Paper of MLCP presented to the 2nd Balkan Conference, Sofia 1-2 December 2007

01 December 2007 /Paper to the 2nd Balkan Conference

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989/1990, the Revisionist Bloc and Yugoslavia the Balkans became one of the regions where the competition between the imperialist forces sharpened. The competition between the imperialist forces that took dimensions of war and occupation at the Balkans has shown once again that the imperialist forces do everything to get the power on some regions and markets of the world such as it happened in the Middle East and in the Caucasus/ Caspian Region. Because of imperialist interests and hegemony, Yugoslavia was split, the people of the region were made fighting each other and the same imperialist forces settled in the region to ensure peace. After the collapse of the Revisionist Bloc and Yugoslavia the majority of these countries became members of the EU and at the same time of NATO and so, the competition between the EU and the USA in the Balkans has been continued with these countries.

The Balkans is a region of strategic importance for US imperialism, which has the potential for the world hegemony and the talent to develop geopolitics for this hegemony, as well as for the EU (especially German imperialism within the EU) and Russian imperialism.

Besides the underground richness of the Kosovo, the Balkans is important for the leading imperialist countries as it is important for German imperialism to get its way through to the Mediterranean Region, to become a market for all imperialist forces and to be an important junction to transfer oil and natural gas of the Caucasus/Caspian Region to Europe and the world markets.

With the aim to seize power of Middle Asia, which is the main aim of its world hegemony geopolitics and prevent the influence of the competitors on this region, the USA concentrated on seizing power in three key regions such as the Middle East, the Caucasus/Caspian Region and the Balkans, and with its steps in the Balkans, the USA managed to hinder especially the EU to become a unique influential power in the region.

The USA has shifted an important group of its military power deployed in West Europe to the Balkans in the last years. Especially its military agreements made with Romania and Bulgaria are not only based on providing only military bases for the USA but also the military need. These countries accepted that their own soldiers act together with US soldiers at these bases and that US commanders teach. These developments show the strategic importance given by the USA to the Balkans and the plan of the USA to have settled down in this region forever. In the former parts of Yugoslavia such as the Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia military troops have been placed, even if their number is not high, they do have a strong strike power and flexibility.

Apart from its bases in Greece and Turkey, the USA has strengthened its military existence in the region with new bases in Romania and Bulgaria. US imperialism also wants to supply its military need that is continually increasing due to its aims of occupation and expansion with soldiers from these countries. By sending small military groups to Iraq, these countries showed that they have been under the command of the USA. By saying: "Thanks to the agreements made in East Europe, we have decreased the costs as well as reached a higher potential", US Secretary of State Rice approved this step. Due to the bases in the Balkans, the USA is able to intervene quicker to this region today.

Russia, however, who did not want to only watch the share of the Balkans, participated in the occupation of the Kosovo after the war, although being late in comparison to its competitors. By occupying the airport of Pristine, Russia showed that it is a force to be taken seriously.
Together with the local collaborating regimes the imperialist forces in the Balkans continue to stir up chauvinism and racism between the people and to make the people enemies. The solution of national questions, from the Kosovo question to the Kurdish question, in a revolutionary way is hindered and the policy of "splitting and leading" is applied in the countries where the national minorities live. And so, there are even some progressive, revolutionary parties and organisations of the Balkans that are nationalist and social chauvinist.

While on the one hand the contradictions and clashes between the different cliques of the bourgeoisie continue in the neo-colony Turkey, which is a part of the Balkans, on the other hand the same bourgeois cliques act together and attack the working class, the labourers and the Kurdish people. The colonial Turkish fascist dictatorship has started a new total attack to liquidate the communist and revolutionary movement and to oppress the Kurdish National Movement. The attack on our party started in September 2006 and has continued since then is a part of this concept. With these attacks the fascist dictatorship aims at splitting the vanguard and organised forces of the working class and to make the working class unorganised and without any leader. It wants to apply its policy of neo-liberal attacks without any resistance against the orders of IMF and WB. However, all these attacks have not found any ground and will not do so. The communist and revolutionary movement developed some common platforms to act together and continue with the anti-imperialist and revolutionary struggle.

In our country Turkish chauvinism and Kurdish hostility are developed and expanded in an organised way. The state's approach to the Kurdish question, such it was until now, is based on annihilation and denial. By realising a cross-border operation the Turkish bourgeoisie does not only aim at giving the PKK a heavy blow when entering South Kurdistan but stopping the period of the formation of a state in South Kurdistan. The Turkish state thinks that the formation in South Kurdistan would affect the other parts of Kurdistan and wants to prevent this together with Iran and Syria. While the USA, that controls South Kurdistan, is not happy with a cross-border operation, it wants to make more use of the Turkish state against Iran and Syria offering to strike heavy blows against the PKK in return.

The policy of annihilation and denial of the Kurdish people developed by the fascist dictatorship with its army, government, media and all other organisations has been applied intensively: The attacks on the DTP offices and workplaces of Kurdish people, lynching attempts on the streets, the marking of Kurdish people's houses in some quarters etc. It is the urgent duty of the communists, revolutionaries and progressive forces of Turkey/Northern Kurdistan to strike back these attacks and develop the peoples` brotherhood. Our party has done everything for that and makes use of every means of struggle that serve for this aim. It is also the urgent duty of the revolutionaries and progressive forces of the Balkans to raise the peoples` brotherhood against the wave of Turkish chauvinism developed in Turkey/Northern Kurdistan today and the attacks.

While the imperialist forces compete with each other on the region because of the reasons explained above, they also use every method to silence the workers and labourers who oppose and fight against them. The imperialist forces, that strengthen their hegemony in the region through means such as the unions of the EU and NATO, have pushed the working class and labourers of the Balkans more towards more poverty and misery applying the neo-liberal policy via institutions such as the IMF and WB. While on the one hand the international monopolies increase their profits with new market regions given to them, unemployment is rising on the other hand and the labourers` spending power decreases. The bourgeoisie's attack on the working class and labourers to make them not organised continues in its full extent. With making own experiences the working class and the labourer masses of the Balkans understand every day more and more that the EU, displayed as a big hope, is the union of the monopoly capital of Europe and does not led to anything else than exploitation and plundering.

Such as it is the case in other parts of the world, there is the peoples` will and resistances, social and political movements of different levels against imperialist exploitation and aggression in the Balkans, too. However, these resistances continue to be split and uncoordinated and therefore, their impact remains rather weak.

It is the urgent duty of all communists, revolutionaries and anti-imperialists of the region to coordinate and develop the anti-imperialist struggle in the Balkans. It is the duty of each party and organisation nationally as well as internationally to fight against the imperialist forces` occupation in the region and their hegemony, against the imperialist aggression and occupation of other region, against hostility and chauvinism developed between our people and against imperialist exploitation and plundering. Today the most appropriate means to organise the regional anti-imperialist struggle internationally is the Anti-imperialist Struggle Coordination of the Balkans.

The Balkans Conference of Communist and Worker Parties realised in April 2005 in Thessalonica was a step in this direction. With statements on some topics, the Conference presented its position. The participants of the Conference displayed a positive and exemplary practice at the ESF in 2006. However, during the whole period of two years that have passed since then, the participating party and organisations have shown different approaches concerning how to lead the anti-imperialist struggle in a coordinated way as well as because of some weaknesses of the anti-imperialist struggle on different levels, the practice was very weak. This situation has led to the fact that the Coordination remained as an observer of the developments.

To put an end to this passive situation and to fulfil our historical responsibility towards the working class and our labourer masses, our party makes the following proposals:

1 - Parting also from the different ideological and political positions of the parties and organisations of the region, our party proposes the change of the name of the Balkan Conference to the Anti-imperialist Struggle Coordination of the Balkans. A praxis developing on the grounds of the anti-imperialist struggle of such coordination will also lead to an ideological discussion and approaching of the parties and organisations of the region. From the beginning on the Balkan Conference of Communist and Workers´ Parties, which members have many differences including also the understanding of socialism and the valuation of the praxis of socialism in the past, was not able to make a step catching the eye concerning concrete politics because it did not put the anti-imperialist struggle as central aim. Such a situation will lead to a salt repetition of the conference and not go beyond an orientation towards itself. But in fact the anti-imperialist struggle should bring together all the forces being against imperialism and whose potentials and dynamics are also obvious. Such coordination can play a vanguard role to change the situation in the Balkans, bring to light the anti-imperialist potential and force and can mobilise millions for the interests of the proletariat and the peoples.

2 - The coordination should join up the struggle against the imperialist war, the expansionism, the occupations and threats with the struggle against neoliberal attacks, fascism, reaction, exploitation and plunder and show a common attitude against the reactionary and fascist laws being passed in the single countries and against the attacks against the communist, revolutionary and anti-imperialist forces.

3 - The coordination should deprive the anti-imperialist struggle from being abstract and concretize it. Therefore, tools to develop the anti-imperialist consciousness of the peoples should be applied widely. By means of joint discussion meetings, cultural events, simultaneously taking place demonstrations and meetings practical steps should be carried out.

4 - The coordination should decide to carry out a political campaign in the next period under the slogan "Close down the military bases, imperialist forces out of the Balkans". Such a campaign will be a step in order to develop the anti-imperialist consciousness and attitude and to drive out the imperialists from our region.

MLCP

Turkey/Northern Kurdistan

International Bureau