International Commission of the NCPN
The NCPN strongly condemns the forced closure of the German Communist Party (DKP) bank accounts. This is a blatant attempt to financially starve the DKP as punishment for its consistent diplomatic and material solidarity with the Cuban people. The Bündnis 90/Die Grünen-affiliated bank, GLS Bank, known for its consistent support of imperialism and anti-communism, has taken the unprecedented step of using the US blockade against Cuba against the DKP. This is a blatant violation of the DKP’s democratic rights to freedom of association and expression. It is a worrying trend of attacks on the democratic rights of communist parties and the population under capitalism.
This forced closure, by a bank that claims to have an ‘ethical mission’, is the result of its ‘de-risking policy’ towards transactions and clients that the United States unilaterally deems sanctionable. No country in Europe, nor anywhere else in the world except the United States, has an embargo against Cuba. But due to the international nature of capital and its financial transactions, institutionalised through the SWIFT network, American sanctions have extraterritorial effect. Non-compliance can result in the US Treasury Department suspending an entity’s licence to use the SWIFT network. This de-risking policy is ubiquitous in the global financial system. If money needs to be exchanged from one currency to another, the transfer is refused if “Cuba” is mentioned anywhere in the transaction. As a result, the demands of capital are arbitrarily imposed on the workers of every country affected by imperialism, and international sympathisers are prevented from mobilising material support for their struggle.
We demand the immediate return of the DKP’s financial resources!