’ Greek Communist Party scores
__ impressive gains in elections

the following article by Wil-
liam Pomeroy appeared in the
_ Nov. 14 U.S. Daily World. We
Print it here in abridged form.
Kook Oe .

The Communist Party of
Greece, which celebrated the
_ 60th anniversary of its founding
Nov. 16, has marked the celebra-
_ tion with significant electoral
' Sains in-local. government elec-
tions held Oct. 15 and 22. It has
} — demonstrated in this way its deep
al ‘Toots among the people, achieved
é by the courageous leadership it
ef, has given to them in every form of
@) Struggle and under the worst
__ Kinds of oppression and fascist
terror.
In the local elections 31 Com-
f Munist mayors were elected, as
Compared with 8 in the election of
1975; two of these are women. A
- large increase also occurred in the
ds  COuncil seats held by Greek
vat Communists, who now sit in the
5 if Councils Die ven 100
de Municipalities.
Percentage increases in the
ith Communist vote ranged from
50% to 200% in the various

' localities. \

er : :
to _These gains show the growing
a discontent of the people with the
3 Present Karamanlis ‘‘New

Democracy’’ government and its
std Combined policies of austerity

hes

; Po ae :
pa Wee Walting for election results outside party offices.

* Interest boost — wage cut, more jobless

Marxism-Leninism in Today’s World

The Canadian Government has in
ess| __ three stages boosted the official interest

and autocracy. As the CPG has
pointed out, these are policies to
please the multi-national corpora-
tions into whose clutches the
Karamanlis government is pre-
paring to deliver Greece in its bid
to enter the European Economic
Community (or Common Mar-
ket).

During local elections, the CPG
declared that these constituted a
crucial area of political struggle in
resisting anti-democratic mea-
sures by the Karamanlis regime to
curtail the rights of local govern-
ments in order to keep them
tightly under the control of the
reactionary central government.
The CPG election program called
for full recognition of local
government rights, a radical
strengthening of their control
over finances, and the extension
of help to municipalities to enable
them to increase their respon-
sibilities.

Communist Party gains in the
elections were all the more
remarkable in spite of govern-
ment harassment, restriction and
also the hostile attitude of the
other large party that puts for-
ward a democratic program,
PASOK. This party, headed by
Andreas Papandreu, tried in
every way to block a united dem-
ocratic front with the CPG in the

elections or in the running of joint
candidates.

This attitude derives from a
fear of the swinging of popular
support to the CPG and from a
desire to reduce its strength and
influence. PASOK’s behavior in-
dicates that the democratic de-
mands it raises or supports smack
of demagogy in order to get into
power.

Nevertheless, the mass support
that PASOK. has obtained is
looked upon by the CPG as a re-
flection of popular sentiment and
wishes. The CPG has consis-
tently called for an Alliance of
Democratic Forces through
which the popular sentiment can
be more fully expressed.

The election struggle in the city
of Athens is the best illustration of
the problem in dealing with
PASOK. Discussions were in-
itiated by the CPG with PASOK
around support for a jointly-
chosen candidate for mayor.
PASOK unilaterally proclaimed
its own candidate, D. Beis. The
CPG thus had no choice but to put
forward its own candidate, Mikis
Theodorakis.

In the first round of the local
elections, Oct. 15, the results
showed PASOK’s Beis getting
only 40.6% of the vote, while the
Karamanlis party grouping took
47.6%. The CPG’s Theodorakis
won 16.3%, holding the balance
of strength in the contest. In order
to defeat the right wing candidate,
the CPG undertook to swing its
support behind the PASOK can-
didate, who won handsomely in
Athens as a result. This was
achieved not because of a
cooperative PASOK attitude but
because of the principled CPG
position of assuring the defeat of
reaction.

PASOK’s line of seeking to iso-
late the CPG, of avoiding or refus-
ing alliances with Communists,
and indeed of making agreements
with groups of the centre or to the
right of the democratic move-
ment, serves to play into the
hands of the Karamanlis regime

and its anti-democratic measures.

CONSTANTINE KARAMANLIS

MIKIS THEODORAKIS

U.S. Justice Department
aids Wilmington 10 case

WASHINGTON — On Nov.
14, the Civil Rights Division of the
U.S. Justice Department entered
an amicus (friend of the court)
brief on behalf of the Wilmington
10. ‘‘If the court is concerned as
we are about the reliability of
these convictions and feels that
fundamental principles of fairness

have been violated, it should
grant petitioner's request for
habeas corpus relief’, states the
brief signed by Drew Days, Assis-
tant Attorney General in charge
of the Civil Rights Division of the
_U.S. Department of Justice.

Granting habeas corpus relief
means that the court would vac-
ate the Wilmington -10’s convic-
tions and would either completely
free them or order a new trial.

In greeting this development,
Charlene Mitchell, executive sec-
retary of the National Alliance
Against Racist and Political
Repression said, “‘We are exub-
erant and heartened by the action
taken by the U.S. Department of
Justice. As we have always said,
the Wilmington 10 were wrong-

fully charged, wrongfully tried

and wrongfully convicted ...”’

She spoke of the support re-
ceived throughout the ordeal and
said: *‘Without the excellent legal
defence and without the actions
of millions in our country and
throughout the world, this step by
the U.S. Department of Justice
might not have happened ...”’

She asked that the North
Carolina authorities be urged to
respond to the federal Justice
Department’s brief and called for

-. the-immediate release on: bail of

the Rev. Ben Chavis pending
further court action.

Also, recognized white south-
ern leaders have appealed to Pres-
ident Carter to intervene on be-
half of the Ten. Over 100 church,
labor, professional, civic and
academic leaders from 10 south-
em U.S. states have signed the
appeal telling Carter, ‘‘this is a
situation where.a great injustice
has been done ... We are asking
you to take the decisive step that
is needed.”’

sive, embarks on a union-busting blitz.
However, the labor movement as a

Tate by 2.5% this year. What does this
Mean to working. people? It means an
indirect wage cut by government edict. It
Means an increase in the jobless rate —
for it signals retrenchment, meaning
Curtailment in the production of goods

-and services. .
* * *

The Toronto Globe and Mail, com-
Menting on the recent 2.5% boost in the
British interest rate (from 10% to 12.5%),
had this to say: ‘‘A 2.5% leap in interest.
Tates is deflation with a vengeance. It
Means economic retrenchment and high
Unemployment.”

Incidentally, the Globe fully endorses
British Prime Minister Callaghan’s
“political courage’ in imposing ‘‘de-
flation with a vengeance’’, an act, it says,
‘that “requires nobody’s assent’ (our
€mphasis).

Canadians need to consider well the
admission by the country’s leading daily
that governmental imposition of a higher
interest rate means economic retrench-
Ment and high unemployment.

* * *

The boost in the official interest rate is
an economic broadside directed against

‘all working people, small business, far-

mers, pensioners, in fact against all those
who stand outside the ranks of big capi-
tal. The only ones that stand to gain will

‘be the monopoly banking and industrial
_ interests and the multi-national corpora-

tions. They stand to make a bundle.
For proof of this assertion we turn
again to the Globe and Mail. Letting the
cat out of the bag, this big business daily
discloses that the Confederation of
British Industry (CBI) at its annual con-
ference two weeks ago concluded: That
due to pressure from the Trade Union
Congress and the British Labor Party on
the British Government to end its 5%
limit for pay increases, the government
and the TUC would likely settle for
about a 7.8% allowable pay increases.

* * *

_ **So’’, says the Globe, ‘‘the CBI,
speaking for the employers, fired off a
demand that the government drop the
whole idea of a pay formula (our em-
phasis) rather than proclaim a 7.8%
maximum that could turn out to be a
minimum’’. Mr. Callaghan heeded this
big business demand. Instead of a pay
formula he deflated the economy via a

2.4% boost in the interest rate. Thus,
effectively robbing the workers in ad-
vance of any gain in pay they might win
in bargaining with the employers.

The Canadian Government is pursuing
the same line as the British Government
(as well as that of the U.S. Government
which has also boosted that country’s

interest rate). But the Trudeau govern-

ment pursues it with much more animos-
ity against workers, for it is not inhibited
as is the British Labor Party which pre-
tends to rule in the interests of the work-
ing people. The Trudeau government;
backed by a solid majority of pro-
monopoly Liberals and Conservatives,
does not suffer from such inhibitions as
witness its brutal attack against the
Postal Workers.

ee eet

Here in short is our government’s re-
cord: In the guise of ‘‘wrestling inflation
to the ground’’ imposed wage controls
over the past three years; devalued the
dollar by some 15% via our ‘‘floating dol-
lar’’; sets a course to deflate the economy
by 2.5%; and, in an attempt to make sure
that the trade union movement is dis-
armed in the face of monopoly’s offen-

whole and the people’s movements are
not defenceless. They possess the power
of organization and solidarity to use in

_ their mutual struggle. This power, com-

bined both in economic and political ac-
tion against the employers and labor’s
persecutors, can turn the tide in favor of
the working people.

This can be nothing else than all-in
struggle against a ferocious class enemy
— the monopoly corporations allied with
the state. The aim: To turn around the
economic offensive of monopoly and the
state and (2) to change the balance of
forces in parliament in favor of working
people.

* * *

To achieve this demands recognition
‘of the main enemy — monopoly capital
and its champions both in an out of
parliament and government. To ensure
that the struggle is not diverted into
dead-end streets, demands an end to
right-wing class collaboration policies
within the trade union movement and the

. New Democratic Party.

The secret of success lies in the forging
of solid unity in the left and, on the basis
of this, the strongest bonds of coopera-
tion between the left and centre forces.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE— DECEMBER 1, 1978—Page 9

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