The Youth and Student Organizations, decided to establish the Cyprus National Preparatory Committee for the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS), that will take place in Russia between the 14th and 22nd of October, 2017. The Cyprus NPC can be joined by all interested Organizations that recognize its character and context and comply with the declarations of the 19th WFYS and the Cyprus NPC.
The youth of the world, according to the history and the tradition of the social
and revolutionary struggles, have always been a vital part of the struggle in every society for progress and social justice. In a world that imperialism presents itself as inevitability, the anti-imperialist struggle of the youth and the peoples is proven as a necessity. The answer of the youth in the defeat of imperialism, is found in its militant present in the struggle for youth rights and in all the common struggles of the peoples for a society of peace, solidarity and social justice.
The past years with the continuation and the deepening of the international capitalist crisis, where its cost is on the shoulders of the workers and the youth, imperialism, the system where the monopolies dominate, is still attacking and also counter attacking, is revealing more and more clearly its true brutal and barbaric nature, that leads to wars, occupations, international injustice with many deaths, migrants and refugees, with human rights violations, threats and blackmail against people, with new strategies and tactics in order to control and manipulate the youth. The capitalist crisis leads the imperialist alliances to intensify their aggressiveness, in order to impose their control on the markets. Class barriers are raised in every aspect of daily life, and they become more irrational and untenable. The youth in a lot of countries continue to experience violations and attacks of their rights for education, work, culture, sports, housing, and health.
The youth through the 19th WFYS shall unite their voices against fascism, since the developments show that fascism, fundamentalism, chauvinism and Neo-Nazism are rising in several countries and is threatening their integrity and sovereignty. Fascism and fundamentalism has always been an instrument in the hands of imperialism and the ruling classes that support it for the division of the people’s unity against its struggle, in order to impose withdrawal of rights, exploitation and oppression.
The struggle of the Youth in Cyprus takes places in two fronts. On the one hand, the young people in Cyprus are seeing their future hopelessly, as a result of the implementation of the austerity measures imposed. Labor rights have been canceled; working relations have been deregulated and unemployment has reached unforeseen numbers.
On the other hand the people of Cyprus and its Youth remain victims of the imperialist plans in the wider region. Our struggle against this plans for liberation and reunification of our country, is a part of the global struggle for peace. We aim to achieve a peaceful solution of the Cyprus Problem, a solution that will liberate our country and reunify our people, Greek-Cypriots, Turkish-Cypriots, Armenians, Maronites and Latins. We look forward to a reunited Cyprus where the Community acquis and the UN Chart will safeguard the human rights and freedoms.
Upon the above mentioned reasons we call for every young man and woman to join our struggle in the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students. We call the Youth to:
• Join our struggle for the overthrown of imperialism, since our prosperity and happiness cannot be found within the system that gives birth to poverty, exploitation, unemployment, that destroys the environment, and creates racial gender and sexual orientation discriminations.
• Struggle against the interventions of imperialist countries and their associations such as NATO and its allies, and their tools such as the world financial associations, which they act in favour of the capital and against the people.
• Express solidarity with the peoples suffering from the aggressive imperialist agenda and its militaristic offensive, to refugees that are the victims of the imperialist wars, and to the peoples that are fighting for their freedom, against occupation and foreign interventions.
• To support the democratic right of the peoples to choose their own path of development against the imperialist forces and their threats.
• To contribute to the solution efforts for the Cyprus Problem, the effort for freedom and reunification for our land and people.
• To contribute in raising awareness and information among the youth and students internationally on the anti-imperialist struggle that our people is committed to, underlying the will of the island’s youth to live in a free, reunified, sovereign, independent, federal, demilitarized country with all of its citizens enjoying the full effect of human and civil rights.
• To participate in this global multicultural and international festival that will provide the space for exchange of ideas and opinions, multinational cultural activities, and also to promote through sports the ideas of cooperation friendship and solidarity.
Within the framework of the 19th WFYS the youth of the world together with Russia and its people will commemorate the 100 years from the Great October Socialist Revolution, which is a significant date, for its character and goals, and for its importance in the development of the anti-fascist, anti-colonialist and anti-imperialist movement worldwide.
In the year of we also celebrate the 70th anniversary of the festival movement that started in Prague in 1947, carrying for the present and for the future the values of unity and anti-imperialist solidarity that characterize the Festival's Movement. Additionally, considering the tradition of the last two WFYS of dedicating the festival movement to important personalities, we are dedicating the 19th WFYS to Ernesto Che Guevara. The assassination of Ernesto Che Guevara will be completing 50 years in 2017. We are also dedicating this festival to Mohamed Abdelaziz who dedicated his life to the anti-colonialism struggle, and to the independence of Western Sahara.
The Cyprus NPC commits to proceed methodically for the massive and the widest possible informing of the youth of Cyprus on the 19th WFYS, on the content and character of the Festival. We also state that full consciousness of the history and the institution of the World Festival we will work actively for its successful implementation and for the effective, useful and coherent presence of our mission.
The Cyprus NPC calls upon all the youth and students of Cyprus to participate in the pre-Festival activities, in the preparation process and of course during the Festival in October of 2017.
The Organizations signing the declaration and constitute the National Preparatory Committee for the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students are:
• EDON-United Democratic Youth Organization
• Social-democratic Movement EDEK Youth Organization
• NEDIK- Democratic Party Youth Organization
• CTP Youth (Turkish Republican Party of Cyprus-Youth)
• BKP Youth (United Cyprus Party-Youth)
• Working Youth of PEO
• Agricultural Youth of EKA
• New Agricultural Movement
• POFEN-Pancyprian Federation of Student Unions (Universities)
• Proodeftiki Student Movement (Universities)
• Anagennisi- Democratic movement of Cypriot Students (Universities)
• PEOM-Pancyprian United Students Organization (Schools)
• Culture Movement