Syrian Communist Party (SCP) Central Committee Meeting ? Communiqu

After reviewing the current political situation, the Central Committee observed that the global atjosphere is more tense due to the aggressive and expansionist policies of imperialist powers, especially the US, towards nations of the world, not merely for the purpose of subjecting people of those nations to imperialist political control, or plundering their wealth, but to resurrect colonialism in its ugliest form.

The imperialist approach towards the world, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union (as the deterrent of imperialist aggression), took the form of nonstop aggressive military campaigns and sometimes full-scale wars, which prompted analysts to describe the current global atjosphere as World War IV.

And in order to strengthen their grip on the rest of the world, imperialist circles, either directly or through their tools (IMF, WB, WTO), are imposing socio-economic conditions to pursue liberal economic policies in order to open those countries’ economies to plundering by foreign monopolies, and to abolish role of the state altogether or at least weakening its socio-economic domain to the utjost.

The first step in that direction would be to privatize the public sector, which is the ultimate shield able to withstand that full-scale imperialist plundering. Privatization is the leash that strangles people, and the mean to destroy all independent systems. It’s a well-known fact that privatization and socio-economic devastation are two flips of the same coin, as it is the case in many countries in South America, Asia and Eastern Europe.

Liberal economic policies imply squeezing the people of a particular country into a whirlpool of poverty and submission. Contradictions within imperialist circles has intensified, and although they have a common agenda of never-ending plundering of people of the world, they disagree on how to share out the loot, which leads to incessant frictions between those circles ranging from economic wars and conspiracies to fueling ethnic tensions, disputes in conflict areas, civil wars and even waging full-scale wars. Ordinary people are the first victims of this conflict of interests between imperialist powers, who often just move the strings and use others as tools to get even with each other as shown in many parts of the world especially in Africa. When the loot is bigger however, direct military intervention is the answer: as in the Balkan and currently in Iraq, and the current threats against Iran, Sudan and Syria are also in that line. And in order to find moral justifications to its aggressive wars, especially for public opinion in its own backyards, imperialist powers use phony slogans like: “war on terrorism” and “establishing free and democratic civil society on the ruins of authoritarian regimes” as pretexts for aggression against sovereign countries. The world’s public opinion however at last realized that behind those worn-out placards lies the ugliest form of terrorism and authoritarianism; foreign occupation.

The recent shocking scenes from places like Abo Ghurayb, Guantanamo and Afghanistan are flagrant examples exposing the true face of the new imperialist “civilization” intended to be imposed on the rest of the world. Those scenes are nothing but reproduction of “Auschwitz,” “Buchenwald” and “majdanek.”

Another dirty instrument inspired by Hitler’s legacy and used by contemporary Imperialism is racism. This aggressive racist approach was enhanced even further after the organic integration between Zionism and Imperialism. The heralds of today’s aggressive “crusades” state unequivocally that their prime target are (after conquering Soviets and Communists) Arabs and Muslims since a bitter enemy is needed by Imperialists to consolidate unity of their own fragile societies. The SCP predicted since the fall of the Soviet Union that imperialist wild ambitions to get hold of the strategic oil resources will result in more wars.

Today is the 3rd anniversary of the grand puzzle; September the 11th, and it is now obvious more than ever who is the sole beneficiary from those tragic events. That inauspicious date marked the beginning of a new episode of American aggressive escalation through which American Imperialism plans to attain full military control over the Arab Mashrek, Caucasus and Middle Asia in order to reinforce its dominant position amongst its avaricious partners who all strive to strip the region and its people from their natural resources.

In doing so, America turns a blind eye to the hundreds of thousands of victims and total destruction left behind as a direct result of its policies.

And since those modern-age barbarians are not deterred by either supplication or cries of conscious, struggle and resistance will only defeat them.

One of the jost vivid examples of the conflict between imperialist powers is the tense situation in Russia. It is clear for American Imperialist heralds, especially Zionists, that, irrespective of Russia’s orientation, the Russian political establishment constitutes a constant threat to American expansionist ambitions. Therefore, America is aiming to weaken Russia and shake its stability through employing its tools, namely “CIA” and “jossad,” in the Caucasus region.

The ongoing Imperialist aggression against proletariat accomplishments and gains inside imperialist centers is also evident even in EU states and class struggle is intensifying especially after the accession of new members. In Russia, the last remnant of socialism has been eliminated by abolishing pension privileges such as free services and other fundamental facilities. Recent developments reveal the global Imperialism is not all that mighty, and that what the world is experiencing today is not the “Orange Order” parade of imperialist aggression and social domination, but rather the climax of the long struggle between forces of oppression and those of liberty and freedom.

When the land tremors, it is a sign of an imminent earthquake: Imperialism is being hit hard by freedom fighters all over the world: from Iraq, at the hands of the heroic Iraqi resistance, to Zimbabwe; where land reform was imposed on the ancestors of colonialism without forgetting and Venezuela; where the patriotic Bolivarian regime withstood solid despite the fierce campaign launched by American Imperialism and its local allies. Rejection of aggressive Imperialist policies are evident even in the Imperialist countries themselves, and recent gains of the Anti Iraq war lobby in EU Parliament elections is a testimony of that.

Another positive aspect is the successes of communist parties in those elections, those parties who are still genuinely attached to the Communist doctrine and International solidarity, and are firmly associated with their popular bases such as the Greek Communist Party, Portuguese Communist Party, Czech Communist Party, the Progressive Party of Working People in Cyprus or AKEL and others.

Anti Imperialism demonstration are on the increase, huge demonstrations swept western capitals under the slogan “No for monopolies, yes for country” , the recent examples of shared global feelings and true International solidarity was evident in the Athens demonstration during the recent Summer Olympics in protest of the planned visit of US Secretary of State Colin Powell to Greece to attend the closing ceremonies of the Games. The visit was eventually canceled due to the intensity of demonstrations. The SCP’s Central Committee salutes the Greek Communist Party, which was the driving force behind those honorific demonstrations. The Central Committee salutes also Cuba for its firm stand against American embargo and the constant threats to its sovereignty, and north Korea for its refusal to bow to colonial extortion.

The Central Committee stressed the priority of the slogan “For building the global anti-Imperialism Front”, and emphasized that the Syrian Communists are prepared to spare no effort in order to realize this ultimate goal. The Central Committee also underlined the importance of alerting all the forces of progression, democracy and freedom to the dangers posed by the Zionist movement, which constitutes a constant threat to those forces. Zionism is not only waging war on the Arab liberty movement, in fact, the tyrant racist reactionary fascist forces in the world has had a major role in bringing down Communism in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Zionists are now the forefront of the reactionary aggressive crew in Washington. Syrian Communists are proud that they were the first to warn against the dangers posed by Zionism on the global freedom forces. The Central Committee reviewed the current situation in the Arab World and stressed that the Arab liberty movement is on the front line in the battle against imperialism. The Imperialist occupation forces in Iraq spear headed by the Americans are facing unexpected fierce resistance. When the Imperialist war on Iraq was waged, the spirit of defeatism was predominant amongst many political circles, but our party’s position was totally different. We were the first to predict that the Iraqi people, who are renowned for their eagerness for freedom and their deep-rooted revolutionary combative history, will not bow to this aggression and will hold out firm.

The Iraqi people have lived up to our expectations and demonstrated their patriotism despite the treacherous nature of the former regime. The Iraqi people are putting fierce resistance, and despite attempts by some Western media to depict the resistance as “remnants of Saddam’s regime,” the Iraqi national resistance has proved that it is a highly organized wide-ranging popular movement comprising of the Iraqi political spectrum with all its trends.

This heroic resistance which inflicted heavy loses on the foreign occupiers is worthy of being glorified by all patriots in the Arab world since it is not only striving for the freedom and sovereignty of Iraq but it is defending the freedom and sovereignty of people of the whole region. The Imperialist Zionist circles are aiming to defame the Iraqi resistance and to weaken local, regional and international sympathy by planting foreign elements who are doing those bloody outrageous acts of decapitating innocent foreign civilians and kidnapping journalists and aid workers sympathetic to our causes. The notorious method of “if you can not defeat it directly, send agents to sabotage from the inside” is frequently used by colonial circles. Imperialist and Zionist circles are also trying to stir sectarian and ethnic differences in order to hit the national unity of the Iraqi people, which requires extra caution from all Iraqis.

The creation of the so called “unelected Iraqi Government” instead of the designated “Iraqi Interim Council” which was under direct control of the occupiers. jost members of this new Iraqi Government are agents brought under the protection of American tanks and are nothing but dummies used to cover the barbaric acts of the American occupying forces. The blood of every woman and child in Ba’qubah, Najaf, Fallujah, josul or Al Basra is on the hands of each member of this Government.

Thanks to the heroic resistance, Iraq is becoming the tomb of occupiers and the Arab version of Vietnam, so we salute the Iraqi people and his brave patriotic resistance.

Past and current events in Iraq clearly indicates that there will be no peace between Arab peoples and American Imperialism, and the barbaric oppression practiced by the Zionist Israel against the Palestinian people also demonstrates that the Arab liberty movement and Fascist Zionism will never be in peace. Zionist terrorism is increasing against the Palestinian people and Zionist plans aimed at undermining the struggle of the Palestinian people to achieve his legitimate rights are continuing non-stop, the last of which was the Gaza plan, which sprung after building of the racist barrier began. The Central Committee believes that the jost dangerous plan that threatens the very existence of the Palestinian people is the “Transfer plan” being shamelessly promoted by Zionist circles.

The disgraceful submissiveness of jost Arab regimes is encourages Imperialist and Zionist circles to go too far in their impudent and frivolous policies. Those regimes did not just turn a blind eye to the criminal acts of America and Israel in Palestine and Iraq, they are unashamedly arresting anti-war activists in order to please Imperialist and American circles as a result of the close ties between them. It is obvious that satisfying America and your own people at the same time is not possible. Popular movements against those regimes are beginning to emerge ad expand helped by the bad economic situation in jost of those countries.

In addition, the Imperialist pressure on Syria is intensifying, and after the so called “Syrian Accountability Act” was passed by the US Congress and adopted by the American Government, came the fabricated uproar regarding propagating President Lahoud’s term for three years, which was taken by the Lebanese Parliament in accordance with the Lebanese constitution. American and French Imperialist circles has managed to pressure the UN Security Council to pass Law 1559, which contradicts the UN Charter disallowing intervention in the internal affairs of member countries. The passing of this Law marks a new phase in the escalating aggressive colonial campaign against Syria and Lebanon. Imperialist and Zionist circles are fully aware that as long as Syria’s firm stand persists, they will never be able to dominate the area and this explains the ever increasing pressures on Syria at all levels.

It is obvious more than ever that the ultimate goal of American Imperialism is not just to get limited concessions from Syria, but rather to bring down the Syrian national political establishment in itself, and the increasing pressures meant to weaken the firm Syrian political stand are just one episode in that long term plan. In point of fact, retreat is not a option and resoluteness is the ultimate answer in order to face this destructive campaign and preserve our national interests.

Syria’s contemporary history testifies that we will be able to hold out, and the basic element of this resoluteness is the embracement of national principles by the entire Syrian people: proletariat, cultivators, low-income people, intellectuals, soldiers and officers.

The Central Committee afterwards reviewed the internal state of affairs and underlined the increasing significance of the economic situation in the current status quo. The socio-economic domain is not just the battlefield of class struggle, as it always was, but it is also a primary field for national struggle against imperialism.

The Central Committee emphasized that national socio-economic accomplishments must be preserved and developed in order to maintain national unity. The basic task in this stage would be to safeguard national production and its backbone; the public sector, and to protect the interest of local producers primarily proletariat and farmers who constitute the central pillar of national resoluteness.

The Central Committee observed that some Compradores, neo-Bourgeoisie elements and their associates have illusions about easing socio-economic difficulties via adopting liberal economic policies, accession to EU-Mediterranean Partnership or joining the WTO.

The numerous examples, including those of neighboring countries, in this connection that adopting such policies will hit hard national industrial and agricultural production, which is unable to compete with competition from monopolistic companies. Therefore, the SCP totally rejects this approach out of, not only socio-economic considerations, but primarily national ones. Some circles are advocating a “concealed privatization” in the form of putting into circulation public sector companies and establishments for investment or partnership with other companies.

All those scenarios go under shadowy slogans such as “separation of management and ownership” and “applying market rules in the country”. We believe that efforts must be made to harmonize management and ownership; making management of those establishments, which were built by the wealth of the people, works for the good of those very people. In order for the national economy to be efficient, the public sector must be purified through eliminating the corrupt plunderers not by demolishing this vital economic structure.

The Central Committee believes that it is not right to dissolve state owned companies & establishments: as it was recently the case with the “Agricultural Mechanization Establishment” and several state farms. In addition, putting public sector bodies into circulation for investment is not only a form a privation, but the 1st concrete step in that direction and this is exactly the goal of many powers who are aiming to re-plunder the state and the people altogether through privatizing the public sector.

Another group is calling foreign borrowing under the pretence that the national economy will be vitalized. The distinctive feature of our economy is low foreign debts, and those who call for foreign borrowing aim at abolishing this positive quality all together.

We think that, instead of this dangerous approach, it would be better to utilize the huge public funds rationally through primarily productive state investments. The 1st step in that direction would be to restore or replace worn-out machinery and equipment of industrial public sector’s central divisions and maintain the agricultural support policy to sustain agricultural security and certain copiousness of crops.

The national economy has witnessed lately a dangerous socio-economic contradiction, and whereas state earnings increased due to global rise in oil prices (and not as a result of certain economic decisions), there are plans to reduce state productive investments which will definitely sent the economy into deeper recession since the deflationary policies will have a negative effect on all sectors of the national economy.

The Central Committee also warns against the negative consequences of raising oil prices especially diesel and fuel since such move will lead to higher inflation rates that will affect not only the livelihood of ordinary people by also national production as a whole. And since there is a considerable budget surplus thanks to rising prices of our exported oil, part of this surplus is sufficient to maintain current oil prices in the local market, especially after living standards were affected negatively due to gradual increase in consumer goods.

The Central Committee also considers that plans to give the private sector a pioneering role in the national economy are in effect awarding this very role to foreign capital and its local representatives since the national private capital is not qualified at this stage to assume this role. The Central Committee observes that, within the current difficult circumstances and Imperialist and Zionist pressures, it is wrong to pursue new economic experiments that may lead to destabilizing the socio-economic structure in the country and result in grave consequences. National production in all its sectors must be shielded and producers’ interests responded to, especially even linking between wages and prices.

The Central Committee also reflected on the celebrations currently underway by the Party’s organizations to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the party’s formation and to support the firm Syrian stand.

The Central Committee called on all Comrades and Party organizations to work hard to prepare for the Party’s central commemoration which will be held in Damascus on October 8th 2004, during which Syrian communists will express their determination, as always, to walk hand in hand with their allies in the National Progressive Front and the Syrian people as a whole to strive for the protection of national values and principles. And by that final statement the Central Committees declares its extended meeting concluded.