Appeal for solidarity with the people of Greece

February 13, 2012 – Coalition of Resistance – The people of Greece face an unprecedented economic and political crisis. They are being driven to poverty and mass unemployment by the demands of the so-called Troika – the European Union, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund, which has imposed Lucas Papademos, former vice-president of the ECB, as prime minister.

Hospitals in Greece are running out of basic medicines, nearly half of all young people are unemployed, workers in some sectors have not been paid for months, and many are forced to resort to soup kitchens or scavenge from rubbish dumps.

Now the Troika demands a cut of 23% to the minimum wage, the sacking of tens of thousands of public sector workers and the decimation of pensions which have already lost nearly 50% of their value. International capital is asset stripping an entire country and ripping apart its social fabric.

Greece is at the cutting edge of the austerity measures that are being introduced across Europe. All the evidence shows that while these measures may protect the interests of the rich, they just make matters worse for the majority of the population. What happens in Greece today we will see in Portugal tomorrow and in Ireland the day after. In Britain, the Coalition government is pursuing similar measures which will see workers earnings cut, working longer for a smaller pension, and the dismantling of the NHS along with other public services.

Mikis Theodorakis, famous Greek composer of Zorba’s Dance, and Manolis Glezos, veteran resistance fighter against the Nazi occupation, have issued a statement calling for a European Front to defend the people of Greece and all those facing austerity.

The Coalition of Resistance and the People’s Charter have decided to support this call and agreed to work with trades unions, campaigns and parties across Europe to establish a European Solidarity Campaign to defend the people of Greece. The campaign aims to organise solidarity and raise practical support for the people of Greece; they cannot be made to pay for a crisis for which they are not responsible.

We are writing to you to ask you to endorse this campaign and to publicise it to others.
Below is a list of initial signatories. We will be calling an organising meeting for the campaign in the next week.

• Greek translation of the statement.
• German translation of the statement.
• French translation of the statement.
• Swedish translation of the statement.
• Portuguese translation of the statement

Signatories include

[To sign the statement or see a full list of signatories, go to http://www.coalitionofresistance.org.uk/2012/02/sign-the-appeal-for-solidarity-with-the-people-of-greece/ ]

Andrew Burgin – Secretary, Coalition of Resistance

Tony Benn – President, Coalition of Resistance

Socialist Alliance (Australia) 

John Hendy – Co-Chair, People’s Charter

Len McCluskey – General Secretary, UNITE

Mark Serwotka ­– General Secretary, PCS

Christine Blower, General Secretary NUT

Bob Crow – General Secretary, RMT

Billy Hayes – General Secretary, CWU

Michelle Stanistreet – General Secretary, NUJ

Manuel Cortes – General Secretary, TSSA

Sally Hunt – General Secretary UCU

Matt Wrack – General Secretary, FBU

Jeremy Corbyn MP

Caroline Lucas MP

John McDonnell MP

Tariq Ali – Writer

John Pilger – Broadcaster

Iain Banks – Author

A L Kennedy – Writer

Ken Loach – Film maker

Romayne Phoenix – Chair Coalition of Resistance

Imran Khan – Co Chair People’s Charter

Frank Cooper – President National Pensioners Convention [pc]

Owen Jones

Lee Jasper ­­– BARAC

Paul Mackney – Vice-Chair, Coalition of Resistance (former GS NATFHE/UCU)

Ann Pettifor – New Economics Foundation

James Meadway – Senior Economist, New Economics Foundation

Kate Hudson

Lindsey German

Rachel Newton – Convenor People’s Charter

John Hilary – War on Want

Sean Rilla Razka – President elect ULU

Pete Murry Green Party Trade Union Group

Peter Allen Convenor Green Left

Patrick Sikorski RMT

Chris Bambery

Clare Solomon – co-editor Springtime: The New Student Rebellions

Cherry Sewell – Coalition of Resistance

Cat Boyd – Chair Coalition of Resistance Glasgow

Aaron Kiely – NUS National Executive

Fiona Edwards – Student Broad Left

John Rees – Counterfire

Fred Leplat – Socialist Resistance

International Socialist Group – Scotland

Joseph Healy – Queers Against the Cuts

Heinrich Buecker – Berlin gegen Krieg, (Anti-War Cafe Berlin)

Martin Mayer – UNITE Executive Council member for Passenger Transport