Athens declaration: World is entering a new era of anti-imperialist struggle

The following declaration was agreed by parties that attended the fifth international conference of the World Anti-imperialist Platform, held in Athens on 18 November 2023.

Understanding:

That we are emerging from the period of deep reaction that followed the capitalist restoration in the Soviet Union and east European socialist bloc, when the strength of the capitalist-imperialist system seemed overwhelming and the forces of national liberation and socialism were in retreat.

That as a result of this shift in the balance of forces, the remaining socialist and anti-imperialist countries and movements became isolated and exposed and were forced to make difficult compromises in order to survive (developing the tourism industry in Cuba, signing the nuclear agreement in the DPRK, agreeing to nuclear disarmament in Libya and Iraq, accepting the US-brokered peace processes in Palestine, Ireland etc).

That the era of the stabilisation of global capitalism, during which the imperialist powers escaped their economic crisis and grew rich through the unbridled looting of the wealth and resources of the Soviet and east European peoples, has come to an end. The latest downward lurch of the global economic crisis of capitalism is being felt in the economic and social life of every country that is connected to the global market economy.

That global economic crisis cannot be avoided while the capitalist-imperialist system remains; while a few monopolists dominate the entire world economy and create chaos and instability in their desperate quest for maximum profits.

That the main threat to world peace is imperialism, in particular the criminal, aggressive US-led Nato imperialist bloc, and that we have entered a new historical phase: one in which the final defeat of imperialism has become both a real possibility and a vital necessity.

That communists, socialists and anti-imperialists everywhere have a duty to join hands and do everything possible to maximise the power of the anti-imperialist camp in the titanic struggle that now confronts humanity.

That recent uprisings in west Africa and the middle east remind us once again of the unfinished struggle for national liberation, launched in earnest by the Great October Socialist Revolution of 1917 and carried on in every corner of the oppressed world, which can never be quenched so long as imperialism remains in the world.

That the rewriting of history to whitewash Nazi crimes, combined with the continuing provocations by the USA/Nato and its proxies in so many countries bordering Russia and China, as well as in Serbia, Korea, Taiwan and the middle east, make it absolutely clear that the imperialists will use any means to achieve their ends, and would rather drown the world in blood than leave the world’s people to advance peacefully towards liberation and socialism.

That the lighting up of landmarks and hoisting of Israeli flags in Washington, London, Berlin, Paris and Brussels serve as the latest reminder of the unconditional support of finance capital for its proxies in the Israeli terrorist state, and its routine export of fascism to maintain its domination around the world.

We, the participants at the World Anti-imperialist Platform international conference in Athens, declare the following:

That the history of the last century proves conclusively that the imperialists can never be appeased. All attempts at ‘peaceful coexistence’, ignoring the realities of the class struggle, have led only to the emboldening of and further aggression by the imperialist powers, and of the dominant US imperialist cabal in particular.

That to break the power of finance capital – to do everything possible towards cutting off its access to the huge superprofits that are extracted at the expense of the oppressed masses in the colonised world, who are thus held back from development and denied a chance to live in dignity and prosperity – is the first duty of communists, socialists and anti-imperialists everywhere.

That whether by the nationalisation of essential raw materials such as oil, uranium and lithium, by building alliances to counter imperialist economic sanctions or by evicting imperialist troops and their fascist proxies from their territories, every movement that strives for political, military and economic independence and territorial sovereignty in the oppressed countries is blocking the imperialists’ drive for domination and holding back the ability of monopoly capital to loot freely.

That there is thus an absolute necessity to bring together the struggle for socialism with the anti-imperialist and antifascist struggles, and to unite all those who are struggling separately into one unstoppable force. In particular, we must demonstrate to the workers in our own countries the essential unity of those fighting for their liberation in Donbass, in Palestine, in Burkina Faso and in Niger. We must demonstrate that the wars being planned by the imperialists against the DPRK and China are a part of this same quest for domination, and we must maximise support for the forces of liberation.

That this means doing everything possible to increase the economic, military and logistical difficulties for the imperialists and to strengthen the solidarity and support for those who are fighting on the front lines.

That during this titanic struggle, those who play the decisive role will not be those who claim to have exclusively ‘inherited’ the right to be viewed as the ‘vanguard’ of the struggle, but those who actually play the part of a vanguard. Those who wish to play this role must be unafraid to oppose all vacillation and conciliation with the enemy; must be ready to expose all those who confuse the masses and prevent them from understanding that there are two sides in this war, and that to refuse to take a side means, in practice, to strengthen the side of reaction – to help the imperialists and to neutralise the working and oppressed masses.

That, just as before in the case of Russia and the Donbass, when the special military operation was launched to denazify and demilitarise the fascistic proxy regime that had been imposed on the Ukrainian people by the USA and Nato, so today we refuse to be intimidated by the barrage of hysterical bourgeois propaganda that is demanding our condemnation of the actions of the Palestinian resistance, although these same imperialist media and politicians have been silent during the 75 years of slow genocide, with all its attendant atrocities, that gave rise to this latest outbreak of war in the middle east.

That we will do everything in our power to bring the missing context regarding the national-liberation struggle in Palestine to the attention of workers in our countries, just as we have been doing regarding the liberation struggle of the people of Donbass and the ongoing aggression against the Russian Federation, and as we will surely do in the case of any future war between the imperialists and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or the People’s Republic of China.

That, while preferring peace for the sake of human life, we recognise that the only way out of the ongoing holocaust being perpetrated by the imperialist system is through liberation wars. While the US congress declares that the USA can fight successfully on many battlefields and should prepare to launch a war against China, the truth is that the imperialists are losing their proxy war against Russia in Ukraine and will surely be defeated if they dare to launch wars in several major theatres at once.

That, refusing to take a pessimistic view of the global situation, we instead look with optimism at the prospects for our movement and for humanity, recalling the words of Che Guevara in his message to the Tricontinental conference of 1967: “How close we could look into a bright future should two, three or many Vietnams flourish throughout the world, with their share of deaths and their immense tragedies, their everyday heroism and their repeated blows against imperialism, impelled to disperse its forces under the sudden attack and the increasing hatred of all peoples of the world!”

That, meeting today in Athens, we uphold the spirit and legacy of resistance leaders such as Aris Velouchiotis, and most especially of Nikos Zachariadis, great son and leader of the Greek revolution.

It was Comrade Zachariadis above all who guided his people on the basis of socialist science and who never lost faith in the strength and ability of the working class, affirming that whatever the difficulties and defeats along the way, history is made by the masses. There is no doubt in our minds that the imperialists will ultimately be defeated, opening up once more the possibility for human progress and civilisation to advance.

That we commit ourselves to advancing towards the final victory of socialism by following in the footsteps of those heroic communists who stood steadfastly at the forefront of Greece’s national-liberation struggle in the 1940s. These comrades showed how it is both possible and necessary to combine the anti-imperialist and antifascist with the socialist struggle in order to harness the widest possible forces for the immediate stage of the revolution, even while growing the communist forces and creating the best possible foundation for their further advance.

That the building of the broadest possible anti-imperialist movement, willing and able to sharply confront, oppose, obstruct and defeat the hegemonic drive of the US-led Nato bloc, is the main task of progressive humanity today.

No cooperation with the imperialist war machine and its fascist proxies!
Defeat for the criminal US-led Nato imperialist bloc!
Victory to the united forces of anti-imperialist resistance!