Protecting the parliamentarians from the people they pretend to represent were fifteen thousand riot cops. But remarkably, supporters of the misnamed Communist Party of Greece formed their own battalion, protecting the police and the parliament from those they called “provocateurs” and even, bizarrely, “anarcho-fascists”. They might as well have accused demonstrators of being meat-eating vegetarians!
Let Capitalism FALL. Lets make something Better!
This was the biggest general strike and demonstrations yet against the Greek austerity measures, which continue to drive many into desperate poverty, destitution and even death.
An estimated 500,000 took to the streets of Athens – which is the equivalent of 2.5 million in London. It was the largest show of Greek working class power since the fall of the military junta in 1974.
But so long as the profit system remains in place, true power remains in the hands of the ultra-wealthy international financiers. As the debt bubble reaches the point of bursting, there are divisions within this group. Despite the divisions, the combined will of the international financiers in represented by the so-called ‘troika’ – unelected European Commission bureaucrats, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. The politicians who meet in the Greek parliament are therefore the puppets of the troika, though they still try to maintain a facade of democracy by arguing a bit before they pass each round of austerity cuts.
Protecting the parliamentarians from the people they pretend to represent were fifteen thousand riot cops. But remarkably, supporters of the misnamed Communist Party of Greece formed their own battalion, protecting the police and the parliament from those they called “provocateurs” and even, bizarrely, “anarcho-fascists”. They might as well have accused
demonstrators of being meat-eating vegetarians!….
”When there’s a Revolution..The PARTY puts it down”
And yet – from the perspective of the trade union bureaucrats who form the base of that party – it makes a lot of sense. Though their website talks of
the PASOK government enforcing the will of the “plutocracy” by “fire and sword”, their worst fear is a working class movement that they cannot control, which organises on a rank and file basis, and will not accept sell-out after sell-out…..
The whole of Greek society is now in turmoil. Aside from the events of the last two days, almost every day sees fresh strikes and occupations. In response, the PASOK government is mobilising the military to crush resistance by refuse workers. But perhaps in doing so, it is preparing its own demise, one way or another.
Most economists now talk of a Greek default – or at least a huge debt ‘haircut’ – being inevitable. When this happens, the shockwaves will be felt around the world. Sooner or later, the Greek situation is coming to a town near you, and when it does, the international working class will need to organise itself at a grassroots level, and face down the threat of brutal dictatorship….
Read more HERE…(with thanks)
http://infantile-disorder.blogspot.com/2011/10/decoding-battle-of-syntagma-square-as.html
The Free 