Coordinating Council of WFDY - Press Communiqué

The Coordinating Council Meeting of the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) was held from 17^th – 19^th November 2006 in Beirut, Lebanon, hosted by our member organization in the country, the Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth (ULDY).

This meeting, initiated on 17^th of November – International Day of Students, was focused on the preparations towards the 17^th Assembly of WFDY, which is going to take place in March 2007, in Hanoi, Vietnam. It also evaluated the activities carried out since the last General Council Meeting of WFDY (Athens, Greece, May 2006) and decided on the forthcoming WFDY’s actions and activities. In the framework of this meeting took also place a Solidarity Visit to the Southern Suburb of Beirut, a Meeting with the General Union of Palestine Students (GUPS) and a Visit to Palestinian Refugee Camps around Beirut. The participants in this meeting discussed as well the more recent developments on the political and social situation of youth at national, regional and international level.

The Middle East region lives in a tremendous instability caused by a bigger aggressiveness of the imperialism that uses all the means to achieve its goals. The widespread Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Palestine by the war machinery of Israel - supported by the United States of America (US) and its allies, has been killing and committing massacres against the innocent Lebanese and Palestinian people, destroying their society and economy and devastating their territories.

These attacks only proves the correct position we have stated to condemn imperialism’s meddling in Lebanese internal affairs and its attempts to provoke instability in the country and the region to target Syria, Palestine, Iraq and indirectly Iran, to change the political and geographical map of the region to go along with the Great Middle East project of imperialism under the slogans “fight against terrorism”, “dismantle weapons of mass destruction” and “democratize regimes”. Although the long road of struggle ahead of the people to get real democracies we believe the only way is to have the democratization process coming from the free will of the people and their daily struggle and not by any imperialist intervention that only aims to exploit the people and the natural resources of the region.

WFDY expresses its deep solidarity with the Lebanese resistive national youth, and its complete support for their rights in resisting to the aggression and foreign intervention in its internal issues trusting that like before they would resist against the aggression and will defend and preserve the independence, sovereignty and territorial unity of the country. WFDY also expresses its deep sorrow for the families of the martyrs of the Lebanese youth who died during the last Israeli-Imperialist aggression on Lebanon including the families of comrades, the martyrs of ULDY.

WFDY considers, during all these years of Israeli aggression and occupation on Palestinian people, that the aggression force, separation wall and settlements only aggravate the situation. WFDY express its serious apprehension on the continuing crimes against humanity by the state terrorism of Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian people, in West Bank and Gaza Strip (clearly revealed by all the massacres carried out in Palestine as the recent one in Beit Hanoun), killing and injuring innocent people, destructing civilian infrastructures and public buildings, which reflects a dangerous escalation of Israeli aggressiveness.

WFDY reiterates its position and its support to its member organization in Palestine and to the struggle of Palestinians against the Israeli occupation, for an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and for the right of return of Palestinian refugees and the immediate dismantling of the apartheid wall, which Israel is constructing in occupied territories of Palestine. WFDY consider that all the steps to achieve a solution must to have as main content the rights of Palestinian People, on the basis of the respective UN resolutions. WFDY believes that the way to peace and security for the both peoples is two states for two peoples.

We denounce the maneuvers of Israel to use the demand of releasing captive soldiers in Palestine or Lebanon as pretext for its violent attacks and at the same time keep arrested around 10.000 Arab political prisoners in its jails, which we claim to be freed.

WFDY took also advantage of this meeting to boost its action “Stop immediately the Israeli aggression against Lebanese and Palestinian youth and people” and strengthened its wide fund-raising campaign to help these youngsters trough our member organizations in Lebanon and Palestine.

WFDY conveys its strong support for the struggle of Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian youth and people to return their occupied lands from Zionist Israel.

WFDY expresses once more its solidarity towards the people and youth of Iraq in their struggle and resistance against imperialist occupation forces, welcomes the democratic resistance efforts put up by the Iraqi people for the integrity of their country and a future where democratic rights, freedoms are respected. We demand the immediate withdrawal of US, British and all occupation forces and the preservation of Iraqi sovereignty and unity. The Iraqi people like all the peoples in the world have the undeniable right to decide their destination by their own and build their future by their hands. We demand as well the immediate end of occupation, withdraw of all foreign troops from Afghanistan and defend the right of the Afghan people to decide their own destiny by their own.

The imperialist maneuvers against DPRK are gravely increasing. The ambition of the US is to establish its power of control and domination in Northeast Asia, on the threshold of Korean peninsula of geo-political importance in the region and, in advance, to hold its supremacy. We call upon the young people of the world to express their solidarity towards Korean youth for the reunification of the country by Korean nation itself under the banner of the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration as well as for the denuclearization of Korean peninsula to promote the worldwide nuclear disarmament and the final elimination of nuclear weapons in the world.

We congratulate the Nepalese youth, students and political parties for their victory in the struggle against the King’s dictatorial government and wish them all the success in their ongoing struggle to declare Nepal as a “Democratic Republic State”. As WFDY had shown its concern with the strong attempt of U.S. and its allies against Iran, putting this country as a possible next target for intends of the imperialist expansion and domination the life has proved it. We oppose to moves made by the US to impose sanctions and military actions against Iran. We demand the return of all Bhutanese refuges to their country with respect and dignity. We express our solidarity towards the struggle of student, youth, and democratic movements in Myanmar, for democracy and against the military junta that continues to deny the verdict of the people in the last general election and the repressive actions undertaken against its people.

The effects of the imperialist aggression in Africa assume special relevance. We denounce the human rights violation in Sudan, namely in Darfour, even after the signing of the peace agreement between the Government and the resistance forces, which should be fully implemented. The recent developments in Somalia and the bullying against the progressive movement in Ethiopia deserve from us special attention. WFDY enhance once more its believe that the solution for the problems of the peoples of African countries and the achievement of social progress, democracy and peace demands the immediate end of the interference of imperialists potencies and the right of each people to decide their own future.

We strongly condemn the prohibition of the Communist Youth Union in Czech Republic (KSM) declared by the Czech Government in October. We express our strong disgust, protest and deeply concerns towards this measure and demand the respect for freedom and democracy and the ceasing of these political provocations. This unveils an act that primarily turns against democracy, human rights, and fundamental freedoms of which the European Union (EU) claims to be the defender. The anti-communist memorandum of the Council of Europe and the recent legislation of anti-communism by the European Parliament show that this offense has depth and continues go on. Parliaments have no right to judge history and issues of the past trough resolutions in order to promote and service today’s needs of capitalist restructuring. The new Shengen Treaty and the expansion of reactive measures in transportation and airports and the anti-democratic measures discloses that imperialist are targeting every voice of resistance and every voice of anti-imperialist struggle. To perpetuate this anti-democratic crusade everything is admissible for the capitalist ideological offense from comparisons of the progressive and peace-loving organizations of workers, youth and students with the terrorist actions or the heinous crimes carried out by the fascism.

We express our profound solidarity with KSM and all the victims of these undemocratic and autocratic assaults. During all this year, in Czech Republic and all over the world, a solidarity campaign has emerged towards the KSM, namely trough the International Campaign for Democratic and Civil Rights and Liberties of WFDY, which is going to be reinforced till the retreat of the resolution to prohibit the KSM, believing that this issue does not only concerns the communists but all democratic people, as it comprises a clear attack against the most elementary democratic rights. We also underline the importance to reinforce the fight against the attempts to falsify, distort and rewrite the history and forget the people’s heroic resistance and conquests, raising the conscience of the young people.

The EU continues to deepen its pro-capitalist neo-liberal policies against the youth, workers and peoples in favor of the financial and economical profits of capitalist interests, developing its armoring, building a Euro Army and reinforcing the idea of a European Fortress. The announcement of Polish Government stating the urgent need of a Euro-Army and the recent situation of migrants in Mediterranean are proofs of this. We denounce the maneuvers to revive the “Constitutional Treaty of EU” as a serious political offense of capitalism, which aims to guarantee and make deeper the reactionary orientation of EU. It is a threat for the rights of the youth and the peoples and for the sovereignty of the countries with the main idea to walk faster to the federalist way suppressing independence and sovereignty of the peoples, to deepen the domain of the major potencies over the other states, in prejudice of the till now basic principles, such as equality between states, social, territorial and economical cohesion, participation and sharing in matter of power. We reaffirm our rejection to such kind of document by its form, contents and aims.

We express our solidarity and appeal to the European youth to continue and reinforce the struggle for youth rights, against European governments and their attacks, namely against public services stated by the Bolkestein Directive. Struggle for rights and against the privatization of public services like health and education as well as the effects of the consequences imposed by the Bologna Process, against the destruction of social security, to stop the attacks against workers for the defense of collective contracts, for the right of an effective contract, for the right of paid holidays, for the right to strike and be organized in trade unions. The EU guidelines and pro-capitalist policies of national governments put a large mass of workers and people, namely youngsters, in the hands of manpower companies without any rights. We salute all youth sectors in struggle in all Europe against these policies and capitalist exploitation.

With the approved entrance of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU in January 2007 we state that as it already happened with the previous enlargement two and a half years ago it is clear that the real objective behind the enlargement is not the economic and social improvement and cohesion neither the cooperation nor solidarity among the peoples. The real goal is to expand markets and reach for more cheap manpower for the big employers and the financial capital exploitation. NATO besides follows a procedure of expansion and deepens its involvement for imposing the interests of capital all over the world. In these circumstances we also extend our solidarity towards the peoples of the Balkans, who for years have endured the consequences of war and the constant intervention of NATO and the EU with a clear interventionism that has lead more recently to another break-up in the territories of ex-Yugoslavia with the separation of Montenegro from Serbia.

In Latin America, the victory of the democratic, progressive and left forces, Lula in Brazil and Ortega in Nicaragua contribute to the consolidation of Latin-American integration and to the role of the progressive forces.

Exactly because of this, the US government tries to create instability in Evo Morales’s government in Bolivia, intensifies its persecution to Cuba and interferes to try to maintain neo-liberal and anti-popular forces, such as in Colombia and in Mexico, where we verify growing of the human rights violations and obstacles to democracy. The desperate intents of imperialism to try to avoid a new victory of the Venezuelan people with Chavez’s reelection are in this context.

The peoples answer fighting on the streets and voting against the pressures of imperialism, despite the media manipulation. We greet Cuba’s unquestionable victory in United Nations against the Blockade and we express our solidarity to the 5 Cuban heroes denouncing their imprisonment by US, we support and defend the Bolivarian Revolution against the imperialist maneuvers and we will intensify our struggle by the advances that today provide to Latin America an integration of peoples and governments. This dream, frustrated by colonialism and imperialism in the past, nowadays advances with the struggle of the peoples and the youth.  

The recent victory of Democratic Party in the elections for the Senate and House of Representatives in US reveals the dissatisfaction of the people with the armoring and aggressive policy of Bush’s Administration but we estimate that unfortunately this would not mean a real change in the imperialist policy of US.

Finally we salute all the youth in struggle stating that the appeal of progressive ideals worries the system of exploitation and discrimination because by its policies the young people become aware of the capitalism crimes. The Coordinating Council of WFDY is optimistic and also youth and people can be also optimistic. The role of masses is the big obstacle to imperialism despite the differences in the correlation of forces. We believe that the action and the fight of the anti-imperialist, progressive and democratic youth movement, all over the world, won’t let the imperialist/capitalist forces to stop the fight of the youth and the people for peace, social progress and youth rights.  

YOUTH UNITE! FORWARD FOR LASTING PEACE!

The Coordinating Council Meeting of WFDY  

November 19, 2006
Beirut, Lebanon                                                                                                               

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