Left Parties Observe International Peace and Solidarity Day in Kolkata to Mark World War II

International Peace and Solidarity Day, the date of remembrance when World War II started in 1939 after Germany attacked Russia, was observed on Wednesday in Kolkata with a protest meet held before the United States Information Services Centre by the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

The speakers at the protest underlined that the United States’ imperialist hegemony was a significant danger in the Indian subcontinent area in the present day context. It can be recalled that Kolkata had a long history of international peace marches, conducted in the city in the 80s and the 90s. On Wednesday, on behalf of the major Left parties of the state, the protest meet was organised before the USISC, which was presided over by Left Front Chairman Biman Basu  and continued till 3.30pm.

Speaking in the meeting, CPI(M) State Secretary Dr Suryakanta Mishra warned that capital has become more compact and there has been an internationalisation of capital making it a major force in the international arena. The power of capital can be gauged by the way trade embargo has been levied on Cuba and Venezuela, he said. In Bolivia, capitalists tried their best as not to let the Left forces come into power. In Chile, people are now aghast due to the continuation of the Pinochet-era constitution; they want a more modern and humane constitution that they had during the brief rule of President Salvador Allende.

The black shadow of imperialism has entered Asia, Africa and Latin America  and to resist it, one has to walk the path opposite of imperialism, Mishra said.

He further warned that fascist forces were changing their formulae. At the beginning of the pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had organised the ‘Namaste Trump’ event in Gujarat, he said, arguing, “We have seen many prime ministers in the past, but the Modi government is attacking the political and  economic sovereignty of the country. Whatever gains we have made so far since Independence in 1947, this government is trying to dismantle.”

The Left leader also said that the US-China trade war has roots in the “imperialist wish to choke countries following communist doctrines”.  Saying this, he called out to Leftists to fight the day to day fight on the livelihood question. He also quipped that the fight being forged in the home country needs to be bolstered if one needs to wedge an international fight against imperialism. He warned that the gains from independence were under attack, which had never been attacked earlier.

Speaking at the programme, Left Front Chairman Biman Basu called for continuation of the fight against “US hegemony” and also, held a placard throughout the programme demanding that in Kabul, an administration should be set up under the supervision of the United Nation. He said that it was pathetic that in Kabul, Afghanistan, the entire medical set up has collapsed under Taliban siege leading to deaths and called for immediate UN intervention.

The gathering was addressed by Dr Tarun  Mondal (SUCI), Manoj Bhattachrya (RSP), Swapan Banerjee (CPI), Naren Chattopadhya (Forwrad BLock ), amongst others. CPI(M) Central Committee member Dr. Sujan Chakraborty, and Rabin Deb and Abhas Roychoudhury were also present at the programme.