World Peace Council's Revolutionary Agenda
Founded in 1949, the World Peace Council was the Soviet Union's largest and most influential front organisation. Most pro Soviet Communist parties had an affiliated "Peace Group" which would be that country's representative on the World Peace Council.
New Zealand WPC affiliates were the old Communist Party aligned New Zealand Peace Council. Later it was the Socialist Unity Party aligned, New Zealand Council for World Peace (later the Peace Council Aotearoa/NZ).
The World Peace Council still survives as a leading co-ordinator of Peace/Communist activity and propaganda world wide. It recently moved its HQ to Athens from Helsinki.
The Executive Committee of the World Peace Council concluded its latest meeting on 19th and 20th May 2006 in Brasilia.
Below are excerpts from the WPC's statement issued after the conference. It gives a good overview of the issues of importance to the world communist movement. It is effectively a blueprint for communist/peace activity, worldwide.
The meeting of the WPC Executive Committee in Brazil, in Latin America, truly constitutes a special moment in the history of our organization, taking place as it is during a period when great contradictions are intersecting in this region in the most telling way.
The WPC is welcoming today the developments taking place on this continent, we could thus say that the heart of progressive mankind, and therefore the heart of the peace
movement, the WPC, beats in Latin America- in Cuba, in Venezuela, in Bolivia, where their peoples, defying imperialist intimidation, are finding and blazing new paths to the peoples' benefit. Likewise in Brazil where the government is defending world peace and the Latin American integration. The WPC reiterates its demands for the lifting of the US blockade against Cuba and for the release of the five Cuban political prisoners from the US prisons.
The attention of the world humanity is these days focused on Iran, which we cannot examine in isolation from general developments. To a great degree it is linked to the overall imperialist policy, first and foremost by the USA, which is trying in many ways to impose global domination, to control the wealth - producing resources of the planet and to subjugate any country or people that put up resistance.
The immediate and essential task of the peace movements, the peoples' movements and naturally the WPC, is to mobilize the peoples to denounce pre-emptive war policy and thus to stop a new war, deeply linked with the demand for immediate withdrawal of all occupation forces from Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine.
WPC will promote a campaign to rally broader forces around the struggle against war-for a world order of peace and justice based on the founding charter of the UN.
WPC will strengthen the cooperation with other social and peoples' movements against the neoliberal policies. Over the past year widespread privatizations and the deregulation of services have been promoted with growing urgency and pressure in order that conditions might be created for the multinational corporations to engage in yet greater plundering of social wealth. Common actions and initiatives for the cuts in military budgets are becoming more and more important as a common ground for peace and other social movements.
The WPC denounces the imperialist imposition of economic sanctions on countries which do not comply with the wish of the powerful, with the pretext of lack of democracy, violation "human rights" and underlines the sovereign rights of each people for self-determination. In this context we demand the lifting of the economic
sanctions by the USA and the EU against the Zimbabwean people and for its right to determine its own future.
The WPC supports the peaceful and independent reunification of the Korean peninsula and expresses its solidarity with the Korean people in their fight against the military presence of US troops on their soil. The WPC firmly opposes the acceleration of the integration of Japan in the military plans of the US strategy and the reinforcement of the US bases in Japan.
The Executive Committee expresses its profound solidarity with the Palestinian people, in its ongoing suffering from the western backed and tolerated Israeli occupation. We reaffirm our support to the only possible solution of the conflict with the establishment of an independent State of Palestine in the borders of June 1967 and with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The WPC is committing itself to strengthen even more the coordinated efforts for the removal of all Foreign military bases, which constitute a violation of the sovereignty of the countries where located and a daily threat to the respective region and peoples. We denounce furthermore the common military exercises of the USA in various parts of the world.
Despite the negative tendencies and contradictions, the WPC is expressing its strong will and optimism that the situation described above, is not a one-way street.... The peoples' struggles in each and every country with the coordination on regional and International level can and will open new roads, for peace and the benefit of the vast majority of humanity. The WPC will contribute to its best level to this.
New Zealand WPC affiliates were the old Communist Party aligned New Zealand Peace Council. Later it was the Socialist Unity Party aligned, New Zealand Council for World Peace (later the Peace Council Aotearoa/NZ).
The World Peace Council still survives as a leading co-ordinator of Peace/Communist activity and propaganda world wide. It recently moved its HQ to Athens from Helsinki.
The Executive Committee of the World Peace Council concluded its latest meeting on 19th and 20th May 2006 in Brasilia.
Below are excerpts from the WPC's statement issued after the conference. It gives a good overview of the issues of importance to the world communist movement. It is effectively a blueprint for communist/peace activity, worldwide.
The meeting of the WPC Executive Committee in Brazil, in Latin America, truly constitutes a special moment in the history of our organization, taking place as it is during a period when great contradictions are intersecting in this region in the most telling way.
The WPC is welcoming today the developments taking place on this continent, we could thus say that the heart of progressive mankind, and therefore the heart of the peace
movement, the WPC, beats in Latin America- in Cuba, in Venezuela, in Bolivia, where their peoples, defying imperialist intimidation, are finding and blazing new paths to the peoples' benefit. Likewise in Brazil where the government is defending world peace and the Latin American integration. The WPC reiterates its demands for the lifting of the US blockade against Cuba and for the release of the five Cuban political prisoners from the US prisons.
The attention of the world humanity is these days focused on Iran, which we cannot examine in isolation from general developments. To a great degree it is linked to the overall imperialist policy, first and foremost by the USA, which is trying in many ways to impose global domination, to control the wealth - producing resources of the planet and to subjugate any country or people that put up resistance.
The immediate and essential task of the peace movements, the peoples' movements and naturally the WPC, is to mobilize the peoples to denounce pre-emptive war policy and thus to stop a new war, deeply linked with the demand for immediate withdrawal of all occupation forces from Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine.
WPC will promote a campaign to rally broader forces around the struggle against war-for a world order of peace and justice based on the founding charter of the UN.
WPC will strengthen the cooperation with other social and peoples' movements against the neoliberal policies. Over the past year widespread privatizations and the deregulation of services have been promoted with growing urgency and pressure in order that conditions might be created for the multinational corporations to engage in yet greater plundering of social wealth. Common actions and initiatives for the cuts in military budgets are becoming more and more important as a common ground for peace and other social movements.
The WPC denounces the imperialist imposition of economic sanctions on countries which do not comply with the wish of the powerful, with the pretext of lack of democracy, violation "human rights" and underlines the sovereign rights of each people for self-determination. In this context we demand the lifting of the economic
sanctions by the USA and the EU against the Zimbabwean people and for its right to determine its own future.
The WPC supports the peaceful and independent reunification of the Korean peninsula and expresses its solidarity with the Korean people in their fight against the military presence of US troops on their soil. The WPC firmly opposes the acceleration of the integration of Japan in the military plans of the US strategy and the reinforcement of the US bases in Japan.
The Executive Committee expresses its profound solidarity with the Palestinian people, in its ongoing suffering from the western backed and tolerated Israeli occupation. We reaffirm our support to the only possible solution of the conflict with the establishment of an independent State of Palestine in the borders of June 1967 and with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The WPC is committing itself to strengthen even more the coordinated efforts for the removal of all Foreign military bases, which constitute a violation of the sovereignty of the countries where located and a daily threat to the respective region and peoples. We denounce furthermore the common military exercises of the USA in various parts of the world.
Despite the negative tendencies and contradictions, the WPC is expressing its strong will and optimism that the situation described above, is not a one-way street.... The peoples' struggles in each and every country with the coordination on regional and International level can and will open new roads, for peace and the benefit of the vast majority of humanity. The WPC will contribute to its best level to this.
posted by Trevor Loudon at
6/16/2006 12:15:00 PM
5 Comments:
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Some George Orwell quotes on the subject:
"Since pacifists have more freedom of action in countries where traces of democracy survive, pacifism can act more effectively against democracy than for it. Objectively the pacifist is pro-Nazi." (read pro-Communist for Pro-Nazi; both are totalitarian antagonists)
"Pacifism is objectively pro-fascist. This is elementary common sense. If you hamper the war effort of one side, you automatically help out that of the other. Nor is there any real way of remaining outside such a war as the present one. In practice, 'he that is not with me is against me."
Today it's Muslim extremists as well as Communists who are helped by the peace movement.
I wouldn't describe myself as a 'peacenik'. I am more an anti-militarist. Orwell was excellent he also had this brilliant quote:
"war against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it."
I'm against the arms industry and wars for the sake of profits. I think WW2 could have been prevented if Western nations hadn't allowed their corporations to help the Nazis build up. In Spain the fascists were appeased by the West because they said they were willing to protect British, French and American investments if Franco's forces won.
However, by 1939 it was too late and war became the only option :(
Good essay on Orwell's beliefs on war and pacificism:
http://www.wellesley.edu/Peace/Rosenwald/orwell.html
I agree with you Cameron-that is why I've posted several times on banning trade with enemy nations. The defence forces should be for defence, Full stop.
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