AKEL denounces the banning of the Communist Party of Ukraine

 

AKEL C.C Press Office, 18th December 2015, Nicosia

We are witnessing another historical setback in Ukraine after the decision taken the day before yesterday by the Kiev District Administrative Court banning the Communist Party of Ukraine. AKEL denounces this development which constitutes another political scheme by the reactionary government of Kiev against the leading opposition force in the country.

Unquestionably, this development represents a continuation of the actions that had as their goal the consolidation of the pro-Western and anti-democratic regime, instigated and supported openly by circles of the US, the EU and NATO. Since 2014 the very same circles overthrew through the execution of a coup d’état the Yanukovych government, whilst simultaneously persecuting every opposition voice in the country. These actions were the signal for the beginning of a civil war that led to the de facto partition of the country. At the same time ultra-right forces were promoted which, among other things, carried out unrestrained actions as part of the anti-communist persecution with the destruction of monuments of the Soviet period, the looting of buildings and waging of attacks on the members and cadres of the Communist Party of Ukraine. The ongoing efforts to impose the forceful distortion of history by tarnishing and demeaning anything that has to do with the Soviet period of the country represent the culmination of these actions. Indeed, they even reached the point of justifying and vindicating the collaborators of Nazism during the ‘Second World War.

The climax of the anti-communist hysteria of the Kiev regime was the recent court proceedings parody of justice that aimed to completely silence the Communist Party of Ukraine. During the trial the judge who originally undertook the case had resigned because of the political pressure exerted on him, something which other judges did as well. The trial in the end was moved to another court which does not have the jurisdiction to assume the case. This trial was nothing more than a political prosecution of the main opposition force in the country, which is strongly criticizing the surrender of Kiev to Western interests and the neoliberal policies of the IMF. The Committee that ruled on the Case created the pretext of the “incompatibility of the program of the Party with the Constitution” without however analysing any possible “violations”.

We stress the fact that this development is being covered up by the Western media and the EU, while in other cases they present themselves as guided by intense democratic sensitivities. At the same time, we express our determination to struggle together with other progressive and democratic forces around the world so that the anti-communist hysteria and ongoing witch-hunt that is being attempted so as to serve wider imperialist and reactionary plans will not pass.

As AKEL, we will to raise the whole issue in European bodies such as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the European Parliament. In addition, we also call on the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe to take a stand and deal with the issue.