A brief summary of a very eventful day…
- At least 13 detentions in the Athens demonstration alone, six of which have turned into arrests (that is, these people face charges). There are already e-mails circulating, denouncing the unprovoked arrest of Dimitris Aggelis Dimakis, a student of European History at the University of Athens. Any updates on Dimitris’ case, or any other of today’s arrestees, will be published here.
- The general strike demonstration largely lacked in numbers (anything between 30,000 and 50,000 might be a good estimate, that together with the demo of the stalinist PAME, which is always separate). The reasons could be anything from the numbness so many feel from the cataclysmic changes happening all around us, to the May 5th aftermath, or simply that we’re entering deep summer. In any case, what we lacked in numbers we had in the passion of some people who were out on the streets. When a couple of riot police units tried to cross through part of the demonstration at Syntagma (just opposite parliament) they were evidently surprised to see the amount of abuse they got from “ordinary” demonstrators who attacked them with empty water bottles and their bare hands, to send them out of the demonstration. More photos from this incident here.
- Earlier on, at exactly the same spot (Syntagma square, opposite the Grande Bretagne hotel) around 25-30 fascists hadgathered with greek flags, banners, army clothing and so on. They were attacked by a few comrades who were immediately joined in by other demonstrators. The fascists were attacked with their own flag poles. They were chased all the way to the other end of Syntagma square, where they found refuge behind a riot police unit. This is the second attempt by small fascist groups to join in a general strike demonstration (the first being May 20th) but they must be learning a lesson by now.Some more photos from today’s demonstration in Athens are here.
- Before the demonstration, about 25 comrades stormed in the supermarket Sklavenitis in the neighbourhood of Pagrati and removed essential goods which they then re-distributed at a nearby open air market, along with a text explaining their action. A similar action took place in Thessaloniki, too.
- After the demonstration, two money transfer vans driving through Exarcheia were chasen and smashed up at Stournari Street (close to the Polytechnic school).
- Finally, after the demonstration in Athens, riot police units stormed the metro and chased people who were leaving the people. They were attacking, beating and pushing people at the platforms with imminent danger for the demonstrators’ lives. More photos from the Omonoia station incident here.
- Meanwhile, overground, riot police were also beating demonstrations – again at Omonoia:
- Earlier, at Syntagma square again, the thugs of the “Delta” motorcycle police force were only too eager to confirm the old Greek saying, “stupidity is unbeatable”. Two of their motorcycles collided with one another. The result?
This sums up the main incidents from Athens today. The mainstream trade union, GSEE, has already announced there will be another strike next week – the date is yet to be confirmed and will appear here as soon as it is known.
8 Comments
“In any case, what we lacked in numbers we had in the passion of some people who were out on the streets.”
*yawn* The last general strike had numbers but lacked passion. The May 5th strike had numbers AND passion but too much of the latter. Your endless quest to find excuses for being ineffective shows how disconnected from reality you are. Give it a rest with your autistic grassroots bollocks, the uprising will only come WHEN the lumpen middle class REALLY gets hungry. For now, enjoy your summer bathing and prepare to get over your gay pride parade mentality for there is going to be blood on the streets when the HERD mobilises come this Autumn.
Those Greeks really don’t take any crap. I find their constant and prolonged resistance an inspiration.
Important to note that the government will impose a three-year pay freeze for the lowest-paid workers in the private sector,PASOK spokesman George Petalotis said “This decision has been made” and is non-negotiable. This is despite ‘reassurances’ from the Employers Association and the GSEE that there would be no wage cuts in the private sector…The problem now, is that with the attack on the principle of collective bargaining and the unions, testing the loyalty of their members, some of them will end up locked into defending trade union rights as opposed to developing a radical class-conscious critique outside the parastatist union bureaucracy…Many may conclude that the Unions have failed to fight austerity with anything like real passion,and may be open to unmediated self-managed organisation. This can be exploited…
PS.Please stop using “Autistic” as a form of abuse,it smells of fascist-eugenicist vomit. Thanks.
Yeah, I agree the term ‘Autistic’ shouldn’t really be used in a negative context like that.
Pffft…your political correctness reeks of stale ideas and passiveness. Perhaps one shouldn’t also use the word “blind” in any context other than describing persons with vision disability. Keep mentally masturbating yourselves while shrugging off reality.
@FAUScisT-
Go fuck yourself -I actually know autistic people, and the term ‘blind’ is quite another thing altogether. Who’s the troll now dickhead? Your reality stinks of your shit-slathered ego, I don’t want any part of your ‘revolution’. If I met you face to face you’d soon feel the strength of my feelings, you college-boy-filled-with-daddy-hatred.
@Incubus
You acuse me of fascism, yet you are the one who resorts to violence because he can’t back his ideas with logic (you systematically avoid refuting any of my argument, so you are the troll here). No one asked you to partake of any “revolution”. Hell, there is not going to be any revolution anytime soon. It would be nice if imbeciles, who misplace solidarity with bankers, like you, stop sabotaging and snitching on rioters and get the hell out of the insurrection’s path when it explodes in full force. Now, go back to wanking to your peaceful little General Strike fetish liveshow.
@FAUST-
And your argument is what exactly? Besides using reactionary epithets like ‘autistic’ to denigrate those you disagree with (I wonder what you will come out with next? ‘Jew’ perhaps, or ‘class traitor’?)…As for partaking in your ‘revolution’, sorry, ‘insurrection’, then no, I wouldn’t, because I don’t happen to share your tin-pot Nietszchean view of the world (Where your fellow humans are nothing but a ‘Herd’, ‘imbeciles’ and where pathetic, lowly bank clerks -who are, incidentally, paid a shit salary- deserve to die a horrible death all because YOU have an overdraft…). I wouldn’t sabotage or snitch on myself, as I wouldn’t on others, so you can bin that idea…Doubtless you fancy yourself as ‘The Coming Man’, the Ubermensch of your post-insurrectionary world, although it would seem you are somewhat behind the times with your complete lack of understanding of what Fourth-Generation Warfare actually involves…Still it is nice to have a hobby isn’t it? Reality? You haven’t a clue!.. No guerilla movement can exist for long without a popular base, and the idea of siezing the means of production and community self-management is pretty central to the beliefs of most of those who struggle, and comment here. You can spunk over the communique-porn of your clandestine bomb-setting friends, those who disregard the principle of ‘Ad Hominem’, and communal reinforcement, as employed by the state. But do what you like, be a cardboard cut-out Andreas Baader or, better still, Carlos…Die in a hail of cop bullets, or rot in a white cell, I couldn’t care less, since your contempt for humanity deserves nothing less than contempt…And, oh yeah, I have better things to wank over, or rather , fuck, other than any political theory….As for offering you violence, well, the language you use referencing the disabled is no different to racist drivel as far as I’m concerned, so yeah, I’d happily kick your head in, as I would a Nazi (especially since they murdered the disabled long before they began their racial genocide- Read a fucking book, you silly little boy!)…:)
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