Article to Roter Morgen 1/2007 about student's struggle

In its 1/2007 issue the german newspaper "ROTER MORGEN", published by KPD, hosts an article for the "Movement for the Reorganisation of KKE 1918-55". The article, in German, is available here. We give you an english translation of the biggest part of the article.

The reactionary Karamanlis’s government has started the most vicious attack in youth’s rights and the public and free education the last decade. It’s specific aims for the that period is the Article 16 of the Greek Constitution that previsions the public nature of higher education and the Universities asylum.

The social-democratic party (PASOK) for many years was declaring that it was against any revision of Article 16 but last year George Papandreou, PASOK's leader declared his agreement for the foundation of private Universities despite the large reactions in his party.

PASOK’s agreement for the revision was vital because revising a Constitution’s article needs positive vote the 2/3 of the Parliamentary members (180 PM) and the monarch-fascist party of New Democracy has 164. In the case that the positive votes are less than 150 the revision is fully cancelled and in the case that they are between 150 and 180 the revision is carried for the next government and needs again 180 positive votes.

The reactions triggered by this move are running high. The first round of mobilizations was before summer and ended with the teachers making strike for 6 weeks (the largest strikes the last 15 years), thousands of secondary schools and the 90% of the University departments under occupation. This force the government to cancel the discussion about the Universities asylum for an unknown time in the future.

The new year started with the discussion for the revision of Article 16 of the Constitution. Protest rallies from teachers, students, pupils and academics were held in all major cities throughout the country. Right now 300 University departments are under occupation. Thousands of students and academics participate in the mobilizations that take place every week in all the Greek major cities.

The struggle of academics, high school and primary school teachers with the last years' STRIKES and the massive University-high school OCCUPATIONS showed that with massive struggle the plans of the capitalists can be cancelled. ATHENS (with the mass pan-hellenic big strike on 1999) and PARIS show the only right way: UNITY - MASSIVITY - VICTORY.

From the first moment the Movement for the Reorganisation of the KKE 1918-55 underlined the necessity of a forehead of academic - professors - schoolteachers and a wider coiling round the education organisations with simultaneously mass LONG-TERM OCCUPATIONS of students and pupils with central objectives: DEFENCE of academic ASYLUM of - PUBLIC FREE EDUCATION - ARTICLE 16. This frame is only that can ensure fighting UNITY and big MASSIVITY, completely essential conditions for the rejection of attack and the victorious result of fight. The Movement supported the mobilizations of POSDEP (The Federation of University Professors) - OLME – DOE and participates in the “Pan-hellenic initiative for article 16” which was created on January.

It’s obvious that any energies in juxtaposition with this frame of fight are disruptive because they undermine immediately from the start the UNITY, they cancel inevitably the MASSIVITY, they render beforehand INEFFECTIVE the fight and they prejudge with mathematic precision his failure, they are included beforehand in government's disruptive tactics and they facilitate its plans “to pass” reagents metres for the education.

During all this months of reactions the reformists of the so-called “C”PG organized disruptive separate concentrations, didn’t publish photos of the vicious police attacks against the strikers in their newspaper, they were against long term University occupations and they did everything possible to make the reactions lighter. Their actions are completely aligned with government's tactics in the frames of permanent reactionary collaboration "C"PG-New Democracy.

The big reactions forced PASOK in a manoeuvre. Suddenly during the Parliament’s discussion about the Constitution’s revision it called for censure motion and declared that is not wishing to participate in the revision anymore. The practical fall back of the leadership of PASOK results from the strong pan-hellenic movement that disputes the market's dictatorship and defended public university with passion and sobriety. It was the first victory for Greek education movement.

The reactionary collaboration "C"PG-New Democracy was revealed once again when A. Papariga, leader of the so-called “C”PG, during the 3-day debate for the censure motion, spoke first from all the party leaders and called the censure motion a “wash-out” winning the warm applauses from the parliamentary members of the monarch-facist party of N.D. Finally “C”PG MPs instead of voting for the motion they abstained.

Now it’s vital that the reactions commence so the government fully cancels any thoughts for privatising the public education and cancelling the asylum. Already POSDEP will proceed with rolling five-day strikes and new rallies are already in the schedule.

Movement for the Reorganisation of the KKE 1918-55
February 2007