(Benalmádena, 31st of March) This afternoon the 3rd Mediterranean Conference starts in which more than 30 political forces from more than twenty countries from the south and north of this sea will debate for three days about geopolitical conflicts, social struggles, terrorism, imperialist wars and occupation, migration, refugees, peace, democracy and popular power, along other topics.

In the press conference taking place this morning, Maite Mola, vice president of the Party of the European Left (EL) - organizing this event - has expressed that the objective of conference is that once it's finished, on Sunday afternoon, a manifesto and common agenda shall be produced in order to continue working together. En la rueda de prensa de la presentación, que ha tenido lugar esta mañana, Maite Mola, vicepresidente del Partido de la Izquierda Europea (PIE) -que organiza el encuentro- ha expresado que el objetivo es que cuando las jornadas se clausuren, el domingo al mediodía, lo hagan con un manifiesto y una agenda común para poder seguir trabajando juntos.

José Luis Centella, Secretary General of the Spanish Communist Party - which together with Izquierda Unida is a member of the EL - explained to the media that a message has to be sent to the European Union reclaiming that the Mediterranean shall be a sea of peace and not of war and conflict. “The disaster has to stop and the right of the peoples to live in peace to be reclaimed”, adding that the hardships devastating the North of Africa and the South of Europe, Palestine and Sahara, "are not provoked by natural disasters but by political decisions", mentioning also NATO. “The form to stop it is through a conference of peace and solidarity”.

Centella also talked about terrorism, insisting that it is not fought through more terrorism but by addressing its root and eliminating its causes, additionally to peace and solidarity.

From the other end of this big common sea Egyptian Mamdouh Habashi, of the Popular Socialist Alliance, underlined the importance of this conference in order to "unify the left of both sides of the Mediterranean so that they shall speak with one voice". He said that capitalism is in a state of self-destruction and that the forces of the left have to work together in order to leave a capitalism in crisis and not in order to rescue capitalism from its crisis". He also talked of the goals and challenges of global left facing populist politics which are imposing themselves in the United States and in Europe and which are increasing the polarisation of the societies.

In this sense the EL-vice president explained that the work of this conference shall be coupled to another very important political forum for the European Left which is already in the works and which will take place in Marseille this November.

During these three days six big debates will be developed centered around the following six axes: geo-strategic conflicts in the Mediterranean, like oil, gas and other resources; wars, imperialist occupation, peace y nuclear rearmament; religion and politics; and politics and popular power.

 

Programme

Friday, March 31

Salón de Actos del Puerto Deportivo de Benálmadena(Av. Juan Sebastián Elcano, s/n, 29630 Benalmádena, Málaga).

11.30 Press conference with Maite Mola (EL Vice president), Mamdouh Habashi (Socialist Popular Alliance - Egypt) y José Luis Centella (PCE General Secretary)

15.30 Welcome by Inger Johansen (EL Secretariat – Red Green Alliance, Denmark), Omar Al Deeb (Communist Party of Lebanon, CPL).

16.00 – 18.30 Session 1

Geostrategic conflicts in the Mediterranean - the search for and disputes about oil, natural gas and other resources

• The role of oil in the Middle East conflicts.

• Exploration and exploitation of natural resources within the EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus: Problems and Prospects

• Western Sahara: rich in natural resources that are central in the colonial dispute with Morocco.

 

 

 

 

Friday, March 31

Castillo de Bil Bil - Centro Cultural Ayuntamiento de Benalmádena(Av. Antonio Machado, 78, 29631 Benalmádena Costa, Málaga).

19.00 Reception

19.30 Welcome by Local Government

20.00 Concert - Lucía Socam, Juan Pinilla, Manuel Romero, David Caro (guitar)

21.00 Catering

***

 

Saturday, April 1

Salón de Acto Puerto Deportivo Benalmádena (Av. Juan Sebastián Elcano, s/n, 29630 Benalmádena-Málaga).

 

09.00 - 09.15 Welcome by Benalmadena major

09.15 – 11.45 Session 2

Social struggles against neoliberal agenda

• • • Environmental and social justice interconnected in the struggle against free trade agreements - TTIP, CETA and TISA - and neoliberalism.

    • The EU - Mediterranean partnership agreements as part of this struggle.

 

11.45 – 12.00 Coffee Break

12.00 – 14.30 Session 3

Migration and refugees, not just/only a humanitarian question

• • • A key issue due to increasing conflict and climate change.

    • How to prevent war and conflict and deal with global warming.

    • How to deal concretely with increasing numbers of migrants and refugees in our areas.

    • Why the agreement between EU and Turkey is not contributing to solving the concrete problems of increasing numbers of refugees but worsening the human rights situation and deferring solutions.

 

14.30 Lunch

 

 

15.30 Session 4

Against imperialist wars and occupation, for a just peace and a nuclear-free Mediterranean

• A focus on the conflicts of the Middle East and northern Africa with an analysis of and perspective for future developments. The responsibility of Western and EU imperialism. How to develop a peace movement.

 

18.00-18.15Coffee Break

 

 

18.15 – 20.30 Session 5

Religion and politics

• The strengthening of fundamentalist religious and right-wing politics - causes of this development and how to work for secular, progressive and socialist alternatives

 

21.00 Dinner

 

***

Sunday, April 2

Salón de Acto Puerto Deportivo Benalmádena (Av. Juan Sebastián Elcano, s/n, 29630 Benalmádena-Málaga).

 

 

09.30 Democracy and people’s power. Agenda for cooperation.

• The moderators of the previous sessions will be the rapporteurs on the speeches and the debate and make conclusions

 

12.30 Closing by EL, PCE/IU, South Mediterranean .

 

13h Light Lunch