Greece and the KKE

[blindpig]

Greeks protest docking of US warship
The USS Gerald Ford is docked at the Souda Port in Chania, which serves as a prominent naval base for the United States and its NATO allies in the eastern Mediterranean

December 29, 2023 by Peoples Dispatch


Photo: 902.gr

On Thursday, December 28, anti-imperialists in Greece protested the docking of the US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford at the Souda Port in Chania. The mobilization, called by the Peace Committee and labor unions in Chania, saw participation from activists of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), the Greek Committee for International Détente and Peace (EEDYE), the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE), and All Workers Militant Front (PAME), among others.

Activists held a banner that read “There is no place here for murderers! US and NATO soldiers are not welcome!” The aircraft carrier docked at the port on December 26 and is scheduled to leave on December 30.

Anti-imperialist sections have been protesting the conservative Kyriakos Mitsotakis-led New Democracy (ND) government’s decision to participate in the NATO war alliance and the access granted to US-NATO forces to use Greek airstrips and ports for their maneuvers in the Mediterranean.

The US-Greek defense cooperation agreement updated in 2019 included the upgrading of the Souda base and its integration into the existing circuit of bases which the US can access, apart from those in Larissa, Stefanovikeio, Magnesia, Araxos, and Alexandroupolis port. Currently, Souda base serves as a prominent naval base for the United States in the eastern Mediterranean.

While addressing the mobilization in Chania on Thursday, Manolis Papadomanolakis, chairman of the Chania Peace Committee alleged that “the Greek government supports in all ways the murderous hand of the Israeli state, along with the other parties of NATO, at the risk of a general conflagration.” He added that the expansion of NATO’s bases had turned the country into a base of war and a possible target of reprisals.

Communists and trade unionists have also opposed Greece’s involvement in ongoing wars in Ukraine and West Asia. Recently, KKE protested the government’s decision to send a Hellenic Navy Frigate to the Red Sea to join the US-led “Operation Prosperity Guardian” to counter the Yemeni naval blockade against Israel led by the Ansar Allah (Houthis).

Meanwhile, on December 28, a Greek-owned cargo ship sailing under the Panamanian flag in the Black Sea en route to Ismail port in Ukraine was struck allegedly by a Russian naval mine, slightly injuring two Greek sailors.

The KKE has stated that the incident “confirms once again the enormous risks to the lives of seafarers in war zones.”

“It is tragically proven that in the “arena” of shipowners’ profit, safety is sacrificed first and foremost, and sometimes the very lives of the workers on board ships. Imperialist conflicts around the world are a goldmine for shipowners who see huge opportunities for profitability,” the KKE added.

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/12/29/ ... s-warship/

Much more likely that was an Ukrainian mine.

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Any kind of Greece’s involvement in imperialist plans must stop immediately!



In a comment on the dispatch of a Greek frigate to the Red Sea, the Press Office of the CC of the KKE stresses the following:

“The dispatch of a Greek frigate to the Red Sea, under the pretext of the safety of maritime navigation and protection of merchant ships, involves the country even more deeply in the dangerous imperialist plans, which at this stage are directly linked to the support of the murderous policy of the Israeli state.

Both this mission and other missions of Greek warships in the Eastern Mediterranean and elsewhere, carried out in the framework of NATO operations, show the real purpose of the acquisition of warships and other armament programmes, which the Greek people are dearly paying for.

Greek ships or other military units have no business taking part in missionsthat have nothing to do with the defence of the country and the protection of its borders.Any kind of Greece’s involvement in imperialist plans must stop immediately!”

22.12.2023

https://inter.kke.gr/en/articles/Any-ki ... mediately/

The KKE denounces the destruction of a monument to the Red Army in Sofia



The KKE denounces the unacceptable desecration and destruction of the anti-fascist monument in honour of the liberating Red Army in Sofia in the strongest possible terms.

The destruction of the monument, which was set up in 1954, ten years after the liberation of Bulgaria by the Red Army and the armed Bulgarian anti-fascist movement led by the communists, is another link in the chain of destruction of similar monuments in many European countries. It is a destruction carried out by anti-popular governments with the backing of the EU, which is leading the anti-communist campaign and the unhistorical equation of communism with fascism.

The unacceptable Russian invasion of Ukraine, in the context of the inter-imperialist conflict between capitalist Russia and the USA-NATO-EU, is being skilfully exploited, together with the unrealistic comparison of the USSR with today’s Russia, to tear down anti-fascist monuments in many countries in Europe, aiming to rewrite history and to erase the heroic contribution of the Red Army and the Soviet Union to the crushing of fascism, which is flesh of the flesh of the capitalist system and was defeated thanks to the enormous sacrifices of the first socialist state, the USSR and the armed partisan movements.

The KKE condemns these efforts and calls upon the peoples in Europe to react decisively against these objectives and practices.

The rewriting of history will fail!

Long live the enormous contribution of the Red Army to humanity!



https://inter.kke.gr/en/articles/The-KK ... -in-Sofia/

[blindpig]

Greek Farmers Protest Over High Production Costs in Athens


Greek farmers take part in a protest in Athens, Greece, on Feb. 20, 2024. | Photo: Xinhua

Published 21 February 2024 (2 hours 52 minutes ago)

"No farmers, no food, no future," farmers chanted after weeks of symbolic blockades in national highways and border crossings.


On Tuesday, thousands of farmers protested in the center of Athens over increased production costs, requesting more state aid to stay in business.

"No farmers, no food, no future," farmers chanted after several weeks of symbolic blockades in national highways and border crossings, driving some 150 tractors in front of the parliament. The mobilizations of farmers in many European countries this winter is a battle for survival, unionists said.

"They force us to leave our land. Let us make a living," said Paschalis, one of the protesters who intend to stay in the streets of Athens overnight.

In 2023, electricity costs increased by 84 percent, and the prices of fertilizers have also skyrocketed, local media quoted Giannis Vagkos, one of the unionists, as saying.

IT'S HAPPENING �� ����

The people of Greece are lining the streets to show support for the farmers protest.

SHARE - You won't see this video on the news ��pic.twitter.com/kUZUAVdSor

— PeterSweden (@PeterSweden7) February 21, 2024

Farmers' unions have had several rounds of talks lately with the Greek government. The government has announced a package of measures aimed at easing farmers' burden, including immediate compensations for damages from natural disasters, as well as lower prices and tax relief for electricity and fuel used in the primary sector.

But protesters said the measures were inadequate to help them continue cultivating their fields. They ask for more generous discounts in energy costs; more subsidies on supplies, fertilizers and animal feed; more protection of domestic production from "unfair competition" by stopping the labelling of non-Greek-made produce as Greek.

And 54 percent of people supported their call for more aid, according to an opinion poll released on Monday on local Action 24 television channel. But the government said that currently, there is no fiscal room to give more.

On Tuesday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with visiting European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and discussed a series of issues, including the demonstrations of farmers from France to Poland and Greece in recent weeks.

"They are making many requests, which I think are fair, about the speed of green transition in the primary sector," Mitsotakis said during the meeting.

"It is important to address this pan-European situation and make it clear that we intend to leave nobody behind," said Metsola.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Gre ... -0005.html

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The GS of the CC of the KKE stands by the side of farmers



Blocking dozens of traffic arteries with thousands of tractors, the poor and middle-sized farmers in Greece are fighting for their future. They struggle to prevent their total extinction, to be able to continue ploughing and cultivating their fields and producing good and cheap food for all the people.

On Thursday 8/2/24, starting from the morning until late at night, Dimitris Koutsoumbas, GS of the CC of the KKE, visited 9 junctions in Central Greece and Thessaly, where farmers’ roadblocks have been set up. The farmers gave a warm welcome to the GS of the CC of the KKE.

Dimitris Koutsoumbas made many stops on his tour and spoke to the assembled crowd of farmers, wishing them strength, health and successful struggles. “You are waging a just struggle, with just demands. You know that, from the first moment, the cadres and members of the KKE, its MPs, MEPs, municipal and regional councillors have stood by your side and will continue doing so”. The GS of the KKE pointed out that “our country has rich soil and favourable climate conditions that can be utilized. It has farmers with experience, with strong hands and minds; young people who want to stay in their hometown, take over from the older generation and cultivate their land so that the people can enjoy quality and cheap produce. However, this is not possible, because the few have different plans. Big traders, industrialists, monopolies and energy cartels are to blame. All the wealth goes to them, who reap all the profits and get all the funding”.

D. Koutsoumbas also referred to the responsibility of all the ruling parties so far, who have adopted the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and praised the EU. “The EU has proven to be a snake pit. It is an obstacle to the development of Greek agricultural production, the Greek farmers, and the workers as a whole”.

“The real opposition is not expressed in the National or the European Parliament. The real opposition is expressed here in the roadblocks, in the streets of struggle. Because, after all, we can live without the blackmail of traders, middlemen and industrialists. The farmers can live without the constant harassment from the tax authorities or the banks. The farmers and our people can live without the restrictions imposed by the EU and the CAP”, noted D. Koutsoumbas.



https://inter.kke.gr/en/articles/The-GS ... f-farmers/

[blindpig]

Massive police crackdown on student organizers in Greece met with widespread condemnation

Student youth groups across Greece have been protesting against the conservative government’s plan to allow foreign private universities to set up branches in the country

March 18, 2024 by Peoples Dispatch


Mitsotakis has tried to justify the police crackdown on students by stating that the government doesn't tolerate lawlessness in universities (Photo: via 902.gr)

Student-youth groups and working people in Greece have condemned the crackdown unleashed by riot police on the students of the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki on March 16. On Saturday, police raided the Faculty of Sciences of the university. They arrested 49 students, who had been protesting the conservative New Democracy (ND) government’s bid to allow foreign private universities to set up branches in the country.

Various groups including the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), All Workers’ Militant Front (PAME), Communist Youth of Greece (KNE), Students’ Struggle Front (MAS), Greek Women’s Federation (OGE), teachers’ unions and parents’ associations have accused Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of retaliating against the mass student movement against his plans for foreign private universities, which students say will devalue public university degrees.

Students’ associations in universities and groups, including Panspoudastiki KS and Students’ Struggle Front (MAS), have been occupying universities across the country, demanding the government withdraw the bill introduced to allow the establishment of private universities.

Students have stated that the entry of private universities will lead to a two-tier system in higher education. They argue that private universities will be unaffordable and inaccessible for students from lower-income households, and will downgrade the merit and value of the degrees offered by public institutions.

Meanwhile, Mitsotakis has tried to justify the police crackdown on students by stating that the government doesn’t tolerate lawlessness in universities, and threatened the protesting students with more police actions and dismissals.

On March 17, the press office of the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE) stated that “the Prime Minister, visibly pressured by the great student mobilizations, resorts to the well-known talk of lawlessness and blind violence in universities. But the real ‘lawlessness’ in universities has the signature of the government.”

“The government’s slander, as well as threats of disciplinary action and expulsions, do not scare students. They expose the very government that has been isolated. That is why it resorts to obscene propaganda to identify the organized student movement with criminal actions,” KNE added.

Earlier, the ND government faced widespread protests from the students and civil society over a controversial decision to place police garrisons inside campuses to increase surveillance.

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/03/18/ ... demnation/

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No one should stand idly by and watch! No participation in NATO’s abattoir of war!



The GS of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumbas, was the main speaker at the mass rally held by the KKE outside the Greek parliament on Monday 11 March.

In his speech, D. Koutsoumbas called on the people to break the omerta that the New Democracy government and all other parties are trying to impose on the involvement of our country in the imperialist wars raging in the region and in all the dangerous plans of the USA and NATO.

“The message that the New Democracy government and the warmongering EU will receive in the coming elections, should be much more resounding! The only ballot paper that can carry this anti-war message across Europe is that of the KKE”, he stressed.

He called broadly on the workers and youth to refuse to consent to Greece’s participation in the massacre of the Palestinian people. “No participation of the Armed Forces in the massacre in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The Hydra frigate and all Armed Forces on imperialist missions abroad must return home!”, he noted.

Commenting on French President Macron’s hawkish statement about sending European troops to Ukraine, he said:“This is where the insatiable thirst of the capitalists for new profits and the conflict between Russia and the Euro-Atlantic bloc, which is using Ukraine as a spearhead, is leading the peoples. Russia, in turn, acts as a bufferfor the Eurasian camp that is under formation and for China in itsrivalry with the USA for supremacy in the international capitalist system”.

The GS of the CC of the KKE referred in detail to the causes of both the of the Palestinian people by Israel and the causes of the imperialist war in Ukraine, stressing the responsibility of all imperialist powers. Concluding his speech, he highlighted that “Now we must intensify the struggle to prevent the government from sending arms and ammunition, which the Greek people havedearly paid forto be used for the defence of our country but end up on the military fronts of imperialist wars; for the closure of the US bases on Greek soil, namely in Souda, Alexandroupolis and elsewhere,which are turned intolaunching pads for the slaughter of other peoples and into potential targets for retaliation; for the disentanglement ofour country from imperialist war plans and the disengagement from imperialist unions, with the people masters in their own land. Now is the time to say a big NO to the transformation of our country into a spearhead for the imperialist murderous plans of the USA–NATO–EU. Now is the time to say a big YES to the right to live in peace and solidarity with other peoples”.

Dimitris Koutsoumbas stressed that “the rights of the workers and the people areincompatible with the profits of the few. The only dividing line iscapital, the EU and NATO versus the working people and their needs! The final solution lies in the overthrow of the world of exploitation and wars, in the society of true people’s prosperity, solidarity, friendship betweenthe peoples and peace, i.e. socialism!”

The mass rally ofthe KKE began with a speech by Amalia Papasotiriou, an air force officer.Some of the numerous young conscripts who have opposed the deployment of the frigate and the participation in imperialist missions also attended the rally.







https://inter.kke.gr/en/articles/No-one ... ir-of-war/