Saturday, November 21, 2009
Greek radical anarchists claim attack on lawmaker
A Greek radical anarchist group has claimed responsibility for a small bomb that exploded last week outside the home of a Socialist lawmaker.
Nobody was injured in the attack, which caused minor damage to the suburban Athens apartment building where Mimis Androulakis, a member of the governing party, lives.
The Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire group says Androulakis, a former Communist, is "a television-friendly lackey of those in power."
Since the end of September, Greek police have arrested and charged with terrorism five suspected group members. Monday's proclamation, posted online, said none of the five were linked with the Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire.
The group has targeted several politicians over the past few months with small bombs, causing no injuries.
Nobody was injured in the attack, which caused minor damage to the suburban Athens apartment building where Mimis Androulakis, a member of the governing party, lives.
The Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire group says Androulakis, a former Communist, is "a television-friendly lackey of those in power."
Since the end of September, Greek police have arrested and charged with terrorism five suspected group members. Monday's proclamation, posted online, said none of the five were linked with the Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire.
The group has targeted several politicians over the past few months with small bombs, causing no injuries.
Home Roding Valley Meadows hit by anti-social behaviour Submitted by frenzy on Sat, 10/10/2009 - 04:50. 11:23am Monday 5th October 2009
VANDALS have wreaked a summer of destruction on a Loughton nature reserve - to the despair of wardens.
Thousands of pounds worth damage has been inflicted on property at the Roding Valley Meadows, and officials are pointing the finger of blame at local youths.
Essex Wildlife Trust warden Patrick Bailey said: “We have had people rampaging through, smashing gates, doing an awful lot of damage to fences, and setting fire to bins.
[bourgie wankers in their artificial wilderness]
“There's always problems over there but this year has been particularly bad. We had a really nice beginning to the summer and it really encouraged a lot of people to come out for anti-social behaviour.
“It's the worst I've seen in my time on the trust. It's just a lack of respect for the area. It's beyond me why anyone would want to cause so much damage.
“We work with volunteers so it's taking up a lot of volunteer time. In terms of materials, in one weekend alone there was well over £1,000 of damage. We had two fences, gates and railings smashed up in one evening.”
Committee member Ken Angold-Stephens blamed the problem on local youths saying that much of the vandalism has been committed during weekends.
He added: “It's causing us a huge amount of concern. As well as the damage it's costing us a lot of money. We are pretty sure it's all local youths. The police don't seem to be as actively involved as they should be. Something has to be done. This amount of damage is unbelievable.”
http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/4664440.LOUGHTON__Vandalism_hits_r... w/ pictarz
Katie Rolt says, "I’m surprised they haven’t got CCTV there...."
Thousands of pounds worth damage has been inflicted on property at the Roding Valley Meadows, and officials are pointing the finger of blame at local youths.
Essex Wildlife Trust warden Patrick Bailey said: “We have had people rampaging through, smashing gates, doing an awful lot of damage to fences, and setting fire to bins.
[bourgie wankers in their artificial wilderness]
“There's always problems over there but this year has been particularly bad. We had a really nice beginning to the summer and it really encouraged a lot of people to come out for anti-social behaviour.
“It's the worst I've seen in my time on the trust. It's just a lack of respect for the area. It's beyond me why anyone would want to cause so much damage.
“We work with volunteers so it's taking up a lot of volunteer time. In terms of materials, in one weekend alone there was well over £1,000 of damage. We had two fences, gates and railings smashed up in one evening.”
Committee member Ken Angold-Stephens blamed the problem on local youths saying that much of the vandalism has been committed during weekends.
He added: “It's causing us a huge amount of concern. As well as the damage it's costing us a lot of money. We are pretty sure it's all local youths. The police don't seem to be as actively involved as they should be. Something has to be done. This amount of damage is unbelievable.”
http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/4664440.LOUGHTON__Vandalism_hits_r... w/ pictarz
Katie Rolt says, "I’m surprised they haven’t got CCTV there...."
Declaration of Solidarity with Struggling and Prosecuted Proletarians in Greece “In one night “reality” and “normality” died...”
On 6th of December 2008 in Greece pigs shot dead in cold blood 15 years old Alexis Grigoropoulos. That was the last straw which broke camel’s back and proletarian anger, which had been expressing itself through strikes and riots against attacks of Capital on living standards of our class, erupted. Suddenly, an uprising broke out and after several decades the specter of proletarian insurgency and open class struggle against capitalism returned to Europe. University and high school students as well as many pupils spontaneously surged into the streets of Greek cities and towns in order to assault police stations and all cops with stones and Molotov cocktails. Students and pupils were quickly joined by immigrant proletarians of every age, young “Greeks” with badly paid precarious jobs, but also by quite a lot of workers of an older generation. Even many unemployed and people from the margins of the class society took part: Romas, illegal refugees, drug addicts… Football hooligans forgot their dim-witted fights among each other and joined the struggle against the real enemy – repressive forces of the state. Immediately, it became clear to everybody that cops are nothing else but mercenaries of state terrorism. It became evident that they “serve” only smooth working of the system of private property of some and wage exploitation of others; and also that they “protect” merely law and order of this bourgeois system. “Dutiful citizens” and the belief in Democracy disappeared in clouds of smoke and tear gas and among blows of police batons.
“We destroy the present, because we come from the future!”
It was not only about street fights with cops and burning police stations. Rebels smashed and burned the smiling face of the capital’s world – the consumer paradise of shops, supermarkets, car showrooms and banks, which lend you money for some of the splendid commodities. The world of passive consumers of goods and spectators of Spectacle was burning in flames. And there were looting proletarians emerging from this fire and practically imposing dictatorship of human needs over capital and its exchange relations. Our class brothers and sisters were re-appropriating everything that we are, as the class, forced to produce at work in order to be obliged to buy it back for money we earn. They were also re-appropriating space and time, which are otherwise strictly divided and corseted according to needs of capital – columns of cars and stressed crowds of alienated zombies rushing to work, to school, to shop... disappeared from the streets recreated by proletarian violence and they were replaced by a community of the militant class. Combat self-organisation of rebels was developing spontaneously. Dozens of universities and high schools occupied not only by students, but proletarians of all categories, which we are divided into by capital, were transformed in centres of resistance and places of encounters, discussions, love and class hate. The same thing happened to a town hall in the Athens working class district of Aghios Dimitrios, which was also occupied by local inhabitants. After a long time our class was again beginning to speak and formulate its programme on its own. When rebelling workers occupied trade union buildings in Athens and Thessaloniki, they put forward a critique of these mediators of sale of our labour power to the bosses. They showed that trade unions are part of the state and it is their aim to disorganise and suppress class struggle and that the way forward goes through self-organisation of struggle in workplaces. In all those aspects of the class movement and its struggle autonomy of the proletariat from the bourgeoisie – its ideologies, organisations and way of life – began to be born.
“Stop watching TV! Everybody come to the streets!”
Although the proletarian uprising was going across many sectors, which we are separated into by capital, only a minority of our class was actively taking part in it. While there were burning barricades in the streets, shops were looted and cops were fought against, a majority sat at home in front of their TV sets and listened to the baloney of politicians and journalists. Despite their enduring effort rebels have not succeeded in breaking passivity of their class brothers and sisters – neither in Greece nor in the rest of Europe and most countries of the world. Therefore, there was not a general paralysation of capitalist economy, which means that there was neither an attack against wage labour and production for profit. The movement stopped at partial attacks against the state and incomplete subversion of capitalist relations. In December, total destruction of all state structures aiming at liquidation of bourgeois power and imposition of social dictatorship of proletariat, which would strengthen and allow communisation of social relations, was not on the order of the day yet. Revolutionary insurrection is postponed for the moment...
“Merry crisis and a happy new fear!”
It was exactly this message that the Greek uprising left on Athens walls for law-abiding citizens (who continue to submit themselves to demands of capital; whom it does not even occur to that they could resist bosses and the state and they only wait as sheep what will happen to them). This message applies for proletarians over here, in the Czech Republic, too. The crisis is coming and the bourgeois lay off hundreds and thousands of people from work and lower real wages. For instance, 4.000 laid-off glass workers are right now left without any means of subsistence. And what has happened? Nothing! Domination of social peace and Democracy lays on our class like a boulder: we will rather die from hunger or live under a bridge than we would start really struggling for satisfaction of our human needs. Democracy is like opium – it prevents us from understanding ourselves as a class with distinct interests, which are opposed to the interests of capital. We can see only our individual and family lives and their misery appears to be the best what we can have. However, the world crisis will smash our citizen-consumer illusion of happiness and even the slightest enthusiasm about capitalism. There will be more and more unemployed and homeless people, prices of basic goods will grow and those, who will have jobs, will be able to buy less and less with their wages... and at the end the ruling class may drive us into a war in order to get rid of surplus people and production capacities and to achieve a possibility of another economical growth through reconstruction.
Is economy in crisis? Let’s finish it off! Down with social peace! One Greece is not enough!
Sooner or later, capital will leave us with no reserves. We will suffer and maybe we will die, if we will continue to slavishly accept wage labour and money as a necessary means to satisfy our needs. But surely there will be proletarians, who will refuse the logic of exchange value and surge into supermarkets and take without paying, what they will need. The class movement in Greece will explode anew with even greater subversive power and this time it will not be alone. And it will not be only proletarians in China, Bangladesh, Egypt or Bolivia, who will rise up. Even over here, shop windows will be trashed. We will loot shops and luxurious bourgeois haciendas. Mass strikes without and against trade unions will subvert all the capitalist economy. The state with its police and army will, as always, defend bourgeois order and properties and make terror against the proletariat, who will never solve anything, unless it makes its own revolution. In the meantime, all our support, sympathies, thoughts belong to proletarians in Greece, who struggle or are imprisoned. We long for helping them through spreading the struggle in the Czech Republic and the whole world. We want to share and develop their experience with them, in order to put a global revolutionary insurrection back on the order of history...
World revolution against capital, wage labour and money!
Revolutionary proletarian violence against state terror of the police till the complete destruction of all states!
Dictatorship of proletariat for communisation of social relations and worldwide classless community!
Třídní válka (Class War)
“We destroy the present, because we come from the future!”
It was not only about street fights with cops and burning police stations. Rebels smashed and burned the smiling face of the capital’s world – the consumer paradise of shops, supermarkets, car showrooms and banks, which lend you money for some of the splendid commodities. The world of passive consumers of goods and spectators of Spectacle was burning in flames. And there were looting proletarians emerging from this fire and practically imposing dictatorship of human needs over capital and its exchange relations. Our class brothers and sisters were re-appropriating everything that we are, as the class, forced to produce at work in order to be obliged to buy it back for money we earn. They were also re-appropriating space and time, which are otherwise strictly divided and corseted according to needs of capital – columns of cars and stressed crowds of alienated zombies rushing to work, to school, to shop... disappeared from the streets recreated by proletarian violence and they were replaced by a community of the militant class. Combat self-organisation of rebels was developing spontaneously. Dozens of universities and high schools occupied not only by students, but proletarians of all categories, which we are divided into by capital, were transformed in centres of resistance and places of encounters, discussions, love and class hate. The same thing happened to a town hall in the Athens working class district of Aghios Dimitrios, which was also occupied by local inhabitants. After a long time our class was again beginning to speak and formulate its programme on its own. When rebelling workers occupied trade union buildings in Athens and Thessaloniki, they put forward a critique of these mediators of sale of our labour power to the bosses. They showed that trade unions are part of the state and it is their aim to disorganise and suppress class struggle and that the way forward goes through self-organisation of struggle in workplaces. In all those aspects of the class movement and its struggle autonomy of the proletariat from the bourgeoisie – its ideologies, organisations and way of life – began to be born.
“Stop watching TV! Everybody come to the streets!”
Although the proletarian uprising was going across many sectors, which we are separated into by capital, only a minority of our class was actively taking part in it. While there were burning barricades in the streets, shops were looted and cops were fought against, a majority sat at home in front of their TV sets and listened to the baloney of politicians and journalists. Despite their enduring effort rebels have not succeeded in breaking passivity of their class brothers and sisters – neither in Greece nor in the rest of Europe and most countries of the world. Therefore, there was not a general paralysation of capitalist economy, which means that there was neither an attack against wage labour and production for profit. The movement stopped at partial attacks against the state and incomplete subversion of capitalist relations. In December, total destruction of all state structures aiming at liquidation of bourgeois power and imposition of social dictatorship of proletariat, which would strengthen and allow communisation of social relations, was not on the order of the day yet. Revolutionary insurrection is postponed for the moment...
“Merry crisis and a happy new fear!”
It was exactly this message that the Greek uprising left on Athens walls for law-abiding citizens (who continue to submit themselves to demands of capital; whom it does not even occur to that they could resist bosses and the state and they only wait as sheep what will happen to them). This message applies for proletarians over here, in the Czech Republic, too. The crisis is coming and the bourgeois lay off hundreds and thousands of people from work and lower real wages. For instance, 4.000 laid-off glass workers are right now left without any means of subsistence. And what has happened? Nothing! Domination of social peace and Democracy lays on our class like a boulder: we will rather die from hunger or live under a bridge than we would start really struggling for satisfaction of our human needs. Democracy is like opium – it prevents us from understanding ourselves as a class with distinct interests, which are opposed to the interests of capital. We can see only our individual and family lives and their misery appears to be the best what we can have. However, the world crisis will smash our citizen-consumer illusion of happiness and even the slightest enthusiasm about capitalism. There will be more and more unemployed and homeless people, prices of basic goods will grow and those, who will have jobs, will be able to buy less and less with their wages... and at the end the ruling class may drive us into a war in order to get rid of surplus people and production capacities and to achieve a possibility of another economical growth through reconstruction.
Is economy in crisis? Let’s finish it off! Down with social peace! One Greece is not enough!
Sooner or later, capital will leave us with no reserves. We will suffer and maybe we will die, if we will continue to slavishly accept wage labour and money as a necessary means to satisfy our needs. But surely there will be proletarians, who will refuse the logic of exchange value and surge into supermarkets and take without paying, what they will need. The class movement in Greece will explode anew with even greater subversive power and this time it will not be alone. And it will not be only proletarians in China, Bangladesh, Egypt or Bolivia, who will rise up. Even over here, shop windows will be trashed. We will loot shops and luxurious bourgeois haciendas. Mass strikes without and against trade unions will subvert all the capitalist economy. The state with its police and army will, as always, defend bourgeois order and properties and make terror against the proletariat, who will never solve anything, unless it makes its own revolution. In the meantime, all our support, sympathies, thoughts belong to proletarians in Greece, who struggle or are imprisoned. We long for helping them through spreading the struggle in the Czech Republic and the whole world. We want to share and develop their experience with them, in order to put a global revolutionary insurrection back on the order of history...
World revolution against capital, wage labour and money!
Revolutionary proletarian violence against state terror of the police till the complete destruction of all states!
Dictatorship of proletariat for communisation of social relations and worldwide classless community!
Třídní válka (Class War)
A robbery in Greece
We are not slaves, we are dynamite
WE ARE NOT SLAVES, WE ARE DYNAMITE
They are old things, from another century. Poverty, which progress seemed to have banished from the West, comes back to make us feel its bite. Bankers aren’t jumping from windows yet, but the poor are filling the streets. Factories and shops close their doors. Millions of people find themselves with no means for facing the future. They were promised that a life passed on their knees, between a job that profited a boss and obedience to the will of the government would at least ensure a quiet survival for them. Now it’s clear to all that this was a lie.
They are old things, from another century. The lines are swelling in front of soup kitchens. The number of thefts in supermarkets is constantly growing. Foreclosure proceedings pile up. And while those on the bottom try not to die of hunger, those on top prepare for the worst, for the feared social explosion. “Zero tolerance” is guaranteed for anyone who breaks the law; new structures of detention are being prepared for natives and immigrants; soldiers and “volunteers” patrol neighborhoods that are under video surveillance. The old and new poor have to know: dying of privation or suicide, these are the only choices permitted to them.
They are old things, from another century. Today, more and more people are reaching out to grab wealth from the places where it exists in abundance. Some even have a dream in their heart, like the two anarchists, Christos and Alfredo, who were arrested in Greece on October 1 for a bank robbery. Christos robbed the bank at gunpoint. They claim that Alfredo aided him, taking the money on delivery. Now the two anarchists, one Greek and one Italian, are behind bars. Prison is the fate promised to anyone who isn’t resigned to dying in misery, the fate promised to the enemies of all exploitation and authority.
They are old things, from another century. A shattered economy, skyrocketing unemployment, the deterioration of living conditions, a war among the poor fomented by the powerful henchmen, racism speeding up from a mere creep to a gallop, a planet threatened by technological development, States alternating the carrot of democracy with the stick of totalitarianism…
In this sudden return to the past, there is still something missing: the offended dignity that drives desperation away, transforming it into action; the freedom that stops being the right to obey authority and goes back to being the challenge to every form of power; the desire to live that isn’t satisfied with what exists and mounts an assault to snatch what has never been.
IT’S AN OLD THING, FROM ANOTHER CENTURY: INSURRECTION
We are not slaves, we are dynamite
WE ARE NOT SLAVES, WE ARE DYNAMITE
They are old things, from another century. Poverty, which progress seemed to have banished from the West, comes back to make us feel its bite. Bankers aren’t jumping from windows yet, but the poor are filling the streets. Factories and shops close their doors. Millions of people find themselves with no means for facing the future. They were promised that a life passed on their knees, between a job that profited a boss and obedience to the will of the government would at least ensure a quiet survival for them. Now it’s clear to all that this was a lie.
They are old things, from another century. The lines are swelling in front of soup kitchens. The number of thefts in supermarkets is constantly growing. Foreclosure proceedings pile up. And while those on the bottom try not to die of hunger, those on top prepare for the worst, for the feared social explosion. “Zero tolerance” is guaranteed for anyone who breaks the law; new structures of detention are being prepared for natives and immigrants; soldiers and “volunteers” patrol neighborhoods that are under video surveillance. The old and new poor have to know: dying of privation or suicide, these are the only choices permitted to them.
They are old things, from another century. Today, more and more people are reaching out to grab wealth from the places where it exists in abundance. Some even have a dream in their heart, like the two anarchists, Christos and Alfredo, who were arrested in Greece on October 1 for a bank robbery. Christos robbed the bank at gunpoint. They claim that Alfredo aided him, taking the money on delivery. Now the two anarchists, one Greek and one Italian, are behind bars. Prison is the fate promised to anyone who isn’t resigned to dying in misery, the fate promised to the enemies of all exploitation and authority.
They are old things, from another century. A shattered economy, skyrocketing unemployment, the deterioration of living conditions, a war among the poor fomented by the powerful henchmen, racism speeding up from a mere creep to a gallop, a planet threatened by technological development, States alternating the carrot of democracy with the stick of totalitarianism…
In this sudden return to the past, there is still something missing: the offended dignity that drives desperation away, transforming it into action; the freedom that stops being the right to obey authority and goes back to being the challenge to every form of power; the desire to live that isn’t satisfied with what exists and mounts an assault to snatch what has never been.
IT’S AN OLD THING, FROM ANOTHER CENTURY: INSURRECTION
Freedom for Alfredo Bonnano and Christos Stratigopoulos imprisoned in Greece!
Its been over a month now that two anarchists- Alfredo Bonnano and Christos Stratigopoulos had been arrested in Greece following bank robbery. Much had been written about it already, so there is no point in reminding everyone what this case is about (for those that don't know please find links below the text). Needless to say those anarchist comrades need our solidarity and support now. Especially 72 years old Bonnano is in grave danger due to his health problems and extremely bad conditions he is kept in Amfissa prison. We encourage all kinds of solidarity with them, but ina a meantime there is a simple thing that everybody can do. Below you will find example of a protest letter than can be e-mailed to different Greek institutions here and in Greece. Whilst we are under no illusion that this will get them released, nevertheless that's something that can improve their condition for now and show Greek authorities that they are not forgotten and they will not succeed in burying them alive in one of the worst Greek prisons.
Anarchist Solidarity
some background on the case:
Greetings from Greece
They’re old things, from another century. Two anarchists get arrested after a bank job. The first robbed it, gun in hand. They say the second helped him, holding the money. It happened in a small Greek village, this past October 1. And so? There are things that happen. And then that is a far away country, with an incomprehensible and untranslatable language. Who do you want to be interested in it? The robber is Christos Stratigopulos, already arrested and convicted here in Italy fifteen years ago on a similar charge. The penalty served, he returned to Greece. Remembered by a few, unknown to most. But the other one arrested is Italian; it is Alfredo Bonanno. Yes, precisely him; who hasn’t heard his name? In its own small way, the news has gone quickly around the world, revived by many press agencies: “one of the major theorists of insurrectionalist anarchism”, “among the major ideologues of anarchy”, “anarchist activist and writer”, “international fugitive anarchist robber”, “theorist of revolutionary violence”, has ended up behind bars again. The promoters of antiterrorism, both Greek and Italian, have rushed in, ready to exploit the juicy occasion. The elements for concocting a fine theorem are all there: a country in which there are still fires blazing after the great insurrectionary conflagration that flared up last December, a Greek anarchist active in the movement, a foreign anarchist known for his subversive theories who travelled around the country holding meetings, a bank robbed.
Christos has taken full responsibility for the act, caused by economic problems, denying Alfredo’s involvement. But, clearly, the judge didn’t believe him. So both are still in jail. The first, because he dared to reach out a hand toward wealth rather than resign himself to dying in misery. What’s more, he is an anarchist. The second, because… because… because maybe he helped his comrade. And, for sure, he is an anarchist. And that’s enough.
They are old things, from another century. Two anarchists get arrested after a bank job. Outside, solidarity is organized. Funds start to be collected; initiatives are prepared. But that’s not all. In Athens, the two prisoners get explosive greetings from the group Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, which had just disturbed the crowning of the new Greek premier. In Villejuif, France, someone renders their homage by smashing the windows of the local offices of the Socialist Party. One of the beauties of anarchy is that it doesn’t recognize borders. And in Italy? Bah, here it has been limited to communicating the news, faithfully and coldly reporting the journalists’ poisons. No comment. The drafters of daily virtual communiqués say nothing. The tenders of militant gardens fall silent. The little strategists of the new alliances hush up. The movement has now become a community, and anyone who doesn’t share its rules and language doesn’t exist. He is nameless. In the rush to follow the masses, have individuals been forgotten? Perhaps it’s better this way. Better a sincere silence, if in the face of such an act, one no longer knows what to say, than hypocritical chatter about solidarity. Let’s leave that to the Stalinist annoyances and other ruins. Or to a few third millennium fascists, who on one of their forums rendered “honor” to the two arrested anarchists.
They are old things, from another century. Two anarchists get arrested after a bank job. The first is 46-years-old, the second 72. Whether guilty or innocent, for them being anarchists doesn’t even have the excuse of being an infantile disorder of extremism. Stubborn as they are, they haven’t understood that now is the time to ride the wave of social movements, to defend who knows what in front of places of power, to act as social workers for the damned of the earth. No, they haven’t understood this. The dream that they have in their hearts is much too big to adapt itself to the tick-tock of modern times.
No pardon, no pity.
Good-bye, beautiful Lugano.
solidarity with Alfredo
solidarity with Alfredo Bonanno and Christos Stratigopoulos
(9th of october 2009)
the anarchists Alfredo and Christos are in prison of Amfissa – greece.
Christos is accused for armed robbery and Alfredo for complicity.
The lawyers made a request for Alfredo because of his health conditions to
keep him under house detention.
The two comrades can receive post at:TZAMALA 3 33100 AMFISSA GREECE
To finance the solidarity campaign for the two, solidarity concerts are
organised in Greece and elsewhere. People who are interested to get more
information or to support the solidarity fund raising can write to the
following email address:
smolikas2 [at] gmail.gr
Revolutionary solidarity with Alfredo and Christos and all the people who
struggle against the world of prisons and banks.
anarchists from Greece and elsewhere
translated from cettesemaine:
http://cettesemaine.free.fr/spip/article.php3?id_article=2598
SAMPLE LETTER (you are welcome to write your own)
We write to you concerning the case of Alfredo Bonnano and Christos Stratigopoulos, held in prison in Amfissa. It came to our attention that they are held in outrageous conditions, in “facility” thats is infected with rats and lice, with no access to running water, with 50 people in same cell. Prison of Amfissa, as you should know, doesn't even met your own standards and should be immediately closed. On top of that, 72 years old Alfredo Bonnano has serious health problems and should be immediately released. His continuous imprisonment simply proves that yo uwant to exact revenge on well known anarchist and you are prepared to put men in conditions that are dangerous not only to their health, but also to their lives.
If you persist on keeping Amfissa prison open and holding our comrades and anybody else in this outrageous conditions, you should know that it will not go unnoticed as you were most likely hoping.
Freedom for Alfredo Bonnano and Christos Stratigopoulos! Close Amfissa prison now!
Its been over a month now that two anarchists- Alfredo Bonnano and Christos Stratigopoulos had been arrested in Greece following bank robbery. Much had been written about it already, so there is no point in reminding everyone what this case is about (for those that don't know please find links below the text). Needless to say those anarchist comrades need our solidarity and support now. Especially 72 years old Bonnano is in grave danger due to his health problems and extremely bad conditions he is kept in Amfissa prison. We encourage all kinds of solidarity with them, but ina a meantime there is a simple thing that everybody can do. Below you will find example of a protest letter than can be e-mailed to different Greek institutions here and in Greece. Whilst we are under no illusion that this will get them released, nevertheless that's something that can improve their condition for now and show Greek authorities that they are not forgotten and they will not succeed in burying them alive in one of the worst Greek prisons.
Anarchist Solidarity
some background on the case:
Greetings from Greece
They’re old things, from another century. Two anarchists get arrested after a bank job. The first robbed it, gun in hand. They say the second helped him, holding the money. It happened in a small Greek village, this past October 1. And so? There are things that happen. And then that is a far away country, with an incomprehensible and untranslatable language. Who do you want to be interested in it? The robber is Christos Stratigopulos, already arrested and convicted here in Italy fifteen years ago on a similar charge. The penalty served, he returned to Greece. Remembered by a few, unknown to most. But the other one arrested is Italian; it is Alfredo Bonanno. Yes, precisely him; who hasn’t heard his name? In its own small way, the news has gone quickly around the world, revived by many press agencies: “one of the major theorists of insurrectionalist anarchism”, “among the major ideologues of anarchy”, “anarchist activist and writer”, “international fugitive anarchist robber”, “theorist of revolutionary violence”, has ended up behind bars again. The promoters of antiterrorism, both Greek and Italian, have rushed in, ready to exploit the juicy occasion. The elements for concocting a fine theorem are all there: a country in which there are still fires blazing after the great insurrectionary conflagration that flared up last December, a Greek anarchist active in the movement, a foreign anarchist known for his subversive theories who travelled around the country holding meetings, a bank robbed.
Christos has taken full responsibility for the act, caused by economic problems, denying Alfredo’s involvement. But, clearly, the judge didn’t believe him. So both are still in jail. The first, because he dared to reach out a hand toward wealth rather than resign himself to dying in misery. What’s more, he is an anarchist. The second, because… because… because maybe he helped his comrade. And, for sure, he is an anarchist. And that’s enough.
They are old things, from another century. Two anarchists get arrested after a bank job. Outside, solidarity is organized. Funds start to be collected; initiatives are prepared. But that’s not all. In Athens, the two prisoners get explosive greetings from the group Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, which had just disturbed the crowning of the new Greek premier. In Villejuif, France, someone renders their homage by smashing the windows of the local offices of the Socialist Party. One of the beauties of anarchy is that it doesn’t recognize borders. And in Italy? Bah, here it has been limited to communicating the news, faithfully and coldly reporting the journalists’ poisons. No comment. The drafters of daily virtual communiqués say nothing. The tenders of militant gardens fall silent. The little strategists of the new alliances hush up. The movement has now become a community, and anyone who doesn’t share its rules and language doesn’t exist. He is nameless. In the rush to follow the masses, have individuals been forgotten? Perhaps it’s better this way. Better a sincere silence, if in the face of such an act, one no longer knows what to say, than hypocritical chatter about solidarity. Let’s leave that to the Stalinist annoyances and other ruins. Or to a few third millennium fascists, who on one of their forums rendered “honor” to the two arrested anarchists.
They are old things, from another century. Two anarchists get arrested after a bank job. The first is 46-years-old, the second 72. Whether guilty or innocent, for them being anarchists doesn’t even have the excuse of being an infantile disorder of extremism. Stubborn as they are, they haven’t understood that now is the time to ride the wave of social movements, to defend who knows what in front of places of power, to act as social workers for the damned of the earth. No, they haven’t understood this. The dream that they have in their hearts is much too big to adapt itself to the tick-tock of modern times.
No pardon, no pity.
Good-bye, beautiful Lugano.
solidarity with Alfredo
solidarity with Alfredo Bonanno and Christos Stratigopoulos
(9th of october 2009)
the anarchists Alfredo and Christos are in prison of Amfissa – greece.
Christos is accused for armed robbery and Alfredo for complicity.
The lawyers made a request for Alfredo because of his health conditions to
keep him under house detention.
The two comrades can receive post at:TZAMALA 3 33100 AMFISSA GREECE
To finance the solidarity campaign for the two, solidarity concerts are
organised in Greece and elsewhere. People who are interested to get more
information or to support the solidarity fund raising can write to the
following email address:
smolikas2 [at] gmail.gr
Revolutionary solidarity with Alfredo and Christos and all the people who
struggle against the world of prisons and banks.
anarchists from Greece and elsewhere
translated from cettesemaine:
http://cettesemaine.free.fr/spip/article.php3?id_article=2598
SAMPLE LETTER (you are welcome to write your own)
We write to you concerning the case of Alfredo Bonnano and Christos Stratigopoulos, held in prison in Amfissa. It came to our attention that they are held in outrageous conditions, in “facility” thats is infected with rats and lice, with no access to running water, with 50 people in same cell. Prison of Amfissa, as you should know, doesn't even met your own standards and should be immediately closed. On top of that, 72 years old Alfredo Bonnano has serious health problems and should be immediately released. His continuous imprisonment simply proves that yo uwant to exact revenge on well known anarchist and you are prepared to put men in conditions that are dangerous not only to their health, but also to their lives.
If you persist on keeping Amfissa prison open and holding our comrades and anybody else in this outrageous conditions, you should know that it will not go unnoticed as you were most likely hoping.
Freedom for Alfredo Bonnano and Christos Stratigopoulos! Close Amfissa prison now!
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Riots break out across France
RIOTS erupted in cities across France this week, with cars torched and a supermarket looted.
The outbreak was sparked by the Algerian football team's success in beating Egypt to qualify for next year's World Cup, but reflects a simmering anger in French society that is never far from the surface.
Said a report from AFP on November 19: "France has a large community of Algerian origin and about 12,000 of them turned out on the Champs Elysees in Paris to fete their team's win.
"Police intervened when some revellers began throwing bottles and other projectiles and smashing shop windows, a police spokesman said.
"Similar violent scenes took place in Marseille in the south, Lyon in the centre-east as well as in some northern towns, and youths set fire to around 150 vehicles in cities across the country.
"Trouble-makers burst into a supermarket in Vaulx-en-Velin in the Lyon suburbs and made off with electronic goods and telephones, police said.
"Six police officers were injured in the incidents."
RIOTS broke out in Belgium on Friday night, November 20, over the brutal and racist treatment of prisoners by police.
A report on RTL info said the youngsters had firebombed and damaged the main police station in the Anderlecht area of Brussels, having spread the word by text message.
The crowds also broke car windows and smashed up phone boxes and the state is expected to flood the area with extra police all weekend.
Anger erupted over reports of police maltreatment of prisoners at the nearby Forest jail earlier this year, during a strike by the usual wardens. A prison watchdog has reporrted instances of torture, degrading treatment and islamophobic insults.
7s7 Belgique reported that groups of rioters had met up around the Place de la Vaillance and near the Aumale metro station, before splitting up and reforming elsewhere.
The crowds also broke car windows and smashed up phone boxes and the state is expected to flood the area with extra police all weekend.
Anger erupted over reports of police maltreatment of prisoners at the nearby Forest jail earlier this year, during a strike by the usual wardens. A prison watchdog has reporrted instances of torture, degrading treatment and islamophobic insults.
7s7 Belgique reported that groups of rioters had met up around the Place de la Vaillance and near the Aumale metro station, before splitting up and reforming elsewhere.
Vast minority
Homepage: http://www.vastminority.blogspot.com
PRISON LETTERS AND COMMUNIQUES
2009 Αυγούστου 22
Update 3 December 2007: Prison letter from Giorgos Voutsis-Vogiatzis:
Now that they’ve all shut their mouths, let’s talk about choices
“…Many of us died or were taken prisoner along the way; many others were wounded and permanently put out of action; and certain elements even let themselves slip into the background because of their lack of courage; but I believe I can say that our formation as a whole never wavered until it plunged into the very core of destruction.”
To attack the modern institutions of repression and exploitation, it takes -first of all- to refuse the mass production of consciences that this world gives birth to. Authority no more stands for a privileged technique of administration, held fast in the net of a minority elite. It is a pervasive social relationship that finds its expression in every aspect of every day life. The transmutation of social antagonism has inevitably created the necessity for the refabrication and the sophistication of the old terms of repression. This process did not appear out of the blue, nor was it simply forced by physical violence. Social relations have been shaped over the course of decades spent inside the social factory; they have plenty of their own keywords. Integration, �morality�, homogeneity, �proper citizenship�. That�s the way the bosses manufactured the managers and their supervisors, the modern class to bridge the gap that were named syndicalists as well as, of course, the obedient worker, who, having broken �at last- the chainsaws of mass production, is now able to afford his own proper handcuffs. They created volunteers to raise the vision of �Great Greece�. Unpaid submissive people who named their volontary servitute �giving back to society�. Social groups working for the maintenance of the existent repression and exploitation that now act the role of shock absorbers contributing to the global attack of the rulers.
Organisations (i.e. the N.G.O.s) created out of democracy’s need to show a humanitarian public image. Based on non-violence and charity they are busily preparing the cemeteries for tomorrow’s casualties on their battlefields of democracy. They maintain the modern work camps in the third-world countries. Factories of misery, where the slaves of economy build the glass window of western civilization, as well as the consent of the modern schizo-proletariat, transforming its class conscience into consumerist conscience.
The �proper citizens�, the armed heroes of the greek democracy constitute the modern expression of law and order. They participate actively in volunteer work in security projects, they inform the police on suspicious figures and even attack delinquents themselves. They get their little awards from the police for their achievements and feel proud. The demand for security is not an imposed convention anymore. It is a social instinct. A pervasive militarized demand for the merciless defence of property. The cops are not the only ones in uniforms. This world’s morality wears a uniform too, and has enlisted with vigor on the side of the bosses.
On 3-10-2007 I robbed the ETE (Ethniki) bank on Gyzi Street. On my way out, about 1,5 minute after the robbery and once I got on my bicycle, I noticed a passerby crossing Ragkavi Street not far from where I was (a street parallel to the one I was on), who was heading towards me. After a short dialogue and while I was still on my bicycle, this passerby turned into a �hero� and kicked my bicycle resulting to its crashing with a passing car, and me falling down, on the pavement. From that point on alarm sirens were blasting all around me…
My choice to rob a bank constitutes a point in my way to negation. Guerilla attacks to the enemy�s wealth under by acts of expropriation uphold a perpetuous choice of attack, historically consistent to the history of negation. Consistency has to move with a military step between thinking and acting. Rioters, robbers, arsonists, they are all detonators to set off the same war. The negation of work is a partial negation of the economy and its world. Wage labour is an alienated process producing inequalities, based upon one�s exploitation by another. It is the commercialization of humanity’s natural urge for creation and its integration in the social factory of alienated relations. Alienated work has its own ethics of submission. Legality, the boss-model, career.
Where do you work? How much do you earn? When do you get a day-off? Questions to inquire the subject�s social status. Alienated work manages and organizes also leisure/spare time, that is equally modified by the work status that enslaves it (weekend, holidays, days off). In reality, alienated work defines our whole existence. Our every day chat: How was work? When do you get paid? Our mood: I �m dead-tired today, not in a mood for anything, I have to wake up early in the morning. We can finally see how exactly the deep meaning of time is in great degree shaped upon the world of labor and the needs of the economy. The immaterial dimension of time takes on a material expression modified by the schedule of our every day captivity. Robbing an economic mechanism of captivity is not the only choice to realize negation to work. But even attacks against economic targets constitute a radical suggestion of organization and struggle, which jumpstarts the project for the destruction of work.
I will say it again: the negation of work constitutes a partial negation of economy and its world. For example: the expropriation of commodities (from bookstores, super markets) constitutes a kind of negation of consumption, though not a total attack on economy. Robbing a bank is a way of negating work, but is not a total attack on capitalism. If the end justify anything, it’s not the means, but the choices developed for action. The means follow the decision to act. They are dialectically related to the project. They are shaped inside it, but don�t shape it. My decision to rob the ETE bank at Gyzi was not a vindictive, fortuitous attempt based on the weapons I possessed, but a point in my way to a total negation of this world. A way with no final destination, but with many intermediate points. Many as the guns a revolutionary possesses at his arsenal. So, if there is anything we need to take back, it is personal consciousness. Or else, everything mass-based and collective is doomed to reproduce the simultaneous defeat of our consciousness, that will turn into the new defeated masses of our era.
Hostilities continue.
Giorgos Voutsis-Vogiatzis
Instead of a P.S.: The identity of a person is not defined by its surname, but by the way and the choices that are of his own. We know however that when the cameras are smashed and the informants of the lie are beaten up mercilessly a timer begins ticking, measuring a reverse reality. Those that have slandered and pillaged my “personal data” will soon find me in front of them. In any action of solidarity, I wish all mentions of my name to include both my surnames.
[Some actions of solidarity (October-November 2007):
12 October: Arson attacks against two banks at Zografou (Athens)
13 October: Arson attack against the offices of the deputy minister of education (Athens)
16 October: Arson attack against an ETE bank in the city center and a rulling party office at Evosmos (Thessaloniki)
18 October: Arson attack against an ETE bank and a rulling party office at Nea Krini (Thessaloniki)
5 November: Broken glass windows and damages at the ETE bank in Exarchia, at Eurobank on Solonos Str., and at the Union of Greek Banks, on Massalias Str. (Athens)
Giorgos will be held for up to 18 months before jury in Korydallos' Prison, Athens.]
Translator’s note: Thanks for all the help to J.M.L (http://situationist.gq.nu/), any mistakes are my fault: …for the transmission of infectious rabies – December 2007
UPDATE 3 September 2007: You can check out some news on the anarchists detained for the faliro police car attempted arson at our page on Chr. Kontorevithakis and M. Tsourapas . Giannis Dimitrakis remains emprisoned, and so is Vassilis Stergiou and Giorgos Tsolkas. Update 12/10/2007: New letter on Giannis Dimitrakis latest transfer from Korydallos prison anarchists!
ON GIANNIS DIMITRAKIS TRANSFER TO ALIKARNASSOS’ PRISON
Friends and companions, we salute you
We decided to write this letter in order to strengthen our action�s front within the prison. As well as outside, the state tries to recuperate and repress anything that steps beyond the limits of legality.
As well as outside, recuperation takes the meaning of snitching, ass-licking, an illegalist lifestyle, submission, and drugs.
As much as for repression, its expression takes the forms of beating, exits deprival, humiliations, blackmails, follow-ups, kidnap-style transfers.
These transfers form a part of the repressive planning. It is a means of dividing the prisoners aiming at their isolation and their physical and mental annihilation.
Yesterday was carried out for once more a transfer of the companion Giannis Dimitrakis from the juridicial Prisons of Korydallos to Alikarnassos� Prisons.
As a minimal gesture of solidarity, we choose today to abstain from the meal the juridicial Prison of Korydallos offers. An action that so as not to limit itself to its symbolic character, will be continued for the next days as well.
For us there is not an option of holding back our actions once within the dungeons of punishment, as there was neither outside the prisons. We maintain our self esteem, our fury and our aggressive stance as individualities.
Meanwhile, we don�t step back to expect the next prison mutiny in order to attack the treaty of captivity. It is what we clear the ground for daily. Everyday life inside the prison is also a battlefield.
Taking this route, we choose to connect with the few persons that preserve their self esteem and their dignity and to act jointly, till the destruction of every last prison.
The strength you give us every day cannot be impressed in words.
Let us leave the actions speak out loud.
Giannis Lazaridis
Giorgos Tsolkas
Marios Tsourapas
Giorgos Voutsis-Vogiatzis
ON THE MAY 6 DETAINEES
In May 6 2006, riots erupted during the European Social Forum march in Athens. For a period of three hours following a 2km route, 2500 anarchists in small groups of 4-500 attacked banks, large department stores, police cars, government buildings, the police headquarters, riot police, riot police buses as well as “Z-team” policemen (motorcycle team). They attacked the US embassy, the Hilton hotel, the Italian embassy, and the riot police guarding the house of parliament. 20 people were arrested 17 of them are charged with multiple felony charges. 3 of them were detained since then. One of those 3, Tarasios Zadorozni, anarchist immigrant from Ucraine, is on a hunger strike since 29/11, and 12 days later he was transfered to the prison hospital due to health problems. There was also an announcement from another detainee, Gerasimos Kyriakopoulos, that he is going on a hunger strike, but we cant accertaine this, because it is hard to communicate with the prisoner. The third one’s name is Kostas Katsadouros, but there is no information about him nor any communication. Update 18/12: Gerasimos is on a hunger strike since December 15. Update 17/1/2007: Added occupied techical school’s solidarity message, as well as the occupied theological faculty in Thessaloniki. NEW: THE MAY 6 DETAINEES ARE N’T UNDER DETAINTION ANY MORE, AFTER 70 DAYS OF HUNGER STRIKE (TARASIOS) AND 54 (GERASIMOS)
There is also a translation of anarchist Giannis Dimitrakis’ letter to “Pontiki” newspaper taken from http://www.325collective.com/ . Giannis Dimitrakis is an anarchist arrested in 16/1/2006 for an armed expropriation of a bank in Athens. He is since then, detained, previously in Korydalos and after 14/11/2006* in Neapoli Prisons, in Crete.
*During that week there was a pogrom against anarchist prisoners, who were violently abducted in early morning hours from their cells, in Korydallos Prisons near Athens, and transfered secretly to different prisons around Greece. Giorgos Kalaitzidis was moved to Ioannina, Nikos Kountardas in Nafplion, and Giannis Dimitrakis in Crete,(there are some cool photoes of an intervention some anarchists organised there in http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=612172#612190 ).
For info on prisoners of the greek state check out: http://www.geocities.com/anarcores/krat.html
There is also a site on the three 6 May detainees in greek language: http://www.geocities.com/may6solidarity as well as http://athens.indymedia.org
LETTERS IN ENGLISH
COMMUNIQUE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE SQUATTED POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS
Today, January 13 2007, police attacked the anarchist and anti-authoritarian motorbike demo in solidarity to the three comrades arrested at the social forum on May 6 2006 in Athens. The demo was attacked by special motorbike forces (Z team) on the way back from Nikea hospital where there had been a solidarity gathering for two of the imprisoned comrades Tarasio Zadorozni and Gerasimos Kiriakopulos who are on hungerstrike. The anti riot police squads (MAT) then stormed the comrades on the ground, 42 were taken into custody at the national security police headquarters in Athens, many of them injured, and 4 of them are still being held 9 hours later. Tarasio Zadorozni and Gerasimos Kiriakopulos have been on hunger strike for 46 and 28 days respectively and were transferred from Koridalos prison to a secure unit in Nikea hospital on January 9 as their condition had deteriorated. They have been held in prison since May 6 2006 along with another demonstrator, Kostas Kachadouras, accused of rioting during the international antiwar demo of the European Social Forum in Athens.
The imprisoned demonstrators of May 6 are 3 of the thousands of people that took to the streets that day when riots erupted between the forces of repression and anarchists and young rebels and attacks were made against State and capitalist targets. The police arrested 17 demonstrators who were accused on trumped up heavy charges and 3 of them have been held in prison awaiting trial without any evidence against them (with the political consent of the traditional leftist parties and groups) so that they can be punished as an example for those who choose to resist without mediation or institutional representation. The struggle that those on hunger strike began for their freedom, using their body as a weapon, has now become the terrain where a general conflict between the State and those who fight it is being expressed.
It is about an attack in which the State, using all the repressive mechanisms of propaganda and control in its power, is attempting to isolate and eliminate anarchists and anti-authoritarians, who are the most radical part of social resistance, with the surrender of the whole of society as its final objective. Under these conditions of intensifying State terror, every action of solidarity to the imprisoned fighters has been under attack. The aim of this repression is not only to keep the 3 in prison as long as possible, it is also to eliminate the very dynamic of solidarity, self-organisation and resistance against the plans of the State and the bosses.
So, on January 12, the police attempted to prevent the solidarity demonstration that had been organised by anarchists and anti-authoritarians. The order was pronounced by the chief of police forces present, stating that he had instructions from the prosecutor, but this was subverted by the persistence of the demonstrators and finally a strong demo was held in the centre of Athens. The attack on todayʼs demonstration (January 13), with the arrests and the wounded, are the peak of this repressive violence, showing the Stateʼs intent to bury the struggle of those on hunger strike in silence, to terrorise those in solidarity and attack the development of the anarchist struggle. What has preceded todayʼs events: the arrest of an anti-authoritarian comrade outside his home following the motorbike demo to the house of the minister of justice; intensive provocation and pressure by the Z motorbike police squad on another motorbike demo to Koridalos prison on December 15; police attack on new yearʼs eve motorbike demo on its return from the prison that resulted in many comrades being taken into custody and one arrest, and on January 9 the surrounding by anti riot police squads of a radio station which had been occupied by 50 anarchists to transmit solidarity messages and news of the hunger strike.
AGAINST the attempts of the State to isolate the struggle of our imprisoned comrades who are on hunger strike behind a wall of silence
AGAINST the constant repressive attacks against anarchists and antiauthoritarians, aiming at their isolation and annihilation
AGAINST the attempt to impose social acquiescance
WE ARE TAKING OVER THE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS AND WE DEMAND THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF OUR 4 COMRADES BEING HELD IN THE NATIONAL SECURITY BUILDING FOLLOWING TODAYʼS ATTACK BY POLICE AGAINST THE SOLIDARITY MOTORBIKE DEMO AND THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF THE IMPRISONED PROTESTORS OF MAY 6 2006
By taking over this university building we are creating a place of constant counterinformation and solidarity within our city, an attempt that is operating horizontally and against all hierarchy, on the basis of the occupiersʼ general assembly. No repressive action will extinguish our solidarity to our imprisoned comrades, or prevent the social struggle for liberation from the chains of Authority
THE PASSION FOR FREEDOM IS STRONGER THAN ANY PRISON CELL
SOLIDARITY TO THE HUNGERSTRIKERS TARASIO ZADOROZNI (SINCE NOV 29 2006) AND GERASIMOS KIRIAKOPULOS (SINCE DECEMBER 15 2006)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF THE 3 IMPRISONED PROTESTORS OF MAY 6
THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF OUR 4 COMRADES WHO ARE BEING HELD IN THE NATIONAL SECURITY BUILDING FOLLOWING TODAYʼS ATTACK BY POLICE AGAINST THE SOLIDARITY MOTORBIKE DEMO
SOLIDARITY TO ALL IMPRISONED AND ACCUSED SOCIAL FIGHTERS
FREEDOM TO ALL THOSE IN PRISON CELLS
SOLIDARITY IS OUR WEAPON!
Assembly of the occupied Polytechnic University January 13 2007, 7pm.
Ps. At the moment of writing the four arrested have been set free, one of whom with serious chest and back wounds, and many stitches in the head.
STATEMENT OF THE SOLIDARITY OCCUPATION AT THE THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL OF THESSALONIKI
Today, Wednesday January 17th, anarchists, antiauthoritarians and comrades in solidarity, haven occupied the theological school of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in solidarity with the hunger strikers T. Zadorozni (since 29/11) and Y. Kiriakopulos (since 15/12). The occupation will act as a counter-information and action center, aiming the immediate release of the 3 imprisoned demonstrators during the clashes at the European Social Forum in Athens on May 6th in Athens.
That day, hundreds of anarchists, antiauthoritarians and rebel youth clashed for hours with the cops and attacked banks, embassies and luxury stores. On 6th May the social anti-violence justice is kept alive and also the denial of the systemic Left which conciliates with the state and capital. 17 arrests take place and 3 of them (T. Zadorozni, Y. Kiriakopulos and K. Katsaduros) are still incarcerated, due to falsified copsʼ statements. This moment their hunger strike is critical. Tarasio Zadorozni is on his 50th day of hunger strike and already they face serious health problems, capable of causing irrecoverable damage. G. Kiriakopulos has already suffered spleen and kidney rupture.
The struggle for their liberation is taking place at a point when the states, globally, upgrade their legal and suppressive arsenal, enact (anti)terrorist decrees, promote fear systematically and tighten social control. The greek state also promotes the suppression or deterrence of social resistance. For this reason, the struggle of the hunger strikers is directly related with the struggle for social and individual liberation.
We don’t intend to negotiate their health and their existence. WE DEMAND their immediate release.
OPEN ASSEMBLY 7 pm daily
The assembly of the theological school occupation
GERASIMOS KYRIAKOPOULOS ON HUNGER STRIKE (since December 7)
My name is Gerasimos Kyriakopoulos. I am detained in the Prisons of Korydallos, accused for the episodes of May 6 during the 4th European Social Forum. A few things for my affair have as follows: The afternoon of May 6 in the Thiseio area, where there were no riots, six police officers of M.A.T. squad made six blind and unjustified arrests, one from which was my own. Once being arrested with no obvious reason, I thought they were just doing some simple suspect presentations, aware of the situation created that day. However, as you understand, as I am writing to you this letter, finally the things were not like that at all.
Thus, later, taking me to the G.A.D.A. police building, with no evidence, without any proof, the police officers passed me a paper to sign, with an awful lot of accusations. Of course, the police in order to support theese accusations have testified in their six similar reports that the arrestations did not take part in the Thiseio area, but in the Monastiraki square, where there indeed were riots, presenting us as a team that attacked them. Thus without any genuine clue, taking us later on to the interrogative process, they attributed to me some severe accusations as homicide attemptings and also supply and possession of 50 explosive bombs and without being suspect of escape or having a background in such similar situations (how coud I, anyway?) they ordered my detaintion.
Thus I find myself detained in the Korydallos Prisons, without any ecidence, facing severe accusations. Continuously, all appeals I submitted were rejected extending my imprisonment without any genuine evidence. Thus I am puzzled and I wonder how could I ever, being simply one person, prove – having no proof but my words for what I have lived – the opposite towards six untruth accusations made by the police. I think I can not.
So, being desperated and having no other way to stand up to all these theese untruth accusations that they attributed to me, and also aware – despite the serious health problems I face (as rupture of kidney and rupture of spleen) – of the fact that what I am going to do may cost my life, I will go on a hunger strike protesting against the false accusations they attributed to me, and also demanding to be set free directly until my case’s trial.
Gerasimos Kyriakopoulos
TARASIOS ZADOROZNI ON HUNGER STRIKE (since November 29)
Imprisoned behind the bars and cement walls, after six and a half months of captivity, in the juridicial prisons of Korydallos, I come to realise that all they can do is to emprison my body. Everything else that is genuine and free, I have succeeded to maintain intact.
I am found in place of captivity to the state, because I decided to participate in a march of protest, because the system searched to find expiatory victims in order to promote the spectacle of control and justice. The system’s decay was obvious in all its greatness since all previously existing inaccuracies and inconherences in the cops’ statements were later on extinct when forced to modify before taking them to the interrogator. Of course these changes in combination with other excuses that offered the interrogator as objective had no other than to take back my case so as to influence the six-monthly council on its decision and to decided my further detaintion. How indeed could this decision be valid whether they did n’t use methods of manipulation and distortion of the clues, since there is no real case against me.
Excluded from all the possible choices, led to a no-way out rout, disgusted with continuing unfairness against me, I continue my struggle with all means i have left.
If they believe that putting me to jail, can extinguish my passion for freedom they are laughed. In a attempt to accentuate the contradictions of this decadent system and to show its totalitarian character I will stop giving them the right to rule my body. Since it is the unique thing that they keep in their hands I will turn it in a form of struggle against them, aiming at my release.
Thus I go on a hunger strike from Wednesday 29th of November and demand my direct and unconditional release of me and my codefendants, the withdrawl of categories and ceasing of our case. I will not leave them use freedom as a tool in their legal and political games. However my fight will be hard and it will need the support and solidarity of persons out there who interest to support my struggle.
Consciences are not ruled, nor jailed, nor guided.
Tarasios Zadorozni, “Γ” wing Juridicial Prisons of Korydallos
Appeal for solidarity from Greek anarchist prisoners
Athens, Greece – Gerasimos Kyriakopoulos and Kostas Katsadouros are in prison from 6 of May. They are anarchists that were arrested after the riots at the European Social Forum. They are 2 of the 4 people still detained after the disturbances. Another young man, 17 years old, was released after some weeks in the cells, and is continuing the anarchist political activities.
For communication with the imprisoned comrades:
(name)
Dikastikes fulakes korudallou
T.k. 18110
Athens
Greece
The specific prisoner support group (in Greece) working for these 2 men have had problems communicating with the prisoners. They don’t know if the prisoners get letters, but it is needed to show international interest and apply pressure on the guards. Please send them letters, postcards and take actions in solidarity! More information coming soon, there is also a demonstration in Greece being planned in support.
May 6, Athens, Greece – Riots erupted during the European Social Forum march in Athens. For a period of three hours following a 2km route, 2500 anarchists in small groups of 4-500 attacked banks, large department stores, police cars, government buildings, the police headquarters, riot police, riot police buses as well as “Z-team” policemen (motorcycle team). They attacked the US embassy, the Hilton hotel, the Italian embassy, and the riot police guarding the house of parliament. 20 people were arrested 17 of them are charged with multiple felony charges.
A LETTER FROM ANARCHIST GIANNIS DIMITRAKIS PUBLICED IN “PONTIKI” NEWSPARER>
Letter from Anarchist Giannis Dimitrakis, from Koridallos prison, Greece
On the afternoon of 16/1/06 an armed robbery took place at the national bank of Greece in the centre of Athens. After an exchange of fire with 2 cops from a special unit, one of the participators Yannis Dimitrakis, was seriously injured when shot by the cops 3 times at several parts of his body. The other 4 participators managed to get away from the scene with about 50,000 euro with one of them being slightly injured too. Yannis, who openly admitted that he is an anarchist, stayed in different hospitals for a few months till he recovered, then he was sent to Korydallos prison of Athens. In another parody of the Greek justice system Yannis was charged with 7 robberies! Also he was charged with numerous counts of attempted murder, topped with the anti-terror law! Its not the first time that a fixed charge is given towards anarchists in Greece. This is the letter he sent from prison on the 23rd of June where he explains a lot about what happened in the meantime and his personal position on the robbery.
Comrades,
This letter is my first attempt to communicate and comment on the events that took place and I experienced due to my participation in the bank robbery of the National Bank of Greece that took place in the centre of Athens on January 16th. Before I go on to enlarge upon the actual events, I’d like to say a few things in regards to my motives that lay behind my choice in taking such action and what it means to me.
For me, present-day society is a wagon following a pre-defined course that leads straight towards its complete dehumanization. The role of its passengers, its wheels and its horses- in other words of its driving force- is played out by ourselves, the people. The wagon’s driver has the cruel face of capitalism and its co-driver is a faceless and vague state. The path the wagon follows is of course not strewn with rose petals and flowers but with blood and human bodies. With individuals or groups of people that wanted to either resist and change its frantic course or to stand as an obstacle in front of it. The list of those is long: insubordinates, rebels, leftists, anti-authoritarians and anarchists fill many bloody pages in this journey’s storybook. Somewhere in between the last two groups is where I place myself.
So, to the degree of consciousness that my world-view and perception offers me, what I can easily discern is that present-day society relies only on violence, oppression and exploitation. A society which aims at the loss of human dignity in every way, by all means. This is something that is experienced and received by each and every one of us in their everyday life, either by being forced to deal with state institutions either at our work-place and from those who manage and profit from our work. Employment, work: words whose true meaning is wage slavery, enslavement. Work and its surplus-value are the pillars of today’s economic system while the individuals that carry it through and the circumstances under which this takes place confirms that people are treated as expendable goods, as modern slaves. We see workers that are rotting away from illnesses that are due to their long-term exposure to hazardous substances, that die either by fall or by explosion in the capitalist temples they are building, losing their urge, their liveliness, their spontaneity all that characterizes a would-be free person. Working exhausting hours and employed in two or three jobs simultaneously just for a few crumbs. When to cover their most basic needs a person is obliged to mortgage to those cold-hearted oppressors that are otherwise known as banks and under the burden of this financial responsibility start showing signs of subservience and submission whereas in the case that they cannot in the end cope and are led to bankruptcy and in the end commit suicide or are publicly ridiculed by the mass media as one more human wreckage, leads us to one conclusion.
The state and capital in order to continue existing manufacture modern-day helots who can easily be compared to the Spartan ones. A system which at the alter of profit sacrifices human lives inconsiderably and with audacity. As I’ve already mentioned one of the main partners in this crime are banks which are nothing less than legitimate loan-sharks and are partly to blame for the plundering that’s taking place at the expense of peoples’ work.
Taking all the above into consideration we can understand Maki in Brecht’s … When he asks ‘what is a bank robbery compared to the establishment of a bank?’ But also taking me into consideration who wanting to resist on a personal level- as on a mass level all that know me personally know that I have participated as much as I could- to my future yoke, to determine myself the conditions and quality of my life, to put in to practice my refusal to ‘work’ and also to play the role of yet another productive unit, of yet another wheel in the wagon, wanting to attack the monstrosity that is called a bank (however at the same time having no illusions that I’ll inflict any major blows to this economic institution), choosing to mark a course of dignity in my life I decided to rob a bank. An act which I consider, amongst many others, as revolutionary and which claims deservingly its own place as such.
In all honesty I must admit that the money I was going to acquire through the robbery was going to have me as the end-recipient. At the same time, however, as an anarchist and as a person who wishes to show their solidarity through deeds I’d be one of the first to actively and with joy help in contributing to monetary needs, which might come up in this scene which I belong. Finally, what I’d like to point out here is that all which I have mentioned up to now does not in any way mean that I support a notion that whoever is an anarchist should be a bank robber or that whoever works is enslaved.
Going on now to recount the chain of events that took place, I take as a starting point the scene where I’m lying on the ground seriously injured by the cops’ fire and I have to let myself be taken into the states’ ‘warm’ embrace. The welcoming is to, say the least, impressive as an image, as most people saw, but also exemplary towards anyone who is considering acting in a similar way: A pack of hunters in blue uniforms and me in the role of the injured game being surrounded and receiving ‘friendly’ kicks- which later I found out where part of the framework to disarm me- and comments like ‘we fucked you’ or ‘you’re not such a big shot now, you fucker?!’ amongst other brave words. Finally, being handcuffed from behind despite the fact that I couldn’t move or breathe having received bullets in my lungs, liver and elbow completes the picture. I refer to these events without the slightest trace of bitterness, complaining or disappointment, as I didn’t expect any better treatment from my enemies in the case that I did fall into their hands. In any case, a similar attitude has been displayed to less ‘dangerous’ villains and as a mere example I’ d like to remind you of images such as the arrest of protesters and immigrants or the pogroms at gypsy camps just to name a few. I do refer to these events, however, as, in a tragic and insane way, these are the people who at my trial will come forward as the ones who defend and honor human life and dignity, while I’ll have the role of the immoral, hardened, violent and heartless criminal.
For the time that I was kept at Athens General Hospital I literally experienced the violation of every human right as an arrestee and later as a prisoner. There were early signs regarding how I was going to be treated when at my parents first visit to see me at the ICU (Intensive Care Unit). While there are very strict rules about the number of visitors- even in the case of relatives- an armed to the teeth police officer barges in and places himself in a corner which as a consequence destroyed any concept of at least sharing a private moment with my family, as from the drug-treatment I was receiving I couldn’t even open my mouth, much less hold a conversation. Following this incident and at an unsuspected time, while in a hazy condition from the heavy drug treatment I was undertaking due to the pains I had from my wounds and swimming in a sea of tubes that were coming out of my body, I realized that a guard was now permanently positioned inside the room and right next to me. This situation really irritated me and didn’t allow me to rest and I made it known to him. Strangely enough he then left the room and instead stood right in front of it. Of course when the doctors and the head of the ICU came to examine me I reported this incident and truly astounded and irritated by the event they got rid of the cop, wondering who had let him in.
Here, a big thank you needs to be given from my behalf to all those people, from the doctors to the nurses, who paid me attention and who irrelevant of their own political beliefs took care of me as best as they could. Some of these people also resisted as much as they could to the different pressures put on them by the prosecuting authorities, either in regards to my guarding or my transport and exit from the ICU.
On the third or fourth day of my hospital treatment I was informed that prosecutor Diotis was coming to see me later that afternoon. I must confess that to start with I wasn’t sure whether in my condition I would be up to facing him. The head of the ICU, however, assured me that he would be by my side for the duration of the interrogation and made it known to me that due to my condition I had a right to stop the process at whatever moment, something that I was unaware of. So when Diotis arrived escorted by a security police chief and another person whose official role I can’t remember, but was probably the interrogator, and as soon as each of them had spoken to me to me for a couple of minutes I signaled to my doctor that I wanted them to leave. On his way out Diotis told me that in any case they were going to find who else was with me and that to talk now would just make it easier for me. Of course his words fell on deaf ears. The second time he came I was given a chance to understand who Diotis really is when in a lively exchange of words with the head of the ICU a very strange phrase slipped his mouth. Having finished his monologue and having delivered me the arrest warrant and the list of accusations I was facing he asks me to sign. My doctor immediately intervenes and explains to him that I am incapable of doing such a thing at the moment and asks him to leave as my strength was deserting me. Then Diotis, to both our surprise, answers: ‘ Of course I respect the boy’s condition and I don’t intend to give him a hard time, because if I did I could just pull on his tubes a little and put his pressure up to 50′. I realized at that moment what would have happened in that room if the doctors weren’t people with willpower and values but simply pawns. I would have, no doubt, discovered the ‘famous’ interrogation methods that prosecutor Diotis has used in the past.
After this incident the conditions of my detention really worsened. Two armed guards were permanently placed inside the ICU and pressures were put on the head of the department for me to be admitted out earlier, which was achieved. I was then transferred to an especially laid out room in the Eye Clinic with the excuse that they would be able to guard me more efficiently. In this new space in which I was placed I was sleeping with two undercover cops by my side. Another two cops were permanently stationed in front of the open door of the room while one character kept trooping in and out every half hour to check up on things, another 5-6 cops were in the waiting room and an unknown number of individuals in the corridor outside.
The result of all this was for me not to able to sleep for 3-4 days and to feel like a monkey in the zoo as every jumped-up cop came in looking at me up and down and discussing me on his mobile phone or with his collegues. I was at the end of my tether and so made a complaint to the head of security about it all who replied that I was a prisoner now and that they’ll be the ones to judge how I should be guarded and that they’re protecting me from myself meaning, if you can believe, that they were watching over me so I didn’t commit suicide. Other amazing scenes that took place included me, still bed-ridden, relieving myself in front of them while they watched undisturbed, or me being handcuffed to the bed inside the ICU, again with the excuse of preventing me from committing suicide and other such incidents. Like the attempt to kidnap me from the Eye Clinic and to transport me to the hospital at Korydallos prisons while I still had stitches in from the surgical incisions, falsely claiming that the doctors had given their permission and which in the end was, for the time being, avoided due to my parents notifying the doctors.
I believe the sole purpose of all this was to humiliate me, to make me lose all sense of self-respect and to generally make me realize the fact that I was a captive in their hands and I no longer had any rights. These situations drove me to think of the hospital and prisons at Korydallos as a haven of mental tranquility.
In the mean time, while I was waiting to be transferred to Korydallos prisons, we all saw an orchestrated attempt by the prosecuting authorities to manufacture culprits with their only indication being that they belonged to my friendly environment or to the anarchist scene. I am now sure that the taking in of people to be interrogated, the making public of names and the issuing of arrest warrants were triggered by the police finding some of my personal photos, calls to and from my mobile or whatever document proved I had a friendly relationship with these individuals. I want to express my solidarity to all of them.
According to the police and journalist scenarios we form an, unknown at least to me, ‘gang in black’ which consists of 10-15 individuals, anti-authoritarians and anarchists (which leaves open an option of the authorities involving other individuals) and this gang has committed another 6 bank robberies, goes on holidays in expensive resorts, has close ties to Passaris and so on. As far as the money that had been gathered by various comrades to cover needs of the anarchist scene and which I kept in a bank deposit box, it was labeled as the product of robberies.
As an outcome of all the above, I ended up defending myself in front of the interrogator for 7 bank robberies, for attempted homicide and for money laundering plus being put under the anti-terrorist law.
That the state and its underdogs have as a standard tactic for years now to tarnish peoples’ reputation, to inflate briefs, to manufacture culprits, to organize trials that are judicial parodies and generally in all kinds of ways to demonstrate their hate and vengefulness towards whoever resists is well known. One question however forms when taking into serious consideration all the above. What kind of treatment and what kind of methods will the state use in the case of the arrest or voluntary coming forward of the three comrades in order to get a confession out of them and to send them to trial but also how will a ‘fair trial’ be secured for whoever goes through with this procedure?
Finally I have one thing to say to all those who are planning our physical, ethical and political annihilation, once and for all: no matter what dirty and unethical means they use, no matter how much they hunt us down and imprison us they will never crush us and tame us. Because those who are just are those who revolt not those who snitch and bow their heads down.
I also want to say a big thank you to all those who have chosen, chose or will chose to give me their support and solidarity, by whatever means, even though the nature of my case is, I believe, very difficult.
In struggle
Giannis Dimitrakis
Korydallos Prisons, 5 June 2006
You can send mail to Giannis at:
Giannis Dimitrakis
dikastikes filakes neapolis kritis
72400
Neapoli Kritis
Greece
date on the prison struggle in Greece, 2007-8
Up
12/01/2008
ON 3 NOVEMBER 2008 NEW WAVE OF PRISONERS MOBILIZATIONS STARTS WITH A COLLECTIVE HUNGER STRIKE AROUND THE WHOLE COUNTRY
PRISONERS DEMANDS
We the prisoners of the hell called with an euphemism: prisons of the greek state, tired with the fake promisses of all justice ministers in the last 10 years, to ameliorate prison conditions and the penal code and the penal justice code, decided to move forcefully, in order to claim our rightful demands.
WE DEMAND:
1. Abolish disciplinary charges. Modify the Penitentiary Code’s articles 68, 69, 70, 71. In any case, the disciplinary charges must be removed after the are served, and not accumulated nor taken into consideration when it comes to days off, work, education and discharge under conditions after they are served.
2. Reduction of the sentence limit for discharge under conditions, from 3/5 to the 3/7 of the sentence time. Immediate abolishment of the anti-constitutonal treaty that increased up to the 4/5 of crimes related to drugs.
3. Once and for all 3 year reduction of all prices, to make easier the relieve of over-crowding of prisons. NO to the new panoptic prisons, built isolated away from the cities social tissue.
4. Abolish the juuvenile prisons. Adopt open structure to take care of and protect the teenagers and youth.
5. Reduction of sentence limit of 25 years of continuous detention. Reduction of the minimum detention time to be discharged under conditions to 12 years from 16 that it is today, according to european legislature.
6. Immediate and without exceptions application of days-off, suspensions, and other benefits of the law, reduction of the minimal sentence time limits. Increase the number of days-off to 60 for those that have a right to 5 days and to 96 for those with a right to 8.
7. To end the over-use of pre-trial detentions and reduce the time limit to 12 months.
8. The para-justice racket is known for its hysteria of the last 8 years, leading to revengeful killing sentences. We as for proportionate sentences and wide application of the measure of suspension and discharge under conditions.
9. Full, permanent and 24 hour medical treatment and respect to the patients. Creation and improvement of adequate hygiene spaces (baths and toilets). Immediate integration of the Korydallos prison psychiatric and medical clinic to the National Health System, with new aisles for women and juveniles, that lack now. Immediate transportation of patients to public hospitals with ambulances and not in police vehicles, tied up with their hands behind their back.
10. To be provided the right in beneficial work payment, education, second chance schools, technical workshops and participation in diverse similar programms, to all prisoners proportionate and without any discrimination. To be given educational days-off, for all prisoners, that meet with the criteria and terms to study outside prison and for all levels of education and technical skills learning. Substancial amplification of withdrawal projects to all prisons.
11. Abolishion of the prison no-go zone. Free access for social and political institutions, Lawers Associations, Hellenic Medical Association and EINAP, organizations for human rights, NGOs and international organizations. Free circulation of political and educative press, with no exceptions.
12. Alternative forms of detention, amplification of agricultural prisons and of the institution of semi-free sentence as well as community service.
13. Amplification of the institution of free visits in humain conditions with respect to the personality and dignity of the prisoners and the visitors. Private place to meet with our companion.
14. Work and access to creative activities for all of us. Beneficial account of days of work in the sentence.
15. Right to selection of serving the sentence in their country of origin, for the prisoners from other countries, once and if they wish.
16. Humain transport conditions with improvement of the room in the preposterous transportation means of the greek police. More stops, improvement of the detention room in the miserable “Metagogon” transfer prison and faster transfer to the destination prisons.
DEMANDS OF THE WOMEN PRISONERS AT ELEONAS, THIVA PRISON:
On the occasion of the third-world life conditions inside this establishment but also our treatment by the totality of the ministry of justice services, and more precisely: Inexistant medical-pharmaceutical supply. Few, to even inexistant hygiene supply (without any right to a private purchase). Inexistant basic hygiene (no warm water). Inexistant social services and care. Preposterous food, because of luck of supplies. Even first need stuff is an unknown word here. Racist treatment of the prisoners when it comes to days-off and suspensions. Injust treatment of sentence accounts for suspension proportionate to the offence (2/5, 3/5 etc). Vast delays when it comes to bringing the case to the courthouse and especially the court of appeals. The peculiar stiffness of the persons judging us, despite the recommendations they have received. The inexistant second chance we are all waiting for and most of us have a right on it, but are never given. We decided to abstain from prison food commons from 03/11/2008 until proportionate measures are taken in regards to all the above. We expect your understanding.
Last update on the struggle inside, outside and against the prisons in Greece
An update on Greece’s prisoners collective hunger strike, reported actions in solidarity and some other related news. Most news come from athens.indymedia.org, some mainstream media, and a few prisoners and comrades.
October:
Diverse actions such as boycottage of prison meals around greek prisons and especially in Crete, informal prisoners committees form a network of communication and coordination. They spread a letter with prisoners demands and give a deadline of three weeks for the authorities to start working on them. After these three weeks mobilizations will peak with a boycottage of prison food, starting on 3/11 and a collective hunger strike from 7/11.
In Greece, more than 13.000 individuals are imprisoned, 1/3 of them without any trial yet, in awful conditions leading to more than 50 inmates losing their lives only last year.
On 30/10 the leftist “Initiative for prisoners rights” went with motorbikes to Diavata prisons in Thessaloniki. On 30/10 also, the anarchist prisoner (accused for participation in the kidnapping of northern Greece’s industrialists president) Polikarpos Georgiadis publishes an open letter on the prisoners mobilizations, making clear his disagreement with the hunger strike as having a deleterious effect on prisoners forces, creating fighters of many levels, some going on in a self-sacrifice spirit, others eating regularly etc. though stating his commitment to the prisoners struggle, “same as when he was outside” (letter can be found at http://halastor.blogspot.com/2008/10/blog-post_30.html).
November:
1/11: Lawyers association express their sympathy for the prisoners mobilizations.
2/11: Around 30 anarchists march to Volos prisons chanting and spray painting walls with slogans in solidarity to prisoners struggle.
3/11: Prison guards invade cells, harass prisoners and try to intimidate them in the face of the collective hunger strike. Riot police brigades deployed around many prisons.
3/11: Unannounced motorbike demo of dozens of anarchists to Korydallos (Athens) prisons where they chanted slogans in solidarity to prisoners struggle.
3/11: More than 8.000 prisoners boycotting prison meals.
4/11: Committe of the (left) parliament party SYN/SYRIZA meets with “minister of justice”, to discuss on an institutional committe from all parliament parties on prisons.
4/11: Anarchists/Antiauthoritarians in solidarity to prisoners organize demonstration-microphonics at Kamara, Thessaloniki centre.
4/11: At the juvenile prison of Volos, prisoners threw their stuff out of the cells and denied leaving their cells to go to the prison yard.
4/11: “Conspiracy of Cells of Fire” claims responsibility for a three-day rampage against military/police targets and sends “signal of fire to the prisoners that started a prison food strike since Monday, November 3″.
5/11: The president of the republic K. Papoulias speaks of the “major problem of prisons” with the typical humanitarian banalities.
5/11: Clubs of football fans such as PAOK-GATE4 and Panahaiki-NAVAJO expressed their support to the prisoners struggle.
5/11 Collective official form of complaints sent to the authorities undersigned by most of the prisoners at Diavata prison, outside Thessaloniki
6/11: Committe of the (leftist) “Initiative for prisoners rights” meets with “minister of justice” S. Hatzidakis, to negotiate on the prisoners issue.
6/11: Around 400 anarchists and revolutionaries ride with motorbikes and cars to Diavata prisons where they chanted slogans, torn down part of the barbed wire fencing and threw fireworks. The prisoners responded with slogans and howls.
6/11 Attack with fire at ruling party offices in Thessaloniki in solidarity to prisoners struggle, by the Cells of Aggresive Solidarity to Prisoners (more info at http://directactiongr.blogspot.com/)
7/11: Around 1000 prisoners on hunger strike. Less than 10 had to be tranfered to hospital.
7/11: Solidarity microphonics gathering in the market area of Chania, Crete
7/11: 98fm self-managed radio station of Athens, transmits prisoners demands and solidarity speach (http://www.radio98fm.org/home.html)
7/11: Prison guards try to intimidate prisoners in Ioannina and Diavata prisons, some transfers and night invasions in cells continue.
2/11: Around 30 anarchists march to Volos prisons chanting and spray painting walls with slogans in solidarity to prisoners struggle.
3/11: Prison guards invade cells, harass prisoners and try to intimidate them in the face of the collective hunger strike. Riot police brigades deployed around many prisons.
3/11: Unannounced motorbike demo of dozens of anarchists to Korydallos (Athens) prisons where they chanted slogans in solidarity to prisoners struggle.
3/11: More than 8.000 prisoners boycotting prison meals.
4/11: Committe of the (left) parliament party SYN/SYRIZA meets with “minister of justice”, to discuss on an institutional committe from all parliament parties on prisons.
4/11: Anarchists/Antiauthoritarians in solidarity to prisoners organize demonstration-microphonics at Kamara, Thessaloniki centre.
4/11: At the juvenile prison of Volos, prisoners threw their stuff out of the cells and denied leaving their cells to go to the prison yard.
4/11: “Conspiracy of Cells of Fire” claims responsibility for a three-day rampage against military/police targets and sends “signal of fire to the prisoners that started a prison food strike since Monday, November 3″.
5/11: The president of the republic K. Papoulias speaks of the “major problem of prisons” with the typical humanitarian banalities.
5/11: Clubs of football fans such as PAOK-GATE4 and Panahaiki-NAVAJO expressed their support to the prisoners struggle.
5/11 Collective official form of complaints sent to the authorities undersigned by most of the prisoners at Diavata prison, outside Thessaloniki
6/11: Committe of the (leftist) “Initiative for prisoners rights” meets with “minister of justice” S. Hatzidakis, to negotiate on the prisoners issue.
6/11: Around 400 anarchists and revolutionaries ride with motorbikes and cars to Diavata prisons where they chanted slogans, torn down part of the barbed wire fencing and threw fireworks. The prisoners responded with slogans and howls.
6/11 Attack with fire at ruling party offices in Thessaloniki in solidarity to prisoners struggle, by the Cells of Aggresive Solidarity to Prisoners (more info at http://directactiongr.blogspot.com/)
7/11: Around 1000 prisoners on hunger strike. Less than 10 had to be tranfered to hospital.
7/11: Solidarity microphonics gathering in the market area of Chania, Crete
7/11: 98fm self-managed radio station of Athens, transmits prisoners demands and solidarity speach (http://www.radio98fm.org/home.html)
7/11: Prison guards try to intimidate prisoners in Ioannina and Diavata prisons, some transfers and night invasions in cells continue.
7/11: Solidarity demonstration-microphonics in Athens
7/11: Solidarity demonstration in Serres
7/11: Solidarity demonstration in Serres
7/11 Solidarity demonstration in Lamia
7/11: Prisoners demands and solidarity speach, and interview with ex-con on 1431AM, student self-managed radio station (http://www.1431am.org/)
7/11: 2 mainstream radio stations are occupied by anarchists transmitting prisoners demands and solidarity speach in Thessaloniki and Lamia
7/11: Attack with paints against the council of state in Athens in solidarity to prisoners (more info at http://directactiongr.blogspot.com/)
8/11: Solidarity demonstration in Volos (photos at http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=923248)
8/11: Student unions and NGO express their sympathy to the prisoners mobilizations.
7/11: Prisoners demands and solidarity speach, and interview with ex-con on 1431AM, student self-managed radio station (http://www.1431am.org/)
7/11: 2 mainstream radio stations are occupied by anarchists transmitting prisoners demands and solidarity speach in Thessaloniki and Lamia
7/11: Attack with paints against the council of state in Athens in solidarity to prisoners (more info at http://directactiongr.blogspot.com/)
8/11: Solidarity demonstration in Volos (photos at http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=923248)
8/11: Student unions and NGO express their sympathy to the prisoners mobilizations.
8/11: A prisoner dies in Chios prisons. More than 50 prisoners died in the greek prisons this year only.
8/11: A prisoner in hunger strike from Diavata prison, Thessaloniki, trasfered to a public hospital because his health as in danger, but returned to the prison the next day.
9/11: Three kurdish prisoners in Trikala, mainland Greece, sew their mouths in hunger strike! Another 14 will do the same the following days!
9/11: Solidarity demonstration in Lamia, afterwards police stops and harasses the demonstrators but leaves them free without charges few hours later and after lawers and friends arrived at the police station.
9/11: Arsonists set on fire 4 expensive cars in Exarchia, Athens centre and attack the offices of PASOK. Unknown person phoned to “Eleftherotipia” newspaper claiming “The arsons of luxurious cars Saturday night in Athens centre were in solidarity to the hundreds of prisoners in hunger strike, at the dungeons of the greek republic. The owners of luxurious cars should limit their rides at the northern suburbs and keep off the proletarian neighborhoods of the centre. Fire to the mansions and the cars of the riches”.
9/11: 3.300 in hunger strike. In juvenile prisons the vast majority are on hunger strike.
10/11: 4.500 in hunger strike.
10/11: Delta Squat organizes a solidarity intervention, with a huge banner and leaflets at Thessaloniki centre (photos at http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=923026)
9/11: Three kurdish prisoners in Trikala, mainland Greece, sew their mouths in hunger strike! Another 14 will do the same the following days!
9/11: Solidarity demonstration in Lamia, afterwards police stops and harasses the demonstrators but leaves them free without charges few hours later and after lawers and friends arrived at the police station.
9/11: Arsonists set on fire 4 expensive cars in Exarchia, Athens centre and attack the offices of PASOK. Unknown person phoned to “Eleftherotipia” newspaper claiming “The arsons of luxurious cars Saturday night in Athens centre were in solidarity to the hundreds of prisoners in hunger strike, at the dungeons of the greek republic. The owners of luxurious cars should limit their rides at the northern suburbs and keep off the proletarian neighborhoods of the centre. Fire to the mansions and the cars of the riches”.
9/11: 3.300 in hunger strike. In juvenile prisons the vast majority are on hunger strike.
10/11: 4.500 in hunger strike.
10/11: Delta Squat organizes a solidarity intervention, with a huge banner and leaflets at Thessaloniki centre (photos at http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=923026)
10/11: Prison guards leave warm cooked food near prisoners on hunger strike (to torture them), or in other prisons invade in cells of prisoners that weren’t on hunger strike but boycot prison meals and take away some food cans, later photos of these are sent to fascist media provocating the prisoners struggle!
10/11: Al. Giotopoulos and V. Tzortzatos imprisoned in Korydallos special cells for allegedly involved with “November 17″ organization political prisoners, go on hunger strike in solidarity of common prisoners and denounce the role of “initiatives that speak in the name of the prisoners and get to speak with the minister of justice, covering him politically for his apathy, even if they are indeed in solidarity to them, the only one legitime to speak of the prisoners are the prisoners themselves”. They state that “the only way is the common prisoners to be the only ones taking part in these committees” and that “the reason there are no prisoner insurrections is the vast dispension of drugs within the prisons”.
10/11: The leftist “Initiative for prisoners rights” organizes a solidarity concert in Athens centre. A bank is set on fire in Athens centre.
10/11: Al. Giotopoulos and V. Tzortzatos imprisoned in Korydallos special cells for allegedly involved with “November 17″ organization political prisoners, go on hunger strike in solidarity of common prisoners and denounce the role of “initiatives that speak in the name of the prisoners and get to speak with the minister of justice, covering him politically for his apathy, even if they are indeed in solidarity to them, the only one legitime to speak of the prisoners are the prisoners themselves”. They state that “the only way is the common prisoners to be the only ones taking part in these committees” and that “the reason there are no prisoner insurrections is the vast dispension of drugs within the prisons”.
10/11: The leftist “Initiative for prisoners rights” organizes a solidarity concert in Athens centre. A bank is set on fire in Athens centre.
11/11: Solidarity flyers appear around towns in north western Greece.
10/11: New Democracy (ruling party) offices at Halandri, Athens, burnt with an improvised gas canister device.
10/11: Kyriakoula Lymnioudi, medical attendant at Chios prisons, publishes an article at a local newspaper describing the medieval conditions of the prison.
11/11: Solidarity demonstration in Thessaloniki centre, during the march of around 800 called by most anarchist/antiauthoritarian collectives of the city and the “Initiative for prisoners rights”, some surveillance cameras and bank ATMs are vandalised.
11/11: The State’s council on prisons, in a special meeting suggest the discharge of 1.500 prisoners and satisfaction of some of the prisoners demands (smaller sentences, 3/5 for drug users, 12 months of pre-trial imprisonment instead of 18, 6 days off instead of 5 etc). Prisoners turn down this mockery.
11/11: 18 ANO group for social rehabilitation of toxic addicts expresses solidarity with prisoners mobilizations.
10/11: New Democracy (ruling party) offices at Halandri, Athens, burnt with an improvised gas canister device.
10/11: Kyriakoula Lymnioudi, medical attendant at Chios prisons, publishes an article at a local newspaper describing the medieval conditions of the prison.
11/11: Solidarity demonstration in Thessaloniki centre, during the march of around 800 called by most anarchist/antiauthoritarian collectives of the city and the “Initiative for prisoners rights”, some surveillance cameras and bank ATMs are vandalised.
11/11: The State’s council on prisons, in a special meeting suggest the discharge of 1.500 prisoners and satisfaction of some of the prisoners demands (smaller sentences, 3/5 for drug users, 12 months of pre-trial imprisonment instead of 18, 6 days off instead of 5 etc). Prisoners turn down this mockery.
11/11: 18 ANO group for social rehabilitation of toxic addicts expresses solidarity with prisoners mobilizations.
11/11: Geology students of Aristotle university (Thessaloniki) after an assembly, come with a vote in solidarity to prisoners.
11/11: Posters and communiques circulate in all major cities around the country.
11/11: Mobile microphonics moves for hours around Chania, Crete, stops at the city hall where immigrants were on hunger strike too, and at the city’s prisons, where it was greeted with slogans.
11/11: Prisoners demands and solidarity speach, and interview with ex-con (replay) on 1431AM, student self-managed radio station (http://www.1431am.org/)
11/11: Around 40 anarchists attack with bottles filled with red and black paint the new offices of PASOK (opposition party) and G. Voulgarakis (ex-minister) offices in Athens centre. Two undercover policemen threatened them with their guns, but were repelled with bottles and stones. On their way back, the anarchists broke down a National bank and a Eurobank branch, a bank’s van, undercover police motorbikes and a fascist bookshop of Adonis Georgiadis (LAOS right wing party member), throwing flyers in solidarity to prisoners struggle, throughout their way.
11/11: Around 10 anarchists attack the building of the ministry of press with stones and molotovs in solidarity to prisoners struggle.
11/11: More than 5.000 prisoners in hungerstrike, another 6.500 boycotting prison meals.
11/11: Mobile microphonics moves for hours around Chania, Crete, stops at the city hall where immigrants were on hunger strike too, and at the city’s prisons, where it was greeted with slogans.
11/11: Prisoners demands and solidarity speach, and interview with ex-con (replay) on 1431AM, student self-managed radio station (http://www.1431am.org/)
11/11: Around 40 anarchists attack with bottles filled with red and black paint the new offices of PASOK (opposition party) and G. Voulgarakis (ex-minister) offices in Athens centre. Two undercover policemen threatened them with their guns, but were repelled with bottles and stones. On their way back, the anarchists broke down a National bank and a Eurobank branch, a bank’s van, undercover police motorbikes and a fascist bookshop of Adonis Georgiadis (LAOS right wing party member), throwing flyers in solidarity to prisoners struggle, throughout their way.
11/11: Around 10 anarchists attack the building of the ministry of press with stones and molotovs in solidarity to prisoners struggle.
11/11: More than 5.000 prisoners in hungerstrike, another 6.500 boycotting prison meals.
12/11: The “National Prisoners Committe” sends an open letter to the minister of justice: “We have started a struggle as citizens claiming our rights. Our fellow prisoners participation has overcome every hope and every previous mobilization. We want to manage our struggle ourselves. To speak in our name, with our name. We ask for our elected national prisoners committe, which are the real representatives of the prisoners, to meet with the minister. The meeting can take place in Korydallos, and we ask to help the persons of the committe be transfered there. The National Committe is: Radza Jabar (Trikala prisons), Aleksandar Kola (Trikala prisons), Abdel Halim Fatah (Trikala prisons), Vaggelis Palis (Chios prisons), Karabulea Danny (Kerkyra prisons).
12/11: Meanwhile, the (leftist) “Initiative for prisoners rights” meets again with the minister of justice who said he would come up with a new pack of measures in the following days. Justice minister also met with republic president K. Papoulias who in his turn said a new pack of nonsense. The “Initiative” announces they support the prisoners committe, and that determination, consistence and unity are needed”.
12/11: More than 5.500 prisoners in hunger strike, and around 6.000 boycotting prison food. Dozens of prisoners, especially drug addicts, needed to be transfered to hospital after a week of hunger strike. Around 20 inmates sewed their mouths in Trikala and Amfissa prisons.
12/11: The “Arsonist committe for prisoner solidarity” claim responsibility for incendiary attacks against a New Democracy vehicle at Halandri (8/11), a security car at Gyzi (8/11), a police car (10/11), offices of a constructin company involved in police barracks (10/11), an Emporiki bank (10/11), a Cyprus Bank (11/11), a vehicle of “Sklavenitis” supermarkets that supplies with food the prisons (11/11), the private car of the former public order minister S. Valyrakis responsible for the repression of prison mutinies of 1995, and a government vehicle at Ambelokipi (11/11) in solidarity to prisoners struggle.
12/11: Kostas Karatsolis, Dimitris Koufontinas, Iraklis Kostaris, Vassilis Ksiros, Savvas Ksiros and Christodoulos Ksiros, all prisoners in Korydallos special prisons for involvement in November 17, express their solidarity with the prisoners struggle, and call for unity in action.
12/11: Reports around most press and internet media on the prisoners struggle and the “problem with prisons”, while in the same time they describe the last wave of direct actions as an anarchist warm-up for the annual 17/11 march, where the police is expected to “get square” deploying 8.500 cops, pre-arresting suspects etc. Media try to obscure any connection among the “prison problem” and solidarity actions outside prisons.
12/11: The lawyers associations coordinative committee supports the immediate satisfaction of the prisoners demands, and ask to meet with the prime minister K. Karamanlis.
12/11: Spray painting and vandalism in solidarity actions at the Greek Embassy in London, and Moabit prison memorial in Germany.
13/11: Anarchist collectives call at solidarity demonstration at 18:00 in Propylea, Athens centre, where more than 2.000 people march. Riot-police brigades are repelled by the demonstrators with wooden sticks with flags, and spray painting slogans and leaflet distribution takes place. A car of the national television is set on fire after the march. Photos http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=924567 and http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=924304 and http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=925702)
13/11: Microphonics solidarity demo in central Heraklion, Crete by anarchists/antiauthoritarians.
13/11: Parts of three prisoners letters published at “Ta Nea” newspaper, revealing aspects of the conditions inside prisons, such as the lack of doctors, miserable food (everyday potatos for Eleonas women prisons, after a treaty among prison authorities and potato company), toilets not functioning, only cold water available at the showers and days-off only for the management’s “favorites”.
13/11: A prisoner is found dead in Grevena prison. Nikolas Bardakis was in hunger strike, though the ministry of justice claims his death was not related to the hunger strike.
13/11: Solidarity demonstration in Veria, called by “Schinovatis” local antiauthoritarian group.
13/11: Chemistry students association of Crete votes for solidarity to the prisoners struggle.
13/11: Arsonists hit 5 banks and supermarkets during the night in Thessaloniki.
13/11: Greek economy minister G. Alogoskoufis is pelted with eggs in London during a speach in London School of economics by a group throwing leaflets and chanting slogans in solidarity to prisoners. On his way back to Greece, he was attacked again in the airport by a group in solidarity to prisoners throwing yoghurts at him!
14/11: The association of hospital doctors votes for solidarity to the prisoners mobilizations.
14/11: A groups claims responsibility for the arson against an ATE bank in solidarity to the prisoners and to three anarchist fugitives.
14/11: A bloggers initiative “Not in our names” calls for solidarity to the prisoners mobilizations and starts a signature petition.
14/11: Ministry of justice proposes via the mass-media a new set of measures. Prisoners aren’t satisfied.
14/11: The “Alternative Lawyers Intervention of Athens” expressess its solidarity to the prisoners mobilizations and demands.
14/11: In Giannena, local students associations have voted for solidarity to prisoners, while the local prisoner solidarity assembly demonstrate outside Giannena prison during visit time, chanting slogans in solidarity to prisoners. An info-stall runs everyday in the city center.
14/11: In Arta, municipal employees tear down a banner hanged by the local Open Assembly, in solidarity to prisoners, after an open gig organized in the town center.
14/11: Athens media students association vote for solidarity to prisoners.
14/11: Legal management students association votes for solidarity to prisoners mobilizations.
14/11: Athens: “Incendiary Solidarity” claims responsibility for attacking companies cooperating with the ministry of justice and supplying prisons and several banks around Athens.
14/11: Lisbon, Portugal: Anarchist distribute solidarity flyers around the greek embassy. More info at http://anarcores.blogspot.com/2008/11/greetings-from-lisbon.html
15/11 98fm chaos radio station (self-managed) transmits solidarity speach and prisoners struggle info.
15/11: Around 20-30 people in Chios island, from a local solidarity committe and a collective from Lesvos island, climbed in a roof near the prisons with a red-black flag and got contact with prisoners. On their sight, the prisoners greeted them loudly and started breaking glass windows of the prison. The two sides chanted slogans together. Later on, a solidarity concert takes place in Chios town. Photos: http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=925051 and http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=927251)
15/11: Solidarity and info gathering at Naxos island by the Autonomous Initiative of Naxos with microphonics. Photos at http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=925019
15/11: Common letter from the anarchist prisoners P. Georgiadis, G. Dimitrakis, G. Voutsis-Vogiatzis, on the prisoners struggle.
15/11: Anarchist prisoner P. Georgiadis gets tranfered from Ioannina to Komotini juridical prison.
15/11: A few prisoners send letters with complaints to a newspaper “Eleftheros Tipos”.
16/11: Anarchists/antiauthoritarians solidarity marches to Alikarnassos and Lasithi prisons in Crete.
16/11: Info and solidarity demo at Brixton oval, London UK and walk to Brixton prison. Some photos at http://bezmotivnik.blogspot.com/2008/11/brixton.html
16/11: Minister of justice, K. Gletsos unannouncedly visits the prison of Larissa, and has a talk with prisoners on the new set of measures he will announce on the following days
16/11: Christos Tsibanis, 30 years old, hangs him self inside a toilet of Domokos prison. Fellow prisoners find his body and try to do CPR on him, while prison guards came only half an hour later, and no doctors were present. Christos is in a coma. Domokos prison was the issue of a popular TV show, bringing into light the major illegalities of the prison authorities, such as giving days-off to inmates in exchange with some “favors” connected with prison officials’ illegal business outside. All this came to light after a prisoner talked to the reporters, and prison manager and guard chief were suspended.
16/11: Lisbon, Portugal – “Sunday night anarchists attacked the greek embassy in Lisbon (Portugal) with black paint-bombs. Greetings to the comrades. Solidarity to the prisoners in struggle!” (http://www.325collective.com/direct-action.html)
16/11: 5.800 prisoners in hunger strike.
17/11: More than 6.500 prisoners in hunger strike. 3 dead in Grevena, Chios and Domokos prisons. Dozens stopped consuming even water!
17/11: A prisoner named Constandinos Polidorou, communicates with a TV station denouncing the existance of “Blue Cells” of torture inside Korydallos prison, where guards were leaving inmates naked, and lowering temperature, while until 1997, inmates were tied on a marble cross, treated with drugs and water under pressure.
17/11: In some cities anarchists connect the annual November 17, 1973 anti-junta insurrection remembrance day to the prisoners struggle, calling to demonstrations.
17/11: In Nicosia, Cyprus the local group “Antiauthoritarian Autonomous Action” organizes a demonstration to the greek embassy in solidarity to the prisoners in struggle (more at http://adakiprus.blogspot.com/).
17/11: In Corfu, anarchists march to the local prison chanting slogans, while the prisoners welcome them with slogans ans setting fire to matresses and clothes.
17/11: Gathering with banners and flyers in Kozani.
17/11: Open assembly of a Citizens Initiative in Chios, on prisoner support.
17/11: 1431 AM holds a radio show on prisoners with members of the (leftist) Initiative for prisoners rights, and the “Common Action for prisoners rights” (which is formed by the “Marxist-Leninist Communist Party”, “Left Refoundation”, “left Anticapitalist Formation”, “Workers Anti-imperialist Front”, “Workers Revolutionary Party”, “New Left Current”, “Workers Party” and an organization self-titled “Antiauthoritarian Movement”).
17/11: The (left) “Initiative for prisoners rights” publishes a petition signed by 3.000 citizens and many left politicians and celebrities “joining their voice to the prisoners”.
18/11: 7.000 prisoners in hunger strike, according to the mainstream mass-media.
18/11: Solidarity march outside Korydallos prison in Athens, called by the leftit “Initiative for prisoners rights”, attended by some 600 persons, mostly anarchists, that burnt a greek flag hanged outside the prison entrance, and threw fireworks. There were riot-police brigades, but demonstrators had eye-contact with prisoners inside. Prisoners made light signals, chanted slogans, set on fire clothes at their cells’ windows, and demonstratores replied by setting garbadge bins on fire and chanting slogans together. There were also some live phone-calls with prisoners from people outside.
18/11: Members of the left parliament party SYN/SYRIZA visit Trikala prisons.
18/11: Greek lawyers associations denounce the justice minister on issues concerning prisons and justice in general, and ask for his replacement.
18/11: A local assembly in solidarity to prisoners, by anarchists and autonomists, occupies two radio stations in Ioannina to make known the prisoners struggle, and organizes interventions in the city centre.
18/11: A prisoner speaks live on a well known left-wing performer’s (Jimmis Panousis) radio show, on the hunger strike, notes that prisoners aren’t in well-maintained health, and with the hunger strike this is much worst, and asks for the minister to talk with the prisoners committee.
18/11: In Nikea, Piraeus, a prisoner gets a day-off to be present at his mother’s funeral, but later the cops invade the church, hand cuff them and take them inside a police van.
18/11: In Thessaloniki, the open assembly for prisoner solidarity holds an open assembly with the people at Kamara (a central piazza).
18/11: 50-60 demonstrators attack with paint-bombs the courthouse of Thessaloniki, after a microphonics demo.
19/11: Three prisoners, two men and one woman from Diavata prisons, transfered to a public hospital after their health was in danger because of the hunger strike. The men felt better and returned to prison, the same day.
19/11: After relatives and families of prisoners meet with the minister of Macedonia-Thrace in Thessaloniki, the “Common Action for prisoners rights” (formed by the “Marxist-Leninist Communist Party”, “Left Refoundation”, “left Anticapitalist Formation”, “Workers Anti-imperialist Front”, “Workers Revolutionary Party”, “New Left Current”, “Workers Party” and an organization self-titled “Antiauthoritarian Movement”) organizes a mobile concert from Thessaloniki centre to Diavata prison, and announces the opening of a bank account for a “prisoner solidarity fund”.
19/11: City hall of Thessaloniki attacked with paints and flyers against prison appeared around it.
19/11: S. Hatzigakis, minister of justice, in his speach inside the parliament speaks of “certain non-parliamentary circles that inflame this case” and mentions that “opening the prisons to let the prisoners go is not normal, once society has its defences”.
19/11: March to Larissa prisons by the (left) Antiracist Initiative of Larissa. Prisoners welcomed demonstrators chanting slogans.
19/11: Minister of justice presents the new set of measures on prisons to be discussed in the parliament is made known through the mass-media. Release of all imprisoned for minor misdemeanours (1.500 prisoners) once and for all, without bail. All imprisoned for up to 5 years, enabled for dismissal on bail, apart from serious felonies and drug related cases. Disabled and AIDS patients dismissed under certain conditions. Disciplinary charges are not added to the penal charges. One more day-off. Access to the prisons by a committe of all parliament parties, and some more minor benefits, especially for drug users, as well as: The construction of 4 new prisons and the expansion of 3 existant prisons, to “better comfort the prisoners rehabilitation”.
19/11: During day time, few dozens of persons attacked the city hall of Thessaloniki with paints and spread flyers against prisons. (photos http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=927020)
19/11: Dozens of prisoners taken to hospitals, because of the hunger strikes. More than 30 from Larissa prisons, another 30 from Patras prison, and 4 women from Eleonas.
19/11: Around 50-60 anarchists gather outside Patras prisons, chanting slogans and holding banners, flags and fireworks. The prisoners (more than 900 in hunger strike) greeted them with slogans and setting clothes on fire. (Photos http://patras.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=2467)
20/11: The Left Radical Doctors Group announces their support to the prisoners struggle and the creation of a mobile unit to provide health care to prisoners in hunger strike.
20/11: More than 200 bloggers post, undersign and forward to the government and other institutions a text supporting prisoners mobilizations.
20/11: The brothers of Demokritos Vouvakis, found dead in Chios prisons on 8/11, raise a lawsuit against the prison authorities. The unfortunate man, was found dead of excessive drug pill consumption prescribed by the prison doctors, an incident possibly connected with threats he received against his life while in pre-trial imprisonment, something he had expressed to the prison authorities that didn’t take any measures.
20/11: The “Common Action for prisoners rights” and the “National Prisoners Committee” announce the cease of the hunger strike on 21/11, after the last declarations of the minister of justice, expecting from the parliament to pass a law affirming them within 3 months. They thank “the solidarity movement, every institution, political party, and every fighter that stands by us by any means he or she selects and declare that our struggle against this human disposal centers continues”. The “Common Action for prisoners” announces they stop a gathering outside the ministry because of the cease of the hungerstrike. Less than 10 persons attended anyway. Most NGOs consider the measures suggested as very limited. Meanwhile, many prisoners seem to continue the hunger strike despite the announcements.
21/11: Minister of justice, S. Hatzigakis speaks in the parliament of the measures taken, saying there will be no further reforms. Prisoners condemned for misdemeanours that have spent more than 1/5 of less than two years sentence or 1/3 for more than two years sentence, may be discharged, for this time and only. Most prisoners for drug use will be able to serve 3/5 of their sentence before being discharged under conditions. Pre-trial imprisonment is set to 12 months instead of 18 but only for some cases. One more day-off a year. Smaller disciplinary charges. Some AIDS and other diseases patients may be discharged under conditions. Nothing gets better for felony (capital crimes) offender, no possibility to buy off a long (over 5 years) sentence, even if for a misdemeanour (the case for the vast majority of prisoners). Nothing gets better for juvenile prisoners. Cumulative sentences remain. Nothing gets betters for the prisoners transfers. The prisoners committe will not be allowed to see the justice minister. S. Hatzigakis mentioned it is the first time since 1982, where the first prisoner mobilizations started, that a protest ends in a peaceful manner, through succesful dialogue and a synthesis of opinions. He added that this peaceful protest is a heritage for future situations, and that every political party and institution helped in the solution of the prison problem (sic).
21/11: Prison authorities prevent a lawyer from taking a protest letter by a client inmate in Diavata prisons, undersigned by many of the prisoners, out of the prison. They finally give him the letter after they note down the signatures.
21/11: Three detainees escape from Thiva police prison, cettung their cell’s bars with a hack saw.
21/11: Night event of economic support at Delta squat, Thessaloniki, with video-projections and live concert with “Intibah”.
21/11: The “Assembly for prisoner solidarity” in Ioannina calls “all citizens, associations and institutions” in a march to Ioannina prisons.
21/11: Chios island, the local prisoner solidarity committe circulates a report of the prison guards asking for the tranfer of the prison doctor (the one that had denounced the conditions in a local newspaper earlier), because after they (the prison guards) beaten up a prisoner causing him head injuries, the prison doctor dared to ask the prisoner who beated him so brutally. According to the prison guards “she should mind her own business”.
21/11: Trash h/c benefit gig at the self-managed infoshop of Kavala, hosted by Accion Mutante, in support of the prisoners struggle.
21/11: Solidarity night at Evaggelismos squat, Heraklion, Crete. Projection of the film “I hate sun that rises for everyone”. More at http://katalipsievagelismou.blogspot.com/
21/11: Following a rather typical tactic, the Communist Party through its newspaper and a “Democratic Coalition” it has formed on legal issues, asks for prison reforms by the time of the cease of the prisoners mobilizations, blaming the ruling party and the opposition for the current situation. It also asks for obligatory basic education for prisoners and free access to prisons for social and scientific institutions and political party representatives…
22/11: Solidarity motorbike-mobile concert (artists on a van playing music)-demo to the prisons of Diavata, Thessaloniki, after an initiative of relatives of some prisoners affiliated with the “Common action for prisoners rights”. The event is cancelled due to bad weather conditions.
22/11: Fundraiser DIY hip-hop “Until we break da chains” party at the polytechnic university, Athens.
22/11: Assembly on the prisoners struggle in Greece, and “classic punk” night at “To fanari tou Diogeni” squat in Cyprus (http://www.squatofcyprus.blogspot.com/).
22/11: Solidarity demo and microphonics in Mytilini, Lesvos island.
22/11: 280 walk to Ioannina prisons, in a march called by the (leftist) “Prisoner Solidarity Assembly” and a prisoner solidarity assembly of local anarchists and autonomists.
22/11: “A sign of solidarity to the thousands of hungerstrikers in the dungeons of democracy” was according to an unknown person’s phone call to “Eleftherotipia” newspaper the incendiary attach a few minutes after 11:30 in the night of Tuesday, wrecking a Millenium bank branch, on 25 Pentelis Avenue, Halandri. “We encourage the justice minister and the prison guards not to mess around with fire. Victory to the prisoners struggle untill the destruction of every last prison.
24/11: Open speak on prisons, prison conditions and the prisoners struggle, by the “Alterative Lawers Initiative” in Thessaloniki, where a member of the “national prisoners committee” V. Pallis will speak through phone.
25/11: The “Common action for prisoners rights” calls at a demo outside the justice ministry during some affiliated with them prisoner relatives meet with the minister inside.
25/11: Ioannis Kamberis, 38 year old prisoner in Corfu, is found dead in his cell during his 17 year sentence for some thefts. According to the guards, by heroine. Another one, 24 years old, was found in a comma, and transfered to the hospital. He is better now.
26/11: Demonstration of the “Common Action for prisoners solidarity”, with some 500 persons.
26/11: Justice minister adds a paragraph enabling for dismissal any prisoners over 80 years old with mental diseases. According to the opposition, this “photographs” the only over 80 y.o. prisoner who happens to be D. Ioannidis, imprisoned for his leading role in the military junta of 1967-74 since 1974…
26/11: The minister of justice, during a tv interview mentions we should also think of other ways to let more persons out of prison, such as micro-chip implants…
26/11: The government committe accepts the justice minister’s plans, and “3.800 prisoners are expected to have christmas at home with their families”.
26/11: Solidarity intervention with flyers and banners outside the Greek embassy of Hage, in Holland. (Photos: http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=929809)
27/11: A bulgarian prisoner is found dead in Chios prisons. He was transfered to a hospital a few days earlier with a chest ache, but returned back to prison the same day. Chios prison authorities have banned any communication with prisoners, for any committe from outside, including even lawyers association, NGOs and political parties.
27/11: Demonstration at Neptunplatz, Köln, Germany, in solidarity to the prisoners struggle in Greece. This same initiative organizing the demo, also announces a demo to the local prisons on new year’s eve, a gathering at the city’s central station on December 1, in solidarity to the prisoner’s collective hungerstrike in Italy that begins then, and other events and radio shows during December. (photos: http://anarcores.blogspot.com/2008/12/blog-post.html)
28/11: Live talk with anarchist and other prisoners at 98fm pirate radio station.
28/11: Live talk with anarchist and other prisoners at 98fm pirate radio station.
29/11: Two interventions in Veria, outside the technical school and at the open street market, by the local group “Shinovatis” (sxinovati(at)yahoo.com)
1/12: “Eleftherotipia” newspaper reports another death in Chios prison, of a 53 year old Belarussian this time, according to the prison authorities due to heart disease. Unrest among prisoners.
1/12: Former military regime leading member D. Ioannidis ask with a letter to the minister of justice to be included in the prisoners to be discharged.
1/12: A 32 year old suicides while under custody, inside Alexandria police station, near Thessaloniki.
1/12: Anarchist weekend in Florina, including posters, videos and info material on the prisoners struggle, by local anarchist students.
4/12: Manager of Diavata prisons gets beaten up during a speach in Law school of Aristotle university Thessaloniki, and transfered to hospital!
4/12: Anarchist event on prisons in Alexandroupoli.
Struggle continues!
Keep in mind: Across the world, prisoners fight their incarceration, by all means.
Across Italian prisons, a collective hunger strike has started since 1/12, initiated by life-prisoners against life sentence (currently 26 years in Italy).
In Germany as well, self-organized prisoner struggles have infested German prisons with unrest. Learn more: http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20081201123441564&mode=print
In the UK, the absence of any collective action has given way to prisoners violence towards themselves, with drug use, suicides and conscious self-harm raising.
In North America, several cases of fights among prisoners, have turned to prison riots during the last months.
Keep warm!
Germany:
Greetings from Lisbon
From e-mail:
Friday, Nov.14, at 11h in the morning we distributed 200 A4-size leaflets in front and around the building of the Economy and Comerce Section of the Greek Embassy, in the center of Lisbon, leaving some of them inside the building also. The leaflets included a small introdutory text to the prisoners’ struggle, a few of their demands, and a chronology of the events until that day. Besides, it also included the following text:”
Prison is everywhere, in all our life. Constantly we are watched, controlled, identified, listened… it is the cop, the surveillance camera, the court, the judge, the police station, and our entire reality of forced interactions… it is the fear of being what we are, of saying what we feel, of doing what we would like to do… it is the everyday misery, it stalks us in our memory, it is a permanent threat….
Prison is also that isolate building, where only the convicted and the hangmen are… it is the siege from where we can not leave, it is the guards that control and torture us, it is our body in the hands of the state…it is the walls that enclose and hide us, that push us away for years… it is the place where everything is taken away from us…
Prison is, at the same time, an idea and a building. But always a reality.
In Greece, like everywhere else, the struggle of the prisoners is the only way to face and fight the reality to which they are forced. To accept prison is only possible due to all the means of alienation the state uses, inside and outside the prisons, and that create a daily life of fear and resignation. What’s happening today in the Greek prisons has born from the determination of individuals kidnapped by the state, and although we are outside the walls, that doesn’t mean we’re free. That freedom, we have to conquer it.
In Greece, in Portugal, and anywhere else, no condition of life inside a prison will ever be human, because that’s impossible inside a prison. There’s no reform of whatever nature that can, in any way, humanize this place where we’re locked up; where everything, with the exception of dignity, is taken away from us.
But dignity will always belong to those who struggle, to the insurgents, to the individuals.
There are countless ways with which to show our solidarity and spread the revolt, attacking control and the controllers of this world; the first step is to decide on which side we are.
Having said this, the only “demand” we have is the destruction of every prison and of this prison-society!
SOLIDARITY WITH THE PRISONERS IN STRUGGLE IN GREECE!
anarchists”
***
Portuguese: Alastrando a solidariedade
Na sexta-feira, dia 14 de Nov., às 11h da manhã distribuímos 200 flyers tamanho A4 em frente e em redor do edifício da Secção Económica e Comercial da Embaixada Grega, no centro de Lisboa, deixando também alguns dentro do edifício. Os flyers continham um breve texto introdutório à luta dos presos, algumas das suas exigências e uma cronologia dos acontecimentos até à data. Além disso, incluia também o seguinte texto:
A prisão está em todo o lado, em toda a nossa vida. Constantemente somos observados, controlados, identificados, escutados… ela é o polícia, a câmara de vigilância, o tribunal, o juíz, a esquadra, e toda a nossa realidade diária de interacções forçadas… ela é o medo de sermos o que somos, de dizermos o que sentimos, de fazermos o que gostaríamos de fazer… ela é a miséria quotidiana, persegue-nos na nossa memória, é uma ameaça permanente…
A prisão é também aquele edifício isolado, onde só estão os condenados e os carrascos… é o cerco de onde não podemos sair, é os guardas que nos controlam e torturam, é o nosso corpo nas mãos do Estado… ela é as paredes que nos fecham e que nos escondem, que nos afastam durante anos… ela é o sítio onde tudo nos é retirado…
A prisão é, ao mesmo tempo, uma ideia e um edifício. Mas sempre uma realidade.
Na Grécia ou em qualquer outro lugar, a luta por parte dos presos é a única forma de enfrentarem e combaterem a realidade a que são obrigados. Aceitar a prisão é apenas possível por meio de todos os métodos de alienação que o Estado emprega, dentro e fora das prisões, e que criam um quotidiano de medo e resignação. O que se passa hoje nas prisões Gregas nasceu da determinação de indivíduos sequestrados pelo Estado, e embora nós estejamos no exterior das paredes, isso não significa que sejamos livres. Essa liberdade temos nós de a conquistar.
Na Grécia, em Portugal ou em qualquer outro país, nenhuma condição de vida dentro da prisão será humana, pois isso é impossível dentro de uma prisão. Não existe reforma de qualquer natureza que possa, de alguma maneira, humanizar um local onde estamos presos; onde tudo, à excepção da dignidade, nos é retirado.
Mas a dignidade pertencerá sempre aos que lutam, aos insurgentes, aos indivíduos.
Há inúmeros modos através dos quais podemos dar a nossa solidariedade e alastrar a revolta, atacando o controlo e os controladores deste mundo; o primeiro passo é decidir de que lado estamos.
Posto isto, a única exigência que temos é a destruição de todas as prisões e desta sociedade-prisão!
SOLIDARIEDADE COM OS PRESOS EM LUTA NA GRÉCIA!
anarquistas”
***
Brixton, UK…
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Solidarity Poster for Polykarpos Georgiadis and Vaggelis Chrisohoidis (greece)
POSTER SAYS:
did anyone speak of a
KIDNAPPING?
“…A handful of capitalists
have organized a criminal gang
and have kidnapped the proletarians,
demanding for ransom
their labor force,
merchandising their human activity,
their time (which is turned into money),
their own being itself…”
to vaggelis Chrisohoidis and Polykarpos Georgiadis
who the persecuting authorities, exactly because they denied to betray values and people,
accuse them as participators in the kidnapping of industrialist Milonas
anarchists from Serres from north-greece
About 30 anarchists with helmets and hoods went into the supermarketnear the university of Saloniki and destroyed the security system! They took the foodstuff from the shelves and also took the moneyfrom the cash desk and burnt it outside the supermarket!nobody arrested!!