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Journalism of Courage
They believe in the same ideology,nurse hatred for imperialist US and share the same kind of dreamsof seeing Israel and an independent Palestinian state co-existing peacefully.
However,the Communist parties from both the countries strangely do not share fraternal links and their leaders dont get to see each other.
So,when Fawaz and Faten Kamal Ghattas,representing the Palestine Communist Party and the Communist Party of Israel,met at the International Communist conclave here,it took some time for breaking the ice. For them,the resolution of the decades-old Israeli-Palestine conflict was more urgent than ushering in socialism.
Fawaz,who lives in Jordan because of the ban on the Communist Party in his country,understands and appreciates the struggles waged by the Israeli comrades for Palestinian independence,but he is at a loss to explain why their parties do not have direct links with each other.
We can only meet at neutral venues because the Israeli government does not give visas to leaders from Palestine while Arab countries do not entertain Israeli politicians. Although Israeli leaders can travel to occupied territories,most of our leaders are either in exile or underground, Fawaz told The Indian Express.
Nevertheless,the belief in Communism and socialism unites them togetherapart from the quest for peace in West Asia. Both Communist parties blame capitalist America for the Israeli-Palestine conflict. They also oppose the policies of their respective governments describing it as anti-people. We oppose the Israeli occupation of Palestine,Zionism and Tel Avivs friendship with Washington. Israel is like a baby of the US. We are against American intervention in the region, says Ghattas.
Interestingly,he feels that Americans,Zionists and Arab leaders are putting hurdles in the way of a separate Palestine. Fawaz adds the Fatah into that list.
Fawaz and Ghattas were not the only oddities at the 11th international meeting of the Communist and Workers Parties which began at the Ramada Plaza. Rubbing shoulders were comrades from the US and Cuba,countries that epitomised the battle between capitalist and Communist strands of thought. But,Oscar Israel Martinez who represents Fidel Castros Cuba says his country wants good relations with the US. He wants the five-decade-old US economic blockade on Havana to end. For the last 18 years,Cuba has been consistently asking the UN to put pressure on Washington to end the commercial,financial and economic embargo.
We want the embargo to end. That will facilitate Americans to visit Cuba and vice versa. We are a friendly land. We want to develop friendly relations with the US. If the blockade ends,trade relations will follow. We want American investment also in areas like tourism and infrastructure, Martinez says.
Martinez is not enthused by US president Barack Obamas moves to ease tensions between Washington and Havana. Earlier this year,Obama had lifted the restrictions on Cubans having American citizenship from visiting and sending remittances to Cuba. He had also allowed American food and telecom companies to trade with Cuba. But the ban on Americans travelling to Cuba remains. He is just talking and doing nothing. Although his tone is not that aggressive as compared to Bush. We can only hope that the conflict ends, he says.
