Greece

The next few hours are, again, crucial in Greece. The victory of the OXI in the referendum is being quickly turned into its opposite. The government has sent a proposal to the Troika which in essence represents accepting what people rejected in the referendum on Sunday. This in exchange for a new, third, bailout it has requested from the European Stability Mechanism, which is thought to be worth 70bn euro. It remains to be seen if this will be enough for the Troika Minotaur. Opposition is also growing in the ranks of Syriza and beyond, among the Greek working masses aroused by their victory in the referendum, but the government has worked to secure the support of bourgeois opposition

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Greek voters have decisively rejected the terms of an international bailout. Sunday’s referendum was a slap in the face for the bankers and capitalists of the Eurozone. The final result in the referendum, published by the interior ministry, was 61.3% “No”, against 38.7% who voted “Yes”. Most predicted Yes to have a base in the rural areas but in the end that was shown to be false.

We received the following letter from a comrade who recently travelled to Greece.

The working class based victory for the "No", with more than 60% is a revolutionary event. The people have given a mandate for revolutionary resistance and against Memorandum agreements. It's time for the nationalization of banks, repudiation of the debt and the overthrow of Memoranda and barbaric capitalism which spawned them.

Last night, Friday 3 July, there was a massive pro “OXI” (no) demonstration in Athens ahead of the referendum on the austerity policies of the institutions, or Troika. The demonstration gathered in Syntagma Square, outside of the Hellenic Parliament.

An open letter appeared in the Guardian newspaper on Sunday 28th June appealing for debt relief for Greece. The letter is addressed to David Cameron, the head of the Tory government. It is signed by, among others: Frances O’Grady (general secretary, TUC); Len McCluskey (general secretary, Unite the Union);recently knighted Sir Paul Kenny (general secretary, GMB); Manuel Cortes (general secretary, TSSA); Paul Mackney (Chair, Greece Solidarity Campaign); Jeremy Corbyn MP; John McDonnell MP; and Caroline Lucas MP.

The Greek crisis is approaching a denouement. This marks a turning point for the working class of Greece and the whole of Europe. Last January Greece voted for a government that promised to end the austerity policies that have ruined the country. The election of Syriza gave hope to many people throughout Europe. But precisely for this reason, the political leaders in Brussels and Berlin decided to crush the new government, to humiliate it, to sabotage it and finally to bring about its overthrow.

As the referendum approaches, political polarisation is reaching unprecedented levels in Greece. Events in the last 48h have revealed the sham of bourgeois democracy, as the Troika is not prepared to accept the Greek government’s willingness to make concessions and demands Tsipras’ removal. The conclusion is unavoidable: there is no way to end austerity within the limits of capitalism, and even less within the strait-jacket of the German dominated capitalist eurozone.

We already find ourselves fighting in a bitter class war that has been declared against the vast majority of the Greek people by the “black front” of the Troika and the Greek oligarchy. Wars are not won with passive “serenity”, but with militancy and a proper plan. The time has come for mass action and radical measures.

Late on Sunday, June 28, the Greek government decided to introduce bank and capital controls until July 7. This is in response to the provocative moves by the Troika institutions aimed at sabotaging the planned referendum in Greece. The war is being escalated, even though some are pushing for a deal to be reached for fear of the catastrophic consequences of a Greek default for the world economy.

A few hours ago, in a televised address to the nation, the Greek PM Tsipras has announced that he will put the latest ultimatum from the troika to a referendum on July 5. This marks a qualitatively new stage in the Greek crisis, one which can unleash the accumulated anger of the masses against the constant humiliation at the hands of the troika.