Message to the Congress of the Democratic Constitutional Rally of Tunisia

Following is the message the Japanese Communist Party Central Committee Chair Fuwa Tetsuzo sent to the Congress of the Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD) held in Tunis from July 28-31:

Dear chairpersons and delegates,

On behalf of the Japanese Communist Party (JCP), I would like to send my heartfelt congratulations and solidarity to the historical congress of the Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD) which is being held at the beginning of the 21st century. Under the turbulent world situation, I earnestly hope that your congress will achieve a great success.

The JCP has promoted friendly exchanges with the Tunisian embassy since around the time its office was opened in 1977 in Tokyo. I myself joined the exchanges, including my meeting with Foreign Minister Habib Ben Yahia during his visit to Japan. This is my first visit to Tunisia. At the invitation of your party I was able to visit Tunisia, a beautiful country that has nurtured its old history and rich culture, and a country described as a crossroads between civilizations. I take great pleasure in getting in close touch with the important results the Tunisian people have achieved in the last half century since it won independence.

We know well that in achieving the good results we see today, the Democratic Constitutional Rally has played an important part with President Zein el-Abidine Ben Ali at the head. We have also paid attention to the fact that Tunisia in international politics, as an active member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the African Union, and as a valuable member of the United Nations, has carried out important activities for world peace and for the independence and sovereignty of nations. These activities are successors to the history and tradition of your longstanding struggle for national independence, a struggle that has lead you to glory in spite of difficulties.

Dear delegates,

As this is my first visit to this country, I would like to briefly introduce the Japanese Communist Party.

The JCP has a membership of about 400,000; it has 40 seats in the Diet (Japanese parliament), raking fourth among the seven major parties. In terms of the number of local assembly members, it has some 4,200, ranking number one, surpassing even the ruling parties.

The JCP is a political party of socialism that envisages development of future society overcoming capitalism. It advocates a ﾒstaged approachﾓ for social development; problems should be resolved step by step with every step taken when the time is ripe among the people for doing so. As a political party that has firmly advocated ﾒthe people are the sovereignﾓ since it was founded 81 years ago, the JCP stands for the basic position of ﾒrevolution by the majority,ﾓ a position that regards that social development at any stage can only be realized when it is supported by the majority of the people.

From this position, the JCP is working to achieve the following two political goals for a democratic revolution to drastically change the course of Japan:

First, breaking away from the Japan-U.S. military alliance and dismantling all U.S. military bases in Japan, we will build a non-aligned and neutral Japan and fully restore national sovereignty.

Second, we will change Japanﾕs economic policy of serving the interests of large corporations and banks to one of defending the interests of the people.

These two changes will be made ﾒwithin the framework of capitalism,ﾓ but if they are realized it will open up a new age for Japan in which the countryﾕs course will be completely changed in all political, economic and military arenas, and the peopleﾕs vitality will be demonstrated for peace and progress.

Dear delegates and friends,

Safeguarding world peace is the greatest common task for the peoples in the world. In order to realize this, the JCP considers that resolutely defending the international order for peace based on the UN Charter is a task for all human beings.

The war on Iraq is clearly a hegemonic challenge which violated this order. Faced with this, the majority of the worldﾕs governments and people voiced their opposition to the war, united in the position ﾒAbide by the UN Charter,ﾓ regardless of the continent where they lived. It was true that the hegemonic challengers got a temporary victory on the battlefields. But politically, it has become ever clearer that they have no cause and that they are internationally isolated.

It is very significant that governments, political parties, civil organizations and individuals with the common determination for developing the international struggles against the war on Iraq, as well as for defending and strengthening the international order for peace based on the UN Charter, cooperate and develop international joint actions regardless of thought, religion and belief.

In order to develop such international cooperation, we have to give more emphasis to establishing relations of dialogue and coexistence among civilizations with diverse values.

As regards the Middle East peace, the international community should resolutely support the right of the Palestinian people to national self-determination and their right to establish an independent state, and achieve in the Middle East peaceful coexistence of all the countries including Israel, without terrorism and retaliatory war; the international community should achieve this as a common task.

As a political party operating in the only A-bombed country in the world, the JCP attaches special importance to the movement to eliminate nuclear weapons from the face of the earth. On August 6, the day Hiroshima was A-bombed and on August 9, the day Nagasaki was A-bombed, the World Conference against A and H Bombs is held every year. We hope international cooperation will advance also in this field.

As regards the course of Japan, the JCP proposes that Japan should abrogate the Japan-U.S. military alliance, and that it should join the Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries. When this policy comes true, new and exciting conditions will be created in which Japan can join the same currents as you and work for world peace. We are determined to work hard to expedite such a day.

Dear chairpersons and delegates,

Japan and Tunisia are geographically far apart, but the distance is not an obstacle to friendship and solidarity between us. Wide-ranging common tasks for cooperation exist between our two parties: attaching importance to political and economic independence, having a negative view of a world with military alliances at the center, and defending the international order for peace. Let us promote cooperation hand in hand for international peace and social progress.

Lastly, I once again express my hope that the congress will achieve great success, wishing that the friendly relations between the RCD and the JCP and between the peoples of Tunisia and Japan will further develop and be consolidated. (end)