In a comment issued on Thursday, the Press Bureau of the CC of the KKE points out:
“Instead of pointing their finger, the government and the Minister of Health should answer the critical questions:
Large strike demonstrations took place in Syntagma Square, downtown Athens, in the morning of Wednesday, as well as in the afternoon, during the voting of the omnibus bill in the Parliament.
The Unions have declared Thursday 10 June a 24-hour nationwide strike, as a protest against the governmental draft bill which aims to take the labour conditions back to the Middle Ages.
A powerful and militant message against the anti-labour policies of the government was sent by thousands of people who participated in the political rallies organized by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) in Athens, Thessaloniki and other major cities on Thusrday afternoon.
The communist leader refers to the current political situation in Greece, the policy of New Democracy (ND) government during the Pandemic, Greece's Left political forces and the stance of the KKE.
Below, you can read a translated version of the interview:
“…Because for me,the most surprising,
the most imposing, the most mysterious and grandiose
Is a man not allowed to walk;
A man who’s being shackled”
- Nazim Hikmet.
Koutsoumbas strongly denounced the policies of the government during the pandemic, adding that the measures announced aim at strengthening the capital at the expense of the workers and people's rights. The KKE General Secretary pointed out that ND, opposition party SYRIZA and all the other bourgeois parties in the parliament are "strategically aligned" in the same policy, despite minor differences.
In Athens, the General Secretary of the CC of the KKE Dimitris Koutsoumbas made the following statement:
Grigoropoulos had been murdered by special police officer Epaminondas Korkoneas on December 6, 2008. Korkoneas had been convicted to life sentense. However, in 2019, a court reduced his term to just 13 years and, on the basis of the new legal code introduced by the then SYRIZA government, he was ultimately released from prison on July 2019!
On Thursday 26th of November, the country's workers respond to the anti-labor, anti-people policy of the government by organizing a nationwide strike. In statement, the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) points out:
A few days ago the conservative New Democracy (ND) government, escalating authoritarianism and repression, banned anti-imperialist demonstrations and any gathering of more than three people across the country, on the pretext that the march would be a health 'time bomb' due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The KKE performed its rally, in an organized way and observing all the necessary social distancing measures. But the police, on the orders of the government, unleashed an unprovoked attack with batons, tear gas, water cannons and stun grenades. The police did not hesitate to attack KKE MPs, while also injuring protesters and proceeding to dozens of arrests.
Police forces tried to disperse the demonstration by using excessive violence and tear gas and proceeded to the arrest of a few protestors.
According to information published by 902 portal, the General Secretary of the KKE Dimitris Koutsoumbas, as well as Party MPs who were on the spot, protested to police officers demanding the release of those arrested.
Trade unions and mass people's organizations have made clear that the anti-imperialist march on Tuesday, November 17 will take place by observing all health protection measures, as it happened on May Day.
Alongside the lockdown, as the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) mentions, the government has committed crimes against the people's health and safety in order to serve the interests of the capital in a number of industry branches.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is due to visit Greece on September 28-30.
According to the State Department’s official press statement, “Secretary Pompeo will meet with Prime Minister Mitsotakis and Foreign Minister Dendias to renew our shared commitment to advance security, peace, and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean and celebrate the strongest U.S.-Greek relationship in decades. In Thessaloniki, the Secretary will sign a bilateral science and technology agreement, as well as host energy sector business leaders for a discussion to highlight energy diversification and infrastructure projects in Greece. In Crete, the Secretary will visit Naval Support Activity Souda Bay to underscore the strong U.S. security partnership with NATO Ally Greece.”
The further escalation of the intra-imperialist competitions in the Eastern Mediterranean region, which include the contradictions of the bourgeois classes of Greece and Turkey and the escalation of Turkish aggression.
The course and outbreak of the pandemic in our country and internationally, the tragic situation in public health systems, the consequences of the pandemic on the life and the rights of the working class and the popular strata, as a result of anti-popular policies and measures.