THE Greek Pasok capitalist government, that is using its state forces to bludgeon and gas tens of thousands of workers protesting against its sell-off of Greece to the IMF and the EU Central Bank, has just stabbed the Palestinian masses in the back.
Up till now the PASOK (Socialist) regime has been masquerading as a friend of the Palestinians.
But its need to serve the IMF and the European Central Bank has ripped this mask off. The Greek government has just arrested the captain and detained the crew of the US ship, the ‘Audacity of Hope’. The ship was seeking to leave port with 36 US citizens aboard, some of them ex-concentration camp inmates, who were part of the second Freedom Flotilla, sailing to Gaza, to break the Israeli blockade.
In fact, Greece has told all of the ships of the flotilla that it will not let them leave port.
The capitalist crisis and the needs of the Greek ruling class to keep the support of the bankers and bosses has exposed the Greek government as just another capitalist regime that is in favour of pauperising the working class and the middle class of Greece, and for keeping over a million Palestinians in the Gaza prison camp permanently under Israeli seige.
The Greek ruling party is now fighting a battle on two fronts, against the Greek workers and peasants, and against the Palestinian masses of Gaza, as allies of the blood-soaked Netanyahu and Obama regimes.
In fact, there is just one front, the front of the working class and the oppressed nations against capitalism and imperialism.
This front must more and more become the scene of united action by the working class in Greece and throughout the EU and the US, where the working class is under the most vicious attacks, in alliance with the Palestinian masses of Gaza and the West Bank against imperialism and its Zionist and other allies.
In its statement on the actions of the Greek government, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine stated: ‘The Greek people have demonstrated, time and again, their firm solidarity with the Palestinian people, taking to the streets en masse to stand with the people of Palestine against Israeli massacres, invasions and wars. The people of Greece have also taken to their streets in the millions in the past months, and Greek workers risen in escalating general strikes over the past weeks, to stand against an EU/IMF economic austerity plan for their country which will mean misery, subservience, and suffering for Greece’s people.
‘Throughout the general strikes of the past week, Greek workers, including the port workers’ union, have made clear that the loading and sailing of the boats to Gaza is the one exception to their overall stoppage of work at the ports. . .
‘Now, we call upon the Greek movement to make it clear that the people of Greece will not accept this further assault on their sovereignty and on international justice and human rights and that the people of Greece will not be held hostage to Netanyahu, the US, the EU and the IMF.
‘We call upon all international and Greek forces in solidarity with Palestine to protest – and to include in existing protests against the IMF/EU assault on Greece – demanding that the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza be allowed immediately to sail freely to Gaza.’
The workers movement of the world must take action alongside the Palestinian masses on this issue. The Flotilla must sail and the conditions must be created for the siege of Gaza to be broken, the Palestinian state to be founded, and the Papandreou regime brought down, to be replaced by a Workers’ and Small Farmers’ government that will commence the European socialist revolution.
All of the forces of the world socialist revolution are now coming onto the scene. The Fourth International must be built in every country to lead it to its victory.
