Contents
- Two wars in Europe – One Conclusion
- Cuba champions a solution that guarantees the security and sovereignty of all
- NEHAWU host’s Anti- Imperialism and Eswatini Democratization Demonstrations
- CPS: Sunset Rallies Turn Up the Heat for Democracy and Freedom
- Two UNESWA students abducted, tortured and electrocuted by Mswati’s Police
- The crisis in Ukraine exposes the hypocrisy of Israel and its Zionist allies
- Libya crisis worsens as rival government takes oath
- France violated rights of children in Syria camps, UN says
- Palestine Calls on UNSC to Stop Ongoing Israeli Aggression against Jerusalem
- Israeli Forces Raze Palestinian Stores near Jerusalem
- Cuba Rejects European Blockade of Russia Today and Sputnik
- News Coverage Of Venezuelan Migration Crisis Advocates Invasion
- NATO’s Encirclement of Russia Threatens Peace, Warns Venezuela
- Urgent! Joint Statement of Communist and Workers’ Parties
Two wars in Europe – One Conclusion
24 February 2022
In 1999, at the heart of Europe, NATO, the USA, the EU, and their allies bombed Yugoslavia. Today, in 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine in an unfair and destructive war. Nevertheless, where are hidden all those who in 1991 were trying to persuade all the peoples that the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the overthrows in the countries of Eastern Europe were taking place in favor of international security and global peace?
The truth was different when there was the Soviet Union, there was a “counterbalance”, there was a powerful power truly in favor of peace and the peoples’ friendship. After the overthrows, the international balance of power drastically changed. NATO, USA, EU waged wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Armenia, etc. The real conclusion is one and only one. The overthrow of Socialism in Eastern European countries caused only afflictions.
The World Federation of Trade Unions, demands the end of the war in Ukraine now too. The Russian attack should stop now, the NATO should be dissolved now and a substantial dialogue must be held.
We assure the WFTU affiliated trade unions in eastern Ukraine that we support the efforts to ensure their right to decide alone for their present and their future. The WFTU was and remains against the fascist practices of the Ukraine government which is a puppet of the USA and NATO. The people of Russia, Ukraine, and all countries should make daily efforts to develop peace through relations of friendship and solidarity. Our common struggle against imperialist contradictions must and can stop the imperialist wars.
The secretariat
ReferenceCuba champions a solution that guarantees the security and sovereignty of all
27 February 2022
Statement by the Revolutionary Government
The U.S. determination to continue NATO’s progressive expansion towards the Russian Federation borders has brought about a scenario with implications of unpredictable scope, which could have been avoided.
United States’ and NATO’s military moves towards regions adjacent to the Russian Federation in recent months, preceded by the delivery of modern weapons to Ukraine, which together conform a military siege, are well known.
A rigorous and honest assessment of the current situation in Ukraine is not possible if the just claims of the Russian Federation to the United States and NATO and the factors that have led to the use of force and the non-observance of legal principles and international norms are not carefully assessed. Those principles and norms, fully subscribed and endorsed by Cuba, are an essential reference against hegemony, abuse of power and injustice, especially for small countries.
Cuba champions the International Law and is committed to the Charter of the United Nations. Cuba will always defend peace and oppose the use or threat to use force against any State.
We deeply regret the loss of innocent civilian lives in Ukraine. The Cuban people have had and continue to have a very close relationship with the Ukrainian people.
History will hold the United States accountable for the consequences of an increasingly offensive military doctrine outside NATO’s borders, which threatens international peace, security and stability.
Our concerns grow bigger after NATO’s recent decision to activate, for the first time, NATO Response Force.
Ignoring for decades the well-founded claims of the Russian Federation concerning security guarantees and assuming that Russia would remain defenseless in the face of a direct threat to its national security was a mistake. Russia has the right to defend itself. Peace cannot be achieved by sieging or cornering States.
The draft resolution on the situation of Ukraine not adopted in the Security Council on 25 February, which will be submitted to the General Assembly, was not intended as a genuine contribution to resolve the current crisis.
On the contrary, it is an unbalanced text, which does not take into account the legitimate concerns of all the parties involved. It does not acknowledge either the responsibility of those who instigated or deployed aggressive actions that hasten the escalation of this conflict.
We call for a serious, constructive and realistic diplomatic solution to the current crisis in Europe by peaceful means, ensuring the security and sovereignty of all, and regional and international peace, stability and security.
Cuba rejects hypocrisy and double standards. It should be recalled that in 1999 the United States and NATO launched a major aggression against Yugoslavia, a European country that was fragmented with a high cost in human lives in pursuit of geopolitical objectives, disregarding the UN Charter.
The United States and some allies have used force on many occasions. They have invaded sovereign states to bring about regime changes and interfere in the internal affairs of other nations that do not submit to their interests of domination and defend their territorial integrity and independence.
They are also responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians, which they call “collateral damage”, millions of displaced persons and for the enormous destruction of the geography of our planet because of their plundering wars.
Havana, 26 February 2022
ReferenceNEHAWU host’s Anti- Imperialism and Eswatini Democratization Demonstrations
02 March 2022
On the 2nd of March 2022 The National Education Health & Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU) as part of its international solidarity programme had a demonstration at the Embassy of the United States of America and High Commission of the Kingdom of Eswatini
The protest actions were part of the international campaign against imperialism, against the economic blockade in Cuba and against the regime financial blockade in Venezuela. The action was also for the democratization of the people of Swaziland against an aggressive Tinkundla regime.
The picket was attended by approximately 40 participants coming from NEHAWU, SACP, YCLSA, CPS, United Eswatini Diaspora, PUDEMO, SWALIMO, SSN and SPLN. The picket received messages of support from the structures present.
More pressure will be exerted on both the embassies moving forward.
CPS: Sunset Rallies Turn Up the Heat for Democracy and Freedom
3 March 2022
The struggle of the people of Swaziland for democracy, peace and freedom is rapidly intensifying, as frustration with the growing oppression of the Mswati regime and its opposition to any form of meaningful change increases.
The regime stubbornly adheres to the absolute rule of the monarch and continues to ban political parties, free media, and freedom of association. Over 100 people have been killed and many more wounded, tortured and detained during police and army clampdowns on freedom protests over the past year.
The CPS’s “Democracy Now” campaign has gained much headway and has been boosted by the “Turning Up the Heat” campaign, launched October 2021. The aim is to keep the momentum of defiance and protest buoyant and to channel the high-pressure frustrations that the people feel at the continued existence of the Mswati dictatorship.
The CPS is especially focusing on taking the “Turning Up the Heat” campaign to urban and rural communities hardest hit by poverty, oppression, exploitation and underdevelopment. It is these communities that have the most to gain from the liberation of the country from dictatorship and from empowerment through democracy.
The campaign was launched on 25 February this year in Matsapha, where the community responded positively to the calls for freedom and the release of political prisoners – and defiantly in the face of intimidation by the regime and police raids targeting the Mbhuleni, Buhleni, Luve, Lubulini and other communities.
The campaign is also the focus of Sunset Rallies, held on select days for activists to distribute leaflets, engage with local community members and encourage discussion of democracy and a progressive future for Swaziland.
The Sunset Rallies are so called because they are held in the early evenings when people are more easily reached in their communities, and because people’s power will see the sun set on the brutal Mswati regime.
The “Turning Up the Heat” campaign is essential in order to keep the hopes of communities alive and recruit activists, spread the message of freedom, and resist efforts by the police and army to silence the voices of protest.
The campaign and programme of Sunset Rallies will be ongoing and will be spread throughout the country. The aim is to widen the platforms of the rallies to include all elements of the pro-democracy movement, including trade unions and civil society organisations.
Two UNESWA students abducted, tortured and electrocuted by Mswati’s Police
1 March 2022
Two University of eSwatini (UNESWA) students were abducted, electrocuted and tortured by King Mswati’s police at the Mbabane Police Station.
The students were on their way to support incarcerated pro-democracy MPs Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube in their ongoing court case.
Siphiwayinkhosi Mndzebele and Mncedisi Mngometulu were abducted by King Mswati’s Operational Support Services Unit (OSSU)at Malagwane Hill.
The two students are alleged to have blocked the Malagwane road.
Speaking to this Swaziland News, Wakhile Lukhele, the Secretary General of the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS) confirmed the matter.
“I’m at Mbabane Police Station, under the Criminal Investigation Department with the two students and I’m still waiting for the police to clarify whether they will charge the students with any crime or not”, he said.
ReferenceThe crisis in Ukraine exposes the hypocrisy of Israel and its Zionist allies
25 February 2022
I n Scotland, when someone is on shaky ground or skating on thin ice they are said to be hanging by a "shoogly peg". That is exactly where Israel has found itself over the crisis in Ukraine as the hypocrisy of Tel Aviv and its Zionist allies is exposed for the whole world to see.
According to them all — the US, the UK, the EU and Israel itself — Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty are sacrosanct. Why, though, do each and every one of them not apply the same principle to Palestine and the Palestinians? Aren't the people of that occupied land not entitled to their own territorial integrity and sovereignty without the reality of daily armed incursions by the aggressively-colonial state of Israel, a country which has never declared where its borders lie because its founding Zionist ideology demands its constant expansion into neighbouring counties, not just the land of Palestine?
Until the UN and NATO roll out a level playing field when it comes to human rights, sovereignty and respect for borders, we can expect to witness more invasions and land grabs as powerful states continue to act with impunity.
The old adage that truth is the first casualty of war is playing out before our eyes. It is hard to know what is really happening in Ukraine, with Russia Today taking an obvious pro-Moscow position, while the BBC has gone "full tonto" to use the unfortunate, testosterone-filled, macho language of Britain's Defence Minister Ben Wallace. Trustworthy sources of news are thin on the ground.
Russian President Vladimir Putin insists that his army is lending support to the breakaway republics of Donbass and Lugansk, but he would say that wouldn't he? Meanwhile, his US counterpart, Joe Biden, is accusing the Russian leader of a full-scale invasion, but he would say that, wouldn't he? With reckless calls on all sides inciting other powers to take military action, where is this heading?
READ: The crisis in Ukraine and its implications for the Arab countries
The people of Taiwan must be very worried, in case China follows Russia's example and invades the island, which Beijing believes is legitimate Chinese territory. On Thursday, fighter jets were scrambled because Chinese aircraft were in Taiwanese airspace.
The Palestinians have every right to ask why Western leaders, led by Biden, are imposing crippling sanctions on Moscow and threatening more retaliatory action if it continues with its invasion of Ukraine, but don't take similar action against Israeli colonialism. These are the same leaders, remember, who turn a blind eye to Israel's ongoing theft of Palestinian land, and its military offensives against the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip. Israel stands accused of implementing the crime of apartheid in occupied Palestine by B'Tselem, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International; committing war crimes in Gaza; and using white phosphorous and other prohibited weapons in the heavily-populated civilian areas of the Strip. Moreover, the Zionist state has still to be held to account for bombing the Associated Press media centre in Gaza.
Without a hint of irony, though, the shameless government in Tel Aviv announced this week that, "Israel supports Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty." The hypocrisy is breathtaking.
Israel's involvement in Ukraine goes beyond mere rhetoric. It has never been too fussy about who it sells weapons to, but this could come back to haunt the Zionist state; the neo-Nazi Azov battalion, which has been on the front line in Ukraine's war with pro-Russia separatists, is armed to the teeth with Israeli weapons. The battalion is one of many volunteer brigades to fight alongside the Ukrainian army in the east of the country, and has a reputation for brutality.
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine rise on the shared border – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]
There are private concerns in the corridors of power that if the fighting against the separatists comes to an end, then the next big threat to the Ukrainian government and the state itself will be the far-right extremists in the Azov battalion. Their openly neo-Nazi leanings are there for everyone to see. Many of the Azov fighters are anti-Semitic, Holocaust-deniers and admirers of Adolf Hitler, but we already know that Israel is more tolerant of the odious views of those who buy its weapons than, say, promoters of peace and anti-war supporters like the former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in Britain.
The current Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer is leading a witch hunt against party members who are pro-Palestine and anti-Israel, but has no qualms about backing Ukraine, neo-Nazi warts and all, just like his warmongering rival, Prime Minister Boris Johnson. They have both adopted pro-Ukraine postures this week, and yet have not only kept quiet about apartheid Israel's ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians, but also declared their active support for the Zionist state.
READ: Putin's aggression would be impossible without the US creating a world safe for autocracy
When we look at the West's complicity over the humanitarian disasters in Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and Palestine, it's no surprise that Starmer and Johnson have toed the Washington line like the dutiful lapdogs that they are. All of the aforementioned Muslim countries are victims of NATO aggression directly or indirectly; and all are victims of US imperialism.
This isn't about taking sides or picking Putin over Biden; I am no fan of either. It's about peace, which, from where I'm standing, looks to be a million miles away from both the White House and the Kremlin.
Clearly, the US has not lost its appetite for war, despite its humiliating defeat at the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan last year. Indeed, the American economy thrives on conflicts around the world. The US has around 750 military bases in 80 countries, and Biden is happy to surround Russia with NATO bases and NATO-aligned countries. Putin has grown increasingly agitated about this, and has made his feelings known. Back in December, the Russian leader initiated talks with America to diffuse the situation. The response from Washington was to kick sand in Putin's face, the least diplomatic course of action when dealing with a leader whose ego is the size of Red Square. But maybe Biden planned it this way.
In the meantime, Palestinians can only look on in despair and wonder what it will take for the West to stop, pause and consider their territorial rights and sovereignty with the same compassion shown to the people of Ukraine. If, as former Prime Minister Theresa May said in Westminster the other day, it is important to stand up to Russia in "defence of democracy", then surely that noble principle should be applied everywhere, Israeli-occupied Palestine included. It is hypocritical to do otherwise.
ReferenceLibya crisis worsens as rival government takes oath
3 March 2022
A standoff between two rival governments in Libya worsened on Thursday with the risk of fighting or territorial division, as the parliament in the east swore in a new administration while the incumbent in Tripoli refused to cede power, Reuters reports.
Addressing the parliament after taking the oath of office, Fathi Bashagha said he was studying all options to take over in Tripoli. The present Prime Minister there, Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah, has said he will not hand over control.
Armed groups affiliated with both sides have mobilised in the capital and foreign forces, including from Turkey and Russia, remain entrenched in Libya nearly 18 months after a ceasefire ended the last major bout of warfare.
Underlining the tense situation, Bashagha's office has accused Dbeibah of using force to try to stop his cabinet reaching Tobruk for the parliament session, by closing air space and seizing three ministers who tried to travel by land.
Dbeibah's government has not responded to those claims, though airline sources said domestic flights were not operating and a statement from his Defence Ministry warned against any armed convoy moving without permission.
Meanwhile, after National Oil Corp said bad weather stopped exports, Dbeibah's Oil Minister rejected the explanation and accused the company of undermining security, a sign of the stakes around Libya's 1.3 million barrels per day output.
READ: Libyans are angry over their Foreign Minister condemning Russia
The United Nations cast doubt overnight on the validity of the parliament's effort to install Bashagha, saying it was concerned by reports that Tuesday's vote of confidence "fell short of the expected standards".
The position of international powers will be key in the coming tussle for control of Libya, with a risk of renewed war after a year and a half of comparative peace between major factions battling for control of the oil-rich State.
Groups located in the main oil producing regions have, meanwhile, warned they may block off Libya's energy exports, which amount to 1.3 million barrels per day.
Crisis
Libya has had little peace or security since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, and it split in 2014 between rival governments based in Tripoli in the west, and in the east where the parliament is based.
Neither the political nor the military coalitions that are crystallising now exactly match those that fought from 2014 until a 2020 truce, but any new conflict would again likely pit eastern forces against a combination of western groups.
Dbeibah's government was put in place a year ago through a UN-backed peace process that was aimed at resolving political problems through an election, but the vote did not take place amid arguments over the rules.
Since then, the parliament has tried to take control of the process by saying Dbeibah's term had expired and setting a course towards a referendum on an altered constitution, and then elections in 2023.
Dbeibah has rejected the parliament's stance and says he is planning to hold national elections in June. Both sides blame each other for the failure of December's election, and accuse each other of lacking legitimacy.
The parliament was elected in 2014 and mostly backed the eastern forces of Khalifa Haftar, which laid partial siege to Tripoli from 2019 – 20, destroying much of the city in an attempt to wrest it from the then internationally recognised government.
The United Nations Secretary General's spokesperson said in a statement that there were reports that Tuesday's vote did not meet standards of transparency and procedure, and of acts of intimidation before the session. The parliament spokesperson has denied there was wrongdoing.
The United Nations said the main focus now should be on renewing the push for elections. UN Libya adviser, Stephanie Williams, will soon invite the parliament and an opposing political body, the High Council of State, for talks.
The designated Economy Minister in Bashagha's government, Jamal Shaaban, said he would not join the new administration over doubts about Tuesday's voting process.
ReferenceFrance violated rights of children in Syria camps, UN says
3 March 2022
The UN Child Rights Committee said France has violated the rights of French children by leaving them in Kurdish-held camps with inhuman conditions, a UN watchdog reports.
According to the report, the UN Child Rights Committee ruled that France has the responsibility and power to protect the French children in the Syrian camps against an imminent risk to their lives by taking action to repatriate them.
"The prolonged detention of the child victims in life-threatening conditions also amounts to inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment," report added.
The report was published by 18 independent experts monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, after they issued the research on three cases involving 49 French children held in Kurdish-controlled camps in Syria's north-east.
During 2014-2016, relatives of suspected people in Syria, including children, were kept in a number of camps in the region, the largest of which is Al-Hol with around 56,000 displaced people and refugees, according to United Nations.
ReferencePalestine Calls on UNSC to Stop Ongoing Israeli Aggression against Jerusalem
2 March 2022
Palestine has called on the UN Security Council to assume its responsibilities in stopping the ongoing Israeli aggression against the occupied city of Jerusalem, Anadolu reported.
A statement issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the international community to free itself from the square of formal condemnations and to start deterrent actions and measures.
It also called to put an end to Israel’s colonial plans against the city, as well as its indifference to international law, international humanitarian laws, and to force Tel Aviv to comply with the relevant UN resolutions.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned Israel’s escalation of attacks against the holy city, its citizens and its Islamic and Christian sanctities and described them as an integral part of the open war waged by the “Israeli occupation on the occupied city, with the aim of completing its Judaization”.
Earlier on Monday, Israeli occupation forces forcefully dispersed Palestinians gathered at East Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate to mark the Prophet (peace be upon him)’s ascension, the Israa and Miraj.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said 31 Palestinians were injured during the Israeli forces’ attack on citizens, including an 11-year-old girl who has special needs.
ReferenceIsraeli Forces Raze Palestinian Stores near Jerusalem
2 March 2022
Israeli occupation authorities razed Palestinian stores on Wednesday in the town of Hizma, near Jerusalem, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
Mayor of Hizma, Nofan Salahaddin, said that a sizable Israeli police force escorted bulldozers to the main Hizma Street, where the heavy machinery re-demolished 10 commercial structures, reducing them to rubble and depriving 13 families of their source of livelihood.
The structures were first demolished some two months ago purportedly for being built in an area under Israeli control.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation authorities demolished a commercial structure in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina.
Police officers and municipal staff escorted a bulldozer to the neighborhood and tore down an office and a concrete pump truck parking lot belonging to the Kiswani family.
They cordoned off the area, preventing news reporters from accessing it. They brutally assaulted members of the Kiswani family who attempted to prevent the demolition and detained a member.
Using the pretext of illegal building, Israel demolishes houses on a regular basis to restrict Palestinian expansion in occupied Jerusalem.
At the same time, the municipality and government build tens of thousands of housing units in illegal settlements in East Jerusalem for Jews with a goal to offset the demographic balance in favor of the Jewish settlers in the occupied city.
ReferenceCuba Rejects European Blockade of Russia Today and Sputnik
3 March 2022
The ban also affected "There Goes It to Y'All!" (Ahi Les Va!) a program broadcast by journalist Inna Afinogenova and watched by millions of Latin Americans.
On Thursday, Cuba’s Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez rejected the European Union (EU) blockade to outlets Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik amid the Ukraine-Russian armed conflict.
"With this decision, the EU limited the access to information and communication technologies for millions of citizens at a time of information contingency," Rodriguez tweeted.
On Tuesday, the US vetoed these media broadcasts since it considered that they were allegedly part of the Russian "war machine". Shortly after and on the same basis, Google Europe and Meta -the company owning Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp- blocked access to these media from their platforms.
Rodriguez considered this policy a paradox because these companies have previously protected the manipulation of information and the proliferation of discriminatory and hateful messages.
"The EU cannot justify this attitude either since it constantly does everything in its power to defend its geopolitical interests," he recalled, stressing that several European countries have provided Ukraine with arms to attack the Russian army.
Feb. 24, 2022, President Vladimir Putin authorized "a special military operation" in Ukraine to contain the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) expansion towards Russian borders.
Although the Cuban government recognized the threats prompted by the NATO expansion, it lamented the escalation of the conflict and the loss of civilian lives in both armies' military attacks.
ReferenceNews Coverage Of Venezuelan Migration Crisis Advocates Invasion
28 February 2022
"The mainstream media should expose the xenophobia to which our citizens are subjected abroad," President Maduro stressed, arguing that Venezuela hosts over 12 million migrants.
On Monday, President Nicolas Maduro denounced before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that the mainstream media coverage of the Venezuelan migration crisis advocates a military invasion to overthrow the Bolivarian government.
“Such coverage is biased since it does not show the constant xenophobia to which our citizens are subjected abroad nor the fact that Venezuela currently hosts over six million Colombians who fled the armed violence prevailing in their country,” Maduro stressed.
He ratified his government will increase the number of flights established to repatriate migrants who desire to come back to Venezuela as part of the social program "Return to Homeland", through which over 27,000 citizens living abroad have already returned to this Latin American country.
Maduro also denounced that the U.S., the European Union (EU), and the U.K. imposed 503 coercive measures to slow Venezuela’s development and destabilize its economy.
Such sanctions comprise the seizure of 31 tons of gold belonging to Venezuelan reserves by the Bank of England, the freezing of over US$1 billion from the Venezuelan State by the Bank of Portugal, and the unauthorized transfer of US$342 million to a U.S. Treasury Department account.
"These countries use our seized assets countries to finance criminal actions against Venezuela,” Maduro recalled, adding that this strategy also prevents his administration from having resources to buy vaccines, food, and medical supplies to fight COVID-19. “Nevertheless, sanctions have been fruitless since 80 percent of the Venezuelan population has already been immunized against the coronavirus and 97 percent of the COVID-19 cases have been fully recovered,” he stated.
ReferenceNATO’s Encirclement of Russia Threatens Peace, Warns Venezuela
26 February 2022
Peace and tranquillity are threatened by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's (NATO) efforts to encircle and persecute Russia, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia told Sputnik Agency in an interview.
We reject NATO's determination to persecute, encircle, encircle and threaten the tranquillity and peace of the entire region," the minister said.
NATO, he stressed, has sought a conflict with Moscow with a dynamic "similar to the Cold War-era."
DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION
Far from providing solutions for peace, Plasencia said, NATO has become a "warlike forum".
Given this, the Venezuelan minister stressed that he advocates mechanisms that build spaces for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve conflicts.
"We must insist on what we have said from the beginning: diplomacy must be the way to resolve these situations of disagreement," he said.
RIGHT TO DEFENCE
However, he said that NATO's threats were unacceptable and Russia had the right to defend itself.
"We have already said that we support the Russian government and the Russian people in their right to defend their peace, their tranquillity, the right of the Russian people and the Russian government to offer guarantees of security to their population and even a certain commitment to guarantee peace and tranquillity in the region," he said.
The Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, territories that revolted against the Ukrainian government in 2014 and were officially recognized as sovereign countries by Russia on Tuesday, requested military assistance from Moscow to stop Ukrainian shelling that both entities say has intensified since the middle of this month.
President Putin announced on Thursday that in response to this request for assistance, Russia launched a special military operation on Ukrainian territory. According to the president, one of the main goals of the operation is the "demilitarisation and denazification" of Ukraine.
SANCTIONS
Numerous countries strongly condemned Russia's military operation in Ukraine.
The United States, Canada, Japan, and the European Union countries decided to impose new sanctions on Russia over the situation in Ukraine, targeting government representatives, including Putin himself, and its banking, energy, aviation, and space sectors.
The sanctions, Plasencia said, are absurd and ineffective, and he said he was confident that Russia would overcome them with the support of its allies.
"We are convinced that Russia will come out of this absurd and irresponsible imposition well, that it will not harm it and that, furthermore, Russia will be able to build a path of progress, of peace, of happiness, always with the support of its allies, of its friends, of the countries with which it has a strong, historic relationship," he said.
MINSK AGREEMENTS
The Venezuelan foreign minister said that the Minsk Agreements were the way to guarantee peace in the region and accused Ukraine of having broken them.
"The Ukrainian government has disrespected and has not applied the provisions of the Minsk Agreements, which guaranteed tranquillity, which guaranteed stability, which guaranteed a path to understanding between neighboring states, Russia and Ukraine," the minister said.
The Minsk Agreements, signed in September 2014 and February 2015, laid the foundations for a political solution to the conflict but have not led to an end to the violence that caused, according to UN estimates made before the Russian operation began more than 14,000 deaths.
President Putin declared that the recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics renders the Minsk Agreements null and void.
ReferenceUrgent! Joint Statement of Communist and Workers’ Parties
No to the imperialist war in Ukraine!
An independent struggle is needed against monopolies and bourgeois classes, for the overthrow of capitalism, for the strengthening of the class struggle against imperialist war, for socialism!
1. The Communist and Workers’ Parties signing this Joint Statement are opposed to the imperialist conflict in Ukraine, which constitutes one of the consequences of the tragic situation for the peoples shaped after the overthrow of socialism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Both the bourgeois and the opportunist forces, which for years have fought against the USSR and recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of its dissolution, silencing the fact that the restoration of capitalism meant the dismantling of historic workers’ and people’s achievements and brought the peoples of the USSR back to the era of class exploitation and imperialist wars, are completely exposed.
2. The developments in Ukraine, which are taking place in the framework of monopoly capitalism, are linked to the US, NATO, and EU plans and their intervention in the region in the context of their fierce competition with capitalist Russia for the control of the markets, raw materials, and transport networks of the country. These pursuits are concealed by imperialist powers, which are in conflict promoting their own pretexts such as “defending democracy”, “self-defence”, and one’s right to “choose their alliances”, the compliance with the UN or OSCE principles, or supposedly “fascism”, while deliberately detaching fascism from the capitalist system that gives rise to and utilizes it.
3. We denounce the activity of fascist and nationalist forces in Ukraine, anti-communism and the persecution of communists, the discrimination against the Russian-speaking population, the armed attacks of the Ukrainian government against the people in Donbas. We condemn the utilization of reactionary political forces of Ukraine, including fascist groups, by the Euro-Atlantic powers for the implementation of their plans. In addition, the anti-communist rhetoric against Lenin, the Bolsheviks, and the Soviet Union to which the Russian leadership resorts to justify its own strategic plans in the region, is unacceptable. However, nothing can tarnish the enormous contribution of socialism in the Soviet Union, which was a multinational union of equal Socialist Republics.
4. The decision of the Russian Federation to initially recognize the “independence” of the so-called “Peoples’ Republics” in Donbas and then to proceed to a Russian military intervention, which is taking place under the pretext of Russia’s “self-defence”, the “demilitarization” and “defascistization” of Ukraine, was not made to protect the people of the region or peace but to promote the interests of Russian monopolies in Ukrainian territory and their fierce competition with Western monopolies. We express our solidarity with the communists and the peoples of Russia and Ukraine and we stand on their side to strengthen the struggle against nationalism, which is fostered by each bourgeoisie. The peoples of both countries, who lived in peace and jointly thrived in the framework of the USSR, as well as all other peoples have no interest in siding with one or another imperialist or alliance that serves the interests of the monopolies.
5. We highlight that the illusions fostered by bourgeois forces claiming that there could be a “better security architecture” in Europe by EU intervention, NATO “without military plans and aggressive weapon systems in its territory”, a “pro-peace EU”, or a “peaceful multipolar world”, etc are highly dangerous. All these assumptions have nothing to do with reality and are misleading for the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist struggle, seeking to cultivate the perception that “peaceful imperialism” may exist. However, the truth is that NATO and the EU, like any capitalist transnational union, are predatory alliances with a deeply reactionary nature that cannot become pro-people and will continue to act against workers’ and people’s rights and the peoples; that capitalism goes hand in hand with imperialist wars.
6. We call on the peoples of the countries whose governments are involved in the developments, especially through NATO and the EU but also Russia, to struggle against the propaganda of the bourgeois forces that lure the people to the meat grinder of imperialist war using various spurious pretexts. To demand the closure of military bases, the return home of troops from missions abroad, to strengthen the struggle for the disengagement of the countries from imperialist plans and alliances such as NATO and the EU.
7. The interest of the working class and the popular strata requires us to strengthen the class criterion for analyzing the developments, to chart our own independent path against monopolies and bourgeois classes, for the overthrow of capitalism, for the strengthening of the class struggle against imperialist war, for socialism, which remains as timely and necessary as ever.
SolidNet Parties signing the Joint Statement Communist Youth Organisations signing the Joint Statement
1. Algerian Party for Democracy and Socialism
2. Communist Party of Azerbaijan
3. Party of Labour of Austria
4. Communist Party of Bangladesh
5. Communist Party of Belgium
6. Communist Party of Canada
7. Communist Party in Denmark
8. Communist Party of El Salvador
9. Communist Party of Finland
10. Communist Party of Greece
11. Communist Party of Kurdistan-Iraq
12. Workers Party of Ireland
13. Socialist Movement of Kazakhstan
14. Socialist Party of Latvia
15. Communist Party of Malta
16. Communist Party of Mexico
17. New Communist Party of the Netherlands
18. Communist Party of Norway
19. Palestinian Communist Party
20. Communist Party of Pakistan
21. Paraguayan Communist Party
22. Peruvian Communist Party
23. Philippines Communist Party [PKP 1930]
24. Communist Party of Poland
25. Romanian Socialist Party
26. South African Communist Party
27. Communist Party of the Workers of Spain
28. Sudanese Communist Party
29. Communist Party of Swaziland
30. Communist Party of Sweden
31. Syrian Communist Party
32. Communist Party of Turkey
33. Union of Communists of Ukraine
1. Youth Section of the Party of Labour of Austria
2. Young Communists of Belgium
3. Communist Youth of Bolivia
4. Communist Youth Union, Czech Republic
5. Communist Youth of Denmark
6. Communist Youth of the Communist Workers' Party, Finland
7. Union of Communist Youth, France
8. Communist Youth of Greece
9. Communist Youth of Guatemala
10. Workers Party Youth, Ireland
11. Front of the Communist Youth, Italy
12. Front of the Communist Youth, Mexico
13. Communist Youth Movement, Netherlands
14. Democratic Students Federation, Pakistan
15. Democratic Youth Front, Pakistan
16. Paraguayan Communist Youth
17. Union of Socialist Youth, Romania
18. Revolutionary Communist Youth League (Bolsheviks), Russia
19. Collectives of Young Communists, Spain
20. Socialist Students Union, Sri Lanka
21. Socialist Youth Union, Sri Lanka
22. Communist Youth of Sweden
23. Leninist Communist Youth Union of Tajikistan
24. Communist Youth of Turkey
25. League of Young Communists USA
26. Communist Youth of Venezuela
Issued by NEHAWU International Service Centre
For more information, please contact Head Office