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

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Announcement of the academics' Union

UNION OF TEACHING AND SCIENTIFIC PERSONNEL IN ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY OF THESSALONIKI

ANNOUNCEMENT

The Union of Teaching and Scientific Personnel of AUTH, given the unjustifiable massive and brutal arrests of dozens of students of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, that had been peacefully demonstrating against the legislation reforms in the Highest Education Level, taking part in the education demonstration of Thursday 8-3-2007 in Athens following their student unions' decisions,

• expresses the solidarity of the academic professors of our University towards their struggling students and especially towards the arrestees, a lot of whom are first year pre-graduate students,
• protests strongly against the provocative and bloody suppression of the struggles of the student and the university-wide movement as a choice for applying the governmental policy for the Higher Education,
• expresses their firm opposition to the infringement of the constitutional and juridical rights of the arrestees, who have been deprived from having a contact with their lawyers and their family for more than 24 hours.
• strictly denounces the plans and the tactics for taking advantage of the so-called masqueteers by the security forces, who aim to defame and degrade the University and Student movement in the social conscience.
• firmly protests against the penalisation of the democratic and critical right of every citizen to freely demonstrate their opposition to the governmental choices; and against the extremely having charges of "anti-terrorist" kind, for "constituting a gang", which have been falsified by every recent witness and record.

The Union believes that the arrested students, whom we, professors, know in person in the classrooms and the amphitheatres, have nothing to do with the accusations, as neither do they wear any masks, or are "gangsters" by taking part in the democratic procedures of their student unions.

ESDEP comittee
(signatures)
Eleftheria Karnavou (president) / Yannis Krestenitis (secretary)

Thessaloniki 10-3-2007

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First victory for free public education - We continue the fight

Bulletin of the pan-hellenic initiative for article 16

First victory for free public education
We continue the fight

What was considered impossible until a few days ago, finally happened. The revision of the constitution's article 16 cannot take place, without 180 votes in the parliament's assembly. The practical fall back of the leadership of PASOK (which the party of the opposition -"socialistic", and which actually still supports "private" universities) results from the strong pan-hellenic movement that disputes the market's dictatorship and defended public university with passion and sobriety. Against the alliance between the (right wing) government and the leadership of PASOK, against the libelography on behalf of a big part of the press, against the violence of the police, and the alliance of 1,000 people willing to support the government in its most difficult moment, not only did the movement remained upright, but also managed to unfold moch more beyond the academic community. More than 330 university faculties have been occupied, strikes of POSDEP, committees were organized all over Greece, sending the message that EDUCATION IS NOT A MERCHANDISE!

The pan-hellenic initiative for article 16 (http://www.arthro16.gr) greets this first victory of the movement from the academic community and the people. But we should not rely on this. This is the beginning and the route is open!

Athens 02/02/07

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Against the reactionary revision of Article 16 of the Constitution

Last Wednesday begun the Parliamentary debate on the revision of Article 16 of the Constitution that previsions the public nature of higher education. The new attack to the right of free education for all for the reactionary government of the monarch-fascist New Democracy with the aid of George Papandreou, PASOK's leader, is the most vicious attack in public education the last years and is joined with the attempt to cancel the Universities asylum.

The reactions triggered by this move are running high. Protest rallies from teachers, students, pupils and academics were held in all major cities throughout the country, while teachers went on a 24-hour strike and civil servants realized a 4-hours stoppage of work. Over 250 University departments are under occupation. Thousands of students participated in the mobilizations that took place in the morning.

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.

In this direction is completely essential the constitution of a forehead of academic - professors - schoolteachers and a wider coiling round the education organisations with simultaneously mass OCCUPATIONS of students and pupils with central objectives: DEFENCE of academic ASYLUM of - PUBLIC FREE EDUCATION - ARTICLE 16, only that can ensure fighting UNIT and big MASSIVITY, completely essential conditions for the rejection of attack and the victorious result of fight. POSDEP - OLME - DOE are imposed moreover practise the bigger possible pressure in the reformists leaders of ADEDY and the NATIONAL WORKERS' UNION OF GREECE for support in their fight.

Any energies in juxtaposition with this frame of fight are disruptive because they undermine immediately from the start the UNIT, 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. In the same direction the disruptive separate concentrations of his reformists of "C"PG that is completely aligned with government's tactics in the frames of permanent reactonary collaboration "C"PG-New Democracy.


Movement for the Reorganisation of the Communist Party of Greece 1918-55

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6th week of strikes of teachers of the primary schools

The primary schools' teachers in Greece decided to continue their strike for their 6th week. The strike has started on September 18th.

The Greek Primary Teachers Federation (DOE) demands rises in salaries and stop of the privatization of education. The teachers are against the, so-called, “evaluation system” and criticize the new school programs and books.

The same time over a thousand of high schools (over the 75% of high schools in Athens-Attica) and some Universities are under occupation.

The government answered with the brutal police attacks to the massive demonstrations. The police used chemicals against the demonstrators.

It is obvious that only the UNITED MASSIVE struggle can lead to the victory.

The revisionist so-called "Communist" Party of Greece, after failing to prevent the strikes, tried again to break people's unity by organizing separate demonstrations. It's actions have been condemned by the majority of the strikers.

The Movement for the Reorganisation of the Communist Party of Greece 1918-55 supports the struggle of the teachers and the students. Greets the great massive demonstrations and condemns the use of violence from the reactionary Karamanlis' government.

Movement for the Reorganisation of the Communist Party of Greece 1918-55

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