Lebanon Hosts the 24th Meeting of Global Communist Parties: Palestine is the Axis

By Mahdi Saadeh

The Resistance has continued to exhibit heroism and make sacrifices across various fronts in Lebanon and Palestine since October’s Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, which was launched against “Israel’s” barbaric killing machine.

“Israel’s” cgarrent war of extermination in Gaza is unfolding in full view of the world. It would not be possible without US cover and the international community turning a blind eye to the crimes being committed against the Palestinians.

However, there is an awakening among some people whose conscience has driven them to condemn the genocidal war in the Gaza Strip. They are denouncing their governments’ participation in spilling Palestinian blood, either through support or inaction.

Lebanon’s liberal parties and factions are ready to interact with the Al-Aqsa Flood Battle. The shared geography and history gave Lebanon an active role in supporting the Palestinian cause and standing by the Palestinian people at many junctures and in many areas. For its part, the Communist Party has not hesitated in supporting the Palestinian people and their resistance.

Thirteen left-wing parties were mobilized by the Lebanese Communist Party at a working group gathering of the “International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties” [IMCWP] on Saturday in preparation for the 24th “International Meeting” in Lebanon in conjunction with the centenary of the founding of the Lebanese Communist Party on October 24, 2024.

In the lead up to the occasion, the Secretary General of the Lebanese Communist Party, Hanna Gharib, sat down for an interview with Al-Ahed News.

“During the meeting held in the Turkish city of Izmir on October 20, 2023, the party proposed that the meeting issue a condemnation of the aggression against Gaza and the genocidal war taking place there, in addition to calling for communist parties to organize movements in all capitals of the world and launch a battle of solidarity with the Palestinian people to stop the aggression. We succeeded in securing this, and we were also able to get a decision on holding the 24th annual meeting, on the occasion of the anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party, on Lebanese territory on October 24, 2024. We adopted the Palestinian cause and the issue of the aggression against the Gaza Strip as the main topic of discussion,” Gharib said.   

He pointed out that “organizing this meeting requires a preparatory working group, and this was the purpose of the closed meeting that we held on Saturday.”

Gharib stressed that “all forms of support, solidarity, and supportive movements at the local, regional, and international levels have not been able to stop the aggression against the Palestinian people, and this is what prompted us to move, sharpen our resolve, and redouble our efforts and movements to pressure governments to state their positions and help stop the aggression.”

“We told the international communist parties that everything that has been done is not enough as long as the war on Gaza does not stop. These parties must take responsibility, whether they are Arab communist parties, leftist parties, or other parties. They must take bold and more effective steps so that the battle turns into a battle of national and social liberation as well as a battle against capitalism and the systems of normalization with the Zionist entity. It is not just a battle against imperialist hegemony and against the ‘Israeli’ enemy,” he added.

Gharib explained that “this entity would not have continued this aggression had it not been for normalization and what the normalizing countries did to protect it, through tyranny, repression, and arrests, especially the Arab countries, which did not move as they should.”

The challenge of bridging viewpoints between the participating parties

“In all parties, you may find a lack of consensus and differences in viewpoints on some issues, but what is necessary is the concerted efforts of all the communist parties to stop this aggression. Every member of these parties must take responsibility,” Gharib pointed out.

Regarding the number of parties set to participate in the meeting, he said “the Izmir meeting included approximately 62 representatives of the communist parties. As for the parties that will participate in the Lebanon meeting, the number on the lists is 122. But I do not think that all of them are able to participate, due to several obstacles, most notably the presence of parties in distant countries such as those in Europe, North and South America, and others, in addition to some financial obstacles.”

When it comes to bringing viewpoints among the participants, Gharib said, “When the meeting was scheduled, I don’t think that there was anyone who did not agree to condemn what is happening in Palestine and the right to resist against this aggression, especially since the war of extermination waged by the occupation pushed many comrades in Europe and America, despite the differences in viewpoints, to raise this issue in their countries, turning it into an international issue, even though it has not yet reached a stage where government policies are broken.”

He stressed that “work continues to unify and bring viewpoints closer together, especially since the Palestinian cause is a central cause around which all liberation movements, communist and leftist movements, and various resistance forces unite.

“Our primary concern is adjusting the balance of power in politics, as there are latent forces that have not yet engaged as they should in this battle.”

He reiterated the necessity of “stopping the aggression, stopping the war of annihilation, ‘Israel’s’ withdrawal from Gaza, and continuing the pressure to achieve these objectives.”

“We will re-emphasize these objectives in the next meeting, and if we are able to come out of the meeting with a condemnation of the occupation, this means a victory for us at the political level.”

The Communist Party will be a defender of its land and its people

Commenting on the opening statement that Gharib read on Saturday, June 29, 2024, and his assertion that “the Communist Party will be a defender of its land and its people,” he asserted that “since the start of the Al-Aqsa Flood Battle on October 7, 2023, we hastened to intervene immediately. On the same day, we issued a statement in which we called for a gathering in Riad Al-Solh Square, and we expressed our position and began working to confirm it.”

 “We also went to meet with the communist parties in Izmir and succeeded in pressuring to obtain condemnations of the aggression. Likewise, we made the same efforts in other meetings with the Arab left, and in a meeting with Arab communist parties. We also sought to strengthen coordination with the resistance and the Palestinian factions confronting the aggression in the south, in addition to supporting all movements in the street, such as the movement that took place in front of the US embassy in Awkar and the march that left Berbeer towards Riad Al-Solh Square in downtown Beirut,” he said.

We revived the Lebanese National Resistance Front to be at the heart of this battle

Gharib believes “the Palestinian people cannot be left alone and allow the occupation to isolate them and their resistance. We support the confrontations taking place in the south, especially when we see the international mobilization represented by the United States of America, Britain, and France coming together to liquidate the resistance and the Palestinian cause.”

He pointed out that "the Communist Party, which has been a resistance party since the 1940s and has sacrificed many martyrs, is currently working to revive the Lebanese National Resistance Front, despite its modest capabilities, to be at the heart of this battle and not outside it, and because we want to resist, and this is our upbringing, our history, and our heritage.

“In addition to military resistance, we also support political resistance, in which we resist to change the sectarian system.”

He noted that “we are not only exposed to Zionist-American aggression, but also to this aggression – there are tools inside that raise the slogan ‘Lebanon’s strength is in its weakness’ – meaning they want us to surrender and stop the resistance. Therefore, we are fighting for a political project for Lebanon based on change and transforming the regime from a sectarian regime to a resistance-based regime, in which all political forces bear the responsibility in this context and in which the army is a strong army capable of confronting any aggression, armed with political and popular support and equipment.”

Gharib sounded the alarm, warning against repeating the same approach adopted by political forces that do not care about the country’s interests, which we witnessed in July 2006, and in other pivotal moments, stressing that “the sacrifices being made in the south must not be in vain.”

Gharib concluded by paying tribute to the southerners who are steadfast in their villages, homes, and lands and said they are “heroic resistance fighters, and their steadfastness is an act of resistance no less important than the resistance that targets occupation sites with missiles, rockets and drones.”