13/02/2012 / GREECE
Police officers on motorcycles drive into a crowd of protesters. Video published on YouTube by Perseus999.
Police officers shoot tear gas at protesters, who fight back by throwing all sorts of projectiles. Video published on YouTube by TheVisehrad.
Protesters shoot what looks like tear gas or smoke bombs on the police. For the first time since the start of the demonstrations, protesters reportedly used flame throwers and firebombs.
During a protest in the northeastern city of Thessaloniki, police threw teargas on a peaceful protest march. Video published on YouTube by gmezertz.
An Observer in Athens: "The Greek people have gone to war against the system"
Photo by our Observer @ypopto_mousi.
While the Greek parliament voted to approve the country’s sixth round of austerity measures last night, outraged protesters rampaged in the streets. Our Observer tells us that the use of violence is now no longer limited to anarchists and hooligans, ordinary protestors are also turning to violence as their exasperation reaches new heights.
Protesters and riot police clashed late into Sunday night. Police sprayed protesters with tear gas, and a number of protesters fought back by throwing stones and Molotov cocktails. Banks and hotels were set on fire, and luxury store windows were smashed. The Health Ministry report that about 50 people were injured.
Amateur videos uploaded online show scenes of urban guerrilla warfare in the very heart of Athens. These clashes are the worst Greece has experienced since the death of a teenager, killed by a police officer, set off riots in 2008.
“A lot of ordinary protesters helped to deface buildings”
Our Observer, who asked to remain anonymous, is an Internet consultant in Athens. He has published several photographs from Sunday’s protest on Twitter.
In contrast with past demonstrations, yesterday's protesters were really ready to fight in order to keep parliament from voting. As usual, anarchist from the extreme left attacked storefronts and public buildings. Of course there were hooligans and looters. But this time, a lot of ordinary protesters helped to deface banks and businesses – for example a Starbucks café – because for both old and young, they are symbolic of a common enemy, as they are a part of the current economy.
The police were also more than aggressive. There are a number of videos that clearly show they provoked us to create a situation where they would have the right to use tear gas and other chemical products. Before, people just watched as the police cracked down on protesters. Now, nobody stands by with their arms crossed, which explains yesterday’s clashes. One could say that the Greek people have gone to war against the system."
“It’s as though a civil war took place last night"
Nikos Karamfyllis is a sales manager in Athens. He followed yesterday’s protests on television.
I felt like I was in Kabul. This morning, the air still reeked of tear gas. There was debris everywhere; whole buildings were charred. It’s really as though a civil war took place last night, or a revolution. I don’t understand why the police let things get so out of control, especially considering that the event had been planned for several days and everyone knew that it was going to get ugly.
A lot of people think, and I count myself among them, that the authorities deliberately mismanaged the situation to deter people from going out and protesting. I don’t know if it’s true, but it has certainly worked. I personally did not go out and protest because I thought it would be too dangerous."
Comments
Reply to comment | The Observers
Submitted by gold rate in India (not verified) on Sun, 17/03/2013 - 09:41.Hi, i think that i saw you visited my blog thus
i came to “return the favor”.I'm trying to find things to improve my web site!I suppose its ok to use a few of your ideas!!
Just keep in mind that
Submitted by Voidkom (not verified) on Wed, 15/02/2012 - 17:05.Just keep in mind that there's a difference between anarchists and hooligans/nihilists, and you can see this by the targets they attack / destroy. Anarchists attack targets of the system (Police, government buildings, banks,...) where as hooligans will attack just because they like violence and even target homes, which is something anarchists do not want!
Not to mention that "regular protesters" might also be anarchist or other enemies of the system, but they just didn't come prepared for facing police etc.
yeah, just keep telling
Submitted by selena81 (not verified) on Mon, 27/02/2012 - 20:08.yeah, just keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel good: *we* are not blindly destroying everything in sight and scaring innocent bystanders, that's * the other* wild mob. we are just running a perfectly reasonable protest that happens to incorporate some random violence
Turmel: Flailing blindly is not making war.
Submitted by KingofthePaupers (not verified) on Mon, 13/02/2012 - 20:44."The Greek people have gone to war against the system"
Jct: Before you can go to war, you have to identify the problem and they have not. All they're doing is flailing blindly with no clue what to do. Rioting against austerity's pay cuts but too stupid to demand to be paid with small-denomination government bonds everyone can use to pay for HTML (Hydropower, Taxes, Medical, License fees) instead of being laid off like the Argentine unions did. No pay cuts, no jobs losses, more jobs, broke in 2001, all foreign debt paid off in 2006: Search Argentine Solution. Har har har. They're too stupid to deserve paychecks because they're too stupid to figure out how to finance them themselves. Har har har har.
The enemy is authority and
Submitted by Voidkom (not verified) on Wed, 15/02/2012 - 17:58.The enemy is authority and capitalism, coercing people into economic slavery. Enjoy your social darwinism, I'll stick to more humanitarian ideologies.
You are too STUPID to
Submitted by Αγνωστος (not verified) on Wed, 15/02/2012 - 14:54.You are too STUPID to understand...!!!
who is stupid?
Submitted by hello from athens (not verified) on Tue, 21/02/2012 - 00:51.I was non-politicized till quite recently. Since then ive been trying to catch up by reading books, articles from different opinions and ideologies.
If someone is stupid, thats the one that believes that surviving with dignity through this economic system that becomes fiercer and fiercer is possible. Already the bigger part of the world is deep in poverty and its spreading.
Im not a communist, im not an anarchist im nothng you are familiar with. But i have eyes and i can see. Maybe the problem has to knock on your door too, see it also.
Revolution is the Solution!
Submitted by Arminius (not verified) on Mon, 13/02/2012 - 19:29.'When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.' Thomas Jefferson
REVOLUTION is the Solution!!!
'God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion.... And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.... The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.' - Thomas Jefferson, in letter to William S. Smith, 1787
bs from rebels trying to
Submitted by selena81 (not verified) on Mon, 27/02/2012 - 20:01.bs from rebels trying to justify their own rebellion. once THEY were the 'oppressor' they suddenly weren't such big fans of freedom and occasional rebellions any more (the american civil war; mistreating indians/blacks; taking control of hawaii, puerto rico, the phillipines, etc)