the toiling self-employed, the poor farmers, must help so that a dynamic labour-people’s opposition can be immediately revived in order to contribute to the struggle, in order to halt the anti-people offensive, the successive anti-people measures, in order to pave the way for the only path that can ensure the satisfaction of the people’s needs.

“And this can begin to happen with the participation in the battle of the EU parliamentary elections and the municipal elections, decisively voting for the KKE and the lists of the ‘People’s Rally’, which are supported nationwide by the party.

“The strengthening of the KKE is a guarantee for the working class and people’s interests. The KKE struggles, focused on the major and sharpening problems, for the regroupment of the labour-people’s movement, the People’s Alliance, in order to pave the way for an economy for the benefit of the people, with their own power.”

            The Greek communist condemned those pseudo-communists who revolve around the European Left Party and those like them who talk about winning office and reforming the EU.

“The way out is not to be found in ‘“Left governments’ on the terrain of capitalism” Kostas said.  “As the experience from the participation of communist parties in governments of EU member states shows, like the example of Cyprus, with the participation of AKEL in the government. This experience is in our assessment characteristic of the utopian view that the crisis can be halted or that there can be a pro-people management in the framework of capitalism. The same is true of Brazil where the Communist Party of Brazil participates in the government and manages capitalism with the people protesting in the streets.

“There is no room for the rationale of the ‘lesser evil’ which some people consider a possible Syriza government to be. Whatever evil, more or lesser, is now unbearable for the impoverished and lives of the workers deprived of rights.”

Meanwhile the Communist Initiative provides the basis to build a people’s movement in Europe against war, imperialism and capitalism.

Outlining the socialist alternative Kostas said the KKE programme was realistic and above all in the interests of the people and the service of the workers. “We have the power to overturn the situation today,” he declared. “With a strong KKE there is hope – there is a prospect.”

• Kostas Papadakis -- full text of speech

Sinn Féin calls for support for Haass proposals

By Theo Russell

SINN FÉIN MP Conor Murphy spoke to supporters in London last week at a public meeting in Westminster on the end of the Haass all-party talks, aimed at resolving challenging issues on flags and emblems, Orange parades, and dealing with the legacy of the past without any deal being reached.

He said last year had seen violent protests and intimidation by: “A small rump of unionism opposed to equality, sectarian marches, attacks on churches, homes and elected politicians” and he condemned “The failure, and in some cases complicity, of unionist leaders during all of this.”

There are 3,000 parades in the north every year but only a handful, in or near Belfast and Derry, cause problems and negotiations between communities in Derry have been successful.

Murphy said the two main unionist parties, afraid of alienating supporters with elections due in May, had refused to condemn the Loyalist outfits and effectively pulled the plug on the Haass talks using filibuster tactics.

“Both parties are openly consulting the views of these Loyalist groups, including people charged for disorder and violence. The Ulster Unionist Party no longer wants to discuss the issues, while the Democratic Unionist Party is trying to start a whole new process.” This would negate a year’s work including contributions from 600 community organisations.

Meanwhile Britain’s coalition government, which has done little in the north of Ireland apart from alienating a variety of groups while imposing savage austerity cuts, has failed to back the Haass proposals beyond a meek announcement that they “have merit”.

Murphy said: “Of course all of our communities in Ireland – just as in Britain – are facing the destructive impact of right-wing austerity policies, but we reject the farcical suggestion that the costs of implementation of the proposals should come out of the block grant to the north, which has already been cut by the coalition government.” 

But of greater concern to progressives in Britain is the disgraceful failure of the Labour Party to come out in support of the Haass process. Many at the meeting voiced concern at this, and Murphy called for Labour and other parties to put pressure on the coalition government.

Murphy said the Irish government was behind the Haass proposals, “But has done little in recent years to press for full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.”

He welcomed a statement from the main church leaders, and a rally in Belfast on 31st January organised by the Northern Ireland Congress of Trade Unions, supporting the Haass process.

On the positive side, Murphy pointed out: “Instead of walking away from the process, Richard Haass issued a strong statement saying the proposals should be implemented,” while Gerry Adams has also said that despite widespread disappointment there was still a "basis for a deal".

Tube strike solid

by Daphne Liddle

TRANSPORT chaos descended on London last week following industrial action by two major railway unions. London Underground workers paralysed much of the capital’s transport  in a two-day walk-out in protest at draconian cuts that would close all the ticket offices throughout the network.

RMT and TSSA were protesting at attempts by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and Transport for London (TfL) to impose cuts that will cost nearly 1,000 jobs and jeopardise passenger safety.

Seventy per cent of London Underground trains were out of action and since many trains are driven by members of Aslef, and not all LU workers are in unions that is an impressive impact.

RMT leader Bob Crow said the strike was rock solid. “RMT members have spoken with their feet and I thank you for your support for your union throughout this dispute. Keep it up!”

RMT released pictures of lethal overcrowding at Waterloo on Wednesday morning showing that TfL had “ripped up the safety rule book”. The union called for a full safety inquiry into deadly conditions as managers ignored every regulation in the book and exposed passengers to serious crushing and trampling risk.

Bob Crow together with Manuel Cortez, general secretary of TSSA, turned up early at London’s City Hall on the first day of the strike to challenge Boris Johnson to talk with them on his regular Ask Boris programme on LBC Radio.

Johnson refused to meet them face-to-face but there was a brief discussion by phone. Johnson refused to meet Crow and Cortez on the grounds that, with the strike plans in place, the unions were “holding a gun to London’s head”. He said he would only meet them if the strike was called off.

Crow replied that the document sent out to all London Underground workers informing them of the cuts, disguised as “modernisation” and without any consultation with the unions was a gun to the head of the LU workers. Crow said if this document was suspended then the strike would also be suspended to allow for talks.

The LBC host of Ask Boris, Nick Ferrari, expressed astonishment that Johnson had not met Crow for many years and said he thought Johnson would have met with “anyone, anytime anywhere” if it could avert the strike.

The union leaders also raised the issue of Johnson’s election pledge a few years ago that he would never close the ticket offices. Johnson replied that that was six years ago and technology had advanced so much since then, “Everybody’s got I-Pads and things,” so that ticket offices were no longer needed.

He said ticket staff should “come out from behind the glass” and be deployed on platforms and about the station helping and advising passengers. But with nearly 1,000 jobs gone there will not be very many of them doing that.

TSSA, which represents most of the booking clerks, points out that if a passenger is in trouble, the one place they can be certain of finding a member of staff is in the ticket office. If staff are wandering about a distressed passenger has little chance of finding them.

The unions also warned that a growing number of stops will become “ghost stations” with no staff on hand at all — a serious safety hazard where children can wander in and lark about as well as a muggers’ and drug-dealers’ paradise.

Supervisors, who ensure the safety of passengers, will be cut by 45 per cent and will now oversee multiple stations. In the many emergencies where trains can’t move, the supervisors may be stuck several stops away.

And if Johnson and LU can get away with these cuts they have, in future, plans to run driverless trains, all operated by computers. With the condition of trains and tracks deteriorating, due to previous cuts of maintenance staff, trains often break down or signals fail, leaving trains stuck in tunnels for long periods.

With no driver to keep in touch with controllers and let passengers know what is happening and if need be get them off and lead them to safety there would soon be some very serious accidents.

But the ruling class do not, generally, travel by public transport and to them all that matters is cutting costs so they can enjoy more tax cuts.

We need a pay rise!

MEMBERS of three local government unions – GMB, Unite and Unison –  staged a Day of Protest at continuing low pay levels and demanded a £1-an-hour across the board pay rise for all local government workers.

 Lunch-hour joint union protests were held outside town halls and civic centres in many towns and cities on Tuesday 4th February.

Local government pay has decreased in value by an average 20 per cent over the last five years.

Celebrating the achievements of Democratic Korea

 By New Worker correspondent

Shaun Pickford and Dermot Hudson

FRIENDS of the Korean revolution met to celebrate the 72^nd anniversary of the birth of dear leader Kim Jong Il at London’s Marchmont Centre on Saturday 2nd February to hear a first-hand report from top DPRK diplomats about the current situation on the Korean peninsula and contributions from Korean solidarity workers who included New Communist Party leader Andy Brooks.

Shaun Pickford welcomed Thae Yong Ho from the DPRK embassy in London who recalled Kim Jong Il’s life in the service of the working people of Democratic Korea.  Comrade Thae also talked about the DPRK’s current peace proposals which were also raised in the interview given by Ambassador Hyon Hak Bong on Sky News last week. Comrade Thae said that the US war-games in south Korea were not defensive but aggressive. US imperialism has concentrated its nuclear submarine forces in the region and the Americans have repeatedly tried to blackmail and threaten the DPRK .

Comrade Thae said that the stories in the bourgeois media about the events surrounding the execution of the counter-revolutionary traitor in the DPRK were false. The US imperialists and their pawns were using the “human rights issue” as a second means of attacking and putting pressure on the DPRK while the British ruling class were attacking  the DPRK and Korean-style socialism because they want people to believe that there is no alternative  to capitalism. But there is and Democratic Korea upholds genuine socialism with free education and medical treatment for all, full employment and pensions, and full equality to all its citizens.

This was taken up by Dermot Hudson of the UK Korean Friendship Association who followed with contribution on the Juché and Songun politics that had transformed the DPR Korea into a modern socialist republic, while Alexander Meads spoke about the achievements of Kim Jong Il from his earliest days to his last at the helm of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

Dr Hugh Goodacre spoke about Kim Jong Il’s proclamation of the programme for modelling the whole society on the Juché idea 40 years ago. This was a demand of the times and completely essential to prevent the rise of a new bureaucracy and the restoration of capitalism. The Juché idea is turning everyone into revolutionaries to build socialism – a magnificent achievement, an example for the working and oppressed people of the world.

But there are always dangers as NCP leader Andy Brooks stressed in a condemnation of the loathsome Jang Song Thaek, a leading Workers’ Party official who was shot in December after he was unmasked as a traitor who had embezzled vast amounts of money to live the high life abroad and reward his followers who were helping him plan a coup.

But: “The Korean people have closed ranks around Kim Jong Un and the Workers’ Party of Korea. They have taken firm and decisive measures to deal with Jang and smash his group to safeguard the people’s government and ensure that the country continues to build a modern socialist republic dedicated to the welfare of all working people.”

The DPRK diplomats took up many of these points during the question-and-answer session and during the informal discussion that followed.

The meeting was organised by the UK Korean Friendship Association (KFA) and the British Juché Idea Study Group, which regularly organises solidarity meetings and protest pickets in London throughout the year. The KFA also works side by side with the NCP, RCPB (ML), Socialist Labour Party (SLP) and the European Regional Society for the Study of the Juché Idea on the Friends of Korea committee, which also holds regular events in London.

Chinese workers unite on New Year!

By Adrian Chan-Wyles

LAST WEEKEND saw the annual Chinese New Year celebrations usher in the Year of Horse in and around Gerrard Street, that area of Soho known as London’s Chinatown.  In the Chinese lunar calendar the New Year is counted as the 4712^th since the rule of the legendary figure known as the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi).  Whatever the actual historicity of Chinese civilisation, archaeology confirms that it is ancient.

  The celebration of the Chinese New Year has spread out of China and into the international community, making it a truly multicultural affair.  It is a time of old ritual now used in a modern context to facilitate psychological and physical renewal.  Its widespread appeal is confirmed by the thousands who gathered before 10am on a cold Sunday morning at the beginning of February, to witness the parade that initiated the celebrations, to be followed by dragon, unicorn and lion dances up and down the streets.

 What used to be limited to Gerrard Street is now spread out into Soho proper, and from there into Trafalgar Square, and what used to take an hour or two, now takes up most of the day.  This is the general area of London lived in and frequented by Karl Marx in the latter half of the 19^th century. 

The police presence is always strong during Chinese New Year, but crime always remains small, despite the crowds.  People from every conceivable ethnic group attend and are brought together in the celebration of what amounts to the looking forward to prosperity and good fortune for the year ahead.  To this end, corporate business has its foot in the door.  When families arrive in the general area they are met by a bewildering array of stalls selling all kinds of articles from food and drink, to balloons and toy horses and so forth.

  A mobile telephone company was giving out colourful flags on wooden sticks to children who then ran around waving them.  The flags said in Chinese characters ‘Sun Lin Fai Lok!’, or ‘Happy and Joyous New Year’, and above this message was the name of the mobile telephone corporation in big letters!

  Small children ran around acting as free advertising for a brutal and ruthless capitalist business entity that does not care about their well being whatsoever.  The parents looked on seemingly mindless of the exploitation unfolding in the name of celebration, that was being perpetuated (with their agreement) by big businesses using their children as commercial fodder. 

The Labour Party was up to its usual tricks.  It had a stall with information in both English and Chinese, hoping to recruit British born Chinese people to the Labour cause.  Labour lurched dangerously to the right of the British political spectrum under Tony Blair and has never recovered.

  In London, however, and amongst ethnic minorities such as the Chinese, Labour presents a false image that implies that it is in political accordance with the Communist Party of China, which it certainly is not.  Labour has no intention of repealing the anti-union laws, or turning back the Tory cuts to the welfare State, the NHS, or the education system.  Toward the mainstream British electorate, the Labour Party panders to the Tory Press and treats the ordinary British Worker as some kind of error or illness in the system.  This is not surprising when it is considered that Clause Four has been removed from the Labour Party’s constitution, breaking the direct link with Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto.

 Chinese people are intelligent and should not fall for the Labour Party’s misleading political rhetoric.  Only the communists can lead the people and mirror the success of the Communist Party in China.  In this way Chinese New Year can be raised out of the feudal conditions that created it and used to create a truly progressive and advanced socialist society.             

WFTU in solidarity with the London Underground Workers

 The World Federation of Trade Unions representing 86 million workers in 126 countries around the world salutes the struggle of the London Underground workers in Britain who have joined forces in industrial action to stop cuts in jobs, services and security.
The 48-hours strike action that began last night has been rock solid and this has meant the London Underground network has effectively been closed down.
In a united voice transport workers say no to casualization, zero-hour contracts, poverty pay and bogus self-employment!
The WFTU greets the RMT and TSSA British unions for calling their members into a struggle to protect not only their fair labour rights but also the safety of the underground means of transport for all the passengers.
On the contrary, the authorities and the mass media have been engaged on a slandering campaign against the workers struggle aiming to tear the public apart from supporting their cause and enhance its dynamic.
These machinations, used in similar ways against workers struggles around the world, only prove the shallowness of their arguments in favor of the policy of privatization implemented in the transport sector as a strategy of the European Union in all European countries. The objective is none other than squeezing the workers and the passengers to produce as much profit as possible in burden of workers’ rights and safety.
We join our voices in solidarity with the transport workers’ struggle to demand safe, efficient and affordable public transport with the respect of workers’ rights.

Athens
 5th February 2014