Thursday update,Greece: Administrative buildings occupied
dionysos brombios - 11.12.2008 16:41
On Thursday, people took to the streets again, attacking police stations in Athens and closing main streets and avenues. Thousands of students marched towards police stations at Patissia, Glyfada, Ilioupolis, Korydallos, Melissia and other areas of Athens and Salonika as well. They attacked the police stations with rocks, and in some cases the police responded with tear gas. The Korydallos prison, where the two cops that murdered Alexis were transferred, is besieged by highschool students, and the police is responding with tear gas.
Administrative buildings are being occupied by protestors. In the island of Syros, the building of the Periphery of Aegean Sea. In Crete, the Prefecture of Heraklion. In Athens, the town hall of Agios Dimitrios. A march for protest is scheduled for the afternoon by university students.
All these come on the eve of the pleading of the special guard that murdered Alexis. His lawyer, Kougias, a pompous, high profile lawyer that has drawn ridicule and rage alike for previous statements, said yesterday that "If the life of the boy should have been lost, that is up to the greek justice to decide". He also said that the ballistics test on the bullet shows that there was a ricochet. However the results of the test are being delayed. They were supposed to come out on Tuesday, but an announcement was out that they will come out on Friday. There have been various contradicting reports in the press about the results. However, newspaper Vima says that, according to anonymous police ballistics experts, the cop's 9mm gun couldn't inflict a fatal wound from a distance of 20m and after a ricochet. In his pleading, the cop shows no remorse over the death of Alexis, instead proceeds to portray him as a juvenile delinquent who was thrown out of his school (denied with an announcement from his school yesterday) also claiming that he has "information that the deceased was frequently involved in clashes and hooliganism". These words show exactly the mentality of the deranged armed murderers that the state has on the streets as a police force.
The situation is liquid as there had been off-the-record information that if the tension continues the government will put in effect Article 11 of the Contitution which allows for the prohibition of protests and gatherings of people, as well as cracking down facutlies occupations in the universities. The only statement that the PM did yesterday was about the money he intends to give to the shop owners who suffered damages during the uprising. The minister of Education advised teachers today to loosen up the educational program and "take students on recreational excursions".
It is also worth to note the stance of the Youth of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) who today have taken positions inside and outside faculties, trying to prohibit university students from making assemblies in order to decide the escalation of their struggle. Also, the dozens of international solidarity actions that were carried out all over the world yesterday.
No justice, no peace
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