Riots and Popular Unrest in Greece:
We Didn't Need another Martyr

 

As you will no doubt already know the cold-blooded killing of Alexandros-Andreas Grigoropoulos, a 15 years old high school student, by the Greek police in Athens sparked off days of ongoing riots across Greece, leading to occupations of universities and high schools, attacks on police stations and government buildings and strengthened a preexisting call for a general strike today. The Greek embassies in London and Berlin were occupied by anarchists, and there have been numerous pickets and solidarity actions abroad.

Although the country's 10 000 strong anarchist movement is involved, and has been since the start, it is important to emphasise that this is much deeper and more broad-based than the anarchist movement, or even the Greek left - what is really significant in this struggle is that everyone who is and was thrown in the dustbin of Greek society by the government, the state and any other institutions are all out on the streets together; youth, unemployed, social "minorities", gypsies, migrants without papers etc.

The ZACF has endorsed the statement We Didn't Need another Martyr by our Italian sister organisation Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici.

 

We Didn't Need another Martyr

While Greece was preparing for its general strike on Wednesday 10 December against the Karamanlis government and against the economic crisis, and with the grassroots mobilisation in schools and universities growing for some time against proposed reforms, Alexandros Grigoropolous, only 16 years old, was the unlucky choice to become victim and scapegoat of the police apparatus and was killed in cold blood by the State's forces of repression.

The economic crisis sparked off by international capitalism against the exploited of the whole world, which is being managed with measures imposing general impoverishment by the States, is damaging the fragile equilibriums and the precarious alliances of power between groups of power and both right-wing and centre-left parties, enabling us to see the true anti-democratic, subversive vocation of the State and its apparatus of (in)security): alienation, criminalisation and the elimination of social opposition.

It happened with Carlo Giuliani in Genoa in 2001, it has happened many times in recent years in place like Palestine and Oaxaca in Mexico. Last Saturday it happened in Greece.

At the moment thousands of school students are demonstrating outside police headquarters in Athens, but also in a great many cities and towns all over Greece.

Spontaneous demonstrations throughout the country are the result of political, popular anger with the Karamanlis government and the criminal actions of the police. The Greek government first armed and unleashed the killer cops, then set up a pathetic ballet of excuses and resignations, but is not punishing anyone. In fact it is trying to shift attention onto the destruction of public and privateproperty, while attempting to repress the demonstrators, attacking people with chemical weapons and torturing arrested demonstrators.

The revolt is only beginning. And the general strike, a union and social, political and class-struggle general strike, can transform the people's rage into organised, grassroots building of the libertarian alternative.

In every country, capitalism's growing crisis is presenting the bill to the working classes and the exploited of society.

We must respond, in every country, by building together the social opposition that is needed to defend ourselves from annihilation in the name of Profit.

Solidarity with the Greek anarchist movement and with the victims of repression, international solidarity with all social struggles, in Greece and in the rest of Europe!

8 December 2008

For more on the situation in Greece see here

This very disturbing report was also received today:

There have been confirmed informations about groups of fascists in action with police forces at the city of Patras. This is happening now it is not a joke! The media speak of 'civilians' who attack anarchists. ---- We know very well the concept of 'angry civilians'. Already know faces of fascists from other cities (including Athens) are seen in Patras, walking down the streets accompanied by policemen in civilian clothing, attacking and arresting anyone who looks suspicious. At least one student is at the hospital stubbed because of them.

People are reported to hide protesters from these fascist groups who already have spotted such houses with protesters hidden in there. They stand outside throwing rocks, yelling "come out or we will come in", threatening the owners.

Since the police forces cannot handle the riot situations along Greece, their right hand is being unleashed, the fascists and neonazis.

Please repost this wherever you can!

Here is a list of Greek embassies/ consulates for anyone in a position to carry out solidarity actions.

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