Communist MPs Giorgios Marinos and Thanasis Pafilis. |
“The agreement is very dangerous for the country and the people and we demand its withdrawal” said Giorgos Marinos, MP and Politburo member of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), during the discussion at a Parliamentary Committee.
Marinos underlined that the “dirty job” was done by the SYRIZA government, which initiated the “strategic dialogue” with the United States, updated the Souda naval base and offered new military bases in Larisa, Stefanovikio and Alexandroupolis. He added that the ND government moves a step forward by giving as many bases as the U.S. want in the premises of the Greek Armed Forces.
Marinos underlined that the “dirty job” was done by the SYRIZA government, which initiated the “strategic dialogue” with the United States, updated the Souda naval base and offered new military bases in Larisa, Stefanovikio and Alexandroupolis. He added that the ND government moves a step forward by giving as many bases as the U.S. want in the premises of the Greek Armed Forces.
The KKE MP pointed out that this agreement transforms Greece into a base of war and the people become the target in a possible war conflict. He also condemned the participatioon of a Greek frigate as an escort ship to French aircraft carrier “Charles de Gaulle”, as well as the preparation of Greek troops deployment in Libya and the Strait of Hormuz.
“You give everything to the U.S-NATO killers” said Marinos and added that the people do not forget the criminal responsibilities of the U.S. and NATO for the 1967-1974 military dictatorship, the coup in Cyprus and the Turkish invasion and occupation.
From his side, the Parliamentary Spokesman of the KKE, Thanasis Pafilis, warned the government that “you will find us in your way everywhere, until the bases leave, until there is another society, not the one of war but the one of the people’s peaceful co-existence”.
Pafilis said that the government deceives the people when it talks about a “defensive” agreement, as long as the history of foreign bases in Greece “is linked to multiple crimes, murders against people, dissolution of countries, coup plottings and dirty wars”.
The KKE Parliamentary Spokesman underlined that the transformation of the country into a vast U.S-NATO bases neither consists a “defense policy” nor protects the country. He said that these bases serve the broader aggressive plans of the U.S. in South East Mediterranean, including the encirclement of Russia. He reminded that officials from Iran and Russia have publicly stated that, in case of war, these U.S-NATO bases will be a target.
Another KKE MP, Nikos Papanastasis, refered to the role of the U.S-NATO bases in Greece, more specifically during the 1999 imperialist war against Yugoslavia. He called the expansion of the Souda base as “a crime against the people of Crete” and denounced the government’s intention to send military personnel in Libya. He reminded that in 2011, the then Greek government, had offered Souda base for the U.S-NATO intervention in Libya.