By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson
International Coordinating Committee
21 October 2011

We, the International League of Peoples’ Struggle, firmly and vigorously support the general strike declared and carried out by a broad range of forces (including workers, youth, women, public sector employees and various professionals) against the austerity measures aimed at further exploiting the people and shifting the burden of crisis to them.

We condemn the repeated imposition of austerity measures on the people by the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund as precondition for the further release of loans. These austerity measures include tax increases, deep wage cuts, mass lay-offs of public sector employees and repudiation of sectoral pay accords.

These unwelcome and exploitative measures will certainly press down production, increase unemployment and worsen the chronic public deficits of the Greek government. They will further aggravate the economic and financial crisis and will result in the next round of borrowing from the international usurers.

Greece is now on its third year of depression in the wake of the economic and financial crisis of the world capitalist system. The public debt of Greece is 162 per cent of the gross domestic product as a result of profit taking by domestic and foreign exploiters on a consumption-oriented and debt-dependent economy. According to government statistics, unemployment is running at 16.5 per cent.

The rulers of the European Union are worried over the the knock-on effect of the Greek debt crisis on all other countries in the Euro zone. This crisis is the making of the monopoly bourgeoisie and financial oligarchy. They have no reason whatsoever to further exploit the people and shift the burden of crisis by pushing another round of austerity measures.

We congratulate the entire people of Greece and the various forces for their resounding success in mobilizing hundreds of thousands in the vicinity of the parliament and on the major streets of Athens and in rallying millions throughout Greece to unite against the treasonous anti-people government and its masters, the monopoly bourgeoisie and financial oligarchy.

It is just for the people to reject the memorandum of the EU and IMF requiring the legislation of further austerity measures, demand the ouster of the Papandreou government, call for power to the people and wage resistance until such power is realized. The working class and people can prevail over their exploiters and oppressors and aim for national independence, democracy and socialism through resolute and militant struggle.##