Re: [Marxism] huge NO rally in Athens; ...
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * Eyewitness in Athens: Hundreds of thousands-strong No rally defies bankers' blackmail by Dave Sewell in Athens Socialist Worker, Britain, July 3 http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art/40858/Eyewitness+in+Athens%3A+Hundreds+of+thousands-strong+No+rally+defies+bankers+blackmail Hundreds of thousands of people crammed into central Athens' Syntagma Square last night, Friday, for the official no campaign's rally ahead of Sunday's austerity referendum. It will decide whether to reject or accept the European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) proposed deal on Greece’s debt. The polls are nail-bitingly close–but the difference on the streets was enormous. It was the biggest turnout of any protest since at least 2012. A crowd almost too dense to move in filled the square and surrounding streets and spilled over onto bus stop and kiosk roofs and balconies of surrounding buildings. Student John told Socialist Worker, We don't want any more austerity–we want jobs and a future for our children. “This is an act of real democracy. The people should get to decide, instead of getting things forced on us.” Left wing prime minister Alexis Tsipras topped the bill of speakers and musicians. But the people present went well beyond his party Syriza. Chris who’s unemployed is a member of the Pirate Party. She told Socialist Worker, “Five years of austerity have caused 10,000 suicides. Do we want to make that 20,000 with another five years? Whatever happens, we're standing up for our prime minister. Pensioner Vaso added, I'm here to encourage Tsipras to do what he needs to. The no rally and the much smaller yes rally both put forward radically different visions of Europe. Left wing politicians and activists from across the EU came to Syntagma to lend solidarity. To loud cheers, a speaker from the German protest movement Blockupy talked about domestic opposition to German chancellor Angela Merkel. He said, “For every Greek brave enough to take to the streets there are ten Europeans elsewhere watching and taking courage. “Merkel doesn't rule Europe–it is our Europe. Minister of administrative reform Giorgos Katrougalos told Socialist Worker, What's happening here isn't just a question for Greece. We're putting forward a different vision of Europe against the neoliberal austerity. “This demonstration is a picture of Europe's future. Many demonstrators shared this hope of reforming the EU. Council worker Christos Efthimiou was giving out leaflets from his union, which is calling for a no vote. He explained, We've had cuts of about 60 percent. That means services closing, workers being laid off and wages going down. More cuts would destroy public services. If we vote no the EU will get the message–we want a people’s Europe. But for leading Syriza left winger Stathis Kouvelakis the insistence on staying in the eurozone and EU is a weakness for the government. He told Socialist Worker, If the banks hadn't closed, it would have been much easier for the no campaign. It has given credibility to the other side’s apocalyptic propaganda. “This is something that has been used to blackmail Syriza all along–and it looks as if that blackmail will continue. “But we have to ask the question what we can do about it–and we need to seriously consider the possibility of setting up a new drachma currency.” The yes rally–a tenth of the size at most–took place a few blocks away. Dimitris voted for the rump of Greece's once mighty Labour-type party Pasok. He dismissed Tsipras’ assurances about the EU saying, I don't believe any of the no campaign. “They all want to take us out of Europe–especially the government. Student Ioanna came with her father. She said, We are European, we need Europe. That means we need to accept the position we are in–we can't get anything better. Europe's mainstream media were there. One Portuguese journalist confided to Socialist Worker, “It would actually be better for us if they voted no. But I can't really say that here.” Apart from the size, the most striking difference was the fashion. Designer shirts or handbags were the rule at the yes rally–but Nicolas bucked the trend with a T-shirt from St Tropez Marina. He said, The problem in Greece is that politicians eat money, but now they have to give it back. I agree with the TV journalist who said the agreement isn't good–it’s like jumping from a window on the first floor and breaking your leg. “But no agreement is like diving from the top and being killed–so I will vote for the broken leg. That gloom set the tone for the rally. Bored vendors stood with carts full of unsold Greek and EU flags, brought for a turnout that
[Marxism] huge NO rally in Athens; both sides rally ahead of referendum vote tomorrow/Sunday (5)
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * Tsipras speech to huge rally (dubbed into English) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aidRyCAbAao ‘No to fear’ — Greece’s No protest as it happened by Kevin Ovenden Left Flank, July 3 http://left-flank.org/2015/07/04/no-to-fear-greeces-no-protest-as-it-happened A selection of KEVIN OVENDEN’s live posts from the massive No protest in Athens, 3 July 2015 Rally for the No side this evening — various different forces calling it — in Syntagma Square, central Athens. The rally will be big and militant. But please do not over-read the size of it and so on. Our friends on the Greek radical Left were not born yesterday. They know that you do not win a plebiscite by spending time among yourselves talking to the convinced. You win it among the people. The purpose of the rally is to force the reality of the No campaign into the media and also to galvanise active forces on our side. The couple of hours in the square outside the parliament allow us also to exchange experiences collectively, to hear those arguments that are having the most effect in the society, to dispel our own confusions and to build morale for the next 48 hours. I am not Greek. But every Greek I know of in the No campaign shares at least one common message among several: “Everything you do outside of Greece helps here. “And this is a fight which is not restricted to Greece nor to Sunday. So do what you can and think through how we proceed.” No one knows what the result will be on Sunday. We do know this: for five months the fate of the whole Greek experiment seemed to lie in the outcome of conference chamber and diplomatic exchanges. No longer. The oft talked about, sometimes overlooked, always hoped for social movement will be expressed in Syntagma tonight. There are more powerful things than Troikas. *** Huge. Tsipras: combative. Music all from the Left: Theodorakis, Papaconstantinou, Dimitriadi. Composition: young and working class, the social base of Syriza and Left... Been on air for hour or more. Talking with people. More soon. Quote from and old, old fighter: “We’re fighting for victory on Sunday, not honourable defeat.” . . . People have come largely in family groups or circles of friends. It’s a Friday night. This is social, underpinned by parties’ organisations, but beyond that. Quote from Stavroula, teacher: “I’m happy tonight. I want to be happy on Monday. Want my grandchildren to have a good life. I’m not very religious, but I pray this nightmare will end.” *** The anti-capitalist Left is here. I’ve seen many from all strands. Not so visible and not just because of size — many tens of thousands — but because they are largely buried deep in the micro-gatherings of friends and families who are laughing and chatting about so much — not just the referendum. The EU is not what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like. *** “Remember. This is Athens. There is the Peloponnese. There is still small town Greece. Don’t get too carried away.” Someone I have learnt a lot about Greek politics from for 25 years. So: I won’t get carried away. . . . Oh! A lovely young comrade: “We are going to win. Tell the world.” I say: “Yes. We will win. Whatever the bastards do on Sunday. This fight goes beyond Sunday. And we are going to win this fight.” I thought that was the best answer and it is also truthfully how I feel tonight. *** Ok. Bella Ciao playing. A jolt of energy through crowd. This is of the Left all right! How far beyond have we reached? . . . Real social forces were rallied tonight! Tonight’s rally was a big success. The sheer size of it will be felt outside of Athens in the towns and villages and regional cities. The private media is very bad. But the rally was enormous and it has forced its way into the broadcasts with no one in a position to gainsay its size. There was no big speechifying, except the address by Tsipras [watch it dubbed into English https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aidRyCAbAao]. But it was what he has been saying all week, though more combative. He speaks very well in any case. Tonight, though I was on air for some of it, his style was brilliant. Really confident and “laiko”, the popular touch. This was a rally. Forces were rallied. Several international journos on floor seven of the Athens Plaza — where the improvised studios are — were gob-smacked. And the overall feel of the rally had a clear tactical focus in the run-up to Sunday. *** There was a leak earlier today from New Democracy of their game plan for the last 48 hours until polls close on Sunday evening at 7pm. Their private surveys and polling have identified that there are 30 percent of those Syriza voters who
