Greece: huge demos and police-Nazi repression after murder of singer Killah P

Pavlos Fissas Killah P

Large demos and clashes shattered Greece in the aftermath of the murder, with full police collaboration, of hip-hop musician Pavlos Fissas "Killah P".

Chronological account by From the Greek Streets (2nd link):

19:00 (GMT+2) Thousands in the Antifascist demo in Panagi Tsaldari street near to the point of assassination.The direction is Golden Dawns’s offices in Nikaia. Right-wing politician P. Kammenos and corporate media journalists  who attempted to approach the demo were attacked and ousted by the demonstrators.

19:13 (GMT+2) Thousands have flooded the streets of Keratsini. The demo moves towards the town hall of Keratsini. Police attacked front of the police department and demonstrators attacked to the police department in Grigori Lambraki street.

19:22 (GTM+2) The demonstration has been attacked by police with tear gas and stun grenades.

19:40 (GTM+2) A large anarchist/antifascist block of 3000-4000 people is heading towards Golden Dawn’s offices in Nikaia. Pawn offices are being smashed. People are chanting  ‘the blood is running, it seeks revenge’.

19:45 (GTM+2) The antifascist/anarchist block is now clashing with the police. The people hold on.

19:58 (GTM+2) Widespread clashes with the police in Keratsini. Teargas and barricades in Grigoriou Lambraki street and Panagi Tsaldari Avenue.

20:20 (GTM+2) Small groups of ‘people’ next to riot police squads in Panagi Tsaldari in Athens are throwing stones against demonstrators.

20:36 (GMT+2) Clashes on various points in Keratsini. The air is full of chemicals so a lot of rubbish bins are on fire. Thousands of people walk around after the disperse. On small streets police officers detain people who suspect as demonstrators.

20:46 (GMT=2) Clashes close to the Kerasini police station, tear gases and Molotov cocktails the last 30 minutes.

20:53 (GMT+2) On the corner of Grigoriou Lambraki and Tsaldari at least 10 demonstrators have been stabilized on the street by the police and are being detained. Police still attacks and disperse groups of demonstrators wherever they find them.  In other areas stones are thrown to the police.

20:59 (GMT+2) On Grigoriou Lambraki avenue clash still goes on.

21:06 (GMT+2) People, possibly demonstrators, have been trapped on a block of flats on Tsaldari and Lambraki corner. Police requested attorney permission to raid the building, while the trapped ones have called lawyers to reach them. On the same corner police attacked and detained without reason demonstrators earlier.

21:22 (GMT+2) Police has detained more than 30 people so far in Athens. Four demonstrators injured.

21:30 (GMT+2) 2 police water cannons in Keratsini.

21:47 (GMT+2) 30 people detained in Thessaloniki.

22:04 (GMT+2) Police continue to detain people in Athens, so far the number has increased to 65.

22:32 (GMT+2) About 20 people who found refuge in a cafeteria in Panagi Tsaldari have been detained by police. More people still remain on the roof of a nearby building.

01:17 (GMT+2) Demonstrator at risk of losing his eye from tear gas that was shot directly at him by cops. He is operated at the Tzaneio hospital.

02:26 (GMT+2) Riot Police attacks without any reason to the solidarity gathering in front of the police headquarters (GADA) in Athens.

At 2:25 (GMT+2) police attacks to the hundrends of people who have been gathered in front of the Athens police HQs. Over 100 detains and over 50 arrests so far from the march in Keratsini.

Video of Nazis throwing stones side by side with riot police (source: FTGS):

The Guardian reports that the government will use this murder to impose emergency legislation.  The emphasis of the article is that it will move to ban Golden Dawn but the details are less clear, especially considering that police forces are almost 100% penetrated by this Nazi organization.

I Can't Relax In Greece! echoes the cry of a senior consultant at the Nikaia hospital, where Fissas was declared dead: they have been training on the bodies of immigrants for three years!

Mr. Papanikolau attacked the mass media for promoting the Nazis, in his own words: inviting the fascists to lifestyle TV shows as if they were catwalk models. 

Protests are expected to continue today.

Zero tolerance to fascism! 


Update: Antifascist protester loses eye. As mentioned above a demonstrator was hit by a gas canister in the eye, according to FTGS:

Police was shooting directly to the people’s heads the tear gas canisters with the special tear gas weapon, among the dozens antifa demonstration who were injured yesterday was one who was hit with tear gas canister in the eye. The doctors of Tzaneio operated him for 2.5 hours but they could not save his  eye.

Update: Nazi acts canceled in panic for popular anger. Again from FTGS:

Golden Dawn leader Michaloliakos announced a few hours after the assassination of Pavlos Fyssas that next day he will give a speech in Nikaia (the local branch where the murdered Roupakias is member of)  he invited all the Nazis to join him for the event. At the same time that the vice leader Pappas and the press officer of GD Kassidiaris claimed that the murder has nothing to do with Golden Dawn. However in early hours of the morning after the big antifa demonstrations that took place all over the country and attacked GD local branches everywhere, the event was cancelled, and vanished from their webpages. Meanwhile antifa and the trade Unions of Peireus and Keratsini (the latter are affiliated with the Communist Party and its union PAME) announced a counter gathering close to the scheduled Nazi event that they will “cut the hand of the fascists”.

Turkey: protests and repression continue for third night

Obviously the Turkish socio-political conflict is far from solved. Repression is once again not any solution and only feeds more and more anger. 

Large protests took place in Ankara, Antalya and Antakya (Antioch) in anger for the latest mortal victim of Islamo-Fascist repression, Ahmet Atakan, hit by a gas canister. They were once again brutally repressed by a government that does not know how to get out of their own trap of ultra-violence and dogmatic totalitarianism.

There are local elections in 6 months and state ones in a year. At least that's the schedule. But meanwhile the regime continues with the most brutal repression it can fathom. 

Source: WG[es].

Catalan Countries: Spain forbids independentist human chain in Valencia, German think tank ponders Catalan independence

Tomorrow is the Diada, the national day of Catalonia, which last year was marked by some two million people marching (or rather just standing because there was no room) through the streets of Barcelona in demand of independence.

This year instead the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) plan to do a human chain through 400 kilometers of roads. 

However when this initiative was extended to the Valencian Country, the Spanish proconsuls have moved to ban them altogether, in yet another indication of the lack of real democracy in the only remaining Southern European kingdom.

The subdelegation of the Spanish Government in Castelló forbade the extension of the human chain to Vinarós, a mere kilometer south of the Catalan border on grounds of "fundamental rights", such as "road security" (for real!) This extension of the chain was going to include famous artists like Lluis Llach and Carles Santos, and also relatives of Guillem Aguilló, murdered by a fascist death squad 20 years ago in Castelló. 

Another ban was imposed to the concentration of solidarity with the Diada in Guardamar del Segura, in Alacant province, also in the Valencian Country. In this case the Spanish neofascist authorities alleged technical reasons: the request was forwarded too late (or whatever, you know).

Germans pondering Catalan independence

A bourgeois German think tank that gives advice to Angela Merkel, the Science and Politics Foundation (SWP), thinks that Catalan independence makes good sense. 

The report, signed by Kai-Olaf Lang, thinks plausible that Catalonia declares independence if Spain does not make major concessions. The report emphasizes that the movement for independence is a civil society one, independent from parties. 

He warns that the EU must be ready for such a scenario and, considering the issues regarding EU membership for a newly independent state, he believes that the initial formula could be one in which, while Catalonia is not part of EU (yet), EU laws still apply inside their territory. Of course he's thinking about the legal protection of some 600 German companies present in Catalonia. 

The most interesting point is that the traditional European stand of defending Spanish territorial integrity no matter what has been dropped. Realism is winning the day. 

Source: Gara[es].

Chile: violent repression against memorial march

The Chilean military police (carabineros) brutally repressed a march in homage to the victims of the fascist dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. 

When the march, which transited peacefully through Santiago de Chile, arrived to the cemetery, police attacked them with tear gas for no apparent reason. 

"We will destroy the legacy of Pinochet"

Source: Webguerrillero[es].


Update (Sep 11): Video of the march and the brutal unprovoked repression (this last begins at min. 7:00) 

Colombia: police murders four, including a child

Four more Colombian citizens were murdered by the police forces in the context of the farmer strike that shatters the South American country. Other 35 people were injured. 

The massacre took place in the village of Mojarras, in the department of Cauca, SE of the country. 

The exact number of victims is yet provisional but it is known that a boy aged six was killed by inhalation of tear gas. Among the injured there is a human rights activist: Deivid de Jesús Hurtado. 

The latest informations said that the victims were arriving to the hospital San José of Popayán (departmental capital), where there was a growing concentration of people, mostly students. 

Besides tear gas police forces used live fire and even explosive devices. Many of the victims were caused by these.

Source: Webguerrillero[es].

Bahrain: more protests, more brutal repression

Hundreds of Bhraini citizens attempted again to protest in many towns around Manama but were violently repressed by police forces at the service of the totalitarian regime. 

People chanted slogans like "Death to Khalifa" (the dictator dynasty) or "Stop repression!". 

Only in August at least 203 citizens have been arrested (and surely tortured) and more than 482 homes have been assaulted.

Source: Webguerrillero[es].

Colombia: tens of thousands protest in the South-West

In spite of militarization, the popular uprising in Colombia is far from over. Yesterday a 10,000 strong march of Native Americans took over the city of Popayán (Cauca) blocking a major road in solidarity with the National Strike led by the small farmers.

Also it has been known that the government sent the infamous riot police squad (ESMAD) to the city of Florencia (Caquetá), also in the SW of the country, where more than 15,000 farmers have been protesting since August 19th.

Source: Webguerrillero[es] (link 1, link 2).

Basque Country: French police beats protesters against speculation

A peaceful protest at a real state company in Donibane-Lohitzune (St. Jean de Luz) was tainted by the blood of the Basque youth as the French military police (gendarmerie) violently beat the protesters.

Three peaceful protesters were injured and other two arrested.

The Basque Country is not for sale

And then they fill their dirty mouths with the word "democracy"!

Source: Boltxe Info[es].

See also: Altsasu occupied by military police in fiestas

Turkey: the Islamist regime continues with repression as the masses march against war in Syria

At least 40 people were arrested in a journey of renewed protests, this time with the cause of peace. Again Gezi Park and Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul were the epicenter of protests and brutal fascist repression by police forces. The protest in Istanbul was not the only one, in the last weeks concentrations and marches have been spreading again through Turkey after a summer downtime, all them have been met with the brutal repression of a regime that calls itself "democratic" but obviously does not want to know what the word means. 

Source: Webguerrillero[es].

Update: short video of some of the protests and police deployment:

Basque Country: Altsasu occupied by military police in fiestas

Spanish military police (Guardia Civil) occupied on Friday the town of Altsasu (Sakana valley, Navarre) in the middle of its fiestas after fascist-like rampage by the Spanish-imposed provincial governor Carmen Alba. 

In 2011 the same fascist proconsul attempted to indict Mayor Garazi Urrestarazu on a festive parody of a royal discourse, now she charges again against the Ospa Eguna, which may be translated as Celebration Day (ospatu = celebrate) or as Go Away Day (ospa! = go away!, coll.) but hardly as Runaway Day, as the ignorant Alba said. 

Whatever the case she has unilaterally declared illegal the festive acts on the absolutely arbitrary grounds that such acts "have not been communicated to the state administration", as if we'd have to tell the occupants about every single local activity we organize in our towns and villages. The acts include a demonstration and the burning of a doll.

The military cops literally surrounded the town with controls and even entered the festive area threatening in Spanish to "clean it up of shit" (what "shit"? are you going to shoot yourselves dead?) 

In spite of all that the activities continued as intended, no matter that a helicopter roared threateningly above the fire of the doll. People showed a lot of bravery dancing and playing among the threatening police occupants.

Witnesses declared:

It was brutal, disproportionate! 

We suffered an incredible police deployment: the people were surrounded by automatic guns. 

For example, when some 200 people took part in the bertso* dinner, they were surrounded by almost the same number of armed cops. Forced identifications and verbal intimidation were common in the day. Town Hall representatives explained that:

It was to drive you crazy. We did not enter into the provocation and in a bertsolari* town as we live in, citizens went on improvising, and also sortzikoak, polkas, Basque dances and games they performed to impress the military policemen, as saying: "here we are and we will stay here". 

Repression no! Go away. Leave Altsasu in peace.

I must say that nothing of all this was in TV news yesterday, neither in the Spanish channels (of course) nor in the Basque ones.

Sources[eu]: Gara, Naiz Info.


* Bertsoak are a form of improvised song, usually in humorous duels, traditional among Basques. The singers are known as bertsolari(-ak).

Update (Sep 2): it has been known now that a young man was arrested, apparently for "answering back" to the verbal aggressions by the police forces → Topatu.info.

Colombia: major protest in Tunja against repression

A pot-banging demonstration took the city of Tunja (Boyacá, Central Colombia) in protest for the disdain and brutal repression that President Santos is adopting against the General Strike, already a week long. 

They demand a comprehensive agrarian policy that takes in account the small farmers, as well as a stop to repression. 

Source: Webguerrillero[es].

Greece: police raids two social centers in Athens University

From Form the Greek Streets:

Police raids the historical Athens polytecnic campus in exarcheia, five detained

This morning the police raided the historical Athens polytechnic campus. The two self-organized spaces inside the campus got raided and five people were detained (among them 3 immigrants from whom 1 will be deported).  The rest of the detained were released few hours later.

Source in Greek
https://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1486866

Original entry includes a police video of the raids.

Bahrain represses Tamarrod protests

The fascist Bahraini theocracy, armed by Saudi Arabia and NATO members, brutally repressed the protests against the dictatorship... again. 

Tear gas and pellets were used indiscriminately against those who attempted to bring the popular demands to the streets. 

Source: Webguerrillero[es].

Basque Country: ideological repression reaches the fiestas of Bilbao and Laudio

The Spanish proconsul in the Western Basque Country, a petty bald guy known as Carlos Urquijo, denounced the recently appointed txupinera (woman in charge of shooting some noisy fireworks known as txupinak) of the Fiestas of Bilbao, Jone Artola (pictured). Why? Because she is the sister of a political prisoner and active for decades in the konpartsa (festive organization) Txori Barrote, related to the prisoner solidarity human rights organization Etxerat (back home), of which she has been speaker often. 

That would half-normal, considering the fascist imperialist nature of the Kingdom of Spain. But what is more worrisome is that a tribunal accepted yesterday the demand, temporarily suspending Artola at just one week from the beginning of the Fiestas. 

A few days ago another tribunal also suspended the appointment of Pablo Gorostiaga, 71, as pregonero (in charge of reading the festive proclamation or inaugural discourse) of the fiestas of Laudio. Gorostiaga was for many years the elected mayor of this town but was sentenced to nine years of prison in a political persecution trial. 

Pablo Gorostiaga in a political meeting

The legal pretext for both instances of political repression is the so-called Law of Acknowledgement and Reparation to the Victims of Terrorism, which is designed, it seems, to impede free speech and increase political repression against Basque patriots. 

It is hard to see how these kind of fascist measures can help at all to bring peace and conciliation. Rather the opposite: it seems that Madrid is determined to re-ignite the endless war, probably because they need some sort of distraction for all the socio-economic problems they are unable to solve, never mind deep institutional corruption. 

Source: Naiz Info[es] (link 1, link 2, link 3, link4).

Turkey: student loans to be denied to those who join protests

The fascist Turkish state is again showing its true colors: people who take part in protests will become legally ineligible for student loans.

The new norm, to be applied from 2014 on, has been approved by the Institution of Loans for Superior Education and University Residences on the grounds that such activities are "a violation of the right to education".

The banned activities include painting graffiti, chanting slogans, occupying buildings or taking part in any boycott, be it individually or collectively, inside or outside the university precinct.

The banned activities are described as "acts of anarchism and terrorism".

Hitler himself could not have thought something more twisted. 

Source: Webguerrillero[es].

Turkey: new police crackdown

From Contra Info:

Turkey: Police crackdown and mass detentions in İstanbul

In the early hours of July 16th, 2013 police raided 100 different places in İstanbul.

At around 5.30am, police stormed many houses simultaneously. According to initial reports, 12 members of Öğrenci Kolektifleri (Students’ Collective) and Liseli Genç Umut (Highschool Young Hope) were detained. 26 persons in the district of Sancaktepe were detained, including readers of magazines such as Özgür Gelecek (Free Future) and Devrimci Demokrasi (Revolutionary Democracy), and members of AKA-DER (Anatolian Cultural and Research Foundation) and HKP (People’s Liberation Party). It’s being reported that managers’ and members’ houses of the TGB (Turkey Youth Union) were also searched. Lawyers informed that the State took the decision of house searches and arrest of 60 people for a 72-hour period (including members of Halkevleri, Öğrenci Kolektifleri, Özgür Gelecek, Devrimci Demokrasi, Aka-Der, HKP and TGB). 56 people are accused for encouraging people to revolt and damaging public property. The case file was classified as confidential, so people still in custody (30 so far) are not allowed to speak with their lawyers for 24 hours. Cops also decided to take saliva samples of detainees.

sources: a, b

Basque Country: political arrests in Navarre

Three Five arrested, see updates below.

Artzai Santesteban has been arrested tonight in Antsoain by Spanish police forces under unclear accusations of taking part in "an incident" during these San Fermin fiestas. It is speculated that it may be the placing of the gigantic Basque flag but no details have surfaced yet. 

He seems to be a scapegoat because he has been previously persecuted once and again: he was arrested in Italy under the political accusation of being member of Segi (Basque Left-Nationalist youth movement) and then deported to Spain, where he was in prison for more than a year. 

He was also accused of burning several cash machines, without evidence, the case being archived.

Last year he also became scapegoat of an inconsequential fight which took place within the riau-riau between Basque and Spanish nationalist individuals. Only Basque Nationalists were arrested. 

Just months ago he was declared not guilty for an attack against a police van. As in the other occasions, there was absolutely no evidence, excepted declarations obtained under torture. 

He still awaits trial for being member of Segi.

Source: Ateak Ireki[es].


Update: not one but three people have been arrested, according to Naiz Info[es].

Besides the already mentioned Artzai Santesteban, Endika Garai and Jon Karmelo Lizarazu are the other two victims of this instance of political repression.

It seems that the accusations are not related to the hanging of a Basque flag before the City Hall but to the clashes that, triggered by police violence, took place in Txapitela St. when a march attempted to access the City Hall Square with another large ikurriña:

Video by Ateak Ireki

In those incidents Navarrese MP Txelui Moreno was injured by police batons on the head. Allegedly a municipal policeman was also injured by a bottle, although this is not apparent in the video. 


Update: two more have been arrested so far: Ekaitz Esteban Baruke and Eneko Pérez → Ateak Ireki[es].


Update (Jul 18): the five have been released but another person, Monika Mendiberri was arrested tonight in the Old Quarter of Iruñea-Pamplona accused of "destruction" (arson?, vandalism?) → Ateak Ireki[es].

The victims of political persecution denounced the ruling party UPN to have done that in order to hide their own misery. One denounced beatings while under arrest. → Ateak Ireki[es] (incl. press conference video).

Palestine: resistance, repression and genocide - weekly report

As every week, Ilan Against the Wall makes a synthesis of the struggles and repression in Palestine (excerpts):

Rass Karkar
Sunday, joint struggle with PSCC. Protesting on the roads of Palestine this morning.

At first we protested by a flying checkpoint the soldiers placed on the way from Deir Kadis to Ramallah. The soldiers shot several tear gas canisters directly at us, hitting in the chest a protester, who was evicted to the hospital, his condition unknown.
Then we went to protest by Nilin checkpoint, where the soldiers eventually dispersed us with stun grenades.

...

Bil'in
Weekly demo 05.07.2013. About 15 with the anarchists against the wall initiative joined few dozens of international activists and Bil'iners. We marched along the wall between the barbed wire fences up to the gate in the wall. There, people removed one wing of the gate of the barbed wire fence, confiscated it, and drag it with a car to the village. The state forces were nearly passive with few tear gas grenade thrown just to keep the pretense of power. After a long while demonstrators got bored and returned to the village.

...

Sunday 07.07.2013 pre down:

Israeli army - about 80 strong unit, entered the village of Bil'in - probably in revenge for the confiscation of the wing of the gate the previous day, and arrested twin brothers Asim Yasin and Mohammed Yasin and took them to unknown area.

...

Nabi Saleh
Israeli Occupation Forces have invaded Nabi Saleh and attacked the regular Friday demonstration against the occupation. IOF are firing teargas, rubber bullets, stun grenades and spraying skunk.  

...

Kufr Qaddoum

...

Friday, Murad Shtaiwi: Dear friends: Nothing new today in kufr qudoom march this Friday, tear gas, sound bombs smoke bombs.

What are new there are very bad comments about Prophet MOHAMMAD and Arabs below the video of today written in English and Hebrew.

...

Um al-Kheir
Two Palestinian women sustained bruises today and three were detained during a peaceful rally against colonial expansion east of Yatta in south Hebron hills. The Israeli terrorist colonists attacked nonviolent protesters kicking them and beating them with rifle butts in Um al-Kheir neighborhood east of Yatta
"I just came back from an arrest in the South Hebron Hills with two Palestinians from Umm al-Kheir and three Israeli Ta'ayush activists. The military decided to arbitrarily arrest a young Palestinian shepherd. It was completely unprovoked, brutal, and under false charges. He was blindfolded and zip-tied with a single zip-tie (against regulations). The military then issued a Closed Military Zone for a different area and arrested the rest of us when we were clearly outside of it. The shepherd's brother was beaten and is now limping on his left leg. In the picture you can see the brave people of Umm al-Kheir coming to protest and resist the military's assault. I was dragged off by four soldiers while sitting next to the woman in black. At the end of the day, we were released and our Palestinian comrades had to submit an outrageous deposit of 1500 NIS (collected entirely by the people of the village). Robbed by law. We all received restraining orders from the area for 15 days. The forbidden area includes a well and a water cistern which is of vital importance for Shepherding. The people of Umm al-Kheir, due to the close vicinity of the settlement Carmel, are considered illegal trespassers on their own land and suffer demolitions, arbitrary arrests, and assaults on a daily basis"

...

The villagers of 'Awarta owned 22,000 dunums of land (one dunum = 1000 sq.m). Israel expropriated some 12,000 dunums, for the benefit of the settlement Itamar (established in 1984).
In early June 2013, 22 farmers from 'Awarta received confiscation orders for some 360 dunums of their land, near Itamar. On 23rd June, 2013 they received more orders, stating that 63.4 dunums were now confiscated.
For years, the farmers have been denied entry to their land near the settlement. They are allowed to enter only two days a year, in order to harvest their olives.

...

On Thursday, 27th June, 2013, government representatives arrived, again, accompanied by police, at the Bedouin village 'Atir (near Yatir forest) and demolished three homes and four tents that had been built following the last demolitions.

Andalusia: union leader arrested

Diego Cañamero, leader of the militant Andalusian Workers Union (SAT) was arrested yesterday after he rejected to pay homage to bourgeois injustice by not going to court to declare on the workers struggle for the collectivization of Las Turquillas ranch, owned by the Spanish military. 

Plain clothes policemen arrested him at the Worker Center of El Coronil, where he and dozens of supporters were awaiting the announced arrest.

The demand of collectivization of farmlands in Andalusia is a popular struggle that comes from old, as most of the land belongs to aristocrats who were assigned it by the Medieval dictatorships. The workers want to collectivize the right of use of those lands (property means nothing) in order to tackle the massive chronic unemployment, which reaches 40% in many districts. 

In the words of Cañamero himself:

We do not want the property of the land, we want its use. 

...

It can't be that the lands public or private are kept aside from a people that does not know anymore what to do with unemployment. We want to demonstrate that, in the hands of cooperatives, the ranch will have another use, oriented to the creation of jobs and to extract productivity from the land and not just from EU subsidies.

Source: Borroka Garaia Da![es]

Greece: prisoner solidarity demo attacked by DELTA police near Acropolis, 11 arrested

From From the Greek Streets:

Solidarity demo to Kostas Sakkas attacked by squads of the DELTA motorcycle police at the Acropolis

UPDATE, 13.50 People from the original solidarity demonstration are now calling people to gather at Monastiraki square.

At approximately 13:00 GMT+2, a 150-strong solidarity demo to Kostas Sakkas that was marching near the Acropolis (at Dionisiou Areopagitou Str, by the Acropolis museum) when it was attacked by the DELTA squads that had been following it to that point. It appears that 11 people have been detained. 

An emergency assembly has been called for the Polytechnic at 15:00.

More information as it comes.

The Sakkas appeal is meant to be judged tomorrow. 

A video of the police attack against the peaceful demo is available HERE.