Athens Burns in IMF induced Teargas Hell

Eyewitness account Part 2-48 Hour General Strike


Whilst the govts IMF package Mk2 passed with 155 votes and just as the KKE’s parade ended the police using its riot police launched a brutal teargas war with the hundred odd thousand in the main square. Tear gas was thrown right in the middle of crowds right above the heads of protestors, Chinese made bomb sounding pellets were also thrown to create maximum confusion and panic. But the protestors didn’t panic. They stood firm, as most were prepared with gas masks and sea goggles to avoid the effects of the tear gas which is stinging eyes and burning sensation in all skin surfaces left uncovered. Alongside the tear gas they threw gas which meant you couldn’t also breathe. Brute force without the use of police provocateurs was the order of the day after they had a trial run the night before.

More than 500 people were injured, the police wanting to disperse the top end of Sindagma Sq also in order to ensure the bottom end of the square sections of which are funded directly by the Ford Foundation and Soros in the USA weren’t to be left out. By dispersing the bottom end of the square they revealed that their aim was to show that a banana republic has to crush all resistance to the IMF in order to prove to the banksters that have them on the payroll as to what a good protectorate they are. What they achieved on the ground, they lost in the spirit of the people, who faced the riot police unarmed, with plastic water bottles and their arms.

Whilst the battles lasted for up to 8 hours yesterday and the riot police must have thrown the equivalent of 6 months use of tear gas, they created another set of problems. By dispersing the crowds they set them further afield at least half a mile from the centre and created at least five zones of conflict. Pavements were ripped up and the marble was broken to be used as rocks against the riot police. Fires were set at the central Post Office, the Economics Ministry at a certain 4x hotel, phone booths and bus stations. For hours the youth fought and the riot police returned the rocks throwing them back. At various times they brought the mobile police units on motorbike who drove past the crowds on the side streets and they threw tear gas at them. They even attacked people eating in restaurants and in cafes who didn’t necessarily have anything to do with the demo. They threw tear gas into the main metro station right where there was a standby area for injured people creating a gas storm ensuring the injured became even more injured and hoping that someone may die.
During the day two members of Parliament were attacked (one a member of the KKE and another a member of PASOK). The political situation has now changed irrevocably beyond the pale. The peaceful nature of the protests so far reached their limit. One cannot confront the praetorian guards of the IMF with plastic water bottles or with bare hands. The IMF hasn’t usually departed peacefully anywhere on earth. It arrives sucks the blood out of the people leaves behind chaos disaster and despair and provokes rebellion. It appears what happened in Athens yesterday was the last chance for the IMF to leave peacefully. It didn’t happen. Next time the parliamentary junta will be overthrown and the 300 Quisling MP’s will be thrown out. People learn quickly in Greece. In the first six months of the IMF 80’s abstained from local elections, and in another six months 2 million took to the squares. In the next six months they will chase and hound every politician wherever they are, their local offices, their electoral offices, they will refuse to pay for all the new tax rises and they will confront the IMF banksters head on.

As they say on the square with the large banner and the slogans they chanted against the riot police

Bread Peace Freedom, the Junta Didn’t Die in 1973
In this square we will Bury the IMF

From words to deeds will be the next phase. Just as in the Russian Revolution the masses unorganised demonstrated in their thousands with peaceful intentions against the Tsar and were met brutally head on by the praetorian guards of the era, so in our times, the IMF will be buried in Greece. We witnessed the future in the events of yesterday and it is clear the people can no longer be ruled and those who rule can no longer rule in the old way. Greece will be reborn on the ashes of the IMF, the EU and the Euro.

Greece belongs to the Greeks and will remain so despite the giveway nature of the new measures. For that no one who demonstrated had a different opinion and the mood of the masses wasn’t one of defeatism, but resistance till victory.

Greece: Continuous Eyewitness Account = 48Hour General Strike

Live Streaming
http://www.counterfire.org/index.php/news/news/12727-greece-live-video-streams-from-syntagma-square

Over the past week the situation has developed nightly with many people expressing their desperation at the situation and calling for more precise forms of direct action ie the storming of Parliament. From unemployed truckers to unemployed warehouse workers the desperation is seen on people’s faces when they gather nightly to chant slogans and debate issues amongst speakers or themselves with other people in the square. Alongside this the govt via its Vice President declared a vote for the 2nd round of IMF measures has to occur or tanks will hit the streets’ in the Spanish press El Mundo alongside a statement that all those who call for an exit from the Euro or a return to the Drachma are totally stupid

The 4th General Strike this year has kicked off, with a shutdown in the ports, most of the public sector, timed electricity blackouts and the traditional two different demos starting from two different points. The KKE had left Sindagma Sq by 11.30am this morning and they are supposed to come back this evening in order to repeat the same tomorrow when the vote goes through Parliament. There is much confusion over the past week as to whether they will participate in the vote or if they withdraw they will hand the govt a victory as it will need less votes to pass through its IMF measures. The public sector unions around the Greek TUC and ADEDY have marched as well and many have stayed in Sindagma Sq but so far it appears there are less people than last time as everyone has agreed to return in the evening. There have also appeared what appears to be black hooded characters who have massed at the bottom end of the square and last night an attempt was made by various parties to bring down the tents that have been there for one month now allegedly for health and safety reasons but most people have ignored them and aren’t leaving.

. The peaceful nature of the protests reached their limit. More than 2 million Greeks gathered in squares and the end result was... worse IMF measures after the govt restructuring. The bankers and interest bearing bondholders need to paid. Soible stated that Greeks must give up even the sun. Everything else is to be sold off in a firesale of immense proportions without an actual sale, but a giveaway. No wonder people chant Thieves to Prison for the Politicians in Parliament and a new banner has appeared stating the ‘Biggest type of Violence is that of being Sacked and Unemployed’.

The circling of Parliament seems to have been a call made by a section of the demonstrators and a section of the media as well (with posters appearing with no organisational link to them) but done in such a manner whereby one would need around a million to cover all the entrances from the main roads instead of where the actual entrances are. In other words they are spreading people thin ensuring thus if the numbers don’t show up,(how can they when there isn’t a political organisation that can control this) their actions won’t have the actual desired effect. Coupled with the role of the KKE which marches separately and leaves the scene just as teargas is fired, the new 48hour general strike (which hasn’t occurred ever since the fall of the Junta) we have had a new situation developing.

Alongside that has been the massive media attention now to default and what has occurred in other countries from Russia to Argentina to Iceland. The worlds press has been present in Greece since the 15th June and the issue is why? Since 1985 Greece has paid back E865billion and its economy doesn’t add up to more than 2% of EU GDP. All the new measures don’t reduce the actual size of the foreign debt but magnify it by attacking working class living standards directly and indirectly.
Coaches are coming from many parts of Greece and many of the demonstrators this morning seem to be well prepared with gas masks and sea goggles for the eventual tear gas attacks. The mood appears to be that something will kick off, but we don’t know exactly when.
2pm

Afternoon and Evening Events
Between 2-6pm the known black hooded police provocateurs started to attack police lines not anywhere near Parliament but at either end of the square giving the riot police the excuse to tear gas everyone away from the main squares as all that remained apart from the ‘indignados’ were the leftist groups. Most people left in order to come back in the evening during the Parliamentary debates. At some point the riot police teargassed both entrances of the Sindagma metro so people who were inside could choke and many did as women with young children ended up needing to be hospitalised.

KKE – PAME arrives in order to depart from jeering crowds

At around 7pm the KKE via its union leadership PAME arrived at the top end of the square right in front of Parliament and most people greeted them that finally they had come to join the common struggle against the IMF. They have a very large truck with many loudhailers and this was parked right in the middle in the square and it is usual for the KKE never to be a minority and when it holds its own meetings in squares talks only to itself so to be in an area as just another organisation was too much for its organisers. So when they started to depart people started jeering them and a few scuffles broke out. Many shouted shame or clapped ironically saying also well done, the parade is over. During arguments with the KKE stewards their complaint was that if they arrive on the square (one month after this movement started) people don’t want them and if they leave people jeer at them. This is obviously quite logical as the KKE criticised those who were on the squares when they said the struggle is only in the factories when ironically they had always stated people should hit the streets against the economic measures and when they did they told them to go back to the factories (as if everyone is working!!) What was clearly discernible was that the volume of people on the streets has affected the KKE and it can no longer pretend its policies are actually serving any other purpose than a left cover for IMF-PASOK

Tear gas for 5 hours straight-but people don’t go away

After the KKE left the motorbike contingent against the IMF arrived in the square to the crowds who clapped in support and soon thereafter the riot police started a 5 hour barrage of tear gas and little rocket bombs that make a massive amount of noise to shake you and a little explosion. People started to defend themselves and throw water bottles at police lines and anything they could find, but the volume of teargas was so intense that even if you had gasmasks and sea goggles the smoke alone meant it was difficult to see, but at least you could breathe. During lulls in the conflict two individuals climbed over the police barriers and confronted the riot police on their own. The shouting and screaming at the police was constantly interspersed with slogans of Police, Pigs, Murderers which thronged the whole square and Hellas Hellas. Despite the volume of tear gas the people never dispersed just retreated as the police fire tear gas straight at you and you could be seriously injured by the teargas canister. Fires were lit in the square below and aids were handing out Maalox (chemical compound for bad stomach diluted) spray for the burning eyes.

28/06/11

At the same time this morning a minister stated Greece will not be Argentina when by all accounts this is the beginning as the old order is disintegrating and by teargas alone one cannot keep such a large mass of people in check. To what extent people today will accept to be attacked by the police indefinitely without counterattacking in the known ways (Molotov cocktails etc) may be the marvels or our ‘modern era’. At the same time the ‘Special Olympics’ are occurring which have cost around 100million. There are more than 15,000 police who have been on duty now for around 2 days straight and thousands of protestors are arriving from many parts of Greece. The battle begins anew.

29/06/11

Greek Parliamentary Blockade and 3rd General Strike in 2011

Today was the day a general strike which was organised by the Greek GSEE-TUC, Adedy-Public Sector, and KKE-PAME (Communist Party). Alongside them were the alleged ‘indignadants’ of Greece who had their usual drums and slogans ‘Thieves, Thieves’ ‘Burn the B rothel (Parliament) Down’. These protests have been going on for 25 days today peacefully. Today they came under attack by a coordinated plan from black hooded provocateurs and the riot police which has used teargas extensively. Once again there were 3 different points of reference, one in Omonia by the KKE one in Pedion Arios by GSEE and one in Sindagma Sq.

Alongside the ‘Indignant’
Many demonstrated gathered 7am in the morning trying to enforce the blockade round Parliament which is a very large area as on one side is the national park and on the other is the Presidential Palace. There were probably only around 5,000 at 7am and alongside a hundred or so we marched to block the entrance that would be the main focal point of the parliamentarians would use to get in. The actual entrance from the side of Sindagma Sq was sealed off by police using a heavy metal barrier which had been placed on the road alongside two massive police buses. It was impossible to pass this route and as it was blocked by the police the parliamentarians couldn’t get in. There were 32 police divisions in total 10,000. The largest for years and both Papandreous car was attacked and the Presidents who are now meeting to decide whether he resigns and they go for new elections or a government of ‘national unity’.
So a section of the demonstration agreed to march round the other side of Parliament passing the national park and heading round the far end of roads which eventually will lead to Parliament. Despite there being only a couple of hundred the side roads were blocked but slowly more police started to arrive and a cat and mouse game occurred whereby the police created lines but they were outwitted by the demonstrators who went behind them at both points and continue to blockade the side roads. At some point riot police arrived with tear gas and they attacked the blockade picking on the vulnerable and those who tried to defend them arresting half a dozen. But in the meantime a couple of MP’s cars were attacked and the police were criticised vehemently by what was said by protestors that they are defending ‘traitors’ and ‘quislings’ and that what happened in Keratea (where they were withdrawn after two months of struggle by the locals).


KKE Parliamentary Parade
On returning to Sindagma Square and going on to the KKE march one noticed that they were around 10,000 chanting the same old sterile slogans. This time they couldn’t go round the front of Sindagma as it was occupied so they went down one side stayed outside the Ministry of Economics for a bit and the moment they started to leave the riot police at the other end of the square started to use tear gas. This type of gas is so powerful most people can’t breathe but because many Greeks are well prepared people help each other with special sprays and lemons. One cant rub ones eyes with this type of tear gas even when one cant see.


Black hooded police provocateurs make their reappearance
For 25 days the demonstrators have been peaceful and now it appears the plan is to disperse the square violently as they have teargassed everyone. Conflicts have now emerged amongst the indignant and the black hooded protestors thus giving an excuse that the demonstrators are all violent hoodlums to justify police attacks. So far there hasn’t been one general strike which hasn’t been dispersed by tear gas. Fires have started in the square where people are camped. But up till 4pm around 10,000 remain outside the main Sindagma Sq and they haven’t dispersed. What will happen over the next few hours and what the government will announce is still fluid...

Evening
In total there must have been around 70-100,000 throughout the day on the streets in Athens. Three times attempts were made to disperse those on the main square and the battles raged from around 1.30pm till 5pm. Until 9pm ones eyes could still hurt from the teargas. After 7pm thousands started to arrive and by 9pm three quarters of Sindagma Sq was full once more.

Throughout the day Papandreou met the leaders of all the main parties 5 in total (incl. the KKE) trying to unblock the political impasse of not being able to go forward to new elections (as the parties may get wiped out or end up 'governing' on such a small mandate to make it impossible) being unable to get agreement for a coalition government and Papandreou announcing that he would resign if some type of agreement could occur.

So he has now asked for a vote of confidence to form a 'new' government with him still as leader to gain some time to try and sell the 'new' appointments to pass the 2nd round of IMF measures on 28th June. His health minister Loverdos, who plans to cut the 140 hospitals for the IMF dictats stated that a bunch of hoodlums in the square cant dictate govt policy or the democratic nature of Parliament.

Having failed to throw out the protestors from the square with the use of known provocateurs many of which came directly out of government ministries and a couple were caught with their police ID on them by protestors and paraded on the internet, the govt has essentially fallen, the issue is what is to replace it and how can it sell IMF measures when everyone knows why it has fallen.

Some of the slogans heard tonight on the square:
We aint leaving the square the whole of Greece should become Keratea
We will keep the ports and the Electricity company but sell the Parliamentary Brothel
We will stay in the square take your provocateurs and Go
Resign Resign Resign
Bread Education Freedom the Junta didn't Die in 1973
George (Papandreou) you are a Traitor and an American
Resistance Resistance National Resistance
Hellas Hellas Hellas
Leonidas had 300 who had a soul we have 300 thieves, throw them in the sea so we have a Party
Fxxx the IMF, where did the Money Go?
Papulia Papulia (President) go tend to your vegetable garden
They chanted also agains the Economics Minister Papakonstantinou to do one correct thing in his life and jump off a balcony, against Pangalos stating he should sell himself (as he is very fat) so we can pay off the debts
We Owe No Money, We Aint Paying, We Have no Money
The People United will Never be Defeated
On the Police:
If you have Honour and you are Greek turn your police shields the other way to help us storm Parliament
You get paid Peanuts to Beat People Up
Police, Pigs, Murderers

Pictures
http://news.gr.msn.com/world/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=158237458&page=1

Videos
http://www.youtube.com/results?search=Search&resnum=0&oi=spell&search_query=%CF%83%CF%85%CE%BD%CF%84%CE%B1%CE%B3%CE%BC%CE%B1+%CE%B1%CE%B3%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B1%CE%BA%CF%84%CE%B9%CF%83%CE%BC%CE%B5%CE%BD%CE%BF%CE%B9&spell=1&suggested_categories=25%2C29&sa=X

Continuing Eyewitness Account: Greece Central Athens Square Occupation

Eyewitness Account: Greece Central Athens Square Occupation



For over 11 days Greeks have occupied the main squares in many cities, Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Iraklion. Left leaderless from all the parties that inhabit Parliament they are confronted with more IMF imposed measures to save a moribund capitalism which seeks to maintain its rule only at the expense of turning Greeks into a modern version of slaves of a new Roman Empire. The wholescale privatisation of Greece is on the cards alongside mass redundancies in the public sector as well as the control of the Greek Economics Ministry directly from Brussells.



Whilst the movement of occupation started as the consequence of the last general strike and influenced by events in North Africa from Tunisia through to Egypt and Libya, the Greek developments have taken on a distinctly Greek colouring. Based on ancient Greek history and the battle of 300 Greeks alone against the Persian hordes, a group of Greeks, and not only them decided to camp in the main city square opposite Parliament and demand a Plebiscite on the IMF imposed measures. Most of them were organised previously in the Spitha movement associated with Mikis Theodorakis but disillusioned with it when they heard there were moves to form a government they started a tidal wave which has grown beyond their initial expectations. Many via Facebook started to campaign independently for direct action by occupying squares and when one evening on 25th May more than a hundred thousand turned up a new movement was born.


The media has presented the demos as those of the 'Indignant' who aren't political when they actually imply there is no politics because no political party owns it but the event is deeply political by the fact that the slogans are extremely militant and the displays and discussion totally political. No one wants anything to be sold, or privatised anymore or the country to be broken apart and sold off bit by bit to foreign banks. What we are witnessing is the people in motion against the Parliamentary parties. If there was a real Left it would have left Parliament and campaigned with the people for an indifinite general strike until the govt falls, but this clearly does not exist.

The last weekend starting on Saturday and finalised this Sunday more than 500,000 have turned up at Sindagma to show their opposition to the MP’s in Parliament. There are essentially four parts to the events that occur.

a) A group of drummers that arrive with loudhailers and chant slogans between 7-10pm every evening

b) The group of 300 hundred citizens who have occupied the square on the corner and demand a Referendum on the IMF

c) A group that has occupied the main square outside the main metro station and have nightly debates in a Popular assembly.

d) There are also groups of people from artists, intellectuals, poets etc who have camped out on the square .

Sundays Event +700,000 in Athens

From early Sunday when the sun was going down massed crowds started to arrive. Pensioners, mothers with children some of whom were being breastfed on the square, disabled victims in wheelchairs, young people of all ages and they all participated in the various events in the centre which have taken their own logic. Those who wanted to chant slogans went to the front under the two main banners: ‘Bread Education Freedom, the Junta Didn’t Die in 1973’ in this square the IMF will fall’ and another massive banner with the slogan OUST (Out) with a massive picture of a helicopter’. Then they could go down to the square and engage in political discussions with the various stalls and displays or the discussions in the main square. So many arrived from all over Greece that the police started to use roadblocks in the Corinth area and also they used teargas to block protestors trying to arrive in the Athens demo around the Evangelismos Hospital and tear gas was used.

They wont be able to leave now this has started as many have been left leaderless by the opposition. The CP was on the periphery of yesterdays event handing out leaflet advertising all the new measures that the IMF is going to impose in a four colour leaflet as if the protestors don’t know what is coming or aren’t arguing against it with their countless original slogans which change daily and are reported by all Greeks to their friends, workmates when they go back home. In a conversation with a KKE militant he said even if the IMF goes as it did in Argentina nothing will change. The same people were condemning their own members this time last year for trying to occupy Parliament calling them ‘provocateur’s’ and their leader stated openly that she does not condone the disruption of meeting held by PASOK, in other words she hasn’t got a problem when politicians use riot police against peaceful citizens protests, as everyone knows and politicians most of all, that they cannot appear in public anywhere anymore without confrontations and protests.

These daily protests are taking a logic of their own and they will lead inevitably to some form of conflict as the state cannot allow indefinitely for this to go own. They are waiting for it to dissipate. But it has grown stronger so far. The possibility always exists for a Latin American style provocation (use of manufactured conflict amongst the protestors, or use of bombs) and then to clear the centre under health and safety rules, but this will be difficult to sell due to the volume of people participating. The social crisis aint going on holiday so the situation does not appear to be orientating towards a de-escalation, thought nothing can be totally guaranteed. What is clear is that a large body of people are now in a political vacuum. No one wants any of the old parties and they openly rally against them. We are clearly in a transitional period where the old is dying and the new has yet to be born.

Monday 7th June
On Monday the media apart from the govt one was on 'strike' so no reports occurred regarding the size of Sundays demo. The tickets on the Athens metro were reported to be around 250,000 and only a third ever pay and schools as yet haven't gone on holiday. Last night a Govt Minister went to give a speech in an area of Athens and the police used tear gas for the first time against citizens protesting and they had to get her out on a police motorbike wearing a police helmet.

As far as one can make out the politicians wont be able to travel at all anywhere. The KKE condemned most of these events as a sign of populism and they condemn all signs of violence whatever that implies, as the violence of unemployment, price rises and the IMF of course are 'hidden' from view. As the situation spirals out of control the KKE makes declarations of legality to the state.

Late last night frictions were created in the square as the people who organise the speeches under an umbrella organisation called realdemocracy.gr organised by the Euros who for years carried greek flags are now opposed essentially to people who wear flags on their backs and support the demonstratins chanting Hellas Hellas (Greece Greece)alongside other anti-govt slogans. The topic of debate was the issue of the Debt by the 'sprecialists' those who allegedly are up to the job of analysing the crisis, as if it isn't specialists who allready in power.

9th June
General Strike called today by government public services, Post Office plus Savings, Telecoms, Water, Ports, Greek Defence Industry plus Banks. Whistles and hats were distributed by many of the unions and the demos were separate once more but were on the same path. The KKE had around 1,000 whilst the others were at least 5-6 times bigger. The slogans weren’t that militant and are clearly behind what is going on Sindagma Sq. They marched passed the Sq and did not stay there to give speeches, but the midday sun was so hot everybody would have collapsed anyway if it occurred in front of Parliament but it could have occurred at the bottom end of the Square below and it didn’t. The union bureaucracy’s don’t want to be associated with the ‘riff raff’ on the square presumabely.

There are severe difficulties for the govt at the moment as it is being pressurised by the EU-ECB to propose a new round of measures which are agreed by the two main parties PASOK-NEW DEMOCRACY to be sold to the Greek people, but agreement appears to be difficult for it would imply hara-kiri for both.

The issue is now when the vote is alleged to occur on 15th June whether agreement will have been reached by then or whether the govt will have fallen. Another possibility is for a provocation to occur on the square and force the people to go home and they don’t appear to be doing so. Each day doesn’t have as many but various events increase or decrease numbers accordingly. Many should come again this weekend and if they continue this will put even more pressure on the govt to take some form of action. This situation cannot go on indefinitely and allready sections of the media are stating Athens in under siege. Over the last 5-6 general strikes black hooded characters have thrown molotov cocktails at police ranks right in the middle of the workers demonstrations and then given the green light for the police to attack and disperse the crowds. So far they haven't appeared on the square, but this being Greece, one is sure they are never far away.

Schools are supposed to break up this week and hopefully school students will join the ranks giving new blood to the movement. Greece isn't necessarily like Spain, where it was stated today the camps in the square were withdrawn and it is closer to Egypt. So far its been peaceful, but for how long especially now that the govt cannot essentially go anywhere. A protest has been designated outside Papandreous house next Wednesday as well....




11th June

The fallout from the largest ever post-junta rally (mass media now mentions that up to 2 million Greeks may have participated in all the nations squares) has meant that the govt has now announced that the 2nd round of IMF cuts targeting all and sundry from wage cuts to pension cuts, which was to occur on 15th June has now postponed the decision till 28th June, when it was allegedly to occur next week. They are aiming in dragging out the guerrilla war with the protestors up until they give up and go home.
Papariga the leader of the KKE (Communist Party) stated last night that we aren’t against the 300 MP’s in Parliament as our ones contribute their salaries to their party, as if the issue is solely about what individual MP’s do, not the system in place which has allowed Parliament to be a rubber stamping IMF institution. Instead of the Left leaving Parliament and campaigning on the streets, they are embedded to parliamentary ‘democracy’ till the end. 2 million people have left the traditional parties and aren’t going back in this lifetime, so when they chant ‘they must all go’ the mass media attack them for not offering an alternative, as if one has to offer something first before making demands on the IMF. First the masses have to join the KKE before they can demand PASOK leave, in other words PASOK should stay as the masses haven’t joined... the KKE.
Workers, unemployed and pensioners continue to go to the square daily. Sunday is expected to see large numbers again.

14th June

Mass Media calls for Greek Aganaktizmenous-Indignated to Encircle Parliament at 7am

The same call has appeared by those who support the alleged Popular Assemblies in the square at the bottom end of the Square – Euros and other assorted globalists. Up until yesterday ie for the whole of the past year, when thousands attempted to do just that they never called for the government to go. They are also calling for all the popular assemblies in every local areas of Athens to have marches and go to Sindagma. The joke with the KKE doing the rounds is that whilst Aleka Papariga its General Secretary for the last decade has called for people to go on the streets and fight, her latest call was for them to go back to the factories and fight the bosses there...



So what could be the purpose of this call by the mass media for people to encircle Parliament? To truly support the populist demands that those who are ‘thieves of public money’ should be court-martialled like in Goudi or that people should occupy Parliament so the troika of the IMF-EU-ECB are sent packing?

Impossible when taking into account that the Greek media networks are owned by the biggest capitalist sharks who own or take most of the public sector contracts when they come up and are those who are the best lackeys of the IMF-EU. What is being played therefore? But as with every protest movement capitalism seeks to subvert it, utilise it for its own ends and move on, without uprooting the fundamentals. Its no coincidence that for 3 weeks the media has been absent from the square as after all the protestors have chanted 'Scumbags, Grassers, Journalists' and have chanted against two journalists from Mega tv (which has supported the IMF continuously beyond what is necessary even by their own terms) one being female calling her 'Olga Tremi Paid Whore' and Prenteri the Overturn of the System aint a Media Show'. The latter threatened the protestors in an article in the main national daily Ta Nea with a provocation on the square stating that these types of protests occurred in the mid-19th century in France and when some where shot, causing havoc, the army came out to 'restore order' so they should watch what they wish for as the ...worst could develop.

There could be a possibility for provocation Marfin (when bank workers were burnt to death allegedly by anarchist provocateurs but most probably by the security services) style. There could also be the possibility that this government will fall and a new government of ‘technocrats’ and ‘personalities’ takes over to try and continue the IMF dictats but this time by ‘popular will’ ie the pressure of events on the streets. Tomorrow will show.

There will be a widespread general strike tomorrow and for the first time the union federations (GSEE-TUC and KKE-PAME) will march under the background of protests which have already occurred encompassing the overwhelming majority of Greeks who have been in squares for approximately 3 weeks. Many of their members have been on the demos on their own. So will they march together or separately? Will they stay in the squares and encourage the encirclement of Parliament? Will the riot police attack to disperse the strike as they have done at least 3-4 times previously with tear gas? Will the situation spiral out of control following its own internal logic?

At the same time certain PASOK MP’s are alleging they won’t vote for the 2nd round of IMF cuts and Standard and Poor has downgraded Greek govt bonds to below Ecuador and Jamaica.

Greeks Occupy Central City Squares Arab Style

Maria Damanaki ex-KKE but PASOK for the last two decades and a Euro
Commissioner
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/damanaki/index_en.htm
stated in the EU today that 'either the Greeks adopt the 2nd round of
cuts and privatisations' with a unity across the two major parties, or
Greece will return to the Drachma.


Taking into account her current postion as an EU Fisheries Minister,
she cant be saying things without high level agreement with
Papandreou. It is being used to threaten and cajole the Opposition
Parties (var the KKE) to allow PASOK to get through its legislative
programme of more cuts by forcing the 180 votes required in Parliament
this time (2/3 of total) otherwise the government will fall. New
Demccracy traidtionally the pro-American party may be seeking a Euro
exit for Greece.


The government doesn't seek elections as it would lose so it is now
pushing for a Plebiscite for the new round of measures sought by the
IMF


At the same time over the last few days, influenced by the Spanish
events 300 Greeks have occupied Sindagma Square (most of them are ex-
Spitha members) and today they called a facebook protest on the square
and 150,000 have signed up on Facebook which has collapsed in Greece.


We Have Woken Up- in Both Greek and Spanish


Athens Madrid Lisbon All of Europe on the Path of Struglle are two of
the banners and slogans shouted.


Tell the Government we wont sell our Country, tell the Politicians to
Leave said one demostrator on live streaming
http://www.zougla.gr/page.ashx?pid=85&playerType=flashe streaming


VN Gelis


All night discussion occuring in the central squares about what to do next.
A main issue is to stay there until the government leaves or for workers to join protests nightly after work if they cant be there round the clock.

The discussion are occurring in a fraternal manner and it is reminiscent of the last days of the junta. The police so far hasn't attacked the demonstrators with tear gas, but the night is long and one doesn't know what will happen. Some will obviously leave but some will return. The spirit is to fight, most of the mass media has ignored it, but it is widespread on the internet.

Facebook and mobile phones where initially blocked in the square but they have returned. The other issue is whether the organised left will join the protests and try to derail them into a safe for capitalism direction. There is a very large component of youth who were organised via the social media and if it lasts during the night and into the morning it will be difficult to get Athens moving.

So workers may end up joining the protests in the morning...

Some pictures from Indymedia
http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1295118

26th may-Update
The police didn't tear gas the massed crowds. A contingent of workers from the electricity workers union GENOP-DEI arrived with a large banner and the crowd supported them.

They placed their banner and shouted slogans outside the Economics Ministry which is on Sindagma Sq which stated We Dont Sell, We Cant Be Sold and shouted slogans, cheap electricity for the masses.

The main media hasn't really promoted it and Facebook was downed a few times alongside mobile phone networks in the centre when people were gathering. The fact that it occurred in every Greek city means there is a shift now and one doesn't know how it will develop as they aren't controlled by the trade union bureaucracy or the political Left and as such it is still new. If nightly gatherings persist and gain in volume it may develop into a real conflict if it isn't derailed or controlled. But by creating a power vacuum, with the state not initially intervening in a heavy hand manner which it has done over the last 12 months every time Greeks have gathered in the centre, may imply the government is looking for an exit, but as yet does not know how or where to go...

Slogans from last night
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzk2tjCzsuQ&feature=player_embedded


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------






EE Oh Oh, take the IMF and Get Out...



Democracy, Freedom and Justice


A magical night as in Argentina we will wait to see who gets in the Helicopters first'


Greece of Greek bankers, snitches, usurers, exploiters


'Bread, Education, Freedom, the Junta didn't Die in '73'


Leave the Weapons and Join Us

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzk2tjCzsuQ&feature=player_embedded

26th May 2011
Although a greekwebsite one gets a flavour of the demos in the various cities of Greece including the island Rhodes.

http://www.zougla.gr/page.ashx?pid=2&aid=317762&cid=4

For a second night thousands turned up in Sindagma Sq and an open air debate occurred. But it started raining...

Some of the slogans that have been heard by the alleged 'apolitical' audience as reported now by the mass media... most of these rhyme in Greek so translation is difficult.

George (Papandreou) you Wanker we Didn't Come Here for a Joke

31st May 2011

The occupation continues for a 7th night.

Some scenes with the background music of a new song by a popular Greek singer called Cooking Pot about how empty it will become.... and a lot more.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydMN1PITgp8&feature=player_embedded



The media hasn't interviewed people on the square and just mentions it.



7,000 attended a meeting in the centre with Theodorakis as speaker and many shouted for Papandreou to leave now. Theodorakis said this film has been replayed before in 1944 with his grandfather in the same place (implying that this led to defeat of the Left) and he got booed for it...



A video of the speech today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6aA3AjzYOUo



From the video one can clearly discern the waving of Greek flags and the social composition of the audience which clearly isn't middle class.



Greece will allegedly receive its 5th interim loan this week after agreement by Merkel, but massive cuts in benefits are going to be the payback, so it looks like the demos on the streets of the major cities in Greece will continue as the crisis aint going away.




1st June
Last night after the Theodorakis speech thousands surrounded the entrances to Parliament changing Thieves Thieves Politicians not allowing them to leave. When some got into their chauffeur driven cars, they were sworn at, rude hand gestures Greek style were made to them and some were followed by old ladies along the narrow pavements. As the police deemed it would spiral out of control some were rushed to other exits than the main ones along dark pathways leading to the national park adjacent to Parliament.



For the whole of today the mass media has attacked the protestors as being basically hooligans alleging Greeks are as bad as Mugabe and that this is a massive attack on Parliamentarism, not the IMF measures which are crippling the country. They are also alleging that these are acts against democracy and elected Parliament, whilst thieving pensions and creating mass unemployment are obviously democratic acts of a flourshing social system which condemns people to a slow and arduous death. They then brought out the riot police to surround the side entrances to Parliament without attacking the protestors but guarding those who wanted to leave Parliament.



One of the leaders of the Euros today Alavanos, not having appeared to support the movement of the Disgruntled (which is what it is being labelled by the media) stated the Left should depart from Parliament. The peaceful nature of the protests which have gone on for one week now is nearing an end. The situation will end up spiralling out of control. If people in such large numbers have gone on the streets they will end up staying until the govt departs. Allready a big banner has replaced all others stating We Will Stay Until the IMF, the Govt and the Debt Goes.



Either the government will have to attack the demonstrators at some stage, or clear the area on some hygiene issue or it will have to depart. What happened last night has raised the morale of all undoubtedly, the streets will undo what the IMF politicians created...



Video of politicians and drivers trying to leave Parliament

http://www.tsantiri.gr/koinonia-kinimata/dite-se-vinteo-aganaktismenous-na-apodokimazoun-vouleftes-me-vrisies-ke-katares.html

June 3rd 2011

Two events yesterday have hit the mass media.
Govt spokesperson Petalotis went to give a speech at a pensioners club in Argiroupoli a working class district of Athens and the local residents confronted him and he had to be scurried out via the back door.
Riot police were called out to control the crowds of workers and pensioners...

Argiroupoli events video
http://tro-ma-ktiko.blogspot.com/2011/06/videos.html

In the meantime in Corfu Greek politicians and invited Euro MP's were scurried out by yachts after leaving a hall they were meeting in by a port due to the massed citizens protesting and calling in one of their slogans for the whole of Greece to become like Keratea (are that defeated the IMF govt after they attempted to impose a rubbish dump)

Corfu events
http://www.dailymotion.com/jvnadr#videoId=xj1zm4

16 PASOK MP's have writtent a letter to Papandreiou showing reservations against the new round of cuts for the 5th interim bailout package which in reality is an accounting trick as no money ever arrives in Greece from the IMF it is just funnelled away from peoples pockets to the banksters.

The next few weeks are going to be crucial as Greeks are still congregating in the main squares and this Sundays event is billed to be the biggest ever...

KKE
CP leader Papariga has come out firmly against a return to the drachma and does not even call for elections or the government to go now. It hasn't called its members to take part in the demos in the main squares and it is doing everyghing in its power to prop up the IMF govt, but it will start to lose many of its younger followers in the coming period...

Greece One Year of the IMF: Decay and Depression

Economic and Social Crisis
On the anniversary of the IMF-ECB takeover of Greece it would be good to make an assessment of the situation to see what has happened and how the situation might develop in the coming period.

In 2009 the debt was E300 billion and it became E330billion or 140% of GDP and by the end of 2011 it will equal around E350billion or around 150% of GDP. So two years of monetary austerity and widespread cuts in pensions, wages, etc has led to an increase in the debt and a massive increase in the percentage of debt in relation to GDP. The government has stated that public debt will drop to 60% of GDP within a decade and one would require an average growth rate of 6.5%. That isn’t occurring as in 2010 the actual economy declined by 6%. In 2011 it has been predicted to fall by 4.4%. Son in two years it will decline by 10% of GDP. So depression economics actually increased both debts and deficits and points to only one direction: restructuring of the debt or bankruptcy. Restructuring the debt is a form of bankruptcy as the creditors have to accept a haircut either in the interest rates they expect in return or in the actual amount they have allegedly loaned by buying up government bonds. At the same time due to the overheating of the German economy (rise in exports and inflationary pressures) the ECB has stated that interest rates have to rise. So specifically for the PIGS, when their economy have negative growth rates by increasing the interest rates you push them further into a debt/bankruptcy spiral and push the Euro further onto the path of disintegration. The issue of credit default swaps as well indicates that a section of foreign bankers want bankruptcy to gain from the bets they have made, on the economy tanking.
According now to other figures, Greek social security (IKA) has had a drop in payments from E2.2billion in 2009 to E1.6billion due to the massive rise in unemployment which hovers around 1,000 citizens a month, or 15.1%. Taking into account one is only paid for one full year then when one comes off the unemployment register that does not mean one is now ...employed. Around 800,000 people have lost their work as shopowners and their insurance known as TEVE does not pay any unemployment pay and if you owe more than E8,000 you cannot claim a pension until you have paid it off. Alongside that they have extended the pensionable age, so if someone is around 55 and his shop has gone bankrupt recently they would not be able to claim a pension or have any health cover for at least 5 years when they are pensioned off, as Greece has a US style health cover system, with payments mandatory on a monthly basis before any cover is granted.

The National Bank of Greece in a recent study stated that average losses for workers in the public sector are equal to 13.5% for the private sector are 14% and for the pensioners around 11.5%. With unofficial inflation running around 7% that equals on average a collapse in average spending power around 20% in one year. This by itself is crippling the private sector as without spending power the market starts to implode as it is doing daily as on average 1,000 are becoming unemployed. The IMF government assumes the whole issue is about public expenditure and the main focus of all government and media propaganda is regarding the high costs of the crippled Greek welfare state.

At the same time we are witnessing the mass de-industrialisation of Greece and the collapse of its agricultural sector whereby for example sugar imports now come from abroad alongside garlic all the way from China, unheard of imports three decades ago when Greece joined the EU under the guise that these sectors would be developed, but instead were destroyed.

The usurious interest rates by the EU are also an amazing feat of modern economics as the ECB loans with 1% interest rates but the payout of Greek bonds are 6%, thus allowing a difference of 5% which when calculated on a yearly basis is equal for what has been borrowed to E5billion equivalent to the annual wage budget of the public sector. The one which has been targeted to be cut to the bone, privatised, sub-contracted, deregulated and whatever other modern form of slavery collapsing capitalism comes up with.

The level of decay has reached US proportions with the police announcing that women shouldn’t travel at night anymore in Athens as they are liable to be robbed and daily we hear stories of bank lootings, supermarket robberies and robberies of pensioners in their homes, unheard of events in Greece. Three four star hotels have closed in the centre of Athens as well which were the pride and joy when the Olympic (Coca Cola) Games hit the town, as well as the recent bloody looting of the Lawyers Union offices in central Athens. But the police has been unable to fill up its cars and no longer turn up for crimes as they cannot/do not want to as even a few of them have fallen victim to shootings.

Media reports also speak about Greeks handing over young children to orphanages for the first time in decades trying to ensure a better life for them. Child benefits are under attack as the latest story is the social security benefits have collapsed due to the ageing population alongside the support provided to neighbouring Balkan states whereby their social security contributions could be added onto the Greek system if they worked in Greece for two years and were near pensionable age. Tens of young women mostly from African countries now ply their trade in central Athenian squares when the sun goes down for as little as 5Euros and there have even been shootouts between indigenous gypsies and Asian beggars in rubbish dumps with a few victims

IMF-ECB vs Welfare State
A massive programme of cuts in both schools and hospitals has been inaugurated recently by the IMF-ECB. 10% of schools are to be merged, what happens to the positions of staff is still not well explained but a new law is being implemented whereby staff can be made flexible and transferable across the whole of the public sector, including other cities, but if one is already married and they have commitments in one city, this will be an explosive issue alongside the fact that many parents who lived in villages can no longer travel 25km twice daily to take their children to schools. Thus for the first time since the civil war era many will no longer send their children to school. In almost every town square in Athens there are banners up by people announcing their opposition to these mergers. In one town in northern Greece students started a hunger strike in the town square with tents. The IMF-ECB targets primarily the welfare state as they are considered to be unproductive.

Hospital suppliers in medicine have had their payments frozen and they have gone on strike refusing to supply the hospitals. Twice in the last year there has been a non-payments strike and many thousands of Greek citizens relying on medicine have had their supplies cut and have tried to source medicine from abroad to survive. The IMF-ECB has obviously seen how much is being spent on health in general and they have cut the overall budget alongside the fact that they have sub-contracted many essential parts of health care to private companies such as scanning, etc. nutrition. There are 140 govt hospitals and 2 university hospitals. There is talk of merging around 40 of them and over the last two weeks two central university teaching hospitals closed overnight with issues for patients in their care who were advised just to up sticks and leave. Alongside this situation many A&E wards just close down in order to make savings without it being pre-announced. Just before Easter two university hospitals closed down overnight and hospital patients were carted off. The IMF induced measures aim to cripple health and weaken the standards one has been used to accept and return once more to a fully privatised health service, but this has been difficult to openly announce as PASOK is the party that created the Greek style NHS in the 1980’s.

Mass privatisation and strikes against the IMF
The governments announcement of the mass privatisation of almost every remaining state interest in transport, energy, land etc in order to raise E50billion Euros between 2012-2015 aims to destroy all working class gains and reduce the Greek working class into total and absolute penury replacing it as has already occurred in the private sector into a multi-national globalised footloose force which will have no roots, no unions and zero political representation. Under these conditions since the last big general strike various battles have occurred.

In the last 12 months there have been 8 general strikes and two solid truckers strikes one of which lasted almost one month and was sold out by its union misleaders. There have also been many strikes in the ports which have had only 24 hour duration.

Constant small, but significant battles have occurred by groups of workers in transport, bus and metro and by part-time council workers who have renewable contracts. Bus workers have been the most militant as they have a significant history being the only group of workers who brought down a government in the early 1990’s when a previous government tried to privatise them. They have had many mass meetings and have had many days of strike. But the government has been restrained from announcing that they be privatised as the bitter experience of that battle may trigger an indefinite walkout which may become a pole of attraction for other groups of workers. The union tops are obviously trying to let off steam and may end weakening their morale when everyone knows what is needed is joint indefinite strike action by all transport workers or uniting with the movement Cant Pay Wont Pay and calling for workers to travel for free.

Part-time council workers occupied the Athens Mayoral office for the best part of two months demanding full time contracts as some have done the same job for years but have been on part-time contracts so they lose out on other benefits. In the meantime a lawsuit went through the Greek high courts vindicating all part-time workers prior to 2001. This led to the part-time council workers mistakenly ending their occupation.

When the Health Minister Loverdos went to give a speech to an old peoples social centre in a working class district in North Athens Ag. Anargirous he was confronted by pensioners and unemployed youth and this became a national issue for the government as they cannot speak publically almost anywhere anymore without the presence of riot police and tear gas. They have lost almost total support.
Apart from token one day strikes the national railworkers who founded much of the early socialist tradition in Greece at the turn of the last century, there hasn’t been any dynamic action when at the same time due to the cuts, all international connections between Greece and the rest of Europe has been cut. No train services now go to Europe at all and taking into account in the summer months many neighbouring countries use them to go on holiday in northern Greece this is a massive collapse of transport relations. Alongside the almost total shutdown of Olympic Airways (despite the electoral announcements by Papandreou that he would support them) and the sell-off of its most profitable routes to the USA, Australia, S Africa where significant Greek communities live abroad, transport in Greece is heading into a transport meltdown for the crucial summer season which brings in tourist revenue.

Joining the Imperialist Armada against Libya
Greece despite its financial situation has had not one iota of apprehension in joining the imperialist armada against Libya with a frigate and the use of all Greek airspace as well as full rights for the US airbase in Suda in Crete. Recently they also held joint military exercises with Israel taking on the role of its best friend at the moment its relations with Turkey have cooled down.

Cant Pay Wont Pay-Social Movements
A movement based on not paying road tolls to the large private corporations which got government subsidies to build motorways has been centred on the main national roads and on roads which haven’t as yet been built and the cost of driving your car through them took on a national focus. This movement then spread to the metro, tram and bus system in Athens. Price rises of 40% in the last two months on public transport were the issue that provoked this anger giving growth to this movement. We have also had protestors raiding police stations and trying to cancel all the police prosecutions for those who have refused to pay. This is the single issue that has united all wings of the Left. It doesn’t have as yet practical public support as people who are working, still have to get to work and one cannot avoid paying tickets all the time, but when the protestors arrive and block the entrance ticket stamping machines, people cannot physically use tickets that they bought. Recently, it is alleged, the machines which issue tickets in one station have been smashed literally by using large hammers.

The PASOK government initially labelled all the protestors ‘cheapskates’ then as the movement grew into weekly events then daily events in various stations around Athens, they changed tone and started talking about reducing the road tolls by almost 50%. They have announced this to occur, but it hasn’t occurred as yet. No movement on reducing the price rises in other modes of transport has been announced.

Meltdown of the Left
The KKE recently held an evening rally which only a few months before would have had a minimum of 15,000 but now only had a couple of thousand and they couldn’t even block the roads around Sintagma Square. Soon their evening rallies may be held just on pavements. They offer no fighting programme for the unemployed, they have organised no right to work rallies, they do not campaign for anything more than what the Greek GSEE – TUC does which is 24hour token strikes, the next being 11th May (9th so far) and they continue to march separately, along different routes and disperse in an unheard of destination for all Greek demos, near the tourist area of the Akropolis, avoiding Parliament-Sindagma Sq incase protestors are emboldened as they were last May to storm it.

The May Day Demo this year had very few participants and it had three different demos, one for the KKE-PAME the other for the Greek TUC-Euros and another for the leftists/anarchists. The KKE’s block only had a few thousand and it marched to the French Embassy for the war in Libya. The disunity continues in stark contrast to the battle of Keratea which had zero influence from the Left and stood on its own and forced the government into retreat.

Euros
In a recent meeting on the issue of the Euro and the Debt where representatives of the pro-european wing of the Euros invited S Kouvelakis (from a London University who is allied with C Lapavitsas) to speak who argued that Greece should stop all payments to its creditors, withdraw from the Euro and restore the Drachma as a means of restoring monetary and fiscal policy and introducing controls in the economy as it is faced with a depression and ECB set interest rates which will cripple it further, he was rounded on as wanting to isolate Greece and become a modern version of Albania cut off from the outside world. Kouvelakis avoided calling for the departure of Greece from the EU as this would have been step too far for the Euros and one of their leaders, Lafazanis did ask the audience what would they do if they suddenly found themselves in power? He answered his own question by stating they would be obliged to propose cuts, meaning that once the electoral tap of state funds propping up the official Left runs dry, they may have to repeat 1989 once more (when they last joined coalition governments of both the Right and PASOK). The discussion was centred on managing capitalism as opposed to overthrowing it.

Spitha Movement-Theodorakis
On the other hand there have been many high profile resignations from the Spitha movement due to the backdoor deals between Theodorakis and certain foreign centres of power which seek to promote a government of ‘personalities’ as opposed to a government of politicians who are so visibly detested in this present jucncture, that it appears they are trying to repeat the ‘liberalisation’ period of the last days of the Greek military junta when a General called Markezini was propelled to power, but they couldn.t avoid the occupation of the Polytechnic and the subsequent continuous demonstrations which led to the fall of the military in 1974. After the fall, Theodorakis having travelled to the US Pentagon proposed the option of ‘Karamanlis or Tanks’ with Karamanlis being a Presidential candidate from the Right, in order to block the possibility of a socialist solution to the fall of the junta. As if to underscore this tragedy the name of Markezini has popped up again, but not in the form of the father but the son, who is now a Sir and lives in London as a new interim Prime Minister in the post-Papandreou era, to continue to implement IMF policies, in other words buying time for the oligarchic ruling elites from workers anger. This has created many splits and divisions in this new found movement and it appears Theodorakis was only interested in using those that joined, to a pre-planned hidden agenda.

Committee Against ‘Odious Debt’
A group of academics and people from the wider Left has set up a campaign to classify the debt Greece owes to international bankers as being odious and that they should default like the 30odd other countries that have done since the 1970’s around the world. The media has presented some of their findings and some of the information regarding their investigations has reached the light of day, like some facts regarding Siemens bribery deals to secure big Greek public defence orders or infrastructure projects as well as the fact that a large percentage of overseas debt is just interest and that the original amounts borrowed have been paid many times over.

Post-Papandreou Era and Continuing the Same IMF Policies..
The PASOK government is a busted flush. Its writ no longer runs as evidenced in Keratea. It has lost almost all credibility. The massive abstention in the local elections when 4.5million Greeks around 85% if the electorate refused to take part in October’s 2010 elections indicates a massive swing against all politicians and parties. There are open rebellions in almost every layer of society. They are left with two options. Either to go for new elections or to suspend due process and go for a government of ‘personalities’ as has been stated has been offered to the Theodorakis movement of Spitha (which was set up officially to be a new force on the Left, not an old one which will collaborate with the IMF!)
The media which in Greece operates as a precursor to evenst by moulding ‘public opinion’ has been promoting all the close collaborators of the Spitha movement and all intellectuals both in constitutional affairs also in economics regarding the foreign debt and the agreements with the IMF, showing that they are both unconstitutional and odious and that they should be cancelled forthwith. Whether they are able to postpone the inevitable of Arab style continuous protests in central city squares when unemployment continues to rise inexorably and businesses go bust daily will be one of the modern wonders of our time. A spark will this time light a fire.

Eyewitness Account-Greece, Keratea in Struggle against EU Landfill Regulations

Situated in the middle of a green agricultural belt on the way to historical Lavrio (an area that goes back to ancient times) there has been a battle going on between the few thousand citizens and the dictats of the ruling IMF political party PASOK. Despite the fact that 4.5 m Greeks abstained out of a total electorate of 6m in Octobers regional and local elections, a battle has been waged since November over the decision to place a landfill right in the middle of an archaeological area and an area of natural beauty. The fate of the IMF government may actually be hanging on a thread. A rural area of Athens has been under constant riot police occupation for over 4 months. Daily battles ensue with riot police, tear gas, smoke bombs and baton charges has been the reality for many in that area. How no one so far has died has actually been a miracle.


Keratea Resistance Festival 8-10th April


Supported by the local mayor and the embattled citizens who have built roadblocks and occupation buildings the intellectual middle classes came to support the citizens with shows, art, poetry, plays, music. More than 50 different participating organisations, with around 35,000 people arriving in the embattled zone came over the three day period. Provisional camp sites were set up, mobile toilets, the traditional souvlaki barbeques and copious amounts of wine, beer and ouzo. The working people of Athens showed their solidarity to the citizens.

Riot police in their tens have been stationed in the area for up to 16 hours a day, attacking citizens, hitting pensioners, arresting young people and generally trying to implement the dictats of the government which without consultation decided where to place a new landfill despite court rulings that they cannot be placed on archaeological sites. But the government that wanted to sell off the Akropolis to pay the foreign banksters has no such reservations. Citizens in Keratea described how the riot police invaded their round the clock blockade at 345am and beat the few citizens up there to a pulp by stating at the same time, ‘you will all die’ go home.


Due to the success of the resistance festival the citizens of Keratea proceeded to a new wave of struggle by digging up the main roads passing between Keratea and Lavrio with road diggers in the middle of the night. When the riot police found out about it the next day they stormed the citizens reaching right up to their houses with many injured on both sides and many going to hospital. No media outlet has gone to interview ANY citizens about the events. It is becoming clear, that without a resolution of this issue the governments dictats are being questioned fundamentally. That implies that either they have to win, or fall


The Left refuses to campaign for the departure of PASOK


Officially only two leaders of the Left (Alavanos-Euros and Theodorakis-Spitha) have gone to Keratea, the KKE has abstained despite its paper support of their struggle in their paper Rizospastis (Radical) and a large mobilisation of the supporters of the left, hasn’t been called for. Instead evening style protests where you only hear speeches are made in different Athens squares by different union federations on different days and different times.


Official website of the citizens of Keratea

http://lavreotiki.com/

Videos of the battles and the dug up roads

http://www.zougla.gr/page.ashx?pid=2&aid=293224&cid=4