Thousands march across Greece to protest Rubio visit
All images via the KKE
“Rubio the butcher is unwelcome!” declared thousands of people on the afternoon of October 6 in the centre of Athens, outside the Greek Parliament, chanting loudly “The bases of death out of Greece!” and “No involvement in wars for their profits”, while the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, was visiting Greece for the new round of the Greece-US Strategic Dialogue.
Giorgos Stefanakis, President of the Labour Centre of Athens— the country's largest labour centre, uniting all the primary-level trade unions of workers in the Greek capital — delivered the keynote speech at the rally. He is also a member of the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) Secretariat. He made it clear that "we workers do not accept those who, together with the Greek bourgeoisie, are leading the peoples to ruin and the generalisation of imperialist war. The people do not want you; take your bases and leave Greece!” St. Benetatos gave a greeting speech on behalf of the Secretariat of the Greek Committee for International Detente and Peace (EEDYE).
Dimitris Koutsoumbas, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), attended the trade union rally and spoke to media representatives.
This was followed by a march to the US Embassy, defying the government’s attempts to intimidate protesters with riot police cordons and tear gas. A strong police presence repeatedly attempted to stop the large demonstration that had set off from Syntagma Square, but only succeeded on the third attempt, at the third roadblock they had set up on central streets in Athens. MPs of the KKE were present, demanding that the police withdraw. However, the plan to suppress the rally failed, as while the police prevented the march from reaching the US Embassy, dozens of demonstrators, in a move that took the police by surprise, reached the US embassy. There, they unfurled banners, thus rejecting the bans and sending the message: “Neither land nor water to the murderers of the peoples”.
The Press Office of the Central Committee of the KKE issued the following statement regarding the rally in Athens against the arrival of M. Rubio:
“The KKE salutes the mass participation of the people and the youth in the rally organised by trade unions and mass organisations against the arrival of the US Secretary of State, M. Rubio, in Greece. The fact that the rally took place with massive participation and that the demonstrators sent their message outside the US Embassy, despite the bans and the provocative attitude of the police, sends a militant message of condemnation and opposition to our country’s further involvement in the US’s energy and military plans in the region, which are also being promoted by the current New Democracy government and for which the people are already paying a heavy price.”
Large demonstrations also took place in Thessaloniki, Patras and many other cities across Greece.
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