People's Democracy

CPI(M) Greets CP of Bangladesh

On its Tenth Congress

The following is the text of the message sent by the Central Committee of the CPI(M) to the Communist Party of Bangladesh on October 10, on the occasion of its tenth party congress that was held from October 11-13. CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Suryakanta Mishra, Tripura state secretariat member Gautam Das and West Bengal state committee member, Narayan Dutta attended the congress as fraternal delegates, representing the CPI(M).

THE Communist Party of India (Marxist) warmly greets the Communist Party of Bangladesh on the occasion of its tenth party congress. We wish the congress all success and hope that the resolutions and decisions of the congress will further strengthen the party.

Comrades,

Your congress is taking place at a crucial time. The global economic crisis, one of the severest in recent history had its effects felt in almost all the countries of the world. What had started as corporate insolvency in 2008 had now bloomed into full fledged sovereign insolvency. The US, which enjoyed unrivalled global dominance, is finding its economic supremacy threatened.

Closure of factories, rising unemployment, poverty, hunger, malnutrition are some of the most visible effects of the economic crisis. The ruling classes worldwide are trying to come out of the crisis by further burdening the common people. The hard won rights of the working class are under attack, with rising retirement ages, cuts in pensions and other social welfare benefits.

Another important feature of this crisis is that the imperialist countries are trying to transfer their burdens onto the shoulders of the developing and under-developed countries. They are using multilateral agencies like the IMF and World Bank, together with the Doha round of negotiations and climate change talks to burden developing countries. Imperialism is putting to use all the means at its disposal – military, economic and political – to retain its hegemony.

A heartening feature in this gloomy scenario is that these attempts of the ruling classes are not going unchallenged. People are coming out in large numbers protesting the 'austerity' measures and mounting attacks on their livelihoods.

Comrades,

India too is affected by the global economic crisis. Indian government, not learning from the lessons offered by other countries, is further liberalising its economy, particularly the finance sector. The Congress led UPA government, bowing down to the pressures of the international finance capital and the US has initiated measures to open the economy for FDI in retail, insurance and aviation. These measures would sound death knell to the livelihoods of the millions of people. Many export oriented industries like textiles are facing the prospects of closure.

The country is already reeling under the effects of rising prices of food, fuel and other essential items. Agriculture is under severe duress. Manufacturing is slowing down. There is a growing anger among the people against the government policies. The CPI(M) and the Left parties are taking up these issues and leading the fight against the neo-liberal onslaught of the government.

The people of Bangladesh too are reeling under the effects of the neo-liberal policies. There are attempts to privatise the natural resources of the country. We salute all the struggling workers and people of Bangladesh who are heroically resisting all these attempts. The US, as its strategic documents point out, is trying to extend its influence and bring our entire region into its hold. It is upon us to resist the imperialist penetration in our region.

India and Bangladesh share a lot of common history, culture and heritage. The CPI(M) stands for the further deepening of friendly relations between the people of the two countries. All the issues between the two countries can be resolved through bi-lateral efforts.

Comrades,

Once again, we wish the tenth congress of the CPB all success and thank the leadership for inviting us to be part of this historic congress. We assure you of our wholehearted solidarity with your struggles for the cause of working class and other toiling sections of the society. We are confident that the decisions you arrive at, the resolutions of your congress will strengthen the struggle for the establishment of the socialist society. Fully aware that this is not an easy task, we assure you of our complete solidarity in this long and arduous journey.

Central Committee

Communist Party of India (Marxist)