Vermischtes zur Revolte in Griechenland – 2

1.) Regelmässigig aktualisierte Infos zu den Kämpfen in Griechenland gibt es auf Indymedia BRD, Indymedia Athen, LibCom, On the Greek Riots, tears and anger greece, Αλεξανδρε Ζεις! und Alexis Grigoropoulos † 06.12.2008

2.) In Komotini im Nordosten des Landes wird die besetzte Uni derzeit gemeinsam von Bullen und Chrysi Avyi-Faschos belagert.

3.) Αλεξανδρε Ζεις! berichtet von gestrigen Besetzung des des Sitzes der Regionalvertretung in Iraklion/Kreta durch 3000 Menschen

4.) Triantafyllos Mytafidis, Vorsitzender der Lehrergewerkschaft der weiterführenden Schulen, gefunden auf alexisg.blogsport.de/

„„Nach den Skandalen mordet die Regierung Karamanlis jetzt. Es gibt einen sehr wichtigen qualitativen Sprung in ihrer Repressionspolitik, nachdem sie uns bisher an die Verelendung, die Kommerzialisierung des Gemeineigentums, den Diebstahl der Gelder aus unseren Sozialversicherungskassen und an einen allgemeinen Autoritarismus gewöhnt hatte. Die Trostlosigkeit und Wut der Schüler und Studenten muss sich in eine treibende Kraft für neue soziale Kämpfe verwandeln.““

5.) Aus einem weiteren Kommunique der EEK von gestern:

„There were only small clashes with the riot police during the march, which, of course, geometrically escalated after the end of the march, and still continue this hour (around midnight, Greek time) around the Polytechnic University under occupation. The police use there tonight also goons of the paramilitary fascist group “Golden Dawn” – as they already did yesterday in Patras injuring with a knife a young girl- and threaten to attack also our Independent Action Center in the occupied Law Faculty in the Athens University.

In the Law Faculty under occupation, after the march, two General Assemblies took place: a Workers Assembly joined by hundreds of class struggle trade-unionists and a Student Assembly joined by representatives from nearly all the student unions of the Athens University. The traditions of the 1973 Polytechnic uprising against the CIA junta are revived: at that time too there were a Workers’ and a Students’ Assembly coordinating their actions as we do today. The Independent Action Center is precisely this Coordination.

A Statement was drafted and voted with a series of demands (for the abolition of anti-trade union, anti-pension, police state legislations, for wages increases, against privatizations, for nationalizations under workers control etc.), a call for an indefinite General Strike to overthrow the government, and a solemn decision for civil disobedience, demonstrations, strikes etc. against the State of Emergency prepared by the New Democracy government. The Statement, of course called also for the immediate release of all arrested, whose number until now is higher than 150 people, most of them young boys and girls around 15 years, the first target of this horrendous capitalist government of kid killers.

Another provocation became public today: the Medical–Legal Department of the Police wants to issue a verdict declaring the killing of Alexis …an accident. At the same time the two police murderers in their deposition in the Interrogator, made public by their lawyer (a notorious lawyer of the mob), accused their young victim to be “a nasty hooligan with a disturbed behavior”, “kicked out from his school” (the school rejected officially the slander). This character assassination- the Second Murder of Alexis Grigoropoulos- undoubtedly will provoke a new wave of explosions, keeping in mind that in the forefront of the struggle is 14-15 years schoolchildren.

Tomorrow there will be another student and schoolchildren demonstration. The same, the day after tomorrow. The mobilization will not stop until victory.“

6.) Die KOE zu den opportunistischen Anpissereien der „K“PG/KKE:

Statement of the Press Office of KOE – 10 December 2008

While during the first two days the KKE leadership was a mere witness, observing uncomfortably the protest of the youth, and after it was obliged to trail behind the mobilizations, it met with the Prime-minister. After this meeting with Mr Karamanlis, Ms Papariga, General Secretary of KKE, called SYRIZA to “stop caressing the rioters”. It is not necessary to underline the identification of Ms Papariga position with the similar declarations of the government’s representatives.

These days for each and every militant of the Left, for the whole Left (and especially for the Communist Left), the first and most important priority is to confront the reasons that create the actual protest: the policies of marginalization, of rejection, of repression, of neoliberalism. The KKE leadership pretends that it cannot understand this priority and once more it supports the government.

We reply to the sordid and shameless scenarios advanced by KKE about a “conspiracy inside and outside Greece”, aiming at presenting the government of K. Karamanlis as innocent and in defensive position, with our action:

We will intensify the mass movement in order to get rid of this criminal government!

Interview mit einer Gewerkschafterin in Kurdistan-Irak

Quelle: ITUC-CSI-IGB

„There is room for young women who dare to express themselves in the union“

Brussels, 9 December 2008 (ITUC OnLine): Having benefited from training programmes offered by the international trade union movement, 24-year-old Jehan Ahmed is now a trainer with the Kurdish trade union KGWSU in the province of Dohuk. Working in the beauty salon sector, she underlines how the image of trade unions has improved in the eyes of the young women workers in the region.

– How did you first get involved in the trade union movement?

– I have been an activist for many years. I started in 2003, when was 19 years old. I understood, being a worker myself, what it is to have difficulties at work and to feel that no one wants to defend you, that no one is interested, least of all the employers or the authorities. In my sector, beauty salons, the government had set artificially high prices for the products. But these prices didn’t correspond to the market reality, no one had the money to pay so much and it was impossible to make a reasonable income or to pay employees a decent wage; we didn’t even earn enough to cover the rent on the salon. So I went to see the authorities in charge of price controls in the province of Dohuk. They informed me that they couldn’t do anything, that it was a matter for the central government. I was working with 13 employees who were dependent on me at the time and I must admit that I would never have thought of turning to a trade union back then, but I gradually came to the realisation that no one else could help. I went to the union to question them about the link between the defence of prices and the defence of workers, the defence of all those women working in shops or salons and who cannot make ends meet.
With the support of the union, I went to see the administrator of the province, who had just been appointed, fortunately, and was therefore better disposed than his predecessor. I presented the problem to him, insisting that his role was to defend and protect the people. He listened to me and my colleagues and, as a result, the law on set prices was repealed and the beauty salons were able to sell their products at prices suited to the market.

– What is the union doing for you now?

– I have acquired a lot of knowledge and new experiences through the union, as have all the women working in my salon and other beauty salons that have also joined the union. There are over 80 salons employing at least two to three women. In the private beauty salon sector alone, there are 54 workers affiliated to the union in Dohuk. The women in this sector are confronted, first and foremost, with difficulties linked to social protection, health insurance and low incomes, so there are a lot of problem to work on.

– How well informed are workers about their rights in Kurdistan?

– Before 1991, we were under the yoke of Saddam Hussein’s regime and Law 150, under which most workers were classed as state employees and were therefore deprived of the right to organise. When Kurdistan became an autonomous region, the Kurdish government did not take any steps to inform Kurdish workers about their rights. A great deal of work needs to be done in terms of information and awareness raising.