AKEL C.C. Press Office, 22nd January 2018, Nicosia.

The protests were against the destructive economic policies of the regime, its brutal violation of human and democratic rights and disregard for the ILO conventions regarding workers rights and its widespread corruption. Young people have been the main victims of the regime’s policies, including more than five million unemployed graduates. Those who came out were predominantly young and from poor working class districts demanding fundamental economic, social and cultural change for jobs, a living wage, dignity, respect and justice.

The recent decision of the U.S. Trump administration to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital city of the state of Israel has sparked outrage across the world. Israeli and Palestinian communist and left parties have denounced Trump’s decision, while the Communist Party of Greece stated that the decision “adds fuel to the fire” to “burn” the perspective of a Palestinian state. Below, you can read announcements by various Communist and Workers Parties:

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the decision of US President Donald Trump, to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to shift the US Embassy there from Tel Aviv.

This action goes against the United Nations’ and the international community’s stand that  East Jerusalem is an occupied territory by Israel since 1967.  An independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital is the internationally accepted position.  The United States has taken the formal step of legalizing the illegal occupation of Palestine territories by Israel.  No other country in the world has given recognition to Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The United States is also responsible for scuttling any possible peace negotiations between the Israel and Palestine.  This decision by Donald Trump will trigger further tensions and conflicts in the region with global ramifications.

Unlike the worldwide opposition to this move, official spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs has scrupulously refused to criticize the US decision.  This shows the extent of servility of the Modi regime to the United States.

The Polit Bureau demands that the Modi government come out strongly disapproving of the US action, as it goes against India’s longstanding commitment to the Palestinian cause.

AKEL denounces the unilateral decision by the United States to proceed to the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which violates the resolutions and decisions of the United Nations on the special international status of the city. The status of Jerusalem is a central issue for a comprehensive solution of the Palestinian issue, and the position of the international community is that East Jerusalem will be the capital of the independent Palestinian state.

This provocative decision constitutes a flagrant violation of the Palestinian people’s national rights and represents support for the Israeli occupation, threatening to undermine the possibility of a two-state solution and to provoke new conflicts both in Jerusalem and in Palestine, and more broadly throughout the region.

We believe that the international community has an obligation to defend its decisions and principles of law, to uphold the right of the Palestinian people to an independent and viable state. This is a critical time during which the UN and the entire international community – together with the EU as well – must demand in practice the immediate termination of the 50-year Israeli occupation, the recognition of the independent Palestinian state – with East Jerusalem as its capital – as a full member of the UN.

We reiterate that the Cypriot government must adopt a position based on principles and stand against this decision otherwise it will be exposed in the eyes of the Arab world, but also the overwhelming majority of the international community.

AKEL reaffirms its full unreserved solidarity with the Palestinian people, which it will intensify in a variety of ways. The Palestinian people, like all the peoples of our region, have the right to freedom and peace.

AKEL has submitted a relevant resolution to the Cyprus Parliament.

The PCP strongly condemns the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel today announced by the US President, a decision that represents explicit US support for Israel’s Zionist policy and a frontal aggression on the martyred Palestinian people and provocation of the Arab peoples, with dangerous and unpredictable consequences.

The PCP considers this decision – which is associated with the announced transfer of the US Embassy to Jerusalem – which is all the more serious when it is taken at a time when plans for a new military escalation in the region are becoming increasingly clear with the danger of an enormous confrontation, with consequences far beyond the Middle East.

The PCP considers that the Portuguese Government should- in respect to the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic and the decisions adopted by the Assembly of the Republic concerning the recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to the construction of the State of Palestine, on the pre- 1967 borders and with capital in East Jerusalem – unequivocally condemn the decision now taken by the US administration.

The US Administration’s decision – which openly violates International Law and numerous UN Security Council resolutions on the status of Jerusalem, starting with Resolution 478 that explicitly determines the withdrawal of the diplomatic missions from that city, as well as Resolution 2334 of December, 2016, which, condemning the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory, reiterates that the status of Jerusalem can only be settled by way of negotiation – constitutes a new and serious obstacle to the necessary negotiated settlement of the Palestinian question and highlights the hypocritical role of the United States regarding the just resolution of the conflict.

The decision now taken cannot be separated from the US Administration’s measures to sabotage the nuclear agreement with Iran; from Israeli military aggressions on Syrian territory; from the announcements of the constitution of a “NATO of the Middle East” aimed at Iran and involving dictatorships of the Gulf; from the conflicts instigated by Saudi Arabia, a historical ally of the USA, against Yemen and other countries of the region; the upsurge of terrorist attacks in countries like Egypt; from the persistent declarations by Israeli leaders threatening direct military conflicts with Iran and Lebanon – a framework of widespread degradation of the situation being fostered by the more adventurous and bellicose sectors of imperialism, faced with an increasingly clear defeat of their plans of destabilization and terrorist chaos in Syria, thanks to the resistance of the Syrian people and the help it has received from other countries and forces, now targeted by these same sectors.

The PCP considers that measures should be taken at UN level to condemn and deter the US administration from a decision that constitutes a provocation and a very serious step in the escalation of tension and conflict in the Middle East.

The PCP reaffirms its long-standing solidarity with the Palestinian people and its legitimate and heroic seven-decade struggle for the right to a sovereign and viable state on the pre-1967 borders and with its capital in East Jerusalem, and respect for the right of return of the Palestinian refugees that Israel’s policy of expansion and occupation of Palestine generated.

Considering that solidarity with the Palestinian people is now more than ever necessary, the PCP calls on all peace-loving forces to express their firm opposition, not only against the measures now announced by the US administration, but also regarding the plans and threats of escalation of military aggressions, which have already destroyed several countries in the Middle East and represent a very real and serious threat to peace in the region and in the world.

It is pointless to look for a strategy on the Palestinian issue behind the US President’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The US imperialism has generated a plethora of “projects” from outright occupation to “moderate Islam”, from the so-called “Arab Spring” to the “fight against terror”, which all fizzled out and caused the major imperialist power to lose ground. On top of such unhindered descension, the ongoing fratricide among the dominant powers of the US has added insult to injury. Trump’s Jerusalem initiative is an attempt to kill two birds with one stone, i.e. to allow the US take initiative in the region on the one hand and to provoke the region in order to save his own skin on the other.

This attempt is doomed to failure; it can result in nothing but another fiasco.

Jerusalem has a status specified by international agreements and United Nations documents. The “two-state solution” prescribed for the Palestinian issue identifies East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent state of Palestine.

The United States and Israel have sabotaged all attempts to proceed in this direction for many years. These interceptions meant planting bombs on the road to a solution. Now, these bombs will explode in the hands of those who have planted them.

First of all, declaring Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is not a decision that can gain recognition in the present state of world affairs. It is impossible to assemble a coalition with other imperialist powers, global and regional powers to legitimize such decision.

Secondly, the forces of peace are not as weak as they are supposed to be. Imperialism, which miscalculated the resistance against occupation in the Middle East, the secular and patriotic background of the region in recent years, is engaged in an attempt doomed to failure once again. The people of Palestine will resist. The forces of peace in Israel will resist. Peoples of the region who live in countries which are friendly to Israel and adherents and pawns of the US, will stand by the resistance.

Trump’s fantasy to kill many birds with one stone will certainly backfire; the illegitimate policies of the state of Israel will meet with the reaction and abomination of all humanity.

Communist Party of Turkey strongly condemns the US President’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and highlights that this is an utterly provocative attempt. Provocations can be circumvented only through the joint political action of peoples.

Enemies of the people have no place in this fight. The reactionary political powers in the region, firs and foremost the AKP, have no legitimacy whatsoever to take part in it. Tayyip Erdoğan is not embracing the seemingly anti-Israeli demagogy today for the first time. Erdoğan’s defiance is nothing but an empty threat. Just as it was years ago in Davos, during Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

The continuation of military cooperation between Turkey and Israel proved that this old demagogy was nothing but empty words. It became obvious as imperialism unleashed Turkey and Israel against Syria right off the bat. It became obvious as the massacres perpetrated by ISIS, which wreaked havoc on the region, gained the support of these countries. The fact that reactionism employs Islamist bigotry in Turkey and Jewish bigotry in Israel does not make any difference.

The fake reactions of the AKP and similar regimes in the region complement Trump’s sinister attempt. Provocation is welcomed with more provocation, and battle cries rang all around. Reactionism supposes that it can sustain its power by provoking peoples against each other.

In this very day, Communist Party of Turkey feels the necessity to underline the fact that reactionism is neither on the side of the Palestinian people, nor on the side of peace.

It is not impossible to make Jerusalem a center where peoples of diverse cultures, faiths and languages can and do live in peace side by side. Yet, it is time to remind ourselves that this objective can be attained only under socialism. The last assault of imperialism and Zionism shall not be an excuse to put other demands in front of the fight for peace and socialism. On the contrary, the fact that the threat of war could not be staved off so far proves that putting off the fight for socialism is a profound fallacy.

Communist Party of Turkey proclaims that the provocative decision about Jerusalem cannot gain validity in the face of the peoples’ will, and demands this dismal attempt to be revoked at once.

On this occasion, we once again demand to put an end to the occupation, to have an independent and sovereign state of Palestine to be established within 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, to have the Palestinian state accepted as a full member to the United Nations, to have Israeli military stop its invasion on Syrian and Lebanese territories, to have the blockade of Gaza lifted unconditionally and immediately, to have illegal Jewish settlements on Palestinian territories abolished at once, to have the Jewish settlers leave Palestine, to have the wall of shame surrounding Palestine torn down, to have Palestinian refugees who have been forced to leave their homes to be able to return their lands, and to have all political prisoners in Israeli prisons to be released.

We repeat our solidarity with the toiling masses of Palestine, the forces of peace in Israel, and all oppressed, patriotic peoples of our region, and we hail the working classes of Israel and Palestine and the revolutionary, communist and peace loving  forces of resistance who represent them.

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the decision of US President Donald Trump, to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to shift the US Embassy there from Tel Aviv.

The statement points out the invalidity of the trial and underlines the grave responsibilities of the EU, NATO and USA in the process by supporting the ultra-right and fascist forces in Ukraine.

Apart from annihilating the CPU, the Ukrainian authorities attempt to falsify and distort the country’s history and turn former Nazi collaborators into heroes, says the statement.

Decision of the CC of the KKE on the developments around the Cyprus Issue and the position of the KKE / Source: inter.kke.gr.

The Communist Party of Greece follows, studies and takes a responsible position on the Cyprus problem. It has made a significant contribution to the denunciation of the Turkish invasion-occupation, to highlighting the international character of the problem, to expressing internationalist solidarity with the working class and popular strata of Cyprus, the Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots, Armenians, Maronites and Latins.

The KKE fights against the negative, for the peoples, plans that are unfolding in the framework of the antagonisms of the bourgeois classes of Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, as well as the in the context of the negative and dangerous role played historically and still being played today by the USA, Britain, NATO and the EU as regards the resolution of the Cyprus problem.

The problem, unsolved for 42 years, of invasion-occupation has today passed into a new phase of intensification, due to the imperialist military operations in the region and the inter-imperialist contradictions around the oil and natural gas pipelines, the transport routes for commodities etc. Greece, Turkey and Cyprus all have bases installed, i.e. they have provided territory for US-NATO bases and British military bases, which up to today play an increased role in the region, in the imperialist military operations.

The KKE comes into conflict with bourgeois nationalism, which expresses the interests of the bourgeois class only. The fact that bourgeois parties and cells of the bourgeois state had and have every interest in fostering nationalist and chauvinist confrontations and hatred amongst the peoples, so that their plans can always be facilitated on the background of the inter-imperialist contradictions, or, in other instances, in fostering bourgeois cosmopolitanism, should not mislead the peoples. Both these choices (different sides of the same coin) serve in the end the partition in an open or camouflaged way.

The KKE, alongside issues of principle, has a particular interest, as since the beginning of the 1950s the Cyprus Issue has been closely connected to the foreign policy of the Greek governments and as a result, in various forms, directly and indirectly, acts as a factor that has an impact on internal developments in Greece.

The contradictions between the governments, as well as inside the EU and NATO, the various alliances that are created temporarily or not, have nothing to do with the interests of the peoples and the internationalist solidarity amongst them. Today, more so than before, these developments are leading very rapidly to the partition and the creation of two states in essence, a plan that has existed for many years and was temporarily avoided in 2004 with the vote against the “Annan Plan”, which included this trajectory.

The KKE was the only political force in Greece that decisively and clearly denounced the confederal, dichotomous “Annan Plan” and supported the NO of the Cypriot people in the relevant referendum of April 2004. It was the only party in the Greek parliament that organized mobilizations against this plan and due to the pressure exerted by it a joint statement in favour of the “Annan Plan” was prevented at the meeting of the party leaders called  by the then President of the Republic in Greece.

The KKE examines the developments with the workers’-people’s interests as its criterion and focuses its attention on the following issues related to the Cyprus problem.

First, the CC of the KKE notes that, despite the compromises of the Greek-Cypriot side, Turkey and the Turkish-Cypriot side recycle dangerous positions, which perpetuate the consequences of the invasion-occupation and promote the partition of Cyprus.

Specifically:

Consequently, the euphoria that is being fostered for a solution to the Cyprus Issue does not have a real basis. The problems, which have led to today’s situation, to the perpetuation of the occupation, remain in place.

The political line that the government of Cyprus is following operates within the framework that led to the dichotomous “Annan Plan”, which was neither just nor viable and its promotion entangled the peoples of Greece and Turkey in new hazards.

The expectations about a just and viable solution, which are being fostered by the governments of Greece and Cyprus, are not rooted in real evidence. The joint statement of Anastasiadis-Eroglu (February 2014) and the basic position for Two Constituent States moves in the direction of a confederal, dichotomous solution.

The systematic interventions of the USA and the EU in order to speed up the talks and for an agreement to be signed, aim at the creation of a fait accomplis, with the goal of paving the way for the exploitation of the energy deposits of the Island to the benefit of the bourgeois classes and the Euro-Atlantic plans.

They have as their aim the utilization of the geostrategic position of Cyprus in the competition of the USA, NATO and the EU with Russia, in the context of the sharpening of the more general inter-imperialist contradictions that have manifested themselves in our region, where the imperialist wars in Syria, Iraq, Libya are raging.

The developments are very dangerous. The competition is sharpening and is related to which energy plans will prevail regarding the exploitation and transport of the natural gas of Cyprus and of other energy sources from the South East Mediterranean to Europe.

The situation is being complicated by the rapprochement of Turkey-Israel, the plans of Greece and Cyprus with Israel and Egypt. The following monopoly groups are involved in all these plans: DELEK, EXXON Mobil – QATAR PETROLEUM, ENI – TOTAL, STATOIL and CAIRN – DELEK – AVNER etc.

The developments confirm that the course of the “Cyprus Problem”, in each historical phase, is connected to inter-imperialist competition over the natural resources and the utilization of the strategic geographical position of Cyprus and the bourgeois classes of Britain, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus bear particular responsibilities. The USA, NATO and the EU are deeply involved in and bear responsibilities for the creation, in sustaining and sharpening the Cyprus problem.

The accession of Cyprus to the EU did not only not lead to safeguarding a united Cypriot state entity to the benefit of its peoples as a whole, as the supporters of the European predatory alliance claimed, but in reality was proved to be an additional factor that creates difficulties, refuting expectations that were fostered over the years.

Second, in relation to the Bicommunal-Bizonal Federation, which today is being promoted as the “heart” of the solution of the Cyprus problem, we note that since the 1960s, the Turkish bourgeoisie in a methodical and planned way has attempted to create a fait accomplis for the creation of two states, utilizing the problems of the Zurich-London agreements, the position for the union of Cyprus with Greece, the activity of nationalist forces from both sides, and even more so the coup that was organized in Cyprus, under the responsibility of the military junta in Greece.

During the 1960s, the method of forming enclaves was used and Turkish-Cypriots were moved to specific areas in order to form a territorial Turkish-Cypriot zone, while the Turkish aims were completed with the invasion and occupation, with “Attila 1” and “Attila 2”, in July and August 1974 respectively.

After the invasion, the Turkish state worked systematically to impose the position for a Bicommunal-Bizonal Federation and to achieve for this position -as a compromise -to be included in the materials of the talks, as a basis on its part for a dichotomous, confederal solution, of two states.

In 1983, the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” was declared and the false state was utilized once again to create a fait accomplis.

In practice, it has been demonstrated that a tactical position, a “final compromise” of the Greek-Cypriot side, which led to the position for a Bicommunal-Bizonal Federation, was later transformed into a position of principle and foundation for the solution of the Cyprus Issue.

Third, the downplaying of the international character of the Cyprus problem, as a problem of invasion and occupation, the prioritization of internal (governance etc.) aspects over international ones (withdrawal of occupation troops, rights of intervention of other states, British bases etc.) are characteristic features of the developments.

Cyprus’ continuing membership of the EU, the maintenance of British bases and military occupation forces, which are connected with the most unfavourable international correlation of forces as regards the resolution of the Cyprus problem, are taken as a given during all the years the talks have been conducted.

The “Annan Plan” made it clear that the issue of state organization (two states) is not some narrow internal aspect, but is interconnected with issues to do with international aspects of the Cyprus problem, with the involvement of the EU and powerful imperialist states.

On the basis of the experience that has been accumulated, the developments on the Cyprus issue must be dealt with from the standpoint of the role that Cyprus and the constituent states could play in a region with intense inter-imperialist competition, ethnic contradictions etc., in conditions of imperialist war in Syria, Libya and Iraq, of serious problems in Greek-Turkish relations, in the framework of Turkey’s policy in the Middle East and Balkans and Greece’s strategy for geopolitical enhancement on behalf of the monopolies.

The dichotomous solution of the Cyprus issue is a worrying international development, because apart from the fact that it does not guarantee a viable solution in favour of the people of Cyprus, it can be practically connected with the new sharpening of the contradictions in the Eastern Mediterranean, with very negative consequences for the peoples in the region.

Another characteristic feature of the talks between Anastasiadis-Akinci is the practice that prioritizes issues .e.g., of governance, the economy, the EU etc, downplaying and leaving to the end of the talks issues that have a central position as regards the consequences of the Turkish invasion-occupation.

For example:

As regards the matter of guarantees, a discussion has begun that poses the issue of replacing the guarantor powers (Turkey, Greece, G. Britain) by an apparatus of the EU or NATO, or by a police, military force from various states or the maintenance of military forces from Turkey, perpetuating the problem.

It should be taken into account as regards this issue that three international treaties were agreed together with the Constitution of 1960.

–The “treaty of establishment” that also provides for the existence of two British bases.

— The “treaty of guarantee” that includes the rights of the guarantor powers to “take action with the sole aim of re-establishing the state of affairs established by the present Treaty.”

— The “treaty of alliance” that allows Greece and Turkey to «undertake to resist any attack or aggression, direct or indirect, directed against the independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus. »

Consequently, the opposition to the regime of guarantees must be accompanied by the struggle to cancel these treaties, something which has not been carried out by the Greek government or the Cypriot side.

Fourth, the KKE, immediately after the signing of the Joint Statement Anastasiadis-Eroglu in February 2014, focused its attention on criticizing the “two constituent states” which constitutes a confederal, dichotomous solution.

Aside from the federal state, each constituent state ( on the basis of the residual powers and in practice beyond) will have its own constitution, its own state apparatus, parliament, government and council of ministers, police, flag and anthem, its own state budget, its own policies for education, healthcare, pensions etc.

Consequently, the claim that the “Bicommunal-Bizonal Federation” with two constituent states safeguards one sovereignty, one citizenship and one international personality has no basis.

The “safety valves” that are being promoted through the powers of the federal state cannot objectively solve the problem. Even more so when Turkey is speaking precisely when it talks about a “partnership of two states” and declares that the Turkish-Cypriot state is the continuation of the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”.

In practice, the Turkish-Cypriot constituent state, connected by strong bonds to the Turkish bourgeois state, will implement its own political line and beyond what is provided for by the residual powers which will be given to it by the Federal Constitution.

On the basis of the two constituent states, the principle of “one international personality” will have no basis for application regarding difficult, complex international problems.

For example, how will this “principle” apply to Greek-Turkish relations, in the case of Turkey disputing of the Greek EEZ and continental shelf, the unacceptable positions about “grey zones”, the position of the Turkish President Erdogan that disputes the Treaty of Lausanne?

What will be its position, in the case of the deterioration of the situation in the Aegean Sea, in the South East Mediterranean?

The basis for the position of the KKE is the united interests of the working people of Cyprus as a whole, the necessity to coordinate the struggle of the working class and popular strata of Cyprus, Turkey and Greece, confronting the situation caused by the invasion-occupation from the standpoint of the class struggle in the direction of liberation from the shackles of capitalist exploitation.

Specifically, the position of the KKE on the Cyprus problem is determined by the following axes.

The Cyprus problem is an international problem of the invasion and occupation of the northern part of Cyprus by Turkey. It is marked by the intervention of NATO and the more general imperialist plans in the region. The international character also arises from the relevant decisions of the UN Security Council.

We are in favour of the withdrawal of the occupation forces and all the other foreign military forces from Cyprus and more generally we support the elimination of the consequences of the Turkish occupation, the end to the settlements, the right of refugees to return to their homes and the withdrawal of the settlers, taking into account social and humanitarian criteria.

We support the closure of the British bases and the abolition of the special status they have enjoyed for so many years.

–A united state formation: One state and not two states.

–The right to free movement, residence and stay of working class-popular families in all areas of the Island, without conditions and commitments, regardless of whether they are Turkish-Cypriots, Greek-Cypriots, Armenians, Maronites or Latins.

–Safeguarding of labour, social-security, social rights without discriminations. Respect for the right of all people to speak their language and for their children to be educated. Respect for the religious choices and cultural traditions.

The conflict against capitalist exploitation and the confrontation against the aggressiveness of capital, the struggle for goals that serve the contemporary needs of the people, even more so in the complex conditions of the sharpening inter-imperialist antagonisms and imperialist wars in our region, require the utilization of the experience that has been accumulated, the reinforcement of proletarian internationalism and the coordination of the  struggle of the working class and popular strata in Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and of other peoples in the region.

As a whole, the joint coordinated struggle of the working class and popular strata in Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and the other peoples of the region must be directed against the monopolies and the exploitative system, for workers’-people’s power and the socialization of their wealth, for disengagement from the imperialist organizations, from the EU, from NATO, the formation of international relations, which will be based on mutual benefit. This is the basis for equal economic relations to the benefit of the peoples of different state entities.

Source: inter.kke.gr.

The stance of the KKE is rooted in its deep internationalist solidarity with the working class and popular strata of Cyprus, the Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots, Armenians,  Maronites and Latins, and is opposed to the monopoly interests that are promoting a new dichotomous plan so that they can gain control of the natural resources without any impediments. The leadership of AKEL has made its choices and its agreement with the framework of the government and President, a framework supported by the USA and the EU and especially Britain, is mistaken, without prospects and is leading the Cypriot people into great hazards.

The people of Cyprus have the first say, which, just as in 2004, must reject the new dichotomous solution, but the problem is more complex. I should remind you that then, in 2004, the KKE was the only party in the Greek parliament that organized mobilizations against the “Annan Plan” and due to the pressure exerted by it a joint statement in favour of the plan was prevented at the meeting of the party leaders called then by the President of the republic in Greece.

However, it is apparent that the Cyprus Issue, from the moment that it is an international problem of invasion and occupation, is of interest to other peoples as well. Any development will also create faits accomplis for other peoples. In addition, as is well-known to you, various “solutions”, such as e.g. the one described in the Annan Plan, are not only unjust and non-viable, but entangle the peoples of Greece and Turkey in major hazards.

The basic axis of the KKE’s positions remains in place and is enriched, decisively highlighting the position for one and not two states.

The stance of the KKE reinforces the struggle of the Cypriot people for a Cyprus that is unified and independent.

It clearly can also be accepted by the Turkish-Cypriot workers. As you are aware, the Communist Party of Greece closely follows the developments and takes its positions in a responsible way after studying the Cyprus Problem. The KKE has not even for one moment forgotten to underline that the Cyprus problem is an international problem of the invasion and occupation of the northern section of Cyprus by Turkey. It is marked by the intervention of NATO and the more general imperialist plans of the region. It bears the mark if the bourgeois classes of Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, the nationalists, the capitalist system itself, which causes the imperialist wars. We have not retreated even one inch from the position for a united Cyprus, independent, with one single sovereignty, citizenship and international personality, without foreign bases and armies, without foreign guarantors and protectors, with the people sovereign and masters in their own land. Others have retreated and have been searching for many years for a solution inside the EU, to constituent states and with the alleged “friendly contribution” of the USA and Israel.

We, as the KKE, have a comprehensive view about what is in the people’s interests today. We believe that the way out is to be found in the struggle against the exploitative system, for workers’-people’s power and the socialization of their wealth, for disengagement from the imperialist organizations, from the EU and NATO, for the formation of conditions for international relations that will be based on mutual benefit. This is something that concerns every country and Cyprus and its people, and clearly the Turkish-Cypriots. This is related as a whole to the joint coordinated struggle of the working class and popular strata in Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and of other peoples in the region.

Now if you characterize the abandonment of the Bizonal Bicommunal Federation as a “new political position”, we should note that for the last two years we have stopped referring to it. I.e. from the moment when it became very clear that this term is being used as an alibi for a new dichotomous plan for two states, for “ghettoization”. The KKE, which was stably in favour of a unified Cyprus (one state not two), which consistently struggles against nationalism, has no option but to take a position against “bizonality” and two “constituent states”, which recycle the division of the people on an ethnic, linguistic, religious basis, and to express the necessity for the unified organization and joint struggle of the working class and popular strata of Cyprus, of Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots, Armenians, Latins and Maronites, against the bourgeois class, against the EU and NATO.

As dangerous as the fostering of a false euphoria is, i.e. that allegedly there exist conditions which will lead to a just solution for the Cyprus Issue, it is just as dangerous for the people to submit miserably to the current negative correlation of forces. The correlation of forces, however, can change and this can only happen if the peoples struggle, on the basis of their common class interests, if they come into conflict with the monopolies and capitalism. Submission to the negative correlation of forces leads to a stance that says “Kill me, Aga, and make me a saint.”[i]

In the decision of the CC of the KKE it is highlighted how the Bicommunal-Bizonal Federation was formed over time, which today is being promoted as the “heart” of the solution of the Cyprus problem. It is stressed that in the 1960s, the Turkish bourgeoisie in a methodical and planned way attempted to create a fait accomplis for the creation of two states, utilizing the problems of the Zurich-London agreements, the position for the union of Cyprus with Greece, the activity of nationalist forces from both sides, and even more so the coup that was organized in Cyprus, under the responsibility of the military junta in Greece. It notes how the method of forming enclaves was used and that Turkish-Cypriots were moved to specific areas in order to form a territorial Turkish-Cypriot zone, while the Turkish aims were completed with the invasion and occupation, with “Attila 1” and “Attila 2”, in July and August 1974 respectively. After the invasion, the Turkish state worked systematically to impose  the position for a Bicommunal-Bizonal Federation and to achieve for this position-as a compromise-to be included in the materials of the talks, as a basis on its part for a dichotomous, confederal solution, two states. In 1983, the “Turkish Republic of North Cyprus” was declared and the false state was utilized once again to create a fait accomplis. What has been demonstrated then? That in practice, a tactical position, a “final compromise” of the Greek Cypriot side, which led to the position for a Bicommunal-Bizonal Federation, was later transformed into a position of principle and foundation for the solution of the Cyprus Issue and is today being utilized to legitimize the invasion and occupation, through the creation of two constituent states. Life itself demonstrates how damaging this position is that leads to the division of the people of Cyprus, and to complications for the peoples of Greece, Turkey and the wider region. The dichotomous solution must be abandoned in the interests of the peoples and at the expense of the plans of the USA, EU, the bourgeois classes and the monopolies.

The KKE has a history of 100 years; it did not enter politics yesterday. It has a long history, with harsh and bloody struggles, which it continues today in the contemporary conditions, with the development of the class struggle, the people’s interests, the construction of a society without the exploitation of man by man, socialism-communism as its “compass». We oppose the participation of Communist Parties in bourgeois governments, in the management of the barbarity of capitalism and we struggle for its overthrow. Now, if some people state that “they love the KKE” but support capitalism, the EU and NATO, which the KKE fights against, it is obvious that they are doing so for their own reasons. And this also applies to those who state that they have the KKE “will forever be deeply rooted in our hearts”, but supported SYRIZA and its government, which implements the most barbaric and anti-people political line that Greece has seen in recent years.

We have confidence in the peoples, in their political criterion, their experience, which in the end “will put every rogue in their rightful place” and will sort “the wheat from the chaff”.

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