MARTYRED GREEK STUDENT WAS A TROTSKYIST
[In the report below from Athens, it is mentioned that Sotirios Petroulas was expelled from the EDA for "Trotskyism" just two months before he was killed by the police.
[Sotirios Petroulas was the student whose funeral was held in Athens on July 23. The Associated Press said that "more than 150,000 demonstrators" surged through the streets in the “manmmoth" demonstration. Other sources estimated the crowd at twice that figure.
[A leader of the Greek section of the Fourth International writes us: "The young comrade Sotirios Petroulas, killed by the police, was a sympathizer belonging to a group of young students ctiee."y from the EDA for Trotskyism and with whom we are collaborating.
By George Sinos
Athens
The most outstanding feature of the current political crisis in Greece has. been the spontaneous action of the masses. For the first time in twenty years, the traditional left-wing leadership of the EDA [United Democratic Left] and the Greek Communist party does not have full control over the masses,
The principal reasons for this are: (1) A young generation is entering the political scene free from the sins and burdens of Stalinism. (2) The broad masses lost faith in the EDA and CP leadership. (3) Many militants, formerly with these movements, left them, leading to a series of splits in the EDA. (4) The leadership of the EDA is dominated by veteran bureaucrats concerned mainly about their posts and salaries, (5) These officials adapt themselves completely to Papandreou'ts bourgeois policies, (6) There are a number of mili-~ tant tendencies active in the mass movement, including the powerful youth movement of the Center Union, and farther to the left, the Trotskyists and the pro-Chinese Communists.
This situation has opened favorable opportunities for the revolutionary Marxists. Tens of thousands of militants, especially the youth, have taken up the slogans advanced by the revolutionary Marxists, This has led to a good deal of fright among the bureaucratic leaders.
On July 17 at the huge mass meeting in the Panathinaikos stadium, where 80,000 people turned out, the slogan in favor of a referendum, a slogan directed against the monarchy, was launched by the revolutionary Marxists. The bureaucrats tried to oppose this but failed to gain support. They then tried to dissolve the huge
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meeting, "prohibiting" a demonstration from being held.: The masses paid no attention. The mammoth demonstration adopted the slogan favoring a referendum,
Two days later a crowd of about 1,000,000 turned out to hear Papandreou,. Demonstrating and picketing went on for hours, The EDA leaders tried to halt all this,-but without success.
On July 21:when the students turned out, clashes occurred with the police, It was in this demonstration that our young comrade Sotirios Petroulas was killed.
The EDA leadership found itself in an embarrassing position, Only two months before this it had expelled Sotirios and a group of youths from the EDA on grounds that they were "Trotskyists."
The EDA bureaucrats had no choice but to participate in the funeral ceremony at which 300,000 people turned out.
The slogans continued to escalate... Besides the slogan for a referendum, spread at the funeral, the slogan was launched for fraternization with the soldiers. The ery, "King, here -is your victim!" was heard. For the first time since 1945 the strains of the workers' mourning song was heard.
On the eve of the July 27 general strike, Nefelondis, a leader of the EDA, an old Stalinist who is a deputy, made a deal with Police Chief Archondoulakis to peacefully end the strike meeting. But after the meeting ended, thousands of workers and students staged a huge demonstration and marched though the main thoroughfares of Athens to parliament, shouting slogans, mainly for a referendum,
All the older leaders and deputies of the EDA were in the ~ streets trying to bring things to an end. But in vain.
Next day Avgi, the daily organ of the EDA, denounced "the | Trotskyists" as being behind the "provocations" and shouting for a "red revolution,"
Throughout the crisis, the reactionary bourgeois press had been saying siniilar things, denouncing "Trotskyism" and "the Trotskyists" for their role.
The Stalinists continued their attacks against "the Trotskyists" until the reactionary press came out with praise for the EDA leadership and their papers "because they have at last understood that the Trotskyist Communists are provoking riots and disturbances as we long ago predicted."
The EDA publications stopped their open attack on "Trotskyism" and turned instead to "educational" discussions to alert the ranks to the "role of Trotskyism" in the crisis.
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The struggle is continuing; but a compromise at the expense of the mass movement is being cooked up. There is a real possibility it can be put across because of the lack of a mass revolutionary party.
But in the magnificent struggles now going on, a new generation of militants is appearing who have already begun to fight independently, although in a confused way, for big objectives. This generation, free from the contaminating influence of Stalinism, has big possibilities. Many of them have become acquainted with Trotskyism during the recent hectic weeks. In Trotskyism they will find the program which they are seeking, the program of genuine Marxism and militant class struggle.