Imperialism Means War

Dear Comrades of International Class Struggle,

Big business uses globalization as a justification and a means of reducing the rights acquired by the labor movement. International financial markets which have gigantically grown and supra-national power structures, such as European Union, trample rights of the working people and the poor as well as national interests. The imperialist competition for natural resources and the management of the global market generate wars and cause immense destruction. Carelessness for nature’s sustainability threatens the future of mankind.

Communist Party of Finland wishes to thank all the organizers of this important international seminar.

International class struggle, working class unity, fight against imperialism and strengthening peace loving forces is in the top priorities of our party. Imperialism is not fight alone. We need new allies to strengthen our political initiatives. Peace activist are close allies to us. We support the World Peace Council´s initiative of organizing global day of action against NATO 30th od August. It will take place only few days before the NATO summit in South Wales

Not all but some of us in Finnish and Nordic Peace movement are well aware of …US/NATO/ Partnership for Peace war games: Cold Response nr 1, nr 2, nr 3, nr 4, nr 5, and nr 6. Each with about 16.000 troops close to Russian borders. We know that there are huge military training areas in our North. North European Aerospace Test range NEAT in Sweden is as big as Belgium. Drone nEUROn – is a co-product of the French Dassault and Swedish SAAB and four other European countries… Yes peace activists know about this. But it is not enough. Now it is time of action!

In North Finland in Kemijärvi there is a huge area where drones are tested. It is time to cease all research, testing, training or manufacturer of such vehicles. It is time to freeze the number of unmanned armed aerial vehicles. We should globally agree on a total ban on the use of unmanned armed aerial vehicles against civilians. All military bases and installations, including command and control centers that have been earlier constructed or leased on the territories of foreign states for the purpose of storing or using unmanned armed aerial vehicles that have been used to conduct remotely controlled operations have to be closed. Kemijärvi drone testing are has to be closed

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Mining industry, search for natural recourses; uranium, gas and petrol is increasing in northern Finland, Scandinavia and in the Arctic region. There are catastrophic examples how international mining business destroys local natural resources. Partly nationally owned Talvivaara uranium mine has been run with extremely low environmental precautions causing a huge environmental catastrophe polluting local waters. Latest plans of the international mining business is to open a diamante mine in the very high north in Utsjoki. Diamante mine means a concrete threat. Yet we still are not seeing the results but on long run mining industry is hitting hard on tourism the main industry in the north.

Imperialism is showing every day a more and more violent face. In our Northern regions, in Lapland mining business and the growing international interest in the Arctic is oppressing the process of the Saami people in their just demand for their rights to land, culture and language. For us Finnish communist it is important to declare here internationally that we firmly stand with the right of the Saami-aboriginals for their basic democratic rights. We demand the Finnish government to approve the ILO 169 declaration.

The CPF strongly opposes Finland’s accession to NATO military alliance, which has been prepared for through ever closer partnership with NATO. In Parliament, almost all of the political groups have been willing to even give up the notion of military non-alignment.

Today we can see more clearly that the NATO partnership leads to a continuous arms race and to more and more conflicts. That is why the CPF demands the disengagement of Finland from NATO’s Partnership for Peace program and the return to the path of military non-alignment. Finland should not participate in the development of European Union joint military capacity, which takes place in close cooperation with NATO.

Finland should not take part in the militarization of northern regions. Instead, it is necessary to bring up again the proposal for a Nordic region free of nuclear weapons and to promote disarmament.

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For a small country like Finland, it is important that the international economic and political system be reformed to become more democratic and fairer.

Strengthening the struggle of the working class and international solidarity is a key factor to achieve such reforms. It is important to move from individual demonstrations to joint action among trade unions and beyond national borders. This will require a class conscious trade union movement, which encourages civil organizations and makes them join in the common struggle.

In many countries, the trade union movement has responded to the austerity policy in recent years with large demonstrations and general strikes. The CPF calls on the Finnish trade union movement to actively engage in the European and the international class struggle and fight against imperialism´s aggressions like foreign military bases.

In my party we are interested about next Cuban Peace movements´s Mov PAz seminar on Foreign military bases in Guantanamo.

The CPF actively participates in international meetings of communist and workers’ parties. We want to develop this cooperation to become more practical, in particular with political parties of neighboring regions such as the Nordic region, Russia and the Baltic States. We condemn the discrimination against Communists forces in Ukraine and Communists and other left-wing forces elsewhere, in particular in the Eastern Europe.

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We demand Finnish government and the European Union to resign from the reactionary global politics led by the Israeli state and the United States. European Union has to act in a progressive peace building initiative in the very necessary and just process of establishing an independent Palestinian state East Jerusalem as its capital.

According to Amnesty International, Finland is the world’s second largest supplier of missile technology to Israel. We have laws and regulations that prohibit arms trade with countries in war. European Union and its member states have to make a clear stop to the current situation. Advanced technology used in military purposes has to be considered as arms trade and therefore stopped. There must be other ways to find work for metalworkers’ and workers in the advantaged technology that instead of destroying our societies and planet will construct and progress it.

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The CPF demands from government and parliament to reduce Finnish arms expenditures and to allocated the amounts saved to aid for the self-reliant development of developing countries, to the implementation of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals and international cooperation to protect the environment.

UN targets call for acts to abolish poverty and hunger, to guarantee universal access to education, to improve the status of women, to prevent disease, to achieve a more just economic order, to implement ecologically sustainable development and to achieve peace and disarmament.

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The situation in Europe has changed dramatically. On the one hand there is increased resistance to austerity politics pursued by banks, governments and the EU. In addition to cooperation among European trade unions, international cooperation among environmental movements and social movements opposed to the power of the financial markets has developed. On the other hand, the crisis, insecurity and violating people’s right to self-determination have given rise to ultra-national, right-wing extremist and racist movements. Words such as ”the clash of civilizations” cover the class nature of the conflict, the responsibility of big business and governments for the problems. In Finland, this is associated with an intimidation related to the ”Russian threat” and anti-communism, as well as xenophobia, which has reached the Parliament and got extra seats in the EU parliament.

Comrades,

To end my speech I wish to invite You all to take floor in Vastavirta-festivaali an event organized by CPF and other radical left forces where neoliberal initiatives, EU-austerity and imperialism is fight. Please feel welcome in Helsinki next 27. of September.

Comrades it is this international communist and workers’ family that can change the world

Comrades it is time to make a difference

Long live international Class Struggle

Long live Peace and Solidarity!

JP Väisänen