The USS Gerald Ford is docked at the Souda Port in Chania, which serves as a prominent naval base for the United States and its NATO allies in the eastern Mediterranean.
Photo: 902.gr
On Thursday, December 28, anti-imperialists in Greece protested the docking of the US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford at the Souda Port in Chania. The mobilization, called by the Peace Committee and labor unions in Chania, saw participation from activists of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), the Greek Committee for International Détente and Peace (EEDYE), the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE), and All Workers Militant Front (PAME), among others.
Activists held a banner that read “There is no place here for murderers! US and NATO soldiers are not welcome!” The aircraft carrier docked at the port on December 26 and is scheduled to leave on December 30.
Anti-imperialist sections have been protesting the conservative Kyriakos Mitsotakis-led New Democracy (ND) government’s decision to participate in the NATO war alliance and the access granted to US-NATO forces to use Greek airstrips and ports for their maneuvers in the Mediterranean.
The US-Greek defense cooperation agreement updated in 2019 included the upgrading of the Souda base and its integration into the existing circuit of bases which the US can access, apart from those in Larissa, Stefanovikeio, Magnesia, Araxos, and Alexandroupolis port. Currently, Souda base serves as a prominent naval base for the United States in the eastern Mediterranean.
While addressing the mobilization in Chania on Thursday, Manolis Papadomanolakis, chairman of the Chania Peace Committee alleged that “the Greek government supports in all ways the murderous hand of the Israeli state, along with the other parties of NATO, at the risk of a general conflagration.” He added that the expansion of NATO’s bases had turned the country into a base of war and a possible target of reprisals.
Communists and trade unionists have also opposed Greece’s involvement in ongoing wars in Ukraine and West Asia. Recently, KKE protested the government’s decision to send a Hellenic Navy Frigate to the Red Sea to join the US-led “Operation Prosperity Guardian” to counter the Yemeni naval blockade against Israel led by the Ansar Allah (Houthis).
Meanwhile, on December 28, a Greek-owned cargo ship sailing under the Panamanian flag in the Black Sea en route to Ismail port in Ukraine was struck allegedly by a Russian naval mine, slightly injuring two Greek sailors.
The KKE has stated that the incident “confirms once again the enormous risks to the lives of seafarers in war zones.”
“It is tragically proven that in the “arena” of shipowners’ profit, safety is sacrificed first and foremost, and sometimes the very lives of the workers on board ships. Imperialist conflicts around the world are a goldmine for shipowners who see huge opportunities for profitability,” the KKE added.