Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Solidarity with those arrested during the events of 6 December 2014

December 6, 2014 marks six years since the cold-blooded murder of 16-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos by the cop Korkoneas.

This anniversary coincides with the hunger strike of 21-year-old anarchist Nikos Romanos who is requesting furlough to attend university classes.

The day and night found tens of thousands of people demonstrating in the streets of many cities of Greece. The particularly massive afternoon demonstration in central Athens was succeeded by hours of clashes and street fighting mainly in the area of Exarchia. The police detained more than 200 people, of whom 43 were the arrested. Some of those arrested face felony charges, and are still being held at the police headquarters.

Clashes between anarchists/anti-authoritarians and the forces of repression took place in many other cities, such as Thessaloniki, Patras, Volos, Larissa, Ioannina, Agrinio, Mytilene, Heraklion, Chania, Kalamata and elsewhere. Specifically, in Patras there were six arrests (of which two on felony charges), in Thessaloniki seventeen, in Agrinio three, while about 100 people were detained in other parts of Greece.

Once again, the state attempted to unleash terror with the imposition of so-called "zero tolerance" by attacking marches, detaining protesters, and bringing charges of heavy and vengeful character to those arrested.

Once again, the rulers are wrong. Their imposed police state will achieve nothing more than to spread an intensify even more the hubs of resistance throughout Greece. Their suppressive machine does nothing more than to cause the spread of circles of subversion.

Hope lies in the militant and uncompromising attitude of anarchists hunger strikers Nikos Romanos (from 10 November), John Michailidis (from 17 November), Andrea Bourzoukou and Dimitris Politis (from 1 December).

Hope lies in the thousands of people who marched and are marching in the streets of Greece against state and capitalist barbarity.

Hope lies in the numerous hubs of resistance that have been created in the occupied town halls, universities and labor centers.

Hope lies in the neighborhoods of Istanbul where Turkish comrades marched in solidarity with N. Romanos and clashed with riot police there, in the streets of Ferguson, and wherever people are in the streets of revolt.