Ψήφισμα των Ελλήνων μεταναστών στον Καναδά ενάντια στο κλείσιμο της ΕΡΤ

Αναδημοσιευση απο το 902.gr:

Η Λέσχη Φίλων του ΚΚΕ στο Τορόντο, η Ελληνοκαναδική Δημοκρατική Οργάνωση και η Οργάνωση Αγωνιστών Εθνικής Αντίστασης εξέδωσαν το παρακάτω ψήφισμα σχετικά με το κλείσιμο της ΕΡΤ:

«Η απαράδεχτη και προκλητική απόφαση της τρικομματικής κυβέρνησης να κλείσουν την δημόσια ραδιοτηλεόραση θα έχει επιπτώσεις και στους Έλληνες μετανάστες στον Καναδά.
Το δικαίωμα της ψυχαγωγίας και της ενημέρωσης είναι αναφαίρετο δικαίωμα του λαού και με αυτή την ενέργεια η κυβέρνηση στερεί από εμάς τους Ελληνες το δικαίωμα αυτό. Παράλληλα, η κυβέρνηση με την πράξη αυτή οδηγεί την δημόσια περιουσία που την πλήρωσε ο λαός στα χέρια ιδιωτών. Στην συνέχεια θα ανοίξει την πόρτα σε παραπέρα ιδιωτικοποιήσεις και ξεπούλημα δημόσιας περιουσίας.
Είμαστε αλληλέγγυοι στους εργαζόμενους της ΕΡΤ και τους ενθαρύνουμε να μην σκύψουν το κεφάλι. Να συντονίσουν μαζί με άλλους εργαζόμενους την αντίσταση και την πάλη απέναντι στην πολιτική που τους πετάει στο δρόμο, στην ανεργία.
Καλούμε τους Έλληνες του Καναδά να απαιτήσουν τη συνέχιση της λειτουργίας Δημόσιας Ραδιοτηλεόρασης και να εκφράσουμε την συμπαραστασή μας στους εργαζόμενους της ΕΡΤ και γενικά στον εργαζόμενο λαό που πλήττεται από την αντιλαϊκή πολιτική».

Διασπορα

A neo/new diaspora (from Greek διασπορά, “scattering, dispersion”) is the displacement, migration, and dispersion of individuals away from their homelands by forces such as globalization, neoliberalism, and imperialism.
~~ Wikipedia

Σημειωση (σημαντικη): οι Ελληνες δεν ειμαστε οι μονοι που τα τραβαμε αυτα. Καθε αλλο.

Υστερογραφο: σκατα στους “Πανελληνες“.

Greek-American Radicals – the Untold Story

 

#19jgr Antifascist Solidarity with Greece in Toronto

Here is the flyer we passed around:

 

Never Again Fascism!

In recent years the world economic Crisis has plunged Greece in a deep recession. As always, workers, students and the more vulnerable amongst us are made to pay. Jobs are lost, unemployment skyrockets, pensions melt away, the cost of living rises, etc. This economic crisis threatens the stability of the entire economic system of the European Union. The “solution”, imposed by the Greek and European politicians and bankers, along with the IMF, is crippling austerity. Populations, already hard hit by the direct consequences of the crisis, are further burdened by cuts to social services, salary cut-backs and regressive attacks on labour rights.

As in 1920′s Italy and 1930′s Germany, a previously obscure fascist party has been thrust into the spotlight. This party, named Golden Dawn, scapegoats immigrants and leftists for Greece’s woes and has a political platform based on nationalism, militarism, anti-immigrant xenophobia, racism, rejection of democracy, antisemitism, hatred of the Left and the labour movement. And of course, street-level thuggery and violence.

Already, black-shirt squads march on the streets of Greece. In certain areas, the police has seemingly ceded law enforcement duties to Golden Dawn‘s thugs. Racist attacks are on the rise, as documented by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Gays, artists, journalists and anyone who dares resist them is also on the receiving end of fascist violence. On Thursday, January 17th, Sahzad Lukman, a 27 year-old Pakistani worker was brutally murdered in Athens, being only the latest of a long list of victims of racist violence.

Most alarmingly, the Greek government itself is adopting the fascists’ agenda. While the ruling government coalition of the right and centre-left denounces them in name, in practice it is already implementing the basic parts of their program. Migrants are rounded up in concentration camps. The police routinely do racial profiling and arbitrarily detain anyone who doesn’t look white enough. Beaten and abused detainees are humiliated in public with the complicity of the mainstream Greek media. Perpetrators of racist attacks are rarely sought and arrested. All the while, law enforcement targets students and left-wing activists with increasingly repressive and heavy-handed policing.

The 19th of January 2013 has been designated by Greek antifascists as an international day of action against the resurgence of fascism. We are gathering outside the Greek Consulate in Toronto, joining our voices with people around the world to condemn Golden Dawn and to protest the Greek State and the Greek mainstream media for adopting, promoting and implementing the fascists’ agenda.

¡No Pasaran! Never Again Fascism!

Rhythms of Resistance – Toronto                             RoRToronto.wordpress.com

Greek Solidarity Initiative – Toronto                        TorontoGreekSolidarity.wordpress.com

October 28 2012: David McNally on the rise of fascism in Greece.

This is the talk by David McNally that we recorded and screened at our recent antifascist event (you can see some photos from the event here).

He makes some very good points, including:

• The function of fascists as a tool of capitalists for disciplining the Working Class.
• The role of austerity in the context of the capitalist crisis.
• The dangers of electoralism and the need for bottom-up organization of the Working Class.

Worth the watch!

Greece 1940: The antifascist struggles of yesterday. Turtle Island 2012: The necessity of struggle today.

Πριν μερικους μηνες, ξεκινησαμε εδω στο Τοροντο μια αριστερη πρωτοβουλια αλληλεγγυης στον Ελληνικο λαο. Στις 28 Οκτωβριου εχουμε την πρωτη μας εκδηλωση:

Greece 1940: The antifascist struggles of yesterday.
Turtle Island 2012: The necessity of struggle today.

The capitalist crisis of 2008 brought class struggle to a new level of intensity. In Greece, the EU country most hit by the crisis, devastating policies are imposed to large sections of society. These expose the organic ties between neoliberalism and fascism, best seen in the meteoric rise of Golden Dawn. A true fascist party, Golden Dawn is involved in routine acts of violence and has recently started appearing in Greek diaspora.

Join us on Sunday the 28th, on Ohi Day, the anniversary of Greece’s entry to World War II to:

• Learn about the actions of Greek fascists in Greece and North America.
• Discuss different perspectives on the fascist phenomenon and its relation to the crisis,
• Relate, compare and contrast the history and the effects of the current capitalist crisis in Greece and North America.

Speakers:

• Antonis Tsopelas (Association of Greek Canadian Veterans of the National Resistance 1941-45)
• Nikos Gryspolakis (Occupy Montreal)
• David McNally (York University)

Where: OISE, room 2211 (map: http://goo.gl/maps/NnfPU)

When:  Sunday, October 28th, 6.00pm
http://torontogreeksolidarity.wordpress.com/

With support from:

• OPIRG Toronto http://www.opirgtoronto.org/
• Greek Canadian Democratic Organization

Greek neonazi party “Golden Dawn” comes to Canada

The latest news from Greece is that “actual fascists in actual black shirts are actually marching around Athens waving swastikas and burning torches, and maiming and murdering ethnic minorities” (Laurie Penny, The Independent, August 30th). This is not journalistic sensationalism: major  human rights NGOs (HRW, Amnesty International) have documented a sharp increase in racist violence in Greece.

The rise in racist violence is closely correlated with the rise in popularity of the neonazi party “Golden Dawn”. In turn, Golden Dawn’s rise is closely correlated with the financial crisis, as well as the strengthening of Fortress Europe, in the expense (as always) of people of colour (see for example Steve Coll, New Yorker, September 20th).

The neonazis have been employing a two-pronged tactic: violence in the streets, charity in the city  squares. In a series of publicity stunts, Golden Dawn has set up blood banks of pure Greek blood(!) and has started distributing food to people who can prove that they are pure Greeks. Even elderly Greek women that don’t look Aryan enough, are turned away.

Since the Greek corporate-owned media is ever-happy to advertise Golden Dawn (Aris Chatzistefanou, The Guardian, September 23rd), these publicity stunts are guaranteed to reach a larger audience. They are therefore well poised to achieve a double aim: to promote the neonazis’ populist image within Greece as well as to mobilize reactionary elements in the Greek diaspora.

And indeed the most backwardly elements of the Greek diaspora have started acting out. During the summer, Golden Dawn established overseas chapters in Melbourne and New York City. Now they have come to Canada as well.

Back in July, (warning: NSFW) a letter appeared in the Golden Dawn website claiming to speak on behalf of a nucleus of 30 Golden Dawn supporters in Toronto and condemning “zionists and freemasons”. However, the first appearance of Golden Dawn wasn’t in Ontario, but in Quebec. On September 18th, Golden Dawn published a news item in their website under the title (warning: NSFW) ”Solidarity from Golden Dawn Montreal“. The post contains photos of blackshirts gathering food, toys, etc under the Canadian, Greek and Golden Dawn flags. Addendum: Québec Facho-Watch has an extensive report on the Montreal nucleus (in French).

As silly as it may sound, there are members of the Greek immigrant community in Canada who offer their support to a group that wants to “clean up” Greece from immigrants, refugees and people of color  in general. They may not think of themselves as radical as their white supremacist brethren  in, say, Edmonton, Alberta or London, Ontario. But it is important to notice that however benign their gathering of aid may seem, it is directly employed by a group that attacks migrants, queer people, Romani  people, leftists and trade-unionists to promote their populist image. The “food and toys” of the Montreal blackshirts will be distributed to “pure Greeks only”, buying votes for a bona-fide neonazi party.

Addendum: What can you do? At this point, a few things:

• Sign the Avaaz petition to Investigate Greece´s Golden Dawn neo-Nazi Party and the Montreal-specific petition.
• If you are of Greek descent, be vigilant in your local Greek community. Better still, start a progressive initiative or join an existing one!
• Support progressive immigrant organizations, such as Barrio Nuevo, and help build new ones in communities that don’t have them.
• Support struggles that build capacity against the extreme right in your local community: migrants rights groups such as No One Is Illegal, your local queer community, organizations against regressive economic policies such as OCAP, community newsletters such as BASICS.
• In short: organize, educate, agitate!