Greek government’s attempts not to let the country be cut in half

The Greek government is preparing to face the front created by farmers’ unions, who threaten to put road blocks on highways, with the same determination it showed to the strike front of public transport in Athens.

They seem satisfied with the defusion in the transport protests and consider that the message that there will be no exceptions to the single payroll across the public sector will act as a catalyst in other mobilizations, such as those announced by the GENOP PPC unionists for next Thursday and others.

The government's mandate is to keep open all main highways, and especially that between Athens and Thessaloniki and the railway line. If some farmer groups manage to escape ultimatums should be given right away and if there is no response, police and local authorities must intervene to open the roads.

Opposition backs protests

SYRIZA says the "Pan-Hellenic agrarian revolution will provide the answer to the prime minister and the tri-party memorandum government, who are in panic and once again resorting to their familiar tactics against any popular claim; defamation, social automation and repression."

The Independent Greeks say that "the rural people of the country, who had been deceived for decades, are determined not to lose their land or risk their dignity, and they are resisting to the bitter end against those planning their extermination."

The Communist Party "welcomes the agrarian demonstrations throughout the country against the governmental memoranda policy of hikes and taxes, against the common agricultural policy of the EU, leading to the destruction of small and medium sized peasantry in order to bring enormous growth to large rural capitalist exploitations."