Dear comrades and friends of EDON,
Dear comrades of AKEL,
Dear international delegates attending this Congress,
Fraternal greetings on behalf of the World Federation of Democratic Youth. First of all, we would like to share with you our best hopes with you, your comrades, families and friends in this difficult situation we are facing worldwide where to the daily miseries that the youth and workers suffered have been added the new dramas related to the economic and health crisis of COVID-19.
It is an honour for me and for the whole World Federation of Democratic Youth attending this 20th Congress of our comrades of EDON. We want to show our gratitude for the hospitality during these days. The way you take care of us, how you open the doors of your homes, is the best example of what international solidarity means: knowing that wherever you go, whatever you need, you have a comrade you can count on. We are sure that this congress will be a success and will allow you to advance in your debates, analyses and lines of action to strengthen your organisation. But, above all, we are sure that this congress will be a step forward so that the Cypriot youth as a whole will see EDON as the best tool to defend their interests.
A congress is a key milestone for our organisations with a strong basis on the struggle for social transformation. That is why these events acquire great relevance, not only for the organisation itself but for the anti-imperialist youth as a whole. We are sure this congress will help you and the whole youth around the world to deepen our common struggle against Imperialism and for a world without any kind of exploitation and oppression.
Comrades, the ties that unite your organisation, the World Federation of Democratic Youth and all the youth fighting for the emancipation of the peoples are unbreakable. The World Federation of Democratic Youth has always been committed to the struggle of the Cypriot youth and people and the demand for freedom and reunification under the solution of a bicommunal, bizonal, federal state with a single sovereignty, a single international personality, single citizenship, with political equality between the two communities as it is prescribed in numerous UN Security Council Resolutions and without any foreign guarantors. A solution that shall include the full demilitarization of Cyprus, the withdrawal of Turkish occupation forces and settlers, the restoration of the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus, the respect of the independence of Cyprus, the respect and restoration of the human rights and freedoms of all Cypriots, including the right of all refugees to return to their homes and properties.
Because, comrades, wherever there is a just cause, the World Federation of Democratic Youth will be there. Despite the difficulties and the complex scenario we are currently going through, we must continue to be on the side of the youth and the people around the world.
We are experiencing one of the hardest expressions of this system in which we live. The economic and health crisis speeded up by the COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped imperialist tensions, wars, plundering of natural resources and exploitation. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, it was clear that not even a health emergency was going to change the fundamental principles on which this imperialist system is based.
When measures began to be taken, it was clear from the beginning that the machinery could not stop and that we workers had to continue to produce despite all the risks of contagion so that the capitalists could continue to enrich themselves at our expense. When sanitary and hygienic materials were needed to cope with the pandemic, the ruling classes engaged in a war of rapine based on accumulation rather than distribution on the basis of need.
When sanitary and hygienic materials were needed to cope with the pandemic, the ruling classes engaged in a war of rapine based on accumulation rather than distribution on the basis of need.
When vaccines were developed, the pharmaceutical monopolies thought only of their own profits rather than the health of the world as a whole.
Comrades, this imperialist system has shown its most inhuman face, but not only in the management of the pandemic but also in the deepening of some conflicts that far from being solved by the pandemic have even increased.
The Zionist state of Israel has not hesitated to implement its apartheid policy towards the Palestinian people even in the management of the pandemic. They have politically persecuted 5 of the key organisations for solidarity among the Palestinian people by declaring them "terrorists". And, as if that were not enough, they have carried out one of the biggest offensives against Palestine in years, causing countless deaths in Gaza.
The Moroccan occupation did not hesitate to break the ceasefire with Western Sahara and the Polisario Front in Guerguerat in the middle of the pandemic, nor to increase the repression of the Saharawi leaders, thus taking a new step in its policy against the Saharawi people's right to self-determination.
Imperialist forces such as the United States and the European Union have intensified their campaign against Cuba, its youth, its people and its Revolution, sponsoring attempts to destabilise the island and practically instigating a coup d'état or imperialist intervention.
But, despite all the offensives of the ruling classes, we have witnessed the best examples of popular self-organisation that should give us confidence in the potential that the youth and peoples of the world have.
In the neighbourhoods, we have seen:
- Young people collecting and sharing food to those who need it.
- People disinfecting the common areas to stop the spread of the pandemic.
- Young people organising to help between them in different works like shopping, cleaning, and so on, especially to those who are not able to do them without help (old people, people with mobility problems, and so on).
In the workplaces:
- Workers stoping production if it was not possible to work without the guarantee of not being infected.
- Workers and people from the unions doubling their efforts to guarantee that the rights of the workers were not attacked.
In the study centres:
- Students sharing their notes, educating between them, and so on to make easier the difficulties of studying at home.
But not only this, we have seen that in all corners of the world experiences of mobilisation are beginning to emerge that question some key elements of this system. During the last few years, the various international women's strikes have put these demands against all forms of violence against women at the centre. Subsequently, the environmental protests denouncing the ecological collapse, the resource and waste crisis and the destruction of the planet. Moreover, in various corners of the world, waves of mobilisation have awakened, demanding profound transformations in their societies.
Comrades, we are aware that these are not easy times to struggle. But in every spark of the struggle that is ignited there is a hope that it will be the one that finally ignites everything. As the Spanish poet Miguel Hernández said, "there is a ray of sunshine in the struggle that always leaves the shadow defeated". We hope that this 20th Congress of EDON will be one more ray of sunshine that will enable the Cypriot young workers and students to defeat the shadow.
Once again, our best wishes for the following days discussing, analyzing and making the best decisions for your struggle. After the 20th Congress of EDON, I am sure the Cypriot youth but also the whole anti-imperialist youth will be nearer to building a society without exploitation and any kind of oppression, this is, the world we have dreamed of and fought for.
Long live EDON
Long live the World Federation of Democratic Youth
