Dozens of pre-election rallies and other activities of the party organizations of the KKE are taking place all over the country ahead of the electoral battle of 21 May.

On Friday 5th of May a large rally took place in the central square of Larissa, the capital of the region of Thessaly. Dimitris Koutsoumbas, General Secretary of the CC of the KKE, addressed the rally, criticizing the bourgeois parties (ND, SYRIZA and PASOK), which have been in power in recent years, for the problems experienced by the working class, the poor farmers and the lower middle strata. He referred to the recent crime in Tempe, near Larissa and added: "An average of 200 work "accidents" a year occur In Thessaly alone. After all, what happened in Tempe happens to all of us, in our daily lives. We are facing a system, a state and a policy, which are constantly committing crimes against the workers and the people in order to serve the interests of the few, of the business groups. They sometimes sacrifice our living conditions and our income, our rights, our contemporary needs, and they sometimes even sacrifice our very lives, as has happened in dozens of cases. What is the common denominator of these practices? Their profits! This is how the way is paved for the next tragedies (...)

During his speech in Larissa, whose military airport is being used by the US as their new air base in Greece, the General Secretary of the CC of the KKE also referred to the imperialist war in Ukraine: "All the above is happening at a time when the US-NATO-EU war with Russia and its allies on the Ukrainian territory is escalating and its generalization is quite possible. The armed conflicts and hot spots of tension are already multiplying throughout the world, reinforcing the fact that the region of Thessaly and our country in general is becoming a base of war against other peoples and at the same time making our people a victim and a target of retaliation by rival imperialist centres.

The involvement of our country in the war in Ukraine and in the US and NATO plans in general, not only does it not separate New Democracy, SYRIZA and PASOK, but on the contrary it is the glue for the formation of the next anti-popular government,  whether New Democracy or SYRIZA comes first in the elections.  Because ND, SYRIZA and PASOK share the goal of the geostrategic upgrading of the country's ruling class, of turning Greece into an "energy hub" in the wider region, which serves the interests of the capital, of the few, and creates new dangers.

Of course, not everyone benefits from this goal. It certainly benefits  shipowners, energy groups and others, whose profits are increasing from the transport of US LNG and the implementation of new ''green" investments in the name of "decoupling" from Russian gas. At the same time the people are being forced to pay the consequences of the above measures with more expensive energy and deepening energy poverty, while these plans mean new armaments that cost billions, do not prioritize the defense of our country and are also paid for by the people. The Patriot missile systems sent to Saudi Arabia and the Leopard tanks they are discussing sending to Ukraine are evidence of the above.

We know that the people of Larissa, of Thessaly, can see that these plans are not a "guarantee" nor a "shield" against Turkish aggression, as the government of ND and the other parties falsely claim. Just as the NATO British bases in Cyprus were not a guarantee against the Turkish invasion and occupation.

The people of Thessaly can reject the arguments about supposedly "strengthening the local economy" due to the presence of foreign military forces! First of all, we are talking about money that is stained with the blood of thousands of people who have been killed over the years in Syria, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Ukraine and in so many other wars.

We are also talking about a "development" that is synonymous with rot, corruption and decline. As the people of Thessaly thought about Tempi, so they should think about the issue of involvement in the plans of the US and NATO, and reject them. Because for us, human lives do matter!"

The General Secretary of the CC of the KKE pointed out that despite the individual differences between the above bourgeois parties, the basic points of their programmes in the direction of the EU and NATO is the basis of the next government, which will be anti-popular. He called on the people to send a message of hope and optimism, a message of decisive strengthening of the KKE in the 21 May elections.

08.05.2023