The Greek Coup

April 21 cast a pall over all Europe, Barely three years after emerging from two decades of harsh military dictatorship, the most reactionary forces in the country, mobilised around the throne and backed by the financial and military might of the United States, have again seized power, Ruling under decree law, with troops patrolling the streets and jet planes buzzing the cities, the generals are rapidly putting Greece back into the straitjacket, During the night troops occupied strategic points in the city and circled the palace, Tanks took over the airport, the central post office, and all radio and communications buildings, At dawn, a decree, said to have been signed by King Constantine, was read over the radio suspending certain provision of the constitution, Four of these provisions bar arbitrary arrests, One of them guarantees the right of peaceful assembly, Article 14, annulled by the conspirators, guarantees the right of free expression, The same article guarantees freedom of the press, Article 18 prohibits torture, the total confiscation of one's property and abolishes the death penalty. Article 20 guarantees the wv inviolability of correspondence. Article 97 bars the military from trying civilians before war tribunals, From this list, it is completely clear what the generals have in mind, They are preparedto submit Greece to a blood bath. By noon, a curfew was announced, and the troops were given orders to shoot on sight anyone caught in the streets after sundowm. Martial law was proclaimed in the border regions, particularly near the Turkish frontier. Athens radio announced new decrees permitting the arrest of anyone, without a warrant, and without any time on how long a person might be held without --charges, If political dissidence is involved, °ne cannot be released on bail, Anyone, no matter what his position, can be tried by special military tribunals or commissions, All meetings whatsoever are banned and if held are to be at once dispersed, Any kind of organisation with trade union aims is absolutely banned, Strikes are illegal, Searches can be made at any time in homes, All radio and television communiques must be submitted for elearanse in advance by the censorship, Correspondence, no matter what its nature, comes under censor= ship decrees, Military tribunals are to try all infractions of the above decrees. The witch-hunt gathered momentum within hours, The April 25 Paris Le Monde reported that the army itself had been purged, A group of foreign correspkndences who pooled the information they had gathered, reported 8,000 arrests had been made within three days, In addition, the police were hunting for another 2,000 or 3,000 in hiding, "The internment camps," said Le Monde, " have been hastily fixed up to receive thousands of prisoners, Upon their arrival from Vienna, members of the Austrian national soccer team reported they found the big Karaiskasis stadium covered with tents sheltering hundreds of internees," How was it possible for the generals to take over in the dead of night in this way, after the election victory of the left in Febru®ry, 1964? The reason is simple: the leaders of the working class blocked the masses from taking the revolutionary road to socialism, In the summer of 1965, the workers poured into the streets of Athens and could have then overthrown the regime, But the working class leaders, including those under the influence of the Greek Communist Party, restrained the people and told them Lg home after "peaceful" demonstrations. It is a mistake that they are n wie ly for, We should support all moves for a militant struggle against the regime,