For Future and Peace Together with Working Class, Environmentalists and Feminists

Speech by
JP (Juha-Pekka) Väisänen
Chairman
Communist Party of Finland
Member of the European Left (EL) Executive Board
EL Delegation in China 11.-24.10.2014

Communist Party of China,
Bureau of European Affairs,
International Department
Central Committee
Mr Zhang Jianguo,

Communist Party of Finland wishes to thank you for the invitation to participate in the European Left (EL) delegation to China. It is our wish to strengthen both the EL and bilateral relations with the Communist Party of China.

I also wish to mention that this delegation has made possible the important meeting with Mr Ma Wenpu highly respected comrade, vice president of the International bureau and Director General of the China Oversees-Educated Scholars Development Foundation, Senior adviser of Chines People´s Association for Peace and Disarmament and Deputy Secretary of Chines People´s Association for Peace and Disarmament Mrs Chen Huaifan in questions of peace, development and disarmament.

Dear comrades,

Neoliberal politics have strongly drawn guidelines for Finnish decision making in the North of Europe. Working class has been fooled with great ideas like European Union, same currency or Peace as Obama, Van Rompuy and Putin it call to surrender capitalism.

In today’s political situation in Finland, it is great to be a communist. From a communist point of view leftist and social democratic oriented political forces have strongly adopted logics from the bourgeois elite and accepted right wing austerity measures. Trade unions in Finland understand EU concepts of freedom and business so well that it has forgotten its basic function.

This international class struggle needs an honest radical left front to coordinate how to fight back all the EU- austerity measures, privatization and cutting lists. This international class struggle needs an honest radical left front to invite new forces and faces to speak for their rights and to build speakers platforms like Lenin said. We don’t do the change alone but YES we can and we will do it together with mass movements, critical trade unionists, peace activists, feminists, LGTB volunteers and with all those who want an alternative to the current capitalist exploitation.

This international class struggle needs a radical left to strengthen peace movements call for a different defense politics. A left that resigns from growing militarization and cutting lists from education and culture. An alternative Finnish defense policy is needed.

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Iit is not possible to build a different kind of Europe within the framework of EU treaties. Doing so demands that we break with the EU in its present form. I believe that we must start to dismantle the EU’s structures and powers, and that decision-making must be returned to the people. We can create a different Europe only with countries’ voluntary collaboration. Cooperation between European countries on environmental issues, harmful forms of competition and on eliminating racism and xenophobia is crucial. It is also essential to develop European cooperation by extending it to the eastern regions of the continent.

The EU markets itself as a project of peace and harmony. In reality, the union is an imperialist structure, an engine of capitalist class struggle that promotes the interests of large corporations in their efforts to expand and maximize their profits. Its aim is to combine the power of big business and EU member states into a solid political union, an economic and financial union, and with a common security and military policy.

The purpose of the EU is to support the dominant positions and profit seeking of transnational big capital by cutting back on labor costs and social spending, combating trade unions and collective-bargaining agreements, dismantling and blocking national-level regulations and taxation practices, accelerating the growth of monopolies, and subjugating developing countries.

Power to the people – No to EU

We are living rough times. The common interests of the working class exist independent of EU structures. The EU undermines the security offered by collective bargaining agreements, imposes longer working hours and favors the use of cheap labor. The economic crisis has promoted waves of redundancies. The EU has been trying to improve competitiveness by internal devaluation, and trampling on people’s wages and working conditions.

The EU’s free movement of labor and capital has led to workers being brought to Finland who are paid lower wages than stipulated by Finnish collective bargaining agreements, the aim of this is to drive down the price of labor. Slave labor and human trafficking are also increasing massively in the EU area thanks to the common market area.
Communist Party of Finland with the European Left Party is strongly opposing the USA- EU free trade agreement plans.

Mining politics

Today Finland, country of thousands of lakes is strongly attacked by multinational mining companies. 15 % of our territory is under different kinds of mining reserves or declarations for mining rights. It is uranium that unites most of the companies because the few remaining uranium resources globally are found in our arctic regions.

Mining boom will first bring work and income for a group of people. After some 30 years only cleaning and radioactive ground and particles will be there with the question whose responsibility is to clean and oversee the radioactive. We are sure that there will not be a boom of private responsibility takers.

Today it is necessary to see the difference with the mining booms after different metals in the Arctic ground. Today soils with weak content of minerals are also taken in process. Multi-metal mine Talvivaara is a school example of such. The mine in Talvivaara was celebrated to be the very much needed new green and new technology. Never before Talvivaala was nickel separated from such mineral weak soil before. Talvivaara alone is today producing 60 % of all the mine´s soil left overs in the whole country. Also the waste polluted areas and chemical leaks have opened people’s eyes not only in the exact problems of Talvivaara but the whole mining boom. The use of more and more weaker soils has become a problem not only to the mineral mining but also a problem in oil and gas productions. By taking weak soils in production huge ecological and social damage is created. It is clear that we can´t continue this way for ever.

The use of oil resources started the industrial revolution. Now we women and men, mankind has to face the fact that oil and metals are sources that are running out. It is time for the next industrial and economic revolution. It is time to leave old economical and production structures behind. Now it is time to start building new economy and industry based on renewable natural resources. For our challenge international multinational mining companies and oil companies with the help of world superpowers have too little interest to make any change.

There is too much international will to stay on the way of international catastrophe. Big capital is at the same time fighting with all the time growing war machinery to have the power over natural raw materials and natural resources. We in the large all European radical left know that it is a major error to waist our resources in arms race and warfare. Instead of power politics and growing militarization we need all to concentrate in creating a new change in our societies and how to create an new structure for economics and industry. We urgently need to create new materials for the metal branch. Metals have to be recycled better. So called urban mining should get an alternative boom. We need to collect metals from the neighborhoods more efficiently. Local energy making and independency should be encouraged and we need to develop alternative way to distribute energy that is independent from oil. Today’s ecological and social needs question and challenge Globalization´s idea of centralized production.

We have to develop housing, social living structures and transport so that unnecessary traffic and transportation of goods can be avoided. We need to find new ways how to deal with our waist. Local energy unites by natural biogases may help in that development. Market economy and capitalism will not give any solution to problems described in before. We have to face that a radical change is needed, international collaboration and international state´s guidance can make a change.

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.

Towards peace and world without wars

Finland is officially still a non NATO member country. With the Lisbon treaty and EU membership we have been forced to a closer military collaboration with the almost all Nato member EU partners.

Recently at the Wales Nato summit Finland has signed a Host Nation Support memorandum of understanding with Nato to effectively allow troops from the defense alliance to train on Finnish soil and to provide assistance in the event of accident, crisis or conflict. Now NATO troops can move in Finland almost as if they were “home”.
For a reason we have to share peace movements worry of militarization. But for other reason as well. Namely just two weeks ago a parliamentary debate about future military spending is leading in increasing the military budget firstly with 50 billion euros in 2016 and thereafter with 150 billion euros in 2020. And there will be an extra cost of new Hornet air fighters to be invested that meaning huge costs from 6 to 20 billion more.
Now its time to end talks of increasing the military budgets and investing in new war machines. Now or never we have to say no to Nato. It is time to turn a new page in our defense politics. It is time for culture of Peace and better funding for civil societies international relations, for culture and education.

World peace will not be built with military alliances or increasing military funding.
Politics, dialogue and Peace – from working class point of view is always the best

Dear Comrades

To end inspired by the strong solidary winds of Peking I wish to lift the hands in the air.

These hands are holding together with the Feminists because these hands demand equal rights for all sexes and equality for the differences in sexual orientation.

These hands are lifted high and proudly because the work is based on a working class idea of equality and it is Communist – these hands demand just distribution of wealth and all men are equal in the fight for a better world where neither men or women nor nature is oppressed.

These hands are lifted high for Peace – We shall continue building up a culture of peace and these hands are strongly holding hands with the peace movements.

Long live Peace and international solidarity!

JP Väisänen