The two special guards who were involved in the murder of the 15-year-old student Alexis Grigoropoulos in Exarcheia last Saturday will testify to the Examiner today. Meanwhile, peace has prevailed in the area around the National Technical University of Athens and ASOEE (Athens University of Economics). At the same time, two individuals, who were injured on the head on Patision Street and Victoria Square a little after midnight, were hospitalized. Meanwhile, 37 foreigners have been arrested for theft and looting of shops.

Tension prevailed around the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki in the night and serious incidents broke out in other cities. In Patras and Larissa traders and civilians attacked protesters. Incidents also broke out in the area around the Paleo Phaliron cemetery after the student’s funeral, which many people attended. At the same time, the Police have ordered an investigation on a police officer, who shot in the air.

Four individuals have been arrested for attacking police officers, 12 for thefts and 55 were taken to the police. Furthermore, the police arrested 25 foreigners at noon as they had looted shops in the centre of Athens two days ago.

Meanwhile, during yesterday’s incidents, two Bank branches and nine shops sustained damages in P. Phaliron and Nea Smyrni, while tow cars were torched in the centre of Athens. Also, seven police officers were injured when youths hurled against them stones, pieces of wood and Molotov bombs.

On a relative development, dozens of gypsies, who attacked the Zefiri police station with a torched truck yesterday evening, left later without escalating violence.

At the same time, the authorities have begun registering the damages of shops in Athens, so as their owners are compensated the soonest possible.

332 shops and two kiosks have been destroyed completely, while it will take two to three months before some shop owners open their shops Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis told NET 105.8. Mr Kaklamanis will meet the PM at 10:00 today.

Finally, the National Bank of Greece has decided to allow its clients, who were affected by the damages, to extend the payment deadlines of entrepreneurial loans.

Source: ΝΕΤ 105.8

It’s interesting watching Antenna how some of its news journalists and presenters have “sided” with the youths in their outcry and rage.  As Andonis Kanakis from Radio Arvyla pointed out, aren’t these people the same that usually call these youths hooligans and kolopaida?

Kanakis went as far as commenting that the major news channels have shifted their position to cater to public opinion.

Nikos Evangelatos made me feel nauseous early this morning with his statements on how we have been ignoring the young generation.  I agree with his statement but his comments are out of character for him in my opinion.

It can only be seen as hypocrisy.

Why is it that he has never made a stand before this week’s events?  Previous similar outbreaks have been labeled as acts of violence whereas in this case it is being portrayed as the rage of the youth against a government system that no longer represents them.  A government system that provides only a bleak future to the young generation.

I don’t disagree that this could be true.  I don’t live in Greece but from family and friends you hear of the difficulties to find employment as well as the low incomes that are being paid to those that are employed.  You hear of the high cost of living and this economic crisis would definitely have increased the pressure on the poor.

The hypocrisy is why hasn’t this ever been on the news reporters agenda before this???

Why have we been fed weeks upon weeks of the Vatopedio scandal instead??

Why have we been fed weeks upon weeks of the politician’s scandal of who paid for whose dinner in Germany??

Did it take the death of a 15 year old by a policeman to wake the nation??

I also believe that there is another agenda.  I am of the opinion that these riots have been used to undermine the current Karamanlis government by some journalists such as Evangelatos and I think to politicise these events is simply bad taste on the part of the news presenters.

Of course the government would be concerned with the youths and the reasons for their rage but I must agree with the government that they also need to care about protecting the citizens that are being impacted by the riots.  Business owners that have had their storefronts smashed, looted or burnt down deserve government protection.  Therefore we cannot condemn a government who is trying to figure out how to protect and compensate these people.

There are also those that work and live in the city centre of Athens and they too would expect their government to do its best to protect them.

To close off this entry … The government is sitting on a double-edged sword.

It cannot use force to break up these riots for if there are any more victims the rage will be fueled.

It cannot bring in the army to take control of the situation as I am sure that they are aware that it will be an opportunity for some elements of the society to draw parallels with the military junta and the force they demonstrated against the students of the Polytechnic in  1973.

I still cannot see how the situation will resolve itself and what it will take to calm the situation.

evdomada@gmail.com

It’s 10:55pm in Sydney (AEST) and I’ve tuned in to Antenna Pacific and the live newsflash is showing scenes of riot police holding their line against numerous youths protesting outside the Greek Parliament.  The youth are throwing whatever they find at the riot police trying to intimidate to them.

Riots so far were primarily targeting businesses and banks, breaking glass shopfronts, looting and in some cases lighting fires to some of them.

All of these riots and demonstrations are said to be a reaction against the shooting of 15 year old Alexandros Grigoropoulos, whose funeral is to take place at 3:00pm Tuesday Athens local time – which is in approximately one hour.

There is no doubt that the country is in mourning for Alex and sympathy is more with his loss rather than the unfolding of the riots.

There have been a few international news agencies have added that the economic crisis in Greece and the scandals that have been uncovered are also factors in these riots.  They have also claimed that the opposition parties are adding fuel to the fire by reinforcing the gap that has been created between the rich and poor.

Some have argued that the riots are justified and that people are rightfully rioting against the death of the youth.  They believe that although some people are reporting the riots as anarchy, that the rioters are actually expressing their democratic right to retaliate against the unjust powers used by the police.  Unlike the riots in France and those we saw in Australia, these riots in Athens are not about racism but against the use of force by the government.

Of course on the other side of the argument are those stating that you don’t use violence to demonstrate against violence.

It will be interesting to see how the government will be able to resolve this standoff without using violence themselves to quell the rioters.

evdomada@gmail.com

The BBC’s Malcolm Brabant looks at why student anger has erupted across Greece over Saturday’s fatal police shooting of a teenage boy.

The riots that have swept Greece for the past two days and look set to continue for the foreseeable future underline why the most important day in the national calendar is “Oxi” or “No” day.

“Oxi” day commemorates 28 October 1940, when Greek leader Ioannis Metaxas used that single word to reply to Mussolini’s ultimatum to allow Italy to invade Greece, propelling his nation into World War II.

When Greeks say no, they mean it in spades.

Rebellion is deeply embedded in the Greek psyche. The students and school children who are now laying siege to police stations and trying to bring down the government are undergoing a rite of passage.

They may be the iPod generation, but they are the inheritors of a tradition that goes back centuries, when nuns would rather hurl themselves to death from mountain convents than submit to the ravages of Greece’s Turkish Ottoman invaders.

‘Springboards for violence’

The centre for this December rebellion is the Athens Polytechnic, where students have been out on the streets with wheelbarrows and shopping trolleys to collect and recycle rocks and pieces of marble used in the previous night’s assaults.

The polytechnic is the symbol of modern rebellion.

On 17 November 1973, tanks of the then six-year-old military dictatorship burst through the iron railings to suppress a student uprising against the colonels.

The exact casualty figure is still unknown to this day but it is believed that around 40 people were killed.

The sacrifice of the polytechnic was so significant that the post-junta architects of Greece’s new constitution drafted the right of asylum, which bans the authorities from entering the grounds of schools and universities.

That is why places of learning are the springboards for the current wave of violence and it also explains why many of the riots are in university towns.

Students and pupils have effectively been given carte blanche to carry on protesting, because their professors have declared a three-day strike.

‘Out of control’

Although many of today’s protestors were not born when the polytechnic gates were crushed by the tanks, the lesson of the students’ martyrdom is a key component of every Greek child’s school democracy curriculum.

The latent Greek contempt for the police, which has now erupted so volcanically, has its roots in the dictatorship, when the police were regarded as the colonels’ enforcers and traitors to the people.

The death of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos at the hands of an experienced 37-year-old policeman has precipitated a wave of nationwide violence unseen since the dictatorship.

Whether it will lead to the fall of the unpopular conservative government of Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis is unclear.

It is premature to see the troubles as Greece’s reprise of the Paris uprising of 1968.

One of the wisest observations has come from Nikos Konstandaras, the managing editor of Kathimerini, one of Greece’s more sober and respected newspapers.

In an editorial entitled “Anger’s teen martyr”, Mr Konstandaras wrote that Mr Grioropoulos’ blood would be “used to bind together every disparate protest and complaint into a platform of righteous rage against all the ills of our society.

“It will quickly become a flag of convenience for anyone who has a grudge against the state, the government, the economic system, foreign powers, capitalism and so on.”

“If Greece had already appeared difficult to govern, it will now be out of control.”

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/7771628.stm

Published: 2008/12/08 16:14:54 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis on Sunday said that those responsible for the death of the 15-year-old boy shot by police in Exarhia the night before should expect no leniency from the state. In a letter of condolence to the parents of the slain teenager, he promised the State would do everything in its power to prevent such a tragedy occurring again.

The premier’s promise came in the wake of the worst rioting in decades, which swept through Greek cities until the early hours of the morning, while police steeled themselves for further demonstrations and protests later in the day.

Self-styled anarchists and youths belonging to far-left militant groups ran rampage throughout the night and again at demonstrations on Sunday afternoon, coming out in force to protest against the killing of the 15-year-old. The boy was shot during a skirmish between two police officers and a group of about 30 youths belonging to Exarhia’s fringe anti-establishment movement that attacked their patrol car on Saturday night. The 15-year-old boy was shot in the chest and died of his injuries shortly after being taken to hospital.

Soon after the boy’s death at the hands of police, the prime minister had refused to accept the resignations offered by Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Deputy Interior Minister for public order issues, Panagiotis Hinofotis.

In a press conference on Sunday morning, Pavlopoulos said that he had spoken with the boy’s mother on the phone the night before in order to say sorry.

Even if the overwhelming majority of Greek police officers did their job correctly and this was seen as an isolated incident, the death of the boy on Saturday night was inconceivable in a country with a democratic framework of operation, the minister stressed.

It was equally inconceivable that those responsible for the death of the 15-year-old should not receive the punishment they deserved, he added.

The interior minister went on to appeal for calm, asking the public to assist the police in their legitimate function:

“The police have and will have a defensive function in order to protect the property and the lives of all Greek citizens. It will continue to have this function after this isolated incident. And I appeal to Greek citizens to help so that there is calm and the legitimate work of the police can yield results,” he said.

Regarding the incidents that swept the country through the night, the minister said that he could sympathise with the pain many felt at this incident but that this could not lead to situations that turned against other people and the social whole.

In response to reporters’ questions, he also underlined his confidence in the leadership of the police, while stressing that the police would not leave the safety of people’s lives and property at anyone’s mercy.

“In spite of these isolated incidents, Greek citizens have and deserve quality policing,” he said.

Regarding the circumstances of the boy’s death, Pavlopoulos refused to answer questions until the police investigation was completed, particularly the ballistics report that would show how the shooting occurred. He stressed that the investigation would not end until all those shown to share in responsibility for what occurred had been punished.

The minister also thanked the political parties for the responsible stance they had shown and appealed for the isolation of “extremist elements” in order to avoid more incidents and destruction during the demonstrations scheduled on Sunday and the following days.

“It is everyone’s absolutely democratic right to protest and demonstrate. Especially after such inconceivable incidents as that last night. But the police function defensively and will be present during the demonstrations so that the lives and property of citizens are not placed at risk,” he stressed.

President expresses condolences over boy’s death

President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias on Sunday sent a telegrams expressing the state’s condolences to the parents of the boy killed by police in Exarhia on Saturday.

“I express by deepest anguish for the loss of your son. His death was a wound to the operation of the state of law. I hope that it is the last and I am certain that those to blame will be held responsible,” Papoulias said in his message.

A letter expressing his condolences was also sent to the boy’s parents by the prime minister:

“In these extremely difficult hours, I beg that you accept my sincerest condolences for the unfair loss of your son. As all Greeks, I feel deep anguish. I know that nothing can assuage your pain at this time. I want to assure you that there will be no leniency in seeking out responsibility. The state, as is its obligation, will do everything possible so that yesterday’s tragedy in not repeated,” Karamanlis said in the letter.

Guards responsible for shooting before public prosecutor

The two special guards making up the police patrol that shot the 15-year-old were led before a public prosecutor on Sunday. The officer that fired the shots against the boy was charged with homicide and illegal weapons use, while his partner was charged as an accomplice.

The two officers must now appear before an examining magistrate, who will set a date when they will present their testimony.

The two special guards were placed under arrest immediately after the incident when the teenager was shot dead. Also placed on suspension as a result of the incident was the chief of the Exarhia police station, where the two were stationed.

According to the initial statement given by the two officers, the incident occurred shortly after 9:00 on Saturday night when a police patrol car responding to a call in the Exarhia district was surrounded by a gang of 30 youths that started throwing stones and bits of wood at them.

The two special guards in the patrol decided to pursue the youths and, in the ensuing fracas, one of them fired his service revolver to disperse them, injuring the 15-year-old highschool student. The officer who fired claims he shot twice in the air and once at the ground and that the bullet that injured the boy must have ricocheted.

Police headquarters said that an investigation was underway to determine whether the events had occurred in the way described by the two officers, while an autopsy and ballistics report have been ordered to confirm their claim that they did not shoot directly at the victim.

City centres laid waste by demonstrations, rioting

Cities throughout Greece were licking their wounds and taking stock of the damage on Sunday morning, after the death of a teenager at the hands of police sparked some of the worst rioting seen in the country for decades. They then had to contend with a renewed bout of violence later the same day, as demonstrations against the killing degenerated into open battles between far-left demonstrators and riot police.

Central Athens was the scene of chaos on Sunday as buildings, banks, supermarkets, shops and cars were put to the torch by rioters and streets were cordoned off as protestors wreaked havoc and skirmished with police.

Violence was also reported in the cities of Thessaloniki, Patras, Ioannina and Hania, in incidents that lasted until the early hours of the morning and then resumed during demonstrations held after midday. Several police stations were attacked during the night and police officers in several cities became the targets of violence, while patrol cars were torched.

The most serious damage in Athens during the night was to a three-storey Sprider sports good store in Kapnikarea streets, which was practically gutted, and an Intersport outlet at Monastiraki Square. During demonstrations on Sunday afternoon, protestors also torched an environment ministry building on Alexandras Avenue, while a Veropoulos supermarket and car dealership were burnt nearly to the ground.

Extensive damage to shops, banks and cars was caused by rioters wielding rocks, sticks and other implements, while 24 police officers were taken to hospital for injuries caused by thrown objects, one of whom was admitted for treatment.

The march in Athens on Sunday was once again marked by mayhem that carried on until late into the evening, as youths belonging to far-left groups came to blows with MAT riot police on Alexandras Avenue and later around the area of the Athens Polytechnic.

The streets of the city were rank with the smell of tear gas throughout most of the day as Alexandras Avenue was turned into a battle field, with pockets of violence between rioters and police along the length of Patission and Stournari Streets.

Source:  www.ana-mpa.gr