The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) sent the following text of greetings to the Central Committee of the Lebanese Communist Party on April 19, 2016 on the occasion of its 11^th Congress.

DEAR Comrades,

THE Communist Party of India (Marxist) greets the 11th Congress of the Lebanese Communist Party and wishes it all success. On this occasion, we greet the delegates and all the members of the Party and reiterate our heartfelt solidarity.

Your 11th Congress is being held in the midst of intensified imperialist offensive, as can be seen in its military interventions in West Asia/North Africa, and meddling in the internal affairs of countries in Latin America – the latest example being Brazil. Wherever imperialism has intervened, it had led to the ruin of those countries and destruction of the livelihoods of the people.

In West Asia, US imperialism, along with its cohorts, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey had destroyed the region and unleashed a wave of sectarian strife that is tearing apart the lives of peoples. Emboldened by the 'constructive chaos' unleashed in the region, Israel is moving ahead with its occupation of Palestinian lands. All these are part of imperialism's design to realise its project, 'New Middle East'. Imperialist interventions and wars have displaced people from their homelands and are to be blamed for the refugee crisis.

Capitalism, is an intrinsically crisis prone social system. International finance capital and the ruling classes are trying to come over the current global capitalist crisis, now into its eighth year, by further increasing the burdens on the people ('austerity' measures) and gaining control over regions abundant in natural resources (through wars and regime changes). A heartening feature is that people are resisting these policies by coming onto the streets in protests as can be seen recently in the demonstrations organised in France and other countries. The historical responsibility of overthrowing capitalism is upon us, communists. This is possible only by strengthening the Party, forging close links with the people and intensifying class struggles.

LCP has a glorious history of leading the resistance struggles against imperialism and their lackeys. Hundreds of your comrades have laid down their lives in this struggle, while thousands more are marching with the 'Red Flag', undeterred. The CPI(M) salutes the LCP, which continues to carry forward the banner of scientific socialism amidst immense hardships.

Comrades,

In India, with the assumption of government by the right-wing fundamentalist party, there is an intense attack on the democratic rights of the people, particularly on the right to dissent and organise. On the other hand, the government is further opening up our economic sector for finance capital and intensified exploitation. Our Party is mobilising people in struggles against these attacks. Currently, the Party is also in the midst of a serious electoral battle in five provinces, of which two – West Bengal and Kerala – are our strongholds.

Comrades,

The CPI(M) once again greets the 11th Congress of the LCP and wishes it all success. We hope that the decisions of your Congress will go a long way in strengthening struggles against imperialism and for a society free of exploitation. We are confident that the fraternal bonds of friendship between our two parties will be further strengthened in the coming days.