Refugee Crisis: Militant intervention by Greek communists in the developments

The following article provides a thorough outline of the position and initiatives of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) regarding the ongoing refugee situation in the borders between Greece and Turkey and the Greek islands: 

Militant intervention by the communists in the developments concerning the Refugee question

By Nikos Sofianos*

Solidarity with Grup Yorum band members — Turkish state's authoritarianism shall not pass!

Ibrahim Gökçek and Helin Bölek have been on hunger strike
for more than 260 days.

In the early morning of Wednesday 11 March, the house of death fasting Grup Yorum band members Ibrahim Gökçek and Helin Bölek in Istanbul, Turkey was raided by police forces. Gökçek, Bölek and three other people were violently detained.

Ibrahim and Helin, who have been on death fast for more than 260 days, were taken without their consent to Ümraniye Training and Research Hospital for enforced medical treatment. 

According to the People’s Law Bureau any involuntary intervention on death fasters consists torture and could cause permanent damage on their bodies, including death.

Greece must not become EU's refugee prison, says KKE MEP Kostas Papadakis

Communist Party (KKE) eurodeputy Kostas Papadakis.

The immense responsibilities of the European Union and NATO in the creation and perpetuation of the refugee situation in the Greek-Turkish borders, as well as the need for the abolition of EU's Dublin Regulation and the EU-Turkey migrant deal, were highlighted by Kostas Papadakis, MEP for the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), during his intervention at the EU Parliament’s plenary in Brussels. 

More specifically Papadakis pointed out the following:

Dimitris Koutsoumbas on refugee crisis: "Dublin Regulation, EU-Turkey deal must be abolished"

The General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Dimitris Koutsoumbas gave an interview to “Real News” newspaper where, among other things, he refered to the ongoing refugee situation in the Greek-Turkish borders. Below you can read the excerpts of his answers:

“There is no greatest depravity than using uprooted, tortured people for your own aspirations, like Erdogan does, who blackmails for more support by the EU and NATO for his intervention in Northern Syria as well as in his other plans. For that reason, the needed protection of the borders can neither target the refugees nor acquitting EU and NATO which uproot people and have led to the entrapment of thousands of refugees in the Aegean islands and in Evros, thus playing Erdogan’s game. And certainly it cannot be utilized for the emboldenment of reactionary, racist voices”.

Greek workers' movement stands in solidarity with refugees — Statement by PAME

In face of the latest developments with the refugee situation in the Greek-Turkish borders and the Aegean islands, the vanguard of Greece's class-oriented labour movement, the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME), issued the following statement:

The trapping of thousands of refugees and immigrants in the Aegean islands and the Greek-Turkish border in Evros, in the most dramatic way, highlights the barbarism of imperialist organizations, the EU and NATO and the active involvement of all Greek governments in these organizations.

Statement of the Political Bureau of the KKE on the refugee crisis in Greek-Turkish borders

On March 3, 2020, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) issued a statement regarding the refugee situation in the Greek-Turkish borders and the measures announced by the government. You can read previous statements by the KKE about the issue here and here. 

The statement is the following:

The latest developments, with the entrapment of thousands of refugees and immigrants on the Aegean islands and at the Greek-Turkish border in Evros, confirm once again that the EU and NATO policy that the Greek governments have followed and are fervently adhering to now is, on the one hand, responsible for the dissolution of countries and the uprooting of peoples and on the other,  for the entrapment of uprooted peoples on islands and at borders. This policy has paved the way for Erdogan to try to impose his own objectives, using the refugee situation as a vehicle.

KKE slams Greek government: "Demonstrate your strength to EU and NATO, not to refugees"

Greek riot police forces behind the fences at Kastanies
border crossing, 29 February 2020 EPA/EFE.

After a meeting on Sunday chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece’s Government Council on National Security (KYSEA) decided to step up the level of deterrence to the maximum point at the Greek-Turkish borders in Evros. 

The conservative ND government also decided to suspend new asylum applications, while the presence of army units and police forces across Kastanies border gates has been strengthened. Additionally, Athens has requested from EU border agency FRONTEX to provide additional aid in the protection of the borders.

Refugee flows are a result of the interventions by US-NATO-EU and Turkey in Syria — KKE

During the last 48 hours, the tension in the Greek-Turkish borders in Evros has been escalated, with thousands of refugees and migrants gathering at Kastanies/Pazarkule border gate. “We will no longer keep the doors closed for refugees who want to go to Europe”, a senior Turkish official said as a response to the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in Idlib Province, Syria. 

At the same time, the Greek government decided yesterday to suspend border crossing at Kastanies, sending additional riot police forces to the area. In a message, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote: “I want to be clear: no illegal entries into Greece will be tolerated”, announcing the increase of border security. 

"This war must be ended!": Turkey's Communist Party (TKP) reacts to the Idlib massacre

At least 33 Turkish soldiers were killed and 36 wounded in an airstrike in the Syrian province of Idlib, Turkish officials announced on February 27. The Turkish government has decided to open its southwestern border with Syria for the next 72 hours. 

On this occasion, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) has issued a statement on the war waged by Erdogan's government in Syria. 

Greek-Turkish relations and the geopolitical competitions — Remarks by Eliseos Vagenas

The Sectoral Organization of Universities and Research of the Party Organization of Attica of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and the Regional Students Organization of Athens of the Communist Youth (KNE), in the afternoon of Tuesday the 28th of January, held an event on “The dangerous developments in the Greek-Turkish relations, in the throes of the geopolitical antagonisms and the anti-popular interests” at Panteion University.

Interview of the General Secretary of the KKE Dimitris Koutsoumbas in "EfSyn" newspaper

Dimitris Koutsoumbas, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), gave a comprehensive interview in the weekend edition (1-2 February) of the "Efimerida ton Syntakton" (EfSyn) newspaper. 

The KKE leader refered to various interesting issues, including Greece's domestic political matters, the country's relations with neighboring Turkey, the sinful role of social democracy and the stance of the KKE towards cooperation governments. 

Below, you can read a translated version of the interview:

KKE condemns the provocative racist rant of neo-Nazi MEP Lagos

The EU Parliament Group of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) condemns the racist rant of the Nazi MEP – former Golden Dawn MP – Yannis Lagos who ripped a copy of the Turkish flag during his speech in the EU Parliament. 

“This provocation is aimed against both the Greek and Turkish people and is linked to dirty plans that the nationalists always serve” writes a statement published on KKE’s 902 portal. 

KKE and PAME express solidarity and support to the earthquake-affected people of Turkey

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) have expressed their solidarity and support towards the working class and the people of Turkey who had been affected by the deadly 6.7-magnitude earthquake. 

In a message to the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), the International Relations Section of the CC of the KKE expresses its support to the people of Turkey for the numerous victims and the huge damages caused, one more time, by the recent disastrous earthquake in Eastern Turkey.

Neo-Ottomanism: the political economy of contemporary Turkey

The following article, published in "Morning Star" newspaper on January 20th, under the title "Neo-Ottomanism: the political economy of contemporary Turkey", was written by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) Kemal Okuyan:

After failure in Syria, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is busy developing a second version of his neo-Ottoman project, which he first brought onto the political agenda in the second half of the early 2000s.

Joint Statement by the Communist Parties of Greece and Turkey on regional developments

Read the joint statement issued by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) regarding the latest regional developments in East Mediterranean as well as the relations between the two countries:

"The CP of Greece and the CP of Turkey with our common position seek to intervene in the dangerous and worrying developments taking place in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, in the Greek-Turkish relations, and caused by social, economic and political forces that want to draw the two peoples in bloody adventures for their own interests.

KKE-TKP: Greek and Turkish Communists join their voices against war and imperialist plans

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), within the context of their common initiatives for the interests of the Greek and Turkish people, have published a joint declaration regarding the dangerous developments in the Greek-Turkish relations and the broader region. 

The declaration has been published on 902 portal. 

Below, you can read some basic parts of the common statement, the full english version of which be published in a new article soon:

KKE: The Berlin Conference on Libya is not a process for the benefit of the Libyan people

On the occasion of the International Conference on Libya that is taking place in Berlin and the discussion about Greece's non-participation in it, the Press Bureau of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) issued a statement which was published on 902 portal. 

The statement of the KKE reads the following: 

Turkey's Communist Party slams Erdogan's warmongering plans in Libya

In a statement issued today, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) condemns the warmongering plans of Tayyip Erdogan's government in Libya. 

More specifically, the TKP statement refers to the recent adoption of a bill by the Turkish Parliament which gives the green light to Erdogan to deploy troops in Libya.

TKP called for the cancellation of this recent bill and those which proceeded it and called on all armed forces in the territory of other countries' lands to return to the country.

The full statement published in soL news portal is as follows:

KKE calls the people to condemn the “criminal” Greek-US agreement on military bases

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) on Friday issued a statement in which it sharply criticizes the  conservative government of New Democracy (ND) for "tabling in Parliament, on Christmas Eve, the Greece-US Agreement for expansion of military bases that was signed in October 2018 following the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Athens, in the framework of the 'Strategic Dialogue' began by the SYRIZA government."

"We will change this city, this country": Mass gathering of TKP in Istanbul

The second of the events organized by the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), calling for "hope, organizing, and celebrating to win 2020" was held yesterday in Istanbul Bostancı.  

It was the second of the events organized in three major cities with the title of the Istanbul Bostanci Showland. The first gathering was held in Izmir on Saturday.

Before the start of the event, resisting workers from many sectors, including Bimeks workers, textile workers, teachers of Doğa schools, construction workers, metal workers, and cafe workers, came to Bostancı Showland by shouting slogans and holding banners.