Approximately 10,000 people in Athens marked the 52nd anniversary of the Polytechnic uprising with a march to the United States Embassy on November 17. The protest, led by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE), trade unions, and other progressive groups, was the central event after days of dedicated activities, reaffirming the revolt’s anti-imperialist and anti-militarist message.

For many, the Athens Polytechnic uprising symbolizes the beginning of the end of the military dictatorship that ruled the country from 1967 to 1974. On November 14, 1973, students occupied the university to protest the junta’s oppressive policies. Their protest was supported by a large portion of the population, including students and young workers in other cities who soon launched similar actions. In response, the dictatorship deployed police and military forces against the protesters in Athens. In the early morning of November 17, dozens of people were killed, over 1,000 were injured, and hundreds were arrested in the aftermath.

Despite the violent crackdown, the spirit of the Polytechnic uprising endured and significantly contributed to the collapse of the dictatorship in 1974.

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In this year’s call to action, the KKE emphasized that the alignment between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s government and the US and NATO agenda is already having devastating consequences for the people. Fears that similar policies will harm the working class in Europe abound, as the region continues its armament drive alongside plans to exploit energy sources for corporate benefit. “A war economy,” the KKE wrote, “means [the] exploitation of the working class to exhaustion, intensified employer intimidation, criminalization of trade union activity and repression.”

“It means that products of workers’ labor are used to slaughter other peoples, threatening the workers themselves,” they added. “It entails cuts in health care, education, and pensions to finance the wars of capital.”

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A similar disregard for the wellbeing of workers marked the military dictatorship in Greece over 50 years ago. The US-backed junta seized power in 1967, ushering in years of repression. Thousands of people, mostly leftists and progressives, were arrested during this authoritarian period. “Every democratic liberty in the country had been abolished, martial law had been imposed, strikes and meetings were banned, harsh censorship was introduced, political parties and progressive social organizations were also banned,” the KKE stated.

The party added that the reality of the dictatorship proved that stifling left voices, including those of the KKE, comes at the expense of true prosperity. “It [the dictatorship] confirmed that the intensity of anti-communism and the attack against the KKE was a harbinger of negative developments for the people,” they said.

“Honoring the anti-dictatorial struggle of the people today means fighting to overthrow the dictatorship of capital, defending all the contemporary rights of the people and youth, safeguarding popular freedoms, and opposing imperialist war and Greece’s involvement in it,” the KKE concluded.

The post Athens marks anniversary of anti-dictatorship Polytechnic uprising appeared first on Peoples Dispatch.

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