The last three decades in the Czech Republic have been marked by the counterrevolutionary overthrow of socialism: destruction of the common federal socialist state of our peoples and their internationalist relations. The state lost completely its anti-imperialist orientation. Means of production, natural resources, were robbed from the people and its state; they together with labor power itself were given at the disposal of monopolies. The unitary organizations of youth and workers were destroyed and trade-unions lost their class character.
In the first decade, in the 1990s, part of the new ruling class tried to create a national capitalist state with all phenomena of “primitive accumulation”, including the criminal ones. However, it was not successful. At the turn of the century, the country was fully subordinated to foreign monopoly capital and its imperialist structures – NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004. Together with an increase in the share of foreign capital in most profitable industries and banks, the outflow of the exploited surplus from our country also increased. The ruling class of the Czech Republic, the capitalist and comprador classes became co-responsible to the crimes of imperialism – starting with bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999.
The material basis of the economy, multi-spectral industry and agriculture of the socialist country serving primarily the needs of the people, was destroyed or privatized. The economy now serves as a service of big foreign monopolies, with extra profits based on wages which are at about 40% of wages in Germany. Moreover, the market of the products, e.g. electricity is subordinated to the EU, mainly German, financial markets with all speculative machinations. In the period of imperialist aggressiveness and competition with important resource of gas and crude oil – Russian Federation, with closing of domestic resources and underdeveloping domestic alternatives (coal, water, nuclear energy…), it results in heavy burden on workers and popular classes.
Currently, since the last election, a right wing government is installed with strong ties to imperialist centers. It strongly supports the dangerous development of imperialism in Europe and in the world. – It fulfills the instructions from the US in current imperialist rivalry – sending weapons and other support to Ukraine including the neo-Nazi units, which inflames the war in Europe. In the monopolist competition, in telecommunications, healthcare, energetics and military equipment are bought in large almost exclusively from the US monopolies; competitors are excluded, at high prices and with doubtful effects. Step by step, censorship and political repression are introduced with the excuse of the ongoing war in Ukraine and threats to the current political system. Prices of living of workers and popular families are quickly hiking with the price of energy and food in the forefront. For the following winter there is great danger of lack of heating, electricity outages as well as the fall of a great part of families to poverty. The capitalist ruling class brings popular strata of our country on the edge of a catastrophe.
Never before was the intervention of the Communist Party in popular struggle so necessary. However the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia is in a hard situation – it lost its parliamentary seats in the last election. This is a result of the long anticommunist struggle of capitalist power combined with mistakes of the party and weaknesses on organization side. These subjective reasons were reflected in extraordinary congress in October 2021 discussion and change in the leadership of the party. The 11th congress, which was held in May 2022, made the statement addressing current issues of price hike, lack of homes, warmongering, crisis, exploitation and lack of energy. It demands:
- Public funded construction of new homes, regulation of rents and limits on speculation with houses and flats.
- Rise of minimum wage as well as general wage level and reduction of working week to 35 hours without loss of salaries. Decent retirement pensions; education and health care free of charge.
- Self-sufficient agriculture; zero Value Added Taxes on basic food and services. Price capping on energy and fuel prices, possibility of limits on exports of scarce commodities.
- State control of production and distribution of electricity and storing natural gas.
- Fight with poverty and capitalist profits gained from it.
- Peaceful foreign policy, leaving the aggressive NATO pact, prohibition of foreign military bases.
- Enforcing popular rights, e.g. constitutional law of referendum – specifically about leaving the EU. No to censorship.
Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia on the congress concludes that the causes of the current crisis are systemic, it is a capitalist system and the future lies outside this exploitative and oppressive system causing war. The socialist society is the only alternative. Recently, the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia entered popular mobilizations and struggles against price hike and against current government agenda, co-organize protests and participated in others.
Significant part of our activities is oriented to international issues based on the struggle against imperialism and its wars, for peace and solidarity. We always express our full solidarity with peoples that defend their sovereignty and national independence, resisting colonialism, occupation, destabilization, blockade, aggression by imperialism, like socialist Cuba, peoples democratic Korea, Bolivarian Venezuela, Palestine, Syria, Western Sahara and others.
Regarding today’s conflict in the Eastern Europe the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia continuously emphasizes its long lasting demand for a solution of the situation in Ukraine by a peaceful way and insists on the termination of all military operations that are in contradiction with international law.
At the same time, the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia is bringing into attention the fact that the guilty side for the current situation is not by far only the Russian Federation, but the United States, European Union and NATO military pact that are standing behind the Kiev regime that has been responsible for eight years murdering the inhabitants of Donbas. The actual confrontation cannot be separated either from its historical roots, that go back 30 years, when the Soviet Union ceased to exist, resulting in the following expansion of NATO into the Central and Eastern Europe and state „coup d´etat“ on Maidan in 2014. The system reason of this phenomena is a promotion of economic and political interests of the super-powers and their rivalry for the redistribution of the spheres of influence, that is directly interconnected with military interventions, threat by using the force, imposing embargoes and interference in the internal affairs of the sovereign states.
Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia is supporting all the initiatives leading to the peaceful solution of the Ukrainian conflict and safeguarding of peace and security in Europe in accordance with the principles of international law, Charter of the United Nations and the Final Act of the Conference for security and cooperation in Europe. On the long time base, the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia is striving for a new security architecture of Europe, including all the European states, aiming to stop further war tragedies on the continent.
