LIVE BLOG on May Day 2012 in Greece

15:50 there seems to be no trouble in the area of Exarchia at the moment
15:05 Riot police in Exarcheia opposite protesters' barricades of trash bins in the middle of the street

pic by @_giant_

Further anti-austerity protests on board today (LIVE BLOG)

Approximately 3000 people gathered in front of the parliament this morning to protest against austerity, chanting slogans and singing the national anthem. The demo was called by the two major trade union bodies of Greece, GSEE and ADEDY, that reportedly have plans for a third general strike in a row, on top of a series of events coordinated with unions and artists, that will culminate on February 29th, the European day of action. 
A new demo is scheduled this afternoon in Syntagma sq. from left wing groups, SYRIZA trade unionists' network, primary unions, motorcyclists and Mikis Theodorakis movement. Follow #19fgr and #rbnews hashtags for twitter updates. This post will be updated with pics and info.


21:06 A RECAP OF THE EVENING DEMO' S MAIN HIGHLIGHTS

Demonstrators outside the parliament 19/2/2012 by Alexia B. on facebook

• 60 preventive detentions made by police in central Athens (Ermou St. Exarcheia & Monastiraki) prior to the demo.
• People descended on Syntagma sq. across the street from Parliament, remaining peacefully until 19:40, when riot police tactics aimed -in an obvious manner- at dispersing the crowd.
• To this end, pepper spray and stun grenade use was made, 3 people were detained and one man suffered injuries when hit by riot policeman on the head.
• Journalists were reportedly repelled by police for doing their job when covering the demonstration. One of them working for Ant1 TV was detained.

LIVE BLOG on #We_Are_All_Greeks_Now demos

A wave of demonstrations under the slogan "We are all Greeks now" is taking place this afternoon in various cities across Europe and on the other side of the pond, where the Occupy Wall Street movement began. The list with the cities where people plan to march in solidarity with Greek people's struggle against the austerity is long: Milan, Helsinki,Cologne, London, Dublin, Berlin, Copenhagen, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Stockholm, Edinburgh, Reykjavík, Barcelona, Lisboa, New York, Coimbra and Porto...to name a few. If you wish to check each city's meeting point, please click here. 


For twitter updates follow #weareallgreeks  #18fgr and #rbnews hashtags. 
This post will be updated with pics and videos

London via @Koufalitakis_M

Detentions follow school students' demo outside the parliament

Around 400 school students staged a protest at 12:00 outside the parliament against educational reforms and the broader socio-political condition in Greece. Pics by @moggoloss

LIVE BLOG on anti-austerity protests: Feb 10-11 & 12

FEB 12 TIMELINE

01:00 Recap of the day's main events 


"Greece en rage", might be an accurate description of what happened today.

• Several preventive detentions in Athens took place before even the demo starts. 
• Massive turnout as expected.The crowd was dispersed very early though, around 17:30-18:00 when tensions aroused on the front side of the demo and riot police officers started hurling teargas to repel demonstrators on the lower side of the square.
• The demo was split, but protesters remained en masse in the nearby roads, to avoid clouds of tear gas filling the air...which was literally unbearable. With sheer determination they attempted to get back on the spot but riot squad tactics were aimed at halting the demo. This cat-and-mouse chase kept for 3,5 hours.
• There were reports by journalists of policemen attacking on random people, protesting peacefully.
• Paul Mason, the BBC correspondent was attacked by a bunch of far right protesters as they thought he was German. The worst was prevented thanks to other people's intervention.
• Clashes spread across the city, with banks and retail outlets set on fire. Estimated number of arsoned buildings at 10  45.
• 100 people suffered injuries, while 74 have been arrested and 92 detained.
• In Thessaloniki 28.000 people demonstrated (including PAME members) and clashes broke out between protesters and riot police as well.



Feb 12, 2012 Demonstrators flooding the streets outside the parliament before clashes pic @Jaquou Utopie

Report on demos commemorating Alexis' assassination by police officer

Follow #rbnews and #6dgr on twitter to keep you in the loop 


21:05 People have gathered for the pre-planned memorial service on the spot where the young boy was shot by riot police officer 3 years ago
21:00 Random clashes across Exarchia district of Athens. Police forces have used strong teargas making the air unbearable. 
20:50 Thessaloniki: Four university students suffering head injuries from police are waiting to be taken by an ambulance 
20:45 Clashes broke up in Volos as well during #6dgr demo. 10 people have been detained in Thessaloniki up til now. A man's shoulder has been reportedly dislocated as was severely hit by police.

Volos pic by @protothema

 

 

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Dec 6, 2011: demos to mark 3 years since Alexis' assassination

It was Dec 6, 2008 when the fatal injury of a 15 years old boy by a policeman in central Athens, went viral and sparked civil unrest on an unprecedented scale. Youths flooded the streets of the capital and footage of blazing cars, smashed window displays and clashes with riot police was on the news. The unrest spread quickly in various cities across the country, followed by occupations of GSEE Trade Confederation's premises, schools, university campuses, Journalists' Union of Athens Daily Newspapers building, city halls and National Opera. 

What happened back then was not a mindless disorder, it was undoubtedly a political statement. The pull was triggered and public anger went over the top, over police mistrust, a series of financial scandals, leader's inability to tackle immigration issues, rising unemployment and dreams for a better future falling apart. Dec 6, 2008 is a key date for social movements in Greece, it's the starting point of a slow but profound radicalization springing up in various sections of society.