Under questioning by a magistrate, Mr Korkoneas said he had acted out of self defence when a group of youths began throwing firebombs and other objects while threatening to kill him and his partner. His lawyer said the bullet which killed Grigoropoulos showed signs of having bounced off a hard surface, indicating that the boy was killed as a result of an accidental ricochet.
Dunno where Nick Squires In Athens got ‘firebombs’ from. The account on Indymedia (Summary of court pleadings of Epaminondas Korkoneas in police murder of 15 year old youth, nystagmenos, December 11, 2008), for example, states “Korkoneas said that he and his partner were in the patrol car at the intersection of Charilaos Trikoupis and Navarinou Streets when they were attacked by a group of 30 youths who yelled vulgarities at them and threw rocks, sticks, bottles, metal ashtrays, and firecrackers at them.” Maybe Nick Squires In Athens means firecrackers? Anyway, it’s not the most convincing testimony by Korkoneas, especially given the eyewitness testimony already given by others on Greek TV and enjoying widespread public circulation…
Bizarro political analysis from various academic pointyheads is slowly eking its way into the corporate/state sector, most of which is highly entertaining. A few examples:
Andre Gerolymatos, chair of Hellenic studies @ Simon Fraser University in Canada, writes in the Globe & Mail: “The riots have mostly been spearheaded by a core group of approximately 500 so-called hooded ones”; later, the 500 ‘hooded ones’ become “hardcore anarchists (about 200) … concentrated in and around Exarchia, a north-central neighbourhood of Athens that is also home to many drug addicts and dealers”. “The predominant factor for the actions of such young people”, according to our learned friend, “is a sense of hopelessness”. Hence the title of his piece: The young and the hopeless.
Another superb analysis — Why Athens is burning, International Herald Tribune, December 11, 2008 — comes from Stathis N. Kalyvas. “How to make sense of a reaction that appears to be so massively disproportionate?” asks Stathis. I ask: “How many angels fit on the head of a pin?” Stathis disputes Andre’s figures regarding how many yoof carry the anarchist plague, but only slightly. According to the bourgeois intellectual from Yale, Greek anarchists “are led by a hard core of 500 to 1,000 individuals”. More importantly, for Professor Kalyvas, what we have here is failure to communicate; a ‘cultural’ issue. In essence, the young need discipline, and in its absence, fondness for anarchy grows. “Addressing this problem requires nothing less than a deep cultural shift at the top”; one which, it might be suspected, Stathis is quite happy to expedite.
“When you pull on that jersey you’re not just playing for a football club, you’re playing for a people and a cause” ~ Tommy Burns (1956-2008)
Huh. Apparently, Andreas / Alexandros was a Panathinaikos fan; if he hadn’t been murdered by police, he’s have been celebrating his team’s 1:0 win over Anorthosis. Other Pana fans have not forgotten him, however, and despite UEFA’s refusal to endorse a minute’s silence in his memory at the match, Gate 13, well known Pana fanatics, held a minute’s silence anyway, and when they started chanting, the first chant was an old favourite: POLICE PIGS MURDERERS. At the end of the match, there was also a standing ovation for the murdered teenager:
In Istanbul (Turkey), a rally was held outside of the Greek Embassy by a crowd of (perhaps) 100. Red paint was thrown on its doors and windows, and more on the ground outside (photos).
Interestingly, according to the Occupied London blog, “Reports on indymedia this morning claim that Alexandros’ murderer was a member of the nazi group “Golden Dawn” in the late eighties/ early nineties (without cutting his ties since) and that his family was active in the nazi collaborationist forces.” Fancy that: a Greek policemen possibly being a former member of a neo-Nazi group.
Speaking of fascists, still unreported by the (English-language) corporate/state media, an eyewitness account of Greek police and fascist collaborators has been published, in addition to photos of the system’s little helpers joining the swinish herd. Thus on the one hand:
“On Tuesday, rioters also fought with the police for the fourth day in a row in Salonika, the second-largest city in Greece, while in the port city of Patras, citizens trying to protect their shops came into conflict with rioters.” ~ As riots continue, Greece faces political crisis, Rachel Donadio and Anthee Carassava, International Herald Tribune, December 9, 2008
“Local media reported early Wednesday that groups of civilians had begun taking matters into their own hands, confronting looters in the western city of Patras and the central city of Larissa.” ~ Riots, Strike Paralyze Greece, Wall Street Journal (AP), December 10, 2008
“And in the port city of Patras, 215km west of Athens, a crowd of shop-owners is said to have turned on rioters and forced them to stop a wave of destruction, our correspondent says.” ~ Strike adds to unrest in Greece, B92, December 11, 2008 (Source: BBC)
While on the other:
To start with, I’d like to inform you that I’m a university student in Patras & what I report below is an eyewitness account of incidents I experienced & not somebody else’s narration/hearsay…
Unfortunately, Patras saw the resurrection of the “ghost” of ’91, when Nikos Temponeras was murdered. In that case, the parakratikoi [the other-other hand of the greek state: the activist leg of the greek extreme right wing helping the greek state out in a time honored tradition going at least as far back as the ’50s] counter-occupied [the already occupied schools] throughout greece after they had been incited to do exactly that by then-minister of education Vassilis Kontogianopoulos.
In one of those [counter-occupations], Nikos Temponeras – a teacher – was killed [with a crowbar…] by the leader of ONNED [the youth organization of Nea Dimokratia – which party is ruling the country today, by the way] Ioannis Kalampokas.
Today, December 9, saw 2 demos in Patras. One of them at 11 in the morning with zero unrest. The other one at 3 in the afternoon. During this latter demo, extensive unrest was notable. I’d like to remark that no vandalism against small, privately-owned businesses took place. The targets were the Germanos [electronics chain store] & WIND [mobile telephony] stores. Nobody’s property was damaged.
At some point, certain members of the well-known fascist organization Hrisi Avgi (Golden Dawn), together with plainclothes agents – & not infuriated citizens, as the mass media insist [on calling them] – started throwing rocks & chasing remonstrators with their clubs. For this reason, rudimentary barricades were put together in the streets around the University of Patras department [located there]. These barricades, though, were violated relatively soon with the help of the Riot Squad which kept throwing teargas at large.
When the barricades were torn apart, the people started retreating little by little. In the front, street fights between antiauthoritarians & neonazis-ONNED members. Behind them, members of student collectives formed an outer shell [typically called a “chain” & made up by people holding on to each other & to banners, with the rest inside it; much like a fence] in order to protect themselves. The neonazis were running with clubs & knives towards the demonstrators, while at the same time they were hurling rocks [at them].
When, eventually, the neonazis together with the ONNED members got way too close to the people, those people started running panic-stricken. The “infuriated citizens” were yelling slogans against immigrants, anarchists, & leftists. Slogans such as “Anarchists, sons of whores” etc., together with the fact that, later, they took to the direction of the immigrant shanty town & took out knives (a well-documented way of attack, as far as Golden Dawn members go) made it clear once & for all who these “infuriated citizens,” as they are called by mass media, are.
There are even photos in indymedia patras proving that those damaging stores are the same with those chasing after the demonstrators. Here, I’d like to emphasize that those committing arson & causing damages have no relation whatsoever with either the antiauthoritarian circles or any left wing factions. They are mpahaloi [a specific subclass of people subscribing to some vague nihilist ideology – if they subscribe to any ideology at all – & in it for the excitement of wreaking havoc], agents provocateurs, & hooligans…
According to certain information (I haven’t crosschecked it), a demonstrator was stabbed & carried to the hospital. As I’m writing this (3 in the morning), the center of Patras is chokefull of armed neonazis & plainclothes agents. Personally, I’m not sleeping at home tonight, because I can’t get there…
For one more time, the shadow state acts with the police’s blessings. Naturally, it’s the government who’s behind all this & who’s the sole one responsible for this parade of shadow state antics & violence.
The only way to crush terrorism is mas demos… The government’s aim is plain to see: to keep the people away from demonstrating by using violence & terrorism. If they wanted to catch the “hooded ones” they’d done it! The mass media play the role of the sycophant repeating inaccuracies…
Finally, tomorrow afternoon, the SUWA show on community radio 3CR will be airing a special episode dedicated to the recent uprising in Greece, from 5:30 – 6:30pm Melbourne time (8:30 – 9:30am Greek time), hosted by Liz and Anja. Among other things, they will be interviewing Lia, an activist / musician / academic from Thessaloniki, Greece. The show will include talk-back (although while they may love to claim it, it’s doubtful Liz and Anja will be bragging that ‘they’re the ones that led this charge’).
Man shot dead by police
The Age (AAP)
December 12, 2008
A man in his 20s [sic] has been shot dead by police in a park in Melbourne’s inner north.
Few details are available at this stage, but the shooting happened in parkland near the Northcote Plaza shopping centre in Separation Street, Northcote, about 9.30pm, a police spokeswoman said.
“It appears we have shot someone. I have no further details but I have been advised he’s now deceased,” the spokeswoman said.
It’s understood the shooting happened soon after a young man walked into a K-mart store in the shopping centre and demanded knives.
Witnesses said the man, believed to be aged in his 20s, was either given or took some knives and then left the store, slashing boxes on his way and behaving in a a very agitated manner.
Police remained at the scene of the shooting in the All Nations Park at Northcote late last night.
The Northcote police station is located near where the shooting occured.
The Police Ethical Standards Department have arrived and will investigate the shooting as a matter of protocol.
Above: Banner from Champions League match between Panathinaikos and Anorthosis, December 9, 2008: “Giorgios Karagounis scored in the 69th minute Tuesday to give Panathinaikos a 1-0 win over Anorthosis Famagusta and a spot in the knockout round of the Champions League as Group B winners.”
Demonstration/rally in support of the struggle in Greece/in memory of Alexandros Grigoropoulos
Date: Saturday, December 13, 2008 Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm Location: Greek Consulate-General, South Melbourne Street: 37 Albert Road City/Town: South Melbourne, Australia
Date: Saturday, December 13, 2008 Time: 9:00pm Location: International Workers’ Club, Northcote Street: 62 St. Georges Road City/Town: Melbourne, Australia
Update : Melbourne Anarchists redecorate Greek Consulate-General, hoist black flag …
In the early hours of Thursday the 11th of December, anarchists redecorated the Greek Consulate-General in Melbourne, Australia. The building was painted with slogans in Greek, including ‘The State Assassinates’ (To Kpatos Dolophoni) and ‘The State is the enemy of the people’ (To Kpatos einai ekthros tou laou), as well as ‘RIP Alexandros’ and circle As. A black flag was hoisted on the flag pole — unfortunately, the highly flammable Greek flag had been taken in for the night.
Unsurprisingly, the best — most accurate and up-to-date — accounts of the generalised monkey business going on in Greece may be found in the independent media sector and blogs. Solidarity demos and actions are taking place throughout Europe. Some of the earliest took place in Berlin, London, Paris, Amsterdam and Nijmegen (Holland). Subsequently, in Germany demonstrations took place in Berlin, Bielefeld, Bremen, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Dresden, Frankfurt/Main, Hamburg, Hannover, Jena, Konstanz, Köln, Leipzig, München, Oldenburg, Potsdam, Ravensburg, Rostock and Schneverdingen (so far!). Also Edinburgh and Glasgow (Scotland), Bristol and Newcastle (England). In Spain, actions have taken place in Barcelona and Madrid. Brussels (Belgium) has witnessed actions, as have Nikosia (Cyprus), Warsaw (Poland) and Copenhagen (Sweden). Further rallies are planned for Melbourne (Australia), Wellington (Aotearoa/New Zealand), San Francisco (USA) and elsewhere.
In addition, and in response to expressions of righteous anger on the part of Greek yoof, Greek police have been doing their best to contain the rebellions, and their efforts are being augmented by groups drawn from the Greek fascist and neo-Nazi milieu (unreported in the corporate/state media). In a similar manner to that in which Andreas’ murder is being reinterpreted, through the circulation of defence claims regarding the coroners’ report into his death, as a ‘tragic accident’, the actions of fascist vigilantes and agents provocateur are being uniformly portrayed as the intervention of “concerned citizens”; like the claims regarding the magic bullet which killed Andreas, these counter-narratives are receiving wide and uncritical sponsorship in the corporate/state media. (See, for example, Ugly tactics of the rioters now coming under attack, Marcus Gee, Toronto Globe and Mail, December 10, 2008.)
THE PHANTOM OF LIBERTY ALWAYS COMES WITH A KNIFE BETWEEN THE TEETH
The ne plus ultra of social oppression is being shot at in cold blood. All the stones, torn from the pavement and thrown at the shields of cops or at the façades of commercial temples, all the flaming bottles that traced their orbits in the night sky, all the barricades erected on city streets, dividing our areas from theirs, all the bins of consumer trash which, thanks to the fire of revolt, came to be Something out of Nothing, all the fists raised under the moon, are the arms giving flesh, as well as true power, not only to resistance but also to freedom. And it is precisely the feeling of freedom that, in those moments, remains the sole thing worth betting on: that feeling of forgotten childhood mornings, when everything may happen, for it is ourselves, as creative humans, who have awoken _ not those future productive human machines known as “obedient subject,” “student,” “alienated worker,” “owner,” “family wo/man.” The feeling of facing the enemies of freedom _ of no longer fearing them.
It is thus for good reason that those who wish to get on with their business as if nothing happens, as if nothing has ever happened, are worried. The phantom of liberty always comes with the knife between the teeth, with the violent will to break the chains, all those chains that turn life into a miserable repetition, serving to reproduce the dominant social relations. Yet from Saturday, December 6, the cities of this country are not functioning properly: no shopping therapy, no open roads leading us to work, no news on the government’s forthcoming recovery initiatives, no carefree switching from one lifestyle TV show to another, no evening drives around Syntagma Sq. etc., etc., etc. These days and nights do not belong to merchants, TV commentators, ministers and cops: These days and nights belong to Alexis!
As surrealists we were on the streets from the start, along with thousands of others, in revolt and solidarity; for surrealism was born with the breath of the street, and does not intend to ever abandon it. After the mass resistance before the State murderers, the breath of the street has become even warmer, even more hospitable and creative than before. It is not in our competence to propose a general line to this movement. Yet we do assume our responsibility in the common struggle, as it is a struggle for freedom. Without having to agree with all aspects of such a mass phenomenon, without being partisans of blind hatred and of violence for its own sake, we accept that this phenomenon exists for a reason.
Let’s not allow this flaming breath of poetry to loosen or die out.
Let’s turn it into a concrete utopia: to transform the world and to transform life!
No peace with cops and their masters!
All in the streets!
Those who cannot feel the rage may as well shut their traps!
In the interests of Leftist trainspotting, I thought I may as well survey the Trotskyist press to see what it has to say about those crazy Greeks. In Australia, the only weekly Trot paper is the Green Left Weekly: unfortunately, it has yet to publish (but will in the next day or two); the remainder are monthlies. So, to the UK (and the wsws.org).
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Greece in widespread revolt, Andros Payiatsos (of Xekinima, the CWI in Greece), The Socialist, December 10, 2008.
The CWI make passing reference to anarchists — many of whom are agent provocateurs, apparently — and argues that the ‘anarchists’ have been given free rein by the police the better to discredit the “mighty movement of workers” (and yoof!) which will be appearing on the stage of history shortly. Unfortunately, the former group is simply mindless, and aims at nothing more than “destroying everything they can lay their hands on”. The yoof must be taught respect for the proper authorities — these being the leaders of this “mighty movement”, a leadership whose authenticity may well depend upon the extent to which it accommodates the CWI into its structure…
The current government can be brought down through a mighty movement of workers and youth, but not through the rioting and massive destruction that we have seen in every city, caused by anarchist groups (in the ranks of which there are many agent provocateurs) in the last few days.
Over the last two days, these groups have had a free hand in destroying everything they can lay their hands on. But if this continues, it will play into the hands of the government and the state. Initially, workers could accept a few excesses by these groups, but after the riots in all of Greece’s cities, the mood will change. The arguments for “law and order” will begin to gain ground.
Thus, these groups, which show no respect for the mass movement and particularly the workers’ movement, will provide the best rescue for a paralysed government and state apparatus to try to regain control.
Only the mass movement and particularly the working class can bring down this government, through mass action. Only the working class can provide an alternative to the government and capitalist system…
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The Intertubes revolutionaries of the ICFI, on the other hand, appear to be hedging their bets: the “anarchists” exist, but are likely only ‘self-styled’ anarchists; armed with sticks, stones, and a worrying ignorance of the truthiness of scientific socialism.
Confronted with a growing political crisis, the Greek government is currently preparing to take harsh measures to put down the protests. Sections of the Greek media and leading politicians are conducting a deliberate campaign to brand the protesters as “anarchists,” “extremists” and “terrorists” and create a climate in which the police and state forces can violently suppress the growing opposition movement…
The Greek daily newspaper Ta Nea pointed out that the often violent protests of the past days represented much more than the revolt of a handful of anarchists and drew attention to the social sources of the crisis: “The death of the student was only the catalyst. It was the fuse for the great explosion. The explosion conceals a compressed desperation. … Many young people live with the unbearable knowledge that there is no future, that the future is a bricked-up window. Somewhere out there a blind fury is lurking … Not violence, but desperation appears to be the origin of our story” (8 December 2008).
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Finally, the SWP. Greek mass movement rises up against the state: ‘Panos Garganas (editor of Workers Solidarity, Socialist Worker‘s sister paper in Greece) spoke to Socialist Worker about the demonstrations shaking Greece’, December 9, 2008. The article contains no direct reference to anarchists. Instead, “While much of the international media has focussed on the riots, they have virtually ignored the mass movement sweeping Greece’s streets and workplaces. This has successfully targeted anger against the government…
[On Monday morning and following mass walkouts and protests outside police stations by high school students] the atmosphere was very similar to that of March 2003 when tens of thousands of young people spontaneously walked out of schools to demonstrate against war in Iraq.” Further: “The government has a clear strategy – to use the police to break up demonstrations, leaving people to riot. It is shutting down colleges and schools in an attempt to stop people coming together to organise. The police attacked Monday night’s demonstration with teargas, and smoke and percussion grenades, forcing people to disperse. Large groups of young people then engaged in a running battle with the authorities. There were other protests across the country on Monday that followed this formula. The government is hoping that public opinion will harden against the rioters and the situation will calm down. But workers and students have taken the lead in turning up the heat on the government…”
A message from the group which has been occupying Athens Polytechnic in response to the death of a 15-year-old at the hands of police has been published on Athens Indymedia.
On Saturday December 6, 2008, Alexandros Grigoropoulos, a 15-year old comrade, was murdered in cold blood, with a bullet in the chest by a cop in the area of Exarchia.
Contrary to the statements of politicians and journalists who are accomplices to the murder, this was not an “isolated incident”, but an explosion of the state repression which systematically and in an organised manner targets those who resist, those who revolt, the anarchists and anti-authoritarians.
It is the peak of state terrorism which is expressed with the upgrading of the role of repressive mechanisms, their continuous armament, the increasing levels of violence they use, with the doctrine of “zero tolerance”, with the slandering media propaganda that criminalises those who are fighting against authority.
It is these conditions that prepare the ground for the intensification of repression, attempting to extract social consent beforehand, and arming the weapons of state murderers in uniform!
Lethal violence against the people in the social and class struggle is aiming at everybody’s submission, serving as exemplary punishment, meant to spread fear.
It is part of the wider attack of the state and the bosses against the entire society, in order to impose more rigid conditions of exploitation and oppression, to consolidate control and repression. From school and universities to the dungeons of waged slavery with the hundreds of dead workers in the so-called “working accidents” and the poverty embracing large numbers of the population… From the minefields in the borders, the pogroms and the murders of immigrants and refugees to the numerous “suicides” in prisons and police stations… from the “accindental shootings” in police blockades to violent repression of local resistances, Democracy is showing its teeth!
From the first moment after the murder of Alexandros, spontaneous demonstrations and riots burst in the center of Athens, the Polytechnic, the Economic and the Law Schools are being occupied and attacks against state and capitalist targets take place in many different neighborhoods and in the city centre. Demonstrations, attacks and clashes erupt in Thessaloniki, Patras, Volos, Chania and Heraklion in Crete, in Giannena, Komotini and many more cities. In Athens, in Patission street –outside the Polytechnic and the Economic School- clashes last all night. Outside the Polytechnic the riot police make use of plastic bullets.
On Sunday the 7th December, thousands of people demonstrate towards the police headquarters in Athens, attacking the riot police. Clashes of unprecedented tension spread in the streets of the city centre, lasting until late at night. Many demonstrators are injured and a number of them are arrested.
We continue the occupation of the Polytechnic School which started on Saturday night, creating a space for all people who are fighting to gather, and one more permanent focus of resistance in the city.
In the barricades, the university occupations, the demonstrations and the assemblies we keep alive the memory of Alexandros, but also the memory of Michalis Kaltezas and of all the comrades who were murdered by the state, strengthening the struggle for a world without masters and slaves, without police, armies, prisons and borders.
The bullets of the murderers in uniform, the arrests and beatings of demonstrators, the chemical gas war launched by the police forces, not only cannot manage to impose fear and silence, but they become for the people the reason to raise against state terrorism the cries of the struggle for freedom, to abandon fear and to meet –more and more every day- in the streets of revolt. To let the rage overflow and drown them!
State terrorism shall not pass!
We demand the immediate release of all those arrested in the events of 7th-8th December.
We are sending our solidarity to everyone occupying universities, demonstrating and clashing with the state murderers all over the country.
– The Occupation of the Polytechnic University in Athens
On a humourous note, the analysis of Establishment boor John Carr in The Times. Apparently, the anarchy and chaos in Greece is all to do with their pining for the fjords Greek Empire. John even cites Nietzsche to support his case.
There have been confirmed accounts that groups of Greek fascists are actively collaborating with police forces in the city of Patras. This is happening now.
The media speak of “concerned citizens” who attack anarchists; anarchists in Greece are very familiar with this bogus concept. Already, known fascists from other cities (including Athens) are being seen in Patras, walking down the streets accompanied by policemen in civilian clothing, attacking and arresting anyone who looks suspicious. At least one student has been hospitalised as a result of a stabbing by these para-military groups; local residents are reported to have hidden protesters from fascist vigilantes. In response, and under police protection, fascists have been gathering outside these refuges, throwing rocks, yelling “come out or we will come in” and threatening householders with violence. Obviously, despite having 45,000 active police on duty, the police forces cannot handle the popular uprisings in Greece, and so the right-hand is being unleashed: the organised violence of fascists and neo-Nazis.
Please re-post this whenever you can!
Example of corporate accounts (Clashes break out as strike shuts down Greece, Derek Gatopoulos, AP): “Local media reported early Wednesday that groups of civilians had begun taking matters into their own hands, confronting looters in the western city of Patras and the central city of Larissa.”
Tuesday’s demonstration was called by local anarchist groups. Participation was phenomenal by the city’s standards – around 3,000 people (some reports put this number up to 5,000) took the streets of Patras behind the anarchist banners and against state violence. The march cruised through the city; banks were smashed. Meanwhile, the city’s police force had gathered around the main police station in order to protect it.
Toward the end of the demo however the riot police launched a major attack, forcing it to retreat toward the city’s historical university building (the so-called parartima). Soon thereafter, the most incredible attack began: Tens of fascists (that seem to had gathered in Patras from across the country, in a pre-planned joint operation with the police) attacked the demonstration with knives and stones. Co-ordinating perfectly with the police, they continued their attack and, according to some reports, even did some joint arrests. The demonstrators were confronted with the following unbelievable spectacle: They were facing a group of people throwing them police-owned tear gas while chanting “blood-honour-golden dawn” (the name of a nazi group in Greece).
The demonstrators’ block (which only numbered around 500 at the time, as this happened near the end of the demo) was completely torn apart; people were chased all the way into their flats; demonstrators had to seek refuge in flats in 10s and 20s, while the cops and the nazis would smash their windows and try to force entry.
Patras Indymedia reports 26 detentions and 9 arrests. Thankfully, the reports that the fascists would head for the city’s Afghan refugee camp have proven false so far.
What makes the above story even more unbelievable is that the mainstream media report it as the “local business owners” being the ones who attacked the demonstrators, “taking the law into their own hands”. Putting aside the minor detail that absolutely no local businesses were damaged (only multinational banks, the courts and the police station), these supposed “shop owners” and “respectful citizens” were depicted in media in their balaclavas, holding knives! There was an unbelievable joint police-fascist operation in Patras today and they are trying to cover it up and to claim the public has turned against the demonstrators.
It is crucial to confront their lies and to resist their repression – the future of this movement could depend on this. Please spread the word.
Update : Greek teen died from bullet ricochet: court sources, ATHENS (AFP) — Initial results from the post-mortem on a Greek teenager whose killing by police sparked five days of rioting show Alexis Grigoropoulos died from a bullet ricochet, court sources said Wednesday. According to forensic doctors and independent experts hired by the boy’s family, the bullet “is a bit deformed, which showed the bullet touched a hard surface” before entering the 15-year-old’s chest, sources agreed…
On the events on the evening of Saturday, December 6, 2008 and the shooting of Andreas (Alexandros) Grigoropoulos, viaDeadeye on ANARCHISM.net forum, Tuesday, December 09, 2008, 03:26. Police accounts, faithfully reproduced in corporate/state media, and slightly adjusted over time to conform with alternative accounts, appear to be based on complete fabrications. That is, rather than police, in fear of their lives, firing a warning shot — which ricocheted and accidentally struck Andreas — tragically killing him, police appear to have deliberately and cold-bloodedly executed the teenager.
This video contains testimonies of some of the many eye-witnesses.
Here goes.
1st witness
-We saw them at some point, with guns in their hands walking down the street.
-Both of them?
-Both.
-And? Where did they stop?
-Here, right here. They started cussing here, “Come here punks, come and settle this”. Some kids approached.
2nd witness
-During this verbal fight, we saw no objects being thrown, suddenly one of them pulls out his gun and opens fire, straight ahead. We took a careful look and noticed someone on the ground, being dragged away by his friends, probably in fear that he would shoot again. Anyway, this is what happened, the officers were just standing still and then walked away. They turned away and left, on foot.
3rd witness
-I saw the extension of his arms, I saw him aiming. The extension of his arms, not the position of his body. I was behind him. And he aimed. He aimed towards the other end of the street, towards that group.
4th witness
-They were exchanging words. It was intense. Suddenly, without any other intervention, the patrol car abruptly departs and some time later the officers return. They stood in front of the kids and gunshots were heard. One of the kids, fell.
1st witness – resumed
-3 shots?
-3 shots because he didn’t hit him at first. This man wanted to kill. Simple as that.
5th witness
-We heard two bangs. I immediately understood it was gunfire from the sound of the very first shot. I heard the second shot, followed by a scream and a kid falling to the ground. We headed towards the kid, we dragged him away.
-What did the police do?
-The police turned their backs, as if nothing had happened, and left. We lifted his shirt, he was bleeding. We gave him CPR, the ambulance was late.
6th witness
-I saw the patrol car between Zoodoxou Pigis street and Tzavela street, it left but a minute later, the two drivers came back. They were both armed and they shot that kid, without a reason.
-Did you see them aiming?
-Yes, they were aiming.
-They didn’t shoot up to intimidate?
-No, they shot the kids that were standing there.
-Did they see the kid falling dead?
-Yes, someone shouted that the kid was wounded, but they turned and left.
Those testimonies are a bit useless without knowing what the cops themselves testified.
They claimed they were attacked by a group of 30 hooded anarchists, with rocks, sticks and molotov cocktails, while in the car. They stepped on the gas to evade them, but later returned to arrest them. They were attacked once more and while in self defense, they threw a flashbang grenade, fired two shots in the sky to intimidate the attackers and one in the ground. The last one hit the ground but ricocheted.
They’ve been flipping their story until today. Their first two lawyers have already retired from their case, for ethical reasons. The ballistic examination was completed today. The bullet remained inside the body and it indicated that it came from a higher level (the pistol) to a lower level (the victim’s body). If it was indeed a ricochet, the bullet would have entered from a lower level (the street) to a higher [point], the point of entry in the body.
At first, all media adopted the cop’s case, spreading similar news worldwide.
The anarchist movement in Greece traces its roots to a military junta that ruled the country between 1967 and 1974.
But, reports Malcolm Brabant for the BBC, “rebellion is deeply embedded in the Greek psyche”. The students laying siege to police stations “are undergoing a rite of passage”.
“They may be the iPod generation, but they are the inheritors of a tradition that goes back centuries, when nuns would rather hurl themselves to death from mountain convents than submit to the ravages of Greece’s Turkish Ottoman invaders,” he says.
~ Anarchy’s child, Mark Tran and Anthee Carassava, The Age, December 10, 2008
Despite pleas from the Prime Minister amidst the worst rioting in decades a massive general strike is set to take place later today, 10 December.
2.5 million workers in the GSEE and ADEDY general unions, comprising around half of Greece’s total workforce are to strike today.
They are demanding an end to cuts in public spending and attacks on pay and pensions.
Greece’s transport network in particular is set to grind to a halt, as many airlines have already cancelled all flights in and out of the country.
Tens of thousands of workers are expected to pour into the streets, already ravaged by days of clashes over the murder of a teenage boy by police.
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In the western port city of Patras, local police forces have recruited fascists to help them quell demonstrations. “CONFIRMED: The anarchist bloc was attacked and chased by riot police and fascists. Demonstrators found shelter in friendly flats in groups of tens and twenties; fascists and undercover cops attacked them from the streets, smashing up windows. UNCONFIRMED: It is rumored that the fascists were transported from Athens and provided with tear gas by the police.” Corporate media is portraying the conflict as being one between rioters (bad) and concerned citizens (good). Thus: “…citizens trying to protect their shops came into conflict with rioters” (As riots continue, Greece faces political crisis, Rachel Donadio and Anthee Carassava, International Herald Tribune, December 9, 2008). Another alternative account (Anonymous, Update from Greece: Alexis’ funeral, terror strategy by the government, San Francisco Bay Area IMC, December 9):
The state apparatus pulled another of its cards today as it used the neo-nazis of Hrisi Avgi against protestors in Patras. A demonstration of 5.000 was hit by neonazis and policemen working in tandem. A still unverified report spoke of a demonstrator with a knife wound in Patras. Reportedly, the neonazis were brought in Patras from some other cities. The situation reminds of 1991, when again the New Democracy party used para-state teams in Patras to smash student uprisings. For the sake of history, that move backlashed and resulted in the death of 5 people and the retreat of the government.
Terror is the word that the state wants spread in peoples’ minds, trying to make part of the society close ranks around it. Reports are coming in from all over Greece that police are “advising” store keepers and home owners to watch out for vandals, keep their stores closed, etc. The neonazi attacks in Patras are being presented by mainstream media as “shop keepers defending their property”. Government uses again the magic word of “asymmetric threat”, as govt spokeperson Panagiotopoulos spoke of “dark motives” of those who revolt and Interior affairs and police minister Pavlopoulos wondered “which purposes those who revolt serve”.
Solidarity demo in Melbourne
A solidarity demo/rally has been organised for this Saturday:
Saturday, 13th December, 2008
1:00PM outside the Greek Consulate
37-39 Albert Road, South Melbourne (St Kilda Rd trams)
Bring Greek music, friends, candles, flowers, etc.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Riot police fought running battles with mourners Tuesday after the funeral of a teenager whose shooting by officers triggered Greece’s worst rioting in decades… “Everyone has let our children down … Every day I see that students are becoming more hostile toward us and figures of authority,” said Christos Kittas, who resigned as the dean of Athens University after the rioting spread to campuses…
Officers battle demonstrators outside parliament as pressure mounts on government to call early election
…With many struggling to make ends meet, and one in five living below the poverty line, there is growing discontent over the tough fiscal policies of a government determined to reach the prescriptive benchmarks set out by Brussels and rein in budget deficits. The disaffection has been exacerbated by allegations of corruption and a series of scandals implicating members of Karamanlis’s inner circle.
Secondary school students rushed to join the protests, throwing stones at police in clashes in front of the Athens parliament yesterday, and on islands and mainland towns nationwide.
“A lot of teenagers identify with Grigoropoulos,” said Christos Mazanitis, an Athenian journalist. “There’s a whole generation out there who see their parents in debt and feel they have nothing to look forward to in the future. Fear and despair are what these riots are about.”
YOUR DEMOCRACY SHOOTS US
16 YEAR-OLD DEAD BY A COP’S BULLET
There is a planned rally/vigil for Alexandros Grigoropoulos in Melbourne – the city with the biggest Greek population outside of Greece:
Saturday, 13th December, 2008
1:00PM outside the Greek Consulate 37-39 Albert Road, South Melbourne (St Kilda Rd trams)
Bring Greek music, friends, candles, flowers, etc.
Statist reactionaries are calling for a massive police crackdown on the rioters. If this occurs, it may well require a declaration of martial law, and the army may be called in to smash a sufficient number of heads. In such circumstances, the possibility of another fatality occurring would certainly increase, and the political costs to the state be escalated further as the struggle widens to embrace other groups, and the ghost of ’74 assumes an Earthly visage.
To the people of Oaxaca
To the people of Mexico
To Section 22
To the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca
To the media
In the early morning of Monday, December 8, 2008, murderer Ulises Ruiz’s Oaxacan state government, through its Preventative and Municipal police, on board various police pickup trucks and motorcycles, violently attacked those who live and work in the political and cultural space of the house located at 408 Crespo Street in the historic center of Oaxaca, “Oaxacan Autonomous Solidarity House of Self-Sustaining (Autogestive) Work” (Casa Autonoma Solidaria Oaxaquena de Trabajo Autogestivo – CASOTA)…
Two Greek anarchists are making molotov cocktails. One says to the other: "So who will we throw these at then?" The other replies: "What are you, some kind of fucking intellectual?"
