Evening star., 1950-07-09


probability of a Communist reviv
At first sight this might be ia
ural insecurity of people subjec
over communism last year was to
the Communists could be said MOI
only to have been beaten, but tt
have committed suicide by theil
barbarous policy of murder anc
destruction among the very vii.
lagos of the countryside upor
whose good will any guerilla force
must depend for its survival.
1t is true that upward of $4,000
rebels escaped to Communist hav.
ems abroad, where there is moth
ing to do with them except trair
them for the next round, and
few hundred still remain active ir
Northern Greece, looting and lay.
ing mines. But with the total de-
struction of their bases in Greece
and with the creation of home
guard which may before long out
number the Greek regular army
there seems to be little chance OF
q revival of open warfare on the
former scale unless the Comm
form is prepared to sponsor a di-
rect invasion of Greece across the
northern frontier.
Propaganda Weapon
The Communist revival must be
expected to take a different form
The reorganization Of Communist
cells In the towns can be taken for
granted, though probably few II
any Of the known outstanding
leaders have yet returned from
abroad to take charge. Propa-
Randa to embarrass the govern
nsnt and the Western Allies is an
obvious weapon ready to hand.
and there are many targets.
The reformatory camp on the
island of Makronesos. where some
ugly stories came out after q
civilian detention camp was added
to the military rehabilitation unit,
has been one such target. Another
is the natural Greek desire for
the union of Cyprus with Greece,
which gives the Communists the
double opportunity of posing as
patriotic Greeks and making trou-
BILE for the British at the same
time.
In these and other cases the
Communists need only to act as
the pacemakers of propaganda;
the rest is done for them by fellow
travellers who simultaneously de-
rounce communism and act as its
tools. There are. for instance,
three or four members Of the
present Parliament who were
closely associated with EAM
(Communist-controlled wartime
resistance group in the past. and
one who actually commanded the
forces of ELIAS (military organi-
zation of EAM) in the Communist
rising of December, 1914, in Ath-
ems. Partly in Parliament and
partly through the influential left
wing paper, Makhi (Which means
Battle) these men follow willy
nilly the Communist Party line
under the mischievouS provoca-
ton of the extreme right. The
misery of their position, as well
as the harm they can do, Is pitt
fully illustrated by comparison
with the Communists own direct
organs Of propaganda, the Free
Radio abroad and the miniature
newspaper, Rizospastis, which
again circluates Illegally and ir-
regularly. Neither of these carry
much weight in comparison with
the utterances Of the fellow
travellers; and such weight "a
they carry they throw into Gym
ical denunciations of their own
fellow-travelers as organs Of the
Greek government. One can al
most hear the malicious chuckles
of the Cominform In the back
ground.
But the potential strength Of
the Communists does not lie in
these manipulations. which are
only the convential gambits OF
the complicated game Of Greek
politics. The real danger goes
deeper; in the towns, especially
among the trades unions; in the
country, especially among the
refugee populations in the de-
stroyed villages.
Communist Party members have
never been very numerous in the
unions, whose political organiza-
ton is almost an exact reflection
OF national politics; every Greek
party has its corresponding grour
of adherents among the unions
but, as always, the Communists
though few, are by far the best
organized. They are now coming
out into the open again, though
still technically outlawed, under
the thin cover of a new trade
union group called ESKE (the
Free Syndicalist Movement OF
Greece, which is expected tt
score some dangerous successes
when the next convention of the
General Confederation of Labor
meets in September to elect new
executive.
Paradoxical Situation
The strength of their appea
lies in the comparative failure O.
the present executive dominated
by right-wing leaders who ow,
their places not to election but tt
government nomination. to OBJ.
tain any marked improvement il
workers conditions in the prin.