Remember remember the 6th of December

[bricolage]

On indymedia; The Greek Anti-authoritarian Movement of Athens is preparing massive demonstrations which will be taking place in the central of Athens on Sunday 6-12-09.
Demonstrations will also occur from left-wing organisations,activist movements and school children all over Greece, in memory of Alexandros.

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/12/442691.html

And it appears it has begun...



In Athens, the School of Economics (one of the strongholds of last December’s uprising) was announced to be closed indefinitely by the university’s adminstration under the ridiculous pretext of the …swine flu. Indeed, once the announcement was made, tens of swines (aka greek police) did show up at the gates of the university, swearing, beating and tear-gassing the students who immediately tried to occupy the campus to keep it open, ahead of the 6th of December. At least 50 students managed to smash open the gate and have made their way into the campus – they are now besieged by police. What happens at the School of Economics today is crucial ahead of Sunday, so those of you who are already in Athens please try make your way down there. This photo was taken from inside the campus a few moments ago.


http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/img_4210.jpg


Meanwhile in Thesssaloniki, the Theatre School (also a stronghold of the uprising last year) was today occupied by a large student assembly that was supported by the “Open Assembly for December”.

More info on the Economics School as it comes.http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/2009/12/03/134-breaking-news-university-occupations-ahead-of-the-6th-of-december-have-kicked-off/

Has anyone heard of anything else happening in Greece?

[Spawn of Stalin]

So is this going to be a big deal for the Greek left or just a black bloc squaring up to the police followed by a few fires and running battles? Genuine question, not trolling.

[bcbm]

Exarchia protest


Members of a residents’ association in the bohemian central Athens neighborhood of Exarchia said yesterday that they intend to file a suit against the police due to their behavior in the district. The residents said that they are unhappy that officers are allegedly repeatedly making unnecessary arrests and using violent methods to detain suspects.


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ATM theft


Unidentified thieves yanked an ATM of Pancretan Bank from the wall in the Cretan port of Iraklio yesterday and fled with some 90,000 euros in cash the machine was believed to have contained. Police found two trucks, one mounted with a crane, and the tools believed to have been used by the thieves in the mountain village of Psiloriti, near Anogeia.


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Political and social tension is rising across greece before the critical weekend (Saturday 5- Monday 7) that marks the first year anniversary of the assassination of Alexandros Grigoropoulos and the subsequent December Uprising.


On the labour front, a series of sectors are restless. On Monday 30/11 Athens saw a demo of hospital doctors who went on a 24h strike in front of the Evangelismos hospital. At the same time nurses of the Agia Eleni hospital have occupied the management offices of the hospital demanding that employed nurses are removed from office work and placed only in medical care. On the telecom front, the workers of Wind have called another 24h strike for Thursday 3/12 in response to the forced "voluntary exit" of 200 workers. At the same time archaeologists employed by the Ministry of Culture have called a 48h strike for Wednesday and Thursday demanding immediate payment of all salaries. The archaeologists gathered in front of the Archaeological Museum of Athens and marched to the Ministry. On the heavy industry side, steel workers have called a 24h strike in protest to the layoff of 16 workers at the National Steelworks. The workers have gathered in front of the main factory of the industry and are closing on and off the national highway south of Athens. On the public sector on Wednesday 2/12 stage workers of the municipality of Salonica have blockaded the municipal headquarters disallowing all citizens and employers to enter the premises. The workers are demanding the revision of the new government's plans regarding the integration of stage workers to permanent employment. On the farming side of things, peach producers have been blockading the Egnatia national highway, halting all traffic from Salonica west, demanding that the Ministry of Agriculture fix a universal price for their products.


Finally a striking event much discussed even in the mainstream media is an acid attack against the car of a cleaner, Venetia Monalopoulou, contracted to the Airport of Salonica. The cleaner is a leading syndicalist playing an important role in the efforts to built a united autonomous union front of cleaners on the model put forward by K. Kouneva, the Athens cleaner who is still in hospital a year after an assassination attempt against her with sulphuric acid. The latest attack came during an assembly of the cleaners and has been condemned by the cleaners as "boss terrorism".

On the student front, a protest march took to the streets of Athens amongst piles of ungathered garbage due to a blockade of the Fylis refuse dump by locals. The students protested the closure of their schools by a collaboration if rectorial and police authorities during the 36th anniversary of the November 17 Uprising last month. A similar protest march took to the streets of the city of Volos on Tuesday 1/12. At the same time workers of the University of the Peloponese who have been occupying the rectorial headquarters of their university moved on Wednesday 2/12 to blockade the main Corinthian highway, thus putting all southbound circulation in the peninsula to a halt.


On the anti-repression front, as the trial of the imprisoned anarchist Ilias Nikolaoy started on Wednesday morning under draconian police presence, a big motorised protest march took to the prisons of Diavata the previous night. At the same time a big protest march took to the streets of Salonica on Monday 30/12 protesting against the para-state bomb attack against the Bueno Ventura antiauthoritarian social centre last week. A day earlier another anti-repression protest march took to the streets of Petralona in Athens against the petrol bomb attack against the house of a member of the Revolutionary Workers Party who is actively involved in the anti-gentrification movement in the area. At the same time two new squats have appeared in the archipelagos of social antagonism: on in Exarcheia and on in Corfu. The latter has been receiving pressure of eviction by local cops.


Finally the already tense social and political climate has been punctuated by a series of attacks against state and capitalist targets throughout the country. The latest of these was Tuesday night's blitz molotov attack against the commercial centre of Kaisariani, an eastern suburb of Athens, targetting mainly banks. In Salonica, a series of attacks against houses of policemen, judges and newspaper managers with small range explosive devices has been claimed by a the urban guerrilla group Convention of Anomics/ Ministers of Erebus.
http://www.anarchistnews.org/?q=node/10198


So is this going to be a big deal for the Greek left or just a black bloc squaring up to the police followed by a few fires and running battles?

well if you look at the op a number of left and non-anarchist organizations are involved, and the fighting last year wasn't limited to "black blocs."

[bcbm]

from anarchist news...


FROM LIBCOM.ORG

Attacks against the police marked Friday 4/12 despite the Prime Minister's public plea for calm. The tension in the capital city of greece is high with more than 400 high-schools and 30 universities occupied across the country.

The greek Prime Minister's public plea for calm in the light of the first anniversary of Alexandros Grigoropoulos murder and the subsequent uprising last year was nullified today as the police was attacked three times in a few hours in the city of Athens.
Minutes after 12:00 at noon two police patrols were attacked simultaneously in Exarcheia, the radical enclave of the greek capital. Radicals attacked the police with sticks and caused serious injuries to the officers, two of which have been hospitalised, one in bad condition. Following the attack strong riot police forces surrounded the area and several people have been detained but are being currently released.

Two hours later high-school pupils formed a march in the northern suburb of Chalandri to commemorate the assassination of 15 year old Alexandros by cops last year, the first of its kind two days before the actual anniversary. The pupils marched to the local police station and attacked it with rocks and oranges. During the melee two banks were also attacked. There have been no arrests or detentions.

The anti-police attacks come to add to the electrified climate in greece where at the moment 400 high-schools and more than 30 universities are under occupation. The government has announced a zero tolerance plan, claiming that although the assassination has "scarred the collective memory" of the people, it will not allow Athens to be destroyed again. Friday's session in parliament devolved into a brawl between parties concerning the measures taken and last December's uprising, amidst scaremongering by the extreme-right that "thousands of foreign anarchists" are flooding the country with sinister intentions. On a more calm note, the President of the Republic has declared the state "guilty towards the youth", urging once again for peace and reconciliation.

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Forgot to mention that the previous night 50 radicals occupied the TV station of the local channel of Ioannina city during its main news broadcast. The radicals left after the channel broadcasted a 20 minute video on the December Uprising.

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Update: Riots broke out on Friday night in the city of Corinth. Around 300 high-school pupils formed a march in memory of Alexandros Grigoropoulos in the centre of the city and attacked the central police station. The main branch of the national bank of greece and one more bank are reported to have been smashed and torched, while riot police men guarding the police headquarters were attacked with molotov cocktails and abandoned their positions. One person is reported arrested.

[FSL]

So is this going to be a big deal for the Greek left or just a black bloc squaring up to the police followed by a few fires and running battles? Genuine question, not trolling.


Excluding the anarchists, Syriza (similar to Die Linke) and a smaller coalition of trotskyists/maoists/many things (dominated by the greek equivalent of SWP). Also, the state employees' union, dominated by the party that governs has declared its support. This is for the demonstrations called on 6th and 7th.

[Sasha]

Riots in Corinthus - Greece
@@ - 05.12.2009 14:32

First arrests for December...

At 8 pm a demo in memory of Alexis began is the small city of Corinthus. The demonstration was not previously called and started spontaneously by people gathered for other reason there. About 150 demonstrators moved in the central streets of the city. Near the university a riot police group with shields and teargas guns tried to approach the demo, but it was attacked with rocks. After that a bank was torched. The demonstration approached the police station and a few demonstrators attacked the cops that were standing in front of it, using molotof cocktails. 5 of the cops caught fire, dropped their shields and started running. the conflict with the police continued for some time...

In the end 22 adduction from which the 3 were arrested. Two boys of 15 years old and one 23. The will pass from the prosecutor on Monday.

SOLIDARITY

http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1201075



Occupied Theatre School Salonica
Sunday 6/12 Manifestation

The only way to find out if we can swim, is to dive in the water...


If we have one thing to keep from last December, this is that the silence has finally been broken. Together with the social outbreak a great need for discussion broke through. We saw in the most barbaric way that the fairy tale we are being told, about “no dead ends in democracy” is nothing but a cheap lie of the authorities. There are plenty of dead ends. We see them in our dozens of everyday problems.


So how do we, as a society, react to that? We accept the “fairy tale”?


There is an exit from this system that destroys out lives and does nothing more than recreating and dealing with the corruptness created by its own self.

This exit exists in each one and all of us together. We just have to keep listening the message that came out from last year's insurrection.


Which message?


That the only way to liberate ourselves from the horrible reality we are living in is to start deciding for ourselves by ourselves. We have to realize that the logic “vote every four years and I' ll do the best for you” is the logic that maintains this rotten system.


Everybody is responsible for their lives and the society they are living in.


We have to recognize this responsibility and start making steps in order to cut the umbilical cord that still connects us with all kinds of authority. Steadily we have to start changing our surroundings, in order to manage to abolish calamitous institutions like the representative democracy, and to create other institutions based on the equal participation of everybody. These are the paths last December opened. And we need to continue walking on these paths without fear. In every neighborhood, every school, every university, in working spaces, for the immigrants, for the environment...without fear in everything concerning out lives.


It's better to decide for ourselves by ourselves, even if we make mistakes.


If so, the mistakes will be ours as well. We will learn, we will keep on, we will stand on our own feet.


Away from political parties and hierarchies. Face to face, with direct democracy, with direct actions.


Open assembly at the occupation of the Theatre School, 122 Egnatias str, Thessaloniki Saturday 5/12 19:00


Manifestation Sunday 6/12, 12:30, Kamara.



Occupied Theatre School

http://www.indymedia.nl/images/link_small.gif Website: http://katalipsisxolistheatrou.blogspot.com (http://katalipsisxolistheatrou.blogspot.com/)


Friday, December 4, 2009



The Polytechnic is Open!

Faced with political statements and intense rumors about the closing down of universities ahead of the 6th of December, we decided on the 3rd of December, ahead of the mobilisations one year after the state assassination of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, to come and remain in the Polytechnic – and so, with our physical and political presence, to keep this space open.

The Polytechnic and all other schools are not the property of whatever government or university administration, for them to close them down whenever they decide according to their interests. They belong, first and foremost, to the struggling people. For this reason the state decided, after all, to close down the schools in order for them not to be used by those in struggle as spaces of meeting up, discussion, counter-information and collective making of decisions and actions.

We keep the Polytechnic open and we have called for an open assembly for Thursday, December 3d at 9pm, an assembly for the mutual shaping and coordination of collective actions of struggle ahead of the next days.

http://www.indymedia.nl/images/link_small.gif Website: http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/



Public testimony of an eyewitness of the assassination of 15 year's old boy Alexis Grigoropoulos from Greek Police that lead to December riots and general social revolt that still going on in Greece. The girl that she speaks in this text videotaped from her balcony above the spot of the assassination of Alexis the short-video that became world famous. She will be witness against the cop Ep. Korkoneas in his trial. This witness is a fragment from a bigger text and is included in the book "WE ARE AN IMAGE FROM THE FUTURE / The Greek Uprising of December 2009” that will be released in U.S.A. in February 2010 in U.S.A. from AK Press and is edited by A.G.Scwartz and comrades from Void Network.


Testimony of Eyewitness of the Assasination of Alexis Grigoropolous

I am an Exarchia resident whose balcony overlooks the spot where Alexis Grigoropoulos was murdered

I’m not so involved in any political activities. I’m not an activist. I can only speak about the killing. I can’t take a position on all the other things that happened because all these other things are very complicated and I don’t have clear thoughts on them.

Exarchia has always been an alternative, counterculture neighborhood. For many years it was a frequent occurrence that something would happen on a street corner in Exarchia and suddenly everyone from the cafes and the bars and the sidewalks would pour out into the streets and run to see what was happening. Usually it was incidents between people and police, some fights, confrontations, insults, shouting matches. In the old times it happened very often. Then there was a period when this didn’t happen so much, but in the last years it has started becoming more common again.

The reason that I found myself with a camera on the balcony that night was because I had always wanted to film one of these confrontations that are always taking place below my window. But every time I would come to my balcony to see what was happening, I got delayed. By the time I went back inside to get my camera it was too late, it was already over. This happened to me many times. And the last time that it happened, I said to myself, the next time, first I’ll grab the camera and then I’ll go to the balcony.

And in the end the next time turned out to be an incident that I never expected could happen. Two years earlier a friend visited me from Germany and he mentioned to me that the police here seem very provocative and dangerous. Even though he was a tourist, the way they behaved made him feel less safe, they made him feel endangered. And when this friend heard about what happened on the 6th of December, he wrote that he wasn’t at all surprised. But I was.

All the previous times, I never got scared observing these fights between people and the police. It was part of my everyday life in Exarchia. It was something commonplace. Because the Exarchia locals express their negation of authority firmly, and they believe in it, whenever something was happening I didn’t need to take a position or make a stand because it was just a part of life in this area. Of course in the ten years that I’ve lived in this flat, I’ve observed year after year a gradual increase in the police presence, an intensification. Policemen began to appear on every corner in the neighborhood, in groups, and also they were armored. The feeling of observing armored police in full riot gear carrying pistols, tear gas guns, and machine guns—it was getting more and more intense. In this period the slogan started to appear on the walls: “on every street corner there are police, the junta didn’t end in ’73.”

On 6 December I was here in the apartment with my German friend. He was cooking in the kitchen and I was in the living room. Suddenly I heard a bang. I hadn’t heard any noises before that. Nothing was happening in the streets, no shouts, nothing. Without warning there was just a bang. It seemed to me that it came from down the street, on the lefthand side. Despite the surprise this time I remembered to grab my camera first. I was not in a panic, I didn’t feel anything unusual, I just calmly got the camera and went to the balcony. I didn’t think anything extraordinary had happened. I looked outside, but I didn’t turn the camera on in the beginning because nothing was happening. I saw a few youths down to the left, sitting like they always do. The young anarchists are always hanging out down there, although this night there were fewer than normal. And on the righthand side, up the street, I saw a police car parked at the corner. One moment after the police car drove off, I saw two cops coming back on foot, and this was very strange to me. I asked myself, what are they going to do? They arrived at the spot where the car had been before, and started provoking the kids, saying come on you pussies! When I heard this I shouted to the German guy, come look! The police came and they’re starting a fight. He would get a chance to see this phenomenon of the Greek cops provoking a fight by insulting people. It’s normal that the police speak bad to people, but this was too much. It was provocative because they parked the police car and they came walking back and shouting challenges. That’s how normal people start a fight. It was like a personal fight, not the usual provocation by police.

Immediately after that they both took out their guns, both the cops. This was never mentioned by the media. And I got one surprise after another. First they came back on foot, then they started a fight by insulting the kids, then they took out their guns, and then they took aim, in a moment when there was no challenge and no threat, there was no fight or confrontation going on. And they shot. I heard two shots but I can’t say if both of them shot or if one shot twice. It’s possible that one of them shot twice. And they turned around and just left, simple as that, as though nothing had happened. Me, until that moment, it didn’t occur to me to look to the left, to the group of kids, because it was all so incredibly strange, the behavior of these two policemen. There was no need to look to the other side because nothing was happening there. And then I heard the people in the street shout that a kid had been shot. And then I felt panic. I ran inside, grabbed the telephone and called an ambulance, and I went down to the street. I saw just one kid lying there, and I was shocked. Everybody was shouting and many people were fainting. The kid wasn’t dead yet, and a doctor had appeared and was trying to administer first aid. Then the ambulance arrived and he died inside in the ambulance, I think.

I found out from other people that the first bang had been a concussion grenade. Apparently someone had thrown a plastic bottle at the police car and yelled an insult as it was passing and the police responded by throwing the grenade from the car. That’s not so unusual here. It’s normal to shout, everyone in Greece is shouting at each other. So I’m sure the policemen hadn’t been threatened, they weren’t defending themselves. Really, if a policeman feels a serious threat, he doesn’t drive down to the next corner then walk back to clean up the situation. Usually when the police feel a threat or feel like they’re under attack, they drive off, they get out of there. The police were not on the defensive at that moment.

I went back up and tried to watch the video on my computer, but I couldn’t because I was missing some program. So I knocked on my neighbor’s door and said I recorded something but I don’t know what it is. Can we put it in your computer so I can see what it is? And we saw the video, and the way I felt, I had never felt that way in my entire life. We called down all the people from the entire neighborhood, everyone, we all came down onto the streets, and the energy, the atmosphere, was one of rage. It was overflowing all the streets, everywhere people were pouring out of their houses onto the streets. Everybody.

The riot police had the gall to come here, back to this corner where the first cop car had stopped, and where the shots were fired. And of course everybody started shouting at them, young people, old people, normal people, everyone was shouting at them to go the hell away.


About two hours after the shooting, it’s impossible to say exactly how long but it was about two hours. The secret police came. I was back in my house listening to the radio and the TV, which were saying there were riots in Exarchia, that the police had been attacked and fired in self-defense, but this wasn’t true. And the riots hadn’t even started yet. And from my window I saw men without uniforms looking at the walls of the buildings around the shooting. The secret police had come to search for the shell casings and the bullets, to investigate the area. I was with my neighbor, and I told him I was going down. I wanted to react somehow to what they were saying on the news. So I went down and I said that what they’re reporting on the television wasn’t true. One tall old guy came up to me with a greasy smile, and said, yes, and who are you? And I felt an amazing fear. Because I’m very naïve, I just felt the obligation to go down and say the truth. But this guy, he terrified me. So I backed off and said, no, who are you? And he told me his name and his position. He was the chief of the secret police agency, and he was in charge of the autopsy and investigation. They took my name and telephone, and they asked me if I was going to come to the central police station to testify, and I said yes.

He asked me what happened. I brought him to the exact point where the policemen were standing when they opened fire. And exactly at that point was where they found the shell casings. And they asked me if I had a vehicle, if I could drive myself to the station. And I said no and they told me I would come with them. I said I hoped the people wouldn’t bomb the police car on the way, and the chief laughed and said have no fear. He directed me to where a large group of riot police were gathered, and I found myself in the middle of a MAT squad. It was right at that moment that the people attacked. The chief disappeared immediately, he ran away and they left me while the people were attacking, and I saw all the guns that the police had and I flipped out. I couldn’t focus on anything, I felt how powerful theHe asked me what happened. I brought him to the exact point where the policemen were standing when they opened fire. And exactly at that point was where they found the shell casings. And they asked me if I had a vehicle, if I could drive myself to the station. And I said no and they told me I would come with them. I said I hoped the people wouldn’t bomb the police car on the way, and the chief laughed and said have no fear. He directed me to where a large group of riot police were gathered, and I found myself in the middle of a MAT squad. It was right at that moment that the people attacked. The chief disappeared immediately, he ran away and they left me while the people were attacking, and I saw all the guns that the police had and I flipped out. I couldn’t focus on anything, I felt how powerful people were, they were full of rage. I can’t remember if they were attacking with stones or molotovs or clubs, only that they were overpowering and I had to get out of there. I ran away by myself and came back to my house.

Of course I was expecting that they would call me for an interview as a witness. But they never did. I spoke with a lawyer of the movement, Yianna Kurtovick, she’s one of the members of the Network for the Defense of Political Prisoners and Immigrants. And she brought me to the examining magistrate. I had to go to find the judge because the police never called me to testify. And after I testified, some days later, they closed the whole area to make the official report to prove whether the bullet hit the kid directly or if it richocheted off the ground. That was the official story, that the one cop had fired at the ground and the bullet bounced up and hit him.

The magistrate, the photographer, and the secretary came up to my balcony to take photographs. The chief of the secret police was down in the street. I called out to him, Oh hello, you left me alone last time in the middle of a riot. And he answered, I didn’t abandon you, it was you who was afraid that the rioters would burn us alive. And I said to him, Don’t tell lies in front of all these people.

I remember telling myself some years ago that I lived in a military camp, with all the police around Exarchia. Now I say that I live in a warzone. What happened in December, I never believed that it could ever happen. Despite all the feelings of military occupation provoked by the police. For me, there was always a limit, always a final line, and when the police crossed this line, it was a qualitative change. Everything changed. Everyone understood that there was a certain horizon to the situation and beyond it everything was different. We have passed this horizon. And now I say that it is not a conflict anymore, now it is war.

In comparison with before December, everything is more powerful. The assassination of Alexis was like the cherry on top, the last straw. Now there is no more tolerance for the police. The killing was so outrageous, so far beyond the limits, that the people reacted and still they continue to react. They are getting empowered from the rage that was expressed at the moment of the killing. There were many other problems too besides police brutality, and these problems continue, but the people don’t tolerate these other problems either, not anymore.

So I’ll be in the trial of the policeman who killed Alexis. I was worrying about how I’ll feel towards the defense lawyer, because he’s defending a very bad person. Then I started to worry about the outcome of the trial, because if this cop ends up with only two or three years in jail, I don’t know how I would react. How do you react to the decision of a trial like this? Because many terrifying things are happening, and we hear about them and see them on the news, but it is very different when you saw it with your own eyes. It is not just words, it is a clear truth for you, there is no doubt about this, there is no distance from it. It is such an absolute truth, the assassination, it is like if you steal something from me in front of my eyes and then tell me it never existed. It is not something you just heard about from somewhere else. And I fear very much that if they find this cop not guilty, maybe my reaction will get me thrown in jail. I think about this all the time, as I prepare to testify.

Void Network
[Theory,Utopia,Empathy,Ephemeral Arts]

http://www.indymedia.nl/images/link_small.gif Website: http://voidnetwork.blogspot.com (http://voidnetwork.blogspot.com/)



http://www.indymedia.nl/img/2009/12/63960.jpg

Don’t let murderers carry weapons in the name of the law.

6-12-08 Killing of a 16-year-old boy in Greece by the cops.
Not the first and not the last event of exploitation by the authoritiets.
Our Silence is complicity.
When the cops kill your kids, then you will get out of your cages.

“solidaridad aqui y ahora”

December the 6th 2008. In Athens, Alexis Grigoropoulos, 15 years old, is shot by the police in cold blood. One hour later Greece is burning. Workers, students and youth get out on the streets to express their anger. Not just because of this senseless murder, but also anger against a system that systematically exploits and oppresses them and that uses violence against them to ensure it's superiority.

Also in the Netherlands state and capital start showing their true face more and more. Already mass deportations of those that the Dutch state considers unwanted take place. Already fingerprints of civilians are systematically taken and stored in a central database. And everything that is supposed to make capitalism somewhat bearable, like the minimum wage, state scholarships and state pensions are being cut back.

In times of economical welfare we workers, students and youth are being bribed with a social system that does nothing more than remove the sharp edges of capitalism. In times of economical crisis even that little bit is taken away from us. During these times, the state shows its true face: as the servant of international capitalism and as a tool to keep the working class oppressed so that oppression and exploitation can keep taking place!

We do all the work. We carry the work load of society. But it's the capitalists, the rulers and owners of the earth, who profit most. Those who speak out and resist against this system are being silenced more and more. After the Alexis was murdered the working class in Greece realized that there can never be peace with this system. Must it come to a murder in the Netherlands before we realize what our interests are? NO!

Solidarity with the struggle in Greece means solidarity with the struggle for self rule of the international working class. No masters, no slaves but a free world where everyone freely shares in all the riches of our society! Join us to show your solidarity with this struggle on Sunday, December the 6th!

For the international struggle against capitalism! For international solidarity with all workers, no matter what their nationality, gender or sexual preference might be! For a free society worldwide!
GREECE IS EVERYWHERE! FIRE AND FLAMES FOR EVERY STATE!

Sunday December the 6th, 15:00
Marie Heinekenplein (de Pijp), Amsterdam .

i'll post more as i get it...

[Sasha]

Thirteen people have been arrested at anarchist space in Athens; open assembly at the Polytechnic, 7pm tonight (http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/2009/12/05/137-thirteen-people-have-been-arrested-at-anarchist-space-in-athens-open-assembly-at-the-polytechnic-7pm-tonight/)

Saturday, December 5, 2009
19.18 Cops just stormed Exarcheia square, detaining about 20 people, without anything having happened before. There are also riot cops ready to kick off on the corner of Messologiou and Metaxa Street, literally a few meters away from the point of Alexis’ assassination. Polytechnic assembly is starting soon.
Riot police have stormed the anarchist space Resalto in Western Athens. They smashed the building’s glass facade and arrested thirteen people, driving them all to the Police Headquarters in Alexandras Avenue.
For all the internationals who have made their way to Athens:
1) Welcome!
2) Never, ever wander around the city without ID. If they stop you, police can, and will, detain you and drive you to their HQ to confirm your identity.
3) If things go wrong: The legal defense group can be reached on these numbers: 6972-718536 
6972-799025 
6976-395658 
6946-738686 
6978-909319 
6936-492025 
6975-752346 
6973-335960
4) An open assembly is starting at the Polytechnic at 7pm tonight. Come there to get more information about what will be happening in the next few days.
Some of our international friends who are already in Athens have put together the following list of “do’s and dont’s”:

do not:
have any patches on clothing or bags (political or band)
carry any form of political agit prop, including stickers on wallets or antifascist donor cards
don’t keep clothes in zip lock bags till you have to
go of the beaten track in any area that is regarded as “political” unless you mean to and know exactly where you’re going.
chat in english about your favourite riot porn or the latest post on occupied london
do:
DRESS LIKE A TOURIST: anarcho-chic is not going to make you any friends
have your passport on you if you’re just out for a walk in town, you can get in to more trouble without it.



source: http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/ (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/)

[Sasha]

Police raid on anarchist social centre in Athens

Resalto, a long-standing social centre in Keratsini, Athens, was raided on Saturday afternoon by strong police forces who detained around 20 people in relation to the coming protest marches for the first anniversary of the assassination of Alexandros Grigoropoulos.



At around 17:00 strong police forces smashed the front doors and windows and invaded Resalto, the anarchist social centre of Keratsini, a proletarian suburb of Peiraeus. The police detained more than 20 people who have been taken to Athens police headquarters. The unprecedented invasion in a social centre (not a squat) comes as an escalation of state preventive repression on the eve of the two days of protest marches in memory of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, the 15 year old anarchist assassinated at point blank by cops last year in Exarcheia sparking the December Uprising. Claims by the police that the space was used as a laboratory for explosives are astounding given that the centre is an open space used by the neighbourhood on daily bases.The bourgeois media report that this is a first leg of an operation involving storming many anarchist havens around the city.
During Saturday 5/6/09, the day before the first anniversary of the assassination of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, torrential rains swept the country making public demonstrations difficult. Nevertheless, in Salonica anarchists and anti-authoritarians occupied the city’s oldest cinema, Olympion, a symbol of prosperity in the most central spot of the city’s main boulevard, Aristotelous. The radicals announced that the occupation will last until Monday and have published a list of screenings and discussions regarding the December Uprising and the coming insurections. At the same time, leftists formed a march in Salonica after briefly occupying the White Tower, ex-Ottoman prison and main symbol of the city, where they hang a large vertical banner reading: “The revolt is always just”. Later on the day, a bus was attacked on the main avenue of the city when the driver reacted to students spraying slogans on its sides – the bus was smashed with rocks.
A protest march also took to the main shopping area of Athens, Ermou, during the previous night without any damages done to the shops which were largely destroyed during last year’s uprising. The situation at the time of writing in Exarcheia was forbidding. Apart from the torrential rain the streets are filled by thousands of cops who, on the pretext of two molotovs dropped against a parked car, have evacuated Exarcheia square with the use of blast grenades, have cordonned off the entire Exarcheia and surrounded the occupied Polytechneio. Several people have been detained. This marks a outspoken breach of the government’s pledge to allow the commemoration of Alexandros’ assassination. 10.000 cops are reported to be in operation in Athens for the prevention of riots.
In an effort to contain anything resembling last year’s troubles, the state has been pressuring street-cleaners and garbage-collectors to end their strike which has filled Athens streets with piles of garbage the police claims can be used as projectiles or flaming barricades in the following days. The workers have refused to cooperate. As a result the notoriously extreme-right mayor of Athens has started a process to render their strike illegal.
At the same time the occupations of universities across the country have risen to 50.






source: libcom.org

[bricolage]

From the mainstream press;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8396693.stm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/06/greece-riots-anniversary-teenager-death

[bricolage]

Continuous updates; http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/

[cyu]

Continuous updates; http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/ (http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/)


Thanks - imortant stuff! From the link:

19.31 GMT+2 At least three people were run over on purpose by motorcycle police at today’s demonstration. One woman is in critical condition. See this youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu06paWOF2I) and especially minutes 3:07 and 5.32, which show two of the injuries.

18.25 GMT+2 Athens IMC is down; we think the server is under attack and/ or being blocked.

[Uncle Ho]

So is this going to be a big deal for the Greek left or just a black bloc squaring up to the police followed by a few fires and running battles? Genuine question, not trolling.

Do you honestly have to ask this question?

It won't be a big deal, nothing at all will be accomplished. This IS a Black Bloc we're talking about here, they have no goals but pissing off mommy and daddy.

[What Would Durruti Do?]

Do you honestly have to ask this question?

It won't be a big deal, nothing at all will be accomplished. This IS a Black Bloc we're talking about here, they have no goals but pissing off mommy and daddy.

Nothing will be accomplished? Do you not even read the threads you post in?

I've never seen a radical leftist be so offended by working class anti-state and anti-capital mobilizations.

[jaffe]

It won't be a big deal, nothing at all will be accomplished. This IS a Black Bloc we're talking about here, they have no goals but pissing off mommy and daddy.

If you have read more than 2 lines about whats happening now in Greece and what happened last year you wouldn't say this.

[Uncle Ho]

If you have read more than 2 lines about whats happening now in Greece and what happened last year you wouldn't say this.

A kid got shot.

A bunch of other kids smashed some windows and burned things, before sulking back to their university campuses because mommy and daddy threatened to cut off their allowance.

Nothing changed. Nothing at all.

Now they're going to do it again, and the result will be the same.


Nothing will be accomplished? Do you not even read the threads you post in?

I've never seen a radical leftist be so offended by working class anti-state and anti-capital mobilizations.

I wouldn't be offended if they were actually working class anti-state and anti-capital mobilizations.

However, they're just a bunch of bourgeois kids dressing up as Socialists for Halloween, smashing some windows, then withdrawing. On the off chance they actually had a goal, they make it far too vague and go about it the wrong way because they are either incredibly uncreative or they do not actually want change, as it would hurt their cushy lifestyle. In most cases, it is the latter.

[jaffe]

A kid got shot.
A bunch of other kids smashed some windows and burned things, before sulking back to their university campuses because mommy and daddy threatened to cut off their allowance.

You forgot about the occupations of schools and university's. The grassroots organising in neighboorhoods, people discussing what kind of problems they are facing in this society and how to fight it, the international solidarity actions in the rest of Europe. I think you have no idea about what you are talking about so I advice you to read something more about the situation in Greece and then respond to this thread before you come around again with your cheesy-oneliners.

[bcbm]

Do you honestly have to ask this question?

It won't be a big deal, nothing at all will be accomplished. This IS a Black Bloc we're talking about here, they have no goals but pissing off mommy and daddy.

don't you have some kids to be shooing off your lawn or something?:rolleyes:

[Uncle Ho]

You forgot about the occupations of schools and university's. The grassroots organising in neighboorhoods, people discussing what kind of problems they are facing in this society and how to fight it, the international solidarity actions in the rest of Europe. I think you have no idea about what you are talking about so I advice you to read something more about the situation in Greece and then respond to this thread before you come around again with your cheesy-oneliners.

You forgot that nothing changed whatsoever. These movements, despite all their "international solidarity" were not successful, nor will they be unless there is a radical paradigm shift among them.

[FSL]

Since the riots themselves are less impressive to the eye than last year's I think I 'll start a flamefest to spice this thread up a bit.


What do you think was/will be accomplished? I 'm talking to the people who've read more than 2 lines about Greece of course.

[jaffe]

thats not the point you were denouncing the situation in Greece as


A kid got shot.
A bunch of other kids smashed some windows and burned things, before sulking back to their university campuses because mommy and daddy threatened to cut off their allowance

If you think thats all what hapened you've nothing to contribute to this thread.

[Uncle Ho]

thats not the point you were denouncing the situation in Greece as

If you think thats all what hapened you've nothing to contribute to this thread.

What happened in your mind then? The glorious and virtuous black blocs mobilized their communities to overthrow their oppressors, then reigned triumphant over a utopian world of peace and harmony?

[leninpuncher]

Uncle Ho is a troll. Just ignore him.

[Plagueround]

Uncle Ho, you are not contributing anything to this thread and are trolling. It is entirely possible to be critical without resorting to mean spirited flames. Consider this a verbal warning.

[Sasha]

20.25 GMT +2 Confirmed, the 21 people arrested in the anarchist space Resalto, yesterday, are all charged under the anti-terrorist law! The 41 people arrested during the eviction of the Town Hall of Keratsini are appearing before the prosecuting judge now – 9pm on a Sunday night! Democracy works overtime, it seems.

update...

[F9]

http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1202181

Photos from some of the riots

Unclo Ho, stfu btw.And stop trolling, because my patient will soon run out..Just take your shit out of here.

[An archist]

You forgot that nothing changed whatsoever. These movements, despite all their "international solidarity" were not successful, nor will they be unless there is a radical paradigm shift among them.
My god! It's been one year since the massive riots and Greece isn't a socialist paradise yet? Clearly these anarchists have no idea what they're doing, they should really speed things up a bit.
:rolleyes:
Seriously though, what did you expect? A revolution doesn't happen overnight, it's riots like these and grassroots organising of workplaces and communities that does it. And guess what's happening right now?

[FSL]

My god! It's been one year since the massive riots and Greece isn't a socialist paradise yet? Clearly these anarchists have no idea what they're doing, they should really speed things up a bit.
:rolleyes:
Seriously though, what did you expect? A revolution doesn't happen overnight, it's riots like these and grassroots organising of workplaces and communities that does it. And guess what's happening right now?


Willful ignorance or plain stupidity?


Edit: Bad manners but the main idea that still stands is that a person's wishes are portrayed as facts, which is in no way helpful.

[Uncle Ho]

My god! It's been one year since the massive riots and Greece isn't a socialist paradise yet? Clearly these anarchists have no idea what they're doing, they should really speed things up a bit.
:rolleyes:
Seriously though, what did you expect? A revolution doesn't happen overnight, it's riots like these and grassroots organising of workplaces and communities that does it. And guess what's happening right now?

It's not so much a matter of Greece not being a socialist paradise as it being in no way different from what it was before the protests.

It's probably because these anarchists quit when they had blown off their head of steam instead of pressing for support while the issue was still hot, then continuing on until their goal was accomplished. This is, of course, assuming they had a goal which they actually cared about.

This is the difference between teenage anarchists and real social activists.

[Delenda Carthago]

Some leftists and mostly members of the Greece Communist Party are just fuckin jealus.The first ones because nobody gives a shit about them-besides us actually,the second ones because anything outside KKE(the CPG)is "opportunistic",and of course we are "provocateurs" and "secret agents of the CIA"(dont laugh,this is real!).


Other than that,the demonstration despite the state terrorism(in 5/6 they invated a ananrchist haunt and arrested 22 people and they also took for adduction more than 100 people) was huge,we had some fights with the police(in which we mostly kicked their asses!)and some banks/corporations smashed.Right now,the state is one step before marshal law.Police is everywhere,helicopters patroling the city of Athens,CCTV cameras,secret agents,the media are 24/7 talking about us...

We keep strong.Nothing can hold us back.Not even the "comrade" backstabbings!

[What Would Durruti Do?]

However, they're just a bunch of bourgeois kids dressing up as Socialists for Halloween, smashing some windows, then withdrawing. On the off chance they actually had a goal, they make it far too vague and go about it the wrong way because they are either incredibly uncreative or they do not actually want change, as it would hurt their cushy lifestyle. In most cases, it is the latter.

Yeah, I've already read this uninformed tripe in the WTO thread. Thanks anyway.

[cyu]

More photos from http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/

http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/astynomiki1.jpg



23.36 GMT+2 To the people asking about the “injured” rector of the Athens University: This is only coming from mainstream media and we can only be very suspicious about this piece of news, as this injury could be used as pretext for storming the Athens University, which seems to be something the cops are considering. The rector did walk past two people reporting for the Occupied London blog, just outside the university. Both confirm he seemed more pissed of than “injured”. At the same time, mainstream media report that he is in intensive care!

[Uncle Ho]

It's a heartening sign that they're fighting, but I'm still trying to figure out what their goal is.

You could bash the whole police force of Greece into the hospitals, but if you don't have a very clear and focused goal, it's all for nothing.

[Delenda Carthago]

So,Uncle Hoe,you need to tell me you dont know any other action besides the riots and the attacks against the police...

[Uncle Ho]

You need to tell me (And everyone else, especially those in the media) exactly what you're fighting for, or this whole action will be pointless, regardless of how many cops you hit.

The media is covering this as a bunch of anarchists smashing and burning aimlessly, and it is their own fault. Your goal should be in the forefront from the very beginning, and it should be inescapable.

[Delenda Carthago]

Apparently your information comes from media too,cause I cant think one good reason why would someone from Greece that is a revolutionary that doesnt know what are we fighting for and with which means...And for this,I m not gonna start a conversation on this basis.

[Uncle Ho]

You are apparently fighting because a kid got shot.

But what do you want to accomplish? Disarming the police? Removing the current government? Your fighting will not bring this kid back, so what do you want?

You will not succeed unless you turn your riots into a movement, and you cannot have a movement without a clear goal.

[Sasha]

It has now been a year since the events of Greece captivated the world as students, workers, immigrants and the unemployed took to the streets of the country’s major cities. The Greek December saw widespread examples of working class direct action from strikes and sabotage to the occupation of schools, workplaces and municipal buildings. This article will reflect on key currents that emerged out of the uprising, what the events meant and what they mean for the future.

A 15-year old boy

The Greek uprising was a shock. While we had witnessed recent comparable examples of working class revolt across Europe in France and Italy, the scale and ferocity of the December events took many by surprise. It was the murder of a 15-year-old boy, Alexis Grigoropoulos, by Greek police that sparked the outrage that inflamed Greek society. Police brutality is a daily reality for many Greeks – especially in the inner cities against immigrants and anti-authoritarian youth. Corruption and embezzlement are rife among politicians and civic leaders, such as those in the church, and there is a real crisis of trust in politics amongst large sections of the population. The economic crisis had also meant widespread cuts in pay, job losses and greater insecurity for many. While the initial riots were largely confined to inner city youth, the raw injustice of the murder of an innocent 15-year-old stirred up deeper and more general frustrations with the social and political order. The uprising brought together different sections of Greek society in ways that had not been seen before.

We demand nothing

A central cause of the decline of the uprising was its failure to spread the struggle to other sections of the working class. The popular and neighbourhood assemblies attempted to popularise the struggle, and the occupation of the GSEE trade union offices (one of the most well attended assemblies) also took steps towards this. However, overall much of the activity in the streets, although it gained a great deal of popular support, failed to spread to workplaces. Workers in many key industries did, and continue to, engage in disruptive action (strike action by dockworkers in Piraeus is reported to have cost around 5 million Euros a day) against cuts and job losses, but this never seemed to fully connect with the occupations and riots on the streets.

A positive outcome of the uprising was that, thanks to its radical and totally anti-capitalist message, the best activity of December was never pushed in a reformist direction. Despite the fact that the is now attempting Socialist Party to label itself as “anti-authoritarians in power”, there were no new sets of “leaders” or political alliances emerging out of the events. Many of the popular initiatives eventually ran out of steam, but they still stand as positive and inspirational examples of contemporary working class self-organisation.

The rise of the far-right

In the recent European elections, there was growing support for organisations of the far-right (including in the UK) across the continent. Greece was no different, with LAOS (a right-wing populist party) securing two representatives with 7.14% of the vote. The Greek state has also been keen to pursue new anti-immigration policies. In May the Minister of Public Order pledged to "clean" the centre of Athens of immigrants, attempting to push plans to convert an old NATO base into a holding camp for these displaced people. Throughout December, collaboration between the police and paramilitary fascist groups (such as the neo-Nazi “Golden Dawn”) was well documented. Fascists were photographed assisting in arrests, attacking protesters and even using police equipment against demonstrations. Since December, fascist groups have been targeting what they see as the key elements behind the uprising – largely immigrants and anarchists – including an attack with a hand grenade in February against a popular squat. Anti-fascist and anti-racist activity, however, has remained strong and in spite of the reports of escalating repression, anti-fascists were able to celebrate the world over in March as the news spread that the headquarters of “Golden Dawn” had been torched to the ground.

The traditional Left and the trade unions

The parties of the traditional Left and the trade unions were quick to show their true colours at the outbreak of the events. The Greek Communist Party swiftly denounced the riots as the work of “foreign dark forces” and called for its members to stay away from the riots. Members of its youth wing were also active in attempting to block occupations. The Socialist Party, now in power, has overseen widespread state repression against anarchists, including a mass raid of squats and social centres in the Exarchia district (the district where Alexis was shot). The trade union leadership were also keen to not let their members become infected by the spirit of revolt. During December they cancelled a key demonstration that would have coincided with the uprising, and since then the leadership have continued to restrain the activity of workers.

The fate of a tree

The image of the burning Christmas tree in Syntagma Square came to be a powerful symbol of the rebellion. So strong, in fact, that in later demonstrations the police showed a far greater interest in protecting the replacement tree than the surrounding banks and luxury shops! The holiday season, however, was not friendly to the uprising. Traditional celebrations like Christmas have a strong hold over communities and many initiatives failed to get back on their feet after the break. The frenzied consumerism that is the modern “Christmas spirit” also became a real barrier between the demands of the uprising and the experience of the general public.

The return of armed struggle?

Armed groups have always been a feature of the Greek left. The Marxist “17 November” group orchestrated a sustained assassination and bombing campaign against Greek police and public officials for 29 years before disbanding in 2002. The December events saw 17 November's successors, “Revolutionary Struggle”, claim responsibility for the shooting of a police guard at the Culture ministry. However the 17 November group never really had any mass appeal. The December events prompted the emergence of other groups that appear to be gathering some sympathy. These include “Popular Action” and the “Nuclei of Fire Conspiracy” (NFC) which have both claimed responsibility for detonating small-scale explosive devices and are yet to cause a fatality. The NFC communiqué, which has been widely reported in the mainstream media, has become particularly popular amongst the new wave of high school occupations. Of course, all of this has served as a pretext for the authorities to seize and detain anarchists and other activists who have been involved in the uprising. Heavy raids in the Exarchia district are justified by referring to the guerillas' activity, while three 20-year-old men were jailed under anti-terrorist laws for their alleged involvement in the NFC (this was despite the fact that the prosecution’s case quickly collapsed and they had to be held “in expectation” of evidence against them). The mainstream media has also been keen to highlight the guerilla groups' activity as a way to discredit the uprising in general.

One, two, many Decembers

While December 2008 may have been the high point, the struggle very much continues throughout Greece. There is still widespread unrest throughout major industries and 2009 has already seen some highly militant expressions of workplace action. Many activists also continue to struggle against the backlash to the events, whether that is the state’s turn to racist social policies, increasing repression against activists, or even targeted state violence. As this article is written, it is a week before the official start of the “unrest season”, the 30 days between the anniversary of the 1973 Polytechnic Uprising (November 17), the anniversary of the assassination of Alexandros Grigoropoulos and the start of the 2008 December Uprising (December 6) and the trial of Grigoropoulos murderers (December 15), and things are looking tense. Workers of the Social Security Organisation of Self-Employed (AOEE) have occupied the two buildings of the organisation to demand the renewal of temporary contracts. Even the union of basketball players has announced a two day strike demanding a series of labour conditions reforms! At the moment, it's not clear whether we’ll see an eruption of the kind of scenes we saw a year ago. One thing is for sure: that we can continue to look to the Greek working class as an inspiration for the ongoing struggle of our class, even in the toughest of social and economic climates.

Originally published in Resistance, Anarchist Federation paper, issue 118, December 2009 - Jan 2010

http://www.indymedia.nl/images/link_small.gif Website: http://www.afed.org.uk (http://www.afed.org.uk/)



Submitted by taxikipali on Dec 7 2009 23:14

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.


http://www.indymedia.nl/images/link_small.gif Website: http://libcom.org (http://libcom.org/)

:cool:

[Omi]

You are apparently fighting because a kid got shot.

But what do you want to accomplish? Disarming the police? Removing the current government? Your fighting will not bring this kid back, so what do you want?

You will not succeed unless you turn your riots into a movement, and you cannot have a movement without a clear goal.

I highly suggest you back away from this thread now, before we get really annoyed at you.
You are clearly not interested in this topic whatsoever, or else you would find out a lot of things that you say ''should be done'', are already being done. Or trying too. For years, actually. And just because you didn't take 5 minutes of your precious time to find that out, means you are here just for the sake of being unsupportive to a mass uprising of revolutionary youth with a clear goal, perspective, movement building, and connecting with workers all over Greece.

You are just an ignorant, pissed off, war-mongering sectarian with no interest in real revolutionairy struggle, and the analisys of this struggle.
In other words, stop posting insults on things you do not have a clue of what they are about. And if you are such a real social warrior tough guy, get away from your keyboard and stop polluting valuable bandwith.

[Uncle Ho]

Why does it make you so angry when I ask what goal these protests are trying to accomplish? Is it because you have no answer?

It's especially odd seeing this after reading Psycho's article, which essentially admits that these protests are rudderless and lack community outreach.

I applaud this sort of action, but without everyone knowing what it's aims are, it will never be successful.

[Spawn of Stalin]

I also would like to know what the end goal of this action is. If someone could fill me in?

[Pogue]

I also would like to know what the end goal of this action is. If someone could fill me in?

What were the end goals of the bread protests/riots of Russia in 1917?

[Spawn of Stalin]

It was a question, a sincere one, please don't answer it with another question.

[Pogue]

It was a question, a sincere one, please don't answer it with another question.

Its a sincere response mate. These things don't neccesarily represent anything, but anger demonstrated against a regime the protestors are hostile too. Although I'd admit the Greek insurrectionists seem to lack any coherent political programme in their actions, I'd say this is basically a demonstration of anger that the Greek anarchists seem quite accustomed too.

[What Would Durruti Do?]

I think some members just think anarchists should try voting next time. maybe worried about valuable state property too :laugh:

[Uncle Ho]

I think some members just think anarchists should try voting next time. maybe worried about valuable state property too :laugh:

While that wouldn't hurt, I think they should form a clear and coherent goal and work towards it with community support, instead of just rampaging around flying anarchist flags and smashing things.

I'm not worried about the value of state property, I'm worried about the lack of clear direction in the Left, which is leading to it's oblivion.

[Spawn of Stalin]

I don't know, it seems more than a little counter-productive. We should be looking for new ways to turn the proletariat on to socialism and its aims. A bunch of pissed off teenagers burning shit in the street in the name of anarchism just doesn't strike me as something which could spark a revolution or even make people think twice about capitalism and imperialism. Historically I think anarchists have been quite good at getting out onto the streets and pushing for change, but recently they've been lacking in creativity, and ultimately their actions will do us more harm than good. If the Greek police didn't already have a good excuse to clamp down on demonstrations, they sure do now.

[cyu]

You could bash the whole police force of Greece into the hospitals, but if you don't have a very clear and focused goal, it's all for nothing... I applaud this sort of action, but without everyone knowing what it's aims are, it will never be successful.


It depends on who you focus on. You might focus on the anarchists in the streets, telling them they should join you instead and do what you say. On the other hand, I would take the current situation in Greece and use what's happening to radicalize the moderates.

From http://libcom.org/news/police-raid-anarchist-social-centre-athens-05122009

"workers from the media have published a communique uncovering that the Minister of Public Order has held meetings with the owners of major stations and journals giving them directions on how to broadcast news in the following days."

...news like that isn't so special to anarchists, but is great for showing moderates just how corrupt their capitalist "democracy" is.

[leninpuncher]

I don't know, it seems more than a little counter-productive. We should be looking for new ways to turn the proletariat on to socialism and its aims. A bunch of pissed off teenagers burning shit in the street in the name of anarchism just doesn't strike me as something which could spark a revolution or even make people think twice about capitalism and imperialism. Historically I think anarchists have been quite good at getting out onto the streets and pushing for change, but recently they've been lacking in creativity, and ultimately their actions will do us more harm than good. If the Greek police didn't already have a good excuse to clamp down on demonstrations, they sure do now.
From what I've heard, the protests, or riots have been pretty effective as agitation. The strikes we're seeing now, are only happening because the anarchist groups have kept the issues alive through constant protest.

By the way, Police don't usually need an excuse to clamp down on protests. Not sure which protests you've been going to.

And this begs the question; what else should they be doing?

[cyu]

their actions will do us more harm than good. If the Greek police didn't already have a good excuse to clamp down on demonstrations, they sure do now.

Depends on whose point of view you take. From a different vantage point, you might say those who sent in the riot police are now giving more people a reason to fight the capitalist system.

From http://libcom.org/news/police-raid-anarchist-social-centre-athens-05122009

"The bourgeois media claim the eviction has gone through without the presence of a state persecutor, rendering the whole operation in breach of the constitution. The police repression has turned many of the usually anti-anarchist media against the ministry"

From http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/

19.31 GMT+2 At least three people were run over on purpose by motorcycle police at today’s demonstration. One woman is in critical condition. See this youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu06paWOF2I) and especially minutes 3:07 and 5.32, which show two of the injuries.

[FSL]

From what I've heard, the protests, or riots have been pretty effective as agitation. The strikes we're seeing now, are only happening because the anarchist groups have kept the issues alive through constant protest.

By the way, Police don't usually need an excuse to clamp down on protests. Not sure which protests you've been going to.

And this begs the question; what else should they be doing?


Which strikes are you seeing now that are a result of anarchist "praxis" agitation?

And on what else they should be doing. Well, they could be visiting more workplaces during the past year (more than none), they could develop some basic unifying positions since there are seemingly no other issues worthy of debate to them other then "Should we actively pursuit fights with cops or not", they could try wondering why after such a "rise" in importance, they can still on the whole only print 2 monthly newspapers. Dull things, I know.
They could even wonder why their popularity is for the most part limited on students/highschool kids and not workers but that is a stretch.

[leninpuncher]

Which strikes are you seeing now that are a result of anarchist "praxis" agitation?

And on what else they should be doing. Well, they could be visiting more workplaces during the past year (more than none), they could develop some basic unifying positions since there are seemingly no other issues worthy of debate to them other then "Should we actively pursuit fights with cops or not", they could try wondering why after such a "rise" in importance, they can still on the whole only print 2 monthly newspapers. Dull things, I know.
They could even wonder why their popularity is for the most part limited on students/highschool kids and not workers but that is a stretch.
If you're going to denigrate a movement because it consists mostly of students, and other young people; you're going to have to denigrate the anti-war movements and anti-globalization movements, which shares roughly the same demographics as the Greek anarchists. It's not an accusation I've see thrown at these movements, so I'll just assume that in this case; it's the result of an anti-anarchist bias.

The POSDEP union federation declared a strike in response to the killing, and in solidarity with the protestors back in 2008. I've heard about some similar strikes occurring this time around from the same sort of people.

The other parts of your critique might be valid, but I'm too ignorant on this subject to judge either way, and I'm pretty skeptical of your account, because of your blatant anti-anarchist bias.

[FSL]

If you're going to denigrate a movement because it consists mostly of students, and other young people; you're going to have to denigrate the anti-war movements and anti-globalization movements, which shares roughly the same demographics as the Greek anarchists. It's not an accusation I've see thrown at these movements, so I'll just assume that in this case; it's the result of an anti-anarchist bias.

The POSDEP union federation declared a strike in response to the killing, and in solidarity with the protestors back in 2008. I've heard about some similar strikes occurring this time around from the same sort of people.

The other parts of your critique might be valid, but I'm too ignorant on this subject to judge either way, and I'm pretty skeptical of your account, because of your blatant anti-anarchist bias.


I don't have an anti-anarchist bias but I am not one, so it's obvious I'll often disagree. Hence why I 'm not.

Today's anti-war or anti-globalization movement suffer from exactly the same problems, mainly being 100% cut off from workers. The same thing can be said on demands for "green energy" or "organic food" or anything that poses as progressive without even daring to challenge private property and the way production is organized.

Also, strikes that did occure now happened to commemorate the assasination, they 're not a part of some wider struggle nor are they in support of "riots".

[Spawn of Stalin]

I think it would take a pretty brave and militant union to call strike action in solidarity with anarchists setting fire to cars in the streets.

[leninpuncher]

I don't have an anti-anarchist bias but I am not one, so it's obvious I'll often disagree. Hence why I 'm not.

Today's anti-war or anti-globalization movement suffer from exactly the same problems, mainly being 100% cut off from workers. The same thing can be said on demands for "green energy" or "organic food" or anything that poses as progressive without even daring to challenge private property and the way production is organized.

Also, strikes that did occure now happened to commemorate the assasination, they 're not a part of some wider struggle nor are they in support of "riots".
These "problems" are inherent to activism in this sort of society, The student movements have been ahead of the curve on every important issue that I can think of: Students were aligning themselves with feminist and civil-rights issues before anyone else was. I'm not sure what you mean, when you say these movements are cut-off from the workers. Students don't have any built-in organizational advantage. There's nothing physically stopping workers creating anti-war groups on the same level as the students. I think the issue is that as a student, you aren't weighed down with obligations. Your hours are fairly short, and when you do go to lectures or do work it's usually quite stimulating and it's something you're interested in. There's lots of socializing, so exchanging and developing ideas is easy. Quite a difference from the 40 hour week of mindless drudgery most workers are forced to partake in.

Well who would you expect to be more enlightened and active? The student, in his sheltered life of intellectual exercise. or the worker, who burns all his time slaving away so he can take care of himself and his family?

I'm not a student, and I haven't been to school in about 3 years, by the way.

[Black Sheep]

The main theme of the protest is action against police brutality.
Of course this is not the only one, among others are free and public education, no change in insurance policies and free public insurance for all, etc
This,for my anarchist friends.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slB3UAALHRU

http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/large_652x488_scaled/photos/196087.jpg
"State & capital murder every day,and not only with bullets.We live the cause, we do not wait for an excuse.Everyone, to the streets.For dignity,for freedom, for anarchy"


more pics here http://www.demotix.com/news/protest-against-police-violence-commemorate-death-alexandros-grigoropoulos

[FSL]

I think it would take a pretty brave and militant union to call strike action in solidarity with anarchists setting fire to cars in the streets.

Or a rather dumb one, depending on how you 're looking at things.



Well who would you expect to be more enlightened and active? The student, in his sheltered life of intellectual exercise. or the worker, who burns all his time slaving away so he can take care of himself and his family?


Again, what is "enlightened"? What is feminism when it's cut off from the working class? There are many important women today. They're important either as cute accessories next to men or even worse as worse chauvinists than men, like Clinton, Rice, Merkel etc. How is it progressive to support a type of feminism that seeks to bring women down to the same depths where men are? It's not, in any way.

So, if I'm expecting anyone to be enlightened or active that is the workers. Students can be considered as some form of petty-intelligentsia, with a certan amount of people that can be supportive of genuine progressive changes but it's hard to go beyond that. When you have no experience of production or the opression in it that builds the foundations of the ills of society, it's rather hard to see the right solutions.

[bcbm]

the continual implication that all anarchists are students/teenagers appearing in the threads on greece is getting a bit annoying.

[Tablo]

So, if I'm expecting anyone to be enlightened or active that is the workers. Students can be considered as some form of petty-intelligentsia, with a certan amount of people that can be supportive of genuine progressive changes but it's hard to go beyond that. When you have no experience of production or the opression in it that builds the foundations of the ills of society, it's rather hard to see the right solutions.
So you have a problem with the few in our society with the time to organize and protest in favor of the working class? Without a doubt the working class are the only ones that can liberate themselves, but to sit here and bash the students who are actively trying to further our struggle is counter-revolutionary.

[FSL]

the continual implication that all anarchists are students/teenagers appearing in the threads on greece is getting a bit annoying.


The implication that something is true of "all" anarchists is made only by you now. Most are young and thus not working. If you find that annoying, your problem, no one can change that.



So you have a problem with the few in our society with the time to organize and protest in favor of the working class? Without a doubt the working class are the only ones that can liberate themselves, but to sit here and bash the students who are actively trying to further our struggle is counter-revolutionary.

Bash? Please. If I said something untrue, say so.

[bcbm]

The implication that something is true of "all" anarchists is made only by you now. Most are young and thus not working. If you find that annoying, your problem, no one can change that.


you know what i mean. i find that its used as something of an insult and to suggest they're not working class. the anarchists i met in greece were all workers, but maybe i met the only ones.

[KC]

Edit

[FSL]

The Bolsheviks in the beginning consisted of study circles comprised mainly of students and workers. In fact, students played a huge role in the development of the revolutionary movement in Russia. So I don't see the point in attacking students.


The Bolshevicks in their beginnings were the majority of the russian social democratic party after it had split.


There are no attacks, but simply saying things how they are. You can't elevate students to a revolutionary class.
Lenin describes the first steps of the russian movement in What is to be done. Workers were unfamiliar with marxism -it couldn't be otherwise- and students played the role of an intellectual class that would attempt to change that. But they themselves had only some very basic knowledge. Any groups created lacked long-term goals, planning, communication between them and with the broad masses, suffered from a very loose structure and were easily infiltrated by police. The moment he chose to do so, czar had the ability to crash them, arresting some, letting the rest in doubt trying to build another group like the one they had to start the cycle over. When some people lost confidence, instead of fixing everything that was wrong, they incorporated it into their "theory", glorifying the "spontaneous", thinking they could spark unrest with terrorist acts when they only invited police on them.

This is the way of action today here too. The place the police raided in Keratsini had over 200 hundred empty bottles and the excuse given was that they were going to be recycled. This is ridiculous and even funnier/more disturbing is people applauding mistakes, when identical ones were made over a century ago with the movement in its very first steps.
There were over 150 arrests in 3 days. People honestly think they're on their way to overthrow the state when they hide their "ammunition" in what is basically plain view for the police or when they need to run inside state universities and hope no one follows. Most of the arrested will be freed, this will keep happening until the state chooses so (it's nice to have a problem you can deal with unlike economy). This is no way of pushing forward. And if people act really dumb and perform a voluntary reichstag fire, it's a way of going back.

[The Ungovernable Farce]

If the Greek police didn't already have a good excuse to clamp down on demonstrations, they sure do now.
Did they have a good excuse to shoot Alexis? Did that stop them?

BTW, were the workers who occupied their trade union offices workers?

[Uncle Ho]

you know what i mean. i find that its used as something of an insult and to suggest they're not working class. the anarchists i met in greece were all workers, but maybe i met the only ones.

Yet they're rioting because one of their comrades who lived in the wealthiest area of all of Greece, attended a private school costing more than the average worker's yearly wage and dressed up like a prole on the weekends was shot.

If you want to have a working class uprising, it seems rather odd to base it on the death of a bourgeoisie kid.

[FSL]

Did they have a good excuse to shoot Alexis? Did that stop them?

BTW, were the workers who occupied their trade union offices workers?


The person who shot him is now tried for murder; however, the police will have the right to shoot with water cannons on protesters now and it will be perfectly legal. Can you focus on a target and try to get there? Is more "well-founded" repression a good thing? These things we could use to reveal the nature of the state to everyone, now many people are happy with the number of arrests and the tough talk on the minister's part.


Also, I had forgot about the occupation in GSEE, you 're right.
http://gseefreezone.blogspot.com/ This was their blog (in greek mainly). It wasn't supported by any unions but they emphatically say they are workers and not students or vaguely youth. They put their number at 600. But little did they do in the past year, the blog has beed abandoned since January and I hadn't heard anything of them.

[Omi]

The implication that something is true of "all" anarchists is made only by you now. Most are young and thus not working. If you find that annoying, your problem, no one can change that.


That youth-unemployment is one of the biggest social problems and underlying angers that fired the protests, which are widespread, and not only attended by teenage anarchists, makes this argument quite insulting. I suggest you do some more reading on the matter.

[bcbm]

Yet they're rioting because one of their comrades who lived in the wealthiest area of all of Greece, attended a private school costing more than the average worker's yearly wage and dressed up like a prole on the weekends was shot.

If you want to have a working class uprising, it seems rather odd to base it on the death of a bourgeoisie kid.

my impression is that the shooting of alexis was more a final straw than an initial spark. the riots were about many other issues as well, primarily economic ones.

[Delenda Carthago]

my impression is that the shooting of alexis was more a final straw than an initial spark. the riots were about many other issues as well, primarily economic ones.

You don't even live in Greece(or do you?)and you understood what the KKE member still hasn't

PS.The GS of KKE,during the uprise said in the parliament:"In the REAL workers revolt,there wont be not even ONE broken glass"!!!:lol:

Obviously KKE imagines a revolt with peaceful demos...

That's KKE ladies and gents!

[FSL]

You don't even live in Greece(or do you?)and you understood what the KKE member still hasn't

PS.The GS of KKE,during the uprise said in the parliament:"In the REAL workers revolt,there wont be not even ONE broken glass"!!!:lol:

Obviously KKE imagines a revolt with peaceful demos...

That's KKE ladies and gents!


It imagines one with dead capitalists, last time I checked glass wasn't opressing me in any way. But that's too tough for your taste.

[Delenda Carthago]

It imagines one with dead capitalists, last time I checked glass wasn't opressing me in any way. But that's too tough for your taste.




Oh,thats right."Dead capitalists".You don't get the flags to fight the cops today,but you will take the guns tomorow .Face it my friend.KKE is a party that will never begins a revolution.Liana Kaneli has said in a KNE gathering last December:We will throw our own molotovs,when we are going to be 100.000 in the street,not at the tail of GSEE demostration.Let me remind you,you where 100.000 in Salonika 2003 and you still didn't class with police.I know,I was there with you!:o

[What Would Durruti Do?]

Yet they're rioting because one of their comrades who lived in the wealthiest area of all of Greece, attended a private school costing more than the average worker's yearly wage and dressed up like a prole on the weekends was shot.

If you want to have a working class uprising, it seems rather odd to base it on the death of a bourgeoisie kid.

I can't wait to read a post by you with an informative and logical argument rather than baseless allegations and fear of looking bad for the video cameras/bourgeois media

If you think these riots are happening because a kid got shot, there's no point trying to get through to you.

[Uncle Ho]

I can't wait to read a post by you with an informative and logical argument rather than baseless allegations and fear of looking bad for the video cameras/bourgeois media

If you think these riots are happening because a kid got shot, there's no point trying to get through to you.

Well, assuming that the rioters have no clearly defined goals, I have to go off their little posters, which only mention the kid who was shot.

Perhaps if they'd formulate a cohesive, attainable goal and make sure everyone knows what it is and all their actions reflect it, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

[The Ungovernable Farce]

You don't even live in Greece(or do you?)and you understood what the KKE member still hasn't

PS.The GS of KKE,during the uprise said in the parliament:"In the REAL workers revolt,there wont be not even ONE broken glass"!!!:lol:

Obviously KKE imagines a revolt with peaceful demos...

That's KKE ladies and gents!
Are the KKE the Greek Communist Party?

Meanwhile, the latest reports from Greece are saying that (http://libcom.org/news/marches-against-repression-greece-08122009#new):

Meanwhile the tension is spreading: electricity workers occupied a major power factory yesterday demanding better hour schedules - a demand that was granted by the National Electrical Company which is afraid of a domino of protests. Earlier yesterday locals of the Afnithia region attacked the national highway toll booths of their area smashing the bars in demand of an abolition of road tolls...

[The mobilisation of electricity workers] was organised by the union Spartakos at the steam power unit of Ptolemaida, one of the of biggest in the country. The union is further demanding the immediate employment of more workers and the replacement of lignite units with greener productive units. Workers have given a deadline for December 16, a day before the general strike, for their demands to be met. Otherwise they threaten to pull the plug and plunge the country in darkness
Yeah, just silly bourgeois kids messing around, obviously. Still, Uncle Ho and the Stalinists' inability to comprehend any revolt that goes beyond timid liberal pleas for easily-granted reforms and challenges the logic of the system itself is well entertaining.

[Uncle Ho]

An abolition of toll roads?

Really? That's their goal?

I could think of thousands of things more important than toll roads.

[Spawn of Stalin]

Are the riots in Athens and the strikes related? Because let's face it, there's a new strike every five minutes in Europe right now.

[FSL]

Meanwhile, the latest reports from Greece are saying that (http://libcom.org/news/marches-against-repression-greece-08122009#new):

Yeah, just silly bourgeois kids messing around, obviously. Still, Uncle Ho and the Stalinists' inability to comprehend any revolt that goes beyond timid liberal pleas for easily-granted reforms and challenges the logic of the system itself is well entertaining.

Spartakos is a union controlled by Paske, the union affiliated to Pasok, the governing party. And people have been wanting less tolls for years.

So maybe the problem is on the leftists' side who are being their usual selves. I like how you can talk about "easily-granted reforms" when the occupation by the cappie-controlled union lasted hours. Ridiculous.

In any case, you can keep dreaming of an anarchist revolution. I, living in Greece, will know that i'll hardly need to care about them for another year.

[Wanted Man]

Are the KKE the Greek Communist Party?

Meanwhile, the latest reports from Greece are saying that (http://libcom.org/news/marches-against-repression-greece-08122009#new):

Yeah, just silly bourgeois kids messing around, obviously. Still, Uncle Ho and the Stalinists' inability to comprehend any revolt that goes beyond timid liberal pleas for easily-granted reforms and challenges the logic of the system itself is well entertaining.

No, those are not silly bourgeois kids messing around, because they are actually workers on strike. The roots for workers' strikes is the same as for the riots: anger at the fact that the workers and youths have to pay the price for the effects of the capitalist crisis. There are social-democratic, communist, and other unionists. Since the social-democrats won the election, it seems that social-democratic union bureaucrats are doing everything they can to sell out the workers' movement, but strikes and occupations happen nevertheless. That is what I've gathered, anyway. This is something to be supported, obviously

But they are not the exact same thing as the riots, they are not interchangeable. After all, the communists also support worker strikes and mass mobilisations, but I don't think the anarchists here would consider them to be part of the "uprising" or "revolution" or whatever. What the communists and working class-oriented forces are interested in is a mass movement for the long term, not an explosion of anger (that can easily be manipulated in all sorts of ways) that will fizzle out within a month, as happened last year.

[The Ungovernable Farce]

No, those are not silly bourgeois kids messing around, because they are actually workers on strike. The roots for workers' strikes is the same as for the riots: anger at the fact that the workers and youths have to pay the price for the effects of the capitalist crisis... After all, the communists also support worker strikes and mass mobilisations, but I don't think the anarchists here would consider them to be part of the "uprising" or "revolution" or whatever.
What? Who's said that? As you say, they're expressions of the same phenomenon, and I think they're both worth supporting.