ZNet Articles
ZMag Articles
ZCommentaries
ZAudios
ZVideos
Blog Posts
Books
Greek Generations
By Chris Spannos at Jun 06, 2009 |
|
The past four blogs have been mostly coverage of the B-Fest anti-authoritarian festival here in Athens, Greece. And although I and others from Z were invited here for the festival, which ended last Sunday, the main purpose was to learn about what is happening here in Greece after last Decembers social uprising and to make long-term contacts. So far these purposes have been very successful. We have been conducting numerous daily interviews and meetings with diverse people and groups.
Last Tuesday we went to the island of Aegina where we met with one of the world's leading scholars and journalists on the murder of George Polk. The name may sound familiar to you as the "Polk Award," named after George, is given every year to those honored in the field of journalism by the Long Island University in New York. George Polk was an U.S. journalist killed in May 1948 during the Greek civil war. He was found dead, floating in the Greek port of Salonika, shot point-blank in the back of the head and with his hands and feet tied, after trying to arrange a meeting with the communist resistance. It is widely believed that the U.S. had Polk murdered for trying to meet with the communist leader Markos.
Long-time ZWriter Nikos Raptis (pictured below) took us to the home of the above mentioned Greek journalist, who was instrumental in covering Polk's murder from the very beginning. To quote a 2005 ZNet commentary written by Nikos:
In 1948, the year of Polk's murder, the US was putting the foundations of the post-World War Two phase of the Cold War. Polk "was the first victim of the Cold War", as I.F. Stone, a great and honest American, said at the time. Greece was under Nazi occupation from 1941 to 1944. In December 1944, the British (with the assistance of the US Air Force) attacked the Greek Resistance army, their ally against the Nazis, to prevent the victory of the Left in the coming elections and the formation of a government by the Greek Left. The British forced the Resistance army to disarm and then with the help of the Greek rightists and the former Greek collaborators of the Nazis they started executing and torturing the members of the Resistance or any Greek that was not "with us" ("us" being the British and the Americans) by the tens of thousands.
Raptis wrote that Polk's writings defended U.S. intervention in Greece at the time, however, they were also critical of the U.S. policy of violence against the revolt.
Above, left to right: Michael Albert, Nikos Raptis, and Lydia Sargent
One of the things that stands out in my visit here is the long history of Greek resistance and revolt both against internal and external repressive forces. This rebellious history spans generations, and walking around Athens during the European Union elections, where there is intense campaigning going on by all the parties---KKE (Stalinists), PASOK (neo-liberals), New Democratic Party (Rightists), SYRZIA (Left Coalition), etc., and spending most of our time with anti-authoritarians, anarchists, anarcho-communists, social ecologists, autonomists, and Castoriadian's---it is obvious that serious politics is always above the surface here. As we were told by a friend last night, and this was said in different ways by others we've spoken to over the past week and a half, since last December's uprising, the anarchists and anti-authoritarians are recognized by the other political groups and those non-political too. Although there are serious personal and political differences between them, as well as lots in common, all are aware of the anarchist presence in the streets when they can call for a rally and get more people to march and engage in militant actions than many of the existing Left parties.
Militant actions are not massive
By Beveratos, Kostas at Jun 07, 2009 08:23 AM
There is no revolution taking place in Greece. Two to three dozens of people or in some occasions 150 to even 300 is far from that. The anger that followed the child's murder was soon exhausted by continuous violent actions at the level of destroying property and playing cats and mouse with the cops. Even during the first three days people truly acting violently, meaning destroying property since there was police hardly anywhere, were in Athens at most two thousands. It is interesting to notice that there are recorded events of under cover policemen or even in uniform, during the days that followed, instructing the destruction of property. Violence shouldn't stop. It should exhaust the anger and turn people against the demand for change. The system succeeded its goal. And we need to see the facts, analyze it and make serious conclusions out of it. No serious analysis can be achieved if we even count numbers the way we would like them to be instead of the way they are.
When the civil war was beginning the very strong Communist Party was expecting thousands to depart from Athens to join the partizan units. This never happened. War was held by people at the country side who had no choice against the brutality of the fascists. If they were realistic maybe they would have find a way to protect these tremendous human resources. The British and the US wanted these resources to be erased because they would be in their way after the Soviet-British-US agreements. They succeeded. The Communist Party leading the demand for democracy was captured into playing their game. Thousands were killed in battles, thousands executed, thousands were deported to socialist countries, and thousands send to "reform" camps and domestic exile.
After December the huge amount of people hoping for change was soon disappointed since nothing new appeared in the political horizon. The need and hope is still there however. Mindfulness has been set to many peoples consciousness. People are trying to build small scale collective groups and "do something". Whatever!
However there is no message of hope coming from groups that are unable to build small or larger scale collaborations. The majority of people understand that and stay away. Messiahs are scary and people's healthy reaction is to stay away from them. It's absolutely reasonable. If 5, 50, 500 or 5.000 people can't work together how would they make a whole society work together. Saviors should save themselves and try to show respect and understanding towards other people. Violent-militant acts are good for my nerves however any violent act constitutes practicing authority. There is nothing new coming out of that.
Come on! Let's surprise them! Let's do what they don't expect us to do!
Reply this comment
About Polk
By Beveratos, Kostas at Jun 07, 2009 07:06 AM
Polk was murdered when he presented facts about the corrupt right government misusing tremendous amounts of US financial and equipment aid, while at the same time he was trying to approach the communist leaders.
- "Liberty" ships given as support to Greece were offered as presents by the greek state to ship-owners who changed the national flags and used them for their private profiting (If I am not mistaken some of them have become famous for their wealth).
- Less than the 10% of the financial aid was invested in Greece, while the rest was sent to accounts authority people had in Switzerland and elsewhere.
- Almost all of the agricultural and other equipment was left to rotten so that the authorities wouldn't in-power people not aligned with them or simply by incapability.
These reports had been published at the US press. He was definitely unwanted on both sides. Greek government wanted to continue its corrupt business and the US wouldn't like to seem like backing up a corrupt state against a populist movement supported by intellectuals all around the world.
So, the trial verdict was simple: Assassinated by the communists.
Reply this comment