The Communist Party condemns the killing of three Kurdish activists

The Communist Party of Malta joins in solidarity with other communist parties and the European Left Block to condemn the killing of three Kurdish activists in Paris . One of them Sakine Cansiz, was the founder of the PKK (Worker’s Party of Kurdistan).

 

“The three Kurdish activists will still be remembered for their determination and work towards sovereignty of the Kurdish territory, peace and justice. They have worked for a long time at European level and contributed towards the formation of the European Parliament's Kurdish Friendship Group”.

 

The Communist Party of Malta said that “the Kurdish people are still paying a heavy price for their commitment to peace and justice. The European Union should stop labeling the Kurdish as terrorists, and instead should exert more pressure on the Turkish Administration to respect the Kurdish people and their culture and work towards autonomy.

 

“Our condolences go towards the families of the victims, the people as well as their leaders”, concluded the Communist Party of Malta.

 

The Communist Party of Malta welcomes reduction of energy tariffs.

 

The Communist Party of Malta views the political debate with regards energy as a positive one. “This means, that today there is a political consensus that the present energy tariffs, as they are, are affecting families negatively”.  

 

“Till date the only measures implemented by the centre-right government that has just resigned were high priced energy tariffs; a non-sense privatisation of the gas service; investment in condemned heavy fuel oil, and a minimum investment in renewable energy of 0.5%”.    

 

“On international level, the only energy system adopted by the ruling classes is mostly based on oil, gas, coal, and nuclear. This is reflected also in the European energy grid. Many countries, such as Germany , China and India are nowadays going back to the use of coal. This shows that the monopolistic capitalist system based on maximisation of profits is not sustainable and has entered into a deep crisis”.     

   

The Communist Party of Malta appeals to the political class that any solution to the energy problem should steer away from privatisation, protects energy sovereignty, and affordability of basic consumption. Also solutions should not involve redundancy of Enemalta employees.   Investment in renewable energy should be more on a national basis. 

The National Energy Policy lacks Social Justice.

The Communist Party of Malta views the Government’s national energy policy as one that lacks social justice. Once again the government has failed to address the increasing problem of ‘fuel poverty’.

“The rise in energy tariffs, especially on  the basic consumption of gas and electricity is putting families in a precarious financial situation where in order to pay the energy bills their standard of living is being lowered. Last year a record number of old persons had to be hospitalised as they could not afford to heat their residence.”

The Communist Party once again appeals for a social policy with regards to domestic energy. “Government should conduct a study, on the lines of the Caritas report to quantify the necessary basic amount of energy consumption needed by families.   The Party insists that the basic consumption of energy should be safeguarded with a fixed reasonable rate, while waste of energy should be heavily penalised.” 

“The policy projected by the Government where energy production remains under state control is positive, as this ensures more stability and security in energy tariffs.”

“On the other hand we disagree with the Government’s policy with regards ‘Solar energy Farms’, as it is a vague policy that lacks social justice. The Party believes that the state should invest in renewable energy from public funds, so that all families could benefit from this type of investment. To date the national policy on energy has discriminated against the have-nots.”

“The €50 million government’s proposed reduction in the income tax for the well off could have made good for a capital investment in renewable energy that benefits all the social strata.”

Budget for the well off.

 

The Communist Party of Malta notes that the measures announced in the Budget 2013 are mainly aimed at facilitating the well to do sectors of society. This neoliberal concept will widen the social gap between those who have and those who have not. 

 

"The tax and financial benefits announced from 35% to 25% favour only the well off in society to the detriment of all the other categories, such as pensioners, workers on low and middle income, single mothers and disabled persons," stated the Party.

 

"Again the government failed to introduce sufficient measures to tackle the rise in poverty in Malta. On the other hand the Party praises the government’s decision to continue to subsidise energy to prevent any increases in tariffs", continued the Party.

"The working class will be carrying the burden for the financial sustainability of this budget," concluded the Party.  

 

HMS Illustrious visit to Malta exposes Government’s Hypocrisy.

The HMS Illustrious visit to Malta exposes the imperialist agenda in the Middle East. This strategy involves the financial, military and diplomatic support to Israel by Western countries.

“Between 2008 and 2012 the British government licensed arms exports to Israel amounting to £130 million. By selling arms to Israel, the British government is giving direct material support for Israel's aggression against the people of Palestine and is sending a clear message of approval for its actions”.

The Communist Party of Malta deplores the hypocrisy of the Maltese Government to allow British Naval Forces to make use of our port, when Palestinian people are being killed in Gaza. Government should hold a clear position with regards to Palestine.

We call other organisations to appeal to the government to stop supporting imperialist countries and to show more respect to the Palestinian people. The attack on Gaza is an aggression on all Palestinians.  

Communist Party condemns Israeli attacks on Gaza.

 

The Communist Party of Malta condemns the military attacks on Gaza. More than 250 strikes have been launched against the Palestinians, killing and injuring civilians, which include women and children.

 

“Israel committed similar aggression against Gaza in December 2008 which resulted in the deaths of 1,400 Palestinian. In this aggression, the Israeli military made use of ‘white phosphorus’ cluster bombs, a chemical banned by the International Community. Schools and hospitals were the main targets”.  

 

“The criminal siege by Israel on Gaza continues to affect the supply of basic necessities such as food and medicine. Reports available indicate that hospitals are running out of medicine. Power and water supplies have been cut to the 1.7 million Gaza residents”.

 

We call upon the Maltese government to close down the Maltese Embassy in Tel Aviv, in solidarity with the people of Gaza, until these Israeli aggressions come to a halt.

 

The Communist Party of Malta joins up with other communist and workers party in supporting the struggle of the Palestinian people against the Israeli occupation. For an independent, viable, sovereign Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

 

“The 2013 Budget should address social inequality”

The Communist Party of Malta said that, “the 2013 government expenditure budget should address social inequality which is raising its head. The austerity measures that were introduced along the years have brought about a reduction in the standard of living to families with low and middle income. European Statistic show that 15% of the Maltese population are at risk of poverty, of whom 20% are children.

“The privatisation of gas and other essential commodities results in higher prices for the consumer. The same has happened to the basic consumption of the use of energy". The Party continued that "the Government should revise his privatisation policies on services that are essential to the consumer, and should also introduce progressive measures in the consumption of energy to safeguard basic consumption, while penalising waste”.

“With regards to measures in relation to work, the Party stresses for an increase in the national minimum wage; investment for the creation of free child care centres; amendments in work regulations so that new employment is based on a decent and regular work conditions, and better law enforcement on the private sector to introduce more family-friendly measures”.

“Regarding the pension reform, the Government should address the chaotic situation where pensioners are being separated into two categories, where the present pensioners are being excluded from the reform. The Government’s policy should be one that strengthens the state basic pension, so any dependence on the second pillar is excluded”.

The Communist Party understands that the consolidation of the social structure requires a sustainable taxation system. For this reason the Party objects to the proposal for a reduction in the national income tax-maximum rate, from 35% to 25%. Furthermore the Party envisages for progressive taxation on speculations and windfall profits. The mechanism against tax evasion should also be strengthened. A just society requires a just taxation system.