Fight Back News Service is circulating the following July 11 statement from the Communist party of Greece (KKE).

No to the new “leftwing” memorandum

The government of “leftwing” SYRIZA and nationalist ANEL, with the support of the rightwing ND, the social-democratic PASOK (who governed together until January 2015), the centre party POTAMI, is thrusting new unbearable anti-people burdens onto the working class and other popular strata.

On the night of the 10th of July, it placed before the full plenum of the parliament the question of “authorizing” the government to negotiate a new, 3rd memorandum of anti-people measures, posing the following dilemma: the continuation of the anti-people political line or the country’s bankruptcy and an exit from the eurozone.

The Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras defended his memorandum, the Tsipras-memorandum, arguing in essence that the anti-people measures are being taken n order to regain the confidence of the investors and markets.

At 5 in the morning 251 MPs votes for the government’s proposal, while the entire Parliamentary Group of the KKE voted against it. As a whole there were 32 against, 8 who voted “present” and 9 who were absent.

These developments, which reveal once again the true face of the “left-patriotic” government of SYRIZA-ANEL, also expose the unacceptable stance of various forces abroad in recent months, which supported the government, including some communist and workers’ parties, allegedly in the name of “solidarity with Greece”.

Speaking in the full plenum of the Parliament, during the discussion regarding the provision of “authorization” for the government to agree to the new, 3rd memorandum, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumpas, addressing the government stressed: “You were always supporters of political amorality, opportunism, which literally and without its deeper theoretical dimension simply means being opportunistic and adventurist.

Just 10 days ago, in this very hall, during the discussion of the proposal for the referendum, the KKE clearly pointed out to you that you were calling on the people to take part in a referendum with a “yes” or “no” that only had superficial differences, as both the “yes” and the “no” meant the acceptance of a new memorandum, perhaps worse than those we have already seen.

You adjusted the “no” of the people to a “yes” for the new memorandum.

Something that was confirmed the very day after the referendum, when the rest of the political parties, those that supported a “yes” and those that supported a “no” agreed to a new memorandum which will be even harsher.

We were certain from the beginning that this would happen.

Not because we are soothsayers, but because your strategy, but because your programme, your position towards the EU, eurozone and the capitalist unions in general, your position regarding the development path and system that you want to serve, inevitably lead to you to struggle at the side of the EU, ECB, IMF, big capital, the monopoly groups, over how the division of the spoils will be conducted, how you will serve their profitability, how in the end you will reduce the people’s income, how you will economically reduce the price of labour power, how you will suck the people dry, so that the parasites of the system will prosper.”

The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the KKE, in reference of the government’s dilemma “anti-people agreement, i.e. memorandum, or Grexit” stressed that: “The 3rd memorandum will also mean the real bankruptcy of the people. Of course in a somewhat more organized way. We will have barbaric anti-people measures. With the Grexit we will see a rapid pauperization, the people’s bankruptcy together with state bankruptcy, without a way out, still trapped inside the walls of the EU, inside the same old capitalist development path.

This is why all the other parties bear historic responsibilities, especially SYRIZA which is in government today and was trusted by the people.

A real way out from the crisis and development in favour of the workers’-people’s interests require the organization of the people, their full preparation, honest talk, clear programmes and positions so that the people themselves decide to take power and to organize the economy and new society, outside and far away from the imperialist unions, with central planning, with social ownership of the wealth produced by the working class and our people.

All the other options are the failed experiments in social-democratic management, allegedly leftwing governments that manage the system, inside the framework of capitalism, and which after spreading fleeting hopes and false expectations lead the people to great disillusionment, the labour movement to retreat and strengthen conservative and even extremely reactionary trends among the popular forces.”

In reference to the entanglement of the “Greek issue” in the inter-imperialist contradictions, D. Koutsoumpas noted that: “You often present the “cruel” Schauble as the only opponent, Schauble who represents an important section of German capital, and that the friends of Greece from time to time are the USA and the IMF, and now France, focusing on the issue of the restructuring of the state debt.

Neither US or French or German capital are the friends of the people. They all demand the slaughter of the people’s rights and income. The competition between them is being conducted on the terrain of the capitalist crisis and the deep unevenness that permeates the hard core of the Eurozone. The USA and Germany are competing for hegemony in Europe. The IMF, France and Germany over the future of the eurozone. Sections of domestic capital, industrialists, banking and shipping groups are involved in this confrontation.

As long as we are involved in this dangerous web of contradictions all the alternatives will be a nightmare for the people: either the anti-people agreement/memorandum or a state default or a Grexit or even a possible war in the wider region.”

The General Secretary underlined the following as regards the future developments:

Despite the temporary compromise the tendency for the expulsion of countries remains strong. This does not concern merely Greece but all indebted countries and even those which are candidates to join the euro.

The people must not choose between their bankruptcy under the Euro or a bankruptcy under the Drachma.

A decisive solution in favour of the people requires a true rupture that has nothing to do with the fake rupture that certain forces within SYRIZA invoke when they defend the exit of Greece solely from the Eurozone.

Those who claim –including forces of SYRIZA, as well as other nationalist, reactionary forces from another standpoint– that the exit of Greece from the Eurozone, with a depreciated currency, will give impetus to competitiveness and growth and will have positive consequences for the people, are deliberately deceiving the people.

The prospect of Greece as a capitalist country with a national currency does not constitute any rupture in favour of the people. Those political forces that promote this goal as a solution or an intermediate goal for radical changes (such as the “Left Platform of SYRIZA, ANTARSYA as well as other ultra right, fascist forces in Europe) are actually playing the game of certain sections of capital.

So we will not choose whether we will go bankrupt under the Euro or the drachma, under an internal or external devaluation.

For this reason we do not choose between a memorandum and a Grexit.

Because there is an alternative solution if the people struggle for a rupture with the EU, capital and their power.

For example, we can abolish the EU commitments which have caused stagnation in domestic production, from sugar and meat to shipbuilding and many other sectors.

We can utilize the contradictions between the imperialist centres and achieve international agreements of mutual benefit for Greece under people’s power, which will be disengaged from the EU and NATO.

We can pave the way for the satisfaction of the people’s needs if we proceed to the socialization of monopolies, the means of production with scientific nationwide planning of economy”.

Finally, D. Koutsoumpas noted that the KKE called on the working people to organize their counterattack in the streets and the workplaces against the new destructive measures.

In the afternoon of the same day (Friday 10th July) PAME organized mass rallies in Athens and other major cities throughout the country against the 3rd (“leftwing”) memorandum of anti-people measures. The demonstrations were joined by trade unions, People’s Committees, Women’s Associations and Groups, mass organizations and Struggle Committees of self-employed and craftsmen as well as students i.e. by those who are being attacked by the measures of the coalition government. All of them declared: “enough! There is another path in favour of the people”.

D. Koutsoumpas who participated in the mass rally of PAME in Athens stated: “we cannot waste any more time. The working people must organize their struggle, promote their demands and organize the people’s alliance”.

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