INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-GREECE:

GREECE ERUPTS ONCE MORE:

Just like clockwork one year after the police murder of Alexandros Grigoropoulos Greece erupted once more into rioting. The underlying causes are, after all. still there. Here's how these recent events have been seen by The Guardian in England.

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Greek riots continue into second day:
More clashes during Athens demonstration over fatal police shooting last year of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos

Comment: The Greek revolution that never was

Street riots continue in Athens

Link to this video
Protesters smashed store windows and threw rocks and firebombs at riot police who responded with teargas today, the second day of violence during commemorations for a teenager shot dead by police a year ago.

The killing of 15-year-old Alexis Grigoropoulos led to two weeks of rioting in Greece last year, with gangs of youths smashing, looting and burning shops across the country in protest at heavy-handed police tactics.

Today's clashes broke out during a demonstration by about 3,000 people, mostly secondary school pupils, through the centre of Athens. Several dozen youths towards the back of the march attacked riot police with rocks, firebombs and firecrackers, smashing some of the bus stops, telephone booths and shopfronts not damaged in yesterday's demonstration.

Protesters injured a passerby who attempted to intervene, beating him unconscious. Police detained at least three youths. Demonstrators scrawled anti-police graffiti and stencilled a photograph of Grigoropoulos on shop windows and walls along the demonstration route.

Minor clashes broke out during a march of about 2,000 people in Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, where police fired teargas to disperse youths pelting them with rocks.

Police said at least 16 officers and five demonstrators were injured yesterday, while 177 people were detained in Athens and another 103 in Thessaloniki. One policeman who lost control of his motorbike struck and injured a female pedestrian, who was tended to by demonstrators until an ambulance arrived.

At Athens University, masked protesters broke into the building, injuring the university's dean and pulling down a Greek flag, replacing it with a black and red anarchist banner. The clashes continued late into the night, and police clashed with protesters in the southern city of Patras and the north-western city of Ioannina.

Last night the civil protection minister, Michalis Chrisochoidis, defended tougher tactics used by police, following criticism from a left wing opposition party. "Police detentions, when justified, are not illegal in a democratic society. Neither is it illegal for judicial officials to press charges," he said. "Vandals and hooligans have nothing to do with democracy."

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And, from another point of view, here are how they are seen at the British LibCom site.

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Riots and police brutality on first day of Alexandros Grigoropoulos murder anniversary:
Riots have broken out in Athens and Salonica during the first day of A. Grigoropoulos murder anniversary with police demonstrating extreme brutality leaving two people seriously wounded by a motorised charge on the Athens march.

Police brutality during the marches to commemorate the first anniversary of Alexandros Grigoropoulos murder surpassed any limit today, in a coordinated operation of barbarity and crude violence against protesters across Greece. Under socialist orders police violence has left dozens of people wounded.

In Athens the protest march called at 13:00 in Propylea was attacked by riot police forces before even starting. Protesters fought back erecting flaming barricades and forcing the police to retreat with use of rocks. Protesters also occupied the rectorial headquarters of the University of Athens in Propylea, lowering the Greek flag and flying a black flag in its place. The march continued to Omonoia square where more clashes took place and several shops were destroyed -one consumed in flames. At Syntagma square motorised police forces (Delta team) charged the march from Ermou street. After the charge the Delta-team thugs dismounted and threw rocks at the protesters. As a cause of the police orgy in violence, an elderly member of the Worker’s Revolutionary Party-Trotskyist (EEK) has been reported to be in serious condition due to head injuries: Ms Koutsoumbou, a veteran prisoner of the anti-dictatorship struggle, was hit by a Delta force motorbike during the mounted charge on the crowd. According to Savas Michail, leading member of EEK and major radical philosopher, Ms Koutsoumbou is in intensive care having received far worse hits than during her tortures by the colonels' junta. One more man has been hospitalised with serious injuries. At the time 60 people are reported detained.

In Salonica the 3,000 strong protest march turned violent when riot police attacked it without any provocation with tear gas and blast grenades. Clashes ensued along the main avenue of the city. The police surrounded some 200 protesters outside the Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace, but were liberated by the rest of the march. The previous night the police broke the university asylum in the Salonica Polytechnic arresting 8 people who the authorities claim had attacked the International Expo with molotov cocktails. The march in Salonica has not been concluded at the time of writing and the situation is particularly tense as the protesters are returning to the main avenue to protest against police brutality.

In Larissa the protest march proceeded through the main streets of the city smashing CCTV cameras, coming under attack by riot police forces. The protesters erected barricades and engaged the cops with stones and other projectiles.

There is little information about the course of the marches in other Greek cities.

At the same time, the 21 people arrested in the anarchist social centre Resalto last night have been charged under the notorious anti-terrorist law for construction and distribution of explosives (beer bottles and two bottles of heating oil).

The protest marches for the 1st anniversary of Alexandros Grigoropoulos murder by cops will continue on Monday, while at 21:00 on Sunday there will be a memorial demo at the spot of his shooting in Exarcheia.

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The present "socialist" PASOC government is proving to be at least as brutal and perhaps more so than the previous conservative one of last year. One might wonder why ? Perhaps it is because they have other masters whom they have to serve. Who these puppet-masters might be is suggested by the following article from the business website Market Watch. It seems the Greek government is trying to step through a lot of different doo-doo, and creative accounting no longer serves to hide their problems.

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Greek stocks fall 3% amid deficit worries; S&P may cut rating:
Protesters and police clash on anniversary of youth's death:
By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Stocks in Greece fell nearly 3% on Monday, as Standard & Poor's warned it may lower the country's credit rating because of the ballooning government deficit.

In Athens, the benchmark ASE stock index dropped 2.7% to 2,318 points, underperforming other European markets. See full story.

In comparison, the pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index /quotes/comstock/22c!sxxp (ST:SXXP 247.88, -1.15, -0.46%) edged down 0.3%.

The Greek financial sector was hit hard. Shares of National Bank of Greece /quotes/comstock/13*!nbg/quotes/nls/nbg (NBG 6.03, -0.29, -4.59%) fell 5.6% and those of Piraeus Bank SA dropped 4% in intraday trading.

Shares of EFG Eurobank Ergasias declined 6%, while Alpha Bank declined 3.3%.
Cyprus-based Marfin Popular Bank PCL fell 5.1%.

In other sectors, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!cch/quotes/nls/cch (CCH 23.97, +0.34, +1.44%) gained 2.4%.

Shares of property developer Babis Vovos International Construction tumbled 6.7%.

The sell-off came as Standard & Poor's placed on Monday Greece's A- long-term sovereign credit rating on a credit watch with negative implications, meaning that the agency may lower the rating.

S&P said it plans to decide on the rating when it receives more information from the Greek authorities on their plans to counter intensifying economic and fiscal pressures.

The agency may downgrade the rating by one notch to BBB+ if it sees the government's fiscal assumptions as "unrealistic."

"The fiscal consolidation plans outlined by the new government are unlikely to secure a sustained reduction in fiscal deficits and the public debt burden," said S&P credit analyst Marko Mrsnik in a statement.

The government of Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou, which took office in October, has recently acknowledged the large budget shortfall it inherited from its predecessor.

The estimate for this year's deficit was raised to 12.7% of gross domestic product, more than six percentage points higher than previous official projections.

Previous administrations have repeatedly misreported fiscal deficits, S&P said.
Deficit concerns
Worries over Greece's ballooning budget deficit have been growing in recent weeks.

Greek banks have underperformed the European financial sector by about 12% during the last month, and the uncertainty over Greece's fiscal position is the main reason for this underperformance, wrote Alexander Kyrtsis, an analyst at UBS, in a note to clients dated Friday.

The other key reasons are the banks' reliance on the European Central Bank's discount window as well as credibility issues following numerous restatements of the situation with public finances, according to UBS.

"Liquidity at the Greek banks is good, therefore gradual ECB disengagement is not a major issue and the related earnings impact will be small," Kyrtsis said.

"The only way to bring the deficit down is to tighten fiscal policy," he said. "Fiscal tightening in the form of direct and indirect taxes and limited government spending is likely to result in a drag on Greece's GDP, thus affecting loan growth and asset quality."

UBS lowered its rating on Piraeus Bank to neutral from buy, but it maintained buy ratings on EFG Eurobank, Alpha Bank and Marfin Popular Bank. It also reiterated its neutral rating on National Bank of Greece.

Separately, police and protesters clashed in Athens amid marches to commemorate the first anniversary of the police shooting of a teenager, according to media reports.

The latest disturbances were a continuation of clashes that started over the weekend and resulted in the arrest of dozens of protesters, reports said on Monday.

The killing of a 15-year-old last December triggered extensive riots in Greece, but the scale of the latest protests is reportedly much smaller.

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Finally, here's another report from LibCom about day 2 of the contest between the government and protesters.

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Second day of clashes in Greece in anniversary of Alexandros Grigoropoulos murder:
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.

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A NOTE ON SOURCES:

For those interested in following events as they develop the LibCom site is excellent, and the comments that are appended to articles often give many more interesting details.

Also useful in days to come will be the following sites:

1)Occupied London Blog

2)Athens Indymedia (English section)

3)Grecia Libertaria (for those who can read Spanish)

I will be appending other sources in the future.

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-GREECE:

SECOND ATTACK ON RADIO REVOLT:

Radio Revolt is a "pirate radio" operations broadcasting from a squatted railway car (of all places) in the Greek city of Thessaloniki. Recently there was a second arson attempt in less than a month at their premises. Here is their statement from the Athens Indymedia site. the following has been slightly edited for English grammar.

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About the 2nd attack on Radio Revolt:
Yesterday night, only 15 days after the first failed arson attempt on the squatted train car where Radio Revolt is housed, there was a second attack. The perpetrators manage to break a small window and pour flammable fluids into the interior and cause a fire, with the result of small damages to the station's lounge.

As all comrades pointed out, and to the great disappointment of the perpetrators , Radio Revolt didn't stop broadcasting for a single minute. This second attack doesn't scare us, worry us, or surprise us. The long expected attack against free anarchist – antiauthoritarian- groups and spaces is reaching a peak these days: attacks also took place at the Fabrika Yfanet squat and at the Prapopoulou and Villa Amalias squats in Athens. And we say we are not afraid , because from the moment we stopped being afraid of the guns and the teargas of the police we ,of course, aren't going to be afraid of ridiculous attacks on unguarded targets. And we say we are not worried because Radio Revolt, no matter what happens, will continue to transmit messages and voices against the state, bosses, fascists and the para-state. And we say we are not surprised because it is a fact that we are at war with the state and capital . Let it be the Dean's authority that from the day he first started trying to repress the station, let it be the cop/fascists hands that started yesterday's fire. They should all be sure that the modern anarchist revolutionary movement , in which Radio Revolt has a small part, will really soon make them history. It should be taken as granted that we will find them very soon.
ARM YOUR VOICE Thessaloniki 5-8-2009 Radio Revolt

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-GREECE:

ATTEMPTED ARSON ATTACK ON THESSALONIKI SQUAT:

Since the uprising of last winter the authorities and Greece's large and influential anarchist movement have played a cat and mouse game. While the anarchists failed to break through and inspire the general population to revolt they, in turn, were not crushed by the government. This is a situation that the authorities find most unsatisfactory, and since the failed insurrection they have increased their efforts, aided by neo-fascist allies, to reduce the influence of the anarchists as much as they can- often by what seems like a calculated campaign of terror. What the rulers fear is not so much the anarchist movement in its present state but rather its potential to trigger another revolt that the majority of the population might join should economic times be tough enough.

The following, originallyfrom Athen's Indymedia, has been edited for English grammar and published at the Anarkismo site.

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Arson attempt against Fabricka Yfanet:
Fabricka Yfanet is a former 19,500 m² factory in Thessaloniki (Greece) that has been occupied by people demanding their freedom from political and economic oppression since 20 March 2004.

On Saturday morning, 25 July 2009 at 5.05, arsonists attempted to put our squat on fire by lighting barbecue tanks at the main iron gate. They left a bag containing six gas cans, one 4-litre petrol canister, and a box of fire-starters.

The explosion could not escape the attention of squatters on standby inside the occupation for its protection (such measures were taken after the government threats against free spaces). With the help of neighbours we put down the fire, and fortunately absolutely no damage was done at all. Of special interest was the ‘quick mobilization’ of the police: just six minutes after the explosion they came with three patrol vehicles, a car with civilian number plates, and a jeep.

Cops came out from the latter with hostile intentions. 20 minutes later two riot police squads, attempting to provoke us, were seen at the corner of Katsimidi Str. and Egnatia Str.. Comrades were called and came quickly to help defend our squat in case of attack.

This was the second attack against a free space in Thessaloniki within the last four days (the first attack was against Radio Revolt, a radio station in a retired railroad car within the city's major university).

Nothing will overcome our determination to defend our squats—the places where we live and breathe. *

This is a refined translation of this Athens Indymedia post, with the help of two other posters who wrote the draft translation:

http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_...62583

www.yfanet.net

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-GREECE:

NO BORDERS CAMP LESBOS GREECE , AUGUST 2009:

Transborder migration continues to grow as the world economic crisis deepens, and Greece is a common entry point for migrants attempting to flee grinding poverty and escape to Europe. The Greek Aegean islands are a common stopping point on this modern underground railway, and the authorities are exerting themselves to stop the tide there. Hence the following appeal for a No Borders camp on the Greek island of Lesbos this coming August. From the English section of Athens Indymedia.

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Repression has no place in our boat ...:
Call for the noborder camp in Lesvos, Greece from 25. - 31. August 2009.
In the last few years the island of Lesvos has represented one of the main entrance gate for thousands of refugees and migrants seeking to reach Europe. Packed in tiny plastic boats they try to cross the sea border between Turkey and Greece but some of them can't make it. More than 1.100 migrants and refugees have lost their lives that way in Aegean sea the last 20 years.

The Hellenic Coast Guard, following the European and Greek policies of "prevention of entrance" violates the rights of the refugees and put their lives in danger. At the same time, though, its activities are supported by Frontex, whose first boat started operating on the island in July 2008. Recently Frontex's officials started interviewing / investigating refugees and migrants in Pagani (Lesvos).

Pagani (5 kilometres outside Mitilini, the capital of the island) is where the detention centre is located, to which refugees and migrants are sent, as soon as they set foot on Lesvos. And where they are detained for weeks and months. It is a prison in which fundamental human rights are not respected. Besides, the building is not suitable to host human beings, since it lacks the basic infrastructure for that purpose. Moreover, the refugees are not given any possibility to communicate, are not informed about their rights and are not allowed access to fresh air.

Once registered in the :: Eurodac system, refugees are set free with an administrative deportation order requiring them to leave the country within a month. Some of them who lodge an asylum application end up in a bureaucratic chaos, go through state violence (there were :: two victims at the Athens Aliens Department in the last few months) and in the end only a 0,60% of the applications are accepted.

Those who decide to stay in Greece and find a job have to endure several constraints, hard working times, inhuman conditions and all this in exchange of an humiliating pay. Given their precarious situation they are not given the right of association in order to acquire better working conditions. An example of this is the recent assassination attempt (with vitriol) of a foreign woman - a trade union representative - in Athens.

Those who try to set forth their journey, in order to reach (usually via Italy) other European countries, flock to the western ports, like Patra's, where the Coast Guard's repressive activities are an everyday phenomenon. And very often refugees are found dead inside the trucks with which they try to leave the country. And those who manage to continue their journey, if caught, are sent back to Greece in :: application of the Regulation Dublin II.

From the :: Schengen Agreement to the :: Dublin Regulation, from the :: European Pact on Immigration and Asylum to the so called :: "Directive of Shame", from :: Frontex to the :: IOM, from the detention centres to the practices of expulsion and deterrence, from the borders to the capitals, Europe is clearly dealing with the phenomenon of immigration with measures of repression and border control.

Here in Lesvos the building of the "Fortress Europe" is clearly visible. That's why we would like to invite you to join us in August (25-31), to share with us the experience of what is going on at the borders, to discuss the problems, to coordinate our actions, to fight:

AGAINST NEW-IMPERIALISM POLICIES AND WHATEVER CREATE REFUGEES

AGAINST BORDER REGIME AND THE PRACTICES OF CONTROL AND REPRESSION AGAINST CRIMINALIZATION OF MIGRATION

AGAINST DETENTION CENTRES AND VIOLATION OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES

AGAINST EXPLOITATION OF MIGRANTS' LABOUR NO BORDERS

NO ONE IS ILLEGAL

NO IMMIGRANTS' DETENTION

EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL

Coordination of No Border Lesvos 2009

noborder.lesvos.2009 (at) gmail.com

http://no-racism.net/article/2859/
no-racism.net/article/2859/

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-GREECE:

ATHENS INDYMEDIA UNDER THREAT:

Following the recent riots in Greece various political from fascist to communist, with many in between, have conceived the idea that shutting down the Indymedia centres in Greece would be a laudable goal. The following, from the English section of Athens Indymedia is the defiant response.

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The distribution of ideas ... Can't be strangled! Can't be repressed! Can't be repressed!:
During the revolt in December, pressure and attacks against the 2 existing Indymedia sites (Athens and Patras) reached a peak.

With ridiculous questions during the Greek Parliament sessions from members of parliament belonging to a fascist political party, slanderous rumours and sneaky publications even from the Greek Communists Party official newspaper(Molly hardly finds this surprising. Leninism was reactionary from its birth, and it has become even more so in the bizarre "life after death" in which it exists today), as well as other daily newspapers, the State has a cultivated its plans of shutting down Indymedia , a website of direct information used by socio-political movements and internet meeting point for thousands of people sharing their thoughts and actions, creating and organising a site of free expression and resistance against Capitalism and State agendas epitomized in the motto “profits above people”.

Let them all know that Indymedia is outside their sphere of authority and control, it belongs to those voices suppressed and gagged by their system, it's far away from their logic and morality. It is ours and will stay alive for as long as we need it to change this world.

Don't you dare attack free speech and its Indy-media!

Don't even think about it!

[ Indymedia's archive for functioning and dynamics of Indymedia ]

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-GREECE:

REPORTS FROM GREECE AND A CALL TO ACTION:

As Molly has said before on this blog events have returned to "normal" in Greece, but the word normal is quite relative. Even in "normal" times the country of Greece is in a state of perpetual ferment. A group of those infamous "outside agitators" are calling for an international day of action this coming January 25. Here's the callout, copied from the Polish anarchist news site Centrum Informacji Anarchistycznej.

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A CALL FROM GREECE - 24 January day of action:

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 who fell into the hands of the system during this struggle. Wherever you are, let's attack this system that is oppressing us all !
From Saloniki, Greece

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Molly doesn't agree with the general thrust of what is said above. There is an old word for it- "triumphalism", and such an attitude is particularly inappropriate in conditions where you should be reviewing reasons for a defeat rather than trying to sustain an illusion that the defeat never happened. In any case, here from Athens Indymedia, is a report of recent actions in Greece, with at least a realization that the struggle will be longer and certainly broader than that imagined by those who rarely speak to anyone outside of their small circle of friends.

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Actions Report from Greece, 14 January:
Translation of the main articles in the Athens IMC Newswire, on today's events and actions

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..

A municipality cafe on a central street of Zografou district, has been occupied by antiauthoritarians, in order for it to function as an open space for counter-information, discussion and co-ordination of actions.

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.

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 .

*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 social democratic 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 against the surveillance 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.

War in Palestine

A demonstration against the war in Palestine is being organised for Saturday 17/1. 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. The Greek government and the mainstream media 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 .

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. Commenters think that this proves that the cop actually fired towards the young persons. (Molly comment-this is highly credible. having seen the Greek police in (in)action Molly would have serious doubts about their marksmanship)

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.

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Molly Comment:

Molly has mentioned before the suspicion in Greece that the shooting of three police officers in Athens was an act of provocateurs. The fact that this has been "claimed" by one of Greece's tiny Maooid sects doesn't deny this accusation any credibility. Like most such sects, anarchist ones unfortunately included, such collections of 1/10th educated true believers are easy prey for police manipulation. Their acts never have any positive consequences anarchism-wise, socialism-wise, or any "wise" in terms of any social struggles outside of the struggle in the minds of their perpetrators to "prove themselves". They usually, but not always, serve the interests of the powers that be as one of their greatest advertisements. If a group that is certainly infiltrated by the secret police and may be controlled by same claims an action it merely moves the index of suspicion to a higher level rather than obliterating it. Let those who deny such a thing study history, especially Russian and French history (and American history too).

Greece is full of such nonsense, both "anarchist" and the decaying remnants of Maoism. The USA (and unfortunately my own country Canada) also has such bullshit. Take the US example, subtract the ridiculous bows to politically correct guilt (truly bizarre actually). Make the tiny armed struggle groups 10 times as effective (even if there still is no point to what they are doing), and you have the situation in Greece. The problem...even increasing the efficiency of those who think they can bomb and vandalize their way to social change by one order of magnitude still leaves 4 orders (X 10,000) before such actions can be something other than useless or merely serving the interests of the state.

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-GREECE:

THE CONTINUING STRUGGLE IN GREECE:

Things are quieter now in Greece, the crest of the rebellion seemingly passed, but "quiet" is a relative term, especially when speaking of a country such as Greece. For many years now demonstrations and occupations have been an almost daily occurrence. One person estimated that demonstrations in Sytagma Square in front of the Parliament building "averaged" about 2 per week. In addition bombings and other anonymous attacks on the state and business have been an almost as frequent occurrence for years as well. What was unique about December of last year was not the occurrence of demonstrations, occupations and other attacks on the state but rather the scale of what was occurring.

Here, from Athens Indymedia is a report on the continuing struggle in Greece, up to January 6.

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Greece: 25/12 to 6/1 reports:
This is an update on the most critical events of the past two weeks in Greece

It is true, I haven't made any posts for a long time now, but that doesn't mean that things in Greece are dead. On the contrary. I will try to give you an update on the most critical events on the past two weeks.

Attack against Konstantina Kuneva:

On the 23rd of December, Konstantina Kuneva, a Bulgarian migrant worker in Athens and the secretary of the Union of Housekeepers and Cleaners, was attacked with sulfuric acid in front of her home by two men. She was admitted to a hospital in a critical condition. She has burns on her face, head, hands and back and there is a possibility that she will lose her sight. The events before the attack and the testimonies of her fellow unionists and workers show clearly this is an act of punishing her for her involvement in the union. [read more here: http://clandestinenglish.wordpress.com/2008/12/26/konstantina-kuneva-attacked-with-acid/ ]

After the attack, there has been a series of acts of solidarity with Konstantina and against the cleaning company she works for (OIKOMET). OIKOMET is known for sub-letting workers (mostly migrants), who have to work under terrible conditions, paid less than agreed etc. One of the big customers of the company is ISAP (the public rail transport system of Athens) so some of the actions were against ISAP as well. Here is a list (not complete) of the actions:

12/26 Athens: Gathering outside the hospital.

12/27 Athens: Occupation of the offices of ISAP (read: http://katalipsihsap.wordpress.com/2008/12/28/solidarity-to-konstantina-kuneva/ )

12/28 Athens: Demonstration to the hospital

12/29 Athens: Action in a central ISAP station, demonstration and clashes with the police guarding the company's office.

12/30 Thessaloniki: Occupation of the offices of the Trade Unions Center (read: http://clandestinenglish.wordpress.com/2009/01/02/thessaloniki-trade-unions-center-occupation-texts-in-solidarity-with-kkuneva-and-decembers-prosecuted/ )

12/30 Thessaloniki: Demonstration12/31 Athens: Action in central ISAP station

1/3 Athens: Demonstration in Petralona, ticket canceling machines and cameras were smashed (photos: http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=960766 )

1/5 Thessaloniki: Demonstration (Photos: http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=962264 )

Israeli attack in Gaza

On the 26th of December, as you all know, the Israeli army started a full scale attack on Gaza and protests against the war were triggered all over the world. Same in Greece.

Again, here are some (not all) actions that took place against the war so far:

12/29 Athens: Gathering outside the Israeli embassy. The protesters (500-1000) were attacked by the riot cops guarding the embassy using tear gas. They made some arrests, including one of a young migrant from Syria who broke the police lines and got the Israeli flag down.

12/31-1/1 Athens: Gathering at Sintagma square against the war minutes before the New Year's.

1/3 Athens: Demonstration of 5000people. Protesters threw rocks to the embassy and the to the cops guarding it. The cops fired tear gas.

1/4 Athens: Demonstration of 4000people. Clashes with the cops and some banks smashed (Photos: http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=961117#961401 )

Smaller scale protests took place in other cities.

Prisoners support and actions on New Year's

Gatherings outside prisons across the country just before the New Year in solidarity with the prisoners. Many banks, cars and party offices were attacked and there were some clashes with the police.Full article with links to photos and videos:

http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=en&article_id=959537

Actions against consumerism and capitalism

Christmas trees placed in central squares across the country for Christmas celebration were burned as symbolic acts against the apathy and so that people won't forget the murder of young Alexandros.

12/29 Athens: Protest inside the biggest and illegally built mall. 150 protesters with banners took the isles of the shopping mall and shouted slogans. Photos: http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=959200http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=959215http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=959228

The slogans on the banners read: “what will be the next sale on our lives”, “work, vote, and shut up”, “shut up and shop”, “I shop therefore I exist”, “work, buy, consume, die” and more.

28/12 Athens: On Sundays the stores are closed in Greece but since it was the last Sunday of the year, some shop owners decided to keep them open, demanding their employees to go to work. Some hundreds of anarchists and leftists gathered outside stores in downtown Athens to keep the stores, if not closed, then with no customers. They shouted slogans and prevented people from going in.

1/3 Xanthi and Kavala: Big chain grocery shops were attacked by anarchists who filled carts with food, cooking oil and other goods, left and gave them away to people shopping in nearby people's markets (farmers markets)

More actions that took place during the 2 last weeks for the murder of Alexandros and in solidarity with the arrestees:

Arson attack against a minister's car.

Soundsystem set up to transmit messages and read communiques and demands in Holargos (Athens), Larisa and Kozani

Occupation of the townhalls in Nauplio and Agrinio, the municipal radio station in Xanthi and Poligiros and of a central cultural space in Athens (Irida).

Gatherings or demonstrations in Ptolemaida, Larisa (300 people), Kalamaria, Arta and Xanthi.

There have been also some attacks/arsons against banks and luxurious cars.

On the night of 1/2, 50 or so people attacked the riot squads guarding the PASOK's offices in Exarhia with molotov coctails. The cops threw tear gas.

A small group threw molotov coctails against the police station in Gianena. Three people were arrested.

More arrests took place in Prolemaida, when the cops detained 12 people gathering to demonstrate. Four people were arrested later when they went to the police station to demand their release, 2 are parents of people initially detained.

Unfortunately the number of the arrests is huge. From from 12/06/08 to 12/21/08: Arrests: 246 - detained/ pretrial custody: 66 (full report: http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=958127 )

Shots against riot police and police state in Athens

In the small hours of 1/5, around 3am, there were shots fired in Exarhia. Shortly afterwards it was made known that there was an attack against members of a riot squad guarding the ministry of culture and that a cop was seriously injured.

Immediately after the attack, Exarhia were turned into a police state. Hundreds of riot and plain cops were all around the area, detaining anybody who was on the streets. They drag people out of bars and detained. They even detained people who worked at the bars at that time! The cops were very provocative, making people to strip down to search them and they beat up some. All detained, were transferred to police stations, held there for several hours and most of them were released later that morning. The media says 72 people were detained but they might be more that 100.

When the day came, cops invaded into 10 or so houses to search and detain the residents. All the people detained are “usual suspects” since they are active in the anarchistic movement or had previous arrests.

During the whole day, every street in Exarhia was full of cops and riot cops, like an occupation army, provoking and threatening people. At night, the social space Nosotros was blockaded by riot cops but they didn't raid. Around 150 people gathered to protest and protect those inside.

The raids were carried on on Tuesday. Of all the people detained there have been 8 arrests. It's not yet clear but apparently some of the arrested on the first night and some after searching their houses the next day. None of the arrests is related to the shooting. They are charged with weapon possession for items like gas cans, sledgehammer, gas masks, knives, fireworks. In one of the houses they said they found a bullet and in the attic of cafe an old pistol.

The police use “leaks” towards the media to associate the attack with anarchists of the Exarhia area and to justify the raids, the attacks and the arrests against the movement. Comment taken from http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/ :

"The idea that whoever shot the cop would chose to hide in Eksarhia, or would be active in one of the most public and well-known anarchist groups in the city is absurd, to say the least. What is happening in Athens and Eksarhia in particular at this moment is an obvious attempt by the police to predetermine a connection between the shooting and the movement that has been confronting them en mass for the past few weeks .

During the day, the police claimed that 31 shots were fired against the cops and that there were two guns used: an AK-47 and an MP-5. The AK-47 said is the same that fired against a riot police van on 12/24th and the MP-5 was used in 2007 by the revolutionary organization “Revolutionary Struggle”. The cop that was hurt is recovering. It is odd however that right after the attack it was said that the cop had died, they later said he was critically injured and in the end that he had two wounds, one in his leg and one in his armpit. A revolutionary organization fires 31 bullets against a bunch of cops and hit one of them in the leg and armpit? There was a comment in the Greek Indymedia saying “it seems like they were trying to miss”...Oh and the ballistic tests came out in half a day, when in the case of the murder of Alexandros it took 2 weeks.

It is greatly believed that whoever fired those shots against the cops, is not from inside the movement, since an act like this can only harm it. “Was the riot cop shooting orchestrated by the state?” read it here: http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/2009/01/05/was-the-riot-cop-shooting-orchestrated-by-the-state/"

1/6 A month after the murder of Alexandros Grigoropoulos

Residents of Exarhia had called a gathering at the place Alexandros was shot a month ago, demanding the police to leave. More than 1000 people gathered and after the cops retreated towards the police station there was a small demonstration on the streets of the neighborhood.

At the late hours there was a series of attacks:

The police station of Patisia (Athens) was attacked with rocks and molotov cocktails. Two banks, a Starbucks and some offices of the ruling party were also attacked.

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-GREECE:

EVENTS OF DECEMBER 12 IN ATHENS:

Here from the Athens Indymedia website is what happened last Friday, December 12th.

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Some actions from December 12:

In Athens and the surrounding regions:

There was a march at Omonia at noon of thousands of people, which the police met with tear gas and flash bang grenades. At one point as the march passed by the offices of Kougias, the lawyer for the police officer who killed Alexandros, the offices were broken into and trashed. At Stadiou and Korai Streets, riot cops arrested and beat a 13 year old girl, journalists caught it on video and were themselves threatened and beaten by police.

Additionally there was a gathering at Syntagma Square at 3:30 p.m., a bicycle action at 9:30 p.m., and a sit-in at Syntagma Square at 10 p.m. There was a march at 10 a.m. of high school students in Palio Faliro which ended up at the police station there. At 1 p.m. there was a gathering of workers in psychiatric units for children and adolescents, in front of the police department in Chalandri. About 300 people marched in Agios Dimitrios at around 8 p.m.

In other locations: At 6 p.m. there was a march starting at Kamara (Thessaloniki) during which the offices of LAOS and New Democracy were attacked, with many supporters in the area applauding and cheering the demonstrators, and at 6:30 a gathering and protest at the Labor Center of Thessaloniki. In Patra at a demonstration a student was injured by tear gas that caused a serious skin reaction, in Leros middle school and high school students demonstrated, in Volos people marched and the police used tear gas, in Giannena people marched with no police present, and, with no police to provoke them, there were no disturbances. In Ilioupoli, two young students at a protest blocking the road were struck by a car which then took off, and the license plates were later found to be unregistered.

A map of schools and universities taken over by students has been started at http://www.edopolytexneio.org/ , while a radio station and a television station were even taken over for a short time, with information and statements about the murder of Alexandros and the use of police in service of state repression.

These and many other actions took place in the cold and rain. A new round of marches and gatherings is set for Saturday, December 13.

The police say that they are running out of tear gas, having used 4600 canisters in this one week, and they are trying to get more from foreign sources. There are over 170 arrests so far in Athens alone.

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GREEK ANARCHIST WEBSITES:

What follows is a short list of Greek anarchist websites, mostly taken from our 'Links' section. Those which have English content are marked with an "(ENG)" after the link.

Athens Indymedia (ENG)

Anarchist Site for Counterinformation & Action

Anti-Authoritarian Movement (ENG)

Anarchy Greece

Bablylonia Online

Babylon Media

Balkan Decentralized Network (ENG)

Farma Collective

Indymedia Greece

ESE Greek anarchosyndicalists