The Anti-fascist Victory reminds us that the strength of the peoples can defeat anyone
AKEL on the anniversary of the Anti-fascist Victory of the Peoples
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 8th May 2017, Nicosia
AKEL salutes the anniversary of the Anti-fascist Victory of the Peoples that put an end the Second World War. The Victory has a universal significance given that any prevalence of the fascist axis would have meant humanity plunged into the age of barbarity and an endless bloodshed of the globe into holocausts and concentration camps. We pay tribute to the sacrifice of millions of fallen.
We salute the veteran anti-fascist fighters in Cyprus and all over the world who made history in the battlefields. For AKEL the decision taken by the C.C. of AKEL on 16th June 1943, as a result of which hundreds of its members joined the army voluntarily and fought fascism, is a title of honour.
The Anti-fascist Victory belongs to all the forces that together forged the anti-Hitler coalition. It was, however, the Soviet Union, with tens of millions of dead and wounded, which made the biggest contribution to the Victory. It not only curbed the fascist offensive, but destroyed any possibility of Hitler’s goals being fulfilled. The Battle of Stalingrad turned the tide of the war and the hoisting of the red flag over the Reichstag marked the crushing defeat of Hitler-Fascism. This historical truth cannot be erased no matter how much is written by the hacks of modern anti-communism.
It is also a historical truth that hidden behind German Nazism, behind the ideology of fascism – in all its shades – are the most aggressive and ruthless circles of the ruling elite and establishment, namely all those forces who are seeking an ideological cover for their expansionism and through the force of violence to suppress worker’s struggles and progressive movements. This is the reason why today, at a time of economic crisis and social discontent, the system uses the reserve force of the extreme right. The growth of neo-fascist forces in Europe – like the “Golden Dawn” party, a branch of which is the Cypriot ELAM party, who include themselves among the “losers of 1945” – is shameful for the history of our country and the world. It represents a poison in the heart of European societies. AKEL stresses the need for practical resistance to fascism and all its branches. Especially in Cyprus, which is a victim of fascism, any tolerance shown to it is extremely dangerous for our country and people.
Finally, AKEL underlines that the struggle for peace and friendship among the peoples has never been timelier. The intensification of energy and geopolitical confrontations in the world, the new escalation in US-NATO imperialist aggression, the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the ongoing militarization of the European Union demonstrate that the danger of a new generalized war is coming back.
The peoples and their struggles can prevent the scenario of a war breaking out, the danger of fascism, and above all, eradicate the causes that generate war and fascism. The Anti-fascist Victory will be an eternal reminder that the strength of the peoples can defeat anyone.
