The Speech of SCYU-KBY in the eighteenth General Assembly of World Federation of Democratic Youth

Honorable Presidium:

Dear comrades and friends:

On behalf of the executive committee of the Syrian Communist Youth Union – Khaled Bagdash Youth, we salute the eighteenth General Assembly of World Federation of Democratic Youth, and we wish them all success at all fronts.

The current deep crisis, in which the capitalist system witnesses, associated with hostility of the global imperialism in targeting all peoples around the world especially the working mass.  This climate requires a strong international front to defend the rights of people and youth, and stand against imperialist aggression and capitalist exploitation. Hence, it is very important to maintain the unity of World Federation of Democratic Youth, and its anti-imperialism character, and enhance its role at international level. (WFDY) is an urgent need nowadays for the world youth and its progressive forces exactly as it was necessary along its glorious past, the past of struggling against the imperialist domination in all shapes to achieve economic, social and political liberation. The past of glorious struggle of progressive youth against the aggressive imperialist wars for achieving independence and national sovereignty, for the rights and interests of people and youth, for social justice.

Dear comrades and friends:

The East Mediterranean and North Africa region are going through important historical turning point, where the popular mass movement has escalated as well as the class struggle of working class has deepened in the Arab world.  The youth masses were the first to participate in these movements which are inevitable as a reaction to the neoliberal economic policies, the policies of impoverishment, unemployment and systematic looting. Also these movements came to protest against the ruling reactionary regimes that are related to the world imperialism and Zionist Israel, these regimes who have not bothered about the national sovereignty in addition to their suppression of the mass movement and impoverishment of people.

The mass movement extended to include various Arab countries, the popular revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia have succeeded and been able to get rid of and overthrow two symbols of national treason and treachery. That caused a strong blow to the imperialist plans in the region, and considered an important victory to the world and Arab national liberation movement.

Nowadays, we see counter-attack which leaded by Imperialism and its allies. The world imperialism pursued huge pressure to defeat the mass movement relying on a full support and funding by the reactionary rulers of Arab Gulf countries. Meanwhile, the betrayed forces working for the imperialism have made use of the protest wave to commit to the interests of world imperialism and related local comprador bourgeoisie. Thus it ended up to increasing the power of reactionary forces who disguised themselves in religion especially its striking force "Muslims Brotherhood” movement. This movement is absolutely reactionary one which has been created by the imperialist intelligence circles to ruin the mass movement in the Arab countries and to direct to save the imperialist interests. It was obvious how the mass movement in Bahrain has been suppressed through an immediate military intervention supported by the so called Gulf Cooperation Council after getting the American imperialism approval. We also saw the NATO criminal aggression against Libya with pretext of protecting the civilians. This aggression has killed tens of thousands of innocent people and destroyed the infrastructure of the country.  This aggression brings puppet rulers to power in Libya; they are puppet in the imperialism hand and they don’t have any relation to democracy and human rights. All these are to help some of monopolies corporations to control the wealth and resources of Libya.

What complicates the situation is the weakness of workers organizations in some Arab countries and the lack of properly class orientated trade unions. Also that happened because of the weakness of progressive organizations, and the prevalence of revisionism and opportunism in vital sectors of the movement. As a result to that, some of these organizations have lost even its anti-imperialist character and relate, in various shapes, with the American and European imperialist circles.

Anyways, we still have to keep in mind the victories achieved by the Arab national liberation movement, which has defeated the American imperialist plans along with its ally the Zionist Israel and that because of the blows of the national resistance in the region, that consequently obstructed the new great middle east project. Some of them are the glorious Iraqi national resistance who defeated the US imperialist occupation and aggression armies and was able to force them to withdraw degradingly. The second example is the Lebanese national resistance who managed to won the war in 2006 against the Zionist aggression machine, this associated with the heroic steadfastness of  Palestinian people who did not give up his legitimate national rights to build his independent state with full sovereignty on the borders as stated on the fourth of June 1967, and its capital to be the east Jerusalem, and finally to maintain committed to the right of return for all Palestinian refugees to their land and homes.

The Syrian national steadfastness continues to face the Zionist and imperialist pressures and blackmails and still insists to restore the occupied Syrian Golan and rejecting imperialist domination plans. This national steadfastness is the cornerstone in the victories which achieved by the national resistance in the East Mediterranean region. Syria is the stronghold facing the imperialist plans and projects in the region, and it is the main supporter to national resistance in the region, this caused it to won the hostility of imperialists, Zionists, reactionaries and their traitors.

But the neoliberal economic policies that have been applied in recent years led to impoverish the masses of people and led to increasing the unemployment status among young people and gave a strong blow to the national production, which create a breeding ground for the work and activities of reactionary forces, and established for the unfortunate events that taking place in the country. This is what Syrian communists have warned and struggled against everywhere and with various shapes.   

Today the Syrian people and youth are facing the terrorist operations, massacres and incitement on the various components of the Syrian people, where the terrorist operations targeting civilians, soldiers, academics and active youth. These operations are carried out by terrorist groups and extremist reactionary forces especially its obscurantist Muslim Brotherhood organization with direct support  by weapons and through media campaigns which are led and funded by treason and reactionary Arab regimes especially oil Arab Gulf countries in addition to NATO interference  in the region by Turkey. The treason forces who are called themselves ″The Syrian opposition″ are asking for air embargo on Syria by the UN security council such as Libya, which means to allow NATO to invade and occupy Syria, this what the Syrian people and youth are against it and will fight it by all means and forms. In this occasion, the Syrian Communist Party and Syrian Communist Youth Union – Khaled Bagdash Youth have organized many demonstrations and sit-ins in various parts of Syria rejecting the imperialist interventions in the country affairs and supporting the Syrian national steadfastness.

Dear comrades and friends:

The Syrian Communist Youth Union - Khaled Bagdash Youth is a struggling mass youth organization guided by the scientific socialism and operates under the leadership and supervision of the Syrian Communist Party, was founded in 1931, has participated in establishment of (WFDY) in 1945, carried the name of Democratic Youth Union in Syria from 1949 to 1996. After that, it has been working under the name of Democratic Youth Union in Syria- Khaled Bagdash youth till 2006 where it has been renamed again as the Syrian Communist Youth Union – Khaled Bagdash Youth according to the decision of the eighth congress of the union.

 Our organization has struggled throughout its history side by side under the banner and leadership of the Syrian communist party, struggled for national independence, national dignity and sovereignty and for the Syrian people and youth rights, scarified of lot of martyrs in the class and national battles, in the battles against Zionist and imperialist aggression on the region, for the democratic freedoms and people’s demands since the independence; three of our comrades died during their fighting the Zionist and imperialist aggression on Lebanon in the eighties (1980’s). This struggling identity helped our union to earn the people’s respect and confidence, and also helped our organizations to spread in all parts of the country in all fields of work and study.

The Syrian communist youth union - Khaled Bagdash youth struggles through the direct mass activity, demand petitions, trade unions, students union and through all fields of work and study to maintain the Syrian national steadfastness against the plans and conspiracies of imperialism, Zionism and reactionary. And also against the neoliberal economic policies, to support the national production and to maintain the social rights of Syrian people and youth especially free education, free health care, and to find work opportunities, adequate housing of youth, and to achieve the students and workers youth demands.

Our union struggles under the great slogan" defending the homeland and defending the rights of Syrian youth" to maintain Syria as stronghold of the world national liberation movement strongholds and as a part of the anti-imperialism international front.

Long live the world federation of democratic youth!

Long live international solidarity!

Our battle is fair, we shall win!