The strengthening of the Communist Party of Greece marks a tendency for forces to rally around it again

The strengthening of the KKE marks a tendency for forces to rally around it again

• In the elections on the 25th of January, the KKE received 5.5% of the vote, an increase of 1% (+ 60,000 votes) in comparison to the parliamentary elections of 2012, marking a positive trend οf forces to rally around the KKE again, a trend that had also been witnessed in the EU parliamentary elections, the regional and local elections, in the KKE’s initiatives in the labour movement.
• The KKE achieved third place in 11 electoral regions: 2^nd region of Piraeus, Samos, Lesvos, Lefkada, Zakynthos, Kephalonia, Kerkyra, Larisa, Trikala, Prebeza, Boiotia.
• The KKE had 15 MPs elected ( it had 12)
• The GS of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumpas, in his statement saluted the thousands of our country’s workers and young people that responded to the KKE’s appeal and contributed today to its strengthening, confirming the positive trend for the rallying of forces around the party again. In particular, he saluted those who voted for the KKE for the first time, because they appreciated its firmness, consistency and selflessness.
• The election results reflect the great discontent and anger of the people against ND and PASOK, the parties that plunged the people into poverty and unemployment during the economic crisis. They express to a great extent the false hope that the new government of SYRIZA might follow a political line in favour of the people. The formation of a government of SYRIZA –either on its own or in a coalition government- will follow the beaten track:  the EU one way street, the tactics of limited demands, retreat and compromise, the commitments to big capital, monopolies, the EU and NATO.
• It is negative that a Nazi party maintains a high percentage amongst the electorate.

Below you can find a  table with the complete results and the full statement of the GS of the CC of the KKE :

 

STATEMENT OF THE GS OF THE CC OF THE Communist Party of Greece Com. DIMITRIS KOUTSOUMPAS ON THE ELECTION RESULTS OF 25th JANUARY 2015

First of all, we would like to salute the thousands of working people in our country, the young people that responded to the appeal of the KKE and contributed to its strengthening today, confirming the positive tendency of forces to rally again around the KKE, the tendency to regain votes. This tendency appeared last year, in the EU parliamentary elections, the regional and municipal elections and continued in all the various struggles of the people, in the labour, trade union and wider people’s movement. 

In particular we would like to salute the people who voted for the KKE for the first time, because they appreciated its firmness, consistency and selflessness. 

\As a whole, the election results reflect the great discontent and anger of the people against ND and PASOK, the parties that plunged the people into poverty and unemployment during the economic crisis. 

Of course they express to a great extent the false hope that the new government of SYRIZA  might follow a political line in favour of the people. 

Based on the official statements and positions of SYRIZA before and during the election campaign, the KKE has assessed that the new composition of the Parliament and the formation of a government of SYRIZA –either on its own or in a coalition government- will follow the beaten track:  the EU one way street, the commitments to big capital, monopolies, the EU and NATO with the negative implications for our people and the country. Once again the people will pay the price for these choices. 

We consider particular negative the fact that a Nazi party, a party with specific criminal murderous activity, a party that was formed by the mechanisms of the system, a party that is clearly against the interests of the people, has received again a significant percentage of the electorate’s votes. 

As whole, we assess that the line of counterattack and rupture with the capitalist path of development, the EU and against the policies that support this path through assimilation and passivity must be strengthened among the people and the movement.  

 The KKE will increase its efforts and initiatives regarding the acute problems of the workers and the people, with our proposals for the relief of the unemployed, the families fro the popular strata, the self-employed, the farmers and the students. 

It will increase its efforts for the regroupment of the labour and people’s movement, the construction of the people’s alliance in order for the people to realize their hopes and expectations and free themselves for the yoke of the monopolies. 

We will fight both inside and outside the parliament, with the strength that the people gave to our party so as to reveal the plans that are being concocted against the people. 

We will fight dynamically as the militant workers’-people’s opposition, as the organizer and the driving force of the workers’ struggle and the people’s alliance for the survival of the people and also for the prospect of a radical overthrow. 

We wish strength to all of you. We continue our struggle! Thank you.

The European Union election results confirm the trend for the rallying of forces around the Communist Party of Greece

The EU parliamentary elections on the 25^th of May 2014 took place in Greece together with the 2^nd round of the regional and municipal elections. This was the first time that these two election battles have been conducted in the same period, while it was the first time that the voters could choose their preferred candidates from the lists of the parties (previously the parties determined the order of preference).

The results of the EU parliamentary elections

43 parties took part and 1299 candidates in the EU parliamentary elections for the 21 seats that Greece has in the EU parliament (1 less that in the 2009 elections). 59.9% of the electorate took part in the elections and an atmosphere of polarization between the two new bourgeois poles was formed. On the one hand ND sought votes so that, as it said, “there will be no instability and derailment from the way out of the crisis”. On the other hand, the new social-democracy, SYRIZA, sought the transformation of the elections into a “referendum”, so that it could demonstrate a significant increase and outstrip the dynamism of the governing parties. With the slogan “we vote on the 25^th so that they leave on the 26^th”, SYRIZA set as its goal victory in the EU parliamentary elections so that the government would resign and the early parliamentary elections declared.

In these difficult political conditions, when the bourgeois parties promoted false dilemmas for the workers, the KKE achieved a small, but tangible, increase (+1.6%), in relation to the elections of 2012 and received 6.1%.

The new social-democracy, SYRIZA, although it emerged as the first party, could not increase the percentage it had received in 2012.

The government parties suffered significant losses. The conservative ND fell – 7% and the social-democratic PASOK, which participated in the elections with the “Olive Tree” coalition, had losses of – 4%.

The “Democratic Left” was crushed, which for a period participated in the government with ND and PASOK, lost -5% and remained outside of the EU parliament.

The rightwing party “Independent Greeks” lost – 4%.

At the same time the efforts for the recomposition of the political scene through the strengthening of fascist Golden Dawn (+2.2), as well with the emergence of a new “centre” party, led by a well-known TV star who has a PASOK background. His party, the “River”, received 6.5%.

The other 34 parties that participated in the elections but did not pass the electoral threshold of 3% and did not elect MEPS, received in total around 17% of the votes.

So, of the parties that participated in the elections of 2012, only the KKE and fascist Golden Dawn had an increase in terms of votes and percentage.

In addition, the KKE re-elects 2 MEPs.

  This result acquires particular significance because the political line of the KKE is a line of conflict against the capitalist development path and the imperialist EU, the bourgeois class and the parties that serve its interests. The KKE posed the framework that corresponds to the people’s interests: disengagement from the EU and unilateral cancellation of the debt, with workers’-people’s power and the socialization of the concentrated means of production. This framework was attacked by every means at the disposal of the bourgeois and opportunist parties, the mechanisms of the bourgeois state, but it lays foundations for the increase of the people’s demands, for the understanding of the class character of the exploitative system and the imperialist predatory alliance.

Below we present the results of the main parties in comparison with the 2012 elections (with 95.7% of the votes counted).

	Elections 2014		Εlections 2012
	%	votes	%	votes
ΚΚΕ	6.09 %	331,709	4.50%	277,204
SYRIZA	26.53 %	1,445,574	26.89%	1,655,086
ND	22.75 %	1,239,691	29.66%	1,825,637
GOLDEN DAWN	9.40 %	512,138	6.92%	425,990
OLIVE TREE	8.03 %	437,662	12.28%	755,868
RIVER	6.60 %	359,432	-	-
INDEPENDENT GREEKS	3.44 %	187,317	7.51%	462,466
DEMOCRATIC LEFT	1.21 %	65,707	6.26%	385,077

The results of the 2^nd round of the local elections

On the 25^th of May 2014 the 2^nd round of the municipal elections was held.

The lists of ‘People’s Rally” that was supported by the KKE entered the 2^nd round of the elections in 4 muncipalities and were victorious in all 4 of them.

Specifically:

• In the municipality of Patras (the 3^rd largest city in the country) it received 62.4% of the votes (it had 25.06% in the 1^st round).
• In the municipality of the island of Ikaria it received 50.8% of the votes (it had 44.1 % in the 1^st round).
• In the municipality of Petroupolis (which is in Athens) it received 53% of the votes (26.28% in the 1^st round).
• In the municipality of Haidari (which is in Athens) it received 68.5% of the votes (18.43% in the 1^st round).

We should bear in mind that in the 1^st round of the elections the KKE had a significant increase and had received 8.8% of the votes in the country’s 13 regions and an increase in 214 municipalities, electing dozens of councilors in the regions and hundreds in the municipalities.

Statement of D. Koutsoumpas, GS of the CC of the KKE, on the results of the EU parliamentary elections and the 2^nd round of the local elections

The GS of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumpas, in his statement in the evening of the 25^th of May in relation to the results of the EU parliamentary elections and the 2^nd round of the local elections underlined that:

“First of all we would like to thank all the people that responded to the appeal of the KKE, joined forces with it, supported the lists of the KKE and “People’s Rally” in the 4 municipalities where the KKE has taken part in the second round.

As to the EU parliamentary elections up until now the KKE has received more than 6% which means hundreds of thousands of votes and the election of 2 MEPs. In our opinion this result constitutes a small step; it is the continuation of the positive result of the previous week in the 13 administrative regions of the country where the party received 8,8% of the votes.

This tendency has been expressed, more or less in the municipalities all over the country where they the lists of the “People’s Rally” had a strong presence.

In the first round we increased our percentage in 214 municipalities. At the same time, we received more than 10% in more than 50 municipalities. 

In the 4 municipalities where we took part in the second round the candidates of the KKE achieved resounding victories.

The fact that in these conditions we won the majority in these municipalities, given the radically different political line expressed by the lists of the KKE in contrast to all the other lists of the parties that support the political of the EU and capital in local administration as well is a positive development.

The election result as a whole does not demonstrate any reversal  of the anti-people political scene; it does not create any “new political scene” in favour of the people.

Of course it demonstrates the people’s anger towards ND and PASOK who undertook the burden of implementing the anti-people governmental political line and the “EU one way- street”.

Although a significant part of the voters of SYRIZA made this choice with the expectation of a left orientation, the first position of SYRIZA does not express any strengthening of the left, radical, antimonopoly, anti-imperialist political line since SYRIZA has abandoned, even in its slogans,  the opposition to the monopolies, the EU, NATO.

The results –above all the EU parliamentary elections- indicate the consolidation of the tendency to substitute the bankrupted PASOK by SYRIZA, as part of the reshuffling of the political scene that started in June 2012.

At the same time, the course of other social democratic formations appears to be volatile e.g. the OLIVE TREE which was the main electoral formation of PASOK in the elections. The OLIVE TREE rallied some forces but received a smaller percentage than in June 2012. Furthermore, the percentage of the Democratic Left was reduced in favour of THE RIVER that appeared with slogans of a vague and less social-democratic character.

Although the tendency of the KKE to rally forces and receive new votes is positive,  the election results as a whole do not express any significant tendency towards the emancipation of the workers’ and people’s forces from the parties of the “EU one way- street”, the interests of capital and the monopolies.

The most extreme expression of this discrepancy is the high percentage of Golden Dawn.

The ruling class and the system still possess, unfortunately, significant reserves that allow it to appear with a new mantle. This assessment is based on the votes and programmes both of SYRIZA, as well as of the OLIVE TREE and the RIVER. As a whole, the recomposition of the political system is underway, the creation of new barriers to radicalization, something that we must specifically monitor in the next period. In the final analysis nothing has been decided, as the people themselves have not yet utilized their strength.

The election results as a whole in the EU countries can not be anything other than negative for the peoples. It is now necessary in every country, in all the EU countries, for a movement for rupture and disengagement from the EU to develop and to struggle for the overthrow the power of the monopolies. This movement with these goals must confront and smash fascism-Nazism in every country and Europe as a whole. We could say that inside this reactionary framework it is positive that the KKE in Greece demonstrates a trend of a small recovery after the strong pressure it was subjected to in June 2012.

The necessity of the recovery and regroupment of the communist and workers’ movement in Europe as a whole has become urgent, especially in France, Germany, Britain, Spain, Italy, to remove itself from the deadly embrace of social-democracy, the prettifying of the EU and the political assimilation and participation in the bourgeois anti-people management.

You can be sure that votes for the KKE will be utilized from tomorrow morning in every workplace, in every neighbourhood, in the schools, in the universities to impede new measures, to struggle for measures to relieve the unemployed, for the regroupment of the labour and people’s movement, for the social People’s Alliance.

The people must rally in the mass radical struggles around the KKE’s proposal for the way out, to organize and confront the anti-people measures that remain and to chart their own course for government and power in their own class interests. They must be rallied in a political line of rupture against the EU.

What is an immediate need is a strong People’s Alliance, a strong people’s opposition and a revived labour-people’s movement, which will confront the capitalist system, the EU, the monopolies, their power, charting a victorious course in favour of the people.

The KKE will continue to show the way for the real pro-people solution for our people, together with the readiness, starting from tomorrow, for a tough confrontation and struggle to relieve the workers, the unemployed, the popular households, the pensioners, the youth, all those who suffer.

We call on the people to resist the false dilemmas “stability and recovery” or “destabilization”, the false expectations fostered by the ND-PASOK government, as the stability and recovery will be for big capital and not for the people. 

SYRIZA on the other hand neither wants nor is able to save the people and pave the way for the overthrow

The people should trust in the KKE, which warned and struggled in a timely fashion, not in only with words and slogans, which is not bound by anti-people decisions, dishonorable signatures and dangerous consensus, unlike the other parties that seek the people’s vote and want either to continue their anti-people work, or sow illusions and false expectations.

From tomorrow onwards we must all struggle together to create the preconditions for the revival of the people’s movement for the concentration of forces to the benefit of the people.

We repeat tonight that we are aware of our responsibilities. We must contribute more decisively to the regroupment, the combativeness and mass character of the labour and people’s movement, to the organization of the daily struggle of the people, to the creation of a great people’s alliance, with the KKE strong everywhere. We need a strong KKE everywhere in order to prevent worse measures being taken by the anti-people local administrations in the municipalities and regions, so that we can struggle for the satisfaction of the contemporary needs of the people, so that we can pave the way, with the people in the forefront of the developments, for the breaking of the shackles of the EU, the monopolies, their governments, whatever name they may go under.”

19th Congress of the Communist Party of Greece

The 19th Party congress of Communist Party of Greece (KKE) was held from April 11 to 14th. The session of the 19^th Congress of the KKE began with a presentation of the report of the Central Committee by the General Secretary of the Central Committee, Aleka Papariga. 

 

The 19^th Congress of the Communist Party took place after a 4-month pre-congress process, during which the Theses were discussed in the organizations of the Party and KNE and with thousands of workers. 96.8% of the party members votes in favour of the Theses and draft Programme of the Party, 1.65% against, blank votes 1.55%. 97.3% of the party members votes for the draft Statutes in the PBOs, 1.21% against, blank votes 1.49%. The results of the discussion in KNE are the following. 98.9% votes in favour, 1.1% votes against and blank votes.

The discussions and the votes for the decisions of the 19^th Congress of the KKE were held in an atmosphere of ideological-political unity and after substantial deliberations.  77 delegates spoke at the Congress (the time allocated for each speech was 12 minutes). The Congress unanimously approved the new Party Programme, the new Statutes and the Political Resolution of the Congress.

In addition, the report and closing speech of the Central Committee of the KKE was adopted unanimously, while the report and closing speech of the Central Auditing Committee (CAC) was approved with one vote against and one blank vote.

The work of the 19^th Congress of the KKE was completed with the election of the new Central Committee, which is comprised of 63 comrades (instead of 77 who had been elected at the 18^th Congress) and the new Central AC which is comprised of 7 comrades (instead of 5).

The CC in its first session elected Dimitris Koutsoumpas as the General Secretary of the CC of the KKE. It should be noted that the outgoing GS of the CC of the KKE, Aleka Papariga, was elected as a member of the CC of the KKE.

Biographical details of the General Secretary of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumpas. 

He was born in Lamia on the 10^th of August 1955. He is married and has a daughter. His family were militants in the EAM national resistance, some of them were executed by the Nazi occupation troops and by the extraordinary military courts in the period of the civil war, others were imprisoned and exiled.  His father, Apostolis Koutsoumpas, a member of the KKE, was arrested in 1945 in Larisa, tried, imprisoned and exiled for 8 years.

Dimitris Koutsoumpas graduated from High School in June 1973, took the exams and entered the Law Department of the University of Athens. While he studied, he worked in different jobs in order to meet the costs of his studies. On his arrival in Athens, he came into contact with the illegal organization of KNE, he participated in the events in the Polytechnic in November 1973 and became a member of anti-EFEE and KNE in December 1973, working in illegal conditions until the fall of the dictatorship in the summer of 1974. He became a member of the KKE in December 1974. He was sent to work in the party in the summer of 1975 in the organization of Eastern Central Greece and Euboia as a member of the regional bureau of KNE. He was a delegate at the 1^st Congress of KNE.

In the Autumn of 1977 he moved from working in KNE to working exclusively in the party, as a secretary of a sectoral organization and later as the secretary of the Prefectural Organization of Boiotia. In 1979 he became a member of the Regional Bureau of Eastern Central Greece and Euboia, with various responsibilities, for work in the labour and trade union movement, responsible for the political guidance of the Prefectural Organizations of Boiotia, Fthiotida, Fokida, Evrytania. Later on he became secretary of the Regional Committee of Eastern Central Greece and Euboia, apart from a period of 21 months when he carried out his military service in Messolonghi, Komotini, and Limnos.

He was elected to the Central Committee of the KKE at the party’s 12^th Congress in May 1987. In the split of 1991, as the secretary of Eastern Central Greece and Euboia and member of the CC, together with other comrades he struggled to defend the party, its principles, its worldview, against the splitting opportunist group that went to Synaspismos.

At the 13^th Congress, he was again elected to the CC and its Secretariat responsible for politically guiding party organizations, while after August 1991, immediately after the split, he took on the responsibility for the CC’s Press Office.

In December 1991 at the 14^th Congress, he was elected to the PB of the CC, responsible for the Press Office, Culture, and later “902” (TV and radio), until the floods of 1994, when he took on the responsibility for the organizations of Thessalonica, Central Macedonia, Western Macedonia, and Eastern Macedonia and Thrace.

At the 15^th Congress (May 1996) he was elected to the PB and became the Director of “Rizospastis”, a responsibility he held for 10 years At the 16^th Congress (February 2000) and the 17^th Congress (February 2005) he was re-elected to the PB and took on the responsibility for the International Relations of the party. At the 18^th Congress (February 2009) he took on the responsibility of the Secretariat of the CC on behalf of the PB. At the 19^th Congress (April 2013) he was elected General Secretary of the CC of the KKE.

13th International Meeting of Communist Parties : An event of major importance

More than 100 foreign delegates that represent 83 communist and workers’ parties from 64 countries of the world, from all continents  are expected to take part in the procedures of the 13^th international Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties which will be hosted by the KKE (Communist Party of Greece) in Athens on 9-11 December 2011.

The International Meetings of the CPs were initiated by the KKE 13 years ago, and met a big and positive response from dozens of CPs which understand the necessity for the communists to exchange views, to discuss the developments and the duties they face, to exchange experience but also to coordinate their joint activity.

These annual international meetings, which started in Athens, have been established as an important international event for the communist movement. They are no longer organized by a single Communist Party but by a Working Group of Communist Parties. Besides Athens, where they took place for 7 consecutive years they continued in Lisbon (Portugal),Minsk (Belarus), Sao Paolo (Brazil), New Delhi (India), Tshwane (South Africa). This year after a “trip” to 5 countries and 4 continents (Europe, America, Asia, Africa) they return to Athens (for this year).

The recognition of the significance of the workers’ and people’s struggles which have been developed over the recent years by the KKE , the All Workers’ Militant Front (PAME) and the other people’s rallies has played an important role in this decision. The slogan of the KKE in Acropolis in May 2010 which called on the people to rise up has become a symbol for the struggles that followed and continue up to now in Greece and in other countries and give hope and inspiration to the communists and the peoples who struggle.

The theme of the meeting this year is:

“Socialism is the future! The international situation and the experience of the communists 20 years after the counterrevolution in the USSR. The tasks for the development of the class struggle in conditions of capitalist crisis, imperialist wars, of the current popular struggles and uprisings, for working class-popular rights, the strengthening of proletarian internationalism and the anti-imperialist front, for the overthrow of capitalism and the construction of socialism”.

20 years after the overthrow of socialism in the USSR and the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe the largest meeting in terms of participation is expected to take place in Athens.

The list of the parties that take part in the meeting:

Country	Party
Azerbaijan	Communist Party of Azerbaijan
Albania	Communist Party of Albania
Algeria	Algerian Party for Democracy and Socialism
Armenia	Communist Party of Armenia
Australia	Communist Party of Australia
Bangladesh	Workers’ Party of Bangladesh
	Communist Party of Bangladesh
Bahrain	Democratic Progressive Tribune Bahrain
Belgium	Workers’ Party of Belgium
Brazil	Communist Party of Brazil
	Brazilian Communist Party
Britain	Communist Party of Britain
	New Communist Party of Britain
Bulgaria	Communist Party of Bulgaria
	Party of the Bulgarian Communists
Canada	Communist Party of Canada
Colombia	Colombian Communist Party
Croatia	Socialist Workers’ Party of Croatia
Cuba	Communist Party of Cuba
Cyprus	AKEL
Czech Republic	Communist Party of Bohemia Moravia
Denmark	Communist Party in Denmark
	Communist Party of Denmark
Egypt	Communist Party of Egypt
Finland	Communist Party of Finland
FYROM	Communist Party of Macedonia
France	French Communist Party
Germany	German Communist Party
Georgia	United Communist Party of Georgia
Greece	Communist Party of Greece
Hungary	Hungarian Communist Workers’ Party
India	Communist Party of India
	Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Iran	Tudeh Party of Iran
Iraq	Iraqi Communist Party
Ireland	Communist Party of Ireland
	Workers’ Party of Ireland
Israel	Communist Party of Israel
Italy	Party of the Italian Communists
Jordan	Jordanian Communist Party
People’s Democratic Republic of Korea	Workers’ Party of Korea
Laos	People’s Revolutionary Party of Laos
Latvia	Socialist Party of Latvia
Lebanon	Lebanese Communist Party
Lithuania	Socialist People’s Front Lithuania
Luxemburg	Communist Party of Luxemburg
Malta	Communist Party of Malta
Mexico	Communist Party of Mexico
	Popular Socialist Party of Mexico
Nepal	Communist Party of Nepal (UML)
Netherlands	New Communist Party of Netherlands
Norway	Communist Party of Norway
Palestine	Palestinian People’s Party
	Palestinian Communist Party
Pakistan	Communist Party of Pakistan
Paraguay	Paraguayan Communist Party
Peru	Peruvian Communist Party
	Communist Party of Peru (Patria Roja)
Poland	Communist Party of Poland
Portugal	Portuguese Communist Party
Romania	Romanian Communist Party
Russia	Communist Party of the Russian Federation
	Communist Workers' Party of Russia - Revolutionary Party of Communists
	Communist Party of the Soviet Union
	Union of Communist Parties — Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Serbia	New Communist Party of Yugoslavia
	Party of Communists of Serbia
Sri Lanka	Communist Party of Sri Lanka
South Africa	South African Communist Party
Spain	Communist Party of Spain
	Communist Party of the People’s of Spain
	Party of the Communists of Catalonia
Sudan	Sudanese Communist Party
Sweden	Communist Party of Sweden
Syria	Syrian Communist Party
	Syrian Communist Party (United)
Turkey	Communist Party of Turkey
	Labour Party (ΕΜΕΡ), Turkey
USA	Communist Party USA
Ukraine	Communist Party of Ukraine
	Union of Communists of Ukraine
Venezuela	Communist Party of Venezuela
Vietnam	Communist Party Vietnam

A line of struggle for the overthrow of capitalism

Article of Elisseos Vagenas, member of the CC of the KKE, and responsible for the International Relations Section, published in “Socialist Voice”, monthly publication of the Communist Party of Ireland.

This article was written during the important (48-hour) nationwide general strike on 28-29 June which has embraced every workplace. The strike demonstrations of All Workers’ Militant Front (PAME) which rallies the trade unions that work on a class oriented basis have been unprecedented.

The demonstrations and the mass rallies of PAME are different from those of the compromised trade union leaderships of the federations of the unions in the private (GSEE) and the public sector (ADEDY). The reason is not only the massive participation of the working people, their militancy and the measures for their protection but also the fact that they do not merely seek to block the new “package” of anti-people measures but to put forward the need to come into full conflict with the EU and capitalist exploitation as a whole.

In contrast with the demonstrations of the so called “indignant citizens“, who shout the so called “neutral” though misleading slogan “thieves, thieves” in front of the parliament, the slogan which is prevalent in the massive demonstrations of PAME is: “No cog can turn without the workers. Worker you can do without the bosses!”

The line of struggle of the communist party and the class oriented labour and trade union movement becomes increasingly important under the current conditions as the Greek people experience the consequences of the capitalist crisis that brings poverty, unemployment and destitution for the working class-popular families and when the government of PASOK along with the EU and the IMF implement a savage anti-people programme aiming at the reduction of the price of the labour force and the increase of the competitiveness and the profitability of the capital.

The KKE stressed from the very first moment that the capitalist crisis, which the Greek people are experiencing, expresses the sharpening of the main contradiction between the social character of production and labour on the one hand and the private capitalist appropriation of its results on the other. In addition, it struggled against the misleading campaign claiming that the government of PASOK was allegedly subservient to the IMF or to foreign powers revealing that the anti-labour memoranda expressed concrete choices of the Greek bourgeoisie concerning alliances that ensured its profitability in these specific conditions.

KKE has refuted the social-democratic and opportunist positions which are spread by the forces of the so-called European Left Party (ELP) as well as by others, positions that attribute the causes of the crisis to the neo-liberal management because they conceal the activity of the laws of the exploitative system; they conceal that the crises break out irrespective of the social-democratic or the liberal management as the sharpening of the contradictions of the system: the anarchy and the unevenness that characterises capitalist production, the over accumulation of capital which was accumulated in the period of economic growth due to the exploitation of the labour force and cannot find a way out that ensures a high rate of profit.

Over the last two years there have been multifaceted class-oriented struggles against the assault of capital, the anti-people policy of the liberal government of ND previously and the social-democratic government of PASOK today which is supported by the other bourgeois political forces and the subjugated leaderships of the government and employer led trade unionism.

More than 20 nationwide general strikes have been successfully organised in the period 2010-2011; likewise a series of strikes in sectors and companies, mass rallies, occupations of public buildings and other buildings as well, massive struggles with the participation of hundreds of thousands of workers and popular forces.

The KKE and PAME, the class oriented labour movement, the militant rallies supported by our party in the movements of the farmers, the self-employed, the women and the youth have played a leading role in these struggles.

The line of struggle of the KKE and the class oriented movement has made a special contribution to the conflict with capital and the anti-people policy as it clarified from the beginning that the crisis, the deficit and the debt are a product of capitalist development, of the strategy that supports the monopoly groups and that the workers are not responsible for it. More and more working people see this fact today when they compare the state debt (350 billions Euro) with the deposits of the Greek capitalists which in Switzerland amount to 600 billions Euro.

More and more working people are abandoning the bourgeois parties (PASOK-ND), open their eyes to the assessments and the proposals of KKE since the communists are proved correct by the developments. The KKE has denounced the government and the EU because they blackmail the people that the government won’t receive the 5th instalment of the loan unless they accept the new anti-labour measures.

The communists in Greece support firmly that it is the plutocracy that must pay for the crisis as it is responsible for it. At the same time, the KKE believes that the struggle for every problem of the people must develop in the direction of organising, concentrating and preparing broad popular and working class forces not only in order to create better conditions for the sale of labour power but also for the overthrow of the exploitative system so as to pave the way for the people’s power and the people's economy, for socialism.

Greece goes on strike! Day 1.

The 48 hour general strike began on Tuesday 28/6, against the new raft of anti-people measures which are being discussed and are expected to be approved on Wednesday 29/6 by the parliamentary majority which the ruling social-democratic party PASOK possesses.

The Parliamentary group of the KKE (Communist Party of Greece) demanded the the vote on the legislation be carried out by a name roll call, while the lead speaker of the Party on the matter, N. Karathanasopoulos, underlined that the measures being pushed forward by the government have as their real goal the reinforcement of the competitiveness and profitability of capital through attacks on the working class and its rights. The parliamentary group of the KKE withdrew from the discussion and will return for the vote.

At the same time, the Prime Minister, G. Papandreou speaking in Parliament, characterised a vote in favour of the new anti-people raft of measures as a “patriotic duty”.

Commenting on the speech of the Prime Minister in Parliament, the press office of the CC of the KKE noted: “ The Prime Minister proposed that in order to solve the debt, deficit and crisis investors must be encouraged to Greece, the other parties agree with this and this why they agree with and support the anti-people measures, which lay waste to the labour rights , salaries and gains of the people. But the workers, the youth must not accept for any reason these painful sacrifices that are being imposed on them for a development which will provide them with salaries and rights at Chinese levels.”

At the same time the Vice-president of the government Th. Pangalos in an interview with a foreign newspaper posed the following dilemma with the aim of blackmailing the Greek people “ a new raft of anti-people measures or tanks”. In its answer the press office of the CC of the KKE underlined that : “ The people itself, learning from its history, must answer that a subjugated people will be threatened by bankruptcy and the other veils of capitalist barbarity. Only if it is determined and organized to fight for its rights and for its power can it repel these measures. It must take into its hands the banks and monopoly businesses so that they serve its interests and do not rob it.”

Preparation of the strike
The forces of the All-workers Militant Front (PAME) waged the struggle to organise the strike in this political atmosphere.

On Monday morning they carried out a symbolic occupation of the Acropolis. This initiative which was saluted by the workers, provoked the furious reaction of the right -wing ND, the nationalist-racist LAOS and the bourgeois electronic mass media, which accused PAME of “desecrating the sacred monuments”.

In its answer the press office of the CC of the KKE stated that: “ ND wants to hide that it essentially agrees with memoranda and the medium-term programme , but their hatred of the struggles of the class-oriented labour movement against them does not allow it to do this successfully. PASOK, ND , LAOS and the others must learn that the monuments are not desecrated by the mobilizations of the people but by their commercialisation and that the country is not defamed by its people's struggles but by its people's destitution.”

On Mon afternoon 27/6, the forces of PAME carried out placard protests and rallies in dozens of Greek cities and popular neighbourhoods in order to propagandize the 48 hr strike.

 

28th June- 1st day of the strike
The daybreak of the 28th June found the class oriented forces of PAME struggling decisively to defend of the strike by picketing factories, stores, construction sites, hotels and offices where they have been in the previous period, while they had mounted pickets on the ramps of the ships from midnight onwards.

The defense of the strike of the seamen has been a particularly tough battle since the trade union federation of seamen played a strikebreaking role. The class-oriented trade unions PEMEN and STEFENSON that represent the engineers and the crew of the ship engines, who belong to PAME, decided to participate in the 48-hour strike and the unions of the chefs and ship's electricians joined them. The strike of these unions and the strong picket lines of PAME paralysed Piraeus, the biggest port in the country, which was “flooded” by the forces of the unions of PAME.

Early in the morning the forces of PAME in Thessaloniki, the second largest city of the country, blocked the 7 entrances to the industrial area of the city and paralysed industrial production.

The protesters met at 10:00 in the squares in order to take part in the strike demonstrations. In Athens they gathered in various meeting points. They marched through different central streets of the city and met outside the parliament, in Syntagma Square, blocking all the main streets around the Square.

“The controlled bankruptcy has been already decided on. What they want from the people is to bow their heads for the next fifty years so as to pass the worst measures. The struggle will be determined in the office, in the factory, in the workplace generally, in the fields and the small businesses, in the neighbourhoods. It is bound to lead to a victory.” stated Aleka Papariga, General Secretary of the CC of KKE at the strike demonstration of PAME.

Some of the slogans that were prevalent in the demonstrations of PAME:

“People rise up, do not compromise with the measures of the government.”

“Patriotism is what is just for the people and not the profits of capitalism.”

“No cog can turn without the workers. Worker you can do without the bosses.”

“No more deception! Capitalism cannot become human.”

Communist party of Greece holds massive rally in Athens

Thousands of workers, employers and the self-employed from all parts of  Greece a ttended by  large, national rally of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) in central Athens. The rally was organized to Parliament Square "Syntagma".
 From the rostrum of the meeting Secretary General of the Central Committee of KKE, Aleka Papariga, presented a political proposal to the party to withdraw from the crisis in favor of workers. It proclaimed the beginning of a broad political work among the people across the country, which will be deployed around the proposal.
 Among other things, A. Papariga said:
 "We are experiencing a period of historic significance: the people must stand up to his full height, pass to the offensive and won a landslide victory - to overthrow the power of monopolies. We recognize the value of stocks for immediate solutions, the pressures of problems in factories, offices, districts, municipalities and regions. We are wherever they can, are in the forefront of this struggle. "
 General Secretary of the CC identified a number of examples of the Communists in the final period and added:
 "The enemy acts on the basis of the strategy, therefore, the People's Movement should give strategic resistance. The Prime Minister has made only one truthful remark - that the period of crisis is not known. Half the eurozone is involved in the cycle of crisis. Strong imperialist powers like the U.S., periodically in crisis, from which they can not fully recover. Deep integration of Greece into the European capitalist market through participation in the European Union, Greek exacerbates the unevenness of capitalist economy, the crisis of Greek capitalism and difficult to manage them. As a result, there will be some growth for the capitalists, but not for living standards and people's right to work. This increase would be temporary. Followed by a new cycle of crisis, even deeper than the present. "
 A. Papariga said: "To struggle to be effective need to understand the causes of this crisis. The reason for the Greek capitalist crisis is the same as the causes for the crisis years 1929-33. To the crisis of the early 1970's., A crisis of so-called Asian tigers in 1997, in Russia in 1998 in Argentina and other Latin American countries and recently in the U.S.. Henceforth, if we do not seek radical political change, there will widespread deterioration.As it develops, capitalism becomes increasingly reactionary, intransigent with regard to popular demands, barbarous, and dangerous parasites. The reason for the economic crisis lies in the fact that the driving force of production and the capitalist economy is profit to be derived using the growth rate of exploitation of workers. In an effort to get the fabulous profits capitalists brought to an extreme increase in production. They produce for profit, and at the same time, undermine the purchasing power of workers. Workers accrues as minuscule when growing the wealth and when it decreases. They more than anyone else at a disadvantage in times of crisis. The national debt is accompanied by the profitability of capital, it is its result. In a crisis, debt is growing. Consequently, the Government's proposals, "New Democracy" and other opposition parties about the debt, are only dangerous for the people of cheating. In this basic question of equal position of all parties (except CNG), in spite of their partial differences. They also agree that it is necessary to support large enterprises. They are unwilling and unable to attack the main goal. "
 General Secretary of the CC said that "current developments in Greece, highlight the general political issue. This question is advantageous if the people the capitalist mode of development, leading to new crises, or should it elect a radically different path, which offers the CPG, the path to a society without crises and exploitation, without unemployment and insecurity. Objectively, the fore the question of overthrowing the power of monopolies, and not just the conservative government. Today the people is vital to force workers, people's power and the people's economy. "
 Concerning the events in our region A. Papariga said: "confirms the position of the CPG that war continues to be a weapon in the hands of the bourgeois political system to overcome the crisis for the benefit of capital, namely, the strongest of its parts."
 General Secretary of the CC presented the scenarios premature elections, and changes in the government. She elaborated on the scenario of "progressive government," which promotes opportunistic structure of the INS / SYRIZA and said: "They say that possibly the progressive control without a fight and overthrow the power of monopolies. What can the government supposedly protecting the interests of the people, without a full collision with the EU and NATO. However, no single government can not pursue policies to benefit the people without having to radically infringe upon the interests of the monopolies and abandon commitments to the imperialist unions.
 She urged people not to be afraid of political instability. It is typical, said: "People should not fear their activity, weakens the power of monopolies. On the contrary, he should be afraid of stable government, that is, one party or the coalition government that uses fear of the people before lack of power to take more severe measures. "
 A. Papariga called "the people to oppose all forms of bourgeois political system, its political structure - a socio-political front anti-monopoly and anti-imperialist forces, which today is, objectively, is moving in the anti-capitalist direction."
 She highlighted the productive forces and the potential development of the country, which will be used the people's power. A detailed proposal to the CPG, which presented the Secretary General of the Party Central Committee, relates to the use of mineral resources, energy sources, the development potential of agriculture and animal husbandry, development, manufacturing, shipping, etc. A prerequisite is the "people's ownership of the concentrated means of production" and "centralized, organized by the scientific planning of the national economy."
 A. Papariga also noted that:
 "The people's power will be able to save considerable resources that are wasted in the framework of bourgeois strategy to ensure competitiveness and monopoly power. For example:

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      It eliminates the theft of money, imposed by capitalist property and the financing of monopoly groups devastating public funds.
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      Write off the national debt, which is not established workers and has already exceeded 340 billion euros, an increase of 41 billion euros only for 2010
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      Abolish the military costs of the NATO plans (for example, on a mission to Kosava, Afghanistan).
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      Labour productivity increases through the introduction of new technologies and with the participation of people in the workers' control. Will be achieved cost reductions in labor and raw materials, while increasing production. All this would not be due to the pursuit of competitiveness, as happens in the capitalist economy.
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      Workers' control, policies to reduce social inequality and inequality in wages, will serve as a radical restriction of corruption of public officials, as well as limit mismanagement.
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      A country from the EU and of all the imperialist unions will create favorable conditions for mutually beneficial international cooperation agreements. Only the people's government can effectively use intra-imperialist contradictions at ensuring public welfare and to effectively protect the sovereign rights of the country.
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      Geopolitical position of Greece, especially for the transport of energy and goods between Europe, Asia and Africa, will be a significant advantage in negotiating the people's power, especially in modern conditions of aggravation of inter-imperialist contradictions.
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      Workers' control and participation of the people will not only provide legal and institutional manner, but also through the adoption of practical measures, such as ensuring the growth of free-time workers so they can deal with control.

 Work Control will begin with production units, which will elect representatives, having the right to withdraw, and will apply to all industries and regions. In the elected government will include representatives of workers in public production units, as well as members of cooperatives, producers, students, pensioners and workers outside the state-owned enterprises. Even in the supreme organ of power of elected representatives across the country will be withdrawn, but not permanent. Elected officials will not have special privileges and income. "
 Secretary General of the Central Committee of KKE stressed that "the thirst of the people to win, to be his guide. When people want, he can. Bourgeois political power is not omnipotent. Capitalism is not omnipotent. "

(Faults in Translation regretted)