[Peace-discuss] Fw: Long battles erupt in Athens protest march

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Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 4:49 PM
Subject: Re: Long battles erupt in Athens protest march


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> Long battles erupt in Athens protest march
> Wednesday, March 10 2010 @ 06:24 PM UTC
> Contributed by: Admin
>
> Long battles erupted today at the Athens protest march against the 
> measures. The GSEE union boss was heavily beaten by protesters while 
> battles with the cops developed for 3 hours all across the centre of the 
> city after riot police attacked anti-Nazi resistance symbol Manolis 
> Glezos.
>
> Long battles erupt in Athens protest march
> Libcom
> Long battles erupted today at the Athens protest march against the 
> measures. The GSEE union boss was heavily beaten by protesters while 
> battles with the cops developed for 3 hours all across the centre of the 
> city after riot police attacked anti-Nazi resistance symbol Manolis 
> Glezos.
> The demo called by ADEDY, the public sector umbrella union, and GSEE, the 
> private sector umbrella union, started gathering at 12:30 in Syntagma 
> square, after another 10,000 strong demo by Communist Party umbrella 
> union, PAME had ended its own demo and marched to Omonoia square. Soon 
> around 10,000 people gathered in Syntagma, a large number considering 
> there is only a 4 hour stoppage and not a strike today.
> All was quiet until the GSEE union boss Mr Panagopoulos took the 
> microphone to address the protest. Before managing to utter more than five 
> words, the hated union boss was attacked by all kinds of protestors who 
> first heckled him and threw bottles of water and yogurt on his face and 
> then attacked him physically like a giant swarm. With bruises, cuts and 
> his clothes torn, the PASOK lackey struggled his way towards police lines, 
> as the people attacked again and again. Finally he managed to hide behind 
> the Presidential Guard and up the steps of the Parliament where the hated 
> austerity measures were being voted. The crowd below encouraged him to go 
> where he belongs, to the lair of thieves, murderers and liars.
> What the bourgeois media call the "lynching" of the union supreme boss 
> became a prime subject of infight within the parliament with the 
> government accusing the Radical Left Coalition that the attackers 
> originated from its block (GSEE itself blaming KOE, a Maoist group of the 
> Coalition), a half-truth at best. The Communist Party has refused to 
> condemn the attack, only noting it disagrees with it. This is the first 
> time such a high ranking union boss is attacked at a rally that its union 
> has called, and the act is widely believed to mark a new era in union 
> history in greece. The initial phase of the attack against the union boss 
> can be seen here: 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJW33W9t0bw&feature=player_embedded
> Soon after the beating of Panagopoulos, small skirmishes started between 
> protesters and riot police forces in the form of body-to-body battles in 
> front of the Parliament. During one of these incidents, riot cops attacked 
> Manolis Glezos, the heroic anti-nazi resistance fighter who had lowered 
> the nazi flag from the Acropolis during the german occupation. The elderly 
> man was trying to help a man from being arrested at them time and had to 
> be removed from the battle scene in an ambulance as tear gas fired 
> directly on his face caused him serious pneumonic problems and he remains 
> in serious condition in hospital (for a video of the attack see 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FX3S3I7Nos&feature=player_embedded).
> The attack on Glezos gave the signal for a general attack of thousands of 
> people against the cops, many of who were wounded during the battles which 
> included rocks, sticks but no molotov cocktails. During the clashes 5 
> people were arrested, 2 of who are accused under the anti-hood law, while 
> the rest with small non-criminal breaches of the law. During the clashes 
> many riot shields and helmets were taken from the cops and burned along 
> with other flaming barricades on the streets. 7 cops are reported by the 
> police as heavily wounded, some with knee-cap and other bone breaks.
> Due to extended use of tear gas at around 14:00 the atmosphere in Syntagma 
> square was so unbearable that among chanting "the cops are not the 
> children of the workers, they are the dogs of the bosses", the demo turned 
> into a protest march with the direction of the Ministry of Labour, half a 
> km south of Omonoia square. At reaching Propylea more clashes with the 
> police took place, while a sole high-ranking cop was isolated and beaten 
> by the crowd. Further down on the way to Omonoia, protesters attacked a 
> riot police squad that was guarding the National Legal Council. The riot 
> police squad was cornered and attacked by means of sticks rocks and 
> flares, before being forced to retreat inside the building after one of 
> its members was captured by protesters and repeatedly trampled by the 
> angered crowd.
> The march then continued to Omonoia and from there down Peireaos street 
> where banks, economic targets and expensive cars came under attack, before 
> the march reached the Ministry and the protesters tried to break its 
> central doors. More clashes with the police ensued and the march turned 
> back to front and decided to march once again to the Parliament. On the 
> way, cops came once again under attack by protesters with many riot 
> policemen wounded and retaliating by means of tear gas. After reaching the 
> Parliament, the march refused to desolve and took once again to the street 
> in a bravado of resolve, until it reached Propylea where it came to an 
> end. After the end of the march 6 more people were detained while taking 
> refuge to the Social Security Headquarters, but have been released without 
> any charges against them.
> In Salonica, upon reaching the gates of the Ministry of Thrace and 
> Macedonia protesters pulled down the heavy iron fences of the Ministry and 
> moved into its front yard where they were confronted by riot police who 
> made use of tear gas amongst flaming barricades.
> Finally, the workers of the National Printing Units have occupied the 
> premises and refuse to print the legislation imposing the austerity 
> measures. Unless the legislation is printed there, it is not legally 
> valid. Meanwhile the occupation of the State General Accountancy by 
> layed-off Olympic Airways workers continues. The workers have also 
> permanently closed off Panepistimiou street (the equivalent of Oxford 
> street in London), at the heigh of the building, with all traffic diverted 
> by side-roads.
> A general strike by ADEDY and GSEE has been called for March 11.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> Comment on this story at
> http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20100310182432318#comments 


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