Sjette fråsegn frå KOE om opprøret i Hellas

6th Statement of the Communist Organization of Greece (KOE)

14 December 2008



The revolt goes on!



The youth keeps occupying the streets! On Friday 12 December a huge crowd of secondary education pupils, university students and teachers gathered in the centre of Athens and marched peacefully towards the Parliament. There, once more, the repressive forces attacked them with chemicals and arrested dozens of pupils of 13, 14 and 15 years old. In many cases the teachers, bystanders, even journalists got angry and tried to liberate the arrested kids, clashing with the police. Similar demonstrations took place all over Greece.



The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) as usual made separate demonstrations – in Athens they marched towards an… empty building that used to be a Ministry (!) and then headed towards the offices of the Coalition (!), where they shouted insults… The government ministers and the pro-government Media keep congratulating the KKE for its “responsible” stand. At the same time, on Friday the Minister of Education “warned” the leadership of the Coalition of Radical Left (SYRIZA) to “control this organization of your Coalition who talks of government of murderers and calls the youth to continue the riots”!



On Saturday 13 December the secondary education students gathered once more in front of the Parliament peacefully during the whole day, until dawn of Sunday. Then the police, exploiting the fact that there were no many people in the streets, attacked them. Incidents broke up for hours around the Polytechnic School. During the afternoon of Saturday thousands of people gathered spontaneously in the place where Alexis has been murdered, shouting slogans against the police and the government. The whole day dozens of demonstrations took place in the neighborhoods of Athens and in many cities all over Greece, organized by the Left (with the exception of KKE).



Hundreds of schools and universities are now under occupation, despite the efforts of PASOK and KKE to use calumniation and even violence to prevent the students entering the universities, gathering and mobilizing. On Monday 15 December a new protest is organized by the newly founded Coordination of Schools “Alexis Grigoropoulos” in front of the Athens’ Police Headquarters. Dozens of student and teachers unions call for a national popular demonstration in Athens on Thursday 18 December. The Communist Organization of Greece prepares new actions all over Greece from tomorrow until Thursday, calling the people to throw down this government.



The repression and the coordinated attacks against the revolt will fail!

It is right to rebel! All to the streets! We continue!


*****
Communist Organization of Greece / Kommounistiki Organosi Elladas (KOE)
International Relations Department

Email: laokratia@yahoo.com * aristera@tellas.com
Web: www.koel.gr * In English: international.koel.gr

Ny fråsegn om kampen i Hellas frå KOE

5th Statement of the Communist Organization of Greece (KOE)

11 December 2008



We shall not yield to the criminal government!

The “unholy alliance” of “law and order” cannot stop the protest!



1. On Thursday 11 December 2008 dozens of thousands of youth got again out in the streets and demonstrated their rage, marching against the police stations all over Greece. In Athens only, 21 police stations have been besieged by the youth, who replied to the police attacks with stones, turned upside down many police vehicles and burned them. These are not “rioters with masks”, but school students who protest the murder of Alexis and the government policies, which kill their future. Thousands of people stand by their side: their parents, their teachers, the militants of the Left. In many cases, the people raise and stand in front of the Special Forces, protecting the youth, resisting the police attacks, even liberating from the hands of the police the arrested demonstrators.



2. Hundreds of schools, technical colleges and universities all over the country are already under occupation. The “Communist Party of Greece” (KKE), which now became openly the right hand of the criminal government, failed to stop the General Assemblies of students. The shameful and pitiful attempt of these “uncompromised communists” to forbid, during the morning of Thursday, the entrance of students in the universities, met with the anger of the youth and within hours they were obliged to retreat in panic. The youth decided to organize new central demonstrations all over Greece this Friday 12 December, rejecting the “responsible” attitude of KKE and of the “socialist” PASOK, who also made an official appeal “for calm and dignity (!), against occupations and uncontrolled demonstrations”.



3. In these critical moments, the “unholy alliance” of “law and order” takes shape, the composition of the two opposite camps gets clear. On the side of the “order” stand the big bourgeoisie and the government of Karamanlis, with their employees: the mainstream Media, the police, the gangs of “angry citizens who protect their property” (composed by extreme right-wing cadres of the government party and by neonazis). Hand in hand with them goes the supposed “opposition”: the “socialists” of PASOK and the “communists” of KKE, with their calls for “responsible attitude” and their open, calumniating attacks against the Radical Left. This “opposition” receives the congratulations of the government and of the establishment, who is only very happy to repeat again and again their accusations against the Coalition of Radical Left. Even the leader of the extreme right-wing party LAOS accused A. Alavanos, head of the Parliamentary Group of SYRIZA, that he “protects the rioters” adding: “It is not me who says that, Mr Alavanos. It is your kindred spirits from the KKE who affirm that”.



4. On the other side, the camp of the movement is composed by the revolted youth and by the forces of the Coalition of Radical Left and other left organizations, those of the extra-parliamentarian Left. The combativity of the youth and the work of the communist current within the Coalition, represented by the Communist Organization of Greece, have until now succeeded to keep this alliance within the protest and armed it with a correct demand: “This government must go!”. The position of our Organization is crystal-clear: We participate to the revolt with all our forces. We learn by the revolt and we try to develop it further and arm it with the necessary perspective.



5. The blocks of KOE in all the demonstrations were combative and did not retreat in front of the police attacks, which in many cases were targeted directly against us. KOE is in many cities the initiator of the struggle and its members play an active role in its organization. In Patra, the contribution of KOE in the uprising of the school students was decisive. In Kavala, the local organization of KOE leads the protest against the repression and the government – to the point that the mayor of this city accused KOE as “instigator of the riots”. All over Creta the organizations of KOE excelled, and especially in Heraklio, where our Organization plays a leading role in the occupation of the Prefecture’s building. The same goes for other cities all over Greece. Also, KOE has produced last Tuesday a 4-pages leaflet under the general slogan “It is right to rebel” and distributed it in dozens of thousands of copies in 35 cities. The Communist Organization of Greece will continue with all its forces to advance towards the escalation of the struggle, aiming at throwing down the government of criminals, the government of the rich, the government of anti-people policy and corruption.



It is right to rebel!

Down with the criminal government of Karamanlis!

Exemplary punishment of the murderers!

Disarm the police – Dissolve the special “anti-riot” forces!



*****
Communist Organization of Greece / Kommounistiki Organosi Elladas (KOE)
International Relations Department

Fråsegn frå KOE (Hellas)

Statement of the Communist Organization of Greece (KOE)



The Communist Organization of Greece (KOE) salutes the dozens of thousands of youth and people who continue, for the third consecutive day, the resolute and combative demonstrations against the government and the police murder. At this moment (morning of Monday 8 December) thousands of school pupils are demonstrating in front of the Athens Police General Headquarters, as well as in many neighborhoods of Athens and all over Greece. This afternoon the Coalition of Radical Left (SYRIZA) and other left organizations call for big popular demonstrations in the centre of Athens and in many other cities. Even the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), which until now made nothing and did not participate in any protest, now feels the pressure and the anger of the youth and of the popular masses and calls for a (separate, as always…) meeting in Athens.



The demonstrators all over Greece express a spontaneous and at the same time popular political demand: the condemnation of the government of K. Karamanlis. The anger and the protests of the masses are fully justified. The police murder cannot go unpunished. The attempt of the government to change the subject and to focus on the “destructions of public and private property” cannot cover the guilt of this government. The government is guilty, because it arms the killer cops and there is always not any punishment for their crimes. The government is guilty because it transformed the city of Athens in a huge gas chamber and tried to smash the demonstration attacking the people with chemicals and torturing the arrested demonstrators.



The government bears the full political responsibility. It failed everywhere: in economy, in education, in labor, in democratic rights. The sooner this criminal government falls, the better for the people and the society! The fake “resignations” of the Interior Minister and of the Public Order Vice-minister cannot calm the genuine social anger. Even more, as these “resignations” were not accepted by the Prime-minister, this fact proves the full political responsibility of the Prime-minister and of his government as a whole.



The revolt does not end. It just starts. We call upon the youth and the people: Everyone in today’s demonstrations all over Greece! Let’s declare the strike in schools and let’s occupy the universities. Let’s transform the general workers’ strike of this Wednesday in a popular uprising against the criminal government, in a People’s Court that will condemn the corrupted and murderous government. Let’s make the political responsibles pay dearly for their continuous crimes!



Everyone in the streets! Everyone in the streets! Everyone in the streets!



Down with this government that sells-out Greece, attacks the popular masses and murders the youth! The people’s struggle shall be victorious!



Athens, 8 December 2008.


*****
Communist Organization of Greece / Kommounistiki Organosi Elladas (KOE)
International Relations Department

Email: laokratia@yahoo.com * aristera@tellas.com
Web: www.koel.gr * In English: international.koel.gr

Post address: Newspaper "Left!" * Isaia Salonon 6 * 11475 Athens, Greece
Phone: +30 210 6441745 * Fax: +30 210 6430024
*****