Skip to main content

Greece: Tsipras is eliminating any trace of his rivals

by Yorgos Mitralias

So now here we are: the new Tsipras government has just resolved two of its major problems: that of the public debt and the one represented by the ex-president of the Greek Parliament, Zoe Konstantopoulou. How has it managed to bring off this feat? Simple! By erasing from the official site of the Greek Parliament – for all time – everything that could recall Zoe Konstantopoulou and her initiatives during her brief presidency, including the Commission for the Truth of the Public Debt.

Faced with this impressive back-turn by the Greek government which takes us back to the glories of Stalinism’s triumphant years in the ’30s but also of Macarthyism at its most intrusive in the early ’50s, we are entitled to ask: Does all this mean that Greece’s public debt has disappeared? And has Zoe K. accepted her defeat then, and decided to stop telling the truth and to silence her criticism of the vitriol thrown at her?

The answer is No. Greece’s astronomical public debt pursues its relentless course as ever. Zoe K. refuses to concede defeat. So there is a question to answer. In view of the fact that the attempt to clear the Parliamentary website of unwanted presences clearly lacks efficiency, why has the successor to Zoe K. and his friends proceeded in this manner? What were they really after?

The only possible answer is that, in acting like this, all those fine people wanted to send a message or rather a signal to someone. To who? Well, obviously, to the famous “European partners” with which the new Greek authorities have just reached a deal: an agreement which is at the same time … the sole program of the Tsipras government. But also, to those from below of the Greek society – to make sure they no longer have the slightest doubt as to the inevitability that any resistance to the Memoranda and its instigators will be crushed.

In sum, it was a highly symbolic act which aimed to do no more and no less than once and for all clear the collective memory of the Greek people not only of any trace of an alternative to the Memoranda policy, but also even of the name of the person who was the very embodiment of this alternative!

In reality, the ruthlessness of these neophytes of neo-liberalism in fighting what could be called their bad conscience is not limited to taking away everything that reminded one of Zoe K’s brief presidency. By going one further, and erasing also the appeal given out by the international campaign to “support to the Commission for the Truth of the Public Debt and the Right of Peoples to Audit the Public Debts” the sorcerer’s apprentices of the Stalinist school of falsification wanted to remove any trace of these 24,423 men and women from all four corners of the earth, who have – up to this time because the collection of signatures continues – shown their active support for this campaign! In doing this, they have only demonstrated that one thing: their total disregard for these thousands of progressive people, including at least 2000 university professors and economists, who want to do no more than support Greece against its executioners!

The predilection of the leaders of this genetically modified Syriza for the very worst of administrative methods should not be a surprise. In fact, well before their spectacular capitulation, they were already making violent and vulgar attacks on the Commission for the Truth of the Public Debt through their specialized dirty jobs media without so much as daring to criticize it publicly or to give reasons. In fact, up to the present moment you would look in vain for the slightest argument out of their mouths against the Citizens’ Audit of Public Debt.

On the contrary, these cowards have always preferred low blows to public confrontation. Cynical and armed with the arrogance of power, they allow themselves to boot out tens of thousands of people who have signed the appeal to support the audit Commission, people who are of no use to them seeing as these illustrious mediocrities feel comfortable only in the company of the ‘great ones’ of this world. What Jorge Semprun said of Santiago Carrillo is just what applies perfectly well to them: all his life he did only one thing, enter in the big salons.

Living as they do in a state of permanent insecurity and discovering enemies even where there are only activists who ask questions, it is not so surprising that these followers of a second hand Machiavelli recall the worst Stalinist traditions to annihilate everything that bothers them. Deprived – luckily – of the means at Uncle Joe’s disposal in his time, they content themselves with simply erasing all witnesses to their betrayals and other sins – on the model of Stalinist inquisitors who in their millions caused lives, names and even the faces of their Soviet compatriots to vanish without trace. A telling detail: as once in Moscow, now also in Athens, these inquisitors are giving first priority to annihilating those who dare to deny the genetic modification of their party and persist in standing up for themselves: … communists, anti-capitalists and radical critics of the established order! …

Our conclusion is optimistic: It will take much more than the “cleansing” of the Greek Parliament site, and even much more than the relentless smear campaign and the dirtiest of blows to destroy resistance to those who have sold their soul to the neoliberal devil by agreeing to apply his inhumane policies. Even in very difficult conditions, the struggle continues as it is now a question of defending all that is most precious: our dignity and our very survival.

Source:


... the propaganda seemed to be effective to a certain degree, concerning specific people. From a point and after, the media concentrated not to SYRIZA as a whole, but to the 'systemic threats' like Panagiotis Lafazanis, Zoe Konstantopoulou, Yanis Varoufakis and Costas Lapavitsas. Many of them joined Popular Unity later.

Generally, the media tried to "decompose" these people to the voters, as being totally unreliable, or, even having specific "behavioral" problems in some cases. All the "parades" of these people to the mainstream media had only such a purpose. It is something that the US media are doing right now, more or less, with Bernie Sanders, probably through a more sophisticated way.

The case of Zoe Konstantopoulou is characteristic. From the first moment as Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament, she took very important initiatives, concerning the investigation of big scandals under previous (PASOK – New Democracy) governments, as well as, the audit of public debt through the Debt Truth Committee. However, the corrupted media of the local oligarchs tried to manufacture ridiculous stories against her, in order to distract the Greek public from these important initiatives.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Netanyahu Is Getting His War Between The U.S. & Iran!

The Jimmy Dore Show   Little progress is being made in negotiations between the United States and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program, and that may be by design. The U.S. is demanding a complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, which is a non-starter for the Iranians. Meanwhile, the U.S. appears to have reneged on a promise to get a ceasefire and humanitarian aid into Gaza in exchange for the release of the last American hostage, so Hamas — and by extension Iran — feel the U.S. cannot be trusted in negotiations. Jimmy Dore and Americans’ Comedian Kurt Metzger discuss how Israel appears to be orchestrating a U.S. attack on Iran that few Americans have any interest in.    Related: Trump makes key move to beat Biden in their race to start a war with Iran

Trump in SHOCK: Putin & China FLIP His Grave Mistake into STUNNING Victory

Danny Haiphong   Putin & China just gave Trump a rude BRICS awakening, and this bombshell will change everything for generations to come. Geopolitical analyst Ben Norton details the truth about Trump's biggest failure against the rising power of BRICS led by Russia and China, and why the US's role as super power is now in serious question.     Related: Trump's tariffs: A unique opportunity for BRICS and the Global South to fully escape from dollar tyranny

Trump's attempt to divide Russia & China is failing, badly

Geopolitical Economy Report   Donald Trump claimed he would "un-unite" Russia and China, but the US divide-and-conquer strategy is failing. In a meeting in Moscow celebrating the 80th anniversary of their nations' victory in World War Two, Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin reaffirmed that "China-Russia relations have reached the highest level in history" and will "jointly resist any attempts to interfere with and disrupt the traditional friendship and deep mutual trust between China and Russia". Ben Norton explains.     Related:   Why China supports Russia

Inside Iran's Savak torture museum

The Grayzone   Caution: This report contains depictions of simulated violence that may upset some viewers. Max Blumenthal tours one of the most disturbing museums on the planet. Set in Tehran's former Ebrat Prison run by the anti-sabotage unit of Shah Reza Pahlavi's Savak intelligence services, the museum is filled with shockingly graphic exhibits featuring lifelike mannequins recreating the hideous torture tactics deployed to repress dissidents rebelling against Iran's monarchy. Many mannequins on display represent notorious torturers who either fled or were executed after the Islamic revolution in 1979, while others are modeled after famous prisoners locked away in Ebrat like the current Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamanei.  

"Kidnapped in Int'l Waters": Israel Intercepts Gaza-Bound Aid Ship, Detains Greta Thunberg & Others

Democracy Now!   Eleven peace activists and one journalist on board the Gaza Freedom Flotilla ship, the "Madleen," were detained by Israeli soldiers as their ship carrying vital humanitarian aid for starving Palestinians approached Gaza.    The ship was intercepted by Israeli forces in the middle of the night in international waters. Its supplies were seized and communications jammed. The unarmed activists will likely be transported to Israeli detention or "immediately deported," says Ann Wright, a U.S. military veteran who has participated in four Freedom Flotilla journeys and now serves on the steering committee of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. She calls on citizens of countries around the world to push for the activists' release and an end to Israel's war on Gaza. 

14,000 babies could die if aid doesn’t enter Gaza in 48 hours, UN warns

Some 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in 48 hours if aid does not reach them in time, the UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, told the BBC today. Though Israel said it would allow “basic aid” into Gaza, only five trucks entered the enclave yesterday, two carrying shrouds to help bury Palestinians killed in Israel’s bombs. Others were in Gaza, but were being held by occupation forces and had not reached Palestinians. This was the first delivery of aid since 2 March, when Israel completely sealed the enclave. This, Fletcher explained, is a “drop in the ocean” and totally inadequate for a population of over 2.3 million, and for which no aid has been allowed to enter for 80 days.    “Tonnes of food is blocked at the [Gaza] border” by Israel, Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said yesterday. This comes just weeks after the UN agency of Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians eat only one mea...

Latest on Los Angeles anti-ICE protests in US

CGTN     Views of downtown Los Angeles where protests against immigration raids entered their third day on Sunday local time.   Protesters clashed with National Guard troops in downtown Los Angeles during the latest wave of demonstrations against statewide immigration enforcement operations that swept across California over the weekend.  

Never, Ever Let Anyone Forget What They Did To Gaza

by Caitlin Johnstone   I will never forget the Gaza holocaust. I will never let anyone else forget about the Gaza holocaust. No matter what happens or how this thing turns out, I will never let anyone my voice touches forget that our rulers did the most evil things imaginable right in front of us and lied to us about it the entire time. I will never stop doing everything I can with my own small platform to help ensure that the perpetrators of this mass atrocity are brought to justice. I will never stop doing everything I can to help bring down the western empire and to help free Palestine from the Zionist entity. I will never forget those shaking children. Those tiny shredded bodies. Those starved, skeletal forms. The explosions followed by screams. The atrocities followed by western media silence.   I will never forget, and I will never forgive. I will never forgive our leaders. I will never forgive the western press. I will never forgive Israel. I will never forgive the main...

They Will Starve You In A Killing Cage Too

by Nate Bear   Starvation is taking hold in Gaza. Twenty-nine people have starved to death in the last few days.  Death by starvation is horrific, the body feeding on itself, first consuming carbohydrates and fats, and then moving on to the protein parts of tissue. Once these are used up, vital organs and tissues start to fail as they aren’t being nourished by essential nutrients. The heart, lungs, muscles, ovaries, testes and brain physically shrink and shrivel. The kidneys start to fail. Eventually the body begins scavenging muscle, including the heart muscle. When this starts to happen, death is hours away, preceded by hallucinations, severe mental disturbances and convulsions. With less stored fat and higher metabolic needs, children die first. Starving parents hold their dying children, at this point nothing but skin and bone, in their arms. Adults can survive anywhere between twenty and forty days without food. Those already weak, chronically ill or immuno-compromised di...