Motion For Peace and Solidarity with Peoples approved by the XVIII Congress

In recent years, imperialist wars have killed hundreds of thousands of people, millions have been wounded and displaced, mass destruction has been wrought. The occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq continue, and military aggressions are launched against neighbouring countries, such as Pakistan or Syria. Threats are made against Iran, conspiracies are underway in Lebanon, the Balkans, Palestine, Caucasus and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

We are living in a new arms race. The USA have increased their military budget by 85% since 2000. The European Union is strengthening its military component. New weapons systems, including nuclear weapons, are being developed. New wars are being hatched. The US government's plans to install anti-missile systems on Russia's borders, while it seeks to ram through with NATO membership for the Ukraine and Georgia and to build new military bases in Eastern Europe – all constitute serious threats to peace.

The goals of this military escalation are economic conquest and the imposition of imperialist hegemony over the world. War and aggression are the other side of the coin of imperialist economic globalization.

Capitalism's current deep financial and economic crisis is enhancing even more the dangers of war and militarism, of the use of force and extreme violence to ensure their survival and their class interests. The struggle for peace has today become even more urgent.

The 18th PCP Congress condemns imperialism's warmongering and militaristic policies – and the Portuguese government's collaboration, in an affront to the Constitution of the Republic. We demand an end to Portugal's participation in military missions abroad that counter the national interest. We demand that Portugal radually disengage from NATO, as well as the dissolution of that aggressive political-military bloc. We demand an end to the European Union's militarization.

The 18th PCP Congress extends its solidarity to all the peoples that are victims of imperialism, and resist against it in the most diverse ways. We express our solidarity with those who are fighting for policies that serve the working classes and that uphold national independence and sovereignty. At a time when we are marking the Cuban Revolution's 50th anniversary, we reassert our solidarity with Cuba's heroic people, an example of how it is possible, even under the most adverse conditions, to keep the banners of socialism and national independence raised high. The 18th PCP Congress demands an end to the criminal blockade, and freedom for the five Cuban heroes locked up in US jails for having defended their country against terrorist threats emanating from US soil.

The 18th PCP Congress condemns the growing trend to treat social and political resistance as crimes. We demand an end to persecutions, murders, arrests, and to the anti-communist, anti-union, and anti-worker bans that are used in offensives against peoples.

The 18th PCP Congress demands that the Guantanamo concentration camp and all US prison camps throughout the world be closed down. We demand an end to the barbaric practices of torture, kidnappings and illegal transfers of prisoners deprived of every right.

The 18th PCP Congress calls upon Portugal's communists, workers and people to redouble their efforts in the quest for peace, to halt militarism and warmongering, and to stand in solidarity with the peoples of the world.

Long live workers' and peoples' struggles the world over!

Long live the 18th PCP Congress!