Iraq: Communist Party victim of bombing

On April 11, the Central Committee of the Iraqi Communist Party has denounced a bomb attack on party headquarters in the town of Al Diwaniyah, capital of Al Qadisiyyah province in the Southeastern part of the country.

The bomb attack, which caused no casualties, followed an incident at Qadisiyyah University in which students were attacked during a political rally on campus, and shots were fired into the air.  There followed acts of intimidation against party members.

The Iraqi Communist Party called for the prosecution of the perpetrators and compensation for the damage caused to their Al Diwaniya facility.

Spain:  Communists celebrate 40 years of legalization

On April 9, the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) celebrated the 40th anniversary of its legalization after the disintegration of the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco.

When the Republican forces, of which communist militias formed a key component, lost the Spanish Civil War in 1939, the Communist Party and other left wing groups were made illegal, Many party members were arrested and imprisoned, and a number were executed. Others went into exile.  However, the Communist Party kept functioning in clandestinity.   After Franco’s death in November 1975, the Communist Party was able to emerge from its underground existence and become a major actor in Spanish politics once more.

In a statement, the Communist Party pointed out that its’ legalization 40 years ago was “no gift, but rather was won by the determination of the PCE which had demonstrated that it was no longer possible any longer to keep up the illegality of the party which had fought hardest for democracy in Spain…the PCE won its legality in the streets, in the neighborhoods, in the workers’ struggles, and with a demonstrated capacity of political and social organizing”.
SACP leader threatened with gun

On April 12, the South African Communist Party (SACP) denounced a threat that was made to one of its top leaders during a commemoration of its former leader Chris Hani, who was assassinated by a white fascist on April 10, 1993.

Supporters of the anti-apartheid liberation movement had gathered in Ekurhuleni, outside Johannesburg in Gauteng Province, to pay homage to Hani, whose memory is revered in South Africa.  Solly Mapaila, Second Deputy General Secretary of the South African Communist Party, was ascending to the podium when a man who was evidently part of a group of anti-communist “hooligans” emerged from the crowd and pointed a gun at him.  However, the SACP says, the man was distracted and did not fire, and Mapaila was unharmed.

The South African Communist Party is demanding the individual be prosecuted.

 

Cuban communists stress Latin American and Caribbean unity

The Communist Party of Cuba emphasizes the vital necessity of greater unity among the political parties, in and out of power, and progressive social movements in Latin America and the Caribbean, at a time during which the Bolivarian left faces very severe challenges.

At an event sponsored by Mexico’s Labor Party (PT) on March 24, Jorge Arias, Deputy International Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, reminded participants that the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, had warned that without unity and integration, there would be no future for the Latin American left, which today is compelled to defend its advances achieved in countries such as Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia, and to recapture power in Brazil and Argentina.

The Cuban communists and others on the left in Latin America see this year’s session of the São Paulo Forum, to be held July 16 to 18 in Managua, Nicaragua, is a vital setting to reinforce and expand left wing and anti-imperialist unity in the region.

International Notes, April 15.

 

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