PARTIT KOMUNISTA MALTI: AKEL, Joint Declaration of Communist and Workers' Parties: SOLIDARITY YES - BLOCKADE NO. WE DEMAND THE IMMEDIATE LIFTING OF THE CRIMINAL US BLOCKADE ON CUBA

Saturday, April 18, 2020

AKEL, Joint Declaration of Communist and Workers' Parties: SOLIDARITY YES - BLOCKADE NO. WE DEMAND THE IMMEDIATE LIFTING OF THE CRIMINAL US BLOCKADE ON CUBA

SOLIDARITY YES - BLOCKADE NO

WE DEMAND THE IMMEDIATE LIFTING OF THE CRIMINAL US BLOCKADE ON CUBA

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread over the whole planet causing enormous human pain and loses, it tragically confirms the existence of two different approaches: one insisting to put profits and imposition of global control above public health and the wellbeing of their own people , and a different one putting people, their health and wellbeing, above all other interests.

Amidst Covid-19 pandemic, in different continentspeople become witnesses of the internationalism and solidarity exhibited by Cuba as it responds to calls for assistance by dispatching medical teams to tenths of countries. This humanitarian response is a continuation of decades of disinterested practice when Cuban doctors and nurses came to the help of countries stricken by natural disasters or epidemics.

Whilst the word “Solidarity” is echoed from different corners as the necessary approach for the whole planet to face the pandemic, the US choose to further harden the illegal economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on Cuba. At these critical times, when human lives are at stake, the US, by imposing the extraterritoriality clause of the Helms-Burton Law, obstruct personal protective equipment, ventilators, and test kits to be acquired or reach Cuba. This is the most gruesome manifestation of the criminal 60-year-long blockade and its consequences for the life and economic development of Cuba and its people.

Under these conditions we the undersigned Communist and Workers' Parties:

denounce the criminal US economic, commercial and financial blockade on Cuba

demand the immediate lifting of the illegal US blockade on Cuba

express our gratitude for Cuba's solidarity extended to peoples in need through its medical teams

reiterate our solidarity with the Communist Party of Cuba, the Cuban Government and People in their struggle to defend the socialist path of development

Solidarity YES - Blockade NO

The Joint Declaration is open for signatures
1. Communist Party of Argentina
2. Communist Party of Armenia
3. Communist Party of Australia
4. Party of Labour of Austria
5. Democratic Progressive Tribune, Bahrain
6. Communist Party of Bangladesh
7. Workers’ Party of Belgium
8. Communist Party of Belgium
9. Communist Party of Brazil
10.Brazilian Communist Party
11.Communist Party of Britain
12.New Communist Party of Britain
13.Communist Party of Canada
14.Communist Party of Chile
15.Communist Party of Colombia
16.Socialist Workers’ Party of Croatia
17.Communist Party of Cuba
18.AKEL – CYPRUS
19.Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
20.Communist Party in Denmark
21.Workers’ Party of Korea
22.Communist Party of Ecuador
23.Egyptian Communist Party
24.Communist Party of Finland
25.French Communist Party
26.DKP-German Communist Party
27.Communist Party of Greece
28.Hungarian Workers’ Party
29.Communist Party of India (Marxist)
30.Tudeh Party of Iran
31.Iraqi Communist Party
32.Communist Party of Kurdistan-Iraq
33.Communist Party of Ireland
34.Workers’ Party of Ireland
35.Communist Party of Israel
36.Communist Refoundation Party - Italy
37.Italian Communist Party -PCI
38.Communist Party –Italy
39.Jordanian Communist Party
40.Communist Party of Luxembourg
41.Communist Party of Malta
42.Communist Party of Mexico
43.New Communist Party of Netherlands
44.Communist Party of Norway
45.Communist Party of Pakistan
46.Palestinian People’s Party
47.Palestinian Communist Party
48.Paraguayan Communist Party
49.PKP-1930, the Philippine Communist Party
50.Communist Party of Poland
51.Portuguese Communist Party
52.New Communist Party of Yugoslavia
53.Romanian Socialist Party
54.Communist Party of the Russian Federation
55.Russian Communist Workers’ Party
56.South African Communist Party
57.Communist Party of Spain
58.Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain –PCPE
59.Communist Party of the Workers of Spain
60.Communists of Catalonia
61.Communist Party of Sri Lanka
62.Sudanese Communist Party
63.Communist Party of Swaziland
64.Communist Party of Turkey
65.Communist Party of Ukraine
66.Communist Party USA
67.Communist Party of Venezuela

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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

Saturday, April 18, 2020

AKEL, Joint Declaration of Communist and Workers' Parties: SOLIDARITY YES - BLOCKADE NO. WE DEMAND THE IMMEDIATE LIFTING OF THE CRIMINAL US BLOCKADE ON CUBA

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