People's Democracy

Greetings from the Communist Party of Bangladesh

THE Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) warmly greets this historic 19th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and wishes it a great success.

We take pride to recall that CPI(M) and CPB are two parties which were born and grew up in their earliest years and parts of the same undivided Party during the days of the British Raj, and both of them are enriched with the rich common heritage of those days. The partition of India in 1947 necessiated the formation of CPB as an independent and separate Party. However, over the last six decades, in spite of being two independent parties, we have stood beside each other with bonds of revolutionary fraternity and mutual cooperation.

The 19th Congress of CPI(M) meets at very challenging times. We are confident that your Party will succeed in fulfilling the many challenges that you are confronted with. We would like to assure you that the Communist Party of Bangladesh will stand firmly by your Party during your hard struggles of the coming days.

In Bangladesh, we are faced with a difficult and complex situation. Our country entered a new political scenario 14 months ago, on January 11, 2007, when a new caretaker government, prompted and actively supported by the Army, took over office. The new government declared a state of Emergency all over the country and cancelled the scheduled farcical national elections of January 22. The election was meticulously planned by the incumbent reactionary-communal BNP-Jamaat Alliance government to ensure its return to power by hook or by crook. Such an interruption of the normal democratic process and the fact that the country is being ruled by a Army-guided non-elected government for over a year, which is projected to continue for another year even if its promise for holding of national elections before end of 2008 is kept, is a blatant manifestation of the bankruptcy of the ruling classes and their attempt to run this country under a bipolar political structure led by Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Over the past three decades Bangladesh has been confronting the two pronged attack from imperialism along with its local collaborators on the one hand, and the dark forces of communal extremism on the other. Bangladesh is a classic example of what the prescription of WB-IMF-WTO dictated neo-liberal reform policies of free market, deregulation, privatisation etc, actually mean for a marginalised peripheral country which finds itself placed within the capitalist-imperialist globalisation framework. Consequences have been catastrophic for the economy and social fabric as well as for the political process of the country. The anti-productive, commission seeking, parasitic and lumpen local ruling class has simply served the interest of imperialism and multinational corporations and filled up their pockets at the cost of the interests of the nation and the people.

The rule of the bourgeois parties alternating over the years have mainly served the interest of foreign and local ruling classes, and they all have followed more or less the same neo-liberal and reactionary socio-economic policies. In order to pursue and absolutise their exploitation and rule, the ruling classes have used all means to ensure the continued domination of state power by AL and BNP, and also to utilise the ultra-communal Jamaat-i-Islam to their advantage. The close relation between USA and Jamaat-i-Islami in Bangladesh is a living example of the shameless collaboration between imperialism and religious fundamentalism. But the formula of de facto bi polar political system and of collaboration with ultra-communal Jamaat has failed to ensure for the ruling classes a stable, peaceful and anarchy-free condition for their unfettered exploitation and rule. This bitter experience has compelled them to precipitate the changes of January 11, 2007, seek new formulas of governance and politics and bring about reforms of political convenience for them. Experience is increasingly demonstrating that without a revolutionary democratic transformation of the state and socio-economic system the ongoing process of decay, degeneration and crisis cannot be fundamentally eliminated. For accomplishing this task, a Left-Democratic Alternative is imperative. The CPB is concentrating on carrying forward this task. At the same time it is also attaching importance to work for combating the danger of fascist armed communal forces, communalism, autocratic tendencies, encroachments on democratic rights and safeguarding democratic political process etc. The CPB is trying to build up broad popular movements on these questions and take parallel, convergent or simultaneous actions along with other secular-democratic forces.

You in India are well aware of the great dangers of communalism and imperialism. We all are victims today of the intensified assault of imperialism. This, along with terrorism and cross-border terrorism, religious fundamentalism, poverty, hunger, illiteracy, malnourishment, unemployment etc, is the common problems of the nations of South Asia. This calls for increased unity, cooperation and coordination among the democratic, secular, progressive and Left forces, and above all of the communists of all countries of South Asia. We strongly feel the need of, and once again repeat our proposal for, a meeting of all Communist and Marxist Parties of South Asian countries.

Dear Comrades,

Your Congress meets at a time when humanity is confronted with unparalleled dangers. US imperialism has embarked on a rapacious and atrocious assault on the major achievements of the past century, proclaiming dangerous doctrines like those of limited sovereignty, unilateral action, preemptive attack, regime change etc. Freedom is being trampled under foot and nations are being harnessed to the global geopolitical strategy of imperialism to accentuate its economic exploitation and social-political domination. US imperialism has practically embarked on the mission of �recolonisation.�

Humanity, however, is starting to fight back. The struggles against US led imperialist aggression and occupation, against the unfettered exploitation of multinational corporations and the machinations of World Bank, IMF, WTO etc. against the continuing destruction of bio-diversity and stubborn refusal to take urgent steps for preventing environmental calamity --- all these struggles are gearing up throughout the world. Indeed the global assault of capitalism-imperialism calls for a new global coalition of all anti-imperialist forces of the world, for raising to a qualitatively new level the unity, cohesion, cooperation and coordination of the struggles of these forces all over the world. The Communist and Workers Parties of the world have a crucial role to play in building up this coalition and spearheading the struggle for peace, democracy and justice. We all must intensify our activities in our own countries. At the same time we must not make the grave mistake of regarding our firmly beside your Party in this great struggle of the new century.

I will end by wishing the 19th Congress of the CPI(M) a great success in fulfilling the challenging tasks it is confronted with.

Long live global coalition against imperialism.

Long live proletarian internationalism.

Long live the friendship between the CPI (M) and the CPB.

Long live the Communist Party of India (Marxist).