European Communist Meeting Held in Athens

The proceedings of the Meeting of the European Communist and Workers’ Parties of Europe, organised by the KKE, were conducted on the 11^th and 12^th of April, on the following subject “Social and political processes in Europe and the response of the communists”. 38 parties from 31 European countries participated in the meeting.

Aleka Papariga, GS of the CC of the KKE, Giorgios Marinos, member of the PB of the CC of the KKE, Elisseos Vagenas, member of the CC and responsible for the International Relations Department, and Kostas Papadakis, member of the Secretariat of the CC of the KKE and the International Relations Department, participated on behalf of the KKE in the Meeting.

The proceedings of the Meeting were opened by Aleka Papariga, who stressed in the opening speech, amongst other things that “Today there is a historic opportunity on the basis of the unrelenting class struggle: the thoughts and activities of the peoples in struggle – with the working class in the leading position- to be directed towards working class power.

It must be understood that even if in a particular country a pro-people majority in parliament is elected by the people and a government is formed on the basis of this, it will not be able to overcome the limits of the basic laws of capitalism if it does not resolve the central issue of the socialisation of the basic means of production, withdrawal from the EU and NATO, nationwide planning and workers’ control from the bottom up.”

Representatives of the following parties participated in the meeting: Communist Party of Styria [Austria],Communist Party of Belarus, Workers' Party of Belgium, New Communist Party of Britain, Communist Party of Britain, Party of the Bulgarian Communists, AKEL-Cyprus, Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, Communist Party in Denmark, Communist Party of Denmark, Communist Party of Estonia, Finland Communist Workers’ Party for Peace and Socialism, Pole of Rebirth of Communists in France, Union of Revolutionary Communists of France URCF, German Communist Party(DKP), Communist Party of Greece, Hungarian Workers' Communist Party, The Workers' Party of Ireland, Communist Party of Ireland, Communist Peoples' Left, Italy, Socialist Party of Latvia, Communist Party of Luxembourg, Movement of People's Resistance, Moldavia, New Communist Party of the Netherlands, Communist Party of Norway, Communist Party of Poland, Portuguese Communist Party, Communist Party of Russian Federation, Communist Workers' Party of Russia - Revolutionary Party of Communists, Communist Party of Soviet Union, New Communist Party of Yugoslavia, Communist Party of Slovakia, Communist Party of Peoples of Spain, Communist Party of Sweden, Party of Labour, Switzerland, Communist Party of Turkey, (EMEP), Turkey, Union of Communists of Ukraine

Mirta Castro, head of the Cuban delegation to the European parliament, ambassador to Belgium and Luxemburg and representative of the CP of Cuba, was present at the Meeting.

It should be noted that the Socialist People’s Front of Lithuania, which had stated its intention to participate in the meeting and was to be represented by its Chairman A. Paleckis, was not able to attend. And this was because- as E. Vagenas mentioned when he opened the proceedings of the meeting- “The Lithuanian authorities will bring A. Paleckis to trial tomorrow on the basis of the anti-soviet anti-communist law concerning the “Soviet occupation”, because he challenged the official version of the bloody events which occurred in Vilnius in January 1991. Today there is substantial evidence, both from the forensic investigation and witnesses who took an active part, which demonstrates that these events were organised by anti-soviet forces, which acted as agent provocateurs, creating victims, in order to burden the soviet army with the responsibility for these things. Comrade Paleckis mentioned these facts in an interview and is being tried for this reason. We express our solidarity with the Lithuanian comrades, with all comrades who come face to face with anti-communist machinations in European countries and with cde Paleckis personally.”

16th Congress of the WFTU: Internationalist class contribution to the global trade union movement

The 16th Congress of the World Federation of Trade Unions, which held from 6-10 April in Athens, began with a large opening ceremony in a packed Tae Kwon do stadium. PAME, which unites the class-oriented trade unions of Greece and participates in the WFTU, warmly greeted the opening of the proceedings of the WFTU congress which constitutes an important class and internationalist event for the global trade union movement. The congress is being conducted in the conditions of the capitalist crisis and the total assault of capital and is being called on to give impetus to the development of the class struggle in each country and internationally. The workers of Athens, with ceaseless clapping and slogans, holding aloft the banner of the class struggle and international solidarity, enthusiastically welcomed the trade unionists who had arrive in Athens from every corner of the globe in order to participate in the 16th World Trade Union Congress.

The success of the congress has surpassed all expectations. It is indicative that at the previous congress in Havana,Cuba, five years ago 503 representatives from 64 countries participated, while this year 828 delegates from 104 countries will participate.

The opening ceremony was a massive internationalist celebration worthy of the 6 decades of the WFTU’s history. This history was honoured by the showing of a video dedicated to the 65 year anniversary of the WFTU. On behalf of the Executive Secretariat of PAME, which is hosting the congress, Giorgos Perros in his greeting to the 16th World Trade Union Congress mentioned that “we salute the millions of working men and women that you represent who are struggling in the ranks of the WFTU for the interests of the working class in a tough struggle against the monopolies and imperialism.”

The President of the WFTU, Muhammad Shaaban Azouz, announced the official opening of the congress, while the President of Cuba and Second secretary of the CC of the CP Cuba, Raul Castro, sent a message of greetings.

A message from the President of the Hellenic Republic, Karolos Papoulias, was read out at the opening ceremony. The First Vice-President of the Greek Parliament, the Prefect of Attica, the Mayors of Athens and Piraeus also greeted the congress.

Giorgos Mavrikos, General Secretary of the WFTU underlined in his speech: “We came here, to the Congress of the WFTU, after great struggles at sectoral, local, regional and international levels, through an open, democratic, militant discussion in all the unions, workplaces and main branches.

In many of the countries in the five continents the working class resisted, showed defiance, organised significant strikes and struggles and multifaceted activities against these anti-worker policies. We are more deeply aware of the fact that the capitalist mode of production cannot offer anything else other than barbarity. (…) Our answer is clear, we continue on the path of class struggle; against imperialism and capital. For a world without exploitation of man by man; for a future that will belong to the working people.

The 16^th World Trade Union Congress held in Athens, was a historic Congress! An open – democratic – class-oriented Congress for the benefits of the workers in the struggle against the capitalist barbarism, for a world without exploitation. The calling of Athens has to reach at every corner of the earth, every work place, every native village, every home of the working family!

CPI(M) plans mass movement against nuclear power plant in Orissa

Plans are on to build up a large mass movement in Ganjam district against the proposed nuclear power plant at Pati Sonapur.

The CPI(M) has decided to take the lead in this movement. According to State secretariat member of the party Ali Kishore Patnaik, they have started making contacts with organisations and leaders of all walks of life to chalk out the plans of this mass movement. People of all fields irrespective of party or ideological leaning would be part of this movement as it would be a movement to safeguard life of ours and our next generation.

The issue of proposed nuclear power plant at Pati Sonapur also came up for discussion at the Ganjam district committee meeting of the CPI (M) on Wednesday. The party cadres decided to build up awareness regarding dangers of nuclear power plants in the context of recent nuclear holocaust in Japan in rural areas especially the coastal region of the district.

The party demanded that the State government break its ‘silence' regarding the matter and come up with a white paper regarding the proposed nuclear power plant project. “It is an irony that while the Orissa government is totally silent regarding the proposed nuclear power plant project the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) openly states that it is going to establish a nuclear power plant at Pati Sonapur under its expansion plan,” Mr Patnaik said.

‘Callousness'

The party alleged that it was callousness of the State government to sideline this issue of proposed nuclear power plant at Pati Sonapur. The CPI (M) wanted the State government not to allow the NPCIL establish this nuclear power plant on Ganjam coast. State energy minister Surya Narayan Patra had informed the Assembly that the NPCIL had proposed to establish a nuclear power plant at Pati Sonapur under Chikiti block. In 2009 the National Aluminium Company (Nalco) authorities had declared to join hands with the NPCIL for establishment of this mega nuclear power plant.

(Courtesy : The Hindu)

Paid News & Manipulation of Media: CPIM Memo to ECI

We would like to draw your attention to a very disturbing development regarding paid news and the manipulation of media organisations through the instrument of financial ratification to influence news coverage by the said media organisation to further the electoral interest of a particular political party. An all-party meeting convened at the behest of the Election Commission had unanimously agreed that the EC can, indeed, act on instances of “paid news” as it vitiates the process of free and fair elections and undermines a level playing field. It was also decided in the said meeting to classify paid news as an electoral offence and recommend an amendment to the RPA to incorporate this understanding.

While it is quite easy to identify news coverage in the media as biased and favouring a particular party or a candidate, it has been equally recognized that it is extremely difficult to establish the modus operandi of financial gratification.

But recently, a glaring development has brought such an instance to our notice. The Kolkata High Court has stayed the leasing out of two acres of prime urban land on the Kolkata Eastern Metropolitan Bypass. The Trinamul Congress-led KMC decided on 22^nd February, 2011 to lease the said land for an amount of Rs. 6.60 crores and Rs. 120 as annual lease rental disregarding the opposition and boycott of the opposition Left Front Councilors. (A copy of the notice for the meeting and agenda is annexed herewith together with agenda paper of the KMC meeting.)

That this act of the Corporation led by TMC can be construed as financial gratification is clearly made out from the fact that the said land is a prime commercial urban land and the price in the area has been going up sharply since mid-1980s. Earlier the Kolkata Municipal Development Authority had sold land for a five star hotel project where 6.2 acre plot was given out for Rs. 213 crores in 2005. Similarly, the Left Front led Kolkata Municipal Corporation transferred 6.29 acres of land to EMMAR-GSF Group (Delhi-Dubai) @ 33.60 crores per acres amounting of Rs. 213 crores, the other bidders were DLF-HILTON Group etc. The KMC in the same year in July 2006 transferred 5.50 acres of land to DLF-HILTON Group @ Rs. 27.79 crores per acre amounting to Rs. 154 crores. The other contestants were ITC Hotels and Raheja Group. The KMC again in August 2006 transferred 5 acres of land to LIC on a long term lease @ Rs. 55.24 crores per acre amounting to Rs. 276.20 crores. When the land price in Bypass area was soaring, the KMC leased out 2 acres of land to Pratidin Trust @ Rs. 5.5 lakh per cottah amounting to Rs. 6.60 crores for 2 acres of land. This dole at the cost of public exchequer would leave a loss of Rs. 100 crores to the public body. (We are also annexing press reports to substantiate this point.)

We are hereby appending a large number of clippings from Pratidin newspaper to substantiate the fact that this newspaper is acting as almost an official mouthpiece of the Trinamul Congress Party. We are confident that any independent study by the EC will also bring out this fact. Apart from this, the media group being headed by a TMC MP in Rajya Sabha and TMC supremo Ms. Mamata Banerjee being a columnist in the group newspaper has a bearing on its news coverage. The media group is also currently controlling a Bengali TV channel – viz, Channel 10. The channel also has the same policy towards news coverage.

In the light of this, we urge the Hon’ble Commission to enquire into the matter by sending notices to the concerned media group, as well as, the concerned political party.

We are also observing that a large number of paid up advertisement is being released by the TMC to both the print and the visual media. We are also observing that a large number of channels and newspapers are having a biased coverage of the elections. In the light of this, there is a need to set-up a media monitoring cell by the EC and scrutinize whether there is a relationship between advertisement revenue earned and the nature of coverage. It is for the EC to draw appropriate conclusions and this initiative will go a long way in ensuring a level playing field in the conduct of the elections for parties – rich and poor and act as a deterrent against the pernicious instrument of `paid news’

People's Power vs Money Power

Herewith we are presenting some pictures of election campaign in Kerala .. Rate them..
On the one side LDF riding with its Peoples Power and on the other hand the much hated UDF with its so called "International Leaders" with their Money power..

1. Comrade V S Achuthanandan Attending a rally in Kunnamkulam Assembly Constituency in Trissur

2. An election meeting for Com. E P Jayarajan (Candidate from Mattannur Constituency) in Irutti, Kannur District on 09-04-2011

3. A District election rally held in Kochi inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India

4. An election meeting attended by the so called "youth icon" of I ndia, Mr. Rahul Gandhi

5. Comrade V S Achuthanandan attending an election rally in Purameri, Kozhikode District

Left demands rollback of power tariff

he Communist Party of India (Marxist) has demanded that the State government roll back the hike in power tariff announced for a section of consumers with immediate effect.

CPI(M) State secretary B.V. Raghavulu along with a delegation of Left parties' leaders called on Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy on Saturday and urged him to spare the middle and lower classes from the burden of the tariff hike. The latest tariff hike would impose an additional burden of Rs.641 crore on these sections.

The hike was in addition to the huge amounts being collected in the name of fuel surcharge adjustments under which the utilities so far collected Rs.1,649 crore in 2008-09 and Rs.1,439 crore in 2009-10 and Rs.1,286 crore for the first nine months of the financial year 2010-11. Mr. Raghavulu lamented that the government was allowing private power developers to sell the power generated here at higher rates to other States, while the utilities were spending exorbitant amounts to purchase power from outside.

(Courtesy : The Hindu)

V S : The Leader of Mass

Kozhikode

 

Peralasseri - Kannur

Cheemeni - Kasargod

Perinthalmanna - Malappuram

Thrissur

Kanjangad - Kasargod

Taliparamba - Kannur

Palakkad

Shornur - Palakkad

Pattambi - Palakkad

Adoor - Pathanamthitta

Indiscriminate lathicharge by Police against ASHA workers in Andhra Pradesh

  

The CITU-affiliated union had called for a 48-hour picketing to protest the raw deal meted out to them at various primary health centres in disbursement of incentives and marched in a rally towards the DM & HO Office. A few woman constables, besides policemen, led by the Circle Inspector (Town), stopped them near the bungalow of TDP MLA P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju and arrested CITU leaders T.V. Ramana, P. Sankar Rao, and some Asha workers.

When other women tried to prevent the arrests, the police caned them indiscriminately. Undeterred, other Asha workers went to the DM & HO Office and staged a protest. U. Swarajya Lakshmi, DM & HO, assured them that she would do redress their grievance in two weeks.

A Circle Inspector of Police was ordered to be suspended after he went berserk by indiscriminately beating up women health workers with a lathi while they were staging a demonstration outside the office of the District Medical & Health Officer (DM & HO) here on Thursday.

T. Trinadha Rao, the Circle Inspector, was seen raining blows repeatedly on women who, according to B. Sudha Rani, district general secretary of the A.P. Voluntary Workers Union, included a five-month pregnant woman, while they were retreating. The voluntary health workers (Asha) are meant to counsel patients of HIV/AIDS. Two women -- Allu Satyavathi and Garbhapu Bhanu Kumari -- were seriously injured in the lathicharge and were admitted to the district headquarters hospital. Twenty-four Asha workers and a few CITU leaders were arrested.

CPI (M) leaders staged a rasta roko at the at RTC complex demanding an inquiry into the lathicharge.

WEST BENGAL LEFT FRONT’S MANIFESTO ANNOUNCES TEN POINT PROGRAM

 

 

The development of the poor people will be the focus of the 8^th Left Front Government in West Bengal, said Biman Basu while releasing the election manifesto of the Left Front.

 

The manifesto has mentioned about three most important goals of the 8^th Left Front Government. First and foremost is to elevate the standard of living of the families below poverty line. Employability of these sections will also be a priority. Secondly the 8^th Left Front Government will target to take West Bengal in a leading position in the country on the basis of three human development index i.e., purchasing power, education and health. Thirdly by extending agriculture, industry and other different services, the 8^th Left Front Government will work for the employment and income generation of the poorest 40 lakh families of the state. Altogether this will formulate the direction of the comprehensive development of West Bengal.

 

The manifesto elaborates 10 specific programs to attain these three fundamental goals. It says that people having family income below Rs.10000/- will be getting rice @ Rs. 2/- per K.G. successively within five years. Some daily necessities like pulses, sugar, edible oil, cloth, and biscuit will successively be taken under the purview of public distribution system. To prevent distress sale by the farmers the State Government will buy rice from within the state by giving them assistance price. To provide cooked food for the helpless poor families the ‘sahai’ (assistance) program will be further extended.

 

Besides carrying on the program of distributing land, multistoried buildings will be constructed for the displaced and homeless people. In the urban areas same types of building will be constructed in the project of giving land for dwelling.

 

Security, provident fund scheme, insurance and social protection of all contractual staff, unorganized labors and farm based labors will be further extended and will include all concerned people. Allowances for the poor people will be increased both in amount and number of recipients. The Government will also ensure the strict implementation of announced reservation in educational field and work places.

 

To pull down the school drop out to less than 1% Government will provide financial assistance. Side by side all girl students up to class XII including the tribal, schedule caste, other backward communities and minorities will receive special allowances for dress and cycle successively within five years. Students of class XI and XII residing more than 5 kilometers away from their school will get the privilege to travel in government and private busses once a day.

 

The 8^th Left Front Government will draw up and implement an Act on public health. The common people will get free treatment through insurances and health protection schemes under this Act. The government will also identify the common and life-taking diseases. All poor families of the state will be brought under health insurance and the government will pay the premium to the insurance companies. Within the next five years every districts will have at least one medical college and nursing college.

 

The 8^th Left Front Government will constitute a special power mission to supply safe drinking water or each family. All families will also get toilets.

Every big villages and urban slums will be connected by concrete road. Other roads of the villages will also be concretized successively. Beside planned urbanization, a special committee will be constituted for consolidated development of the slum areas.

 

Every home will get electric connection. Every pump sets used for agriculture will get electric connection. If those pump sets are used between the stipulated time announced by the Government the electricity charge will also be subsidized. To meet the demand of electricity in industry and other sectors the generation of electricity will be increased to further 4000 megawatt.

 

The 8^th Left Front Government will work out the procedures for eliminating the existing barriers in the process of offering government services to the common people. To ensure the commitment to the people necessary administrative reforms will be executed. The annual performance of the cabinet ministers will be evaluated and necessary actions will be taken as per that. All administrative stratums have to be free from corruption. In all the stages administration and police have to convene all party meeting. They have to listen to the suggestions and advice of the peoples’ representatives.

 

The manifesto of the Left Front also declares that the 8^th Left Front Government will double its fund allocation for the development of tribal, schedule caste, other backward communities, minorities, refugee, women, north Bengal, Sundarbans and Pashchimanchal area. Programs will also be chalked out for hands on work of the people of these sections.

Bring Effective Lokpal Bill : CPIM

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

 

 

Bring Effective Lokpal Bill

 

 

The need for an effective Lokpal legislation has assumed importance in the background of the spate of corruption scandals that have taken place. The fast undertaken by Anna Hazare highlights this need.

 

The CPI(M) has been advocating the setting up of a strong Lokpal authority to look into complaints of corruption against public servants and government officials. Efforts to bring about such a legislation have not made headway in the past. The draft proposed by the Government of India is inadequate and will not serve the purpose.

 

It is imperative that the Government set up a mechanism without delay to consult all political parties, social activists and concerned citizens’ groups to finalise a new draft legislation