Escalation of the small and medium peasants' struggle in Greece during the second week of their mobilizations

The peasants’ mobilizations in Greece have entered their second week. The small and medium sized peasants who join All Peasants Militant Rally [PASY] are determined to escalate their struggle in this week strengthening the blockade in the node of Nikaia as well as 24 more blockades across the national roads of the country. With new blockades and with their mass struggle they increase their pressure on the social democrat PASOK government.

At the same time the poor and medium sized peasants gave a clear cut answer to the governments’ call for a prearranged “dialogue” with the participation of the industrialists’ and ship-owners’ unions and the yellow representatives of the peasants’ movement. On Monday the peasants of the blockade of Nikaia organised a protest in Athens, outside the building where the fixed dialogue is taking place and declared that they are not willing to bargain away their rights.

PASY and the blockade of Nikaia called for joint militant action of all blockades. This call had a particularly positive impact among the peasants. This action should be based on the rejection of the fixed social partnership talks, on the demand to abolish the separation of peasants to peasants of main and secondary occupation. At the same time, peasants put forward a platform of demands that strike a tough blow at the EU Common Agricultural Policy(CAP) e.g. guaranteed prices for every product, protection of domestic production, abolition of deductions and taxes, freezing of debts etc.

From the very first moment KKE has been on the side of the militant small and medium sized peasants stating its agreement with their just demands and with the form of struggle they themselves have decided. Against the blockades are the liberal ND and the nationalist LAOS, while the opportunists of SYN/SYRIZA have hypocritically expressed their support to the struggle of the medium and small sized peasantry while at the same time they support the CAP of the EU that wipes them out.

Thessaloniki, Head Prosecutor intervened requesting the local police to open a file against the peasants for obstruction of transport. Corresponding warnings were expressed by EU commissioners who intend to take measures shortly. However the protesting poor medium sized peasants do not bend; on the contrary, they escalate their mobilisations. Against the accusation of the bourgeois mass media that the “peasants block the roads creating great problems to the other ‘social strata’” Aleka Papariga answered in the Parliament: “It’s better that the roads are closed rather than homes!”. Visiting these days most of the blockades throughout Greece, the GS of the CC of KKE has underlined that: “No damage is caused to the people. Peasants’ mobilisations are for their benefit, even more so if they are effective. The struggle needs people’s solidarity otherwise it’s weak. People don’t suffer when they take a by-pass. They suffer when they are unemployed; they suffer because of the high prices at the supermarkets.”