UPDATE #7, 22.40 GMT+2 Today’s arrestees from the Athens demonstration will be appearing before a prosecutor general at building 16 of the Euelpidon Courthouse tomorrow (Sunday) at 10 am. A solidarity gathering is called outside.
UPDATE #6, 17.40 GMT+2 The ex-president of the Greek parliament, Apostolos Kaklamanis, found himself trapped between demonstrators who were booing him earlier on – he needed the intervention of riot police to run away in safety. Meanwhile, corporate media report at least 27 detentions and 10 arrests (i.e. people who are detained and now charged) today, in Athens alone. A spontaneous solidarity gathering outside the police HQ on Alexandras Ave is underway at the moment, a few hundred are gathered there.
Photos from today’s demonstration in Athens here and here – not uploading more on this thread to keep it compact.
Update #5, 14.30 GMT+2
In Athens, there are clashes outside the Polytechnic and riot police have descended at Exarcheia square. One demonstrator is reported seriously injured in the eye, hit by police batons.
Update #4, 14.00 GMT+2
The GSEE (trade union umbrella) concert has been interrupted by anarchists throwing red and black paint on stage. On Panepistimiou, many multinational stores have been trashed and there is now clashes with the police. A TV station van is on fire. Many detentions/ arrests, difficult to identify exactly how many, we’ll have a clearer picture in a bit.
Update #3, 13.35 GMT+2
The demonstration with the anarchist block in Athens has ended up at the Propylea on Panepistimiou Ave; there are currently clashes reported with the police, who are using tear-gas.
Update #2, 13.15 GMT+2
In Athens, the anarchist block numbers approx. 2,500 people. The leadersof the umbrella trade union (GSEE) have abandoned the demonstration, under constant booing by the demonstrators.
Update #1, 12.45 GMT+2
In Thessaloniki, there were skirmishes before the demonstration started – some cafeteria owners tried to stop people from handing out leaflets and were attacked by the demonstration block en mass. ATMs, banks and a local Vodafone store have already been attacked
11 Comments
Keep it up, the world supports you.
Solidarity. The world is watching Greece…. You are providing a very inspiring example!
Why is there an antagonism between the anarchists/demonstrators and the GSEE?
Dr Fish: good question, and something that might not be immediately obvious to someone watching from afar.
The past three presidents of the GSEE have *immediately* gone on to become MP’s for the now governing party (PASOK). The current president, Panagopoulos, is well on track to do the same – and this of course would explain his hesitation to call for a general strike throughout the entire month of April, even if the working class in the country was faced with the most severe attack on its rights since at least World War II.
GSEE act as mediators between the bosses and the working class, diffusing social tensions along the way – although it is becoming increasingly obvious the situation might be slipping out of their control this time round. Panagopoulos should come up with something fast, else the 130,000 euros he is rewarded with per annum might vanish before he knows it.
what a great photo of police getting the only kind of cocktail they deserve
in salonica, some ATM’s of banks, and some facades of banks and big companies were smashed.
i expected more people participating in the demo, considering the situation, but it was not disappointing generally.
NO arrests here…
Out of curiousity only: what, if anything, has SYRIZA offered in the current situation except nice slogans?
Regarding an anarchist leaflet (democracy: no exit!)SYRIZA are these bastards who own a big part of resonsibility regarding trying to divide proletarians and others into nationalistic bullshit aka asking germoney for compensation for their world war 2 occupation time. Allthough it’s the truth that the german state still owes between 55 and 75 billions of Euro – most of it should go to the families of the victims and the “Greeks” but not to the BASOK-police-state – it was no good idea. I won’t excuse the goosesteppers cuz they are full with ressentiments regarding south-europeans (in fact they are just jealous about that they are too stupid to feed themselves with “cretan diet”!) “mentality” and especially the Greeks are in their eyes just lazy slobs that never pay taxes. (Lots of Krauts are/were(?) proud of feeding their state and bosses) Anyway the anti-greek media-campaign in germoney is already that tough that it’s possible rascist actions against Greeks/german-greeks (350,000) will happen.
The holiday booking companies are smart enough to promote holidays in Greece as a solidarity-action and as Papandreou announced to take no airport fees this season you can meet these fuck-ups this year not in turkey but in Greece. More Strikes will keep them away – or better stop travel-strikes for until end of july, strike massive in august and THEN these scumbags will taste what’s it like to be a “lazy” GreeK!
Lots of german tourists behave ugly like they are still HERRENMENSCHEN and they wanna get their beer and wurst EVERYTHERE. They have already changed italian pizza into german and this Latte Macchiato Shit… is not italian!
One should point out that these nationalist campaign on the german side infects more the middleclass than the real (sub)proletarians! It’s nearly impossible to change minds, so many brainwashed jerks are on the wrong side and still think Greeks take pension with 50!
But that’s only my two cents from my hood cuz proletarians i meet here got sympathy and lots of (trendy)”punk-rocksters” are influenced by societies rollback and hate Greeks!
syriza, has nothing to offer. Some nerveless talks in the parliament, and few hundreds in the streets. we don’t even need their cover in the demos anymore. even the CP does more.
RAISE UP! POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!
Can somebody please tell me whether is it safe to travel Athens from 26th-31st May 2010.
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