Just a few hours before the beginning of the new imperialist attack against Syria by the USA, France and Britain, the Greek government announced that it will not participate in the intervention.
On Saturday, 14th of April, the front page of the daily newspaper "Avgi"- which is politically affiliated with SYRIZA- was writing: "Alexis Tsipras said to Macron about Syria: We do not participate in a possible intervention". The report of the newspaper was writing among other things: "In a phone call with the President of France, the Prime Minister condemned the use of chemical weapons and demanded decisive initiatives by the EU. He pointed out that efforts must be made for a peaceful solutiuon, based on the swedish proposal at the UN and he emphatically ruled out the participation of Greek Armed Forces in a possible military mission".
Once again, the coalition government of SYRIZA-ANEL is blatantly lying to the people. Mr. Tsipras and his government are deceiving the Greek people about the country's involvement in the imperialist crime against Syria. Let's see the facts about how the Greek government provided all the needed facilitations to the US and NATO, for the preparation and implementation of the attack against Syria.
According to a report published on the KKE daily "Rizospastis" (15/4), Crete and more specifically the U.S. naval base of Souda had a significant supporting role in the mobilization of the US-NATO forces. On Thursday (12/4) U.S. Intelligence, Reconnaissance and Surveillance manned aircrafts (an MC-12S EMARSS and MC-12W Liberty) landed at "Nikos Kazantzakis" airport of Heraklion. In the previous days, a similar spy aircraft of the U.S. air force had landed at Souda, after patrolling in eastern Mediterranean.
The report of "Rizospastis" writes that another U.S. spy aircraft (RC-135V) had taken off from Souda on Sunday (1/4) and flied over the coastline of eastern Mediterranean in order to collect information and spy on possible targets. Apart from Souda, mobilization of military aircrafts had been observed at the air base of Andravida in southern Greece.
It must be noted that, just a few weeks ago, part of the fleet accompanying the aircraft carrier USS "Iwo Jima" in eastern Mediterranean was the Hellenic Navy submarine "Papanikolis". During USS Iwo Jima's presense in the region, the Souda base had been used as a source of supply and support, as well as a stop-over for the USNS Patuxent (undeway replenishment oiler).
It is no coincidence that, just hours before the imperialist attack on Syria (April 12th), the so-called Greece-U.S "High Level Consultative Committee" had convened at the Ministry of Defense in Athens. Among the participants from the side of the U.S. government, apart from the U.S. ambassador in Athens Geoffrey Pyatt, were the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy Thomas W. Goffus and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Jonathan Cohen. In a Press Release after the Committee's meeting, the U.S. Embassy wrote: "We expressed our deep appreciation for Greece’s commitment to our bilateral relationship through hosting Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, a platform critical to achieving our joint defense and security goals in the region".
It is no coincidence that, just hours before the imperialist attack on Syria (April 12th), the so-called Greece-U.S "High Level Consultative Committee" had convened at the Ministry of Defense in Athens. Among the participants from the side of the U.S. government, apart from the U.S. ambassador in Athens Geoffrey Pyatt, were the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy Thomas W. Goffus and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Jonathan Cohen. In a Press Release after the Committee's meeting, the U.S. Embassy wrote: "We expressed our deep appreciation for Greece’s commitment to our bilateral relationship through hosting Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, a platform critical to achieving our joint defense and security goals in the region".
The SYRIZA-ANEL government can no longer deceive the Greek people about its supposed "neutrality" and "non-participation" in the imperialist plans. The administration of Prime Minister Tsipras and Defense Minister Kammenos bear huge responsibility for involving Greece in the imperialist bloodshed in Syria. Their loyalty to NATO, the US and the EU signifies grave dangers for the people of the country and the broader region.
NO TO THE IMPERIALIST WAR AGAINST SYRIA.
NO PARTICIPATION OF GREECE IN THE IMPERIALIST PLANS.
IMMEDIATE DISENGAGEMENT OF GREECE FROM NATO-EU.
CLOSE DOWN ALL FOREIGN MILITARY BASES AND REPATRIATION OF THE GREEK MILITARY PERSONELL FROM MISSIONS ABROAD.
Nikos Mottas / In Defense of Communism ©