The reimposition of martial luw in Greece should come as no surprise to anyone; as in 1967, it was a response to the rising threat posed by the struggles of thé students and workers.
At the time of the Army takoover on 21 April 1967, the farce of bourgeois democracy had become extremely unstable. The old bourgeois parties had all in tum become discredited, starting with the ERE (right-wing royalist party) in 1963.
The ERE had then held office for nine years, pursuing a policy of total subordination to the interests of US imperialism, arming the forces of the right, and constantiy attacking the Jiving standards and organisation of the working class and peasantry. But the real nature of the regime was dramatically exposed in the investigations which followed the murder of Lambrakis, a left-wing MP. when leading figures in the army and police became clearly implicated (the film Z is based on this episode). Huge demonstrations were held against the government, elections were called, and the EK (Centre Union) party was swept into office. The ERE leader, Karamanlis, hastily retired into exile. BOURGEOISIE SPLIT The programme of the EK, whose leader George Papandreou became prime minister, was for a reoganisation of Greek capitalism. Using anti-American demagogy to win mass support, their aim was to break the hold of US imperialism over the country and attempt to develop a national Greek economy, within the framework of the European Common Market, This was the first open appearance of a split between US-and Europcan-oriented sections of the ruling class.
Along with the aim of developing an independent Greek economy went a policy of moderate reforms. The EK programme included promises to increase wages and to reform the educational system, But the popular mobisations which developed round this rapidly moved out of the party's control with growing demands for the abolition of the monarchy, the nationalisation of the land, and the expropriation of foreign investments. It was this as much as anything which lay behind King Constantine's dismissal of the Papandreou government in 1965, but the series of coalitions which followed were unable to affect the situation, while the impact of the mass movement steadily extended to draw in ever wider forces, Further lections were due to be held in May 1967, and the probability of a major swing to the left was very clear. Indeed George Papandreou's son, Adreas, had already formod INTERNATIONAL an alliance for precisely this purpose with the EDA party (largely a front for the illegal Communist Party, the KKE), But this alliance was based solely on electoral perspectives, with no real connection with the developing extra-parilamentary strupgies, Although the prospect of a US-backed military coup was freely discussed, the KKE stuck rigidly to the "peacefal road' scenario.
There was thus no organisation capable of taking up the leadership of a serious struggle against the junta atter the colonels struck on 21 April; there was effectively no organised opposition to the coup. In his book Democracy af Gurpoinr (recently published in paperback), Andreas Papandreou comments that he could never understand why there was no general strike at the time. But how could there be, without any proparation for one? How could the Greek workers, students and peasants be expected to come out onto the streets against the Army when no provisions had been made for clandestine organisation, when the question of armed defence had never once been ruised? The KKE in particular bears a licavy load of responsibility for this situation.
AFTER THE COUP On taking power, the junta banned all trade unions, effectively arrested all politicians (from royalists to Troiskyists), and smashed the organisations of the working class and peasamtry. Thousands of people were arrested and Interned, US aid to Greece doubled. Protests at the excessive nature of the repression came of course from the political leaders of Western Europe, but recognition of the now regime was hot withheld for long, least of all by the British Labour Government.
For about three yeurs the junta was able to crate the appearance of an economic "boom" thanks largely to massive injections of US aid. But sinoe 1970 there has heen a dramatic rise in the cost of living, while wages huve remained frozen, Moreover, the oconomic policies followed by the junta have led to a massive influx of peasants into the towns, particularly Athens and Salonica. The junta had hoped to. use this petty bourgeois layer as a basis for building up their support, but the rampant inflatiod of the last tew monthe (80% since January) has decisiely pul paid to this hy threatening to squecze them out of CTR CIC The first group to challenge the regime were the students. There bas been no rise in government spending on education sinoe the coup, with the result that students are having to work in increasingly difficult conditions, There is no academic freedom, no say for studeats in the courses they have to working class movement. "LIBERALISATION' almost unanimous. the Arabs. attend, and expression of political views can Tead to expulsion from the University andior drafting into the Army. Moreover, there has been widespread opposition to the extremely clumsy intervention of the junta in the student union elections. This led to the demons- way forward there was an overwhelming tradions in the spring of thus year, which were however marked by their isolation from the At the same time, the junta has been trying to speed up the process of 'liberalisation". The gradual lifting of martial law and the relaxation of censorship were followed in Juiy by the referendum to abolish the monarchy and install Papadopoulos as President, using the abortive navy mutiny in June as an excuse, The vote in favaur of this was not as high as the junta had hoped, particularly in Athens, although in the countryside, well away from any supervision by foreign journalists, it was Still the junta proceded on its course, asmouncing the appointment of a "civilian" prime minister Markezinis, and holding forth the promise of elections early next year, But the economic situation continued to worsen, while the evident US control over government policies continued to dent the 'true independent Greek image of the LAUNCES LAC DO ALO FICOE a OastO OI Athens, and in the Middle East wur Greece for the firt time supported Israel agginst In this situation, the working class had also begun to stir, delving the poverument han on strikes and in some cascs winning substantial wage increases, These successes in turn inURUGUAY: Nine members of The Tupemaros. incuding their best-known leader, Raul Sendic, are now baing hald under sertonce of death at military buses in the interior, All hed previcusy hoon held for some time at the Libertad concentration camp creased Cheir seif-confidence and combativity At the same time, the first Hnks were boing forged with sections of the students, who had learnt the lesson of their isolation in the spring. Thus when the students pointed the response trom large sections of the masses.
The events of the last week lave demonstrated otoe again the nature of the tasks facing the revolutionary vanguard in Grecoe, As we have seen, the fight fur the most elementary democratic richts and for even a modest standard of living comes very quickly into conflict with the very basis of the capitalist system over which the colonels preside. The demands for free cle clions, legal trade unions and political parties, decent wages and conditions, etc, can only be waged successfully within the framework of a struggle for the establishment of a Socialist Workers Republic. This must be the aim of the fight in Greece, which cannot be subordinated to any alliance with the discredited bourgeois politicians in the elusive pursuit of bourgeois democracy. Clearly, as the enormous casualties of the last wock show only too tragicsily, this straggie demands the orgmisation of armed detachments of the working class and its student and poasant ailles rigia frome the stari. The jutta has shown that it has no hesitation in torniog even the smallest mobilisation into a bloodhath, The lessoos of this mist be learn and applied by the working class movement in preparing for future confrontations which can bave a real perspective of overthrowing the regime und its imperialist backers.
ISRAEL: Marius Schatter, an Israpli citizen and member of the Revolusionery Communist All ance has been in prison since 12 October and may be court-martialied at any mornent for refusing to tekn up arre for Israel in what he describes as thie