General Strike Hits Greece

BLOG POST posted on December 28, 2010 by Readmore

Athens, December 15, 2010

In the past year, Greece has seen countless demonstrations which often culminated in confrontations with the police. The scene was no different this month (December 15 2010) when 100,000 people marched in the the streets of Athens marking the seventh general strike Greece has witnessed this year. The strike was called by the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), Greece's largest grouping of private sector workers, to protest the passing of yet more austerity reforms. These laws were passed along with many others as part of the free market austerity measures imposed on the country ever since the government accepted an International Monetary Fund loan in the hopes of bailing out it's huge debt and floundering economy. Of the 100,000 or so people who demonstrated in the streets of Athens that day, many marched in solidarity with the workers and exploited of Greek society but in complete opposition to the government controlled GSEE. Many people expressed this feeling by attempting to occupy the GSEE headquarters. Others took their anger and frustration directly to the ones who - on a daily basis - defend the interests of the government and ruling class, by battling thousands of riot and motorcycle police across the city for a better part of the day. The demonstrators also struck a blow to those who enact these policies of exploitation, when an ex-minister of economics was caught out in the fray and beaten by demonstrators. The Greek economy is in deep water and the government is on the verge of bankruptcy. People across Greece are responding to this crisis with their rage and their passion. They are spreading their ideas for a better world in almost daily demonstrations and social gatherings and cultivating the will to resist this system of exploitation that dominates our lives. I find the events in Greece to be hugely inspiring and relevant here at home, but for struggles such as these to grow and succeed they must spread. They can only spread if we share their stories and ideas and show our support in whatever way we can. For more on Greece check-out: www.occupiedlondon.org/blog