(The following article is from the March 16-31, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

The Communist and workers' parties and liberation organizations listed below, having convened on the eve of the 18th Congress of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) in Athens, wish to express their strong condemnation of the barbaric ground, naval and aerial aggression launched by Israel against Gaza which began in late December 2008. This brutal assault on Gaza lasted some 22 days and resulted in the death of over 1,350 citizens, wounded thousands of innocent civilians including women, children and the elderly, and left a massive trail of destruction of homes, properties and infrastructure, depriving the residents of Gaza of the most basic services.

     The parties also express their grave concern for the resulting humanitarian tragedy, and outrage at the intentional targeting of schools and civil institutions, including the UNRWA school in Jabalia Camp.

     The Israeli attack on Gaza is in reality an aggression against the entire Palestinian people.

     Based on the above, the signatories wish to declare the following:

(1) We salute the heroic steadfastness of the Palestinian masses of Gaza, and stress the fundamental right of the Palestinian people to resist the occupation, a right recognized by the U.N. and international law. We demand the immediate lifting of the siege of Gaza, the re‑opening of borders, and the rapid reconstruction of all that was damaged or destroyed by this wanton aggression;

(2) We reaffirm our support for and solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle to regain their legitimate and inalienable national rights, including the right to self‑determination and the establishment of an independent and sovereign state with Al‑Quds (East Jerusalem) as its capital, as well as the right of return for all Palestinian refugees in accordance with U.N. Resolution 194;

(3) We strongly condemn the perpetuated construction of the racist wall as well as of the colonial settlements in the occupied West Bank which are in flagrant conflict with all the relevant UN decisions. We demand the immediate remove of the wall and of the settlements as well as the immediate release from custody of all the freedom prisoners in the Israeli detention.

(4) We call on the U.N. Security council and other international organizations to conduct a comprehensive and thorough investigation of the grave human rights violations and war crimes committed by the Israeli army during this assault on Gaza, including its use of internationally prohibited weapons against the civilian population. The parties also call for the formation of special legal commissions to file "war crimes" charges against the Israeli authorities before the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court and/or national juridical structures;

(5) We urge all sections of Palestinian national movement to work seriously and in a responsible manner toward ending the internal split and re‑establishing Palestinian national unity. In this regard, the parties confirm the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) is the legitimate and the internationally recognized* *unified address of Palestinian people, and call for reactivating the role and status of the PLO with an open door to all those Palestinian national forces desiring to join it;

(6) We declare our intention to help build the international campaign to support Gaza and demand emergency assistance from the international community for its reconstruction.

     Finally, the signatories commit to the following action measures on behalf of their organizations and members:

(1) to step up their solidarity actions with the Palestinian people internationally and within their respective countries;

(2) to pressure their respective governments to cancel the military and some political accords with the State of Israel;

(3) to organize and send, at the earliest opportunity, a joint party delegation to the occupied Palestinian territories to express our common solidarity with the national struggle of the Palestinian people;

(4) to convene an international symposium in solidarity with the Palestinian people, to be held in Damascus before the end of 2009;

(5) to organize a joint caravan of material aid to Gaza; and

(6) to hold an International Day of Action in Solidarity with the Palestinian people, with particular focus on the demand to break the siege of Gaza.

     The signatories extend an invitation to other Communist and Workers' parties and organizations to endorse this statement, and urge the Working Group of the International Meetings of Communist and Worker's Parties (IMCWP) to work out the details of implementation of the above program of action, in consultation with the Palestinian and Arab member‑parties.

List of Parties and Organizations Co‑signing this Statement - February 17, 2009

1. Communist Party of Albania

2. PADS, Algeria

3. Communist Party of Belarus

4. Workers' Party of Belgium

5. Party of Bulgarian Communists

6. Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB)

7. New Communist Party of Britain

8. Communist Party of Canada

9. Colombian Communist Party

10. Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (Czech Republic)

11. Communist Party of Egypt

12. Socialist Worker's Party of Croatia

13. Communist Party of Cuba

14. Communist Party in Denmark

15. Communist Party of Denmark

16. French Communist Party

17. Communist Party of Macedonia

18. German Communist Party

19. Communist Party of Greece

20. Hungarian Communist Workers' Party

21. Communist Party of India (Marxist)

22. Tudeh Party of Iran

23. Communist Party of Israel

24. Party of the Communist Refoundation, Italy

25. Party of the Italian Communists

26. Jordanian Communist Party

27. Socialist Party of Latvia

28. Lebanese Communist Party

29. Communist Party of Luxembourg

30. Communist Party of Malta

31. Party of Communists, Mexico

32. Political Movement "People's Resistance", Moldova

33. New Communist Party of the Netherlands

34. Communist Party of Norway

35. Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine

36. Palestinian Communist Party

37. Palestinian People's Party

38. Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

39. Peruvian Communist Party

40. Communist Party of Poland

41. Portuguese Communist Party

42. Socialist Alliance Party, Romania

43. Romanian Communist Party

44. Communist Party of the Russian Federation

45. Communist Party of the Soviet Union

46. Communist Worker's Party of Russia - Party of the Communists of Russia

47. New Communist Party of Yugoslavia

48. Communist Party of Slovakia

49. South African Communist Party

50. Communist Party of Spain

51. Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain

52. Party of the Communists, Catalonia

53. Communist Party of Sri‑Lanka

54. Syrian Communist Party

55. Communist Party of Syria

56. Baath Party, Syria

57. Communist Party of Tajikistan

58. Communist Party of Turkey

59. Labour Party (Turkey)

60. Communist Party of Sweden

61. Union of the Communists of Ukraine

62. Communist Party of Venezuela

63. Polisario Front

64. World Federation of Trade Unions