“It is our great pleasure to be with you, to be with the comrades and friends of the KKE here in Montreal, Canada. Our gathering and your presence is the proof that our party, our ideas have very deep roots, not only in Greece, but literally even on the other side of the world and flourishing everywhere”, said the head of the KE of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoubas, in his speech in Montreal.
He noted that these roots and ties “endure time, pass from generation to generation, while new ties are created, forged in the struggle for what the expatriates need”.
As he emphasized, “the current darkness that has spread over the planet, especially after the counter-revolutionary upheavals of the early 90s, and torments the peoples, cannot be the future of humanity. We have a deep optimism, which springs from knowledge and analysis of the historical development of humanity, the course and contradictions of capitalism, that the people will be the ones to say the last word. That the future of humanity is the new world, socialism.”
Speaking about the characteristics of the visit of the KKE delegation, Mr. Koutsoubas pointed out that “when we come to Canada, the USA, other foreign countries, we do not come to meet the various lobbies or associations of big capitalists, the so-called “investors “. We come to meet the diaspora agencies, labor unions, migrant workers and their descendants. But also young people, mainly scientists who left Greece during the last major crisis and are still leaving.”
Referring extensively to issues related to the perspective of the country and the people, such as demographics and the flight of people abroad, he underlined that “in Greece, the policies promoted by both the current ND government and the previous governments of SYRIZA, PASOK and others, based on EU guidelines, are part of the problem, not the solution.”
Regarding the demographics, he noted, among other things, that “on the one hand we have the reduction of new births, since many young couples are forced to postpone such a decision. And this has an obvious explanation, since the greater participation of women in social work – which is naturally progressive – is not accompanied by the corresponding state social structures and services.”
“Essentially, they contrast a woman’s right to work with the social need to protect motherhood, the family,” he said, adding that “the insecurity and the inhibitions in creating a family are intensified by the decrease in the working-people’s income, which makes it even worse the rise in prices, the great accuracy.”
“Against all of this, all the last years have developed and great struggles are developing, with the key contribution of the KKE. Only with these struggles, however, have we achieved even the slightest improvement for the lives of the workers, the people”, emphasized the head of the KE of the KKE.
With regard to the flight of people abroad, after pointing out that the phenomenon is not new, nor exclusively Greek, he underlined that “it is related to the very functioning of capitalism, since development is motivated by profit and thus there cannot be central planning in the economy. This has the result that the scientifically qualified labor force, which is also a commodity in capitalism, often remains unused, is thrown on the shelves of unemployment or is “sold” very cheaply.
Mr. Koutsoumbas stated that in a Greece “where the keys to the economy will be held by the social majority and will be able to scientifically and centrally plan the satisfaction of individual needs, setting the corresponding priorities, no one will be left out and the scientifically necessary condition of international exchange of scientific ideas and practices will be done in terms of exclusively gain and not drain. And only the KKE has a plan for such a Greece, with its modern, scientifically elaborated program, which it openly presents to the people. And for this we invite you to strengthen it with your vote in the European elections”.
“On June 9, Greeks in the diaspora have the option to take part in the electoral process exclusively through postal voting. We invite you, those of you who have not already done so, to make your application in the few days left and send, by voting to the KKE, a message to those who treat you as a voter, like a bean”, he noted.
“The KKE disagreed with the postal vote, not because it does not want to make it easier for expatriates who have real ties to the country to vote from their place of residence,” he stressed. “We warned, however, about the dangerous roads that open with the postal vote for the manipulation of voters, for exerting pressure, without any safety valve. And unfortunately, it didn’t take us long to confirm, with the scandal of leaking personal data of emigrants, that the ND made them flyers and distributed them here and there. And who knows what we have yet to see,” he added.
As he pointed out, the KKE will continue to press with all the forces it has in the Parliament and the European Parliament in the direction of immediately addressing and solving the problems of the Greek diaspora.
“We distinguish the situation in Greek-language education, which is literally hoarse for the majority of Greek immigrants”, he underlined, noting that the KKE “firmly and consistently, with many parliamentary interventions, but also with the action of its forces abroad, supports in every way the struggle of the Greeks of the diaspora for the education of their children in the Greek language and for the upgrading of the terms and conditions of the teachers’ work”.
“Strengthening the KKE with thousands of votes from Greeks abroad is a condition for putting militantly in the foreground the demand to satisfy the people’s needs, as opposed to the logic of reduced demands, which undermines the struggles and claims of immigrants both against the Greek government and against the governments of the countries in which they reside. And from Canada, Greeks abroad can send a message with many recipients, which no one can read otherwise: KKE. In order to further strengthen the current of questioning of the dominant policy, of the EU, implemented by the ND government and supported by the other parties”, said the head of the Central Committee of the KKE and concluded:
“All those who take courage and strength from the struggles that are getting stronger in Greece, have one choice: To strengthen the KKE which is at the forefront of these struggles. A strong KKE in Greece and to Greeks abroad is the strongest message of resistance to the peoples of Europe and the whole world. It is a message of resistance, hope and upheaval!”
The event was also attended by the secretary of the CC Quebec / CKK Adrian Welsh, the secretary of CN Canada Ivan Byard, the secretary of the CSN Union, Bertrand Guibord, the president of the Quebec Peace Movement, Jad Kabbanji.
