Today's Topics:
1. Greece: Heavily clothed riots in the Exarchy again -- The
aim of the repression is to send refugees to detention camps.
[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. Britain, anarchist communist ACG: CHAZ / CHOP
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. France, Union Communiste Libertaire UCL - New government
appointments: another affront to women (fr, it, pt)[machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. Britain, AFED, organise magazine: Tracksuits, Trauma, and
Class Traitors | Culture (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
5. APO: From Preventive Uprising to junta diversion - Protest
law crash will crash on Road (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
6. Greece, ESE Athens [ICL-CIT]: ACTION AGAINST THE LEGISLATION
DEMANDING permissions FOR gatherings and demonstrations [machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
7. freedom news - Greece: dictatorship-era anti-protest law
triggers large demonstrations (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
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Message: 1
On Saturday, July 4, around midnight, heavily-clothed people appeared in Victoria's anarchist district of Exarchia. The aim of the event was
to move people without papers into the horrible hole of Anygdalez. Anygdaleza is a state-run detention center (in the old language a prison
or concentration camp), about whose deplorable conditions the corporate press also writes. The reason for the intervention was, of course,
as always, the serious concerns of law enforcement officers about the health of the people camping in the square in the Athens district.
After the campers refused to cooperate and many people in solidarity joined the conflict, the police tried to forcibly squeeze several
people into Anton. They detained about ten people and released some of them immediately.
After a while, the refugees calmed down and the people who came to their aid began to disperse. But the intervention commander had a
fichron. Fizls in hard plastic protectors began to emerge from all sides and began to beat the passing head. They beat up about twenty
people and stuffed them back into the Antons. At the same time, reinforcements appeared in the square. They also had hard plastic protectors
and tried to drive them all out of the square. The refugees fled to the center, some injured, others lost their relatives. Twenty-two people
were taken into custody in Cyprus. Among them was a man with a dislocated shoulder and a mother whose children remained in the square.
Later, the refugees returned to Victoria Square, and police blocked the street leading to the Cypriot factory on mopeds.
On Friday, July 3, the heavily-clothed people attacked the assembly and hundreds of people were taken away by Antony. They threw cannons
right into the crowd and inflicted bloody injuries and burns on people. Themistocleous, Koletti, and Messolonghi threw tear gas grenades at
shops, cafes, and bars on Themistocleous, smashing staff, smashing dishes and goods inside shops and cafes. Tables and chairs were thrown
out of the street through shop windows. The chaos unleashed by the Fizles provoked solidarity and resistance. The inhabitants of the
affected streets let people go home and hid them from the rampage of uniforms. Some protested from the balconies, others took to the streets
to join the fight.
The exarchy has been under constant siege since the right-wing New Democracy settled in government. However, the autonomous district also
faced attacks during the reign of the new-left Syriza. Self-governing stateless and free solidarity with refugees, which works much better
than any state or private institution, is a thorn in the side of the authorities.
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3bhi6J2DRI
Source:
https://freedomnews.org.uk/greece-riot-police-ambush-in-exarcheia-goes-after-its-migrant-presence/
https://www.afed.cz/text/7203/recko-tezkoodenci-opet-radi-v-exarchii
------------------------------
Message: 2
Following weeks of protests sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police, Seattle saw the creation of the Capitol Hill
Autonomous Zone on the 9th of June ---- The police receded from the Capitol Hill area after several violent clashes with protesters. The
opportunity for a demonstration of a police-free community was immediately seized upon. CHAZ was home was to a medical station, a small
community garden, and a "No Cop Co-op" in which residents had access to free food and supplies. ---- KIRO-TV , a Seattle television station
owned by the Cox Media Group, reported that on the 15th the name of area had changed to CHOP - Capitol Hill Occupied Zone - in order to
better reflect the demands made in relation to the Black Lives Matter protest. The primary demands are: "defund the police"; "have the
budget reinvested into community projects"; "drop all charges levelled against protesters to date".
The full list of demands can be found HERE
On the 20th, reports of shootings in the area began to circulate. It was confirmed that two separate shootings had occurred in the early
hours of the morning. One man was admitted to intensive care, and another, Horace Anderson, later died in hospital from his injuries.
According to the New York Times a volunteer medic had treated Anderson at the scene and repeatedly called the Fire Department for
assistance. The Fire Department did not respond, and CHOP medics transported Anderson to the hospital themselves.
Two more shooting incidents were reported on the 21st and the 23rd, leading to the Seattle Police Chief, Carmon Best, ordering the
evacuation of protestors from the area.
The 1st of July saw the Mayor of Seattle, Jenny Durkan, sign an executive order that designated CHOP an unlawful assembly, giving the police
department power to invade the area, armed with batons, bicycles and pepper spray, arresting more than 20 protestors in the process. Footage
shared on twitter also showed police officers kneeling on the necks of protestors.
Durkan agreed to cut the police department's budget, but the meagre 5% reduction is nothing near the 50% demanded by protestors.
The 2019 budget for the department stood at $398.5 million.
Public reaction to the establishment of CHAZ/CHOP has been varied. Many that travelled to the occupation praised the welcoming atmosphere,
impressed with the network of volunteers that stepped up to run the food and medical co-ops, and took to cleaning the streets and decorating
the neighbourhood with protest art. Some of those inside reported a lack of organisation in decision making, and a power struggle between
two factions that ultimately led to the name change. Conversely, a group of business owners and select residents have launched a class
action lawsuit against the city of Seattle for "extensive harm", claiming that participants of CHOP have vandalised property and caused
losses for businesses. The class action is made up primarily of businesses such as Northwest Wine and Liquor, and Homeowners Associations
and Real Estate companies that own or manage property in the CHOP.
The list of plaintiffs hardly comes as a surprise; property owners and management firms stand to lose the most in an autonomous area that
empowers renters and marginalised groups. A second lawsuit against the city has now been filed, although attorney Jacob Bozeman has refused
to disclose any information about the plaintiffs.
Despite support from the Black Lives Matter movement, mainstream media and politicians in the United States have expressed outrage at the
establishment of CHAZ/CHOP. Fox News has even had to "apologise" for their coverage of the area, having digitally altered images of CHAZ,
and presenting photographs of smashed windows in Seattle that were taken prior to existence of the CHAZ as part of a slideshow of images
headlining an article about the zone on their website.
In a move that shocked no one, President Trump denounced the occupation on Twitter. Trump claimed that "Domestic Terrorists have taken over
Seattle, run by Radical Left Democrats" and "Seattle Looters, Agitators, Anarchists and "Protestors"... have ZERO respect for Government...
Not good!"
CHAZ/CHOP is not the only autonomous zone to have been established in the US. The Camp Maroon Autonomous Zone in Philadelphia was set up by
residents and part of the homeless community to bring attention to the demand for safe and affordable housing in the city. Alex Stewart of
the Workers Revolutionary Collective claimed that the community "set up an encampment as an act of protest."
The recent series of events in Seattle were somewhat reminiscent of the Occupation of Alcatraz, in which the protest group Indians of All
Tribes claimed the abandoned Alcatraz Island could lawfully be inhabited by the Lakota tribe under the Treaty of Fort Laramie. The
autonomous governance of the island lasted 18 months, but was marred by obstacles from the government, who ordered that the electricity and
phone lines to the island be cut off. The island was completely cleared on June 11th, 1971, when government officers forcibly removed the
last residents. One of the most prominent activists involved in the Occupation of Alcatraz was Richard Oakes of the Mohawk people. Only two
years after the clearing of the occupation, Oakes was shot and killed by known white supremacist Michael Morgan; who was acquitted of the
charge of voluntary manslaughter when a jury decided Morgan had acted in self-defence. Richard Oakes was unarmed.
https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2020/07/09/chaz-chop/
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Message: 3
Although we expected nothing from the government, it managed to "surprise" us by choosing Darmanin accused of rape and opposing marriage for
all, and a Dupont-Moretti, protector of rapists and openly misogynist. If these appointments arouse our anger, they are a continuation of
the State's permanent contempt for women. ---- A patriarchal and racist state at the service of capital ---- The policy of this government,
as of those which preceded it, contributes directly to the fact that women remain the first victims of the capitalist and patriarchal
system. Associations combating violence against women remain underfunded, access to care remains uneven, and this, in particular due to the
destruction of the public health system, amplified in particular by the disappearance of maternity hospitals and clinics practicing
Abortion. Destruction organized by the new Prime Minister as well as the new Minister of Culture, Roselyne Bachelot: they were the craftsmen
of the demolition of the hospital and the deterioration of the working conditions of the hundreds of thousands of workers who do it turn.
Inequalities have also been reinforced by the breakdown of education,
Rapist, sexist and LGBTIphobic ministers
Today is one more bastard. Next to Darmanin, accused of rape and abuse of weakness by two women, we find Dupond-Moretti, a very
media-oriented criminal lawyer who has built a juicy career in defense of famous defendants such as Balkany, Cahuzac, Tapie, Merah but also
Georges Tron. During the Georges Tron rape trial, the lawyer attacked the European Association against violence against women in the
workplace (AVFT), then a civil party alongside the complainants, as well as the latter. About one of them, he will say: "At 30, you are not
a juggler unable to say no to a man who takes your foot. Dupond-Moretti regretted, during the MeToo wave, a "hyper-regulation" of society
and accuses certain feminist movements of "manipulating women". As for Barbara Pompili, minister of ecological transition, she financially
supported masculinist associations like SOS Papa in Picardy and testified in favor of Baupin. To top it off, the Minister for Equality
believes in the complementarity of men and women and in the need for coffee machine jokes ...
Women in ministries: one more deception
The government puts forward its joint composition, as if the appointment of a few women changed anything: long-time elected officials or
owners of small and large companies, they will conduct exactly the same policy as men ! We will not be fooled by the few appointments of
women, nor by the increase in the number of women members in the last election. A joint government ? More women in the CA of CAC40 companies
? How would it be a victory ? The workers do not care whether it is the bourgeois or the bourgeois who exploit them.
Let's unite our anger: let's organize !
The new government validates what we already know: the puppets of capitalism, patriarchy and the racist system will not give women any
gifts. The bourgeois, bosses or politicians always escape justice. Faced with them, it is urgent to organize to defend our interests, in our
organizations, unions and collectives. Wherever it takes, as long as it takes, we must unite to break the patriarchal mechanics.
Antipatriarchate Commission of Libertarian Communist Union, July 07, 2020.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Nominations-du-nouveau-gouvernement-un-affront-de-plus-aux-femmes
------------------------------
Message: 4
An essay collection united around an examination of class, justice, and social perception, D. Hunter's Tracksuits, Trauma, and Class
Traitorsa powerful set of arguments delivered in a tone that switches from the personal to the academic with ease. Blending scholarship with
experience, Hunter adopts the methodological framework of the auto/ethnography, and attempts to situate his often harrowing life experience
within a framework that embraces class politics, restorative justice, and social understanding over the course of ten essays of varying
length. As the author tells us in the introduction to the collection, ‘'one of the aims of this book was to emphasise not only the humanity,
but also the insight, intellect, and determination of those living in poverty.''
Following the author's previous book Chav Solidarity, the thematic through-line is obvious, and Tracksuits follows through on many of the
themes that were established previously. Despite this, there is no need to have read the prior work to understand the new one; this is
perhaps one of the largest strengths of Tracksuits, as Hunter's writing is clear and accessible even when dealing with some of the more
academic subjects. Marrying the unornamented and raw background of their life experiences with the theoretical allows a window of insight
that should make even those without much background in theory to dive in without any issue. This conversational and almost casual tone
combined with the brevity of many of the essays makes it excellent introductory reading, and would be easy to pick up and dive into for
anybody at any level of academic experience.
Hunter's essay collection begins with a content warning, and although this review will not touch on everything mentioned by the author, it
is my responsibility to warn any prospective readers to take the content warning serious; discussions of mental health issues, violence,
drug usage, and sexual abuse are frequent throughout the book and there are visceral moments in the reading which may be difficult.
A question that is commonly asked is the role of theory and analysis on the left: for many, it is an interesting curiosity, but there is a
lot of discussion of how central it should be. There are some who suggest that it is, in fact, obnoxious to insist on analysis; further,
there are those who claim that theory is a barrier to the ‘real working class', getting in the way of Real Politics. While there is some
truth to that - others have written before on the class barriers built into education, as well as the difficulty of certain authors - there
are also many (of whom I am a representative, in a small way) who believe that theory is often powerful and liberatory, and that there is an
inbuilt classism and derision in insisting that people who are working class or from traumatic backgrounds are unable to grasp ‘advanced'
concepts.
Hunter provides a powerful example of the way theory should be used, or at least one vision for how it could be. Utilising the framework of
personal experience, lived encounters with the harsh realities of life under the myriad oppressive structures of modern capitalist society,
Hunter leans over the boundary between the ‘real' class conflict and the analysis. Here, theory is a way to consider experience, to step
back and think about it, rather than to dissociate from it, and Hunter's writing moves from the merely demonstrative to the functional when
it funnels trauma into, for example, ideas of restorative justice.
In the first major essay of the collection, ‘Naming Football Teams', the question ultimately arises of how one is supposed to deal with
having been wronged. Without going into the specifics, there is essentially a scenario in which somebody has harmed another in a way that
seems to, under the current shape of society, scream out for punishment; for vengeance, even. There is a punitive urge that underlies out
current cultural logic, but Hunter calls instead for ‘a form of justice that does not require cages, keys, police, courts, and a violent
class system', but rather a process designed to ‘deconstruct abusive interpersonal relationships, and generate responses to them which do
not merely reproduce the same dynamics'. Essentially, it is a call for a justice based on empathy, but Hunter is not simply engaging in
wishful thinking here: referencing various cultures which have engaged (and continue to engage) in justice that differs greatly from the
carceral, as well as philosophers and activist groups, the outlines that reconciliatory justice may take are eminently practical, and yet
are informed by the theory.
Another great strength of Hunter's writing must be highlighted here; it is all too easy for somebody who is distanced from, say, Indigenous
American culture to simply point to the Other from the comfort of whiteness and decide to pick and choose which elements of this culture are
fit to adopt. Avoiding this trap, however, Hunter tries to clarify that they are ‘'careful not to stake a claim to ownership of these
ideas''. Vital to avoid a kind of mythologising of the Other, Hunter acknowledges these other justice systems as ideas from which to draw
inspiration, to prompt the thought that there are other ways to do things, rather than simply claiming that any one none-white,
none-European tradition is the true path to peace.
Careful consideration of race at the intersection of class returns more prominently in another later essay, ‘You're Just a White Boy'. While
the title of this essay from other authors could be worrying - we're not going to get another self-serving narrative about the problems of
being dismissed as white in progressive spaces, are we? - Hunter quickly does away with that, opening with a quote from Jackie Wang's
incisive book Carceral Capitalism, which describes whiteness as ‘'a category[that]is, in part, maintained by ritualized violence against
black people'', and the discussion does not get any more conciliatory from there. Hunter details his relationship with MD, someone who they
have known for a long period of time and who is currently in prison, and whose blackness contrasts heavily with Hunter's whiteness despite
their shared experiences and background, and who is not afraid to confront Hunter with this; ‘' He tells me he doesn't know how much of my
willingness to make the worst possible decision in every situation was generated by the assumption that being white I would get away with
stuff.[...]I reply by telling him that as a white person some of those repercussions don't apply. He nods, but looks far off over my
shoulder and says, "I reckon you don't think they should, either".''
Hunter's willingness to be challenged in these circumstances and to discuss the nature of that challenge is admirable, though it must be
noted that admiration is clearly not the intention here. Moving from this personal connection and contemplation in a way that has become
trademark of the author by this point in the book, Hunter crashes from anecdote to theory: ‘' whiteness becomes a stigma that can
nevertheless be inhabited as long as it is reflexively acknowledged as stigma.", as the quote is given. Reminiscent of Slavoj Žižek's
conception of the ‘'liberal communist'', who simultaneously disavows capitalism and inhabits it fully, allowing the disavowal to absolve him
of his behaviour, Hunter outlines a perspective on race wherein as long as whiteness is performatively acknowledged and apologised for, it
can be effectively surpassed. This perspective is rejected in part, in favour of a critique of whiteness that becomes more granular and sees
the varieties of whiteness spread through the intersection of class and gender and sexuality and which acts in concrete ways to change
everyday life. Yet we are reminded as the essay closes that this kind of examination, while important, is also one that is in part
facilitated by the privilege whiteness grants: ‘'black people don't make these cages, we just live in them. We just die in them. White
people make them.'', MD reminds us.
‘You're Just a White Boy' may be one of the most contentious pieces in the collection, if only for the difficulty in discussing such a
monumental issue from a perspective that is necessarily cut off from that reality. Hunter takes great pains to be careful with the subject
of race, acknowledging and expressing understanding of his own racial background and the differences in material conditions and experiences
that people from other racial backgrounds have had to live with, but it is a difficult balance to strike. For some, it may not be entirely
successful, but it does seem to be honest and frank, which mitigates some of the worst tendencies that this kind of writing can often
inhabit: if it is not successful, it is at least not in bad faith, which is far from the worst misstep one could make when writing something
of this kind.
While it would be very easy for me to continue in this fashion, recounting and detailing particular essays, that would be missing the point;
the examples and discussions above serve to demonstrate some of the particulars to a reader and to examine that style of the analysis
Tracksuits contains, but it would be inappropriate for me to continue removing pieces from context and breaking them down; instead, it is
important to discuss the conclusions. After detailing and discussing various aspects of their own life and the lives of others, Hunter
concludes with the following lines that echo Michel Foucault's call in his introduction to Deleuze and Guattari's Anti-Oedipus, which
instructed us to kill the fascist inside our heads;
‘'We need to abolish the White supremacist in us, the ableist, the patriarch, the transphobe, the parts of ourselves that still think, feel,
act and organise as if some humans are worth more than others, that some bodies matter more. This is collective work, this is done in
vulnerability with one another, and with an openness to making mistakes, speaking the worst of ourselves and trusting in "our" class that we
can find new answers to old questions.''
This is the fundamental takeaway from Tracksuits, Trauma, and Class Traitors; the idea that the it is only through collective and communal
work that recognises that the flaws in most people are not the result of their personal unpleasantness (although that can be a factor) but
are in fact expressions of their lives, their circumstances, and the culture in which they have lived and survived. We have patriarchy
inside us because it is impossible to escape the world, and the world is patriarchal; this is the same for white supremacy or ableism, or
homophobia and transphobia, which are so commonplace as to be banal if not for their insidiousness. The way through this is not to
personally disavow these things, as if stubborn refusal could change the world, but to work together, to communicate, to provide material
aid wherever possible, and to challenge the world on our own terms and with the staunch acknowledgement that everyday life can and must be
different.
While it is certainly possible to quibble with elements of Tracksuits - some people will certainly find the more graphic passages
uncomfortable or even impossible to read, depending on their own experiences, and it is true that the tonal shifts can be abrupt and
somewhat rough here and there - the final result of the collection is one that expresses solidarity and makes a demand for a new world that
is made together. Ultimately, while Tracksuits fails to be a silver bullet for the world of social ills, and definitely will not be for
everyone's tastes, it does present a detailed portrait of a life lived in extreme difficulty but with a sense of awareness and sensitivity
that is often left out of these kinds of narratives. Weaving back and forth through critical writing and biography, it is an experience that
isn't easily forgotten and which points arrows at many of the right places. ?
Jay Fraser
Jay is an anarchist, poet, amateur philosopher, and basketball fan. He can be found on Twitter, or anywhere that has good coffee.
Tracksuits, Trauma, and Class Traitors by D. Hunter is available for pre-order from The Class Work Project and will be be released on the
August 4th. You can follow D. Hunter on Twitter at @dhuntertheclaretchav
http://organisemagazine.org.uk/2020/07/09/tracksuits-trauma-and-class-traitors-culture/
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Message: 5
The bosses' world is shaking. The angry cries of revolt from the capitalist region reached its center, and the deafening noise of the
uprising in the heart of the Empire dispelled any doubt that the "quiet days," if they ever existed, were a thing of the past. The regime's
apologists for "suppressing the resistance" of the oppressed are being thrown into the dustbin of history every day. ---- State-capitalist
disintegration, the total bankruptcy of the system of power, is underlined as an ecumenical reality through the consequences of the pandemic
of Covid-19, with the depth of the crisis of capital. All over the world, as well as in the already bankrupt Greek state, the finding is
simple: when there are fewer carrots, there are more whips. The greed of the bosses for ever-increasing profits leaves no room for illusions
about the redistribution of social wealth. Thick state funds are not leveraged against the affected labor sectors but are being invested as
bribes in the media, so that they, on the one hand, produce even more intense and effective propaganda and, on the other hand, remain silent
in the face of the social base slaughter that has already begun.
The wood in the squares in the period after the end of the quarantine, the occupation of the Exarchates, the evacuations and threats against
the squatters, the breaking of the demonstrations, the first de facto implementation of the ban on the motorized labor march in Nice on June
11 with the arrest 46 militants, the conspiracy against comrades Kalaitzidis - Mataraga, the continuous extradition of anarchists, the waste
of millions for the equipment of the repressive forces and finally the bill itself for the suppression and repression of the demonstrations
have one thing in common: the fear of the authorities dangerous classes, in the face of the stature of the rebellious dignity that the
oppressed populations of the lifeless world of exploitation and oppression can and do raise.
The doctrine of "zero tolerance" is upgraded to a single strategy of Preventive Rebellion, which is essentially based on junta provisions.
The bosses and political personnel who run the state and guard the monopoly of violence from it know very well what a gloomy situation
things are moving towards. The looting of the working majority is unprecedented even in the context of the crisis that erupted in 2010.
Their experience from the previous phase of the popular uprising, but also their terror for an even fiercer clash of an unruly,
revolutionary and better organized social and class movement with their power puts the prevention of violent repression at the center of
their priorities. This bill demands the European orientation of modern totalitarianism,
The presence of MATs on the islands to create closed detention centers, the corresponding on the border to deal with the "invasion" of
persecuted migrants and refugees, the catalytic role of the police during quarantine, the breaking of university asylum with MAT's invasion
of ASOEE and the armed police, the constant and intensified presence of the Police in all fields of public space and social life
demonstrates that the mercenary army occupying the state is being upgraded to a complete and ubiquitous unit for enforcing their rigid
power. The anti-protest bill itself gives prosecutors direct powers to the police, since the Police Director can decide when they try which
demonstrations are characterized as radical and can be dissolved by force. It is obvious that in addition to the broader goal of suppressing
the social struggle itself, with this bill the State hopes to dismantle radicalism, the main exponent of which has been the anarchist
movement over the post-colonial period.
This management combined with a set of political choices shows that it is their ardent desire to uproot the culture of disobedience and
rebellion that manifests itself as a constant possibility in their social upheavals. Voting on education and environment bills is
essentially a state of social inclusion in the middle of quarantine, and the junta bill on protests is setting up a body of political reform
to overturn those aspects of the post-colonial paradigm associated with the larger popular-pluralist attitudes. monster of statehood and
capitalism that kills people and (alienates) nature.
The bourgeoisie knows better than anyone that the depth of the crisis of the capitalist system has reached unimaginable heights due to the
global pandemic. He is well aware that millions of impoverished people will not be able to get enough of the boss's propaganda, and the
bosses' bosses will have to take over. It is our duty to patiently and dynamically prepare the social base for a generalized conflict with
its tyrants, to upgrade the revolutionary organization to the detriment of the reformist formations that degrade and sell out the popular
struggles. To convince the social body with the example of a relentless struggle, re-entering the front line, in the natural position of
each Anarchist proposal, setting up embankments, setting up fortifications, turning social peaks into revolutionary material. If we live it
is to step on the heads of kings.
NO COMPLETION WITH THE STRUGGLE OF THE TERROR -
NO CONTRACT WITH STATE - AFENTICALLY AND THE BRAVES OF POLICE
ORGANIZATION OF THE STRUGGLE OF THE OCCUPIED UNTIL NIKI WAS - IS AND WILL BE THE SAME PEOPLE
WE MANAGE ON THURSDAY JULY 9
ATHENS: PROPYLAIA, 19:00
THESSALONIKI: AG. VENIZELOU, 19.00
PATRA: APPENDIX, 19.00
Anarchist Political Organization - Federation of Collectivities
https://maurokokkino1936.wordpress.com/2020/07/09/
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Message: 6
The state after the end of the quarantine seems ready to continue the repression of the movements and the struggling people and to put even
more pressure on the labor movement and any voice of doubt. ---- In this context, the government is bringing to the parliament a bill of
authoritarian inspiration that asks those who are protesting to get permission from the state for their gathering / demonstration and even
to appoint a "leader" who will be the accountant for whatever happens along the way. ---- It also terrorizes the world even more by
threatening to imprison those arrested for up to a year simply for participating in an undeclared rally or demonstration. ---- The specific
unacceptable bill is aimed at completely freeing the hands of the police and giving them the freedom to dismantle any gathering or gathering
that they deem necessary not to exist.
But the working class knows that when you protest against the state and the policies it implements, it is unthinkable to ask permission from
it, as well as to ask for its consent on how to protest.
It is imperative that workers repeal this bill in practice.
For all these reasons, we invite
https://ese.espiv.net/2020/07/08/na-akyrosoyme-stin-praxi-to-nomoschedio-kata-ton-diadiloseon/
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Message: 7
Thousands of people protested in Greece yesterday in response to the new law giving the police new powers to regulate protests. The protests
in Athens and Thessaloniki turned violent, with police, as per tradition, using teargas to contain it. The protesters responded with molotov
cocktails. In Athens, the cops detained 15 people, of which 9 were subsequently arrested. ---- The bill, based on dictatorship-era law from
1971, makes provisions for the creation of a special "Violence Prevention Directorate", requiring that protests must apply for a license
from the police to go forward. The police will also be able to use force in order to restrict any outdoor gathering whenever they consider
it necessary. People participating in a banned gathering will face up to two years imprisonment.
Additionally, the new law defines the role of the protest organizer who now should follow the guidance from the police and provide
assistance for the maintenance of order during a gathering. The organisers were also obliged to inform protest participants that they may
not "carry objects that can be used for violence", and require the intervention of the authorities to remove persons carrying such objects.
The organizer will be liable for financial compensation for the property damage occurring during a protest, or other economical losses
caused by it.
The new law was brought forward by the right-wing government of the New Democracy party and was voted through the Greek parliament yesterday
by a 187-101 majority. It effectively penalises protests: especially the ones organised spontaneously in reaction to current events, such as
the recent BLM solidarity actions. It will also create a massive obstacle in the struggle for refugee people rights in Greece. Rallies may
also be banned and disbanded if they are opposed to another rally that was registered with the police, creating issues for actions such as
countering fascist gatherings.
Two dates were excluded from the new law: 1st May and 17th November: the anniversary of the 1973 military assault at the Athens Polytechnic
uprising: an event which eventually lead to the fall of the military dictatorship in the country.
There are more protests planned in Greece today and in the upcoming days.
(zb)
Featured image: Anarchist Federation Greece at yesterday's protest in Athens. Source: Greek Anarchist Federation (???????? ?u????????)
This text was written based in part on machine translation. Any issues: let us know.
https://freedomnews.org.uk/greece-dictatorship-era-anti-protest-law-triggers-large-demonstrations/
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