8/20/2019 Greek Blackmail leaflet 0607

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www.socialistworker.co.uk

The huge Oxi/No vote in the Greekreferendum is a slap in the facefor the bullies and blackmailers

of the European Union (EU) andInternational Monetary Fund (IMF).

 Tey threw everything at the Greekpeople. Tey forced the closure of thebanks by curbing emergency fundingto the Greek financial system, theyprophesied doom if there was anythingother than a Yes vote to the latestausterity plans.

 All of the Greek private corporatemedia and virtually the whole of theGreek rich echoed their fear mongering.

 Yet the courage and defiance of theGreek people produced not just a victoryfor the No side but a near landslide withover 61 percent of the vote.

Everyone who wants to oppose thedrive by the bankers, bosses and the rich

to make the poorest pay for the economiccrisis should take heart, build solidarity with Greece, and redouble their efforts tobuild resistance across Europe.

A class vote Te No vote won in every single oneof Greece’s 56 electoral districts, evenin the traditional heartlands of NewDemocracy, the Greek ories.

It was not just No to the latestEU/IMF austerity package. It was a

resounding call for an end to austerityin any form—an end to the years ofrocketing unemployment, plunging livingstandards and collapsing public services.

It was a class vote driven bymobilisation from below.

 Te call for a referendum initiateda huge movement to beat back thelies and propaganda from the Yesside, culminating in the huge rally inSyntagma Square in Athens on Friday.

 Tere is a danger that Alexis sipras

and the leadership of Syriza simplyreturn to the negotiating table andcontinue to offer concessions.

 wo weeks ago they were willingto offer £8 billion of cuts and a majorextension of the privatisation programme.

Greece – after great No vote

build struggle against austerity Te resignation of Yanis Varoufakis

as finance minister is a warning. Te EUelite saw him as an obstacle to imposinga deal that humiliates Syriza.

 Te EU still has its hands on theGreek banks, which are dependent on adrip of credit from the European CentralBank. Tey will be shaken by the No vote, but will be determined to use thisleverage to force concessions from theSyriza government.

 Te EU and IMF have no time fordemocracy. Tey will continue to use allthe unelected economic and politicalpower to force Syriza to ditch itsdemocratic mandate and to impose yetmore austerity.

It is brutal confirmation that powerdoes not ultimately lie in parliament.

Next steps o build on the potential unleashed bythe Oxi campaign requires two things.

Firstly, a return the mass movement ofprotests, occupations and defiant strikesthat helped propel Syriza into office inthe first place and won the referendum.

Secondly, the blackmailers must bedeprived of their central weapon—theircontrol of the flow of euros to the Greekbanks.

 Tat means nationalising the banks

and breaking with the euro. It meansrepudiating the debt– refusing to pay theECB the 3.5 billion euros due on 20 July.

 Te old management of the banks

Join thedebate at

Marxism2015

Book now: www.marxismfestival.org.uk

9-13 July,centralLondon

A five daypoliticalfestival

Hosted bySocialistWorkers

Party

Meetings include:

•Syriza in power: whitherGreece? A debate betweenStathis Kouvelakis (Syriza)and Alex Callinicos

•Resistance across Europe

• Is Podemos the future?

•Poulantzas andEurocommunism

•How should socialists vote inthe EU referendum?

cannot be trusted, they should be kickedout and the banks run under workers’control. It should be pensioners not thebondholders who get paid.

 All austerity plans should becancelled, work needs to provided forthe unemployed, wages and pensionsincreased, and spending increased forschools, hospitals and local government.

 And it is our duty to fight austerityhere—beginning with the 8 Julybudget protests and the 4 Octoberdemonstration at the ory conference inManchester—and be part of a great waveof revolt across Europe.

It is a time for bold measures thatchallenge austerity by challenging acapitalist system that destroys lives toboost profits and protect the rich.

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Greece 29/06/15