http://international-liaison-committee-of-workers-and-peoples-eit-ilc.blogspirit.com/
Appeal by the International Liaison Committee of Workers
and Peoples (ILC):
Stop the prosecution of Nikos Photopoulos and his comrades from the
GENOP-DEH union immediately!
We have just been informed by representatives of the Greek public
power union, GENOP-DEH, of the repression affecting 15 Greek members
of the GENOP-DEH union:
On 24 November 2011, squads of riot police (MAT) stormed the power
company’s facilities in Mesogeion Avenue in Athens and violently
cleared it of workers and trade unionists who had been staging a
sit-in/occupation for a few days. The offices are responsible for
cutting off the electricity supply to the thousands of working-class
families who have refused to pay the new property tax imposed by the
Greek government by order of the Troika (IMF-European
Commission-European Central Bank), which is being levied through the
electricity bills. The same offices are in charge of cutting off the
supply to the thousands of families who, due to the crisis, can no
longer pay their bills.
On 30 November 2011, 15 trade unionists, including GENOP-DEH General
Secretary Nikos Photopoulos, appeared in court, charged with
“obstructing the forces of order” and “obstructing the correct
functioning of the public services”. They face prison sentences of 6
months to 5 years without parole. On the eve of the 1 December general
strike called by the trade union confederations GSEE and ADEDY, the
government decided it would be wiser to hold its fire; accordingly the
court postponed its ruling until 10 January 2012.
Throughout the world, the workers and peoples are standing
shoulder-to-shoulder with the Greek workers and their trade union
organisations as they engage in the battle against the Troika’s
barbaric plans implemented by the Greek government. The workers’
actions are legitimate, just as the actions of the Greek power workers
and their trade union to prevent the power disconnections and to
demand the withdrawal of the new tax imposed by the government are
legitimate.
No worker, no labour activist, no democratic labour organisation can
accept this threat of repression, which would be a blow against all
labour and democratic rights.
This is why the International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples
(ILC) has decided to inform all labour organisations around the world
of these extremely serious facts, and to invite them to join in the
effort, in whichever form they see fit, to demand that the Greek
authorities immediately drop the legal proceedings against the
GEOP-DEH union members, and to express their solidarity with them.
signed/
Louisa Hanoune, General Secretary of the Workers Party (Algeria)
Daniel Gluckstein, National Secretary of the Independent Workers Party (France )
Co-ordinators of the International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples
Messages should be sent to
GENOP-DEH Union :
main@genop.gr et press@genop.gr
(copy to be sent to the ILC : eit.ilc@fr.oleane.com)
Greek Prime Minister Papademos
internationalmediaoffice@primeminister.gr
Greek Minister of Labour
Ministry of Labour
40 Pireos Str. 10182 ATHENS – GREECE
Fax: +30 210 5295 186
info@ypakp.gr
Greek Minister of justice
Ministry of Justice
96, Messoghion Avenue 11527 Ambelopiki Athens –
GREECE
Fax: +30 210 7755835
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Please send your solidarity statements / endorsements of the
international appeal to drop all the charges against the GENOP-DEH 15,
to the GENOP-DEH office in Greece and to the Greek authorities at the
various addresses listed below. And please send copies of your letters
to the ILC at <eit.ilc@fr.oleane.com> and <ilcinfo@earthlink.net>.
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