Contribution of the NCPN on the 21^st International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties in Izmir, Turkey, from 18 to 20 October

On behalf of the NCPN we would like to thank the Turkish Communist Party (TKP) and the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) for hosting the 21^st IMCWP on the theme: “100th Anniversary of the founding of the Communist International; the fight for peace and socialism continues!”

The necessity of the struggle for peace and socialism

The necessity of the fight for peace and socialism nowadays is continually confirmed by the developments in the world. In the last years hundreds of thousands of people died or became refugees due to the imperialist interventions and wars that are waged for the control over recourses, markets and transport routes. We are particularly worried about the recentdevelopments in the war in Syria.

We are also concerned about the threats from the US and their allies against Venezuela. The NCPNtakes the initiative in the organisation of a campaign against the intervention in the internal affairs of Venezuela.We affirm our solidarity to the working class in Venezuela and the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV).

The NCPN also confirms its solidarity to the Cuban people and the Communist Party of Cuba, that still face the blockade of the US.

The struggle for peace and the struggle for socialism are tightly connected. As long as the capitalist relations of production dominate and the goal of the economy is profit, imperialist wars will remain a constant thread. Nowadays, the intensification of the contradictions between imperialist powersis particularly worrisome.

The Dutch governments have been involved in a number of imperialist interventions in the framework of NATO, which celebrates 70 years of its existence, with the goal of safeguarding the interests of Dutch monopolies abroad.

Developments in the Netherlands

The Dutch economy emerged stronger from the capitalist economic crisis compared to other economies in the region. The Dutch bourgeoisie seeks to respectively upgrade its position in the region and to increase its influence in the framework of the imperialist unions in which it participates, primarily the EU and NATO.

The Dutch working class pays for the capitalist economic growth with the flexibilization of labour, dismantling of workers’ rights and social security, cuts on salaries and pensions, etc. There is resistance in various sectors, which is however contained by the line of class collaboration that is advancedby the trade-union leadership. Our party took the initiative to find a platform which rallies class consciousforces from the workplaces and the trade-union movement,in order to discuss methods to raise class consciousness and enhance the struggle of the workers movement in a class-oriented direction.

The Communist International: valuable lessons for our strategy

This year’s IMCWP rightly addresses the founding of the third Communist International 100 years ago.The Communist International was at the forefront of the struggle for peace and socialism, but also remains a symbol of antifascism, emancipation of women, the anticolonial movement etc.

Even though the Communist International was dissolved more than 70 years ago, it is still very important to study its history. It provides important strategic lessons for our struggle today, despite the changes in the world since its dissolution.As much as the interimperialist contradictions threaten peace and strengthen reactionary currents, they also provide new opportunities for the working class to exploit rifts in the imperialist system. It is a duty and a challenge for the communist parties to study the developments and improve their strategy, learning also from the historical experiences of the international communist movement.

The NCPN and its youth organisation, the CJB, willcontinue to study both history and contemporary developments, in order to enhanceour strategyand to educate a new generation of communists, that will stand at the forefront of the struggle for a society without wars, poverty and exploitation, for socialism-communism.

Increasing anti-communism of the EU

Finally, we would like to express our concerns about recent the anti-communist resolution of the European Parliament which seeks to equate fascism and communism, and to ban communist symbols and parties. We express our sincere solidarity to the communists in the European Union and around the world that face prosecution.