“The Only Superpower Is the Peoples”: International anti-war rally held in Crete

A strong anti-imperialist message was sent from Crete over the weekend as peace movements from Greece and the Middle East mobilized against the US-NATO military presence at Souda Bay, one of the alliance's most strategic bases in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The mobilization took place under the auspices of the World Peace Council (WPC) and was hosted by the Greek Committee for International Detente and Peace (EEDYE) in the framework of the Middle East Peace Movements Conference. 

Shut Down All U.S–British Bases in Greece and Cyprus!

By Nikos Mottas 

The recent alert in Cyprus following threats of Iranian drone and retaliatory missile strikes once again exposes a dangerous reality that governments in Athens and Nicosia persistently attempt to obscure: the presence of U.S., NATO and British military bases turns both Greece and Cyprus into potential targets in an expanding imperialist war.

For days now, the wider region has been moving ever closer to the possibility of a generalized confrontation in the Middle East. The escalation triggered by the aggressive policies of the United States and Israel against Iran has already created a climate of extreme tension across the entire Eastern Mediterranean. 

KKE slams Greek Premier Mitsotakis' visit to USS Dwight D. Eisenhower

Just two days before the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Greece's Revolution of Independence on March 25, 1821, Greek Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis decided to pay a visit to a symbol of U.S. imperialism - the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower which is docked at the Souda naval base in the island of Crete. 

For the record, the Prime Minister was received by the Commander of the US Navy in Europe and Africa, Admiral Robert Burke, and Lieutenant Colonel Scott Robertson, commander of the strike team led by “Eisenhower". 

KKE MPs blast Greek government: “You give everything to the U.S-NATO killers”

Communist MPs Giorgios Marinos and Thanasis Pafilis.

On Tuesday, the Greek-U.S. Defense Agreement, which actually expands the existing network of U.S. military bases in the country, was discussed at the Greek Parliament’s Committee. In the coming days the issue will be brought in the Parliament’s plenary in the form of a draft law that the parties will be called to vote for or against.

“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. 

STATEMENT OF KKE: "No to the renewal of the Greece-USA Agreement on Military Bases; No to the visit of Mike Pompeo in Greece"

NO TO THE RENEWAL OF THE GREECE-USA AGREEMENT ON MILITARY BASES

NO TO THE VISIT OF THE U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE M. POMPEO

Statement by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the KKE.

The KKE calls on workers, the people and the youth to rise against the visit of the US Secretary of State, M. Pompeo, and above all against the conversion of Greece into a vast US-NATO base. This is also the content of the “Strategic Dialogue” with the US, initiated by the former SYRIZA government in Phase I and enhanced by the ND government with the current Phase II.

POMPEO GO HOME: Greek anti-imperialists to protest against Mike Pompeo's visit in Athens

The anti-imperialist movement in Greece prepares a militant "welcome" for the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who is going to visit the country on Saturday 5th of October. 

Demonstrations against the renewal of the Greece-U.S. Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement (MDCA) and the visit of Pompeo have been scheduled to take place in Athens, Thessaloniki and other cities. 

In a statement issued today, the Political Bureau of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) calls "the workers, the people and the youth to rise against the visit of the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and mainly against the transformation of Greece into a vast US-NATO base".

Greece — U.S. military installations in Crete and the mainland to be upgraded and extended

Greece's involvement in the imperialist plans of U.S. and NATO increases as a result of the agreement between the U.S. and Greek governments which upgrades and extends the american military installations in the country. 

According to an exclusive report published in "Rizospastis" on Monday, within the framework of the "Greece-USA Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreeement (MDCA)", the governments of the United States and Greece have agreed to extend the U.S. Naval Base in Souda, Crete, as well as to proceed to the creation of new military installations. The agreement is due to take place in 2020. 

Greek anti-imperialist movement calls for action against USA-Greece military agreement

In a statement issued this week the Greek Committee for International Detente and Peace (EEDYE) announces that it will undertake initiatives and organize mobilizations against the "Greece-USA Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement". 

Under the slogan "NO TO BASES, NO TO NUCLEAR WEAPONS", EEDYE calls the people's movement to stand against the dangerous imperialist plans in the region, focusing on the upcoming visit of the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Athens in the beginning of October.

NATO bases out of Greece: Statement by the KKE calls for nationwide anti-imperialist mobilization

In a statement issued earlier today, the Political Bureau of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) calls the working people and the youth "to rise against the policy of the SYRIZA-ANEL coalition government which transforms Greece into an endless US-NATO camp". 

"On 22 and 23rd of October we demonstrate in every city where military bases exist or new ones are going to be installed. In all over Greece, the Organisations of the KKE and KNE, through multiform activities, will express the opposition in these plans", writes the statement.

Kammenos visits the USA, confirms Greek government's role as a "flag-bearer" of US-NATO imperialism

The Greek Minister of Defense Panos Kammenos is in the United States, having a series of meetings with U.S. government officials, including the U.S. Armed Forces. 

Kammenos' visit consists a follow-up of similar meetings held in New York 10 days ago by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Foreign Minister Kotzias. 

The major characteristic of Kammenos' meetings in Washington DC is the effort of the Greek government to strengthen its role as the "flag-bearer" of US and NATO imperialism in eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans, seeking a deeper involvement in the extremely dangerous inter-imperialist competitions.

Tsipras Exposed: How Greece's government participates in the crime against Syria

Just a few hours before the beginning of the new imperialist attack against Syria by the USA, France and Britain, the Greek government announced that it will not participate in the intervention. 

On Saturday, 14th of April, the front page of the daily newspaper "Avgi"- which is politically affiliated with SYRIZA- was writing: "Alexis Tsipras said to Macron about Syria: We do not participate in a possible intervention". The report of the newspaper was writing among other things: "In a phone call with the President of France, the Prime Minister condemned the use of chemical weapons and demanded decisive initiatives by the EU. He pointed out that efforts must be made for a peaceful solutiuon, based on the swedish proposal at the UN and he emphatically ruled out the participation of Greek Armed Forces in a possible military mission".

The U.S. to set up new military bases in Greek islands, reports say

Does the U.S. government intend to install new military bases in Greece? According to news reports in Greece, U.S. military installations have been scheduled to take place in the Aegean Sea. 

The Athens daily "Estia" reported that "the Ministry Defense has contacted the U.S. embassy and proposed the construction of a large heliport in a flat-island close to Kalymnos, in order to be used as a base for the landing and refueling of allied helicopters".

These scenarios are combined with the maintenance and upgrade process of the U.S-NATO military bases within Greece's territory, which was agreed during Prime Minister Tsipras' visit to Washington DC last October. In the northern city of Alexandroupolis, the U.S. have already set up a military base in the port, while there are plans for construction works in the Aegean island of Syros, the port of which could also be used as a hub for U.S-NATO forces.

Communist Party of Greece: The U.S. ambassador's interview confirmed the dangerous commitments of the government towards USA-NATO

Commenting on U.S. ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt's recent interview on SKAI TV, the Press Office of the CC of the KKE states the following:

"The interview of the ambassador of the USA confirmed that the Greek government has made very dangerous- for the Greek people- commitments which are gradually revealed and is evolving into the best "dealer" of the USA-NATO plans in the region. The aim is to make Greece a "geopolitical hinge" between NATO, EU and the broader region, as it was characteristically said. 

"Imperialists Out of Greece!": The 18th Congress of EEDYE to be held on 2-3 December in Athens

Archive Photo: From an EEDYE rally.

The 18th Congress of the Greek Committee for International Detente and Peace (EEDYE) will take place on the 2nd and 3rd of December in Athens. The Congress will be hosted at the City Hall of Haidari, west of Athens. 

For the preparation of the Congress, local peace committees across the country held meetings, discussed and organised the future activities of the antiimperialist movement.

NATO soldiers attacked and injured civilians in Crete

An outrageous incident took place in the city of Chania, in the Greek island of Crete, on November 17th. 

NATO soldiers, who were participating in a multinational military exercise, attacked civilians in the city center of Chania thus injuring one of them seriously. The victim was transfered to the local hospital. 

The incident took place on  the evening of Friday, 17 of November, just after the end of the rally for the 44th anniversary since the Athens Polytechnic Uprising. 

The attack from the side of the NATO soldiers, which is not the first one that takes place in the area, was unprovoked.

KKE denounces the extension of the defense cooperation agreement between Greece-USA

Source: inter.kke.gr.

The Press Office of the CC of the KKE mentioned the following regarding the government’s decision to extend the defense cooperation agreement between Greece and the USA:

"The extension of the Defense Cooperation Agreement between Greece and the USA, which also concerns the Souda base, confirms that the SYRIZA-ANEL government is not only continuing the political line of the previous ND-PASOK governments in this sector as well, but is also entangling the country even deeper in the aggressive imperialist plans in the region, in a period characterized by a dangerous intensification of the antagonisms.

KKE slams Tsipras' government: Greece must be disengaged from imperialist interventions and wars!

The Parliamentary Team of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) submitted a written question about Greece's disengagement from imperialist interventions and wars to the Ministers of Defence and Foreign Affairs. The text of the question is the following:

Source: Rizospastis / Translation: In Defense of Communism *.

"The decisions of the governments of ND and PASOK in the previous years, as well as the ones of the SYRIZA-ANEL government today, for the involvement of Greece in imperialist interventions and wars, have put and continue putting our people in great adventures and dangers.

KKE: Close down the Souda U.S. Naval Base; Greece out of the imperialist plans and wars

In a statement regarding the recent air strikes of the USA in Syria, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) points out the following:

"The KKE denounces the attack of the USA against Syria with the use of missiles from american warships in the Mediterranean and expresses its solidarity to the much afflicted Syrian people.

The people know that the USA and their allies, which created criminal organisations like "Al Qaeda" and the "Islamic State", highlight and utilize pretenses in order to justify the interventions and the imperialist wars in Syria, Iraq, in the broader region of the Middle East and Northern Africa, which consists field of fierce antagonisms, with the people being the victims. They did the same in the past too.