At a time when the Cyprus issue is heating up, Greece has turned into an American military base and Athens has become Washington’s weapon waiting to be triggered, we are publishing the 1955 Central Committee resolutions of the Communist Party of Greece on the situation in the country and the Cyprus issue.
The Communist Party of Greece was founded in 1918. The party played an important role in organizing the resistance against the occupation during the Second World War, and then became illegal after the defeat in the Greek Civil War of 1946-1949. Following illegality, the leadership of the party mainly left the country.
We can say that the meeting where the resolutions of the Central Committee were taken was held abroad. The meeting of the Committee in March 1955 took place before the London Conference, which started on August 29, 1955, where Türkiye and Greece were to discuss the Cyprus issue at the invitation of Britain.
At the time of the meeting of the Central Committee, the pro-American Greek Revival was in power in the country. While Greece was planning to bring the Cyprus issue to the United Nations, violent actions broke out on the island in that year and the EOKA organization was established.
It is to be assumed that the four-page Central Committee resolutions of the Communist Party of Greece, the full text of which we translated from Russian, were originally written in Greek and then translated into Russian by Soviet officials. This document is kept in the Russian State Archive of Contemporary History (RGANI), as fond 5, list 28, file 340, leaf 29-32.
The current situation in Greece and the problems facing our movement and the people
(Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece)
At its meeting in March of this year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece discussed the report of Comrade Miltiadis Porfirogennis[1] on the situation in Greece and the problems currently facing our popular movement.
First. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece endorses the report of Comrade Miltiadis Porfirogennis.
Second. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece points out that the political situation in the country will become increasingly tense in the coming period. The Greek Revival and the parliament, which are servile to the Americans, and Papandreou, who is friendly to the Greek Revival and the so-called opposition are all in close cooperation in carrying out American policies that are anti-national and anti-people. Greece is now an atomic bomb depot. The direct attack on the rights of the people is continuing and accelerating. Given the determined resistance of the people to this policy, and the political and economic deadlock that the Greek Revival has brought the country to -which itself has brought the Greek Revival itself to the edge of collapse and crisis – the Americans are beginning to actively support the activities of the IDEA[2]. To this end, they have carried out and continue to carry out a purge in the armed forces on a scale unprecedented in the history of Greece, the bourgeois-landlord state. They want to suppress any democratic movement and formation in the armed forces and turn it into a tool completely subordinated to their domestic and foreign goals. The main focus of their politics is becoming more and more to build a military dictatorship of IDEA. Terrorism in the country has escalated to the highest level. In this way they are trying to avoid fulfilling the tasks that the people delegated to them in November last year and in the by-elections in Piraeus, specifically to hold new elections according to the proportional representation system. They are aware that the entire people will vote en masse against their policies that lead to starvation, fascist terror and nuclear war, and in favor of a radical change in the country’s domestic and foreign policies.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece calls on all communists and people’s fighters to be mobilized to solve the following fundamental problem that the country now faces:
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece warns of the immediate danger that the military preparations under the direction of the Pentagon and Cannon, the patrons of IDEA, pose for our homeland and our people.
The imposition of the military dictatorship of the IDEA means the increase of hunger and poverty, and the danger posed by the American nuclear war. The united patriotic struggle of the people and the army can foil all the plans of IDEA and its protectors. Such unity guarantees the people’s right to live, a democratic domestic and peaceful foreign policy. That is why both Cannon and Papagos, together with Papandreou, are fiercely fighting against the unification and cooperation of the democratic forces of the people. But the people realize what the plutocrats are aiming for, what Cannon, Papagos and Papandreou are against, what is good for Greece. The people will be much more determined to unite in the struggle for their rights.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece declares that it will not insist on narrow party demands, but will support any movement, no matter its affiliation, that is committed to the rescue of the country from the Greek Revival, and to the principle that vital problems will be solved by the people through new elections based on proportional representation.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece strongly rejects the statement of Papagos in which he arrogantly suggests that our homeland is to be subjugated and enslaved as a colony to its American masters and NATO and that the Yankees have the right to completely ignore the will of our people and appoint whatever government they wish in Greece. The “Marshal”[3] surpassed even the notorious Kanellopoulos[4] with his anti-national cynicism and complicity. The response of the patriots and the people to this shameful servile obedience will be to raise the banner of the struggle for freedom and national independence even higher.
The American masters and their servants have launched a new wave of terror and murder against communists. They are preparing new trials and setting up gallows. All this is necessary to draw a veil over their hatred of the people, increasing military activities of the IDEA militarists, their atomic bombs and bases. By striking a blow against the Communist Party of Greece, the Americans want to crush the struggle and the resistance of the people. But they will not succeed. The Greek communists and the honorable Greek people will not give in. Regardless of violence and terror, despite the difficulties and losses, the Greek communists will always advance towards victory and freedom by leading Greek people.
Third. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece observes that lately the rulers in Athens, together with their supporters in Cyprus, have increased speculation on the Cyprus issue. With the help of these speculations they want to hide their submission to the British imperialists. At the same time, they want to alienate the communists and all sincere patriots and freedom fighters from the leadership of the national struggle of the Cypriot people. They exploit the patriotic feelings of the Cypriot youth and people, pretending to be on their side in their struggle in order to further facilitate their betrayal in the Cyprus issue.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece declares that the national aspirations of the Cypriot people can only be achieved through the patriotic unity and determined mass struggle of the peoples of Cyprus and Greece. This struggle will benefit from the support of all the progressive forces of humanity. Exposing and isolating those who exploit the Cyprus issue destroying the national unity of the peoples of Greece and Cyprus, that is, those who betray Cyprus and Greece, is the key to success. It cannot be allowed that they deceive the masses with rhetoric.
The more British imperialists escalate the terror and the more they suppress the national rights of Cypriots, the more the resistance and struggle of the Cypriot people and Cypriot patriots will become stronger.
The sacred duty of every communist and of everyone in struggle is to lead the people politically and to organize the movement for national independence, to protect this movement from the treachery and adventurism of the collaborators of the foreign powers in Athens, as well as from the provocative demands of British imperialism. Such adventurism and provocative demands aim to disguise the treachery in the Cyprus issue, to mislead it and to strike a blow to the patriotic movement of the people. But despite all the plots of the enemies of the people, the struggle of the Cypriots will continue to get stronger. The Greek people devotedly supports the struggle of the Cypriot people, of which it is the protector and comrade.
Long live the struggle of Cypriot patriots!
Down with the Athenian traitors!
Down with the British and American imperialists!
Free Cyprus!
Free Cyprus in a free Greece!
Communist Party of Greece
Central Committee
(RGANI fond 5, list 28, file 340, leaf 29-32)
[1] Miltiadis Porfirogennis (1903-1958) was a prominent leader of the Communist Party of Greece. Being one of the leaders of the resistance movement during the Second World War, Porfirogennis served as minister of labor in the National Unity Government of Georgios Papandreou formed in 1944 and as minister of justice in the Provisional Democratic Government at the end of 1947. When the Communists were defeated in the civil war, he went abroad with other leaders of the Communist Party of Greece.
[2] Ieros Desmos Ellinon Aksiomatikon (Holy Bond of the Greek Army Officers), a secret paramilitary organization created by the top leadership of the Young Officers’ Association in the Greek Army.
[3] It refers to then Prime Minister Alexander Papagos, who was appointed field marshal after his victory against the communists in the Greek Civil War (1946-49).
[4] Panayotis Kanellopoulos (1902-1986), twice prime minister of Greece (1945 and 1967), politician and writer.