Communists Denounce Murder of Indian Engineer in United States

The Communist Party of India (CPI) is denouncing the murder of a citizen of India and the injury of another, and of a bartender who tried to intervene, in an incident in the town of Olanthe, near Kansas City, Missouri, on February 23.  Engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotia was killed by gunfire, According to witnesses, the shooter was 51 year old Adam Purinton, who allegedly shouted “get out of my country” at the two Indian men as he opened fire.  Press accounts suggest that the shooter believed the two Indian men to be from the Middle East.   Purinton was arrested and the case is also being investigated as a possible hate crime.

In a statement, the Central Secretariat of the Communist Party of India pointed out the atmosphere of xenophobia being promoted by Donald Trump, who, according to the CPI, is peddling “a sophisticated version of this racist campaign with the slogan ‘America First’.  We are afraid that this may be only the beginning of such attacks in the future if Trump does not mind [sic] his ways”.  The Communist Party statement also points out that “India should learn that hate politics of racism, religion and caste” will harm everybody”, referring to Hindutva nationalist extremist attacks on Muslims and other religious minorities.

 

French Communist Party issues appeal in Defense of immigrants

In the context of a hard-fought electoral campaign in which the right and ultra-right have targeted immigrants as the scapegoat for France’s economic and social woes, the French Communist Party (PCF) has issued a special publication to refute anti-immigrant propaganda.  The document is entitled “Migrants:: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.  The Criminal Lies of the Right and of the National Front”.

Migrants have come under special attack by the National Front, headed by Marine LePen, who has a chance of being elected president of France in the elections on April 23.  But the National Front is not the only political force using migrants, who in France are mostly from North and West Africa and the Middle East, as scapegoats for a failing economy.  The more mainstream right-wing Republican Party has done so also, and even the current Socialist Party administration of President Francois Holland has been criticized for mistreatment of immigrants.  The Communist Party pamphlet refutes slanders against migrants and calls for acts of solidarity in their support.

 

Peru: Communists Join Mass Protest Against Corruption

The Peruvian Communist Party joined the Communist Party of Peru-Patria Roja and other left wing, labor and civil groups to march against political corruption in the capital, Lima, on February 16.  The march was called by Peru’s main labor federation, the CGTP (General Confederation of Peruvian Labor).

The CGTP was founded in 1926 by José Carlos Marategui, who also founded Peru’s Communist movement.

The march was called because a mind boggling level of corruption in this impoverished country’s political institutions has been revealed as a byproduct of the corruption investigations in neighboring Brazil.  In the center of the scandal is a giant construction conglomerate, Odebrecht, which has been revealed to have bribed officials of multiple countries in exchange for getting lucrative government contracts.  At least two former presidents of Peru, Ollanta Humana and Alejandro Toledo, have been fully implicated in the Odebrecht bribery scandal.   Toledo has fled to the United States, whence Peru is demanding his extradition.

The Communist Party statement called for all Peruvian citizens to repudiate the culture of corruption, for the assets of corrupt companies to be frozen and the finances of ex-presidents Alberto Fujimori, Alan Garcia, Alejandro Toledo and Ollanta Humala to be fully investigated, that all people’s forces take this opportunity to form a united front to “rescue the country from the talons of [the] great evil [of corruption], among other things

 

Japan:  Communist Party Makes Proposals on North Korea Issue

On February 19 Japanese Communist Party Secretary General Shii Kazuo proposed diplomacy as a way to deal with the problem of nuclear weapons and missile testing by the Democratic People’s Republic of (North) Korea.

Shii Kazuo expressed worry that the United State may consider a preemptive strike against North Korean targets.  On previous occasions the U.S. allied government of South Korea had taken a conciliatory stance which helped to defuse a very dangerous situation.  A visit to North Korea by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in 1994 also helped to calm the situation, the Japanese Communist leader pointed out.

Thus “working to reach a diplomatic solution is the only rational option”. But statements from the Trump administration suggest that a more aggressive approach by the United States may be in the offing, according to right-wing Japanese Prime Minister Abe.

Shii agreed that development of nuclear weapons by North Korea should be opposed, but the Japanese government should also be pushing the Trump administration to seek a diplomatic and not a military solution.

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