CONTRIBUTION OF NKPJ ON 15 IMCWP

Intervention by Executive secretary of NKPJ comrade Aleksandar Banjanac

Dear comrades,

I warmly greet you on behalf of the New Communist Party of Yugoslavia, and express gratitude to the Communist Party of Portugal on the organization of the XV international conference of communist and workers’ parties.

Plenty of issues to be dealt with in this year’s event reflect the complex situation in our movement at the present time. Since the eruption of the latest crisis of capitalism, in our organization the situation is rapidly changing in response to the existing situation and strategies of capitalism to survive. Many of these strategies, as well as the reactions of the Communists are not a historical mystery, but also we are faced with many completely new and authentic historical problems of the modern world. In relation to this topic’s, I will in my speech concentrate on the situation in our country and the problems that our party is facing in its work.

If we tried to summarize what is the first and foremost problem facing Serbian society, then we would no doubt say imperialism. Imperialism is the main reason for the collapse of socialism in our socialist Yugoslavia, imperialism is the main regulatory principle of Serbian economy and politics today, imperialism is a brutal destructive way obvious in Serbia and in the former Yugoslavia as surely as nowhere else in Europe, which is continuing occupation of the southern Serbian province Kosovo and Metochy (Metohi). Several factors are involved in this shameful and by all measures of international law, an illegal act. NATO, after the military intervention in 1999 which was done in the style of “spanking the disobedient” to this day through the so called “Peacekeeping” in Kosovo, is the main and largest armed force which is concentrated in the heart of the Balkans.

To the most of you, the military objectives and strategy of imperialism in destruction of Yugoslavia and especially in case of Kosovo are not unknown. These military targets and their realization in 1999 were a clear continuity, while in the political field these goals were quite dynamic. They are characterized by a continuous new pressures and demands, the constant redefinition of the goals of imperialism that are infinitely being increased. The major political lever that implements imperialist political actions is the United States along with the European Union. Our party said and repeated that the EU is imperialist creation which therefore cannot be democratized, cannot be reformed so that the people of Europe could live in prosperity. The European Union is a dungeon of European nations, where every day there is less and less democracy and prosperity and more poverty, more social and political injustice, it encourages the most retrograde and reactionary political forces that thrive as its strategy for the rescue of the system that stands in its essence. Our response to the EU may be only one, ruthless and definite deviation and insisting on its dismantlement. Of course it is not surprising that the European Union is quite involved in the fate of the development of the situation in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo and Metochy (Metohi). Due to its objectives that derive from the nature of the European Union, the imperialist and hegemonic, the European Union clearly decided to make and illegal recognition of Kosovo’s independence.

To this end, with economic and political pressures it dictates the policy of Republic of Serbia on this issue. The ruling class in Serbia and its bourgeois political parties support the association with the EU at all costs, and have de facto declared themselves for the Independence of Kosovo, although there is a small percentage of people in Serbia who agrees whit this platform. The absurd situation in which the bourgeois government of Serbia does not officially recognize Kosovo, but cooperates fully in the process of dialogue with the government so called Republic of Kosovo with the EU as a middle man in the field of so-called “Normalization relations”. This cooperation goes so far that the Serbian government is aggressively agitating among the Serbian population in Kosovo to vote in local elections of Republic of Kosovo, held just this weekend, and thus gives the legitimacy of Kosovo’s institutions. It’s crazy that the same government of the country on which NATO bombs were falling, in accordance with European principles in foreign policy imposes sanctions on Belorussia and Syria. I’m using this opportunity to say in my name and in the name of our party, and the vast majority of our people, that we sincerely apologize to the parties, our comrades, dear brothers and sisters, Belarus and Syria and send the message that this attitude of pro-imperialistic bourgeois government in Serbia has absolutely nothing to do with what our people feel and what is ultimately their true interest. We support the anti-imperialist struggle of the people of Belarus and especially Syria today having a lot of innocent victims in the struggle against Western imperialism and its beloved children of religious fundamentalism.

Very important, and the most important factor in all the imperialist political processes in the Balkans is Turkey. The presence of Turkish monopoly and the various political interventions of Turkish authorities in other Balkan countries, especially during the recent election process in Kosovo when the Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan came to personally campaign in support of agitating puppet regime in Pristina, has little to do with the so-called Neo-Ottomanism as some bourgeois media likes to present. These are authentic and modern imperialist aspirations which are an integral part of the domination of Western imperialism in entire region, with the ruling class of Turkey one of the main allies, minions and protagonist. What does the working class and people and the broadest layers of Turkey think about the politics of the Turkish ruling classes, was more than evident during the summer events in Geza park in Istanbul, which our Party has given its full support and organized solidarity actions.

The Balkan today is an important experimental region of Europe when it comes to strategies for surviving the crisis of capitalism which was created. In the Balkans today we have hordes of fascists and religious fundamentalists being recruited, whose rampage and terrorism affect in many cases, and creates pressure against powerful working-class’(klasis) response to the crisis. In the Balkans today they examine to what extent all the measures can go in the way of political pressure and the conditioning by the European Union, The International Monetary Fund and NATO. Our party is firmly committed to close cooperation and solidarity among the Balkan peoples. The problem of disunity and discord among the Balkan people has been one of the main factors that go into the hands of the imperialist domination of our region. We are in favor that all the national issues in the Balkans must be solved only under the anti-imperialist platform, each self-determination under the sponsorship of imperialism is only the option for imperialism and against the interests of the broadest social strata respectively. Therefor communists of Balkan countries have a special responsibility and commitment in the process of unmasking the imperialistic aims behind such projects as “Independence of Kosovo”. The existing situation in the Balkans is not a precedent. The Balkans are on record for their long history of bloody imperial “divide et impera” politics. Here is what more than fifty years ago a Serbian social democrat Dimitrije Tucovic had to say about it: „The peoples of the Balkans, taken separately and not united, are systematically targeted by the imperial conquerors in every war. […] and they shall always be targeted unless they unite. The History has taught us the lesson, more than once unfortunately, that our disunity suits our conquerors’ interests, never our own. Grouping and mutuality of countries and peoples in the Balkans is the only road that leads to economic, national and political liberation.

Clearly the government and the entire establishment in Serbia are not just puppets put to power by the European Union and the big powers, to obey and implement the imperial politics. Their own interests are also at stake. These interests are responding to broad strategic and economic imperial objectives : 1/ Dismantling of national economic and social infrastructure under the plundering privatization program that transferred the most profitable state assets into the hands of foreign big capital; 2/ free-market sponsored regionalization and further dismantling of Serbia.

The conditions created under cover of attracting foreign investors actually are that of economic occupation and total submission of Serbia, crippling domestic industries, prompting massive job cuts and the replacement of living wage union jobs with jobs in sectors with low pay, minimal benefits and no job security. The European Union sponsored corrupt legal system, having policy of free market plunder as its primary objective, is in all evidence supervising the interests of the capitalists, domestic or foreign Mafia.

The catastrophic New Labor Law written by the foreign non-governmental organizations such as USAID in accordance with the IMF that keeps blackmailing Serbia promising new credits, is a flagrant proof that the ruling social-democratic regime has not maintained its electoral promises that helped it win the elections in Serbia.

Despite the more frequent rebellion and protests of workers, of whom more than 30% officially, and actually at least 40% are unemployed, of which nearly 60% of young people are unemployed, the largest trade unions in Serbia have not done and do not do anything in terms of resistance to government measures, and interest of improving the position of the working class and job creation. For example, trade unions are calling for social peace in the name of “higher goals”. They call all workers to endure the daily humiliations and layoffs by employers. A significant part of the employees are working illegally, working for 10 or 14 hours a day for a price that is lower than the minimum of the bourgeoisie who are legally committed, and the leaders of the bourgeoisie are talking openly that the working class is lazy, and they should be grateful if they have a job even when they don’t receive a salary in a few months. The deep crisis of capitalism affects widely popular classes in our country, education is becoming less accessible, increasing privilege of the rich, living from pension is very hard, fertile land is sold to foreign and domestic tycoons and mafia capitalists, and peasants are converted to serfs, for women everything is unenviable in the field of social welfare and equality on the labor market.

In a country where the acquisition of wealth as the ultimate value of the sight lines are sharp class conflict between the so-called successful and powerful against the poor which are presented as incompetent, helpless and uncreative. Our party leads to persistent struggle to break down such displays of class relations in our society today, and although it is not parliamentary power and has no ability to use the loud speakers platform from which our party can better reach out to the working class which justified rebellion is constantly gaining momentum. It is necessary to further politicize the bunt in the goal of sustainable class struggle and insistence on non-agreement class requirements otherwise this fight will not lead to a progressive order that will achieve new quality and new conditions of economic and social development. Therefore, in the present state opportunism and revisionism in our movement is especially important topic. Class principles and requirements arising from scientific socialism the working class adopts faster and most complete in terms of the development of modern industry. But in the crisis of capitalism, reduced or completely dead industrial production or the lagging economic relations, the labor movement and the working class generally become more prone to adopt only certain claims which are arising from scientific socialism, just some slogan or strategy of fight, but without being able to decisively break with the traditions of the bourgeois view of the world. It is a breeding ground for some who partially lead the revolutionary struggle which is always in the end contra revolutionary because in its core it is opportunistic, reformist and revisionist. In a weakened position due to the crisis of capitalism some revolutionary parties, and being self-critical and say that our party is one of those, you should not look for inconsistencies or historical obsolescence of political practice, although we are ready to take on any responsibility in full for the same. Also in the modern achievements of other parties of the movement should not necessarily look for the historical relevance of which is linked to the birth of an authentic revolutionary new breakthroughs. There is no success in the struggle for a new world, the new social relations, if it is based on collaboration with imperialism and its bars, the cooperation with exploitative class and its allies, there is no progressive society if we give up of class struggle and the dictatorship of the proletariat, there is no consistency if you give up in our struggle of revolutionary traditions and symbols of our movement, no solidarity of the working class if it is not based on patriotism and internationalism.

With the hope that these meetings will continue to contribute of strengthening the revolutionary Marxist-Leninist principle’s in our joint action, as well as the activities of the political parties individually, both large and small, and those that are in power and those in the underground, we continue on the fight for the world social justice and progress for world socialism / communism.

Thank you!