WFDY:On the 21st General Assembly of the World Federation of Democratic Youth

The WFDY was founded on 10 November 1945 in London. It was inspired by the Great Anti-Fascist Victory of the Peoples, the great victorious resistance and struggle of many movements against fascism and Nazism, such as those of National Liberation Front (EAM) and Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) in Greece, and the decisive contribution of the world's first socialist state, the USSR. The founding of WFDY reflected the prevailing strategy in the International Communist Movement at the time, namely the effort to coordinate the so-called youth anti-fascist, anti-imperialist and pro-peace forces, envisioning the true liberation of the peoples of the world, social justice, and peace.

From the very first moment of its foundation under profoundly illegal conditions, KNE joined the WFDY, taking over from the legendary United Panhellenic Organization of Youth (EPON), which was one of the WFDY’s 40 founding organizations.

Since its founding, the WFDY has made a significant contribution to the development of the anti-imperialist struggle of the youth and internationalist solidarity among peoples. Its historical course is filled with the heroism of millions of young people.

Following the counterrevolutionary overthrows in the USSR and other socialist countries in 1989-1991, the WFDY suffered a serious blow, as some of its mainstay Communist Youth Organizations (CYOs) were dissolved, while others were transformed, in factat do we consider as our enemy when we say that we are fighting against imperialism; openly siding with the forces of imperialism. At that time, many Organizations fought to preserve the anti-imperialist character of WFDY against those who wanted a mutated WFDY, diffused into other formations, international NGOs and social forums.

Since then, and particularly since 1991, KNE has played a key role in strengthening the WFDY’s struggle, serving as president of WFDY and vice-president of the Europe and North America Region.

Today, a significant ideological and political struggle is being waged within the framework of the WFDY, given the existence of different ideological and political starting points, perceptions, and positions. After all, the WFDY includes CYOs, youth organizations of Communist Parties having a character of broad democratic organizations or student fronts, youth organizations of bourgeois parties, mainly social democratic parties that have governed for decades, youth organizations of national liberation movements, youth organizations of opportunist parties. These forces are bound to have different positions by their very nature, resulting in an ideological and political struggle.

Furthermore, developments within the WFDY are largely determined by developments in the international communist and labour movement, which is in a deep ideological and political crisis that has intensified since the outbreak of the imperialist war in Ukraine, as well as by the further intensification of imperialist rivalries.

Thus, during the 21st GA, there was an exchange of views on the international situation, developments in various countries, and the resulting tasks for the WFDY and its member organizations. Serious ideological and political differences were expressed on important issues. This ideological and political struggle was expressed in both the discussion on the Political Declaration and the election of the new bodies.

Some key points are the following:

• What do we consider as our enemy when we say that we are fighting against imperialism; KNE, along with other CYOs, supported the Leninist view that imperialism is monopoly capitalism, and that the struggle against it is inseparable from the struggle to overthrow capitalism. Other organizations identify imperialism exclusively with the aggressive foreign policy of the US and certain powerful capitalist states in Europe, underestimating its economic basis, which is a crucial issue, and embellishing the role of other capitalist states.
  
  

• The character of war in our times, and especially the imperialist war in Ukraine. KNE, together with other CYOs, pointed out that the causes of war lie in the competition between the bourgeois classes for a larger share of the spoils of wealth-producing resources, transport and energy routes, and market shares; that the peoples share the same interests and therefore should not side with one camp of thieves or another. In contrast, other organizations adopt the pretexts of the bourgeois classes involved in the conflict.

• Exposing the dead ends of capitalism and defending the necessity and timeliness of socialism. Some organizations promote support for so-called “progressive governments” and cooperation with social democratic forces. KNE and other CYOs highlighted recent examples showing that the peoples and youth worldwide have nothing to expect from any kind of bourgeois government within the framework of capitalism, regardless of their label, as they all serve the interests of the bourgeoisie of each country. They also emphasized that capitalism cannot become pro-people or be humanized.

Naturally, many other issues were also discussed. During the discussions, KNE and other CYOs made significant efforts to strengthen the anti-imperialist action developed by the WFDY, to target the real enemy, i.e. the monopolies, their governments, and international imperialist alliances such as the EU and NATO, and to oppose imperialist wars and their causes.

In the framework of the works of the 21st GA, a Joint Statement against the imperialist war was signed by 12 CYOs.