PARTIT KOMUNISTA MALTI: Joint Statement of Communist and Workers’ Parties: Solidarity with the people of Sudan

Thursday, April 4, 2019

Joint Statement of Communist and Workers’ Parties: Solidarity with the people of Sudan

Solidarity with the people of Sudan

The Communist and Workers’ Parties undersigning this statement condemn the continued repression of peaceful protesters in Sudan since 19th December 2018.

They note that a national state of emergency was declared in Sudan on 22 February by president Omar al-Bashir amidst the dictatorial regime’s continued attempts to suppress the mass popular protests.

This development has taken place against the backdrop of attempts by US imperialism and its reactionary allies in the region to find a way to rescue the regime through certain superficial changes in the composition of the government. All these conspiracies are an expression of political panic among imperialist and reactionary forces that fear the eventual victory of the Sudanese people and their aspirations for freedom, democracy, peace and social justice.

The democratic opposition forces in Sudan have strongly condemned these new repressive measures and called for continued mass and popular protests to achieve the goals of the Sudanese people. The Sudanese Communist Party has called for a strengthening in the resolve and unity of the opposition, towards preparing for the declaration of a general strike and subsequent campaign of civil disobedience.

In response to the declaration of the national state of emergency, despite the escalating repression meted out by the regime’s security forces, mass popular demonstrations have taken place in Khartoum and the main cities as well as towns all over Sudan. About 3000 people, among them over 200 women activists, are still languishing in the prisons and detention centres of the regime under harsh and inhumane conditions. They include 16 members of the Central Committee of the Sudanese Communist Party as well as scores of its cadres and members. Among the detainees are Comrade Mohamed Mokhtar al-Khatib, the political secretary of the party, and members of the leadership of the party: Masoud Al Hassan, Sidig Yousif, Ali Saeed, Hanadi Fadl, Faiza Nugud, Salih Mahmoud, Amal Gabralla, Mohamed Aburas, Hashim Mirghani, Osama Hassan, Seid Ahmed Al Khatib and Mokhtar Mahmoud.

The Communist and Workers’ Parties strongly condemn the bloody repression by the dictatorial regime and its security forces and support the just demands of the Sudanese people and their peaceful protest movement.

The Communist and Workers’ Parties demand the immediate and unconditional release of Comrade Mohamed Mokhtar al-Khatib and all the political detainees in Sudan.

SolidNet Parties

Communist Party of Albania

Algerian Party for Democracy and Socialism- PADS

Communist Party of Australia

Democratic Progressive Tribune, Bahrain

Communist Party of Bangladesh

Communist Party of Belgium

Workers' Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA)

Communist Party of Brazil

Brazilian Communist Party

Communist Party of Britain

Communist Party of Canada

Communist Party of Chile

Colombian Communist Party

Socialist Worker's Party of Croatia

AKEL, Cyprus

Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia

Communist Party in Denmark

Egyptian Communist Party

French Communist Party

German Communist Party

Communist Party of Greece

Hungarian Workers' Party

Communist Party of India

Communist Party of India [Marxist]

Iraqi Communist Party

Communist Party of Kurdistan-Iraq

Tudeh Party of Iran

Communist Party of Ireland

Workers' Party of Ireland

Communist Party, Italy

Jordanian Communist Party

Lebanese Communist Party

Communist Party of Luxembourg

Communist Party of Malta

Communist Party of Mexico

Popular Socialista APN, Mexico

New Communist Party of the Netherlands

Communist Party of Pakistan

Palestinian Peoples Party

Paraguayan Communist Party

Peruan Communist Party

Phillipine Communist Party (PKP-1930)

Communist Party of Poland

Portuguese Communist Party

Communist Party of the Russian Federation

Romanian Socialist Party

New Communist Party of Yugoslavia

Party Communists of Serbia

South African Communist Party

Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain

Communists of Catalonia

Syrian Communist Party

Communist Party of Swaziland

Communist Party of Sweden

Communist Party of Turkey

Communist Party of Ukraine

Communist Party USA

Communist Party of Venezuela

Other Parties

Galizan People’s Union (UPG)

Communist Party of South Sudan

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Some History

An organized Communist Party did not exist prior to 1969. Secret Communist cells existed in various periods from the 1920's onwards, but they were always small in number. Maltese communists militated either in the Communist Party of Great Britain, or in the Partito Comunista Italiano, or worked under cover within the Malta Labour Party, which was also infiltrated by the catholic clergy at that time, in an effort to prevent the Labour Party from taking a Marxist line, notably amongst these infiltrators was Mgr. Michael Gonzi, the future Archbishop of Malta and a faithful servant of the British Crown and a much bitter enemy of Malta’s Liberation Movement in Malta’s struggle for Independence in the late 1950's.
The Civil and ecclesiastical authorities were ever vigilant in their witch hunt, and this culminated in the 1933 sedition trails where a number of dockyard workers and intellectuals were imprisoned for the crime of possessing classical Marxist literature. This however proved to be a great setback for the progressive movement as it took years and years to get back on its feet again
. The major exponent of the bourgeoisie was the Nationalist Party, an irredentist party firmly believing that Malta was a part of Italy that had yet to be redeemed, from English occupation. Its leaders favored the Italian Language to Maltese, and openly shown sympathies towards Mussolini’s fascist Italian state. With the Second World War looming on the horizon the English colonial authorities sacked a Nationalist administration after winning an election with the aid of the Catholic Church who had imposed mortal sin on who ever voted for the Constitutional Party, a pro British Bourgeoisie party. This pro Italy position eventually led, to the internment of the Nationalist Party leadership on breakout of the war. After the Second World War it was the right wing turn now to suffer a setback. The Second World War changed completely the political scene in Malta; however the times were still difficult for the setting up of a Communist party.
At the Mayday celebrations of 1948, where in a dinner held by the Labour Party for the occasion. The English socialist anthem Scarlet Banner was sung by some leftists present of the at this event. This caused an incident which led to affidavits and statements by the leading members of the labour party in parliament and a witch hunt by the Catholic Church paper Lehen Is-Sewwa (The Voice of the Righteousness) and the British Colonial authorities.

DEMOCRACY DID NOT REALLY EXIST IN MALTA PRIOR TO 1971, not under the direct British Colonial rule, neither under the first Nationalist Administration after the 1964 independence. It was not possible to form a Communist Party. It was enough just to receive the "Soviet Weekly" from the United Kingdom, to find yourself watched and tailed by plainclothes policemen, and even taken to be interrogated by the Police. The Maltese Prime Minister in the early 1950’s took a film distributing company to court in order to stop the screening four Soviet films which the then, very harsh censors, had deemed them fit for viewing by the Maltese general public. Even Hollywood ran into trouble, if the story line included communists. One positive aspect was the cold war cinema films of the McCarthy era were banned in Malta. The Civil authorities went into hysteria at the word communist. The then regular Christmas tournament, organized by the Malta Football Association was stopped, because most the teams invited came from Eastern Europe. The catholic oligarchy led by the now Sir Michael Gonzi Archbishop of Malta with its’ network of Parish priests spying on each and every individual in each respective parish operating in a Gestapo fashion. The Main employment on the island depended on the Naval Dockyard, and on the other British Military Bases. The contradiction here was that, to declare oneself Communist would have been sheer madness, as these "devout" Catholics, would have starved you to death, while on the other hand Marxist Ideas spread amongst progressive workers, by the odd English Airmen or Sailors posted on the island.

In the last days of the Catholic hierarchy imposed Dr George Borg Olivier Nationalist administration, as in 1962 and 1966 general elections the church again made use of moral sanctions, now to safeguard its privileges it enjoyed during the colonial period, The Communist party was eventually set up, through the activism of Paul Agius who had returned to Malta, from Australia, who along with other Maltese comrades founded the Communist Party of Malta This event took place around 1969. The party for a short period operated underground but after 1971 when the Borg Olivier administration was finally defeated The Party came out into the open. The Party Membership started to grow Lillian Schiberras Anthony Vassallo, Anthony Baldachinno and others. Evarist Bartolo, Mario Vella, and Alfred Consiglio were amongst the early members
It is not possible to mention all here but many passed through party membership. During the 1970,s the party gave critical support from the left to the Dom Mintoff’s Labour Party administration progressive, anti imperialist policy. The Party supported the policy of neutrality and the demilitarization of Malta, At the time Malta was an important NATO Base. The Communist Party was not prepared to contest the General Elections in 1976 and in 1979 was in support of the closing down of all the military bases in Malta. In 1981.for various reasons, again the party could not contest in the general elections. During the 1980's the party embarked on the road towards electoral campaigns. The party started to publish a monthly newspaper "Zminijietna" and started to prepare for the evantuality of contesting. The Party was now going through its golden age as membership started to grow and things were looking up. On the eve of the 1987 elections Dom Mintoff now a backbencher in the Labour administration proposed amendments to the Maltese constitution, which were accepted unanimously. The electoral rules were changed to suit the two party system and it resulted that small parties now had no chance of surmounting the unofficial 17% threshold. The Central Committee failed to read the writing on the wall. Failed to withdraw from the fray, and contested the 1987 elections with disastrous results. After this debacle, the party went into a period of decline. The events in Eastern Europe of 1989 continued to give the party further blows, where now it was a struggle to survive and keep its archives.
In the mid 1990’s the party slowly started again on the road of being active once again.
NEWS FROM FRATERNAL PARTIES
Communist Festival in Copenhagen, Denmark
A Festival jointly organised by the Communist Party in Denmark (KPiD) and the Communist Party of Denmark (DKP) takes place on Saturday 15. August (12-23) and Sunday 16. August (12-18) in Norrebroparken in Copenhagen (near Nordbanegade). Bus 5A from Central Train Station. Lots of music, speakers from the 2 organising parties and from other organisations, political debates, displays, food, drinks and happiness - everything in favour of the 2 communist papers, Kommunist and Skub.
Everybody visiting Copenhagen are invited!

LINKS
http://www.icsbrussels.org/ICS/2009/Sci09_Available_Papers.htm
http://cubaveritas.blogspot.com/

http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=14368

http://wwwlavienglish.blogspot.com/2010/10/soviet-union-was-born-in-october-1917.html

http://aucpbenglishwebsite.blogspot.com/

http://inter.kke.gr/en/articles/Statement-of-77-Communist-and-Workers-Parties-against-the-Imperialist-Military-Attack-against-Syria/

http://communismgr.blogspot.com.mt

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PARTIT KOMUNISTA MALTI

Thursday, April 4, 2019

Joint Statement of Communist and Workers’ Parties: Solidarity with the people of Sudan

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