[México] Two Days of Rioting at Bullring

re-posted from IllVox.org

Two Days of Rioting at Bullring in Plaza de Toros México

anonymous communique (translation):

“Autonomous individuals for the abolition of tauricide claimed acts of sabotage and vandalism during the February 1st march at the ‘monumental’ Plaza de Toros México:

- The painting of a police van with the words Torturers!, at a checkpoint on the outskirts of the inquisitorial plaza.

- Muriatic acid bombs were thrown inside it, which shocked the accomplices of bullfighting.

- Bulbs of red paint and oil were thrown on the walls.

- Rotten fruit was thrown at people who were prepared to enjoy themselves at the cost of the humiliating death of an animal.

- And finally a couple of reporters from the mainstream media of misinformation were bathed in urine.

We hit the walls of the plazas de toros!”

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anonymous communique (translation):

“During the demonstration on February 5 (the date on which the bullfighters celebrate the anniversary of the largest bullring in Mexico) various direct action groups demonstrated that the radical movement for total liberation is growing day by day.

The riots began when police attempted to arrest one of the activists; after getting away from the police ring, the walls of the arena were stained with red, black, green and other colors of paint thrown in glass bottles; the windshields of bullfighter’s cars were smashed by stones and sticks; ‘Shitty speciesists!’ was painted on one of the arena’s great walls; the walls of the square shook with the roar of a large homemade bomb, excrement was hurled at a barbecue that was being held by animal torture sympathizers; one of those anthrocentric bastards was physically attacked; there was a small clash between activists and the repressive police force; much later in the bullfighting museum their ‘beautiful’ decorations were attacked, smelly rotten fruit was thrown into the building and stones were thrown at one of the imbeciles dominating the earth and its inhabitants.

At the conclusion of the demonstration, 13 activists had been arrested and deprived of their liberty, so it is because of this that in this communique we express our full solidarity and support.

Freedom to people arrested for animal liberation!

Fire to the police, the bullrings and the prisons, along with their jailers!”

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Communiques reported to Bite Back Magazine - directaction.info

[Oakland] Anarchist reportback

suggested by Elliott, re-posted from Counterpunch.org, "This analysis was written collaboratively by a group of anarchists based out of Oakland who together were present at all moments during the rebellion."

by Kara N. Tina

Oakland on Fire

Anarchists, Solidarity, and New Possibilities in the Oakland Rebellion

"I'm sorry my car was burned but the issue is very upsetting."

-Ken Epstein, assistant editor of the Oakland Post, who was finishing an article about Grant's death, watched from the 12th story of his office at 14th and Franklin streets as his 2002 Honda CR-V disintegrated in a roar of flames (Oakland Tribune)

The murder of Oscar Grant by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer Johannes Mehserle early New Year's morning sent a wave of grief throughout the Bay Area and reminded all that racism and police violence continue to be endemic components of US society. During the following days, that pain transformed into overflowing anger as multiple videos of the execution recorded by witnesses emerged on the internet and in the media. One week later on January 7, over a thousand people from diverse communities across Oakland and the Bay Area gathered to show their anger and be in the presence of others feeling similar grief. This hastily planned rally shut down the Fruitvale BART station where the shooting took place as speaker after speaker addressed the crowd. Without any plan or organization, the vast majority of those who patiently listened to speakers for over two hours took the demonstration into the streets with a spirited march that made its way towards downtown as the sun set. 

As the march reached the Lake Merritt BART station and headquarters of BART police downtown, clashes immediately broke out leaving one police cruiser destroyed alongside a burning dumpster. Marchers dispersed down side streets to the sounds of police weapons discharging and the sting of tear gas in the air. The following hours witnessed waves of rioting and demonstrations throughout downtown Oakland that even forced Mayor Ron Dellums to come out into the streets and promise the opening of a homicide investigation in a failed attempt to subdue the angry crowds. Hundreds of businesses and cars were damaged or destroyed and dumpsters were left burning. The next day, a BART board of directors meeting was filled beyond capacity and overwhelmed with community members expressing indignant rage, clearly feeling validated and empowered to speak up by the previous night's rebellion.

In the days since the unrest, rumors have begun to circulate that anarchists hijacked the otherwise peaceful event and were responsible for unleashing the 'violence'.  A cover story in the San Francisco Chronicle two days after the rioting quoted an organizer of the Fruitvale rally as saying that he was led to tears when his work was "destroyed by a group of anarchists." This dangerous and misleading narrative obscures what actually transpired and why, on that evening, the streets of Oakland unleashed such a powerful show of resistance and solidarity that gave many an empowered glimpse of radical new possibilities.

It is true that anarchists were present from start to finish on Wednesday. Counter to some generalizations that assume all anarchists are white, those who were there on Wednesday come from diverse backgrounds. They participated in a wide variety of ways; from spreading the word about the rally beforehand in order to have a large turnout, to spending hours painting banners and signs, to engaging in militant street actions, to being rounded up and at times beaten and arrested. Anarchists are among the over 100 community members who now face charges ranging from misdemeanor rioting to different felonies.

African-American youth made up the majority of those involved in the actions along with sizable numbers of anarchists as well as other youth of color and activist folk who were all there side by side. During the rioting, there was a sense of unity in the air and a defiant mood of solidarity among all who faced off against the police.  Anarchists tend to show up at all demonstrations prepared to act should the situation escalate, and this case was no different. Yet it is simply incorrect to suggest that there was some conspiracy of anarchists from the 'outside' who were able to manipulate the helpless youth of Oakland as part of their sinister agenda. This is a paternalistic and disempowering misreading of what was unquestionably a spontaneous outpouring of rage, led by youth of color, creating an extremely empowering moment for participants in the streets. There, temporary alliances were made as those who were motivated to act in the moment experienced a unique cross-pollination that cut across the inhibiting social boundaries of everyday life. 

The allegations of an anarchist takeover are destructively misleading. At best they come from ignorance and at worse they represent a flawed and divisive ideology of social change which embodies paternalistic and racist assumptions about those involved in the actions. To scapegoat anarchists for what transpired, robs from marginalized and oppressed youth of color the agency they possess and the power to resist which they demonstrated that evening. It also ignores the remarkable diversity and unique solidarity in the streets that created an liberating experience far beyond any rally or march.

There were some moments during which individual anarchists attempted to influence the course of events, but these instances still do not fit into the narrative that the corporate media and some organizers have tried to tell. At one point a group of black youth smashing the windows of a locally owned business were encouraged to target large corporations and banks instead of 'mom and pop' shops. They proceeded to do just that. Anarchists also un-arrested youth, and encouraged people to push dumpsters and other objects into the streets to prevent the police from advancing, a tactic that was quickly picked up and utilized. Other examples of this type of interchange involved anarchists encouraging youth participating in the riots to wear bandanas over their faces, change clothes during calm moments and other tactics to help avoid arrest or identification. Without question, the exchange went both ways as anarchists took away valuable lessons in mobility, evasion, and more as they worked together with the youth throughout the night.

None of this, however, suggests that anarchists had some sort of control or single handedly determined the events that transpired. The rage and energy that transformed downtown Oakland into a momentary battlefield came from those who are most directly affected by the racist police state regime. No one group had any control over what unfolded. It was a spontaneous rebellion that sprang organically from the streets of Oakland and in retrospect anarchists played an important yet relatively minor role. 

The property destruction and rage that burned throughout downtown Oakland was at times undirected and ended up damaging many small businesses and cars along with corporate targets such as Sears and McDonald's. However, some of the most powerful moments that parralled the destruction were confrontations with police and sponatenous high energy gatherings of people in the street who refused to be dispersed. It was during these moments that chanting would again erupt from the crowd reminding all who were present that the direct political demands of justice for Oscar Grant and active resistance to the racist police state system in the United States were the motivations of all who took to the streets that evening.

It's important to also remember that not one person was assaulted during the actions and there were no reports of fights or scuffles amongst the groups of youth who resisted police and destroyed property into the night. In this sense, the rebellion was not violent. It is disturbing to watch as fellow organizers and members of our communities have uncritically adopted the rhetoric of the right in their confused denunciation of mass property destruction as 'violence'.

On the other hand the Oakland Police Department, who everyday harass, intimidate and beat Oakland's youth, was unleashing its very real violence that night. Police opened fire on crowds with different types of less lethal projectiles and in some cases shot tear gas canisters directly into people's bodies. A Berkeley High teacher had his face bashed during arrest and spent the night in the hospital before being taken back downtown for booking.  A man taking pictures was attacked by police and his bike helmet was cracked as he was beaten. During the mass arrest at the end of the night, 80 people were forced by police to lay on their stomachs at 20th and Broadway, including a very pregnant woman who was screaming in pain.

What manifested during the Oakland rebellion was a moment of interchange and revolutionary transformation that rarely happens within the rituals of left organizing in the Bay Area. Between white "community organizers" overtaken by guilt into an impotent politics of servitude, professional activists worried about annual reports and grant cycles, and vanguardist marxist sects continually looking to use the next demonstration as a recruiting drive, many radicals find themselves in a desert devoid of revolutionary activity and thought. Within this barren landscape, it is rare to find new possibilities for radical social change while combatting racism and the constant oppression of capitalism. Resisting the police shoulder to shoulder, destroying property (albeit with different emphasis), helping one another evade arrest, exchanging tactics and gestures of solidarity across racial barriers pushes the desire for a multi-racial revolutionary movement years ahead, more than any speaker at a rally ever could.

Anarchists are very accustomed to accusations of spoiling carefully managed demonstrations, and in some cases this is true and necessary. The Oakland rebellion was a different story. Those who are truly committed to revolutionary change in this country need to appreciate the significance of what unfolded in the streets that night and move forward without falling into the usual sectarian traps.

[Oakland] An Appropriate Response

from Irina:

"Hey everybody, The people in Oakland, unlike the people in New York City, decided to not take more shit after another young black man was murdered by the police on Hey Year's Day at the Fruitvale Bart Station. This is very inspiring."

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article re-posted from Bombsandshields.com

Oakland, California - Fury

erupted over the video-recorded police slaying of an unarmed and restrained suspect at the Frutivale BART station on New Year's Day. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the station tonight, and independent as well as corporate reports indicate that participants fought cops, smashed and graffitied police vehicles and storefronts, built fires in the street and burned several vehicles. A number of BART stations were shut down due to the unrest. Some autonomous individuals also stated that they sabotaged a BART police car and two ticket machines with superglue in solidarity with the victims and opponents of police in Oakland and Greece.

Photos and video here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2009/01/07/MN2N155CN1.DTL&o=0

[Oakland] Hundreds in the Streets Protest BART Shooting

re-posted from Oakland Tribune: Inside Bay Area, 01/07/09

Hundreds Gather on Oakland Streets to Protest BART Shooting

OAKLAND — Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums has come on the scene, he was surrounded by dozens of protesters and talking with officers trying to quell the situation.

At least 50 police are on scene wearing gas masks, and Oakland's Tactical Operations Team is also on scene but has not been deployed, according to a Tribune reporter on scene.

Property damage has begun to occur, as some windows of businesses have been smashed. The majority of the protesters have been peaceful, but a small group has caused the problems. Traffic is blocked off between Broadway and 13th Street, as well as problems breaking out around Franklin Street near 13th.

The demonstrators from a protest against the fatal BART police shooting of Oscar Grant III took to Oakland streets Wednesday night, lighting fire to a Dumpster near 8th and Madison streets and prompting police to shut down the Fruitvale and Lake Merritt BART stations.

Protesters rammed the Dumpster against a police car, bashing in the front and back windows and denting the passenger side.

Scores of police, including BART police, Oakland Police Department and officers from the Housing Authority responded in special helmets for added protection.

Earlier at the demonstration, Grant's younger sister, Audrena Gilbert, said former officer Johannes Mehserle, who appears in cell phone videos apparently drawing his gun and shooting at an unarmed, restrained Grant on New Year's Day, has not talked to the bereaved family.

"I want him to start. I want him to apologize for what he did," Gilbert, a 19-year-old Oakland woman, said. "I want him to tell the truth, why he shot him, what he shot him for. That's all I want."

The protest was led by speakers for the Coalition Against Police Executions and drew a crowd police estimated as 500 people.

"It's not enough the officer resigned today," said Sean Dugar, president of the California National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Youth and College Division. "We demand he be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. ... We shut down one BART station this afternoon. Let's do another one next week."

[editorial on Greece's insurrection] A Road to Revolution?

suggested by Javier, printed in the widely read Israeli paper, Haaretz: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050296.html

A road to revolution?

By Uri Gordon

Three weeks have passed since the unprovoked police murder of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos in Athens, and the riots engulfing Greece show no sign of abating.

While the student occupations of the capital's three universities (Economics, Polytechnic and the law faculty) are expected to end soon, a major student demonstration has been called for January 9, and the protests, street clashes and seizures of television and radio stations are set to continue in full force.

A Greek blogger wrote this week: "We have a duty to move here, there, anywhere but back to our couches as mere viewers of history, back home to the warmth that freezes our conscience."

The international ripples are also tangible. Solidarity demonstrations and attacks on Greek embassies have taken place around the globe, from Moscow to New York and Copenhagen to Mexico City. Declarations and manifestos issued by student assemblies at Greek schools are almost immediately translated and posted online in English, French, Italian, Turkish and Serbian.

In the first few days of the revolt, bloggers were trying to put together a list of all the solidarity actions taking place, but the task proved impossible: There have been literally hundreds of them; thousands of people have taken to the streets. Last Saturday, a global day of action against police violence saw raucous demonstrations in over 30 cities worldwide.

The corporate press has trotted out various theories to explain the cause of the unrest - frustration with a corrupt government, the global financial crisis, and discontent among Greece's youth, who face meager prospects of secure employment or welfare rights - the riots being a blind reaction to objective conditions.

But all these explanations are in fact decoys intended to silence and ignore the rebels' own declared motivations.

A declaration by the students occupying the Athens School of Economics was quite clear about how they see the issue: "The democratic regime in its peaceful facade doesn't kill an Alex every day, precisely because it kills thousands of Ahmets, Fatimas, Jorjes, Jin Tiaos and Benajirs: because it assassinates systematically, structurally and without remorse the entirety of the third world ....

"The cardinals of normality weep for the law that was violated from the bullet of the pig Korkoneas [the policeman who shot Grigoropoulos]. But who doesn't know that the force of the law is merely the force of the powerful? That it is law itself that allows for the exercise of violence on violence? The law is void from end to bitter end; it contains no meaning, no target other than the coded power of imposition."

Or, in another declaration, this one anonymous: "What do we seek? Equality. Political, economic, social. Between all people. Our possibility of convincing the servile consumers to refuse being commodities and subjects is rather limited. What can we do? Ravage and plunder the market, distribute the goods to everybody, dissolve the myths that support inequality."

These are no single-issue protests or vague grievances. This is full-blooded revolutionary anarchism.

The mainstream media simply cannot stomach the notion that what is happening in Greece is by now a proactive social revolt against the capitalist system itself and the state institutions that reinforce it. It is time to acknowledge that the Greek anarchist movement has successfully seized the initiative after the killing of one of its own, framing the issues in a way that appeals to a larger - albeit mostly young - public.

Few people realize that the Greek anarchist movement is appreciably the largest in the world, in proportion to its country's population. It also enjoys wide social support due to its legacy of resistance to the military dictatorship from 1967 to 1974. Highly confrontational demonstrations are a matter of regularity in Greece. It is practically a bimonthly occurrence for anarchists and police to engage in fiery street battles in Thessaloniki or Athens. The current events are only marked by their breadth and duration, not by their level of militancy.

Another rarely appreciated factor is that Greece is a country in which the security apparatus is normally kept on a relatively tight leash. For example, Privacy International's 2007 assessment of leading surveillance societies found Greece to be the only country in the world with "adequate safeguards" against the abuse of government power to spy on its citizenry. The legacy of the dictatorship has created a lasting image of the police as inherently oppressive, even among the middle class.

Will the riots in Greece lead to an anti-capitalist revolution? Only if the opening they have torn in the social fabric widens and deepens, involving ever-growing sections of society and creating new grass-roots institutions alongside the destruction of the old. This seems unlikely in the short term, as bureaucratic labor unions and the Communist Party attempt to domesticate the revolt and cut their own political coupon with their demand to disarm the police.

But there is no doubt that a new benchmark has been set for what can be expected in Western countries during the coming era of economic depression and environmental decay. European governments will no doubt ratchet up their policies of surveillance and repression in anticipation of growing civil unrest. But that may not be enough to keep the population subdued, as crisis after crisis calls the existing arrangement of power and privilege into question.

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Uri Gordon is the author of "Anarchy Alive!: Anti-Authoritarian Politics from Practice to Theory" (Pluto Press); www.anarchyalive.com.

[Greece] Interesting commentaries on "the coming insurrection"

re-posted from Independent.co.uk

Dec 13, 2008

Are the Greek Riots a Taste of Things To Come?

After firing 4,600 tear-gas canisters in the past week, the Greek police have nearly exhausted their stock. As they seek emergency supplies from Israel and Germany, still the petrol bombs and stones of the protesters rain down, with clashes again outside parliament yesterday.

Bringing together youths in their early twenties struggling to survive amid mass youth unemployment and schoolchildren swotting for highly competitive university exams that may not ultimately help them in a treacherous jobs market, the events of the past week could be called the first credit-crunch riots. There have been smaller-scale sympathy attacks from Moscow to Copenhagen, and economists say countries with similarly high youth unemployment problems such as Spain and Italy should prepare for unrest.

Ostensibly, the trigger for the Greek violence was the police shooting of a 15-year-old boy, Alexis Grigoropoulos. A forensic report leaked to Greek newspapers indicated he was killed by a direct shot, not a ricochet as the policeman's lawyer had claimed. The first protesters were on the streets of Athens within 90 minutes of Alexis's death, the start of the most traumatic week Greece has endured for decades. The destructiveness of the daily protests, which left many stores in Athens's smartest shopping area in ruins and caused an estimated €2bn (£1.79bn) in damage, has stunned Greece and baffled the world. And there was no let-up yesterday, as angry youths shrugged off torrential rain to pelt police with firebombs and stones, block major roads and occupy a private radio station.

Their parents grope for explanations. Tonia Katerini, whose 17-year-old son Michalis was out on the streets the day after the killing, emphasised the normality of the protesters. "It's not just 20 or 30 people, we're talking about 1,000 young people. These are not people who live in the dark, they are the sort you see in the cafes. The criminals and drug addicts turned up later, to loot the stores. The children were very angry that one of them had been killed; and they wanted the whole society not to sleep quietly about this, they wanted everyone to feel the same fear they felt. And they were also expressing anger towards society, towards the religion of consumerism, the polarisation of society between the few haves and the many have-nots."

Protest has long been a rite of passage for urban Greek youth. The downfall of the military dictatorship in 1974 is popularly ascribed to a student uprising; the truth was more complicated, but that is the version that has entered student mythology, giving them an enduring sense of their potential. So no one was surprised that Alexis's death a week ago today brought his fellow teenagers on to the streets. But why were the protests so impassioned and long-lasting? "The death of this young boy was a catalyst that brought out all the problems of society and of youth that have been piling up all these years and left to one side with no solutions," said Nikos Mouzelis, emeritus professor of sociology at LSE. "Every day, the youth of this country experiences further marginalisation."

Although Greece's headline unemployment of 7.4 per cent is just below the eurozone average, the OECD estimates that unemployment among those aged 15 to 24 is 22 per cent, although some economists put the real figure at more like 30 per cent.

"Because of unemployment, a quarter of those under 25 are below the poverty line," said Petros Rylmon, an economist at Linardos, the Labour Institute of the Greek trade unions. "That percentage has been increasing for the past 10 years. There is a diffused, widespread feeling that there are no prospects. This is a period when everyone is afraid of the future because of the economic crisis. There is a general feeling that things are going to get worse. And there is no real initiative from the government."

For Greek youngsters such as Michalis Katerini, job prospects are not rosy, but without a university degree they would be far worse, so he and his mother are making serious sacrifices to get him into further education. So inadequate is the teaching in his state high school that he, like tens of thousands of others across the country, must study three hours per night, five nights a week at cramming school after regular school, to have a hope of attaining the high grades required to get the university course of his choice. His mother, whose work as an architect is down 20 per cent on last year, must pay €800 a month to the crammer for the last, crucial year of high school.

She believes the government of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis faces more turbulence if it fails to grasp the reality of the past week, and pass it off as a spontaneous over-reaction. "The government has tried hard not to connect what is happening with the problems of young people. The government says one boy died, his friends are angry, they over-reacted then anarchists came to join in the game. But this is not the reality."

Vicky Stamatiadou, a kindergarten teacher in the rich northern suburbs with two teenage sons, agrees. "Until now, our society was full of dirty but calm water; nothing was moving, nothing improving, all the problems of our society remained unsolved for years. People pretended that everything was going well. But now this false picture has been broken and we are facing reality."

Greece's official youth unemployment statistics are not far removed from the rates in other European countries with a history of mass protest, such as France, Italy and Spain. With the graffiti "The Coming Insurrection" plastered near the Greek consulate in Bordeaux this week, the warning signs to the rest of the continent's leaders are clear.

suggested by: Gaurav, re-posted from Hurriyet.com

Hurriyet Daily News, 12-12-08

Greek riots could bode more unrest in Europe

ISTANBUL - As the street protests over the death of a teen in a police shooting rage in Greece, governments are concerned the violence could spread accross Europe. Hundreds of people were detained in Spain, France and Denmark over copycat incidents and politicians are wary of a more revolt.

As economic crisis tightens its grip on Europe, politicians and analysts fear the street battle raging in Greece could herald a violent winter of discontent elsewhere on the continent.

The Greek riots were triggered by a specific police shooting and sustained by broad opposition to a weak right-wing government, and as such are unlikely to spread directly to other territories. But as of yesterday, hundreds of people were detained across the Europe, including Spain, France and Denmark, as protestors attacked banks, shops, police stations and cars in an apparent show of support for rioting Greeks.

"A violent reaction comparable to what has happened in Greece is possible, if there's some kind of spark to light the fire, such as a youth's death," Roberto d'Alimonte, professor of political science at Florence University told Agence France-Presse. "We can't ignore the phenomenon of imitation, which is very significant right now," Alimonte said. "At the moment, Italian youth is frustrated and worried for its future. The crisis is only going to make this worse."

Greece in far worse situation
In Spain, however, sociologist Andreu Lopez, insisted that the situation in Greece -- where an unstable government is confronted by youth with shrinking prospects -- was far worse than elsewhere. "It would be impossible for what is happening in Greece to happen in Spain," insisted Lopez, co-author of a recent report on young people in Spain. "Young Spaniards have many more opportunities and responses to the situation, even in a time of crisis, whether it be grants for studies, state aid or support from families," AFP quoted the sociologist as saying.

The violence Wednesday night in Madrid and Barcelona was the first in Spain in apparent solidarity with Greek protesters. In the Spanish capital, some 200 people targeted a police station, stores and banks, and officers detained nine people, a police official told the Associated Press.

Arsonists torched two cars outside a Greek consulate in southwestern France yesterday, scrawling slogans in support of the youth riots gripping Athens, according to an account by the Associated Press. Police found graffiti on a wall opposite the consulate, and on a nearby garage door, reading "Support for the fires in Greece," "Insurrection Everywhere" and "The Coming Insurrection."

'Beware of revolt'
Against this background, official in Prime Minister Francois Fillon's office said he was "following the situation carefully," and President Nicolas Sarkozy told ruling party deputies to beware a revolt against falling living standards. According to a lawmaker who dined with the president and his supporters on Wednesday, Sarkozy warned that the crisis could provoke widespread protests. "Just look at what is happening in Greece," he reportedly said.

Meanwhile, Greek offices in Moscow and Rome were hit by firebombs and in Denmark 63 protesters were detained. Police spokesman Michael Paulsen in Copenhagen said some of the 150 people who were demonstrating late Wednesday hurled bottles and paint at riot police.

Just as in Greece, students in France, Italy and Spain have been angered by underfunding in universities. Last month, thousands of young Italians took to the streets to protest youth unemployment of more than 23 percent. France is no stranger to university unrest, and politicians fear protests by middle-class students could re-ignite rioting by the young immigrants.

[Greece] Letter correcting Greek media lies

re-posted from anarchist.academics

Wed, December 10, 2008 7:04 am

Dear comrades,

Today is the general strike and the fifth day of riots. There were again attacks from both sides and police used a lot of tear gases in Athens and in Thessaloniki were I live. Right now the situation seems quiet, though there is assembly in a few hours and we will see…

It is true that the situation in universities is rely on government and family connections, as Mitzi pointed, but it is totally false that the protesters set fire to the National Library. In fact on of the libraries of the Law School in Athens get fired and I don’t know if it was an intended action. This was one more lie of Greek medias in order to turn the citizens against the protesters.

I also believe that people from low and middle classes participate to those demonstrations. It is also true that some stole products from the broken shops.

Yesterday night in Zefiri, Athens, a place that they mostly live gypsies, there was an organized attack against the police department. They set fire to a track and then pushed it to the door of the department. After that, they started to shoot with air guns against the policemen. Also, last light immigrants were starting to participate to the riots in Victoria square in Athens. So, it is obvious that people from all the oppressed social groups, who face the racism every day from the state and the police they needed just a causation (the murder of Alexis) to react to this situation.

Also, I saw people from various ages to throw stones and clap when teenagers were breaking and burning banks. Of course they were. These are the banks that sell their houses after an auction. Yesterday the Greek media referring that anger citizens were fighting with the police against the demonstrations. This was also a lie. They were neo-nazis. They always did this, since there is a strong connection between them and the Greek police.

Comrades, if you want to help write a declaration sign it and send it to the Greek embassy of your region and to the media. There is already a declaration from Italian comrades.

stavros

[Greece] Footage of ongoing riots in response to youth's murder

Continuing coverage of the youth riots in Greece in response to the murder of a 15 year old anarchist. Follow the link below for raw video footage. Thanks to Gaurav for sending this to Good News.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHa-PLwBgkI

[Greece] Anarchists take the streets in response to youth murder

re-posted from anarchistnews.org


On the evening of Saturday Dec. 6th a police patrol in the area of Exarhia (an area known for its strong anarchist presence in the centre of Athens) was verbally confronted by a few people in the area. Immediately a police officer pulled out his gun and shot a 16-year old (some accounts say he was 15) in the chest in cold blood. The 16-year old was transported to Evaggelismos, a major hospital in Athens, where he was dead on arrival.

The centre of Athens was immediately swamped by police, while people gathered at Evaggelismos. The crowd there twice repelled police who attempted to enter the hospital. There have been numerous reports of confrontations between people and police riot units at Tsamadou, Polytechnio, Acropoli, Panteios and Ermou (different locations and schools in Athens). There are massive gatherings at Polytechneio while the Law School and ASOEE have been taken over by students.

Spontaneous demonstrations, marches and confrontations are being reported all over Greece, including Thessaloniki, Mytilini, Giannena, Komotini, Iraklio, Xanthi, Serres, Hania, Alexandroupoli, Sparta, and Volos .

Major marches have been scheduled for 13:00 Athens time
Sunday December 7th in Athens, Thessaloniki, Xania and Patra.


re-posted from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7770086.stm

(go to the link above for pictures and video)


Thousands of protesters have attacked banks and shops in Athens and the northern city of Thessaloniki, angered by the police's killing of a teenager.

Demonstrators threw firebombs, rocks and other objects at the buildings and at police, who responded with tear gas.

Earlier, Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos appealed for restraint.

The streets of the capital were already strewn with glass and rubble after a night of rioting sparked by Saturday's shooting, in the Exarchia district.

During the overnight violence, protesters hurled rocks and petrol bombs at the police and damaged dozens of buildings.

In a statement, the police said that Saturday's riots had left 24 police officers injured, one seriously, and 31 shops, nine banks and 25 cars damaged or burned.

Six people were arrested, one of them for carrying a weapon.

Alex Hadjisavvas, the owner of a shop on Patission Avenue, told the BBC that many nearby businesses had also been looted.

"The window was smashed, the shop front damaged and a large quantity of stock taken from inside has been used by the rioters as material to start street fires," he said.

The unrest, the worst in the country in several years, later spread to Thessaloniki and the southern island of Crete.

Police 'powerless'



The BBC's Malcolm Brabant says that after a lull in the fighting on Sunday morning, youths left the Polytechnic college and joined hundreds of others on a march towards the police headquarters on Alexandras avenue.

They passed close to where the teenager, who has been named as 15-year-old Andreas Grigoropoulos, was shot dead on Saturday. One banner they were carrying called the police "murderers".

One protester outside the National Museum told the BBC he had been greatly angered by the actions of the police.

"It's not the first time. They always kill people - immigrants, innocent people - and without any excuse," he said. "They murdered him in cold blood."

"I think [the violence] is justified. Peaceful demonstrations cannot get a solution to the problem... They can feel the pressure from the people and not do it again."

As many expected, the march soon turned violent, with protesters throwing firebombs at riot police after tear gas was fired in an effort to disperse them.

Several banks and shops were attacked, while a supermarket and at least one car dealership were set alight, police and witnesses said. Clashes also broke out near the parliament.

In Thessaloniki, a march by more than 1,000 people on two police stations also descended into violence when protesters threw firebombs at police and attacked nearby shops and banks.

They also damaged vehicles belonging to Greek TV channels.

There have meanwhile been unconfirmed reports that a policeman was injured and banks and cars set on fire during protests in the western city of Patras.

Public anger

Earlier, the country's interior minister called for restraint and expressed sadness over Andreas Grigoropoulos's death.

"It is everyone's right to demonstrate and to advocate for their rights," Mr Pavlopoulos said. "But I stress, not by destroying the property of others, not turning against people who are not to blame for anything."

Both he and Deputy Interior Minister Panagiotis Chinofotis have submitted their resignations, but they were not accepted by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.

Mr Karamanlis has publicly apologised to the father of the dead boy.

"I know nothing can relieve your pain, but I assure you... the state will act, as it ought to, so that yesterday's tragedy won't be repeated," he said.

The two police officers involved in the shooting of the teenager have been arrested, and an inquiry is under way.

In a statement, the police said their patrol car had been attacked by about 30 youths throwing stones. They were attacked again and responded, with one firing a stun grenade and the other shooting and fatally wounding the boy.

However, our correspondent says that nothing the politicians or authorities can say or do will reduce the anger that is building.

A similar shooting incident in 1985 led to a lengthy vendetta between the youth and police, with violence continuing for years.

Citizens in major towns and cities across the country are therefore bracing themselves for the worst, he adds.

Violence often breaks out during demonstrations in Greece, but people are rarely injured. Last week, a small group of people clashed with police at a protest against the government's education policy.


re-posted from CNN.com because of their mention of communication tactics


reported by Anthee Carassava

ATHENS, Greece (CNN) -- Hundreds of young self-styled anarchists rioted in the streets Sunday and attacked police in several Greek cities in a fury over the shooting death of a teenager by a member of an elite police corps.

The shooting on Saturday night triggered demonstrations and violence across the country late Saturday, and showed no sign of abating Sunday.

"It at first seemed like it was calming down today, but then at 5 p.m. Athens time it kicked off again," said Joel Brown, a CNN senior press officer visiting Athens. "There are lots of burning bins and debris in the street and a huge amount of tear gas in the air, which we got choked with on the way back to our hotel."

Tourists holed up in downtown Athens hotels were told by hotel staff not to leave their rooms as police fanned out across the city.

The police officer who fired the fatal shot has been charged with "manslaughter with intent" and suspended from duty, police said, adding that a second police officer was arrested Saturday on criminal accessory charges.

Demonstrators barricaded city streets Sunday in Athens and Thessaloniki and hurled petrol bombs as they battled with police, who fought back with tear gas in the second day of rioting.

Rampaging youths smashed storefronts and burned businesses, leaving shattered glass and burnt debris scattered across both cities.

Residents of an apartment building in central Athens were evacuated on Sunday after angry demonstrators torched a car dealership on the basement floor.

A police statement about the boy's death said the incident started when six young protesters pelted a police patrol car with stones. The 16-year-old boy was shot as he tried to throw a fuel-filled bomb at the officers, police said.

Other youths converged on the site almost immediately.

These young people -- often referred to in Greece as " the known-unknowns" -- use texting and Web sites to organize and communicate.

Fighting between youths and police quickly erupted in other parts of Greece, including Thessaloniki, the country's second largest city. Hundreds of youths took to the streets of the sprawling port city, and finally barricaded themselves behind the gates of a state university, where police are barred from entering.

No deaths were reported, though police say several police officers have been injured.

Police say some protesters have been rounded up for questioning.

Government officials, fearing more violence, swiftly condemned the shooting.

"An investigation is under way and those found responsible with be punished," said Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos. "Measures will also be taken to avoid such incidents again in the future."


re-posted from Anarchist Academics listserv


WHAT YOU CAN DO

Dear all,

There have been spontaneous call-outs for actions across Greek embassies and consulates across the world. We already have reports for actions that happened, or are about to happen in London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Zagreb and Hamburg. There is definitely much more being organised at this very moment.

It is absolutely crucial for people to do just this at this point - find your local embassy/consulate and respond to the death of the 15 year old in the manner you think most appropriate

http://www.embassiesabroad.com/embassies-of/Greece

From what I can gather (as I am not in Greece at the moment, IMC is flooded with visits and keeps crashing since everyone, mainstream media included, rely on it for their information) there were demonstrations all across the country today (in at least 15 cities it seems). The police and government try to downplay the incident and calm things down, promising that the two police officers will be punished &the two ministers directly responsible (of Interior of Public Order) have offered their resignations, which were, unsurprisingly, rejected.

The next big date, for both sides, is the 10th of December, when an already planned general strike is to take place.

More info soon.

Solidarity,
a member of anarchist.academics