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By Editorial Board of Marxistiki Foni
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Thursday, 20 March 2008 |
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Yesterday Greece
was shaken by a massive general strike, the third in three months. An extremely
militant mood is developing among the Greek workers. This is also being
reflected in a sharp swing to the left in all recent polls. In particular, the
Synaspismos, which stands to the left of the PASOK, is making big gains.
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By Editorial Board of Marxistiki Foni (Journal of the Greek Marxist Tendency)
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Thursday, 13 December 2007 |
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Yesterday a powerful
general strike shook Greece.
There was a massive turnout and the whole of Greece was brought to a standstill.
The New Democracy government is attempting to introduce severe cuts in the
pension system. All they have achieved is a massive radicalisation of society.
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By Marxistiki Foni Editorial Board in Athens
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Tuesday, 18 September 2007 |
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Both major parties
suffered electoral setbacks in the recent elections. The government party, the
ND, and the opposition PASOK lost out while the two major left forces, the
Communist Party and the SYRIZA gained significantly, underlining the sharp
swing to the left that is taking place in Greek society.
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By Greek Marxist Tendency – “Marxistiki Foni”
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Wednesday, 29 August 2007 |
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As Greece suffers under the heat of raging forest fires, the government faces the heat of the enraged Greek people. After years of cuts to social services, including the fire services, the state has been completely unable to deal with the crisis, leading to untold damages and the deaths of some 64 people. Similar to other disasters in recent years, these forest fires expose the utter rotteness of capitalism.
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By Stamatis Karayannopoulos – Editor of Marxistiki Foni
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Tuesday, 13 March 2007 |
 Greek capitalism is beginning to give at the seams. The days
of relative calm are over. Now there is little room for manoeuvre and the
system has no choice but to go on the offensive against the workers and youth.
This became evident last week when the police attacked a 30,000-strong student
demonstration with a brutality not seen
since the days of the hated military junta in the 1970s.
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By Stamatis Karayannopoulos – editor of Marxistiki Foni
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Tuesday, 16 January 2007 |
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The right-wing ND government is now pressing ahead once more
with its plans to privatise university education. This has reawakened the
student movement which has mobilised on a massive scale. Conveniently for the
right-wing, last week there was a missile attack on the US embassy,
which is now being used to justify greater state repression.
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By Fred Weston and Stamatis Karayannopoulos
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Monday, 23 October 2006 |
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As we predicted, the coming to power of the right-wing ND
government two years ago has had the effect of radicalising the workers and
youth. A very militant primary school teachers' strike, massive student
mobilisations and the recent local elections, all confirm this.
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By the editorial board of Marxistiki Foni
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Monday, 03 July 2006 |
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The strength of the Greek student movement has been truly
amazing in these recent weeks. It forced even the conservative bureaucracy of
the trade unions to organise a solidarity strike with the students. In the mass
assemblies the students concluded that there should now be a pause and the
movement should prepare to remobilise in September.
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By the editorial board of "Marxistiki Foni"
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Monday, 19 June 2006 |
 Last Thursday Greece witnessed another massive mobilisation of the students. The government is adopting delaying tactics. In the meantime the students have appealed directly to the union leaders to call a general strike, which is to take place this Thursday. |
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By the editorial board of “Marxistiki Foni”
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Monday, 12 June 2006 |
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Greece
is being rocked by the biggest student mobilisations for more than 20 years.
Faculties have been occupied all over the country and the movement is
instinctively turning to the workers for help, calling on the unions to
organise a general strike.
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By the Greek Committee of “Hands off Venezuela!”
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Wednesday, 10 May 2006 |
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On May 7, the Greek Hands Off
Venezuela! committee, together with the German group Network
Cuba and the Marxist journal Marxistiki Foni, organised an
important seminar on the Bolivarian Revolution. Close to 300 people
turned up making the event an important step in strengthening
solidarity work in Greece.
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By Marxistiki Foni - www.marxismos.com
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Wednesday, 03 May 2006 |
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Held shortly after the Greek trade
union leaders have signed a disappointing agreement with the bosses,
this year’s rallies were small but the workers and youth present
expressed a militant mood.
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Thursday, 30 March 2006 |
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We have just been informed that yesterday the Greek government has withdrawn
from its plans to close the plant in Thessaloniki. They say it will reopen
"partially". This is a big victory for the workers after two months of
determined struggle. For now the solidarity appeal is suspended as we await the
outcome.
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By Marxistiki Foni - www.marxismos.com
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Tuesday, 28 March 2006 |
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Representatives of the
Editorial Board of “Marxistiki Foni” met the workers of the
fertilizer factory in Thessaloniki, who had once again come down to
Athens (a 6-hour train journey), to protest in front of the Ministry
of Labour against the closure of their factory. We publish the
announcement of their union. We should all support their struggle!
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By Stamatis Karayannopoulos – editor of Marxistiki Foni
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Tuesday, 28 March 2006 |
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Another massive general strike rocked
Greek society on March 15. This came about in a situation of growing
class conflict. The result has been a big fall in support for the
present right wing New Democracy government. The Greek bosses are now
openly discussing the possibility of French contagion in Greece.
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By Marxistiki Foni
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Wednesday, 22 February 2006 |
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The struggle of the Greek Coca-Cola workers is reaching a critical stage. On their own they risk defeat, especially with the passive attitude of the GSEE leaders. United and coordinated with workers across Greece, and internationally, facing the same situation they can win. |
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By the Editorial Board of Marxistiki Foni
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Wednesday, 08 February 2006 |
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The response from the supporters and readers of Marxist.com to our recent solidarity appeal for the Coca-Cola workers in Athens (Greece) has been tremendous. The comrades of the Greek Marxist journal, Marxistiki Foni, sent us a message for all our readers. The Union in the factory has also sent us a letter of thanks for all our readers that we are also publishing here. |
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By Marxistiki Foni
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Tuesday, 24 January 2006 |
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Coca Cola in Greece has announced 150 redundancies and this may be a plan to close the plant and move all production to a Balkan country where labour costs are much cheaper. The workers in Greece are fighting back and need your solidarity. The Greek Marxists of Marxistiki Foni have sent us an appeal for solidarity with these workers. Please take the time to send messages. |
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By Stamatis Karagiannopoulos of "Marxistiki Foni" in Athens
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Wednesday, 04 January 2006 |
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In December there was a massive general strike in Greece with huge participation both in the public and private sectors. This is less than two years into the right-wing New Democracy government. The strike was against a new bill affecting workers’ rights. A militant mood is once more growing among Greek workers and it is destined to get stronger in the coming period. |
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By Fred Weston and Stamatis Karagiannopoulos in Athens
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Sunday, 10 July 2005 |
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After playing for time before last year’s Olympic games, the Greek
ruling class is preparing an all-out attack on the workers of Greece.
The Greek economy is beginning to slow down and this is adding to the
problems of the ruling class. A recent wave of strikes and general
strikes indicates that Greece is clearly moving towards a period of
renewed class conflict. |
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By Marxistiki Foni
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Friday, 13 May 2005 |
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On May 11th a massive general strike took place in Greece. The trade
union leaders were forced to call the strike as the anger of the
workers mounted. The ND government has come out with an all-out attack
on the working class and the workers have responded. Report from Marxistiki Foni. |
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By Marxistiki Foni
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Thursday, 17 March 2005 |
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Further to our previous articles, we publish an Editorial Statement of the Greek Marxist Tendency, Marxistiki Foni,
on the meaning of the severe crisis that has shaken the Greek Orthodox
Church and how this relates to the future class battles that are being
prepared in Greece. |
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By Marxistiki Foni
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Tuesday, 01 March 2005 |
 The
Greek Orthodox Church and the Judiciary have been involved in major
corruption scandals, involving embezzlement, drug running and bribing
of judges to fix trials. Two “pillars” of the Greek state have thus
been exposed in the eyes of the masses, something which will have
profound consequences in the coming years of class struggle. We publish
an introduction by Fred Weston and the Editorial statement of the new
Greek Marxist journal, Marxistiki Phoni, on these developments.
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By Stamatis Karagiannopoulos
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Tuesday, 06 July 2004 |
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This report from Athens shows how the Greek bosses tried to exploit to their
advantage the victory of the Greek football team in the European Cup. The
main speaker in the official celebrations was the head of the Greek Orthodox
Church who gave a very nationalist speech. He was widely hissed and many
people abandoned the stadium. It gives an idea of what is to come in Greece. |
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By Fred Weston
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Monday, 05 July 2004 |
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Last night Greece was one huge party after the victory in the European
Cup. No doubt workers and youth feel the need to celebrate, for the
social and economic situation gives them no reason to be cheerful. Fred
Weston looks at the situation in Greece as it is developing after the
defeat of the PASOK and the election of the right-wing New Democracy
government |
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By Spiros Gougoussis
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Thursday, 18 March 2004 |
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Two weeks ago the PASOK (Greek Socialist Party) was ousted from power and the
conservative ND (New Democracy) were elected to government. Has Greek society
therefore shifted to the right? A closer look at the voting patterns shows that
a majority actually voted for the left parties, who together got 52%. It also
shows that the PASOK lost precisely because of its conservative policies. |
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By Sosialistiki Ekfrasi
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Monday, 03 November 2003 |
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In the recent period Greece has been gripped by a wave of strikes involving
ever wider layers. The PASOK government is facing more and more
opposition as the effects of its austerity measures bite into the living
standards of ordinary working people. This has opened up the prospect of the
PASOK possibly losing the next general election. |
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By Fred Weston
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Tuesday, 22 April 2003 |
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The level of antiwar mobilisations of the Greek workers and youth over
the past few weeks, including several general strikes,
is an indication of a deeper and more wide-ranging process that is
developing in Greece. As the PASOK government faces defeat in next
year's elections, Fred Weston looks at what is happening in the Greek
trade unions, the youth and the left parties in general. |
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By Spiros Gougoussis
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Monday, 07 April 2003 |
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On Thursday April 3, 2003, the two general trade union federations in Greece,
the GSEE (private sector) and ΑDΕDI
(public sector) called a general strike against the imperialist war in Iraq. The
GSEE limited itself to calling a four hour general strike, while the ADEDI
called one of 24 hours. |
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By Sosialistiki Ekfrasi
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Thursday, 15 August 2002 |
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Towards the end of July the Greek media launched a campaign of
slander about the ideology of the terrorist organisation 17N (November
17),
claiming that it was a Trotskyist organisation. The Greek Marxists sent
a letter of protest to all the newspapers and channels, which was
published in two major newspapers. We are publishing this short article
on the
subject. |
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By Fred Weston in Athens
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Tuesday, 18 June 2002 |
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On Tuesday a general strike took place in Greece - following on from the two massive general strikes
that shook the country in the spring of 2001, and forced the government to back down on
its proposed attacks on social spending. As we said at the time, these strikes marked a watershed, a turning point.
Now the new mood of militancy has been shown once again. |
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By Alan Woods in Athens
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Thursday, 17 May 2001 |
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Under
a blazing sun, at midday on Thursday, May 17, tens of thousands of
Greek workers poured onto the streets of central Athens to protest
the anti-working class policies of the right-wing socialist
government of Konstantinos Simitis. This was the second general
strike in the space of one month. Although the final figures have
not yet been published, it was clearly a very successful strike. |
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By our Greek and Spanish correspondents
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Friday, 27 April 2001 |
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On Wednesday 26th
April 2001, the biggest general strike for fifteen years took place in
Greece. Both public and private sectors came out on strike with
very big percentages of success, with many factories striking 100%.
The demonstration in Athens was huge: 150,000-200,000 workers
participated in the rally and then marched through the centre of
Athens to the Parliament. It was really an impressive demonstration
- almost two miles long. |
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By Spiros Gougoussis
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Tuesday, 17 October 2000 |
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At the beginning of
October one of the most
successful general strikes of the last few years took place in
Greece. More than 15,000
workers and youth gathered in front of the headquarters of the
General Federation of Greek
Workers in Athens with a very militant mood demanding the
withdrawal of the government
measures against the workers' conditions of work. |
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By Alan Woods
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Monday, 03 July 2000 |
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The political climate is hotting up along with the weather. The streets of Athens and Salonika are filled with noisy demonstrators waving flags and placards directed against the Pasok government of Costas Simitis (the Greek Tony Blair). But these are demonstrations with a difference. At the head march black-robed bishops of the Greek Orthodox Church, who claim to represent the big majority of the Greek people. |
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By Alan Woods
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Tuesday, 16 June 1998 |
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Konstatin Simitis--the Greek Tony Blair--is a worried man.
Elected after the death of
Andreas Papandreu less than two years ago as leader of the
Greek socialist party (PASOK)
under the banner of "modernisation" he had
70% of public opinion behind him. Now
it has dropped to 18%. The streets of Athens (congested at
the best of times) are
regularly blocked with demonstrations of angry
bankworkers, airline employees and
teachers. The premises of the Ionian bank, which the
government wants to privatise, are
occupied by the workers and covered with black flags. Alan
Woods reports from Greece. |
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By Alan Woods
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Wednesday, 13 May 1998 |
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Events in Greece are especially relevant to the British
Labour Movement because right wing
PASOK (Socialist Party) leader Simitis is pursuing similar
policies to those of Tony Blair
and so-called "New Labour." This has led to an
explosion of anger, not only on
the streets, but in the trade unions and in PASOK itself. The
PASOK union leaders were
pro-Simitis one year ago, but now they have been forced
into semi-opposition. Under
pressure from below, they called a one-day general strike
on April the 8th. Alan Woods
reports. |
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Europe 
