12/03/2024
Mass rally of the KKE outside the Greek Parliament:No one should stand idly by and watch! No participation in NATO’s abattoir of war!
Statements
The GS of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumbas, was the main speaker at the mass rally held by the KKE outside the Greek parliament on Monday 11 March.
In his speech, D. Koutsoumbas called on the people to break the omerta that the New Democracy government and all other parties are trying to impose on the involvement of our country in the imperialist wars raging in the region and in all the dangerous plans of the USA and NATO.
“The message that the New Democracy government and the warmongering EU will receive in the coming elections, should be much more resounding! The only ballot paper that can carry this anti-war message across Europe is that of the KKE”, he stressed.
He called broadly on the workers and youth to refuse to consent to Greece’s participation in the massacre of the Palestinian people. “No participation of the Armed Forces in the massacre in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The Hydra frigate and all Armed Forces on imperialist missions abroad must return home!”, he noted.
Commenting on French President Macron’s hawkish statement about sending European troops to Ukraine, he said:“This is where the insatiable thirst of the capitalists for new profits and the conflict between Russia and the Euro-Atlantic bloc, which is using Ukraine as a spearhead, is leading the peoples. Russia, in turn, acts as a bufferfor the Eurasian camp that is under formation and for China in itsrivalry with the USA for supremacy in the international capitalist system”.
The GS of the CC of the KKE referred in detail to the causes of both the of the Palestinian people by Israel and the causes of the imperialist war in Ukraine, stressing the responsibility of all imperialist powers. Concluding his speech, he highlighted that “Now we must intensify the struggle to prevent the government from sending arms and ammunition, which the Greek people havedearly paid forto be used for the defence of our country but end up on the military fronts of imperialist wars; for the closure of the US bases on Greek soil, namely in Souda, Alexandroupolis and elsewhere,which are turned intolaunching pads for the slaughter of other peoples and into potential targets for retaliation; for the disentanglement ofour country from imperialist war plans and the disengagement from imperialist unions, with the people masters in their own land. Now is the time to say a big NO to the transformation of our country into a spearhead for the imperialist murderous plans of the USA–NATO–EU. Now is the time to say a big YES to the right to live in peace and solidarity with other peoples”.
The mass rally of the KKE began with a speech by Amalia Papasotiriou, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force, who noted among other things:
“Today I stand among you with deep emotion, but also with a sense of responsibility, as an active duty officer of the Greek Air Force. Several years ago, I took an oath to the people of this country: to serve and defend my country. Along the way, I see my colleagues being sent on missions that have nothing to do with defending the sovereignty and the sovereign rights of our country. It is time to say enough is enough! (...)
Our participation in their wars does not suit me, my colleagues or any young conscript in the armed forces. The NATO flag is the flag of the hawks who ruthlessly trample on human beings for the sake of the interests they represent. It is stained with the blood of millions of innocent civilians, women and children. (...)
I refuse to do the same for the interests of those who are slaughtering the people of Palestine and Ukraine today, as they did with the people of Syria, Iraq and Yugoslavia a few years ago. These interventions resulted in millions of victims, dead, wounded and uprooted, many of whom were young children and civilians. (...)
I refuse to participate in any way in the implementation and facilitation of the criminal activities of NATO and the European Union. I refuse to be an accomplice in the bloodshed of the peoples, wherever in the world the real terrorists, i.e. the US government, the NATO staffs and the European Union directorates, are planning it. (...)
Therefore, today, every person should ask themselves: ‘What have I done to prevent all these warmongering plans that are being drawn up?’. If each one of us really chooses the position of defending the interests of the people, if all honest people come together, then we will preserve peace, we will defend the happiness of our children, the happiness and prosperity of the peoples.”
