Visakhapatnam, April 14 (IANS): The Communist Party of India-Marxist has expressed solidarity with Palestinians and voiced its concern for people of West Asia.

"We reiterate our strong solidarity with Palestinian people who are fighting against tremendous odds for freedom and for an independent state," party General Secretary Prakash Karat said at the 21st Congress of the CPI-M which began here on Tuesday.

"We express our deep concern for the people of West Asian countries who are caught in the vice of imperialist aggression and rising fundamentalist forces," he said.

The party extended its warm greetings to all the left democratic and secular forces who are struggling in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan for democracy, social justice, against fundamentalism and for an end to imperialist interference.

"We specially greet the democratic and secular forces in Bangladesh who are engaged in a bitter struggle against fundamentalist and reactionary forces," said Karat.

Speaking on the international situation, he said the capitalist system had been unable to make a meaningful recovery from the global financial crisis of 2008.

He alleged that the ruling classes have been trying to overcome the crisis at the expense of people by imposing austerity measures, further burdening the people. "The people of Greece have rebuffed these austerity measures and put in place a government which promised to adopt an alternative path."

"This has opened a new political dimension to the ongoing struggles against neo-liberalism and austerity in Europe," he said.

He expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan people and the government for struggling against right wing forces.

Expressing solidarity with Cuba, the party called for immediately lifting the five-decade-old sanctions and blockade by the US.