This blog started off three days after Alexis’ assassination, as a minimum attempt to publicise information straight out of Greece on the riots (which quickly turned in a full-scale revolt!). Around seventy posts and more than one thousand comments later, we are closing a (first) round. One of the main contributors to this blog is now out of Greece; updates will be less frequent, though translations will keep coming in.
Check this space tomorrow for the dates of Greek revolt/ prisoner solidarity events in the UK and details on Occupied London#4, finally with the printers and with a large section on the Greek revolt. All proceedings will go to the revolt’s prisoner support -much more info tomorrow.
What follows is an excellent wrap-up of the situation as of 14.10, as published on Athens IMC today -long numbers in brackets are article numbers.
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Arrests
More than 270 people have been arrested in connection to actions, since the beginning of the insurrection, on December 6th, in 15 cities. 67 of them have been detained, while 50 immigrants that were arrested the first 3 days, were rapidly condemned to 18 months of imprisonment and are being deported. 19 arrestees in Larissa face charges under the anti-terrorist law. Countless of people were brought to the police departments but were released with no charges in the end. ( 969401 )
On Saturday 17/01 there will be a nationwide demonstration in Larissa, for solidarity to the arrestees.
One person has been arrested and detained since yesterday in Thessaloniki. He is being accused for explosion (felony) and for organising a gang (minor offence, luckily not connected with the anti-terrorist law), related to the effort for arson for a police department. There was a solidarity demonstration, on Tuesday night, outside the Police Headquarters, where he is kept. He is going in front of the Interrogator and the Public Prosecutor on Thursday noon.
Liberated spaces
The building of the Journalists’ Union is still occupied by young people and employees in the media. In solidarity to the revolt of December, they also focus on employment problems, pushing the mainstream media for alternative coverage of the actions, etc. 969449
A municipality cafe on a central street of Zografou district, has been ocupied by antiauthoritarians, in order for it to function as an open space for counter-information, discussion and co-ordination of actions(969647).
Solidarity to Konstantina Kouneva
Employees and workers from 27 first-grade unions, had a sit-in in the office of Evangelismos hospital, where Konstantinta Kouneva is being treated. This hospital is also using cleaning services by subcontracting agencies, similar to the one Konstantina was hired by. (969641)
The Worker Unions’ Center in Volos, after having been occupied by activists for 2 days, was released in the morning. It was an action of solidarity to Konstantina Kouneva and the arrestees of the revolt in December (969909).
*Konstantina Kouneva, a woman, immigrant and unionist, was violently attacked with acid on her face, due to her political action against the employers.
Universities and High schools
A lot of general student union meetings have been taking place in Universities all over Greece, 62 faculties are currently occupied, while many of others stay open, due to the support by the communist, the socialdemocrat and the pro-government student parties.
An education-wide demonstration will also take place on Thursday in many Greek cities.
Parents of a high-school in Pireas, protest against the authorities of the schools, who terrorise the students that took part in the school occupation in October, where a lot of students were beaten up and sent to court.
The students of the 3rd High-school of Ilioupolis, Athens, have occupied their school, against the decision of the teachers to move 4 students to another school and not allow another 5 to attend courses, for 5 days (969734), as a punishment. They are also protesting for the surveilance cameras outside their school building.
Workers’ struggles
120 people were sacked, last month, from the iron-nickel factory in Larimna.
3 people were fired from a local Athens TV station.
The employees of the water supply company in Thessaloniki are on a strike, staying in the building (despite being terrorized by their employers), making sure that there will be no problem with the water supply. . They are against the privatization of the company. the inner corruption and they ask for more personnel to be hired.
The Higher court decided for the second time against the construction of a mall in Eleonas (970278)
War in Palestine
A demonstration for the war in Palestine is being organised for Saturday 17/1. 969591
Arion, the ship of the Free Gaza movement, that transfers doctors and food towards the Gaza people, is threatened to be stopped by the Israeli authorities(969819). The greek government (970053) and the mainstream media (970281) didn’t pay attention to the issue.
Meanwhile, people, student unions and organizations of the left have mobilized for a demonstration on Thursday, in order to prevent transfer of US weapons towards Israel, through the private port of Astakos, on the Aegean Sea (970041)
Mainstream Media reports
Mainstream media published the results of the official police ballistic report on Alexis Grigoropoulos’ shooting, stating that the bullet hit a marble ball (functioning as a barrier in the edge of the sidewalk) which was next to Alexis, and then turned towards his body. Commentors (969787) think that this proves that the cop actually fired towards the young persons.
Mainstream media announced that the so-called “terrorist organisation” named “Revolutionary Struggle”, (as it had been suspected by the police) issued a communique for the shooting against three police officers in Athens, resulting into the serious injury of one of them.
15 Comments
In Solidarity to the Greek comrades and their social struggle, a gig is to be held this Saturday. It starts at 6pm in Forest Cafe, Edinburgh. Bands performing include: MOZKORRAK (drunken oi-oi) and BOTTOMFEEDERS ( local mentalists playing ersecore punk noise).
Entry is free, with donations towards legal expenses for those arrested during the Greek uprising.
Many thanks for all your work with this blog, a valuable resource that has been read by many of us here in the south west (Bristol, UK), along of course with other sources that you have helped publicise.
We are lining up 2 Greek prisoner/defendant solidarity benefits in Bristol, hopefully one for mid-Feb, and a larger one in late March. A small benefit was held here on 3 January, and money raised was handed direct to a visitor from Athens. That visit also led to a useful discussion with the visitor a couple days later. We’ve been scouring the net for prisoner/defendant info, as the visitor told us some sort of prisoner assembly was due to be held in Athens on 5 Jan. We will check back tomorrow. But if anyone has useful and correct info they could send it direct to friends in the Bristol ABC group. Salud!
many thanks for all your good work in keeping us abreast of the Greek rebellion and related topics!
This struggle has been an inspiration to anti-authoritarians in the U.S.. Your coverage was excellent.
thank you.
Hope is one thing, realism another.
)
Things have definatly calmed down by now, with the execption of those shootings, which have nothing to do with the previous uprising and are clearly trying to contaminate it.
Sure, the anarchist movement is still very active in Greece. I suspect that will remain so for the next months or even years. But there’s no use to call it an insurrection, cause it no longer is. Now it’s our time to create the next wave of insurrection.
(PS: I lay my bets on Iceland, anyone else?
A Community Forum on the Greek Uprising and its Lessons for Toronto
**RESIST! OCCUPY! TRANSFORM! SUSTAIN!**
WHEN: Saturday, Jan 17 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
WHERE: OISE (252 Bloor St. W at St. George) room 2211 (2nd flr)
ENDORSED BY: APUS, Common Cause, CUPE 3903, CUPE 3907, No One Is Illegal – Toronto, OCAP
are there any solidarity events scheduled in London?
cheers
Hey,
I found this on my local indymedia:
A CALL FROM GREECE
for a global day of solidarity actions on January 24th 2009
As a group of people who came from many countries and who took part in the
struggles in Greece over the past weeks, it is now clear to us that there
is no such thing as a “Greek problem”, that the situation that sparked the
intense riots here is the same that the people are facing everywhere
abroad. The murder of Alexandros Grigoropoulos on December 6th was not the
source of this conflict, it only opened and made more clear a conflict
that was already ongoing not only here but everywhere around the planet.
In these unstable times, fearing the threat of a deeper, more global
movement of insurrection, the authorities have shown their weaknesses in
their protection of the dominant capitalist order. Through the enforcement
of anti-terrorist measures, tightening of social control, crackdown of
different areas of resistance, mass arrests, targeted assassinations, the
illusion of democracy is falling and the veil of social peace is starting
to burn.
A CALL FROM GREECE
for a global day of solidarity actions on January 24th 2009
As a group of people who came from many countries and who took part in the
struggles in Greece over the past weeks, it is now clear to us that there
is no such thing as a “Greek problem”, that the situation that sparked the
intense riots here is the same that the people are facing everywhere
abroad. The murder of Alexandros Grigoropoulos on December 6th was not the
source of this conflict, it only opened and made more clear a conflict
that was already ongoing not only here but everywhere around the planet.
In these unstable times, fearing the threat of a deeper, more global
movement of insurrection, the authorities have shown their weaknesses in
their protection of the dominant capitalist order. Through the enforcement
of anti-terrorist measures, tightening of social control, crackdown of
different areas of resistance, mass arrests, targeted assassinations, the
illusion of democracy is falling and the veil of social peace is starting
to burn.
The more the State is taking a defensive stance, the more it is time for
us to stop fearing its retaliation and to go on the offensive. It is not
the time to withdraw into fear, which would lead us further into a
dangerous social peace, but the right time for multiplying the offensives
and intensifying the struggle against capitalism and its State,
coordinated with the revolt that is happening here.
The core of these events being that we are in a state of war, the only way
to get through it is to assume it and to take the offensive even further.
That is why we are calling for a global day of actions on January 24th for
you to carry out and perpetuate the revolt, to increase the instability.
It is NOT a call for you to support the Greek people, but for you to take
action where you are.
The 24th of January will be a day of demonstrations and actions all around
greece in support of the prisoners fell in the hands of the system during
this struggle. Wherever you are, let’s attack this system that is
oppressing us all !
From Saloniki, Greece.
- e-mail:: icarus@riseup.net
….. Huh, Athenian tap room, .. I was just about to place a 15 page dissertation as referential basis for an open conversation,….??? is there maybe any podium other available, whether anybody there interested for a read out? I am really selling to any willing ear guys. Or shall I just place it here?
OPERATOR …..?
Maybe post on your own blog, or Indymedia if it’s relevant, and then link here?
Ohyeh… and I get the feeling there is permanent low-intensity insurrection in Greece… before the December events there were clashes with police on demonstrations a number of times, workers on the runway at Olympic over privatisation, car and business damage is so common it’s not even reported in the media, and not long ago the massive struggle over education “reforms” which led to months-long occupations. I think these things operate on intensities – more intense to less intense – rather than “happening” or “over”, “on” or “off” – it has got less intense but doubtless there is more going on than, say, in Britain. I could see things flaring up again in some circumstances – if there is another killing by police for example, or Alex’s killer is acquitted, or the government announces some new law targeting protesters, or various other scenarios (the introduction of CCTVs, visits by American leaders, anti-neoliberal rallies have all sparked this kind of thing in the past).
I guess it’s very difficult to keep up a high level of intensity indefinitely – this will be a persistent problem for anarchist and autonomist movements, as the state tries to simply sit out insurrections of limited duration (cf France 2005). In the global South on the other hand, I’ve seen movements which have gone on for months or years (the PAD despite its bad politics is clearly insurrectionary for example, also the El Alto movements, the piqueteros, the Manipur and Kashmir and Gujjar protests, the Korean beef protests) – they do this in one of two ways – recurring waves, where the protests go on hiatus for a couple of weeks if not antagonised and then start again (often structured around harvest and maintenance of farms in rural areas), and rotating participation, where levels of mobilisation are maintained by only a part of the movement being active at any time (an occupation may be sustained by 2000 people out of a rotating pool of 10,000 for example). I’m not sure what makes this possible – it may be that movements in the South have greater community connectedness, allowing them to operate more persistently; or simply that the numbers involved are greater; or whether it has to do with the emphasis on immediacy and intensity in insurrectionary anarchism, which might predispose it to short flashes rather than long-drawn-out scenarios.
A quick question though, for anyone in Greece – has the relative abatement of the insurrection led to a permanent state of fear? For example, after the shooting the reports here said police had invaded Exarchia in large numbers – are they still effectively occupying the area, or is it back to the situation pre-insurrection (where police were unwelcome and would be confronted periodically if they entered – as in the incident where Alex was killed)? Is there any likelihood of decomposition of the milieu from which the insurrection arose due to this kind of repression, or is there a return to the previous modus vivendi?
are they still effectively occupying the area, or is it back to the situation pre-insurrection
Both! They are back to the situation pre-insurrection, which IS an occupation of the area. The portrayal of Eksarhia as a no-go area for the police is 100% a media lie. They might not come to the square, or the pedestrianised street were Alex was assassinated, but apart from those two locations there is riot police at certain spots (outside the socialist party offices, at the border of Eksarhia on Akadimias str, at the archeological museum where the cop was shot, and a few others) literally 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. So we’re back to that.
Just a note of thanks comrades. This website has been an invaluable source of information. Well done and thanks again.
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