JCP sends message to the SACP 11th congress

The Japanese Communist Party Central Committee sent a message of greetings to the South African Communist Party 11th Congress which was held in Rustenburg from July 24-28. The message read:

The past century is one in which humanity made progress toward establishing democracy, human rights, national sovereignty and independence. This, in turn, is helping to bring about an international order governing peace, despite various scourges, including the two World Wars. After a long and arduous struggle, your victory in the last days of the 20th century in overthrowing the Apartheid regime and in establishing a new government in the Republic of South Africa with universal suffrage is a symbol of the progress humanity has made in history.

The SACP, as part of the new government, has been actively engaged in consolidating and deepening the "National Democratic Revolution," and has been struggling against the negative legacy of Apartheid. The JCP hopes that your Congress will contribute to improving the living standards of the majority of the people and enhancing democracy.

Meanwhile international terror incidents that occurred in the United States last September, the first year of the 21st century, and the subsequent U.S. retaliatory war highlighted important issues that we should address in order to attain world peace in the new century.

The Bush administration openly asserts a "preemptive attack" strategy in which the U.S. can initiate a war whenever and against whomever it acknowledges as "an enemy of peace." This is tantamount to upsetting the international order based on the principles of no-use of force and respect for sovereignty, and placing the international community under U.S. hegemony. Thus it becomes more important to work for establishing international order governing peace based on the U.N. Charter, and immediate elimination of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

In addition, we desperately need to fight against imposition of an economic order under which the limitless pursuit of profit by transnational corporations and international financial capital, mainly American, takes precedence over everything, in the name of "globalization." The establishment of a new democratic international economic order where workersﾕ rights are protected, poverty and hunger eliminated, financial speculation regulated and the world environment preserved is fervently needed.

The JCP is looking forward to promoting cooperation with the SACP on these and other tasks of common concern. (end)