Statement of the Press Office of the CC of KKE

Condemnation of the murderous attack on the striking workers in Kazakhstan

The information arriving from the city Zhanaozen in Kazahstan refer that police authorities opened fire against a demonstration of strikers, who have been striking for 7 months struggling for their rights which are being violated by the Kazakh-Chinese oil company “Qarazhanbasmunai” and the bourgeois state of Kazakhstan.

On 16^th December the day of Kazakhstan’s “independence” the striking workers took to the streets of Zhanaozen town demanding the satisfaction of their demands, the release of their imprisoned comrades, the exemplary punishment of those who use repressive measures against the strike, the unimpeded activity of their militant trade unions and the political parties as well the nationalization of the natural resources of the country.

The police forces opened fire on the crowd and sought to repress the demonstration leading, according to press reports, to a large number of victims which still remains unclear.

The KKE condemns this new crime of the authorities of Kazakhstan against the workers. This incident, 20 years after the overthrow of socialism and the dissolution of the USSR, shows what kind of “democracy” and “freedom” has been imposed on the peoples of the former USSR. It is the freedom and aggressiveness of big capital which is accompanied by exploitation, by the oppression of the working class, unemployment, poverty and repression of the people’s struggles.

We call on the Greek working class to express its solidarity with the heroic strikers of Kazakhstan!

ATHENS 16/12/2011

THE PRESS OFFICE OF THE CC OF THE KKE