The following is the text of the message of greetings sent by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to the Central Committee of the Syrian Communist Party (Unified) on the occasion of its 12th National Congress held from October 29-31 in Damascus.

Dear Comrades,

THE Communist Party of India (Marxist) greets the 12th National Congress of the Syrian Communist Party (Unified) and on this momentous occasion reiterates its solidarity in these testing times. We wish your Congress all success and are confident that the deliberations you will be having will go a long way in not only strengthening the Party, but also in resolving the issues confronting the Syrian people and society.

The CPI(M) believes that the present imbroglio in Syria is the result of imperialist intervention in the internal affairs of the countries in the region. In a world ridden with crises, imperialism wants to impose its hegemony through all the means at its disposal – military, economic and political. Control over resource rich West Asian region has an important place in its vision of attaining this strategic goal. It is for this reason that the US had intervened in the internal affairs of the countries in the West Asian/North African region – when the people of these countries rose in protest against their economic hardships and for democratic rights – to ensure that the regimes in these countries continue to remain as its loyal allies.

Since 1980, the United States has intervened in the affairs of fourteen countries in the region, at worst invading or bombing them. They are Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Lebanon, Kuwait, Somalia, Bosnia, Bahrain, Sudan, Kosovo, Yemen, and now Syria. The fight against terrorism is only a ruse, as it is imperialism, which in the first place had aided and funded the growth of many terrorist organisations. Billions of dollars were spent in arming and training such forces, a fact vouched by the recently released secret CIA documents. For decades, imperialism had sought to cultivate religious fundamentalism and extremists to serve the interests of their own foreign policy. Religious fundamentalism, for them, represented the best way to counter the growing influence of Communism and Arab nationalism. It is these policies of the United States and Britain that have directly contributed to the rise of ISIS.

The CPI(M) expresses its sympathies to the families of thousands of Syrians who have lost their life and who were injured in this war and also to the hundreds of thousands others who were displaced from their homes. The present refugee crisis is a creation of imperialism. Imperialism should immediately stop funding and aiding the terrorist organisations and initiate steps to restore peace in the lands for a genuine resolution of the refugee crisis. Withdrawal of US and allied troops from all the countries in West Asia, Afghanistan, restoration of Palestine State with pre-1967 borders and East Jerusalem as the capital and putting an end to Israeli aggression are all necessary steps to be undertaken for the restoration of peace in the region and the entire world.

Comrades,

The rise of right-wing and religious fundamentalist forces is a grave challenge facing the Communists and other progressive forces world-over. We in India, are confronting this threat wherein the right-wing Hindu fundamentalist forces are threatening the secular fabric and syncretic culture of our country. Freedom of expression, choice and dissent are under attack. On the other hand, these very right-wing forces are aggressively pursuing neo-liberal economic policies. They are trying to divert the attention of the people among whom discontent against these policies is rising, by raging sectarian strife. CPI(M) is in the thick of the fight resisting these attempts by combining its struggle against religious fundamentalism, with the struggle against neo-liberal policies. We are trying to build the Left and Democratic Front, which we feel will provide a solid foundation to resist the right-wing offensive in our country.

Comrades,

We once again take this opportunity to salute the Syrian Communist Party (Unified), the delegates attending your Congress and through you, all the members of your Party. In today's world situation, resolution of the Syrian situation truly, means solving the problem presented to us by the prevailing unipolar order. While you continue to fight and resist inside your country, we promise to stand by you, by joining this struggle against imperialism and unipolar world order it is trying to impose. We know that this struggle is going to be long and arduous, but are confident that together we can surmount this challenge and travel the path for the establishment of a society free of strife, conflicts and exploitation – a socialist society.