[Marxism] The Greek police kill school student – big wave of mobilisations all over Greece

["Alexander John McBurney" <lawatwork7@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

The Greek police kill school student – big wave of mobilisations all over 
Greece                                                                        
                                                                
                                        
                                                
                                
                                                        
                                
                                        
                        
                                                
                        
                        
                
                                                
                                        
                                                
                                                         By Editorial Board of 
"Marxistiki Foni"                                                
                                                  
                                        
                                        
                                                
                                                
                                                
                                                
                                        
                                
                                                        
                                
                                        Monday, 08 December 2008                
                
                        
                                        
                        
                                
On Saturday night,
an officer of the Special Forces of the Greek Police killed a young 15-year old
school student, Alexandros Grigoropoulos, in Exarchia in the centre of Athens,
(just 200 meters from the office of our paper). This is the modern "democratic"
manner in which a police officer answered the usual anti-police slogans that a
small group of ordinary and completely unarmed school students were raising
against him. The police officer shot at the group of school students in an area
where there are many coffeehouses full of people and at an hour (9pm) when
there are many youth gathered together enjoying an evening out.






Alexandros Grigoropoulos



This
fascist, brutal and unprovoked attack on the part of the Greek police has led
to a widespread and deep feeling of disgust
throughout Greek society. It reminds everyone of the criminal actions of the
Greek police forces in the past, of the black years of the Greek colonels'
dictatorship (1967-1974), but it has also served to highlight in the minds of
the people the many brutal actions of the Greek police over these past four
years of right-wing government. Two years ago in Thessalonica six police
officers brutally and mercilessly beat up a Cypriot student, causing serious
injuries, both physical and psychological. In the same period one police
officer seriously injured a young teacher by using knuckledusters. Many
immigrants are also regularly brutalised by the Greek police, especially in the
police stations of Athens, as many videos that have been broadcast on Greek TV
channels have revealed. All these are just a few examples of the "democratic"
actions of the Greek bourgeois state in the last few years under the New
Democracy (ND) government.


This
most recent killing has had a big impact on every ordinary working person and
in particular on the youth of Greece. On the night of the killing thousands of
young people spontaneously mobilized across Athens, Thessalonica and Patras, to
demonstrate their anger, clashing with the police throughout the night into the
early morning. Yesterday, Sunday 8th, thousands of people demonstrated all over
Greece, in 14 different cities. Today another rally is planned in the centre of
Athens, which will see the participation of many more people than yesterday.


As
of today, from the early morning, the big majority of schools all over Greece
have been occupied by the students. As we write, the University students are at
this moment gathered in massive general assemblies to decide what action to
take. The High School Teachers' Union has already decided to call a 3-day
strike and the Primary School teachers have also decided to come out on strike
tomorrow. The KKE (Greek Communist Party) and SYRIZA, a left front around
Synaspismos, have also decided to take part in today's rally.






Demonstration of students



One
important element that has to be underlined is that on Wednesday of last week,
before the killing, the Greek Confederation of Workers' Unions in the private
and public sectors (GSEE and ADEDY), had already called a general strike
against poverty and the threat of unemployment to the Greek working class.
Without a doubt, the general strike will now be much more different after the
killing of the young Alexandros.


The
Greek government has been trying to calm the people by promising "exemplary
punishment" of the police officer involved in the shooting, but the mood in
society is one where such promises have only a very limited effect. The latest
opinion polls show that the ND is 6-7% behind PASOK. The combined vote of the
workers' parties stands at over 60% in the opinion polls. All the factors exist
for the fall of the government in the very near future.


The
Marxists strongly support and actively participate in the big movement against
police terror, but they also explain that the killing of the young Alexandros
was not an accident, but the expression of the reactionary nature of the
bourgeois state and of the present ND government. State terror, for the ruling
class, is a necessary weapon in support of the capitalist system. Police
violence is the twin brother of poverty, exploitation and privatisations.






Place of killing



Police
brutality is a method of class war against the working people. The ruling class
is organising class violence against the working class and youth and that is
why we must react against it, and the whole labour movement must be mobilised
using the methods of class struggle. Unless the mass organisations of the
working class mobilise all their forces, they will be making the very serious
mistake of leaving the fightback in the hands of the anarchists and ultra-left
groups who insist on their blind and adventurist methods. The burning of cars
and shops as a "method of struggle" has the opposite effect to that which is
desired. These methods give the police forces the excuse they are looking for
to present themselves as "protectors of people's propriety". It helps to
distract attention away from the responsibilities of the police and to
criminalise the youth movement.


We
believe that the trade unions, the workers' parties, the PASOK, KKE and
SYNASPISMOS, and the mass organizations of the youth must immediately come
together in a united front against both the government and the generalised
attack being launched by the Greek bourgeoisie. The aim of the forthcoming
general strike must be to bring down the government and start a struggle for
the election of a left socialist government, which by leaning on the labour
movement and the urban and rural poor can smash the repressive institutions of
the state, put an end to oppression and carry out a genuine socialist
programme. Only be expropriating the major capitalist companies and placing
them under democratic workers' control and management can capitalist slavery
and violence be eradicated once and for all.

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