Condoleezza Rice to visit Greece

[вор в законе]

Schedule of Condoleezza Rice's one day visit to Greece changes because of protests
04/24/2006 14:07


Anti-war organizers scrambled Monday to rearrange protests against a one-day visit to Athens by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Rice will now visit Athens on Tuesday, two days earlier than originally announced last week.

The small but influential Greek Communist Party, or KKE, said it would hold a candlelit anti-war vigil in central Athens on Monday night ahead of her visit.

Rice will meet with Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis and Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis during her visit.

The Foreign Ministry announced the new date on Sunday - which was Orthodox Easter in Greece and the country's biggest holiday - prompting protesters to reschedule their demonstrations.

Two separate demonstrations are scheduled Tuesday by KKE and anti-globalization group Greek Social Forum.

Anti-American sentiments run high in Greece. Public opinion is strongly opposed to the war in Iraq and any possible U.S. military strike on Iran over its alleged nuclear weapon program.

"A few days after the Resurrection, the foreign minister of the USA comes to Athens as a messenger of war," Alekos Alevanos, leader of the small left wing opposition party Synaspismos, said Monday.

Rice was "persona non grata" in Greece, he said.

A huge police presence - as many as 8,000 officers - will provide security during Rice's visit, senior police officials said at the weekend.

http://english.pravda.ru/img/idb/rice-condi.jpg

The foreign ministry gave no reason for changing the date of Rice's visit but it was widely seen as an attempt to limit the size _ and impact _ of anti-war protests, with the capital still unusually quiet Easter Monday.

Most anti-American protests in Athens are vocal but peaceful, involving only minor skirmishes with police, the AP reports.

But in 2004, then U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell canceled a trip to Greece during the Summer Olympic Games, following violent protests against the war in Iraq.

Pravda (http://english.pravda.ru/news/world/24-04-2006/79466-Rice-0)

[вор в законе]

Greek group claims bomb attacks, protests Rice visit
Mon Apr 24, 2006 2:59 PM BST14

ATHENS (Reuters) - An anarchist group on Monday claimed responsibility for fire bomb attacks in Athens, saying they were aimed against a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, while anti-war activists said they planned a mass protest.

Rice is due to meet Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and her Greek counterpart Dora Bakoyanni on Tuesday as part of a five-day trip to Europe that also includes Turkey and Bulgaria.

The anarchist "Anti-State Struggle" group claimed it was behind a bomb blast earlier on Monday outside a French carmaker Renault showroom and a failed attack against a McDonald's fast food outlet at the weekend. The firebombs damaged cars but caused no injuries.

The group said the makeshift bombs were planted in protest against Rice's visit and "in solidarity with those who are fighting against capitalism".

In a separate move, Greece's Communist Party KKE said it planned a rally in central Athens at 0700 GMT on Tuesday, followed by a march to the U.S. embassy to protest against threatened sanctions against Iran for its nuclear programme.

"Rice is not welcome. Her visit is against people's interests. It just heralds evils," the KKE said in a statement.

Iran is embroiled in a dispute with the West over its nuclear programme, which the United States says is designed to build bombs. Tehran says it only wants to generate electricity.

Washington has not ruled out military action against Iran.

Anti-war groups, opposed to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, also said they planned protests.

The Stop the War and Greek Social Forum groups, which said they would hold protests in central Athens, said the visit offended the peace-loving feelings of Greek people.

"We will not let this war hawk visit Greece. We will fight to cancel the visit," Stop the War said in a statement.

Reuters (http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-04-24T135905Z_01_L24771598_RTRUKOC_0_UK-GREECE-USA-RICE.xml)


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This one was for my anarchist buddies.

[Nachie]

"Several anarchist groups in Athens were said to be planning their own 'candlelight vigil'"

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/images/2004/08/295955.jpg

[вор в законе]

This visit will deem interesting. I am afraid that they are preparing for an aerial attack against Iran, or perhaps this is a bluff. Time will show.


One thing is certain. That we will give her a nice warm welcome to her. After all like our treacherous bourgeois minister stated... "We have traditionally good relations with the United States."

Seems like me and her live in totally different countries.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y255/RedBrigade/Workers/cl1.jpg

[WUOrevolt]

If only more of my fellow American Leftists were to stage "candlelight vigils" when the administration came anywhere near them. Damn , most Americans need a good kick in the ass to get it started, maybe this will do it.

[violencia.Proletariat]

:lol: oh reformists!

The communist party will be holding "a candlelit anti-war vigil in central Athens on Monday night ahead of her visit."

While the anarchists are... :ph34r:

[bcbm]

Greek anarchists, I love you all. Please marry me.

[FinnMacCool]

The greek anarchists are crazy.

Every week I hear about them blowing something up, or vandalizing something or beating the shit out of cops. . .

Some of them are lame but I think most greek anarchists are pretty cool.

[вор в законе]

The Communist Party are far from reformists. They, along with the Russian, are probably the most influential ''Orthodox Marxist-Leninist'' parties you will find today in Europe, still stack in the Cold War era. Quite frankly I prefer 100 times to have them than any social-democrat or a green.

As for the Greek Anarchists, they are pretty nuts. There are certain areas in Athens that the police is afraid to step in fear of getting beaten by them. In the mean time the fascist organization had to shut down because of their constant attacks.

They are the elite cavalry against the police. :lol:

Anyway I was there this morning it was quite fun. The communists and the anarchists marched together with some other organizations.

[emokid08]

As for the Greek Anarchists, they are pretty nuts. There are certain areas in Athens that the police is afraid to step in fear of getting beaten by them.

If it was only that way here in the Us...........*sighs*.............................w e will have our time one day!


Anyway I was there this morning it was quite fun. The communists and the anarchists marched together with some other organizations.

That's the spirit! Can't we be comrades?

[bcbm]

If it was only that way here in the Us

It could be.

[Guerrilla22]

I loved the response they gave Condee Rice, too bad Americans don't have half the sense the Greeks do.

[McLeft]

Let's kick the fucking *****'s ass!! :P

[FinnMacCool]

Originally posted by black banner black [email protected] 25 2006, 10:32 PM

If it was only that way here in the Us

It could be.
It's gonna be tough though. All serious anarchists in my area have been repressed and are being watched.

If anyone sees you with a black flag, your immediatly going to be a target and they will not hesitate to beat the shit out of you and arrest you.

And also, immigrants make up the majority of anarchists and if they get caught demonstrating, they are liable to be deported.

So its a tough road ahead. .. anything is possible though.

[Wanted Man]

Originally posted by [email protected] 25 2006, 08:04 PM
While the anarchists are... :ph34r:
Bombing some random cars? Yeah, totally hardcore. Make your political statement cheaply with victimless bombings! :lol:

[Keyser]

Bombing some random cars? Yeah, totally hardcore. Make your political statement cheaply with victimless bombings!

Would you prefer it if the Greek revolutionaries blew up innocent civilians instead?

Armed resistance only serves a purpose to the anti-capitalist and anti-state cause if they do not target the lives of innocents and the very people we are trying to win over to the cause.

It would be really nice if the anarchists could target Dr. Rive herself, but as you may already know, the security ring that is around her and every other leading official of the US capitalist state makes that very, very hard.

Anyways, at least the anarchists show themselves to be more effective than the dead end of leninist groups.

We have seen it in Britain, the USA and in other nations, leninist groups trying to gain support and sell more copies of their party paper and get their party membership numbers to ever higher levels. And in doing this, they abandon any revolutionary content they have in favour of the dead end of wishy washy pacifism, reformism and joining forces with the anti-revolutionary forces of liberalism.

This can easily explain why leninists find it so much easier to support the Democrats in the USA or New Labour in Britian. Somehow they delude themselves about the effectivness of reformist and electoral politics.

At least the anarchists connected the visit by Dr. Rice to US imperialism and capitalism, whereas the leninists could only come up with "her visit is not in our interests". Have the leninists forgotten the connections between capitalism and imperialism, or have they now changed their colours (which would not suprise me anyway) and now claim that imperialism can be defeated without the abolition of capitalism.

Even if small, the anarchists have shown a greater principled opposition to US imperialism than the leninists of the KKE and their ´candlelight vigil´.

Ironic is it not, candlelight vigils used to be the preserve of the churches and a few priests and nuns, now its the preserve of the leninists as they bend over backwards to throw out all those ideas and dreams of revolution for reformism in their ever sad attempts to get a few more votes and members.

[LoneRed]

oh yes, the individual acts of terrorism does wonders for the socialist cause :0

[Keyser]

oh yes, the individual acts of terrorism does wonders for the socialist cause

Re-read my post.

I said if a group does carry out armed resistance, then better they do property destruction and killing members of the capitalist ruling class than targeting innocent people.

I have seen the failures of small armed groups from the revolutionary left. RAF (Germany) and the Weathermen (USA) come to mind, especially the Weathermen as they had way less support than the RAF or the Italian Red Brigades.

Also armed groups have a strong tendancy to degenerate into vanguardism and leninism, which does no one any favours.

I much prefer factory occupations and mass revolts, like what we have seen in France recently, than to armed resistance. I only think armed resistance is needed when the capitalist system attacks and thus the revolutionaries have to resort to self defence. The Black Panther Party are a good example here, for they used armed resistance against police brutality and oppression.

But I was more making a point about the political message the anarchists and the leninist of the KKE were putting forward.

The anarchists connected the visit of Dr. Rice to US imperialism and the global capitalist system. The KKE and the leninists, trying not to scare off liberals and non-radicalised apolitical people in order to get a few more votes for the fake elections the capitalist system in Greece holds every few years, put forward a reformist and pacifist message.

Every real communist will advocate opposition to imperialist wars and support class war.

Liberal pacifism, which most leninist groups now subscribe to, has foolish visions of some utopia where the capitalist ruling class will just end their corrupt ways and hold hands with the oppressed people they used to bomb/attack and make peace. This foolish view ignores the concrete interdependence that links imperialism and capitalism to war and agression.

Unless people can see that link, then no matter how many ´vigils´you hold and no matter how big the bi-annual anti war marches are, they will do nothing to stop war and imperialism and will just get a lot of activists burnt out and actually push people away from the revolutionary cause as they will become cynical and feel nothing can ever change.

Look at the Febuary 2003 anti-war demo in Britain against the Iraqi invasion. 2 million people went on that and the government still got away with everything, including the MPs voting mostly to attack Iraq.

[вор в законе]

Even if small, the anarchists have shown a greater principled opposition to US imperialism than the leninists of the KKE and their ´candlelight vigil´.


Mind you the Greek Communist Party didn't hold a peaceful hippie style ''candlelight vigil'' the article is incorrect because I was there and I have first hand experience.




I much prefer factory occupations and mass revolts, like what we have seen in France recently


There wasn't any factory occupation or a mass revolt in france. They were strikes.



The KKE and the leninists, trying not to scare off liberals and non-radicalised apolitical people in order to get a few more votes for the fake elections the capitalist system in Greece holds every few years, put forward a reformist and pacifist message.


Idealist nonsense.

The Communist Party does legitimize like this the fake bourgeois elections, but bourgeois legislative can be used to further the revolution. The Communist Party can not all of a sudden take the arms and start a warfare (like the 17 November) while it doesn't have the mass support of the proletariat does it ?

Only an idiot would do something like this. When the Communist Party observes through the bourgeois legislative and realizes that the material conditions for the revolutions are there, that it has a mass support from the proletariat, then it can start a revolution.

The adolescent anarchists are unable to grasp this concept and no wonder why they are isolated from the working class.

The irony with you people is that you are accusing Lenin for couping Russia, as he didn't had the mass support of the peasants, while in the mean time you are accusing
the communists for participating in the fake bourgeois elections instead of engaging in guerrila warfare, ''couping'' since they wouldn't have the support of the proletariat, the country.

Talking about contradiction.


Liberal pacifism, which most leninist groups now subscribe to

I don't know what has been your experience in your country, but the Communist Party here is fortunately not a ''liberal pacifist reformist'' as you propagate and it is not a coincidence that the youth is pouring in her ranks.

[violencia.Proletariat]

Originally posted by Matthijs+Apr 26 2006, 04:19 PM--> (Matthijs @ Apr 26 2006, 04:19 PM)
[email protected] 25 2006, 08:04 PM
While the anarchists are... :ph34r:
Bombing some random cars? Yeah, totally hardcore. Make your political statement cheaply with victimless bombings! :lol: [/b]
The bombing of the mcdonalds I laughed at.

What I was referring to is that the anarchists are out their fighting the cops, if I remember correctly coming close to the secure areas too?

[Tekun]

Herez a suggestion comrades....keep the bombing talk down
This is the web, therez eyez everywhere brothers

Just a suggestion
But yes, I agree with all your sentiments regarding C Rice