Acid attack to worker in Greece

[Leo]

A comrade posted this in libcom:



Konstantina Kuneva, 44, a worker from Bulgaria and secretary of the Housekeepers and Cleaners' trade union of Athens has been attacked on 23/12.


As she was returning home in midnight, 2 unknown men poured sulfuric acid onto her face and body. She is now in critical condition, could lose her sight or worse.


Kuneva was getting threat-calls on her mobile phone to stop participating in the struggles. Her trade union was one of the most militant ones. The working conditions of the cleaners are almost barbaric.


According to an announcement by a leftist party (www.eek.gr (http://www.eek.gr/)) Kuneva and other comrades from the cleaning ladies' trade union participated in the assemblies held in the occupied GSEE building. that's not important.
the important thing is that Kuneva was fighting for her class for years.
Just a small comment...this once again proves that capital once threatened even on a tiny tiny degree, becomes absolutely ruthless. Once class antagonism breaks out openly --as happened in greece-- it's either us or them. To reconcile, to "stop for the holidays", to lose the momentum is to become victim of this terrorism. difficult times.

Bulgarian national gets Acid poured in athens (http://www.bgnewsnet.com/story.php?lang=en&sid=23522)

"On the 27th of December we occupied the headquarters of ISAP (Athens Piraeus Electric Railway) as a first response to the murderous attack against Konstantina Kuneva on the 23-12-2008. Sulphuric acid was thrown at her face as she was returning home from work."
the rest of the communique is at the url below. also on other languages.
Solidarity to Konstantina Kuneva (http://katalipsihsap.wordpress.com/2008/12/28/solidarity-to-konstantina-kuneva/)
I think especially this point: "Once class antagonism breaks out openly --as happened in greece-- it's either us or them. To reconcile, to "stop for the holidays", to lose the momentum is to become victim of this terrorism. Once class antagonism breaks out openly --as happened in greece-- it's either us or them. To reconcile, to "stop for the holidays", to lose the momentum is to become victim of this terrorism." is very valid. Hopefully Greek proletarians will be able to keep up the struggle to prevent horrible attacks like this from happening.

[god0fmusic]

nothing will happen unless we support them all over the world. we have to attack. each of us, directly. we have to act in every way possible. we have to spread propaganda, destroy the property of the rich, and build our own system independant of the state and the corporations. there should be no tolerance for authority, NONE. this means that if a cop tries to stop a protest, it is our job to get him out of the way, even if we have to kill him. attack with all your might!

[redarmyfaction38]

I think especially this point: "Once class antagonism breaks out openly --as happened in greece-- it's either us or them. To reconcile, to "stop for the holidays", to lose the momentum is to become victim of this terrorism. Once class antagonism breaks out openly --as happened in greece-- it's either us or them. To reconcile, to "stop for the holidays", to lose the momentum is to become victim of this terrorism." is very valid. Hopefully Greek proletarians will be able to keep up the struggle to prevent horrible attacks like this from happening.
greece is teetering on the brink of social revolution, as you state, class antagonisms have become openly apparent.
imo, this "social revolution" is also teetering on the edge of defeat, the revolt seems to be confined to the youth, "militant" trade unionists, socialist revolutionaries and the anarchists, the broad mass of the working class has NOT been brought into the struggle.
the "anarchist" occupation of a state tv station and its appeal to viewers to join rather than just watch was imo indicative of the political situation as a whole.
hopefully, my analysis will prove to be totally wrong.
viva la revolucion!

[Bilan]

K. Kouneva, a militant syndicalist of the cleaner's union in Athens was attacked with sulphuric acid and is in intensive care. The attack has led to the occupation of the Electric Railway HQs in Athens and a protest march to the hospital where she lies in coma.



On Monday 22 of December Konstantina Kouneva, militant syndicalist, general secretary of the cleaner’s union of Athens (Panattic Union of Cleaners and Domestic Personnel) and active feminist was attacked with vitriolic acid by what she and her comrades claim to be agents of her bosses. Konstantina, who comes from Bulgaria, has been actively campaigning for workers rights in one of the darkest sectors of the greek economy: companies that subhire female and predominantly immigrant, often sans-papiers, cleaners to state and private companies, as permited under a PaSoK (Socialist Party) law of 2001.
Konstantina’s bosses at OIKOMET, the company that provides cleaners to major banks and state magnates like the metro system and the national electricity company, have been known to have direct and close links to the political nepotistic establishment of the country. The company’s owner, Oikonomakis, has been a long term Socialist cadre in Pireaus. According to the Union, Konstantina had been recently receiving a series of threat calls by company thugs in relation to her demand that the Christmas bonus is fully paid to its workers, who had been forced to sign a receipt of payment receiving only half their salary earlier this month. Such threats apparently thickened after she started attending the Assembly of the Occupied General Worker’s Union during the days of the December Uprising. The attack that took place outside her flat in the traditional proletarian neighbourhood of Petralona and sent the syndicalist in coma, has already cost Konstantina one of her eyes, while doctors are struggling to save the other one and her phonetic chords.
In response to the bosses’ attack and the general apathy of the media which have imposed a virtual blackout on the subject, a solidarity demo took place on the 26 of December outside Evangelismos hospital where she is been held in intensive care. During the demo a police car that tried to cross nearby was attacked with rocks by the protesters. Trying to organise more consistent and long-term counterinformation and solidarity action to the syndicalist, an Assembly for Solidarity to K. Kouneva has been formed late this week. On Saturday 27, the Assembly occupied the Headquarters of ISAP, the state-owned Athens-Piraeus Electric Railway Company, which has been hiring Konstantina along with hundreds of other cleaners by OIKOMET. The Assembly hang banners condemning corporate violence and decided to hold a protest march in the centre of Athens on Sunday afternoon. Despite the short-notice and the seasonal holiday, the march was attended by more than 500 people who marched to Evangelismos hospital chanting slogans like “ISAP and the bosses throw vitriolic acid, we shall burn the city down”, “Class hatred, kick and punch the bosses” and “Konstantina you are not alone, bosses pigs murderers”. The text that follows is the pamphlet of the occupied ISAP HQs.
WHEN THEY MESS WITH ONE OF US
THEY MESS WITH ALL OF US



More - Libcom (http://libcom.org/news/bosses-attack-militant-cleaners-syndicalist-vitriolic-acid-athens-protest-march-occupation-)

[Pogue]

Its good to see our comrades coming out in support of their fellow worker who has sustained this brutal and cowardly attack from the agents of the ruling class and our natural enemy the bosses. Here we see the direct physical manifestation of class conflict and the underlying brutality and thuggishness of the bourgeoisie, who resort to murder and serious injury to prevent the workers from gaining freedom and equality.

Solidarity forever! El bien mas preciad es la libertad!

[PRC-UTE]

that's effed up. I hope she's got some kind of protection while in the hospital. :crying::cursing:

[Leo]

Two threads merged.


nothing will happen unless we support them all over the world. we have to attack. each of us, directly. we have to act in every way possible. we have to spread propaganda, destroy the property of the rich, and build our own system independant of the state and the corporations. there should be no tolerance for authority, NONE. this means that if a cop tries to stop a protest, it is our job to get him out of the way, even if we have to kill him. attack with all your might!


While I agree with your sort-of international perspective, I think the mode of struggle you are posing is quite pointless, and even harmful in regards to destroying things, killing cops, and doing all individually. While I think there should be international struggle, I think it should be a collective struggle of the proletarian masses, and it's actions should be based on collective decisions of organs of those who struggle, such as students assemblies or workers assemblies as we have seen in Greece, or in more advanced forms, workers councils etc. "Direct actions" that are not an expression of the collective decisions are alienating and in the final analysis substitutionist.


greece is teetering on the brink of social revolution, as you state, class antagonisms have become openly apparent.
imo, this "social revolution" is also teetering on the edge of defeat, the revolt seems to be confined to the youth, "militant" trade unionists, socialist revolutionaries and the anarchists, the broad mass of the working class has NOT been brought into the struggle.

This is mostly true (and nor has the perspective of workers overthrowing the state appeared en masse). And this is exactly why I don't think we can say "greece is teetering on the brink of social revolution". What happened was a proletarian movement and a social struggle, and did make class antagonisms apparent, but presenting the events as something near a social revolution would be a massive exaggaretion preventing us from drawing the necessary lessons from what has happened so far.

[bcbm]

it's actions should be based on collective decisions of organs of those who struggle, such as students assemblies or workers assemblies as we have seen in Greece, or in more advanced forms, workers councils etc. "Direct actions" that are not an expression of the collective decisions are alienating and in the final analysis substitutionist.

There was a call for direct action in this form put out for the Dec 20 round of solidarity actions.

[Leo]

Well, intentionally possibly. The students and workers in this movement in Greece all hoped for their movement to spread outside, the call they made was a move in that direction.

The demonstrations that took place in front of embassies or consulates were, on the other hand, quite isolated and quite short of even contributing to the expansion of the movement.

[Bakunist]

Wow, it would almost be unbelievable if we didn't already know the corporate scum of the world were capable of something like this. Hopefully, those who knew and loved this woman are providing as much assistance as they can. What has happened in Greece is an example of what might happen globally, as the majority of the working people weren't involved in the firebombing and general destruction, it cannot be called a revolution. I think the people are probably asking themselves how so many young people can be so upset and are asking why this guerrilla struggle manifested. From what I understand, Anarchism in Greece is quite different from what accounts for its' adherents' activities here in the US, plus the history of the nation in their struggle for liberation needs to be taken into account here. Anyway, thanks for posting this story.

Ross - NM

[Enragé]

I think it should be a collective struggle of the proletarian masses, and it's actions should be based on collective decisions of organs of those who struggle, such as students assemblies or workers assemblies as we have seen in Greece, or in more advanced forms, workers councils etc. "Direct actions" that are not an expression of the collective decisions are alienating and in the final analysis substitutionist.


Though i agree on principle comrade, how on earth can I, here in the netherlands, begin to organise such an assembly? I simply cannot, the circumstances are not so that this is possible! Also, when we look at greece, the assemblees came to be after a spontaneous revolt, direct action, strikes, etc.

Ofcourse, all our actions should be aimed at creating a mass movement, with the assemblees etc. which accompany this, but before we get there we'll have to do things in a different way, either through direct action (though alot of direct action simply leads to alienation from the masses, and yes, in the last analysis is substitutionism) and organising demonstrations, meetings on certain topics, and building our organisations through outwardly focussed tactics (e.g, being on the streets with leaflets, newspapers every single week, and more often if you have the time)

As for the solidarity actions, the reason that many were small and isolated was because even most on the radical left dared not participate (i talk of the leninists in particular here). The same was the case in the netherlands, but i think we pulled off a nice demo of around 300 people, marching through the city center on a shopping night, handing out enormous amounts of flyers. If other organisations outside the autonomous over here had participated, it could have been much better, linking the demo in practice much more with the need to organise and build a movement here (instead of just shouting that it had to be so).

[Leo]

Though i agree on principle comrade, how on earth can I, here in the netherlands, begin to organise such an assembly?

You can't all alone, but you can start discussing the idea. I'd say start from people from your department in your school - that's what we are mainly trying to do in the universities here.


I simply cannot, the circumstances are not so that this is possible! Also, when we look at greece, the assemblees came to be after a spontaneous revolt, direct action, strikes, etc.

All these being true, it nevertheless doesn't mean that there aren't dynamics behind it, nor does it mean we shouldn't work to expand movements always. It might not happen immediately but it is the only way to go forward nonetheless.


As for the solidarity actions, the reason that many were small and isolated was because even most on the radical left dared not participate (i talk of the leninists in particular here).

In the demo outside the Greek embassy that we've went there were 200 people, reportedly 70 of them anarchists, and the rest were mostly clash-happy stalinists.


but i think we pulled off a nice demo of around 300 people, marching through the city center on a shopping night, handing out enormous amounts of flyers.

That is better actually. The embassy here is in a very bourgeois neighborhood far from the city center and the police outnumbered and immediately surrounded us. After some tense time, we started going back, and it was a long way to the city center (longest march I've ever been in :lol:). On the way, lots of restaurant and cafe employees and some other workers had stepped out, asking questions and all, and being followed by the police there was very little time to talk to them. I do remember some people talking to a very old retired teacher who was asking question about the demonstration from her window. Someone from our organization talked to (I think) a few construction workers and said that the Greek workers had occupied the GSEE building and one of them replied something like "it's wonderful, we support them and you brothers!". Nevertheless (unsurprisingly :rolleyes:) neither the leftists or anarchists had prepared leaflets which would have been handy, but I don't think there was a general or at least clear perspective for expanding the struggle in the demo to begin with. I have the feeling that most of these things were like that.

[Enragé]

You can't all alone, but you can start discussing the idea. I'd say start from people from your department in your school - that's what we are mainly trying to do in the universities here.


most of my fellow students are a-political, or vaguely left ("green-left", "social-liberal"). If i would put forward the idea to start something like an assembly they'd simply reply "to talk about what? For doing what?".. and what am i to respond with? "To eventually take over the university, occupy it, organise assemblies were all can join to discuss how to continue the movement"? They'd ask "What movement? Why occupy? Why take the university over?" And then i'd be stuck in one of the usual discussions on capitalism, communism/anarchism, how to change things, and whether we should change them at all (discussions i already have). Ofcourse, i'll keep the organising of an assembly in the back of my mind, but it'll take for some things to happen before i can even begin talking to people about it and actually getting somewhere aside from a standard discussion on radical politics.


but it is the only way to go forward nonetheless.


It is the only way to go forward if you're in a situation where you already have a mass movement (at least of sorts), and large revolutionary groups. This is simply not the case over here, and in many places in the western world, and in those places, we have to build those revolutionary organisations, and a mass movement. That is the way forward here.


said that the Greek workers had occupied the GSEE building

One of the best part of the demo over here was the reading of a declaration of workers, translated into dutch, who had occupied a municipality building in Athens (in Agios Dimitrios or something i think it was) - on one of the busiest squares of amsterdam :)

[Mather]

Those who carried out this attack deserve nothing less than a bullet to their head.

[Eastside Revolt]

I heard recently that the owner of this company is the leader of the party that wants to bring "real change" to the government. If so the reformists really are showing their true colors on this one.

[optimist]

he is not the leader he is member of pasok ,the socialist party,this is the reason he took this contract from a state owned company such "isap" a.k.a."metro line no 1".in thursday there is going to be a demonstration from 25 unions,anarchists and leftists to the ministry of employment and social services for konstantina and against the slave contracts the cleaning companies and others make with their employees.i expect to be a massive one.yesterday there was a gathering ,in a occupated municipal building in an athens area,where fellow workers of konstantina, union leaders ,inform us to what really happens to their union and about the brutal methods of their bosses.i have to tell you these women are true heroes.even they live under a state of terror that the same will happen to them, they dont give up,they continue to fight.we have all agree that unity and solidarity is the only answer.

[optimist]

the demonstration was massive indeed.some say 6000,some 10000(i myself im not good in counting crowds),with lot of passion.the numbers are very good having in mind that GSEE(the confederation of all greek unions of the private sector) was not participated.the unions that called todays demonstration are small and of different professions,but they collaborate very well and this is agood sign for the future.it is also a warning for the bosses terrorizing workers.as a comrade said above if they mess with one of us ,they mess with all of us.