"Whilst the people of every country, including the progressive and democratic forces in the axis powers themselves, played their part, above all, this victory was inseparable from the heroic exploits, struggle and sacrifice of the great Soviet people of all nationalities and the great Chinese people." Keith Bennett in his speech to the Workers Party of Britain 80th anniversary meeting.

Report by Friends of Socialist China: The Workers Party of Britain (WPB) packed London’s Bolivar Hall, the cultural premises of the Venezuelan Embassy, on Saturday May 10 for its celebration of the 80^th anniversary of the victory over fascism in the European theatre of World War II.

The meeting was attended by Dzmitry Kozlovsky, Chargé d’ Affaires, and Andrei Miskevich , Counsellor, of the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus; Alexander Gusarov, Minister Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission, and Timofey Kunitskiy, First Secretary, of the Embassy of the Russian Federation; Minister Zhao Fei and Zhen Sitong from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China; and Wilfredo Hernández Maya, Counsellor of the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

The meeting heard a message of greetings from Workers Party leader George Galloway, filmed in Moscow’s Red Square, where he was attending the celebrations.

Chaired and introduced by WPB General Secretary Paul Cannon, the meeting was addressed by the diplomatic representatives of Belarus, Russia and Venezuela; Mick Stott from the WPB’s Veterans Group and the No 2 NATO Campaign; Louise Scrivens from the No Conscription League; Jesse Williams from the British Preparatory Committee for the World Festival of Youth; Shanaz Saddique, WPB National Organiser; and Keith Bennett of Friends of Socialist China, who spoke on the war in Asia.

Keith began by congratulating the WPB on organising the meeting and thanking them for the invitation. Extending our greetings to the diplomats present, Keith recalled that FOSC had held its own celebration of the 75^th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in this same hall in September last year. Expressing his thanks once again, he noted that both events showed how the comrades of the revolutionary government of Venezuela, despite the outrageous pressures, aggression, sanctions and threats to which their country has been and is still subjected, can always be relied on for their support, collaboration and friendship in the best traditions of internationalism.

Text of the speech (from Friends of Socialist China website.