Statement condemning the prohibition of the
Communist Youth Union of Czech Republic (KSM)

On December 2005 it came to our knowledge that the Ministry of Interior of Czech Republic commanded KSM to renounce to its political proposals, its communist identity and its Marxist-Leninist principles. The Czech Republic government established a time limit so that KSM would change its political program otherwise this youth organization would be declared illegal. The first given closing date (31st December 2005) was later on postponed to March 2006.

The Ministry of Interior had sent to KSM a warning and precept, in which it:

1. Impugns the status of the KSM as a civic association under pretext that the goals of KSM´s activity interfere with an area restricted to activities of political parties that is, according to the interpretation of the Home Office of the Czech Republic, excluded from the intervention of civic associations. Nevertheless the KSM does not differ in this area from the field of action of other youth political organizations in the Czech Republic like Young Conservatives, Young Social Democrats, Young Christian Democrats, etc. Thus it is obvious that this attack against the KSM is politically motivated. It is an obvious attempt to restrain our freedom of association.

2. Tries to coerce the KSM into renouncing its political program, communist identity, goals, and theoretical basis in Marx, Engels and Lenin, which is Marxism as a whole.

It is necessary to emphasize that the attack against the KSM is an attack against the whole communist movement in the Czech Republic, and therefore also against the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KCSM), which the state power has not so far dared to attack directly; it does so indirectly by attacking the KSM due to the closeness between the KCSM, which is today one of the strongest parliamentary political parties in the Czech Republic and one of the strongest communist parties in Europe.

This attack against the KSM is just the climax of a long-run anticommunist campaign that has increased in intensity this year. Among its manifestations was for example a petition titled “Let’s abolish the communists” an endeavor to pass a law that would criminalize communist ideas, movement and the word “communist” as such. This bill simultaneously put communism and its ideas on one level with fascism and its crimes.

On identical level of offense it is the motion presented on 24th of January 2006 to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) entitled “Need for international condemnation of crimes of totalitarian communist regimes” upon a report of its political committee. The content of this report constitutes a flagrant violation of every sense of democratic liberties and order and shows a practice of political revenge of capitalism, aiming to prevent the most progressive forces to act freely and to propagate their ideas and ideals. This anti-democratic crusade is a clear violation of the most elementary rights and freedom of the citizens. To perpetuate this 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 Nazi-fascism as it already has happened in Czech Republic and other countries.

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. In Czech Republic, student’s organizations, political parties, several associations and anti-fascist organizations protested against this attack to the most elementary democratic rights. All over the world, several youth organizations of many aims, anti-imperialist, progressive, democratic, peace-loving youth movements, political parties and many personalities and intellectuals expressed solidarity with the KSM, and stand against the attacks performed to prohibit it, demanding the retreat of the resolution to prohibit the KSM.

While the Czech Republic government had been postponing its final decision, the anticommunist attacks had been raised with slogans like "Kill a communist to strengthen peace!" / "Do not let the red swine’s rule!” / "Commie out!” / "The reds do not sleep, make them sleep!" / "Save our land, smash the reds" / "Fucking communists, go to ass!" etc. An anticommunist demonstration on the May Day took place in Prague on a place where the KCSM traditionally organized its May Day. Therefore the KCSM had to organize it on other place. On this anticommunist demonstration also participated the leaders of three parliamentary right-wing parties made their speeches using very offensive, dirty words against the communists. The vice-chairman of the KCSM was brutally attacked on 25th of April 2006 on the street in Prague.

Recently, through a letter of 12th of October 2006 the Czech government has come to dissolute the KSM, presenting as a pretext some contents on the proposals, as the substitution of the private property of the production means by the collective property of the production means. Thus, the reason for the prohibition is the conviction of these youngsters to build a different society, not base on the capitalist’s principals. This concerns an act that primarily turns against democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms of which the EU claims to be the defender.

We strongly condemn the prohibition of the KSM. The open threats towards the KSM and of course toward the KCSM during the past few months became more intense and were placed among the wider plan of imperialism to intensify anti-communist propaganda, to distort history with lies, to place communists on the bench with memoranda, prohibitions and militant anti-communism.

This attempt falls within the wider policy of the Czech Republic government and is promoted by the broader policies of the EU as well, for the prohibition of the radical Left ideology which offers the utmost in the struggle against fascism, against colonialism and social injustice, against human exploitation and inequality. The KCSM also comprises a target of the Czech Republic government through the decision in question only a week before the elections, as well as the overall anti-communist climate that is being cultivated and reminds of a witch-hunt. The activities of the KCSM in gathering 40.000 signatures against the promoted plans for the installation of the NATO bases in the Czech Republic were quite disturbing for the government of the USA.

We wish to stress that similar phenomena of communist condemnation due to their ideology, penalization of organizations and their activities, prohibition and imprisonment of members or representatives of communist parties are also observed in other countries, mostly in Eastern Europe, such as in Bulgaria, Hungary, Baltic countries and other republics of the former Soviet Union. At the same time, anti-communist and anti-socialist foundations have been established in Bulgaria and Romania while in the Czech Republic and Hungary anti-communist museums have been created. While the Left confronts fascist prosecutions, in several of these countries not only are fascist and neo-Nazi organizations not prohibited but also they are allowed, if not encouraged, to act freely.

The appeal of progressive ideals worries the system of exploitation and discrimination because by its policies the European youngsters became aware of the capitalism crimes. This offence against KSM has emerged from a profounder campaign against the communist movement in Czech Republic and in Eastern Europe. This anti-democratic and anti-communist crusade, intends to criminalize communist people and their actions, comparing it with the hideous crimes carried out by the Nazi-fascism. This anti-democratic operation aims to strike the communist movement and the most elementary rights and freedom of the citizens by the implementation of the so-called “anti-terrorist legislation”, by the US government and the EU.

Such kinds of policies and practices, along with social deadlocks caused but not faced by the system, encourage the revival of Fascism and Nazism, which caused so much destruction, and deaths of millions of people. The peoples of the aforementioned countries, as well as the representatives of the communist ideology have offered innumerable sacrifices in the anti-fascist victory of the peoples during the Second World War and have moreover played a decisive role in the conquest of many labor, collective and individual rights which are currently under the threat of abolition, as sacrifice in the name of the market economy, of the “holy” competition, of globalization, of inequality and the capital and profit of multinational companies.

We strongly criticize such policies like the terror legislation, the inclusion of biometric data in citizens documents, the arrest and retention of suspects without warrants of arrest or proof, the surveillance of persons, secret prisons even on European ground and private conversation wiretapping. Such measures, which supposedly turn against terrorism, in essence turn against workers and movements or parties that express the workers’ interests.

These policies aim at imposing imperialist policies and the interests of multinational companies at the expense of human rights and the freedoms of people. The imperialists in Eastern Europe show an extra effort to this direction with the purpose of erasing the peoples’ memory and any possibility of the youth getting to know how all the people can manage their own destiny. They know that the communists have a way out and this is why they are the first target in the wider attack against the popular movement. We express our solidarity with the KSM and KCSM and we believe that this issued does not only concern the communist but all democratic people, as it comprises an attack against democratic rights.

We express our strong disgust, protest and deeply concerns towards these measures and affirms that the action and the fight of the anti-imperialist, progressive and democratic youth movement, all over the world, won’t let any expression of the youth movement to be oppressed or silenced. We demand the respect for freedom and democracy, the ceasing of these political provocations and express our profound solidarity with the victims of this undemocratic and autocratic assault being convinced that the imperialist and capitalist forces will never stop the fight of the youth and the people for freedom.

Therefore we call upon all our member and friendly organizations at national, regional and international level as well as all the anti-imperialist youth movement to boost the struggle against these anti-democratic measures taken by different seats in Europe, the USA and anywhere else and develop a range of actions to raise the conscience of the young people and stop these attacks immediately.

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