| To: Retort From: AP One
year after the murder of Alexis Grigoropoulos, Greece is in turmoil. The last
days have seen many and recurrent demonstrations: Athens (apprx. 13,000
people), Thessaloniki (8000-10,000), Patras (2500), Ioannina (1500), Heraklion,
Xanthi, Zakynthos, Paros, Volos, just to name a few. Police have responded with
numerous arrests and heavy use of chemical gasses. The demonstrations have been
battlegrounds. On many occasions, Delta forces deliberately ran their
motorcycles into crowds hitting and injuring people, severely wounding a
sixty-year old woman in one instance; images and videos can be seen in the
links below. According to some estimates (occupiedlondon.org), from Saturday 5
December until Monday 7 December at least 823 people have been detained; 159 have
officially been arrested and charged, including comrades from abroad. Comrades
in Athens reached by telephone and indymedia report that those detained have
been refused their right to see a lawyer. Detained foreigners were also unable
to seek legal advice and are kept in the Immigration/Alien police department. The university asylum has been repeatedly undermined in recent days, while the government is pressing for a ban on university asylum through its ministers and mainstream media. Apart from preventing students from entering university buildings and detaining them, special forces entered university premises on several occasions without reason or provocation, most notably in Thessaloniki, making several arrests. The raid by special forces at the autonomous political/social space Resalto (http://anarxiko-resalto.blogspot.com/) on 5 December led to the arrest of 21 comrades under the Terrorism Act. There is the intention to charge them with the formation of a criminal organization and with making and distributing weapons. Exaggerated mainstream media reports paint the picture of a terrorist cell rather than the open social centre that it actually is. The raid at Resalto at Keratsini led to a spontaneous occupation of the Keratsini Town Hall, which was eventually broken by police forces: 41 people were arrested during the eviction and received misdemeanor charges. Both the raid at Resalto and the arrests have been condemned by Keratsini Municipal Council in a statement, asking for their release. There has been a lot of talk in mainstream media about the injured rector of the Athens University. According to these reports, the rector was hit and suffered a mild concussion and a minor cardiac episode when demonstrators entered the University Administration Building. A comrade who witnessed the scene states that the rector appeared in a state of shock but was not hit by anyone. This much emphasized injury could still be used as a pretext by the government to allow police into the university. There are occupations throughout the country including the Athens Polytechnic, Thessaloniki Theatre Department, Kozani Town Hall. More actions and solidarity demonstrations are scheduled in the next days. Anna December 8, 2009 http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu06paWOF2I&feature=player_embedded
(see minutes 3′07” and 5′32”, where the “delta force”
motorcycle cops run two demonstrators over on purpose.) http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=en&article_id=1202042 http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1202616 http://katalipsiesiea.blogspot.com/ |