KKE holds mass political and cultural event at Athens Polytechnic
Images via the KKE
Via the Communist Party of Greece (KKE)
A few days before the 53rd anniversary of the Polytechnic students' uprising against the military dictatorship in 1973, and the large demonstration at the US Embassy on 17 November, the Attica Party Organization of the KKE held a significant political and cultural event on 10 November 2026 inside the historic Athens Polytechnic, where the uprising had begun. The event took place just a few metres from the bloodstained gate of the Polytechnic, which had been crushed by a military tank along with the students. “Here, where every inch reminds us of the sacrifices made by communists and militants in our country, we will once again shout the slogan "US Out! NATO Out!", which is more timely than ever”, emphasized Nikos Ambatielos, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the KKE, who was speaking at the event.
He noted, among other things, that “those of us who took to the streets in recent days are gathering once again. From the student mobilizations to the great, historic strike by dockworkers and the day of joint action held on October 30 in 113 ports around the world, across five continents. On that day, the dockworkers proved who keeps the ports and ships running; they demonstrated the power the working class holds in its hands when it becomes aware of it, when it coordinates its efforts, and when it declares, “We do not work for war.” They showed that workers have no energy routes or spheres of influence to divide. They showed that the slogan “we do not work for war” concerns all workers and means that we can reject and overturn the policies that sacrifice our needs for the interests of the few. When this happens in dark times and on a global scale, everyone can take a breath of optimism, think things through and become more determined in the daily struggle to oppose the exploiters of the people with this inexhaustible power. This unprecedented struggle leaves a significant legacy. It gives new momentum to the ongoing struggle, at a time of unrest in the workplaces, when a single spark of struggle can become a fire.”
N. Ambatielos emphasized that “strength lies in the organization of the working class, in its alliance with the popular strata, in the militant action of the unions, student associations, and school students, with the KKE and KNE [Communist Youth] at the forefront. The strike on 25 November is a significant milestone in our struggle. Because for the people to win, capital must lose”, and he added: “Hope lies in the struggles that turn their backs on the government’s blackmail about “stability”—a policy that creates nothing but instability in our lives—and that disregard the rhetoric about “social peace”. Hope lies in taking steps toward building a large, nationwide movement that will challenge their choices, the dominant political order, and even the very power of capital in our country. But we can—and we will—get out from this mire by building a society in Greece free from exploitation of man by man, with the people’s needs at the centre of economic development, with true workers’ - people’s power and democracy, which will bear no resemblance to the current rot and corruption stemming from the bourgeois political system.
The KKE has such a program, and it is working toward this vision today. That is why it is the mind, the heart, and the organizer of every popular struggle, but also the true adversary—the counterweight—of every anti-popular government.”
The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumbas, attended the large rally and concert organized by the Attica Party organization of the KKE at the Polytechnic School, where he made the following statement: “At a time when they want the people to accept austerity, poverty, and war, there is only one answer: No compromise with this barbarity. Hope lies in the struggles of our people. In the dockworkers who refuse to work for the war, in the school and university students who are fighting for their future, in the workers who are preparing for the major nationwide general strike on 25 November. Our songs unite with these struggles tonight. Because no matter how much they all seek to “curtail” our lives, we will not settle for a smaller sky.”
In the historic building of the Polytechnic, the songs that accompanied the people in their struggle against the dictatorship 53 years ago were heard once again.
For more images see: Hope lies in the people's struggles
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