Lessons from the mass class strike struggle

The protection of the struggle by PAME blocked the organized plan of provocation

The KKE openly denounced to the Greek people the plan of provocation aimed at checking the struggle of the people.

As was written on the front-page of “Rizospastis”, the organ of the CC of the KKE on 1^st July: “The government utilised the movement of the “indignant citizens” in Syntagma, in which ordinary people participated, presenting it in opposition to the strikes which they characterised as violent, while they labelled “the indignant citizens” as a form of peaceful struggle. The plan was for the creation of a setting -we had received this information before the 48 hr strike- where hooded individuals, groups of organized football fans, hired thugs from nightclubs, and other mechanisms would come into conflict with PAME, allegedly for ideological reasons. In this way the police would have the opportunity to butcher the people due to this conflict, with repression a choice “forced upon them”. They wanted to identify PAME with this violence, to show that the ordinary indignant people do not want the class-oriented movement, the parties and especially the KKE. On 8/9/2002 we published in the Sunday edition of “Rizospastis” an article entitled “European best practice for the handling of informers”, which exposed the plans of Europol for their creation with the order to infiltrate into demonstrations . This is true for the Greek police as well.

Revealing video-documents

It should be noted that the parliamentary group of the KKE tabled a question to the government which stated the following: “A video was shown by much of the media, showing individuals armed with iron bars holding discussions with riot police and later still armed with iron bars they entering the courtyard of the parliament accompanied by the riot police. This revealing event is indicative of the relations between the mechanisms which operate in the security services and elements which take part in the well-known episodes incidents.” Based on the above, the MPs of the KKE asked the relevant minister if the government is aware of this specific incident and if it will inform the Parliament and the people accordingly concerning the aforementioned events and what measures it would will take to end the activity of the repressive mechanisms against the organized people's movement.

Press conference of the GS of the CC of the KKE

On 30^th June Aleka Papariga, GS of the CC of the KKE held a press conference where she noted the following amongst other things:

“We denounce the organized, well thought out -both politically and operationally- plan of the government for these two days in particular. The dress rehearsal took place in the period of the memorandum, specifically for the two days of this 48-hour general strike.

What was the goal of this plan? On the one hand, the political goal is to frighten the people in the face of the imminent or not imminent 5^th instalment, and in this way to inculcate fear into the people so that they give up on every demand, and that they must not resist, otherwise Greece will be lost. On the other hand, the operational part of this political plan was to create in these two days conditions for the working class-popular movement to be smashed and in particular to attack the strike as a form of struggle.

We have to say that there exists evidence and video, with the notorious hooded individuals and other mechanisms, thugs, trade unionists of the far-right, which seem to be organized by and are inside the mechanisms of the police. Of course, the bourgeois state possesses these things and is well aware of the existence of mechanisms within services as well of as private ones. There are not only state and para-state mechanisms in existence. And it does not want to reveal these other mechanisms; if you like, these mechanisms are convenient for it.

The government did the following: It used the polyphonic and at the same time vague movement of the indignant citizens in Syntagma square -of course, it is an activity which drew ordinary people into participating in it, people who really are indignant, who cannot endure any more- and it utilised this in opposition to the strike mobilizations -we heard ad nauseam during this period that “Syntagma” represents a peaceful form of struggle, while all the other forms of struggle are considered to be violent.

This specific plan, about which we had information before the two days of the strike, was the following: With the knowledge that on the day of a general strike the marches all end in Syntagma, it sought to create a scenario where the “indignant citizens” - in quotation marks- would come into conflict with PAME. The hooded individuals and the other mechanisms which are used, groups of football fans, hired thugs from nightclubs and various others, to come into conflict with PAME, allegedly for ideological reasons, and in this way to give the opportunity for the police to enter Syntagma square in order to butcher the people there, in the name of preventing the fighting between the various rival sections, so that the repression could be presented as something that was not in the police's intentions, but was a choice that was forced upon them.

They wanted to identify PAME with the violence in this way and to show, in addition, that the ordinary indignant citizens do not want the class-oriented movement, the parties and especially the KKE. To present, in other words, a confrontation between the ordinary indignant citizen and PAME, or to give the opportunity even to certain leftwing intellectuals and “salon philosophers”, to write that if PAME avoids bloodshed, then it belongs to the system. We knew about this plan and we informed our forces which are inside PAME. And we had to deal with it. Basically, we had to choose between claiming the right for us all to be in Syntagma or to choose the plan of the government.

The success of the strike does not begin at the time of the strike mobilization, but it begins at midnight with the pickets outside the workplaces and ports. The mass participation and large size of the demonstrations of PAME is the best way for the working class, I am speaking generally, to demonstrate that it has strength and weapons and it must fight the system with these things with the strike, organization, politicisation and not fall into the trap of using the weapons which are convenient for the opponent.

We said it yesterday in Parliament, and we reiterate it today. We know very well how to confront the provocateurs and the mechanisms of the police. We are not at all afraid. But what interests us is that we do not feed these plans. And naturally, we will continue to deal with this matter. Above all the provocation must be exposed. From here on the people themselves must decide whom they will demonstrate with and how, and there cannot be any stage-managed “doormen”.

We provide you with a written document as proof of the organized, planned and studied provocation. With this document we would like to answer to the parties which, when we exposed the provocations in 2008, said in Parliament that have the illness of seeing conspiracies everywhere and that we don't recognise the popular initiative, and even the revolutionary role of the hood.

On the 8/9/2002 the Sunday edition of Rizospastis revealed a classified document of EUROPOL entitled “European best practice and the handling of informers.” which as was well described in “Rizospastis” is a handbook for the provocateur. In this document it is apparent that the creation of informers and provocateurs is “legitimised”. In Greece informers and provocateurs are communicating vessels even with organized crime. And indeed, the document states characteristically “an informer is an individual which constitutes an object to be handled confidentially and which provides information and/or provides assistance to the relevant authorities.”

I suppose, if it was only this, they could try to excuse themselves that they are allegedly only interested in organized crime. However, they say that an informer is allowed to participate in a crime, which others already intend to commit. To participate! The information is not used to prevent the crime, because, if you like, informers could help the prevention of the crime. And indeed, they should be dealt with accordingly if they are arrested. And there are policemen with hoods and with orders to infiltrate. Now, what relation does organized crime have with the demonstrations? It seems to have as far as the government is concerned.

So, when they have voted through such laws and directions, when solid evidence exists and when we have experience, do we not have the right to denounce the government for being responsible for this organized plan? Now, if some young innocent and inexperienced kids get carried away, well this is the role of the provocateur: to entangle innocent people in the provocation, especially young people.

The people must not submit to this terrorism.

And from this standpoint, we call on the workers to continue with all the forms of struggle, as they themselves understand, and above all they must not submit to the terrorism concerning bankruptcy, which in any case has already occurred. They must not accept the slanders against the class-oriented labour movement.

In any case, we have already denounced these mechanisms very specifically both in 2008 as well as on that day in May 2010 when three innocent MARFIN employees were murdered. We had denounced the use of groups of football fans, the use of far-right elements which had as their goal to prevent the development of the movement. The KKE and those trade union forces and unions have exposed with great emphasis way all these years what the EU, Maastricht, the crisis mean etc.

It is obvious that there will be new laws and new measures. The crisis will deepen and what we call bankruptcy will be paid for 100% by the people, for which of course it has no responsibility. We consider that the people must soon seek radical change, the abolition of the power of the monopolies. To set as a goal, not as the “second coming”, as quickly as possible the proposal which the KKE puts forward and which has general importance, and does not only concern the communists, the struggle for working class and people's power. These are all important. But the daily struggle, the attempt to extract a gain and to stop this descent will not be achieved by the movement without this strategy. It will suffer a major defeat and will go into a serious retreat which will last for many years.

Denouncing the government, I have to say that we harbour no hopes at all that the truth will come out from the disciplinary committees etc. Because then the only thing the government could do is resign. And it will not do this. On the contrary, instead of talking about the filth that exists inside the bourgeois state, it is interested in carrying out rotten referenda to mock the people concerning the law for the liability of ministers, and concerning the reduction of the members of the parliament. Such things, which even if they were carried out in their entirety, would be nothing more than a screen to hide the stench that will increase even more in the years to come.”

Published in Rizospastis, organ of the CC of KKE, on 1^st July 2011