On the riots in Greece

Via Socialist Unity blog:

Statement by Greek Communist Party:

We appeal to the youth to express its indignation, to protest, to condemn and to make, through its organised struggle, accountable politically and criminally those responsible for the police attacks.

Schools, universities, TEI (Technical Education Institutes), IEK (Vocational Training institutes) and evening schools should be closed down. The mass organisations should release statements condemning the police attacks and organise mass demonstrations and rallies. The youth along with the popular labor movement should participate organised in:

i) the demonstration organised by KKE and KNE throughout Greece against the state authoritarianism (in Athens at 18:00 in Omonia)

ii) in the general strike on Wednesday 10/12 along with the class oriented movement, PAME, in the rallies organised in 63 towns throughout Greece (in Athens at 10:30 in Omonia)

Dear comrades

Some information about the developments in Greece:

Activities of KKE (Communist party) and KNE (Greek Communist Youth)

Since the first moment KKE and KNE spoke out condemning the murder of the 15-year-old boy by the police, and highlighting the huge political responsibilities of ND’s government and noting that the anti-democratic and authoritarian measures and attitudes, the state repression, are the natural supplement of a policy that delivers blow after blow to the labour and social rights of the workers and the youth.

A KKE delegation went to central police headquarters in Athens on Sunday and lodged a protest over the death of the young boy, whose funeral will take place today at 3 pm.

Yesterday, December 8th, the KKE held a series of protests and demonstrations in the major cities of Greece against the state repression. In Athens the General Secretary of the CC pf KKE Aleka Papariga addressed a massive rally in the centre of the city. She noted that the events that led to the murder of the boy is an “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” by a policy that considers people as the enemy, by a policy that detests the strike, the demonstration, the struggle.

Also, the MPs of KKE submitted a parliamentary question to the government over the case.

At the same time the KKE has also called upon the trade unions and other mass organizations of the people and the youth to organize their own mass protest actions, stressing that the state repression and authoritarianism target first and foremost the labour and peoples’ movement.

Since morning of Monday December 8th, all faculties are closed upon initiative of KNE

The students’ coordination board of Athens has decided to close all schools from 8-10 of December and has called for a demonstration on 9 of December in Athens, while strong local students’ protests take place all over the country.

Also today December 9th, 24-hours strikes have been declared by the professors in the secondary schools and higher education, while the civil servants will hold work stoppage after 12 pm. The funeral of the murdered boy.

Higher Education Professors are staging a 24-hour strike on Tuesday indicating their bereavement to the loss of 15-year-old Alexis. Kindergarten a primary schools will remain open. However, the teachers’ Federation is staging a strike. The funeral of the 15-year-old will take place at Faliron cemetery at 15:00

For Wednesday, December 10, the general strike that had been announced over the pensions, salaries, against lay-offs, for the right to education and healthcare, will be definitely linked to the events.

About the riots

At the same time KKE stressed that what is needed today is political condemnation of the government, of the whole net of mechanisms of intimidation and state repression, including the invisible ones. The reply to state autocracy is organised struggle within a mass movement in order to ensure the true causes were not covered up.

The continuous organized and co-ordinated riots that we witness parallel to the huge mobilizations and protests have little to do with spontaneous expression of anger and rage, and more and more take the form of open provocations against the growing wave of protest. In any case the way to react does not lie in retaliatory riots. On the contrary such events are quite accommodating for those that want to impose fear and intimidation to the people, who are trying to prevent the emergence of an organized and mighty mass movement that will be able to to sweep not only the ND and any other anti-peoples’ government, and pave the way for a real change at the level of the power in favour of the people. They will be used as an excuse for the further intensification of anti-democratic and repressive measures and attitudes.

The political context

The events found Greece in a moment when peoples’ unrest was growing, and the position of the ND government was already quite difficult. The recently announced “crisis measures” in favour of the monopolies, the demands of the industrialists for further reversal of labour and social rights – the even spoke of working week of 4 days!-, the state budget, the scandals, the rising toll of lay-offs have already built up dissatisfaction. At the same time centres of the establishment make concrete efforts in order to rejuvenate the system of the bi-partisan alteration that was loosing reliability before the eyes of the popular strata. In fact, at the last opinion polls PASOK appears to be on the lead. In the opinion of KKE the most urgent task is the stepping up of the mass, organized action of the labour and people’s movement. Only this can provide an adequate response to the anti-peoples policy and the repressive measures, can check and isolate maneuvers, provocations and plans to entrap the emerging radicalism, and at the same time pave the way for positive developments for the people.

There is also extensive discussion taking place at Lenin's Tomb.