Current developments turn around the strike or rather the 4 hours stoppage in the public sector announced for tomorrow Thursday December 18 by the ADEDY, the National Federation of Public Employees( which is led by PASOK trade unionists but where are present other forces too, including the revolutionary Left and EEK). The PASOK led General Confederation of Labor-GSEE (covering the private sector) refused to join in the action and decided to organize only a formal meeting in front of the parliament a day after, on Friday December 19 to protest for the new government budget. To add to the confusion, the Stalinist led PAME, the trade union organization of KKE, organized its own separate (as usual) rally and a march one day before, today December 17. The government and the Police praised the orderly way that the PAME/KKE march took place “without any damage to property or to the public order”…
Yesterday, during the meeting of the GSEE leadership at their headquarters, a delegation of youth asks them to join the strike of December the 18th and to make it a General Strike. The GSEE bureaucrats refused. So today, early morning, angry workers occupied the headquarters of GSEE and transformed them into a center of action! Banners are at all sides of the neo-classical building demanding a General Strike , solidarity to the youth revolt and the release of all those arrested. All the forces of order, of course, denounced the occupation as the “act of anarchists”. There are anarchists in the GSEE occupation as everywhere else but also there are class struggle trade unions as well as militants and trade unionists of EEK and many independent fighters.
Another surprise early morning today was the occupation for 3 hours of Acropolis by students and the youth organization of SYRIZA who raised a huge banner with the word Resistance in many languages and calling for the all European Action in defense of the democratic rights on December 18.
At noon the student movement encircled the Central Tribunals of the Greek capital demanding the release of all arrested and transferred for trial. Clashes of the riot police followed- but this became an every day routine now.
In Patras the hateful lawyer of the assassin, Mr. Kouyias wanted to give a press conference as he bought the 50 per cent of the local football team Panachaiki but he was met by thousands of fans of this team throwing against him and against its protectors, the riot police, stones and Molotov cocktails.
In general, in all football matches, fans of all the teams raise banners honoring Alexis and condemning the Police assassins. Many times the fans succeeded to send to the hospital some units of riot police trying to intervene to stop them.
Tomorrow there will be in Athens a big united march of students, schoolchildren, trade unionists, teachers, health workers, etc. Similar marches will take place in other cities all over Greece, in Thessalonica, Patras, Ioannina, Volos, Larissa etc.
Venceremos!
17 December 2008
___Savas Michael
