Preparations for the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS) have been going on all around the world. The festival will provide a good occasion for the anti-imperialist movement within the world youth on the centenary of the Great October Socialist Revolution. The National Preparatory Committee (NPC) was established on June 18 on behalf of the youth of Turkey in a meeting held in İstanbul. The festival will be held in October 2017, in Russia's Sochi.
Following a general presentation on the harsh historical process experienced by the WFDY and WFYS, a common declaration was announced.
STRUGGLE FOR PEACE, SOLIDARITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE AGAINST IMPERIALISM
From the speech representing Communist Youth of Turkey (TKG) as the NPC secretary:
“WFDY has been world youth's organisation for anti-imperialist struggle during the Cold War period. For decades WFDY had defended exit from NATO, organised campaigns against military coups and imperialist interventions, and criticised policies of imperialist institutions such as IMF and World Bank. In 1991 although many member organisations suffered a great wave of liquidation, WFDY did not surrender. Imperialism discussions, to be enriched with 2007 crisis, had begun within WFDY. While several populist "left-wing" bourgeois movements obtained a considerable efficiency, communist youth organisations' vanguard role within WFDY gained importance. Today defending WFDY's anti-imperialist character is prominently under the responsibility of communist organisations. WFDY represents the honourable history of the struggles of the world youth. We have to defend this history and strengthen the values that WFDY represents against any kind of imperialist aggression since it is our very heritage.”
Representatives from the Youth of the Communist Movement of Turkey (TKH), high school organisations and university student clubs took the floor during the meeting. Young workers from OSTİM Workers Association sent a message from Ankara. They apologised for their absence in the meeting due to their working conditions and expressed their will to send a delegation to the 19th WFYS.
The last part of the meeting was reserved for contributions of the participatory organisations.
