We would like to express our surprise and indignation at the publication in the Communist Party of Greece’s organ Rizospastis of a letter purportedly containing the position of the Communist Party of Poland (KPP). Both the exercise of political leadership and the external representation of the Party are the responsibility of the National Executive Committee. However, neither a draft statement of this content nor any of its elements have ever been discussed by the NEC, despite the fact that it presides continuously.
This statement condemns the World Anti-Imperialist Platform (WAP) for unspecified ‘provocative actions aimed at the international communist movement’ and ‘unacceptable methods’. In addition, false information was published, damaging the reputation of two of the five members of the NEC of the KPP.
The background to this publication includes ideological and political issues of significant practical importance. The KKE adopted a political programme according to which, among other things, contemporary China and Russia are imperialist countries and pose the same threat as the bloc of countries led by the United States, centered around NATO and the EU. In addition, the KKE announced the theory of an ‘imperialist pyramid’ encompassing, in practice, all countries of the world. These concepts has not been shared by any Communist Party in socialist countries and they were criticized by the international communist and workers’ movement. It was this criticism that led, among other things, to the creation of the WAP.
The Communist Party of Poland never shared this programme line. The documents of previous Congresses and the Programme of KPP assess the economic and international situation differently, including, importantly, the causes of the current threats of war. No substantive defense of the this line has ever been presented at the forum of the current NEC. Therefore, it was not adopted as the new Party’s line.
Contacts between the KPP and the WAP were initiated by a visit of members of the leadership of the People’s Democracy Party (from South Korea) to Poland in September 2022. The meeting was attended by the then chairman of the KKW KPP (currently Honorary Chairman). During this visit, an exchange of views took place, in which a consensus was reached.
The KPP did not join the WAP. However, members of the current KPP NEC participated in conferences organized by the WAP. They presented papers that had been previously and thoroughly consulted with the KPP authorities in every single case, always taking into account the comments made. This was also the case at the conference in Dakar. In this case, only one member of the NEC expressed reservations, which did not concern the content of the paper, but only the fact that the conference was co-organized by the WAP. However, these reservations were not substantiated or shared by the other members. Nor was any KPP member condemned by the Party for participating in conferences organized by the WAP.
We are not currently aware of all the circumstances that led to the aforementioned publication.
However, it certainly does not deserve recognition, and its purpose seems highly questionable. The obvious result is to mislead the readers of Rizopastis and other international centers as to the true situation, views and positions of the Polish communist movement.
With communist greetings,
Marcin Adam (Member of NEC KPP)
Bartosz Bieszczad (Member of NEC KPP)