Greece rose after the beating of communists blocking NATO equipment in Thessaloniki
After the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, the forces of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and the Communist Youth of Greece carried out anti-imperialist actions in ports and cities during the movement of NATO armed forces across the country.
In general, they are in the forefront of protests against Greece's involvement in the imperialist war on the side of NATO and participation in it. Such protests have recently taken place in Piraeus, Alexandroupolis, Larissa and at the Souda military base in Crete and other parts of the country. But the most violent form of clashes took place in the city of Thessaloniki and its port on April 6.
On this day there was a general strike declared by the Panhellenic Combat Workers' Front PAME, where, by the way, one of the demands was that Greece should not join the war on the side of NATO. And in Thessaloniki there was a strike meeting, the participants of which then organized a procession to the city port. The protesters made a “stop” at the American Consulate in Thessaloniki and the offices of the Union of Industrialists of Greece. Approaching the port, the demonstrators loudly chanted the slogan:
“Thessaloniki is a port of nations, not a springboard for imperialists!”
As a result, the communists approached NATO vehicles that had been unloaded earlier in the port of Thessaloniki and wrote on them “NATO, go home!” and “Murderers, go home!” As a result, a special police squad used tear gas and batons and arrested eight activists and a journalist from the Greek Communist Party newspaper Rizospastis, who was filming the events. At the same time, both the journalist and one of the protesters were severely beaten.
Electronic publication of the Communist Party Kke.gr wrote:
“Participants in the protest at the port were subjected to a brutal and unprovoked attack by the police, followed by the unjustified detention of 8 demonstrators, among them two members of the KKE Central Committee, one of whom was seriously injured and was hospitalized, as well as a member of the KMG Central Council.”
If the correspondent, after the intervention of the Union of Journalists of Macedonia and the Faction, was released four hours after his arrest, the other eight were kept under arrest for another day. At the same time, during hospitalization, the severely beaten activist was kept in a wheelchair with his hand fastened to it in handcuffs, which was captured by trade union press photographers in the hospital.
These police actions provoked real mass protests by student and worker unions throughout the country. In Thessaloniki itself, all night from April 6 to 7, there was an ongoing protest rally near the pre-trial detention center, and students blocked traffic on the streets, demanding the release of their comrades. In fact, the entire city center was paralyzed. In the capital, too, student neighborhoods were flooded with protesting students at night.
Edition 902.gr published their resolution, which read the following:
“We condemn the unacceptable and unprovoked attack by police forces on Wednesday 6 April on a shock rally in the port of Thessaloniki as they attempted to stop the unloading of NATO military equipment. We condemn the violent arrests of students and workers, and even a journalist. One of the protesters was injured by police as a result of an unprovoked attack they suffered during the arrest.
The government has a huge responsibility, which at a time when it crushes our education, eats up the income of our families, when our country is involved in the dangerous games of the imperialists in the region, intensifies repression and terrorism! They will not pass!
The KKE delegation, which included members of the Politburo of the KKE Central Committee and party deputies, took part in the rally near the building of the Ministry of Citizen Protection. In addition to them, the workers' center of Athens also expressed its solidarity with the eight arrested workers in Thessaloniki. This was written by the publication of PAME trade unions Рamehellas.gr, which are under the influence of the Communist Party of Greece.
“We do not accept our colleagues being dragged to court because they are fighting against the war and our country’s participation in it. We demand that all false charges be dropped and that they be released immediately. The trade unions were not afraid. We will continue to fight even more resolutely against war, poverty and defend our rights. Repression will not pass,” their statement noted.
The workers' centers of Patras, Agrinio, Zakynthos and Kefalonia - Ithaca also wrote a statement demanding their immediate release and expressed solidarity.
“What irritated the government was the slogan of the strike meeting against the imperialist war and the involvement of our country in hostilities and the course it followed towards the port of Thessaloniki, at the point where a NATO ship with military equipment sailed to reach Anna. Europe,” noted, in particular, the trade unions, which make it clear that “terrorism will not pass!”
Hundreds of trade unions came out in support of the arrested - even the SYRIZA party and the workers' center of Thessaloniki itself, which is under the influence of the Social Democrats. Such powerful protests by workers and students across the country clearly frightened the government, and on the morning of April 7, those arrested were cleared of serious charges of violating the law on weapons and rocket launchers, as well as the use of weapons.
However, the day after the arrest, the activists were brought to court in handcuffs, but were immediately released from the courtroom. They will now appear in court on June 15 on absurd charges of disobeying police, attempting to free a detainee, damaging property and violence against officials. Despite this, their release caused a storm of delight.
“The eight activists emerged from the courts with their fists raised and were greeted with slogans and applause from representatives of trade unions, student associations and other grassroots organizations who were mobilizing support outside the courts. “Thessaloniki is a people’s port, not a base for imperialists,” a slogan that shook the atmosphere,” noted the 902.gr report.
The leadership of the Communist Party of Greece eventually justifiably accused the government of unleashing repression against those forces who oppose the country's involvement in NATO military plans and in the war on the side of the United States.
“The government’s desire to carry out “with fire and iron” a policy of escalating the country’s involvement in the dangerous imperialist plans of NATO, the USA and the EU with the suppression of just speeches should find wider popular condemnation against it. The Communist Party of Greece demands that the government, which bears full responsibility for these unacceptable events, immediately release those arrested, drop the charges against them and stop the repression,” the press office of the KKE Central Committee said in a statement on the Kke.gr website.
As a result, so far the first round of confrontation between communists and workers, on the one hand, and the government and industrialists supporting NATO, on the other, has been won by the former as a result of mass rallies. But this is not the end of the conflict, as trade unions and leftists intend to again attack US ports and bases in Greece.
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