Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Greece goes on strike! Day 1.


The 48 hour general strike began on Tuesday 28/6, against the new raft of anti-people measures which are being discussed and are expected to be approved on Wednesday 29/6 by the parliamentary majority which the ruling social-democratic party PASOK possesses.

The Parliamentary group of the KKE (Communist Party of Greece) demanded the the vote on the legislation be carried out by a name roll call, while the lead speaker of the Party on the matter, N. Karathanasopoulos, underlined that the measures being pushed forward by the government have as their real goal the reinforcement of the competitiveness and profitability of capital through attacks on the working class and its rights. The parliamentary group of the KKE withdrew from the discussion and will return for the vote.

At the same time, the Prime Minister, G. Papandreou speaking in Parliament, characterised a vote in favour of the new anti-people raft of measures as a “patriotic duty”.

Commenting on the speech of the Prime Minister in Parliament, the press office of the CC of the KKE noted: “ The Prime Minister proposed that in order to solve the debt, deficit and crisis investors must be encouraged to Greece, the other parties agree with this and this why they agree with and support the anti-people measures, which lay waste to the labour rights , salaries and gains of the people. But the workers, the youth must not accept for any reason these painful sacrifices that are being imposed on them for a development which will provide them with salaries and rights at Chinese levels.”

At the same time the Vice-president of the government Th. Pangalos in an interview with a foreign newspaper posed the following dilemma with the aim of blackmailing the Greek people “ a new raft of anti-people measures or tanks”. In its answer the press office of the CC of the KKE underlined that : “ The people itself, learning from its history, must answer that a subjugated people will be threatened by bankruptcy and the other veils of capitalist barbarity. Only if it is determined and organized to fight for its rights and for its power can it repel these measures. It must take into its hands the banks and monopoly businesses so that they serve its interests and do not rob it.”

Preparation of the strike
The forces of the All-workers Militant Front (PAME) waged the struggle to organise the strike in this political atmosphere.

On Monday morning they carried out a symbolic occupation of the Acropolis. This initiative which was saluted by the workers, provoked the furious reaction of the right -wing ND, the nationalist-racist LAOS and the bourgeois electronic mass media, which accused PAME of “desecrating the sacred monuments”.

In its answer the press office of the CC of the KKE stated that: “ ND wants to hide that it essentially agrees with memoranda and the medium-term programme , but their hatred of the struggles of the class-oriented labour movement against them does not allow it to do this successfully. PASOK, ND , LAOS and the others must learn that the monuments are not desecrated by the mobilizations of the people but by their commercialisation and that the country is not defamed by its people's struggles but by its people's destitution.”

On Mon afternoon 27/6, the forces of PAME carried out placard protests and rallies in dozens of Greek cities and popular neighbourhoods in order to propagandize the 48 hr strike.

 
28th June- 1st day of the strike
The daybreak of the 28th June found the class oriented forces of PAME struggling decisively to defend of the strike by picketing factories, stores, construction sites, hotels and offices where they have been in the previous period, while they had mounted pickets on the ramps of the ships from midnight onwards.

The defense of the strike of the seamen has been a particularly tough battle since the trade union federation of seamen played a strikebreaking role. The class-oriented trade unions PEMEN and STEFENSON that represent the engineers and the crew of the ship engines, who belong to PAME, decided to participate in the 48-hour strike and the unions of the chefs and ship's electricians joined them. The strike of these unions and the strong picket lines of PAME paralysed Piraeus, the biggest port in the country, which was “flooded” by the forces of the unions of PAME.

Early in the morning the forces of PAME in Thessaloniki, the second largest city of the country, blocked the 7 entrances to the industrial area of the city and paralysed industrial production.

The protesters met at 10:00 in the squares in order to take part in the strike demonstrations. In Athens they gathered in various meeting points. They marched through different central streets of the city and met outside the parliament, in Syntagma Square, blocking all the main streets around the Square.

“The controlled bankruptcy has been already decided on. What they want from the people is to bow their heads for the next fifty years so as to pass the worst measures. The struggle will be determined in the office, in the factory, in the workplace generally, in the fields and the small businesses, in the neighbourhoods. It is bound to lead to a victory.” stated Aleka Papariga, General Secretary of the CC of KKE at the strike demonstration of PAME.

Some of the slogans that were prevalent in the demonstrations of PAME:

“People rise up, do not compromise with the measures of the government.”

“Patriotism is what is just for the people and not the profits of capitalism.”

“No cog can turn without the workers. Worker you can do without the bosses.”

“No more deception! Capitalism cannot become human.”

AIDWA Andhra Pradesh State Conference begins


The 12th Andhra Pradesh State Conference of AIDWA began in Khammam. Senior leader and Telangana Struggle Warrior com. Mallu Swarajyam raised the flag to start the proceedings.

Inaugurating the 12th State conference of AIDWA on Monday, All-India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) general secretary Com. Sudha Sundararaman deplored that the government instead of taking concrete steps to ensure effective implementation of the Acts like Domestic Violence Act and anti-dowry law was contemplating to dilute them on illogical pretexts. Coming down heavily on the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre for allegedly trying to dilute the laws governing women's protection under pressure from some disgruntled and fundamental forces, com. Sudha Sundararaman has warned of intensive broad-based struggles if the government failed to drop the ‘detrimental move'.

“Specific instances of misuse of the Acts if any could be dealt with separately,” she said while underscoring the need for effective enforcement of the laws to uphold the constitutional safeguards meant for protection of women.

She demanded that the UPA government make proper floor management and ensure the passage of the long-cherished Women's Reservation Bill in the ensuing monsoon session of Parliament.

Sex ratio

As per the 2011 census figures, there was a drastic decline in child sex ratio at the national level as well as in several States including Andhra Pradesh, she deplored pointing out that number of girls had declined from 927 in 2001 to 914 for every 1,000 boys in 2011 census.

Andhra Pradesh reported sharp decline in the child sex ratio to an extent of 18 per cent.

The disturbing figures reveal the plight of girl child in the society and highlight the urgent need for a collective action to check the dangerous trend, she said.

She criticised the government for its alleged apathetic attitude towards addressing the grave problems plaguing women such as growing gender offences, malnutrition and anaemia.

Corruption

Corruption assumed grave proportions in the country under the present regime as was evident from the series of multi-crore scams like 2G spectrum, she charged and alleged that the UPA government lacked commitment to contain corruption which is taking a heavy toll on the common man.

“The rhetoric movements would not serve any purpose,” she felt underscoring the need for sustained agitations to exert pressure on the government take concrete steps to root out corruption from the grassroots level. The Lok Pal bill should have been brought in long back, she said.

Left activists continue protest against fuel price hike across the country



DELHI

Left Front activists led by CPI-M leader Brinda Karat on Monday marched from Jantar Mantar towards the Parliament to protest the 'anti-people' price hike in petroleum products.

The protesters vowed to intensify their agitation against the UPA government before they were stopped at the Parliament Street by the police.

Brinda said the move to hike the prices of diesel, kerosene and LPG betrayed the UPA government's preference for the 'khaas admi' as against the 'aam admi', whose cause it claims to champion. he activists from CPI, CPI-M, All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), who gathered at Jantar Mantar, marched to demand a withdrawal of the price hike.

Questioning the timing of the hike that came closely after elections in four states, Brinda also said that crude prices at the international level were actually coming down and the oil and gas firms in India were making huge profits.

The CPI-M leader said the entire argument of 'under recoveries' by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was 'notional' rather than 'actual'. She also sought clarification over what the cost of production of oil products was and how much was the tax.

She also attacked the Trinamool Congress over its unwillingness to compel the government to give up ad valorem taxes, and termed a reduction of VAT on LPG in West Bengal as a 'cosmetic show'.

HIMACHAL PRADESH
Despite inclement weather on Monday, the CPIM after holding a procession through the Lower Bazar, in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh the demonstration culminated into a public meeting at Naaz, close to The Mall Road.

Ridiculing the congress slogan of ‘Congress ka haath, aam admi key saath’, Tikender Panwar, CPIM member secretariat said that the party that had professed to work for the common man has turned the hand around to strangulate him with hiking certain petro products substantially.

Hiking the prices of diesel by Rs 3, kerosene by Rs 2 and LPG gas cylinder by Rs 50 has broken the back of the ordinary citizen, he said.

The party has decided to intensify the agitations to build a strong movement for exposing the sinister policies of the congress party, he added.

TRIPURA

Life in all spheres of the state got completely paralyzed today in Tripura where the people spontaneously responded to the dawn-to-dusk Bandh called the Tripura Left Front Committee protesting against the recent hike of prices of fuel by the UPA-II Government at the centre.
All the markets, commercial centres remained closed. No student, teaching staff and employees turned up in any school, college and university. All types of vehicular traffic remained off the road and the rail did not move in the state today. All private and Government offices looked to be a solitary place because of no staff attended for duty today.
While hailing the people for rendering overwhelming respond to the Bandh call, Tripura Left Front Committee in a statement said, this irrational price hike is an attack on all sections of people. This hike shall cause unbearable percolating affect to all sections of the people of the state particularly, because of the state’s remote location and its dependence on road transpiration for all essential commodities. So it is a united protest voiced by the people of the state in line with the protest throughout the country.

If the hike of the price on diesel, K. oil and cooking gas is not rolled back and the people’s protest is not honored, the people will have to prepare themselves for a bigger struggle in the coming days, the Left Front urged. Normal life was paralysed in Tripura today during a dawn-to-dusk bandh called by the ruling Left Front to protest hike in the prices of petroleum products.

Traffic was off the roads. Shops, markets, schools, colleges and the Tripura University were closed. Attendance at Civil Secretariat, offices and banks was almost nil, officials said. The police said picketers took to streets since morning but no untoward incident was reported. Security was strengthened in the state and the police and paramilitary forces were on patrol in different parts of the state.

PUDUCHERRY
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Monday held a protest outside the head post office condemning the hike in prices of diesel, kerosene and LPG and demanded an immediate rollback of the hike.

Puducherry secretary of the CPI (M) V. Perumal said that since the UPA came to power for the second time in 2009, fuel prices have been increased 10 times. The hike in prices was a blow to the people, who were already suffering from escalating prices of essential commodities.

Condemning the acts of oil companies, which were putting up advertisements persuading people to bear with the “small increase” in fuel prices, he said that such advertisements were insensitive to the plight of the people.

While corporate companies in the country got huge tax benefits in the form of waivers, the government was trying to bring down fiscal deficit by reducing subsidies provided to the poor, he said.