Friday, July 09, 2010
INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT GREECE:
HANDS OFF THE LELAS KARAGIANNI 37 SQUAT:
Across the industrialized world various cities have become like Swiss cheese...full of holes. The "holes", of course, are the numerous abandoned buildings that sprout up like mushrooms as houses and businesses in 'depressed' neighbourhoods are left derelict. At the same time increasing numbers of people are finding themselves homeless in the face of higher and higher costs of housing. It would seem like a good fit; put the homeless people in the tenantless buildings. That, however, is not the way it works in societies where housing is seen not as a basic human right but rather as either a profit making enterprise or the subject of empire building by government social "service" agencies.
In some countries this has led to a mass movement of "squatting" where abandoned buildings are taken over and occupied by self managing tenants. This is especially prominent in Europe where while food may be cheap in a North American sense accommodation is quite expensive. It hardly registers as a 'blip' in Canada for various reasons. One is that any unauthorized occupancy is much more fully "criminalized" here, and the police move much faster on any squatters who, in any case, are the margin of the marginals and lack the political savvy (or maybe any savvy) of the European squatters. Another is that there are six months of the year in which if utilities are cut off any premises become completely unlivable for anyone but wilderness campers. Most homeless people can't afford -40 degree sleeping bags. God knows that my own city of Winnipeg may be the 'derelict building capital of Canada' (it's been commented on by none other than the Globe & Mail), and there are probably enough abandoned buildings in this city alone to house all homeless people in the whole country. God knows, however, that moving to Winnipeg would hardly be popular. That simple sensible solution is not, however, the way it works.
In Europe squatting is a political movement, and it has been far harder for European states to suppress it than it has been here. See Squat Net for general news. In southern Europe squatting has become widespread, and in countries such as Greece it has become part and parcel of the anarchist subculture. Not that I approve of such subcultures as they simultaneously build solidarity amongst their adherents and grievously divide them from others making any outreach immensely difficult. No free lunch here. An anarchist "alternative" is very obviously not a generalization of the norms of a small subculture to the general society no matter how the self-regarding tunnel vision of the subculturists may imagine it to be so. Still...the act of squatting points the way to another vision of housing that is different from that of a profit driven society or government directed "charity".
In Greece one of the oldest squats, that at Lelas Karagianni 37 (established 1988) has been under attack the other day. Here's the story from the Occupied London Blog.
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HANDS OFF THE LELAS KARAGIANNI 37 SQUAT
In a period of intensification of social and class antagonism due to the generalised attack of state and capital on even the most elementary interests and rights of the workers the unemployed and the youth, and during the attempt to raise social and political defences, repression is intensified by targeting, threatening and attacking people in struggle and spaces of struggle.
On the night of July 8th at 2 a.m., only a few hours before the general strike demonstration some heavy police units surrounded without any obvious pretext the occupied building of 37, Lelas Karagianni Street in the Athens neighbourhood of Kipseli – and blocked off the surrounding streets. The Occupation was put under a condition of siege, threatened for many hours with a police raid, while an order had been issued for the arrest of anyone who would attempt to exit or enter the occupied building. Police checked and even detained many passers-by, neighbours or others who just happened to be in the streets around the occupation.
Finally the tight siege ended with the withdrawal of the police forces at 5 a.m., as suddenly as it had started.
Regardless of the undeclared targets and planning of this police operation, the fact is that yet another space of struggle and yet another group of people in struggle was targeted by state repression and terrorism. An occupation which during its entire 22 years always stood steadily within the ranks of the wider anarchist/anti-authoritarian struggle and always on the side of all the social-class struggles of the exploited and repressed people.
For this reason the night-time repressive operation of July 8th against this particular occupation had some wider targets and comprises part of the wider state repression aiming at terrorising and attacking anti-authoritarian struggle and more widely, the social struggles of our time.
And even if this particular repressive operation folded it nevertheless showed the aggressive tendencies and the terrorising methods employed by the state against the self-organised nuclei of struggle, such as occupations, which during this period are particularly important and useful in their support and contribution to the development of collective resistances, both on a more central level as much as in the neighbourhoods of the city.
It is for this reason that despite the very late time [at which the attack against the occupation was launched] there was an enormous struggle interest and tens of comrades were mobilised, expressing their solidarity availability to the besieged occupation on the night of July 8th.
TERRORISM SHALL NOT PASS – HANDS OFF THE OCCUPATIONS
AGAINST STATE AND CAPITALIST BARBARITY, LET’S PREMISE SELF-ORGANISATION, SOLIDARITY AND OUR COLLECTIVE RESISTANCES
Occupation of Lelas Karagianni 37
Friday July 9th, 2010
More Info:
http://www.facebook.com/l/98dc0ZfKjqkqj496sno2kq8uEQw;www.squathost.com/lelas_k/
http://www.facebook.com/l/98dc0dpEQPnjeKMWaleKCafuzgw;athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1191859
http://www.facebook.com/l/98dc0bJePLKXABarl37CwP49yTw;www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/2010/07/10/330-statement-by-the-lelas-karagianni-squat-in-athens-regarding-the-reppresive-operation-against-it/
HANDS OFF THE LELAS KARAGIANNI 37 SQUAT
In a period of intensification of social and class antagonism due to the generalised attack of state and capital on even the most elementary interests and rights of the workers the unemployed and the youth, and during the attempt to raise social and political defences, repression is intensified by targeting, threatening and attacking people in struggle and spaces of struggle.
On the night of July 8th at 2 a.m., only a few hours before the general strike demonstration some heavy police units surrounded without any obvious pretext the occupied building of 37, Lelas Karagianni Street in the Athens neighbourhood of Kipseli – and blocked off the surrounding streets. The Occupation was put under a condition of siege, threatened for many hours with a police raid, while an order had been issued for the arrest of anyone who would attempt to exit or enter the occupied building. Police checked and even detained many passers-by, neighbours or others who just happened to be in the streets around the occupation.
Finally the tight siege ended with the withdrawal of the police forces at 5 a.m., as suddenly as it had started.
Regardless of the undeclared targets and planning of this police operation, the fact is that yet another space of struggle and yet another group of people in struggle was targeted by state repression and terrorism. An occupation which during its entire 22 years always stood steadily within the ranks of the wider anarchist/anti-authoritarian struggle and always on the side of all the social-class struggles of the exploited and repressed people.
For this reason the night-time repressive operation of July 8th against this particular occupation had some wider targets and comprises part of the wider state repression aiming at terrorising and attacking anti-authoritarian struggle and more widely, the social struggles of our time.
And even if this particular repressive operation folded it nevertheless showed the aggressive tendencies and the terrorising methods employed by the state against the self-organised nuclei of struggle, such as occupations, which during this period are particularly important and useful in their support and contribution to the development of collective resistances, both on a more central level as much as in the neighbourhoods of the city.
It is for this reason that despite the very late time [at which the attack against the occupation was launched] there was an enormous struggle interest and tens of comrades were mobilised, expressing their solidarity availability to the besieged occupation on the night of July 8th.
TERRORISM SHALL NOT PASS – HANDS OFF THE OCCUPATIONS
AGAINST STATE AND CAPITALIST BARBARITY, LET’S PREMISE SELF-ORGANISATION, SOLIDARITY AND OUR COLLECTIVE RESISTANCES
Occupation of Lelas Karagianni 37
Friday July 9th, 2010
More Info:
http://www.facebook.com/l/98dc0ZfKjqkqj496sno2kq8uEQw;www.squathost.com/lelas_k/
http://www.facebook.com/l/98dc0dpEQPnjeKMWaleKCafuzgw;athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1191859
http://www.facebook.com/l/98dc0bJePLKXABarl37CwP49yTw;www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/2010/07/10/330-statement-by-the-lelas-karagianni-squat-in-athens-regarding-the-reppresive-operation-against-it/
Labels: anarchism, Greece, international anarchist movement, Lelas Karagianni 37 Squat, Occupied London Blog, repression, squats, squatting
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS EUROPE:
STRIKES LEAD TO FURTHER CONFRONTATIONS IN EUROPE:
General strikes in Greece and the Basque countries in Spain were generally successful the other day, and at least in Greece led to further confrontations with the police during the strikers' demonstrations. Meanwhile in Madrid an unlimited strike on the metro has led to confrontations with the police there as well. The Madrid strike is supported by all three of the Spanish anarchosyndicalist organizations, the CGT, the CNT and Solidaridad Obrera. According to Solidaridad Obrera who are particularly strong in the Madrid Metro the strike has had practically 100% compliance, a considerable step up with the poorly attended "general strike" in the public sector called by the "official" trade unions, the UGT and the CCOO, earlier this month. The one day general strike in the Basque countries where local unions outweigh the larger national ones was also more successful.
The following is a story from The Independent in Ireland about the strike in Greece. Note that "numbers" are a continued bone of contention. the unions claim far larger numbers at their demonstrations than are reported here.
ESESESESES
Greece, Spain rocked by riots in a day of protests
By William Fernie in Athens
Wednesday June 30 2010
Dozens of masked youths clashed with police yesterday at a union protest in Athens during a general strike against the cash-strapped Greek government's planned pension and labour reforms.
Similar strikes in Spain also led to arrests and clashes with police.
Greek riot police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse troublemakers who threw chunks of marble smashed off a metro station entrance and set rubbish bins on fire.
The violence came as 10,000 people took part in a demonstration organised by the country's two main unions and fringe left-wing groups. A separate march by 5,000 members of the Communist Party-backed PAME union ended peacefully.
Public services shut down across Greece as workers walked off the job as the strike disrupted public transport, left hospitals operating on emergency staff and pulled all news broadcasts off the air.
They are protesting against draft legislation that would increase retirement ages and make it cheaper for companies to fire workers. The measures are aimed at fixing the country's debt crisis, which has shaken the entire eurozone. Similar protests in May also turned violent, with three workers dying in a bank torched by rioters.
Greece is caught in a major debt and deficit crisis. It avoided bankruptcy last month only after receiving the first installment of a €110bn emergency loan package from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
In Spain, similar strikes against austerity measures caused transport havoc in Madrid and led to clashes between police. Subway trains stopped running because of the stoppage to protest against public sector wage cuts ordered by the government. Spain is struggling to emerge from nearly two years of recession following the collapse of its construction sector which had earlier fuelled a decade of economic boom.
Besides its swollen deficit problems, it also has an unemployment rate of 20pc, the highest in the EU.
- William Fernie in Athens
Irish Independent
ESESESESES
Predictably the most militant clashes with the police (or attacks by the police from another viewpoint) happened in Greece. Here's a report of clashes from the Occupied London Blog. Note the difference in crowd size estimates between this report and the one above. Note also that yet another general strike is planned for next week in Greece.
ESESESESES
General strike day in Athens:
Demonstrators attack police with their bare hands;
Fascists rooted off the demo;
Super-market looted;
Riot police beat demonstrators in the metro;
money transfer vans chasen out of Exarcheia
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
A brief summary of a very eventful day…
■At least 13 detentions in the Athens demonstration alone, six of which have turned into arrests (that is, these people face charges). There are already e-mails circulating, denouncing the unprovoked arrest of Dimitris Aggelis Dimakis, a student of European History at the University of Athens. Any updates on Dimitris’ case, or any other of today’s arrestees, will be published here.
■The general strike demonstration largely lacked in numbers (anything between 30,000 and 50,000 might be a good estimate, that together with the demo of the Stalinist PAME, which is always separate). The reasons could be anything from the numbness so many feel from the cataclysmic changes happening all around us, to the May 5th aftermath, or simply that we’re entering deep summer. In any case, what we lacked in numbers we had in the passion of some people who were out on the streets. When a couple of riot police units tried to cross through part of the demonstration at Syntagma (just opposite parliament) they were evidently surprised to see the amount of abuse they got from “ordinary” demonstrators who attacked them with empty water bottles and their bare hands, to send them out of the demonstration. More photos from this incident here.
■Earlier on, at exactly the same spot (Syntagma square, opposite the Grande Bretagne hotel) around 25-30 fascists had gathered with Greek flags, banners, army clothing and so on. They were attacked by a few comrades who were immediately joined in by other demonstrators. The fascists were attacked with their own flag poles. They were chased all the way to the other end of Syntagma square, where they found refuge behind a riot police unit. This is the second attempt by small fascist groups to join in a general strike demonstration (the first being May 20th) but they must be learning a lesson by now.Some more photos from today’s demonstration in Athens are here.
■Before the demonstration, about 25 comrades stormed in the supermarket Sklavenitis in the neighbourhood of Pagrati and removed essential goods which they then re-distributed at a nearby open air market, along with a text explaining their action. A similar action took place in Thessaloniki, too.
■After the demonstration, two money transfer vans driving through Exarcheia were chased and smashed up at Stournari Street (close to the Polytechnic school).
■Finally, after the demonstration in Athens, riot police units stormed the metro and chased people who were leaving the people. They were attacking, beating and pushing people at the platforms with imminent danger for the demonstrators’ lives. More photos from the Omonoia station incident here.
■Meanwhile, overground, riot police were also beating demonstrations – again at Omonoia:
■Earlier, at Syntagma square again, the thugs of the “Delta” motorcycle police force were only too eager to confirm the old Greek saying, “stupidity is unbeatable”. Two of their motorcycles collided with one another. The result?
This sums up the main incidents from Athens today. The mainstream trade union, GSEE, has already announced there will be another strike next week – the date is yet to be confirmed and will appear here as soon as it is known.
ESESESESES
Meanwhile in the Basque countries (Euskadi) of Spain another one day general strike happened on June 29. Once more estimates of the participation rate vary dramatically depending on the source, the Basque government claiming only about 10% while union sources claiming upwards of 70%. The strike was supported by the local Basque unions and the anarchosyndicalists across the province while the CCOO and the UGT only supported it in part of Euskadi. Here's a report from the CGT in Nafarroa published in Rojo Y Negro, the newspaper of the CGT. The original Spanish can be seen at the reference above.
ESESESESES
29 of June One Day Strike in Pamplona . Assessment and Chronical
From the CGT -Nafarroa: We started our activity at 5 am by car handing out leaflets in the streets and parks calling the rally and demonstration we had convened . (Full stop here...you'll know that anarchists are serious when they're willing to start at 5 am-Mollymew )
At 5:20 pm, a picket at the gates of VW, with police identification check of a companero and an inspection of the banner.
Later, at 6:20 pm, we have concentrated on the train station , distributing propaganda and information to users and workers. At 7:30 pm there was a demonstration in the Plaza de las Merindades and the beginning of a colorful bicycle picket by the different neighborhoods of the city which received police harassment was intended to stop our presence in the street... harassment by the motorcycles and vans of the various police , a fine from the municipal police , identification checks of everyone by the national police ... All this added to the previous fine in the campaign of preparation for the strike day .
At 11 am, in the Plaza del Vinculo , a large rally began with the participation of various companeros of the union , all in both Euskera and Castilian , as well as Ceacero Jacinto , Secretary General of the CGT. The various interventions revolved around:
•Stop the cuts and defend the rights achieved with struggle by the workers in past decades.
•Change the socioeconomic model : in the face of growth, competitiveness and exclusion, division: sharing limited growth and self-management .
•Maintenance of the mobilization: the strike as a starting point to recover space and autonomy, not as an end .
After the rally , which was set to music thanks to the participation of the Libertarian Fanfarra , we started to march on the Plaza del Castillo, where we joined the protest from other unions.
The assessment of the day we have is positive because of the degree of 'electricity' we perceived that we reached as an organization, in a general climate of social and labor apathy . We understand that protests like those today have a high potential of spreading to more social sectors and more territories and to expand quantitatively and qualitatively the mobilization to stop the advance of neoliberalism that we suffer.
So from today we start to think of and prepare the next step in the escalating mobilization that we want.
CGT Nafarroa
ESESESESES
Perhaps the most significant event in the European strike wave is the Metro strike in Madrid even though it is not a general strike. It is, however, a strike in an absolutely critical industrial sector and, most importantly, it is not a symbolic one day strike. It's unlimited as they like to say in Spain. It is also the strike where the anarchosyndicalists seem to have their greatest influence. Unfortunately I'm running out of time so I'll have to take this up later, hopefully tomorrow. This strike will probably still be happening then unless one side or the other backs down.
Labels: Basque countries, CGT, general strike, Greece, international labour, international politics, Occupied London Blog, Spain, strike.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-GREECE:
MORE NEWS FROM GREECE:
Neither escalating nor de-escalating the anti-government protests in Greece continue to simmer against a backdrop of fiscal crisis and the need of the ruling 'socialist' party PASAC to renege on their promises to Greek workers, the better to serve their international financial masters. Here's an update from the LibCom site about what happened yesterday.
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Marches against repression in Greece:
Marches against the hideous police repression unleashed in the days commemorating the assassination of A. Grigoropoulos took place in Greece after two days of clashes.
Marches against repression in Greece:
Marches against the hideous police repression unleashed in the days commemorating the assassination of A. Grigoropoulos took place in Greece after two days of clashes.
Marches against state terror unleashed in the last few days against the movement took place in Athens and Salonica on Tuesday 8/12 amidst government lies and bragging of its ability to detain more than 800 citizens out of which 13 have been charged during the marches in memory of Alexandros Grigoropoulos.
In Athens the protest march called at Propylea at 19:00 found the university asylum grounds once again blocked by long triple chains of riot cops in utter breach of the 16th article of the constitution. Faced with intensifying challenge by the gathered protesters police officers in charged claimed this was done under the demands of the rectorial authorities, leading the crowd to chant "cops, TV and rectors all the scum work together". Despite the overwhelming police forces and the tiredness of two days of continuous confrontation, the 2,000 strong march took to the streets of Athens in high spirits towards the Parliament and then to Omonoia chanting anti-police slogans all the way. There were no clashes during the march. At the same time the administration headquarters of the Technical Schools of Athens (TEI) have been occupied by protesters against police brutality and the breach of the asylum. Student organisations have called a new protest march against police brutality and breach of the asylum for Friday.
Earlier the same day pupils marches took place in many Athens' neighborhood against state terror. In Chaidari pupils clashes with police forces which were piled with oranges and other projectiles; 3 pupils were detained during the clashes. Tension also built up during a pupil protest march in Kamatero with pupils throwing projectiles to cops and during a pupil march towards the central prisons of the country in Koridalos with children lighting fires around the penal premises. Finally pupils of the Grava complex once again marched to the Agias Lavras police station that had come under attack in the previous days.
In Salonica, the protest march took to the streets of the city a 18:00 fueled by the recent breaches of the university asylum by delta-team thugs. A similar protest march took place in Rethymnon, Crete where the police was supported in its work of intimidation by local fascists.
On the legal front all 22 comrades of Resalto have been released with extortionate monetary guarantees (amounting to around 40,000 euros in total). The trial will be held in March.
The recent days of unrest have led to a head-on confrontation of left wing parties with the government. In a hideous gesture of propaganda, the attacker of Ms Koutsoumbou - the elderly woman who was hit by a delta-team motorbiker who then proceeded to beat her up causing brain injuries and internal bleeding - visited her at hospital claiming that it was all an accident. EEK, the Workers' Revolutionary Party whose member is Ms Koutsoumbou held a press conference today denouncing the visit as hypocritical and stressing that not only the policeman targeted and then hit the veteran anti-junta struggler, but after dismounting and beating her on the head with a glob, he also attacked a doctor who tried to give first aid to the woman. The police even refused to call an ambulance to her assistance claiming its a trick so that the protesters can burn it. EEK claims this amounts to an assassination attempt by the policeman. The government insists it was all an accident, infuriating other parts of the left which have come out openly against the government they were flirting with only a month ago. The Radical Left Coalition has accused the Minister of Public Order of being a right wing-fascist hybrid. The typically delirious Mr Chrisochoidis has retorted attacking both the local council of Keratsini for its support of Resalto and the occupiers of the local city hall, and the radical left as covering "nazis" and "vandals". The notoriously FBI decorated minister claimed he will abolish use of tear gas and replace it with Operation Motorman type water cannon-barricade breaking street tanks which were abolished by the first Socialist government in 1981.
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And here, also from Libcom, is an addendum as to what has been happening today.
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Update:
Update:
On the morning of 9/12 pupils attacked the police department of Alexandria in Amathia with molotov cocktails. Meanwhile street cleaners and garbage collectors have renewed their strike for another 48h. Athens is currently plunged in piles of rotting garbage half blocking the streets.
On the legal front 3 of the people arrested in Salonica have been imprisoned pending their trial. Legal processes of the other people arrested during the last days unrest continue in various Greek cities. In Mytelene, Lesbos island, 4 radio stations were occupied by protesters who broadcasted communiques demanding the immediate release of all the arrested. Manolis Glezos the Resistance veteran known for lowering the Nazi flag from the Acropolis during the Occupation has denounced the detentions as state terror against the people and the movement, while the Lawyers Association of Keratsini has joined in denouncing the Resalto arrests are political repression. In an audacious incident characteristic of the ethics of the Greek state, a boy was released in Salonica after the police admitted to the interrogator that it had "planted him" with a bag filled with molotov cocktails. The officers have not been suspended or charged.
On the other hand, in a move of collaborationism unheard of since the junta, the rectorial authorities of the Athens Law School have announced measures ousting and disallowing entrance on non-students in its premises. In Chania an investigation has started on the collaboration of the police with fascist groups during the latest unrest after the publication of photos of the police commander of the operations openly coordinating the thugs. Fascists have attacked immigrants in Chania twice since the end of the troubles.
The latest developments come in a climate of extreme economic tension as Greece's Fitch borrowing status was downgraded yesterday amidst international estimations that the country cannot pay off its debts. The downgrading has led to a collapse of the stock market to a 10 year low. The PM has announced that the country is for the first time in a "crisis of national sovereignty since 1974" adding most dramatically that "the motherland is in intensive care". The government fears that structural reforms demanded for the upgrading of the country's borrowing status would lead to a social upheaval that will make the December Uprising look like a Saturday night riot.
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Meanwhile a debate rages, fueled, of course, by the government, about the right of "university asylum" in Greece. Since the overthrow of the military dictatorship in 1973 universities have been "no-go zones" for the police, in recognition of the leading role that students played in that revolution. The Greek government is doing its best to promulgate as much bad publicity as it can in preparation for an eventual move against this safe base from which the anarchists and others can sally forth to do battle. The 'University asylum' has, as the above article pointed out, already been violated in some minor ways. The government, trying to out-conservative the conservatives no doubt plans further, much more serious, breaches of this right. Here's an article from the New York Times about certain incidents that are being played up as part of this campaign. With more or less approval on the part of the NYT.
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Debate Rages in Greece About Right of Police to Enter University Campuses:
By NIKI KITSANTONIS
Published: December 9, 2009
A new wave of violent attacks against academics is sweeping campuses in Athens and Thessaloniki, leading Greek professors ( or at least a few of them-Molly ) to question a law that bans police officers from entering university grounds.
By NIKI KITSANTONIS
Published: December 9, 2009
A new wave of violent attacks against academics is sweeping campuses in Athens and Thessaloniki, leading Greek professors ( or at least a few of them-Molly ) to question a law that bans police officers from entering university grounds.
The law exists nowhere else in Europe, but it has been sacrosanct in Greece since the fall of a military dictatorship that bloodily suppressed a student rebellion at the Athens Polytechnic in 1973 in which at least 23 people were killed.
Last weekend saw a peak in the violence, which has spiraled in recent months along with general social unrest, a spike in crime and a resurgence of domestic terrorism.
Hundreds of anti-establishment protesters stormed university buildings during demonstrations being held in memory of a teenager who was shot and killed by a police officer a year ago, an event that sparked some of the worst riots ever in the capital.
The rector of the University of Athens, Christos Kittas, was sent to intensive care Sunday, after being beaten by assailants using iron bars and then thrown out of his office. Mr. Kittas, who was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday after recovering from a heart attack, called on fellow academics and politicians to tackle the problem on campuses. He said he “felt dead inside watching young people who could be my grandchildren or students commit crimes and vandalize the shrine to free thought.”
Last week, a professor at the Athens University of Economics and Business, Gerasimos Sapountzoglou, was targeted by extremists who beat and throttled him when he refused to stop a lecture. Several other academics have suffered similar attacks in Athens and Thessaloniki in recent months.
Anastassios Manthos, rector of Thessaloniki’s Aristotle University, who was knocked unconscious in a similar campus raid last year, said things had gotten worse. “The violence in universities, and in Greek society in general, is explosive and unprecedented,” he said.
He cited the worsening economy and an inadequate education sector as key reasons for the discontent that has also fueled crime, terrorism and assaults on authors at parties for book signings in Athens cafes.
Mr. Manthos blamed the violence at universities on “members of anti-establishment and anarchist groups and a tiny portion of the student population.”
“It’s a type of terrorism,” he said.
The gangs behind the attacks range in size from 10 to 50 people with the assailants usually vandalizing university property. The ensuing occupations on campuses last for a few hours. During the attacks, which occur every couple of weeks, slogans are usually spray-painted on walls or banners hung on buildings condemning “state oppression.”
A self-proclaimed anarchist who participated in protests over the weekend said the unrest was the only way disaffected young people can make their point. “What’s a poor kid with no prospects supposed to do? He’ll pick up a stone and throw it at police or he’ll force his way into the spotlight,” said Yiannis Anagnostou, 37, an agronomist who calls himself a Communist and anarchist sympathizer. ( Quite the mixture-Molly )
As for the violence against academics, he was unmoved. “They should know better than to play the role of guard. When you see a crowd of angry people, you get out of the way,” he said.
Rectors agree that the so-called university asylum law, introduced in 1982 to protect the freedom of expression that had been championed by the fallen students, is being exploited by extremists to suppress the views of others. “It is not just about organized attacks — there is a general climate of fear in universities,” said Yiannis Panousis, a prominent criminologist at the University of Athens who was hospitalized in February after being set upon during a lecture by extremists with iron bars and sledgehammers.
After the attack on Mr. Panousis, academics avoided publicly condemning assaults because they feared reprisals. Now they are speaking out.
“This can’t go on,” said Konstantinos Moutzouris, rector of the National Technical University of Athens, as the Athens Polytechnic is officially called. “We have to reconsider who we are, where we stand, what we believe in,” Mr. Moutzouris said Monday, noting that “the time has come” to reassess, but not abolish, the asylum law.
Last month the rector of the National Technical University and two other university officials faced criminal charges for “violation of duty” over the institution’s failure to stop its computer terminals being used to update the Web site of the Athens branch of the anti-capitalist, pro-anarchist news network Indymedia. Responding to the charges, the university said it would not engage in any kind of censorship “regardless of the ideological or political gap that might separate it from the opinions expressed.” ( Ah...finally the real target of the state is shown-Molly )
Comments by academics, and the Indymedia affair, have propelled the debate over whether the asylum law should change. Television talk shows have been dominated by the subject, with left-leaning politicians and students mostly objecting to such a move while most with centrist and right-wing allegiances support it.
The new Socialist government appears to be holding back. Education Minister Anna Diamantopoulou condemned the attack on Mr. Kittas as “brute and unprovoked fascism” but ruled out changes to the law. She noted, however, that the government was “ready to back the decisions of university authorities,” who have the right to invite the police onto campus but rarely do so because the move is considered provocative.
Although the government is keeping its distance, the Athens Law School on Tuesday took a bold step toward restricting access to its campus, approving a program to issue identity cards for students and to place guards at its gates.
Successive governments have balked at reforming the asylum law for fear of a backlash. Most Greeks are still sensitive to the sight of police officers near universities, too reminiscent of the tanks that rolled onto the campus of the Athens Polytechnic in 1973.
Some say that a full review of the law is not necessary. According to Mr. Manthos, the rector in Thessaloniki, the legislation does not need to be reformed but implemented. “The law plainly states that when crimes are being committed on campus, like the manufacture of firebombs for use in riots, the police can enter without seeking approval,” he said. But he noted that “prevention is better than suppression.”
Mr. Panousis, the criminologist, stressed that the problem cannot be solved by force. “It is not just an issue of policing, it is a social problem,” he said. “We have to start speaking out.”
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Finally, here's another item from tghe Occupied London Blog that disputes the story about the attack on the rector of the University of Athens. Now, I have lived long enough to know that "atrocity stories" should generally be given credence, including -and perhaps especially- those that are alleged to have been commited by "our side". One will probably never know the full details of what transpired in the office of the Rector of the University of Athens. I, however, have little doubt that he was assaulted, though obviously nowhere near to the extent that the mainstream press alleges (see NYT article above). If you are "assaulted with iron bars" you obviously and plainly go down for the count, if you are not killed. I also find it incredible that the rector could manage to stagger his way to escape through a large and hostile crowd, particularily if he was beaten by "iron bars". I do, however, think that he was probably the recipient of a few punches and shoves. This, in itself, is bad enough, and it should never have been done. It disgraces the movement, and the perpetrators should be called to account. I am not amongst those who think that there should be a "get out of jail free" card for those on "my side" who engage in foolish, counterproductive and vicious acts just because of their "feelings". Politics is one thing and psychotherapy is another, and the two should never be mixed. OK, enough of my preaching. Here's the story.
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Anti-repression demonstration in Athens ends; cops still surrounding the Propylea buildings; attempts to close down the Law school radio station; Resalto arrestees’ bails run into tens of thousands of euros :
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
The anti-repression demo that had been called for in Athens ended a few hours ago. Called by far-leftist groups (EEK, Network for Social and Political Rights, and others – sorry if forgetting someone and please add!) the demo was also joined by many anarchists. The cops, for a second concecutive night, were provokatedly standing in front of the courtyard of the Athens University buildings on Panepistimiou Street, blocking the demonstrators’ access to the academic asylum. This, after the fabricated “lethal” attack against the Director of the University of Athens: As we have said already, two Occupied London contributors witnessed the director leaving the area holding his head – but with no sight of any blood, let alone the “heart attack” he supposedly suffered. And yet this “lethal” attack has been used as a perfect pretext for a full-on attack on the academic asylum: Other university directors have openly announced their willingless to reconsider the asylum; already, the Law School’s administration has decided to force-evict the student radio hosted on its premises and to ban the use of its facilities for any “non-academic” purposes.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
The anti-repression demo that had been called for in Athens ended a few hours ago. Called by far-leftist groups (EEK, Network for Social and Political Rights, and others – sorry if forgetting someone and please add!) the demo was also joined by many anarchists. The cops, for a second concecutive night, were provokatedly standing in front of the courtyard of the Athens University buildings on Panepistimiou Street, blocking the demonstrators’ access to the academic asylum. This, after the fabricated “lethal” attack against the Director of the University of Athens: As we have said already, two Occupied London contributors witnessed the director leaving the area holding his head – but with no sight of any blood, let alone the “heart attack” he supposedly suffered. And yet this “lethal” attack has been used as a perfect pretext for a full-on attack on the academic asylum: Other university directors have openly announced their willingless to reconsider the asylum; already, the Law School’s administration has decided to force-evict the student radio hosted on its premises and to ban the use of its facilities for any “non-academic” purposes.
Meanwhile, the bail for the released comrades from Resalto is running into tens of thousands of euros (18-20,000) and there is an urgent need to raise funds for their support. More info will be published here very soon.
Labels: anarchism, Greece, Greek riots, international anarchist movement, LibCom, New York Times, Occupied London Blog, tactics
Monday, December 07, 2009
INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-GREECE:
GREECE ERUPTS ONCE MORE:
Just like clockwork one year after the police murder of Alexandros Grigoropoulos Greece erupted once more into rioting. The underlying causes are, after all. still there. Here's how these recent events have been seen by The Guardian in England.
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Greek riots continue into second day:
More clashes during Athens demonstration over fatal police shooting last year of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos
More clashes during Athens demonstration over fatal police shooting last year of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos
Link to this video
Protesters smashed store windows and threw rocks and firebombs at riot police who responded with teargas today, the second day of violence during commemorations for a teenager shot dead by police a year ago.
Protesters smashed store windows and threw rocks and firebombs at riot police who responded with teargas today, the second day of violence during commemorations for a teenager shot dead by police a year ago.
The killing of 15-year-old Alexis Grigoropoulos led to two weeks of rioting in Greece last year, with gangs of youths smashing, looting and burning shops across the country in protest at heavy-handed police tactics.
Today's clashes broke out during a demonstration by about 3,000 people, mostly secondary school pupils, through the centre of Athens. Several dozen youths towards the back of the march attacked riot police with rocks, firebombs and firecrackers, smashing some of the bus stops, telephone booths and shopfronts not damaged in yesterday's demonstration.
Protesters injured a passerby who attempted to intervene, beating him unconscious. Police detained at least three youths. Demonstrators scrawled anti-police graffiti and stencilled a photograph of Grigoropoulos on shop windows and walls along the demonstration route.
Minor clashes broke out during a march of about 2,000 people in Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, where police fired teargas to disperse youths pelting them with rocks.
Police said at least 16 officers and five demonstrators were injured yesterday, while 177 people were detained in Athens and another 103 in Thessaloniki. One policeman who lost control of his motorbike struck and injured a female pedestrian, who was tended to by demonstrators until an ambulance arrived.
At Athens University, masked protesters broke into the building, injuring the university's dean and pulling down a Greek flag, replacing it with a black and red anarchist banner. The clashes continued late into the night, and police clashed with protesters in the southern city of Patras and the north-western city of Ioannina.
Last night the civil protection minister, Michalis Chrisochoidis, defended tougher tactics used by police, following criticism from a left wing opposition party. "Police detentions, when justified, are not illegal in a democratic society. Neither is it illegal for judicial officials to press charges," he said. "Vandals and hooligans have nothing to do with democracy."
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And, from another point of view, here are how they are seen at the British LibCom site.
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Riots and police brutality on first day of Alexandros Grigoropoulos murder anniversary:
Riots have broken out in Athens and Salonica during the first day of A. Grigoropoulos murder anniversary with police demonstrating extreme brutality leaving two people seriously wounded by a motorised charge on the Athens march.
Riots have broken out in Athens and Salonica during the first day of A. Grigoropoulos murder anniversary with police demonstrating extreme brutality leaving two people seriously wounded by a motorised charge on the Athens march.
Police brutality during the marches to commemorate the first anniversary of Alexandros Grigoropoulos murder surpassed any limit today, in a coordinated operation of barbarity and crude violence against protesters across Greece. Under socialist orders police violence has left dozens of people wounded.
In Athens the protest march called at 13:00 in Propylea was attacked by riot police forces before even starting. Protesters fought back erecting flaming barricades and forcing the police to retreat with use of rocks. Protesters also occupied the rectorial headquarters of the University of Athens in Propylea, lowering the Greek flag and flying a black flag in its place. The march continued to Omonoia square where more clashes took place and several shops were destroyed -one consumed in flames. At Syntagma square motorised police forces (Delta team) charged the march from Ermou street. After the charge the Delta-team thugs dismounted and threw rocks at the protesters. As a cause of the police orgy in violence, an elderly member of the Worker’s Revolutionary Party-Trotskyist (EEK) has been reported to be in serious condition due to head injuries: Ms Koutsoumbou, a veteran prisoner of the anti-dictatorship struggle, was hit by a Delta force motorbike during the mounted charge on the crowd. According to Savas Michail, leading member of EEK and major radical philosopher, Ms Koutsoumbou is in intensive care having received far worse hits than during her tortures by the colonels' junta. One more man has been hospitalised with serious injuries. At the time 60 people are reported detained.
In Salonica the 3,000 strong protest march turned violent when riot police attacked it without any provocation with tear gas and blast grenades. Clashes ensued along the main avenue of the city. The police surrounded some 200 protesters outside the Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace, but were liberated by the rest of the march. The previous night the police broke the university asylum in the Salonica Polytechnic arresting 8 people who the authorities claim had attacked the International Expo with molotov cocktails. The march in Salonica has not been concluded at the time of writing and the situation is particularly tense as the protesters are returning to the main avenue to protest against police brutality.
In Larissa the protest march proceeded through the main streets of the city smashing CCTV cameras, coming under attack by riot police forces. The protesters erected barricades and engaged the cops with stones and other projectiles.
There is little information about the course of the marches in other Greek cities.
At the same time, the 21 people arrested in the anarchist social centre Resalto last night have been charged under the notorious anti-terrorist law for construction and distribution of explosives (beer bottles and two bottles of heating oil).
The protest marches for the 1st anniversary of Alexandros Grigoropoulos murder by cops will continue on Monday, while at 21:00 on Sunday there will be a memorial demo at the spot of his shooting in Exarcheia.
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The present "socialist" PASOC government is proving to be at least as brutal and perhaps more so than the previous conservative one of last year. One might wonder why ? Perhaps it is because they have other masters whom they have to serve. Who these puppet-masters might be is suggested by the following article from the business website Market Watch. It seems the Greek government is trying to step through a lot of different doo-doo, and creative accounting no longer serves to hide their problems.
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Greek stocks fall 3% amid deficit worries; S&P may cut rating:
Protesters and police clash on anniversary of youth's death:
By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Stocks in Greece fell nearly 3% on Monday, as Standard & Poor's warned it may lower the country's credit rating because of the ballooning government deficit.
Protesters and police clash on anniversary of youth's death:
By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Stocks in Greece fell nearly 3% on Monday, as Standard & Poor's warned it may lower the country's credit rating because of the ballooning government deficit.
In Athens, the benchmark ASE stock index dropped 2.7% to 2,318 points, underperforming other European markets. See full story.
In comparison, the pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index /quotes/comstock/22c!sxxp (ST:SXXP 247.88, -1.15, -0.46%) edged down 0.3%.
The Greek financial sector was hit hard. Shares of National Bank of Greece /quotes/comstock/13*!nbg/quotes/nls/nbg (NBG 6.03, -0.29, -4.59%) fell 5.6% and those of Piraeus Bank SA dropped 4% in intraday trading.
Shares of EFG Eurobank Ergasias declined 6%, while Alpha Bank declined 3.3%.
Cyprus-based Marfin Popular Bank PCL fell 5.1%.
In other sectors, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!cch/quotes/nls/cch (CCH 23.97, +0.34, +1.44%) gained 2.4%.
Shares of property developer Babis Vovos International Construction tumbled 6.7%.
The sell-off came as Standard & Poor's placed on Monday Greece's A- long-term sovereign credit rating on a credit watch with negative implications, meaning that the agency may lower the rating.
S&P said it plans to decide on the rating when it receives more information from the Greek authorities on their plans to counter intensifying economic and fiscal pressures.
The agency may downgrade the rating by one notch to BBB+ if it sees the government's fiscal assumptions as "unrealistic."
"The fiscal consolidation plans outlined by the new government are unlikely to secure a sustained reduction in fiscal deficits and the public debt burden," said S&P credit analyst Marko Mrsnik in a statement.
The government of Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou, which took office in October, has recently acknowledged the large budget shortfall it inherited from its predecessor.
The estimate for this year's deficit was raised to 12.7% of gross domestic product, more than six percentage points higher than previous official projections.
Previous administrations have repeatedly misreported fiscal deficits, S&P said.
Deficit concerns
Worries over Greece's ballooning budget deficit have been growing in recent weeks.
Greek banks have underperformed the European financial sector by about 12% during the last month, and the uncertainty over Greece's fiscal position is the main reason for this underperformance, wrote Alexander Kyrtsis, an analyst at UBS, in a note to clients dated Friday.
The other key reasons are the banks' reliance on the European Central Bank's discount window as well as credibility issues following numerous restatements of the situation with public finances, according to UBS.
"Liquidity at the Greek banks is good, therefore gradual ECB disengagement is not a major issue and the related earnings impact will be small," Kyrtsis said.
"The only way to bring the deficit down is to tighten fiscal policy," he said. "Fiscal tightening in the form of direct and indirect taxes and limited government spending is likely to result in a drag on Greece's GDP, thus affecting loan growth and asset quality."
UBS lowered its rating on Piraeus Bank to neutral from buy, but it maintained buy ratings on EFG Eurobank, Alpha Bank and Marfin Popular Bank. It also reiterated its neutral rating on National Bank of Greece.
Separately, police and protesters clashed in Athens amid marches to commemorate the first anniversary of the police shooting of a teenager, according to media reports.
The latest disturbances were a continuation of clashes that started over the weekend and resulted in the arrest of dozens of protesters, reports said on Monday.
The killing of a 15-year-old last December triggered extensive riots in Greece, but the scale of the latest protests is reportedly much smaller.
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Finally, here's another report from LibCom about day 2 of the contest between the government and protesters.
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Second day of clashes in Greece in anniversary of Alexandros Grigoropoulos murder:
A second day of protest marches occupations and clashes across Greece marked the first anniversary of Alexandros Grigoropoulos murder as pupils take to the streets.
A second day of protest marches occupations and clashes across Greece marked the first anniversary of Alexandros Grigoropoulos murder as pupils take to the streets.
The second day of the anniversary of Alexandros Girgoropoulos murder was marked with protest marches, occupations and large scale riots in major Greek cities.
Monday was the day of pupils as pan-educational marches against police brutality and in memory of Alexis were staged in all major Greek cities with the Teachers Union and ADEDY (major umbrella union) calling a 3-hour labour stopage to allow people to attend the marches.
In Athens, people started gathering at Propylea at 12:00. Quickly a mass of 13-17 year old pupils attacked riot police forces gathered on Akadimias street. The pupils first attacked the cops with oranges but soon escalated with use of rocks and broken marbles. The police was forced to retreat many times in a rain of projectiles before the march finally started its way towards the Parliament. During the clashes before the beginning of the march 9 people were arrested. Riot police forces came soon again under attack by protesters and resorted to extensive use of tear gas. More clashes occurred before Omonoia square. The 10,000 strong march continued to Klafthmonos square where the march halted due to riot police forces positioning themselves along its sides on the pavement. Marchers demanded the immediate removal of police forces, and started moving only after this was granted. The march then reached Syntagma square and the Greek parliament. On the way back to Propylea the march found the university asylum blocked by riot police forces which engaged the front of the march forcing the protesters to move towards Omonoia, many seeking refuge at the Polytechneio.
Clashes between protesters around the Polytechneio and police forces ensued throughout the afternoon, until the Polytechnic occupation made an exodus in the form of a march at around 18:30 towards Omonoia square where more clashes took place. Unlike yesterday there was no use of the delta-team in the repression operations.
At the same time smaller marches of pupils took to the streets of many Athens neighborhoods. In Kalithea 150 pupils attacked the local police station with sticks rocks and oranges damaging several police cars. In Patisia, 200 pupils attacked the local police station at Agias Lavras with rocks. In Kesariani pupils attacked their local police station with rocks and oranges.
In Salonica a 5,000 strong protest march took to the streets of the city and was soon attacked with tear gas by the riot police triggering a response in stones. When the march returned to the Polytechneio, delta team police thugs broke into the university asylum with their motorbikes and threw tear gas canisters into the building, detaining several people. As a response to the third violation of university asylum in the city during the last three days, protesters occupied the rectorial headquarters of the Aristotelian University. Later a protest march was formed against police brutality and marched again on the streets of the city.
In Ioannina more than 1,500 people marched in the streets of the city attacking capitalist and state targets. Battles developed between the protesters and the police after the former attacked the courts of the city.
In Larissa a thousand strong protest march took to the streets of the city, with the block of pupils attacking the riot police with oranges and rocks.
In Chania, Crete, extended clashes between protesters and riot police broke out in the centre of the city with protesters smashing banks and erecting barricades.
In Irakleio, Crete, clashes broke out between riot police forces and protesters outside the courts of the city where the arrested of yesterday's march were interrogated. The protesters attacked and damaged several police cars and a riot police van, while pupils attacked the back side of the courts themselves. At evening another march took to the streets of the city but was quickly attacked by riot police forces which managed to disperse it with use of force and tear gas.
In Rhodes, clashes broke out between riot police and protesters after the former tried to arrest an pupil attacking a bank. During the clashes one more person was arrested. As a result the protesters have occupied university premises demanding their immediate release.
In Tripoli clashes developed between pupils and riot policemen when the latter blocked the way of the pupil's march.
In the city of Kozani protesters have occupied the city hall denouncing police brutality.
In the island of Samos a pupil protest march took to the streets of Karlovasi, while another pupil protest march in Vathi attacked the local police station as well as the municipal headquarters and the city hall with eggs.
Protest marches also took place in many other towns like Naousa, on Paros island, Zakynthos, Volos and Katerini.
On the legal front, 10 people arrested on Saturday have been released from custody. During the hearing process 13-14 year old pupils from a nearby school marched to the courts erecting barricades on the streets blocking the traffic to and from the central courthouse of Athens.
Regarding the comrades of Resalto and the occupation of the Keratsini city hall, at 13:00 a demo was formed outside the courts of Peiraeus in expectation of the 21 arrested of Resalto, the anarchist social centre raided on Saturday. During the demo a local pupil's protest march joined the protesters piling the riot police guarding the courts with oranges. Meanwhile the city hall and local council of Keratsini published an announcement condemning the arrests of the occupiers of the city hall, and demanding their immediate release. According to the announcement there have been no damages done to the premises during the occupation to allow a police intervention. At 14:45 the interrogating authorities waved the anti-terrorist charges against the 21 arrested of Resalto, deciding they should be tried only for possession and of explosive substances (kerosene heating oil). At 19:00 the 41 arrested occupiers of the Keratsini city hall were released amongst high fists and solidarity slogans of protesters outside the court. They will be tried only for non-criminal offences tommow. The 21 of Resalto are still being interrogated at the time of writing.
Protest marches against police brutality in the last few days have been called for tomorrow in both Salonica and Athens.
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A NOTE ON SOURCES:
For those interested in following events as they develop the LibCom site is excellent, and the comments that are appended to articles often give many more interesting details.
Also useful in days to come will be the following sites:
2)Athens Indymedia (English section)
3)Grecia Libertaria (for those who can read Spanish)
I will be appending other sources in the future.
Labels: Alexandros Grigoropoulos, anarchism, Grecia Libertaria, Greece, Greek riots, Indymedia Athens, insurrection., international anarchist movement, LibCom, Occupied London Blog, riots
Saturday, December 20, 2008
INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-GREECE:
MORE NEWS FROM INSURGENT GREECE:
The following reports are via the Occupied London Blog. They tell the story of what happened earlier today as the Greek riots enter their second week. One thing not mentioned below but reported in the "mass media" reports that follow this post is an attack on a records keeping company that held the records of credit card and other debtors. Apparently all records of debts were lost. This seems to be following the classical pattern of the French Revolution- "first burn all the records". Another thing to mention is that the Occupied London Blog has a map of worldwide solidarity actions with the Greek insurgents. What struck Molly on looking at this map is the upcoming action in Nuuk Greenland. To say the least the events have touched a nerve in places that you wouldn't first think of. The Occupied London Blog also has an extensive list in print of the worldwide solidarity actions.
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Neighbourhood demonstrations across Athens; more anarcho-transportation actions and radio station occupations; demo at point of assassination set to start :
Saturday, December 20, 2008
The plan for today was for many small demonstrations to take place around the entire city of Athens, so that this decentralised action could bring the city to a standstill. There were demonstrations in the neighbourhoods of Gyzi, Peristeri (were the second student was shot), Chaidari, Petralona, Nea Smyrni, Victoria, Vyronas, Illion (that’s tomorrow) and in the cities of Thessaloniki, Heraclion and Larisa.
Neighbourhood demonstrations across Athens; more anarcho-transportation actions and radio station occupations; demo at point of assassination set to start :
Saturday, December 20, 2008
The plan for today was for many small demonstrations to take place around the entire city of Athens, so that this decentralised action could bring the city to a standstill. There were demonstrations in the neighbourhoods of Gyzi, Peristeri (were the second student was shot), Chaidari, Petralona, Nea Smyrni, Victoria, Vyronas, Illion (that’s tomorrow) and in the cities of Thessaloniki, Heraclion and Larisa.
Fresh “anarcho-transportation” actions took place at the metro stations of Brahami and Ayios Antonios. In the last few days, many stations around the city have been visited by small anarchist groups that sabotage the vending machines, handing out leaflets (”the self-organisation of the passengers will bring the end of the ticket inspectors”…)
At least four more radio stations were occupied today (”Best,” “En Lefko”, “Athina 9.84″ and “Republic 100.3″; texts against state violence and in solidarity with the arrestees of the riots were read.
Responding to a callout by the Athens Polytechnic occupation, we will be gathering at the point of Alexis’ assassination in the next couple of hours. We’ve been reading the reports from the solidarity actions across the world. Keep them coming. The states murder the people but tonight, a night against state murders, is a night of the people. This is our night.
800 SCHOOLS AND 200 UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENTS OCCUPIED:NATIONAL THEATRE PREMIERE STOPPED; INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY DAY IS HERE:
Saturday, December 20, 2008
The premiere of the national theatre in Athens was interrupted by around one hundred people tonight - they took the stage and held out a banner reading “everyone to the streets”. The text distributed to the audience and actors read, among others: “now that you’ve deactivated your mobile phones, it’s about time you activated your consciousness”. Once hitting the streets, the crowd quickly formed an impromptu demonstration through central Athens - by the time we had reached Omonoia Square, our number had doubled and seemed enough to scare off the ten or so Zeta force policemen (motorcyclists) who drove off at our sight. The cast and director refused to continue the play, in solidarity with our struggle. Yesterday, a similar action took place at the Athens concert hall.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
The premiere of the national theatre in Athens was interrupted by around one hundred people tonight - they took the stage and held out a banner reading “everyone to the streets”. The text distributed to the audience and actors read, among others: “now that you’ve deactivated your mobile phones, it’s about time you activated your consciousness”. Once hitting the streets, the crowd quickly formed an impromptu demonstration through central Athens - by the time we had reached Omonoia Square, our number had doubled and seemed enough to scare off the ten or so Zeta force policemen (motorcyclists) who drove off at our sight. The cast and director refused to continue the play, in solidarity with our struggle. Yesterday, a similar action took place at the Athens concert hall.
Mainstream media report that around 800 high schools and 200 university departments around the country are occupied by their students.
On the dawn of December 20th, a full fortnight from the day of Alexandros’ assassination: today is the international day of action against state murders. Once again, we will be on the streets - yet today we won’t be alone… Thousands and thousands across the world are joining us.
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MORE REPORTS FROM THE MASS MEDIA ON EVENTS IN GREECE:
Labels: anarchism, demonstrations, Greece, Greek riots, international anarchist movement, occupations., Occupied London Blog, solidarity
Friday, December 19, 2008
INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-GREECE:
MORE DEMONSTRATIONS AND OCCUPATIONS IN GREECE:
The insurrection continues to develop in Greece, with more demonstrations and occupations of both media outlets and another union office. Here's the latest from the Occupied London Blog site via the Anarkismo website, both continually updating the news from Greece.
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Reports from the Athens demonstration:
Reports from yesterdays demonstrations in Athens. A student is shot on the eve of protests, the police are using new and stronger tear gas and five more radio stations and one more TV station are occupied.
Reports from the Athens demonstration:
Reports from yesterdays demonstrations in Athens. A student is shot on the eve of protests, the police are using new and stronger tear gas and five more radio stations and one more TV station are occupied.
Last night (Weds), a 16-year old student was shot and injured in the area of Peristeri, Athens, close to his school. The 16-year old was sitting with about ten more students, discussing future mobilisations. The shot came from a person unknown, though it is near-certain that this would be either an undercover cop or a fascist. The police only issued a statement hours later. When the 16-year old’s co-students returned to the point of the assault to collect the bullet’s shell, another bullet was shot at them.
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Student demo heavily tear gassed in Athens
The big student demo in Athens is being heavily tear gassed. The cops are using a new type of stronger gas. Most of us have retreated in the law school. A money transfer van is on fire. People have entered a nearby church, ringing its bells at every tear gas shot, adding a slightly surreal touch to the scene.
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We just came back from the demo in Athens. The cops were, once again, extremely provocative: Tens of tear gas canisters and stun grenades were shot directly into the crowd. It seems like the newly ordered tear gas supply for the police is here.
People in Athens have been demonstrating and/or rioting for 13 consecutive days and nights.
Meanwhile, occupation of media outlets is spreading across the country: Today, the municipal radio of Tripoli, “Nea Tileorasi” TV in Chania, Politeia FM in Sparta and “Star FM” and “Imagine 897 FM” in Thessaloniki were occupied.
The “Labour Centre” (trade union building) of Patras was also occupied today, in protest against the sold-out leadership of the trade unions, demanding an indefinite general strike now.
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MORE NEWS FROM THE MASS MEDIA ON THE SITUATION IN GREECE:
Molly will continue to present "mass media" stories on the events in Greece as they develop. What strikes me so far is how few of the stories have been of American origins. The above is the exception, where two of the four are from the USA. This carries on a grand tradition of almost deleiberate ignorance of the rest of the world on the part of the US news media. Another thing that strikes me is how many of the mass media stories publsihed so far have contained the warning that the Greek protests will spread to other countries. One can only hope so. It's not a certainty.
Labels: anarchism, anarkismo.net, Greece, international anarchist movement, occupations., Occupied London Blog, protests
