COMMUNITY POLITICS-GREECE:

MORE CLASHES IN CORFU OVER OPEN WASTE DUMP:

There have been more clashes on the Greek island of Corfu as residents demonstrate over the construction of an open waste dump near their community. Here's the story from the British Libcom site.

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New clashes with riot police in South Corfu over open refuse dump:

New clashes between locals and riot police erupt in the south Corfu town of Lefkimi over the construction of open refuse dump.
In the afternoon of Thursday 20/11/08, the residents of Lefkimi in south Corfu staged yet another demo against the construction of the open refuse dump (XYTA) imposed by Athens in the vicinity of their town. During the sit-in that blocked the way of the bulldozers to the construction site, the residents were attacked by large numbers of riot police forces (MAT) that have been stationed in the area since the beginning of the environmental struggle last year. When the riot police threatened to drive their armoured vehicle over the sit-in, local women stood up against them. The police responded with force and use of tear gas, attacking the women and arresting one. Enraged, the local protesters attacked the riot forces, torching a police van, while trapping two riot policemen, disarming them and stripping them naked in a move of public humiliation. In their call of defiance during the demo that ensued outside the local police station where the arrested woman is being held, the residents of Lefkimi declared: "It is time for a general uprising in the island of Corfu for the first time against actions that are no longer merely a threat to local interests, but to everyone's human rights".

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS-GREECE:

GREECE- THE PEOPLE VERSUS THE STATE:

Politics in Greece has always been highly confrontational and this is especially true recently. Here are two articles from the LibCom site about recent struggles in that country.

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Residents clash with police in Greek refuse dump row:
October 16th, 2008

by taxikipali

Local resistance to open-refuse dump near Ioannina escalates to clashes after an army of 230 riot policemen charges barricades
On the 15th of October the residents of Elliniko village near the city of Ioannina, North West Greece, blockaded the construction of the open-refuse dump (XYTA) to which they have been opposed for over 18 months. The response of Athens was to send 19 battalions of riot police forces (MAT), that is about 230 policemen, to open the way for the bulldozers.

Faced with what they termed "an occupation force", local people erected barricades. Riot police resorted to tear gas and attacked the residents who responded by pelting officers with stones and molotov cocktails.

The situation remains tense, with three residents and five riot policemen in hospital as a result of the clashes, thus opening yet another front of local environmental resistance on the confrontational model set by Lefkimi in the island of Corfu.

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Meanwhile students in Greece continue to occupy over 300 secondary and high schools in protest against conservative education "reforms". Here's another article from Libcom on this struggle.

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Occupied schools in Greece face repression:
October 19th, 2008

by taxikipali
As the tide of secondary and high-school squats rises again across Greece, the state responds with repression
More than 300 secondary and high schools (that is 1/6 of the national total) around Greece are currently occupied by their pupils who are demanding the reversal of several articles of the conservative educational reform that caused widespread revolt by students and university staff during the academic years of 2005-2006-2007. The renewed resistance to the law which has been rejected by the entire school and academic community and is considered to be the first step towards the abolition of student-pupil participation in management, is being faced with unprecedented measures of repression. There have been consistent efforts by the government and the local authorities to criminalise the school squats, whereas neonazi attacks against squatted schools in Athens have been reported.

Most recently, on the 17th of October, the president of the pupil's council and one more pupil of the 4th high-school of the city of Karditsa were arrested on charges of obstructing the function of a public service, after the pupils of the squatted school staged a demo against the installation of an iron fence around the premises, with the central slogan being "School is not a Prison". After the reaction of the Teacher's Union (OLME) the pupils were released.

While the repression escalates, several schools in Athens and Thessaloniki have opposed the annual election of representatives, opting for direct-democratic procedures without the realm of state-recognised legality. In the city of Peiraeus, on the 17th of October the Autonomous Coordination Squat Committee, held a protest march for "Liberatory free and public education".

GREECE:

FOLLOW-UP ON LEFKIMI GARBAGE DUMP PROTEST:

The photo to the left is of the bridge over the canal in the Greek town of Lefkimi, on the island of Corfu. This is one of the many things that will be under threat if the government's plan to build an open garbage dump near the town comes to be. Molly has previously reported on the protests on the part of the residents of this town. the following is an update from the LibCom website. An abbreviated version of what follows has also been published at A-Infos and at the Anarkismo site.

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Corfu garbage-dump protest followup: Renewed barricades met with plastic bullets by Greek riot-police
20 days after the battle between residents of Lefkimi township in south Corfu and the riot-police over the construction of an open garbage-dump, renewed mobilisation of the residents is once again being met with repression and arbitrary punitive measures such as inhibiting farmers from accessing their fields.

Last Saturday, 14/6/2008, the residents of the south Corfu town of Lefkimi have resumed their mobilisation against the building of an open garbage-dump (XYTA) meant to accommodate refuse from the tourist-rich north of the island. After lengthy direct-democratic discussions, the town's "People's Council" has decided to refuse the mediation of political parties and demand the immediate departure of the riot police forces (MAT) stationed in their area since the last street battles (29/5) which led to the death of a 42 year old mother, an event that has triggered solidarity protest marches across the country. "No dialogue can even start while our town is under occupation", claimed the residents identifying the riot police with the Nazi forces of the 40s.

The situation escalated once again, when on Monday the 16th of June, faced with the government's refusal of their terms, the residents of Lefkimi erected once again barricades in an effort to inhibit construction of the new refuse unit. The renewed mobilisation of the residents who put up flaming barricades was met with ruthless repression during which the riot-police used tear gas and, for the first time in recent Greek history, plastic bullets. Four residents and 3 policemen have been wounded during the clashes. The use of tear-gas inside the village of Melitia after the end of the clashes has been described as "punitive" putting in danger the health of elderly and ill residents. Residents also accuse the police of inhibiting farmers from accessing their fields, thus endangering the summer harvest which comprises their livelihood. The situation in the area remains tense.

GREECE:

CORFU RESIDENTS CLASH WITH RIOT POLICE:

Here's another item from Greece, this time from the island of Corfu, where clashes with riot police over a plan to build an open-air garbage dump near the town of Lefkimi have left one protester dead and another paralyzed. This item is from the LibCom site.

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Barricades against open garbage-dump in south Corfu end in clashes with riot police
On the 29th of May residents of Lefkimi in Corfu erected barricades to stop the construction of an open garbage-dump near their town. Clashes with riot-police have left one dead, one paralysed. The area is under police occupation.

The residents of Lefkimi in the south of Corfu are opposed to the construction of an Open Garbage-Dump (XYTA) near their town. The residents claimed that their marginalised, underdeveloped area known for its left-wing tradition and defiance was being used as a refuse for the tourist-industry produced garbage of the north. Underlining the class aspect of the government's decision on the location of the site within 1.5 km of the residential area, the residents denounced it as a "colonial policy".

On the morning of the 29th of May the residents decided to man a blockade using old cars, tree branches and even rowing boats, so as to inhibit the construction of the site. Barricades were erected and oil was spilled on the road leading to inhibit construction machines. The government's response was the deployment of 8-10 squads of the infamous riot-police forces (MAT), a move which infuriated the residents. In the battle that ensued when the MAT tried to break the blockade, the residents set fire on the barricades, and attacked the riot-police with sticks, projectiles and molotov cocktails.

The response of the riot-police was ruthless: 13 people were arrested including the elected representatives of the residents, while scores of protesters were seriously injured. On the 1st of June, one of them, 43 year old Maria mother of 2 children, died of her injuries. Maria was hit by a 16 year old boy who lost control of his motorbike when he was hit on the head while driving by a riot-police officer. The 16 year old boy has been left paralysed due to spinal fractures. The Greek government has refused to acknowledge the responsibility of the police in the death of Maria pressing charges against the 16 year old driver instead. In response the residents of Lefkimi have occupied the local city hall and have called for demonstrations of solidarity across the country. The town of Lefkimi is still under occupation by provocative police forces.