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No to blackmail and compromise with austerity in Greece Socialist Worker, Britain, June 28 <http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art/40807/No+to+blackmail+and+compromise+with+austerity+in+Greece> The Greek government, led by the left party Syriza, has called a referendum on the austerity agreement the European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are trying to impose. These bodies hold most of Greece’s foreign debt after bailing out the bankers, and have pushed through vicious austerity measures in “memorandums” with previous governments. The vote is set to take place on Sunday of next week. The following is a statement by the Greek Socialist Workers Party (SEK). *Statement by the Greek Socialist Workers Party* We vote NO to the agreement. The government should get back all the concessions that have been made. We need a united front for cancelling the debt, leaving the EU and nationalising the banks. The government has announced a referendum. The massive resistance to compromise with the blackmailers of the IMF and the EU forced the government not to sign an agreement. This development is a step forward for all those who fought and fight against the old and new memorandums. The dockers who went on strike against the privatisation of Piraeus port, the hospital workers who went on strike asking for money and more staff for the health service, the thousands who came out against the agreement—this is the force that said no to blackmail, no to compromise. Now we must continue to crush the right wing and liberal parties that are loyal to the Troika and its memorandums. On Sunday vote a massive No to the agreement. But do not stop there. We demand that the government of the left proceed directly to implement the promises it made to the labour movement in order to get elected. Cancel the old and new memorandums, provide work for the unemployed, increase wages, pensions and money for schools, hospitals, local governments and pension funds. The money to fund them should come from Cancelling the debt—here and now, without exceptions. Nationalising all the banks Leaving the euro and the EU and embarking on a struggle for workers’ control In this battle we have support from the working class throughout Europe. They have rallied against the EU and the IMF in all major cities. What is needed is the strengthening of the revolutionary left. To fight together to overturn the agreement and make way for a new society without the burdens of bankrupt capitalism. Do not stop the fight against extortionists and compromises. Greece imposes capital controls as Troika escalates blackmail Written by Jorge Martín Monday, 29 June 2015 In Defense Of Marxism, IMT <http://www.marxist.com/greece-imposes-capital-controls-as-troika-escalates-blackmail.htm . . . Analysts at JP Morgan, probably summarised the position of big capital when they said: “We expect the referendum to vote in favour of accepting the creditors' proposal. Our base case is that Tsipras steps down as PM, and a unity government is formed which negotiates a deal with the creditors.” Although when it says “we expect” one should perhaps read “we hope”. … and the government response The response of the government was to impose a bank holiday lasting until 7 July, during which people will only be able to withdraw 60 euro a day. Capital controls will also prevent any outflow of money from the country. This was the only possible response to the provocative moves of the Troika. For the duration of the bank holiday, public transportation in Athens will be free. In announcing these measures, Tsipras made an appeal for calm. He lambasted the decision of the Troika not to grant Greece a temporary extension of the bailout: “It is clear that the objective of the decision of the eurogroup and the ECB is to attempt to blackmail the will of the Greek people and to hinder democratic processes, namely the holding of the referendum. They will not succeed. These decisions will only serve to bring about the very opposite result. They will further strengthen the resolve of the Greek people to reject the unacceptable memorandum proposals and the institutions’ ultimatums.” This was accompanied by an appeal for the masses to mobilise to Athens’s Syntagma Square on Monday, June 29. This is completely correct, as the referendum will be a battle which can not be won on the ballot box alone, but rather, has to be fought through mass mobilisation in the streets. . . . There is, of course, a mood of uncertainty in Greece today, with banks closed, some queues at ATMs, a campaign by the powerful capitalist media to create panic, queues at gas stations and panic shopping at some supermarkets. The crucial question is however, who will the people blame for this situation. Opinion polls before the calling of the referendum showed that a majority, correctly, put the blame on the Troika. There has been a lot of talk about two opinion polls which allegedly show that the majority of the Greek people favour staying within the euro and therefore would vote ‘yes’ in the referendum. This is extremely misleading and does not reflect the real mood. These opinion polls were carried before the referendum was called, between June 24 and 26. At that time it seemed that the government and the Troika were getting close to signing a deal and although the people were aware that this was not a very good deal, it is understandable that they considered it as the only option and as ‘better than nothing’. That bears no resemblance to the mood after Tsipras announced the calling of the referendum and denounced the Troika as blackmailers while explaining the scandalous nature of the proposals which amounted to yet again, making working people pay for the crisis. A young Greek woman interviewed by the Spanish “20 minutos” today put it in the following way: "I feel like I was entering into a revolution, like we are going to shown them what we are capable of". For Marilena, the citizens are not angry, but "ready for a fight". She said she supports Tsipras "because he has balls" and "we do not accept the blackmail". She didn't vote in January, but now she feels "our future is at stake". The convening of the referendum has broken the impasse of what seemed to be endless negotiations and even greater concessions on the part of the government to the Troika, to be followed by even harsher demands. Now the camps are clear and they are lining up for a clash. The morale of the troops is all important in any war and will be decisive also on Sunday, July 5th. The KKE and the referendum In this respect it is worth commenting on the position taken by the Communist Party (KKE), which is one of rejecting the referendum as a false dilemma and calling for a spoilt vote. The Communist Party of Greece is a sizeable organisation with many excellent working class and youth militants, with a significant influence amongst the organised working class. On Friday, June 26, it was able to call a large demonstration against the latest deal which was being negotiated by the Troika and the government. Their arguments against both the ultimatum and the government proposals to the Troika are completely correct. There is nothing to choose between those two. However, at a time when the Greek people are being divided into two opposite camps, one supporting the Troika ultimatum, the continuation of austerity, and the other opposing it, the position of the KKE is to stay aloof from this battle, which they consider phony. While it is true that Tsipras regards this conflict as a way of getting a stronger hand at the negotiations, people perceive it is as a chance to deliver a blow against the Troika. In order for revolutionaries to win over the masses of working people, they need to be able to relate to this mood and help the people draw all the necessary conclusions. This would be a genuine Leninist policy, as for instance implemented against the Kornilov coup in 1917 or as advocated by Lenin in “Left Wing Communism”. The opposite is the sectarian madness of the “third period” policies of the Communist International between 1928 to 1933 which has disastrous results. If the KKE leadership continues with these policies towards the referendum, it will lose another large chunk of its voters and members, as was the case as a result of its sectarianism in the two parliamentary elections in 2012, when the party went from 8.5 to 5% of the vote. What we are saying is not that the KKE should suspend its criticism of the Syriza leadership and its utopian idea that a deal with the Troika was possible. On the contrary. That criticism is correct and should be maintained (as the Communist Tendency of Syriza has consistently done). What the KKE leadership should say to the hundreds of thousands who will be mobilised in the course of the week to oppose the Troika’s ultimatum is: “we are with you, we will fight shoulder to shoulder against the Troika, but we have no trust in the leadership of Syriza, even if we win the referendum, in order to end austerity we must repudiate the debt and break with capitalism.” Which way forward? In his televised address to the nation on Sunday night, Tsipras appealed for calm, as well as announcing capital controls. But it is not enough to appeal for calm in the face of the sabotage of the Troika and their allies in Greece, the Greek capitalist class. The defensive measures taken by the government are necessary, but not enough. The people need to be reassured that their savings are safe, that their wages and pensions are going to be paid and that there is a government prepared to take any measures necessary to defend their livelihoods. As well as a bank holiday and capital controls, the government should declare the immediate expropriation of all banks, as a way of safeguarding the deposits of small savers. But the banks are bankrupt, in effect. The government is also bankrupt. Even the latest proposal of an €8bn package of savings and increased revenue would have only guaranteed a 1% primary budget surplus (that is, before debt repayment). The only way for the government to have the necessary amount of money to pay for wages and pensions and keep the basic state functions running is by seizing the assets of the capitalists. The need to bring the key sectors of the economy under collective ownership is not some utopian demand, but a concrete necessity dictated by the situation. Contrary to the illusions of some in the Greek left (the main spokespersons of Syriza’s Left Platform included), the exit from the euro might be necessary and perhaps inevitable at this stage, but it is not a solution, nor a way forward, on a capitalist basis. The restoration of a Greek currency on the basis of capitalism would immediately mean a massive devaluation, trade restrictions on the part of the EU, hyperinflation and a frightful deepening of the economic recession. Yes, deals might be arrived at with Russia, China and even Venezuela. These, however would be limited in scope and also come with strings attached. Russia and China are already involved in some of the privatisation processes and would demand their continuation, which would go against the January 25 mandate. The Greek economy has become linked to that of the EU and would be severely dislocated by Grexit. The justified fear of economic collapse once the country is expelled from the euro will be an important factor in the referendum. Only by taking decisive action to bring the economy under state control and starting to put under democratic control and planning, can the government combat such fears. By delivering decisive blows against capitalism (expropriation of capitalist assets, unilateral repudiation of the debt, extension the emergency program of social rescue, etc.), Syriza would be able to consolidate and extend the mood of defiance as well as arousing the enthusiastic support of working people throughout Europe who already feel an instinctive solidarity with the Greek people faced with the impositions of the Troika. _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
