On the afternoon of 4 November, the city’s Labour Centre, along with the municipal authority, unions, and other mass organisations in Patras, held a massive, militant rally and anti-fascist demonstration on the main streets of Patras. They sent a powerful message: “Not in schools, not anywhere — block the fascists in every neighbourhood”. They were condemning the murderous fascist attack that had taken place the previous evening against a high school student who was a member of KNE, as well as other high school and university students who stood by her side. Eight university students, who are members of KNE, were injured in the attack after being hit on the head and elsewhere. The armed, 40-strong fascist gang used helmets and knuckle dusters during the attack, and a car in which the four individuals arrested was found to contain, among other things, a pistol with a magazine loaded with five bullets!
A massive anti-fascist response from the people of Patras
The provocation did not stop with these latest events. The bourgeois state and the justice system dared to proceed with the arrest of the eight members of the KKE and KNE who were taken to the hospital with injuries, charging them with “brawling” and “causing grievous bodily harm.” The police attempted to portray the events as “personal disputes among minors” in order to “whitewash” the murderous actions of the fascists and their premeditated attack.
On 4 November, speaking in Parliament, Dimitris Koutsoumbas, GS of the CC of the KKE, began his speech by emphasizing the following: “You, members of the government, bear enormous, criminal responsibility. You are letting these fascists run rampant. A fascist non-commissioned officer stubbed out a cigarette on the cheek of a conscript, a child of our people. Another kicked a different soldier in the face, breaking his teeth. Last night, an armed fascist gang attacked a high school student and KNE member outside her home, in front of her parents, neighbours, classmates, and university students who were near the house and rushed to her aid to save her from their murderous plans in the square nearby. And the police arrested some people—those in whose car they found guns and knives, that is, murder weapons. But, in addition to these fascists, they also arrested those who rushed to the student’s aid. What a disgrace!”
It should be noted that eight KKE members of parliament addressed a question to the ministers of Citizen Protection and Justice, demanding an immediate halt to all prosecutions against the KKE and KNE members who were subjected to the murderous attack by fascists in Patras, as well as the arrest and conviction of the fascists who organized and carried out the criminal attack.
