2-28-08, 9:20 am
Original source: The Guardian, Australia
In yet more signs of changing times towards the political left is the election of Demetris Christofias as President of Cyprus and the smooth change in the leadership of Cuba. Both events took place last Sunday and both have their own significance.
There are favorable indications that under the leadership of Christofias it may be possible to achieve an agreement with Turkish Cypriots and thereby unify Cyprus once again into a single state rather than the present division of Cyprus into zones with separate Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot governments.
Communists are proving to be the unifiers while conservatives are shown to be those responsible for divisions and strife, the most recent example being the deliberate and long-planned tearing away of Kosovo as a province of Serbia.
The western imperialist states, with the US and Britain in the lead, deliberately fostered the break-up of Yugoslavia into separate states — Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia with Kosovo making the seventh. This has been achieved by playing on nationalist and religious sentiments and by using military force.
It’s all about creating as many mini-states as possible, thereby to control each state separately.
The same policy of divide and rule was imposed on the former Soviet Union even though this was carried out by internal traitors who set about destroying the unity of the Soviet Union. Several of these separate states became easy targets for the western powers to dominate and establish governments to their liking — Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Georgia and Azerbaijan with a tense struggle taking place for political dominance of the Ukraine. In several cases new political leaders were flown in from refugee circles in the United States.
The unity of nations on the basis of equality is the watchword of the communists while divide and rule are the watchwords of the western imperialist powers.
Of course, as with most things, there are two kinds of unity. It can be pursued for progressive purposes and on the other hand, unity for the purpose of domination, control, the establishment of military bases and the exploitation of the labour of a country and its resources. The unity of NATO and the European Union are examples of this latter sort of unity.
The smooth change of leadership in Cuba which took place without conflict, without demonstrations in the street, without confrontation or sharp divisions is a very important achievement. At a time when the western capitalist powers, the US in particular, are looking to foster differences and create divisions the total unity of Cuba’s National Assembly in changing a number of the officials in leading government positions together with the unity and calmness of the Cuban people was an exemplary example.
The mass media in countries like Australia trumpet the idea that it’s all because of Fidel Castro’s domination. The reality is that the Cuban people are now highly politically conscious and understand what needs to be done in each new circumstance. This has certainly been achieved as a result of Fidel Castro’s political leadership and that of the Communist Party of Cuba over the 50 years following the success of the revolutionary struggle. This has been achieved by conviction, education, example and achievement and definitely not by way of dictatorship.
Into the leadership have gone elected representatives from the Communist Party, the Young Communist League and grass roots organizations such as those covering health, science, culture and the production sectors, workers and farmers. Almost 42 percent were elected for the first time to the National Assembly, reflecting the advancement of new personalities into the leadership. Women comprise 43 percent while 36 percent are between the ages of 18 to 30 years. (See page 6 for details of Cuba’s electoral system)
This is a modern day trend — towards unity which opposes conflict and division. Latin American countries are adopting various cooperative projects in economic fields, in trade and in communications. This process is led by Venezuela and Cuba on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. Such unity will ultimately triumph over the domination, repression and exploitation that are the stock in trade of the capitalist system.
From The Guardian, Australia
