Greek Parliament ratifies barbaric law on Social Security - KKE: The governmental policy destroys people's lives for the sake of monopolies

KKE MP Thanasis Pafilis.

In Defense of Communism © Report.

With the votes of governmental majority (SYRIZA-ANEL) the Greek Parliament approved on early Monday the monstrous law on social security and tax system. The legislation- combined of 166 articles- passed with the 153 votes of SYRIZA and ANEL (Independent Greeks), while 143 MPs voted against. A total of 296 legislators participated in the roll call vote held Sunday night; four were absent.

The "law-guillotine" sparked fierce reactions from labor and trade unions. The All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) organised a massive rally in Syntagma Square where thousands of working people expressed their condemnation for the governmental policy. 

In their speeches, the KKE MPs denounced the barbaric measures of Tsipras' government. Refering to the SYRIZA-ANEL government, the General Secretary of KKE Dimitris Koutsoumbas said among other things:

"Once more you prove that you are very good students of the previous governments, "capable" successors of the most reactive (situation) this country has lived through the neoliberal management of New Democracy, as well as the most rotten and corrupt PASOK's Social Democracy offered". 

[...]

Aleka Papariga fires at SYRIZA government: "You are the pillars of the rotten capitalist system"

Speaking at the Greek Parliament on Saturday, Communist Party's former General Secretary and current MP, Aleka Papariga unleashed an attack against the SYRIZA-ANEL government. "SYRIZA is the most recessive, conciliatory and degenerated thing appeared in the course of class-struggle" said Papariga in her speech during the discussion for the anti-people law on Social Security.

The former GS of KKE attacked Tsipras' government by saying: "you are the pillars of the rotten capitalist system". She stressed out that SYRIZA deceived the people with big lies, including false arguments such as that "the EU can become a union for the working people" or that, within the frame of capitalism, "another world is possible".

Aleka Papariga mentioned that SYRIZA has revealed it's true face and underlined that the government can only convince the people by using lies and deception.

Margot Honecker (1927-2016)

"I not only consider myself one — I am a communist. Loyalty is probably not the appropriate term.  Marxism-Leninism is an ideology, a method of investigation to understand the world, the laws according to which it moves, so you can orient yourself in the world. Some believe in a divine will, others in a predetermined fate. We communists are materialists. We follow a scientific outlook, which assumes that the society and everything that arises in it are the work of human beings. Exploitation and oppression are neither divinely ordained, nor are these evils acceptable. We have to fight for a humane, fair, peaceful world, and today that is more urgent than ever. We must refuse to allow that people perish from war, hunger and disease, and that natural resources and the livelihood of the people be depleted or destroyed by ruthless capitalist exploitation, solely for profit. If humanity is to have a future, the power of the banks and corporations must be broken. They will not give up their power voluntarily".

- Interview to the Athenian and Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA), 5 November 2015.

Margot Honecker,
German Democratic Republic (GDR) politician, wife of Erich Honecker, died on Friday 6 May 2016 at 89.

Capitalists' terrorism against strikers in Greece- Reaction by Labor Unions

In Defense of Communism © Report.

Info from 902.gr.

On the occasion of the 48-hour General Strike against the anti-people law of the SYRIZA-ANEL government, major employers in Greece have tried to terrorize workers by using any possible means. In a statement issued on Friday (first day of the strike), PAME condemns the "employers terrorism and the repression orgy against the nationwide strike". In Athens, dozens of striking builders were persecuted and brought to the police, while Greek shipowners tried to terrorize dockworkers in Piraeus and the port of Volos. 

PAME points out: "We demand from the government to release now all the trade unionists and to stop the environment of terror. Terrorism will not pass. Everyone in the Strike. Everyone in the struggle. Everyone in the demonstrations".

"Take back the law-guillotine": Thousands participated in Greece's General Strike mobilizations (Photos+Video)

Thousands of workers, self-employed professionals, unemployed people, students, pensioners participated in the strike demonstrations organised by PAME (All-Workers Militant Front) across Greece. With a massive rally in central Athens, people of every age expressed their indignation for the government's plan to completely destroy social security. Starting at Omonia Square, the militant demonstration marched towards the Parliament at Syntagma Square.

PAME organises another two nationwide strike demonstrations on Saturday (7/5) evening and on Sunday (8/5) morning. Bellow you can see video and photos from today's rally in Athens (source: KKE).

Everyone in the streets! 48-hour massive strike in Greece in response to government's barbaric law on Social Security

       

Spot by PAME.

The All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) calls the working people, the youth, the unemployed ones, the self-employed professionals to the 48-hour strike, on 6 and 7 of May, against the new governmental law on social security and taxation.

PAME organises rallies in all over the country on Friday 6th May. Most significantly:

In Athens, Omonia Square at 11.00 am.

In Thessaloniki, Venizelos' statue at 11.00 am.

"The time for the fight has come. Everyone in the streets! Everyone in the strike demonstrations".

KKE: "The SYRIZA-ANEL government surpassed the limits of political degradation; They fear people's anger and indignation"

In a statement regarding the Greek government's decision to submit the anti-people law proposal on social security to the Parliament during the upcoming weekend, the General Secretary of KKE D.Koutsoumbas said the following:

"The SYRIZA-ANEL government fears people's anger and indignation. They surpass every limit of political degradation. They suddenly arranged the voting of the anti-people package laws on Social Security, taxation and the additional measures they have agreed with the Quartet, during the weekend. 

That consists an act of overt authoritarianism, of enmity against the working-peoples movement and of all-around support to large employers. This (act) is proof that every such government, no matter how it appears, implements anti-people policies and resorts to actions that aim to manipulate the movement and our people. 

It also proves that the recovery, the debt's adjustment, the new 'success story', in Tsipras' way this time, and also every other thing the government is promising in order to 'sweeten the pill' of anti-people agreements with the institutions-ravens, have as a prerequisite only new barbaric measures for the people, without expiring date. 

Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV): Against fascism, class-appeasement and corruption! The option is Socialism!

In a published statement the Communist Party of Venezuela (Partido Comunista de Venezuela) expresses its greetings to the workers of Venezuela and the world on the occassion of the International Workers Day. 

Among other things, PCV's statement points out: "As it happens historically, the working class and peoples of the world bear on their shoulders the burden of the crisis of the capitalist system in its imperialist phase, while the governments of the hegemonic powers, mainly the United States and the European Union, continue their offensive against the people and national liberation processes. Monopoly capital and the governments and institutions seek to serve out of the crisis of the system with more violence and greater social injustice. The class contradictions have been sharpened in all over the  world, including particularly in Latin America".

The PCV accusses US Imperialism- as well as their collaborators in Latin American countries- for trying to restore the power of the monopolies, by supporting the implementation of neoliberal policies. For these plans, reformist petty-bourgeois parties have been a useful tool.

Statement of Solidarity to the upcoming 48hour General Strike in Greece

Source: PAME.

Solidarity With the Working Class of Greece.

Solidarity with the 48hour General Strike Against the new Anti-Workers Measures.

Promoted by Business Groups, European Union, IMF and the Greek Government.

The Trade Union organizations who sign this Resolution, we express our solidarity to the working class of Greece and the 48hour General Strike that is being prepared, after the initiative of PAME, against the new Anti-Workers Measures that are being promoted by the Business Groups, European Union, IMF and the Greek Government.

Ulysses' Gaze (1995)

    

A memorable scene from Theo Angelopoulos' acclaimed film Ulysses' Gaze (1995), starring Harvey Keitel, Erland Josephson and Maia Morgenstern. In memory of the extraordinary actor Thanasis Veggos (1927-2011) who plays the taxi driver in the above scene.  

Shameful distortion of Nazim Hikmet's lyrics from car manufacturer company - Response from Turkey's Komünist Parti (KP)

Communist Party, Turkey (KP) came out strongly against an OPEL company ad using and distorting Nazım Hikmet's lyrics.

Source: International Communist Press, 3rd May 2016.

The CC of the Communist Party, Turkey (KP) released a statement protesting the OPEL company and the YKY publications for their abusement of communist poet Nazım Hikmet's legacy.

"...Our communist poet's legacy cannot be accounted in banks or kept in safe boxes. That legacy can only be saved forever with the reason and the labour of the communists..." wrote the statement.

An advertisement of OPEL distorting Nazım's lyrics was published on one of the best selling newspaper Hürriyet of Turkey today. Immediately after that, KP  claimed the legacy of the internationally recognised communist poet. Similarly, in the 2002 after the YKY publication company had declared material rights over Nazım Hikmet's works, the communists had objected strongly and had published Nazım's works as the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP).

Workers' Day celebrated in Cuba: Thousands of people marched in Havana (VIDEO)

    Source: Granma.

In the presence of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and president of the Councils of State and Ministers, May Day celebrations began in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución José Martí.

Also participating in the march were members of the Party Political Bureau, Party Central Committee and Secretariat, as well as the Councils of State and Ministers, participants in the attacks on the Moncada Garrison; Granma expeditionaries; decorated Heroes and Heroines of the Republic of Cuba; outstanding workers; and family members of the victims of the Barbados attack, among other guests.

The 1936 “Bloody May” in Greece

Left: Mother mourns her murdered son; Right: Workers rally in Thessaloniki.

The 1936 “Bloody May” in Greece.

By Nikos Mottas.

May 1936: A milestone in the history of the Greek working movement. The country was in the midst of unprecedented moments of militant upheaval. Large-scale strikes, began on April, gradually took the characteristics of peoples' revolt which had to face the barbarity of the fascist Metaxas government.

The center of the demonstrations was Thessaloniki where, since March, strikes in various sectors had been erupted due to the miserable conditions of labor. On April 29, the tobacco workers declared an indefinite strike demanding, among other things, better wages. Their mobilizations created a wave of solidarity and revolt across Greece. Until the Workers' Day of 1936, the strikes had been spread in other cities, from Serres to Volos and from Karditsa to Athens. By May 7^th, the strike had already spread in all over the country, with the participation of thousands of workers. The government of Premier Metaxas- a government of violence and terrorism- had one major aim: the dissolution of the strikes with any means.

24 years since the Los Angeles Riots (Video & Photos)

On the afternoon of April 29, 1992, a jury in Ventura County acquitted four LAPD officers of beating Rodney G. King. The incident, caught on amateur videotape, had sparked national debate about police brutality and racial injustice. The verdict stunned Los Angeles, where angry crowds gathered on street corners across the city. The flash point was a single intersection in South L.A., but it was a scene eerily repeated in many parts of the city in the hours that followed.

Cuba: 495,000 educators will lead May Day marches around the country

Source: Granma.

This year, marking the 55th anniversary of the Revolution’s Literacy Campaign and the declaration of the country as free of illiteracy, May Day marches across the country will be led by educators.

“This constitutes recognition by the trade union movement of the sector closest to this great feat,” said Ismael Drullet Pérez, secretary general of the National Union of Educational, Scientific and Sports Workers (SNTECD), speaking with Granma.

He continued, “The Literacy Campaign came from the people, with the participation of homemakers, workers… so it is not only the legacy of the education sector. Cuba became a great school and all its children became teachers.”

Long Live Workers’ May Day! / Да здравствует Рабочий Первомай! / ¡ Viva el Día de los Trabajadores!

Joint Statement of Communist and Workers Parties

(English/Русский/Español), Source: Solidnet.

We, the communist and workers parties that sign this joint statement on the eve of Workers’ May Day 2016 want to stress our solidarity to all workers who are struggling against capitalist barbarity through strikes, demonstrations and other forms of resistance. It is obvious that under the conditions of deepening capitalist crisis the political and organizational strength of international proletariat will be one of the key factors in reshaping the world in the near future. With full belief in the success of the struggle of the working class, as communist and workers parties, we salute Workers’ May Day.

Reaganomics is Literally Making Americans Kill Themselves

Reaganomics is Literally Making Americans Kill Themselves.

Source: Thom Hartmann Program Sputnik News.

According to a new study from the National Center for Health Statistics, the suicide rate in the United States has risen dramatically over the past decade-and-a-half.

Adjusting for age, it jumped 24 percent between 1999 and 2014, with the biggest increases coming after 2006. Thirteen out of every 100,000 people now kill themselves, making suicide one of the top 10 leading causes of death in the entire country. This is a serious public health crisis that needs to be fixed, and while we can’t bring back from the dead the people we’ve already lost, there is something we can do as a country to make sure even more people don’t take their own lives. And that something is to stop voting Republican because Republican policies are driving people to kill themselves.

Seriously, I’m not kidding. This isn’t some crazy conspiracy. It’s a well-documented sociological fact. Numerous studies have found a strong connection between right-wing economic policies and suicide. Recent research from sociologists David Stuckler and Sanjay Basu, for example, found that suicide rates in both the U.S. and U.K. increase when working class wages and wealth decline. Things were particularly bad during the recession period here in the U.S. when, according to the study’s authors, there were 4,750 “excess” suicides.

A Warmonger: Bernie Sanders approves US 'Kill List', backs troops in Syria

In a previous article we had referred to Bernie Sander's pro-war stance- as a senator- in the cases of Yugoslavia (1999), Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003). Now, we read that the Democratic Presidential nominee defends Barack Obama's plans for the deployment of more troops in Syria. What does Sanders cover behind his supposedly radical-"leftist" rhetoric?

The U.S. senator said he thinks President Obama's extrajudicial drone assassination program is constitutional and legal.

O Bella Ciao!

     

"Bella Ciao" - Orchestra Version.

Remembering Odessa: Memorial to be held on May 2 in honour of murdered anti-fascists

Two years ago, on May 2, 2014, at least 48 anti-fascists and trade unionists were murdered when neo-Nazi thugs attacked a protest encampment and set fire to the House of Trade Unions in Odessa, Ukraine. 

International activists back May 2 memorial in Odessa.

By Greg Butterfield, Workers World.

Republished from Red Star Over Donbass.

On May 2, 2014, at least 48 anti-fascists and trade unionists were killed when neo-Nazis attacked a protest encampment in Odessa, Ukraine, and set fire to the nearby House of Trade Unions. 

Hundreds of survivors were injured. Many of the victims were forced to flee the country. Others were arrested and put on trial, while the perpetrators walked free.

Militant demonstrations of PAME against government's anti-people pension reforms in Greece

Information from 902.gr

With mass militant rallies in Athens, Thessaloniki and other major cities, workers, labour unions, students, pensioners responded to the government's new law proposal on social security. The demonstrations were organised by PAME (All-Workers Militant Front) being a preparatory step towards the 48-hour general strike which will take place on the day of the law's submission in the Parliament. In Athens thousands of working people demonstrated in Syntagma Square, in front of the Hellenic Parliament having as a major slogan "Take back the law-guillotine".

Greece: The Marathon Peace Rally will take place on May 15th

Photo: Last year's Peace Rally.

The Greek Committee for International Détente and Peace (EEDYE) announced that the 36th Marathon Peace Rally will take place on Sunday May 15th. EEDYE calls for mass participation in the Peace Marathon, pointing out the following: 

"The participation in the Marathon Peace Rally consists a condemnation step against the antipeople policy and the Greek interference in the imperialist plans and wars which create mortal dangers for our people and the people of the broader region.

We march and fight for:

NATO out of the Aegean Sea - Solidarity to the refugees

No participation in the imperialist wars".

Polish government's fascist practices against communists / Appeal of KPP for International Solidarity

Communist Party of Poland (KPP) - Appeal for International Solidarity.

Four activists of the CPP were condemned on 31st of March 2016 by the Regional Court in Dąbrowa Górnicza for propagating communist ideology in the „Brzask” newspaper and on the party's website. They have been sentenced to 9 months of limited freedom with compulsory gratuitous social work and fines. 

This provocative verdict was taken during the summary procedure without presence of all the sides, that is usually used in offences, when guilt of the accused is certain. The court did not even undertake standard judgement procedure and based its verdict only on a charge. The accused even had no possibility to defend themselves. The condemned had already made objections to a judgement demanding normal court proceedings.

Solidarność: The CIA-backed 'Trojan Horse' of Poland's Counterrevolution

The Polish government's persistent anti-communist hysteria and the decision to demolish Soviet monuments throughout the country brought to our mind the relatively recent history of Poland's Counterrevolution. And when we talk about Counterrevolution in Eastern Europe and especially in Poland we can't ignore two major names: Solidarność (Solidarity) and Lech Walesa. 

The course of events since 1980 prove that Solidarność was the 'Trojan Horse' of Counterrevolution in Poland. Solidarność's leadership- a bunch of anticommunist charlatans like Walesa- deceived the polish working class. Solidarity had succesfully presented itself as a "pro-working class" union but its actual positions were pro-capitalist. 

Solidarność was against central planning. The Trade Union's programme was stating among other things: