The three squats recently evicted by the leftist government (Gare, Zaimi, Matrozou) have as of this morning with the reoccupation of Matrozou, been taken back by the movement.
Actions for Afrin
(thanks to the comrades and re-linked from https://fight4afrin.noblogs.org/)
This also was from Heraklio, call for a Newroz commemoration for those fallen fighting for liberty in Afrin https://athens.indymedia.org/post/1585761/
Recent developments
Two days ago had a few hundred people march once more to the Turkish embassy in Athens, and there had been a few days previously a protest at the Turkish Airlines desk in Thessaloniki, and the German consulate in Heraklio. Anyways at the demo there was the usual lively Kurdish contingent. As well at the same time and place was a protest about free transportation, these two together resulted in closing the Panepistimio metro station for several hours. Nearby was also a typically boring KKE/PAME (Greek Communist Party) demo about low wages or some such. Continue reading “Recent developments”
We remember
This day of the foundation of the Paris Commune in 1871, we are of course forced to look at Afrin. Just as now there is a rebellious city stuck between two fires, two enemies. As the Parisians were surrounded by the troops of Versailles and the Prussians, so too the Kurds on the ground face fascist Erdogan and the ‘leftist’ Assad regime, just as they are wedged between the larger geopolitical conflicts of Russia and the US…
As Camillo Berneri, the Italian anarchist who was on the barricades in the May Days of 1937 in Barcelona, proposing to fight against fascism and against the leftist Republican government, wrote:
“Let us set our lights and hold the tiller with a hand of steel. We are on the high seas and the tempest is raging. But we can still perform miracles. Caught between the Prussians and Versailles, the Commune lit a fire which still lights the world.”
Afrin has lit such a fire once again, and everyone feels this invisible flame spreading!
This is the current situation in Athens
Recently the Syriza government moved to evict three squats, GARE and Zaimi in Exarcheia, and Matrozou in Koukaki. All of these squats, though different, in some way are identified as the combative and generally youthful wing of the movement, and never had interest in a leftist government.
GARE has already been reoccupied at the time of this writing, although the police presence that was guarding the building briefly, made sure to leave behind fascist graffiti (proving once again the literally fascistic character of much of the Greek police). Already two banks in the city center had their windows smashed as a response to the evictions.
There is also a lot going on in anti-repression or prison struggles. Yesterday was a demo of 500 or so people demanding freedom for Pericles and Irianna, who have been convicted for years in prison under the new anti-terror law with no real evidence, and today is a motorcycle demo for the case of those accused of ‘individual acts of terrorism’ (some of those from the Velvento case and a member of CCF).
A university class was disrupted by protestors in Peiraeus in solidarity with this latter case. As well, the general situation after the hunger strike of Dino Giatzoglou is that the government has vowed to transfer 20-some prisoners to Korydallos prison in Athens, but threatened to send away 50 or so others to more distant prisons.
Right now the situation is fluid as it is not officially confirmed just who will be these 50 to be sent away, although it seems likely they will be political prisoners or their close friends, because this is the counter-insurrection strategy that has been seen elsewhere, in Spain and Italy for instance in the past. That needs everyone’s attention and should be kept in mind as we approach closer to the official date set for the transfer, April 10.
A new feature, at least for a while
We are beginning to run a segment featuring more frequent and wide reporting of news in Athens and Greece.
We feel that this is a need of the Greek movement and the international movement that is not being fully met at the present.
There is an increasingly high level of tension within Greece: there is the unstable leftist government of Syriza, now in its third year, trying to survive implementing austerity, and dealing with a wide variety of problems (including destroying, managing or trying to tame and assimilate the anarchist movement).
There are also increasing tensions with Turkey and within the Eurozone itself, and all over the globe as American imperialism declines further and further.
For these and more reasons, we have decided to run a bit of reporting giving basic news summaries every so often to keep the larger international movement updated on what exactly is going on in these frantic times. This also has interest as there may be need for widespread solidarity on specific campaigns, and anyways this serves as a basic sharing of information which is always useful.