‘Mafia’ Provocation Behind ‘Race Riots’ In Southern Italy

Two texts from the Brighton NoBorders blog.

read also:

• Italy: revolt for life and dignity 2
• Italy: revolt for life and dignity

MONDAY, 11 JANUARY 2010

More details have emerged since the ‘riots’ in Rosarno at the end of last week and it now appears that the attack by local youths on Friday was the final insult in a long line of provocations.

The migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have been a common site in Italy for decades. In southern Italy they move en masse from the grape harvest in Sicily, via the orange, tangerine and kiwi harvests in Calabria and the olive picking in Apulia. Local farmers have relied on them since the ‘native’ agricultural workforce evaporated. Instead, the 8000 or so ‘clandestini’ in Calabria pick fruit and vegetables for 12 to 14 hours a day for 20 to 25 euros and many are regularly forced to pay kickback of up to a quarter of their wages to local gangsters in the ‘Ndrangheta, the regional version of the mafia.

A brief outline of the solidarity in France with the Vincennes detention center prisoners in trial and against all sort of prisons

• more on this here.
• this is copied from paghere tutto.

A brief outline of the solidarity in France with the Vincennes detention center prisoners in trial and against all sort of prisons

On January 25th, 26th and 27th, ten former detainees of the Vincennes detention centre will be tried for a revolt.

During the first semester of 2008, revolts repeatedly occured in the Vincennes detention centre, a place where undocumented foreigners are locked up pending their deportation. On June 21st, a detainee died due to lack of care. The next day, the centre was burnt during a revolt. Later, a number of detainees were arrested and accused of arson and aggression against police officers. Most of them have been in preventiive jail for eight to twelve month.

A solidarity week is set from January 16th to 24th.

In solidarity with the rebellious of the Vincennes retention center who will be in court on January 25th, 26th, 27th 2010, for burning their prison during a revolt in June 2008. Here is a very brief outline of the solidarity actions (far from complete for reasons linked to translation).

Italy: revolt for life and dignity 2

More texts on the situation in Southern Italy.

“We Are Not Animals!” Italy’s Racial Riots and Their Aftermath

MARIA RITA LATTO (January 11, 2010)

Rage and fear. This is what comes out of the images from Rosarno, a small town near the western coast of Calabria, where violent clashes broke out after two African immigrants were wounded by a pellet gun attack by white youths in a car.

“Those guys were firing at us as if it was a fairground,” one of the men told La Repubblica newspaper. “They were laughing, I was screaming, other cars were passing by but nobody stopped them.”

Strikes, hunger strikes and clashes in Greece

source: libcom.org

Submitted by taxikipali on Jul 14 2009

Strikes, hunger strikes and environmental action leading to clashes with riot police open week after weekend of state terror in Greece.

After the weekend of terror in Greece, the mid-summer week has started with a wave of strikes and environmental actions, underlining that the spine of the movement is too strong to break.

On Monday 13/7 trains across Greece came to a halt for 48h as a result of a rolling 3-hour stoopage industrial action by railway workers.At the same time workers at Wind, the mobile telecommunications giant, in Greece declared a 24h strike. Workers of Wind and solidarity workers of other industrial sectors gathered outside the company’s HQ and blockaded its entrance on Tuesday 14/7 morning till the afternoon.

The same day the committee against harm, and the committee against exploitation in the village of Megali Panagia in Chalkidiki joined by scores of locals form the wider area built block houses along the forest roads leading to Scouries, the area that a big gold-mining company wants to transform into a wasteland with the support of the greek government which has recently passed a law that declares any opposition to the exploitation of minerals as treason. The area has a long history of struggle against gold mines which peaked in the late 1990s with the titanic struggle of Olympiada villagers against TVX-Gold.

Meanwhile OTE, the National Telecomunication Company has sued the historical Athens Polytechnic for hosting athens indymedia in its server, alleging that this violates the conditions of its contract with OTE. The Polytechnic has condemned the legal action as censorship in line with LAOS (fascist party) demands of gagging radical dissent to the regime. The legal action was also condemned by the Coalition of Radical Left. On Tuesday 14/7 protesters attacked the central OTE tower in Athens with black paint symbolising the information black out planned by its managers. Many workers in the tower expressed their support to the action.

The same day locals of Grammaticos who are resisting the construction of an open refuse damp in their area, and clashed with riot police last week erecting barricades and torching company bulldozers organised a protest march towards the riot police blockade of the construction site. The locals clashed with the police throwing stones and other projectiles, including a few molotov cocktails. The battle lasted for about an hour and the locals suffered the extended use of tear gas and ‘blast flash’ grenades.

In the prison front, Thodoris Iliopoulos started a hunger strike on the 10th of July 2009. Iliopoulos was arrested on the 18th of December 2008 in Akadimias street during a riot police sweeping operation in the context of the December Uprising. He is held since the 22nd of December in the Court Prisons of Koridallos accused for 3 crimes with no witnesses other than policement. Iliopoulos denies all charges against him, and has launched a long campaign to prove his innocence. On the 8th of July his petition for release until his trial was waived by judges, being the only arrested from the December Uprising to be still held hostage. On beginning his hunger strike Iliopoulos declared: “In go on hunger strike. It is the only means remaining to me as a hostage on order to cry out the truth and denounce the terrible injustice. To denounce the hatred and the empathy of ‘justice’ mechanisms. To denounce the arbitrariness and the violence of a ‘justice’ which is blind indeed, the its even more ‘blind’ functionaries”. In solidarity the convict Nicos Tsouvalakis has also started a hunger strike demanding the release of Iliopoulos and in protest to the dehumanising prison conditions. As of Monday 13 of July the inmates of the First Wing of Koridallos Prison, the central prison of the country in Athens, declared that they abstain from the prison kitchen ration.

Meanwhile 19 Pakistani asylum seekers held in the police station of Glyfada, south Athens, are in their fourth day of hunger strike in protest to the agreement of the ministry of Public Order and the Pakistani Embassy to repatriate them. The asylum seekers claim that their life is in danger if they return to Pakistan.

Fascism on the rise: the last few days in Greece…

Nazi Greek state: Kristallnacht in Patras, bullets in Athens, torture in Simi.

source: libcom.org article

Submitted by taxikipali on Jul 13 2009

The rapid nazification of the Greek state took off last weekend with the violent evacuation and torching of the large Afghan immigrant settlement in Patras, shooting of immigrants in Omoinoia square and institutionalised torture of Pakistanis in the island of Simi.

The nazification of the Greek state which is endorsing parastate groups to ‘clean and patrol’ areas comes in a climate of acute social antagonistic upheaval. Besides the continuing resistance locals of Grammaticos villages who rose against the construction of an open refuse dump in their area, erecting barricades and clashing with the police, last week saw a series of dynamic antifascist antiracist protest marches against State-nazi attacks against immigrants. At the same time, on the early hours of Saturday the house of the ex-Minister of Public Order (active during the December Uprising and Alexis Grigoropoulos assassination by the police) and ex-chief of the Greek Army, General Hinophotis, was bombed with a strong explosive device after prior warning call to the press. A few hours later earlier yet another armed attack against riot police forces occurred near the HQ of PASOK with no victims On the early morning Sunday, following the surge of State-fascist attacks the HQ camp of the riot police (MAT) in Athens came under attack by protesters which piled the riot policemen with stones leading to a half hour battle.

The Greek state’s response to the December Uprising and the politicisation of immigrants across the country has solidified in a programme of nazification that includes open endorsement of neo-nazi vigilante combat groups, a series of the most repressive laws seen since the junta, and open attack against both the social antagonistic movement and immigrants across the country.

On early Saturday 11/7 morning armed nazi scum riding a car drove by the heavily policed Omonoia square in down town Athens and opened fire on bystander immigrants near the offices of the Golden Dawn neo-nazi party. Three wounded immigrants were taken to hospital and are out of danger. Later the same night nazi scum set fire on Palio Efetio, the Old Appeal Court opposite their offices which is being squatted by immigrants and is being vilified by the bourgeois press.

The same day, the Pakistani Community denounced yet another incident of institutionalised stripping and torture committed by the fascist greek police in the island of Simi. For 8 hours Wassim Sanjat, Mazhjar Ali and Mohamet Ali were tortured: cops tortured Wassim by “placing a gun on his head, beating him with a glob and iron stick on the soles of his feet (a torture loved by the junta called phallanga) and on his bottom and stripping him again and again. The other two persons were severely beaten. The Pakistani Community demands the immediate punishment of the torturers-policemen.

In the early hours of Sunday 12/7 strong riot police forces surrounded the big Afghan immigrant settlement in Patras, cordoning off the area. The riot policemen then moved to evacuate the thousands of asylum seekers using maximum force, while bulldozers moved in to demolish their houses.During the evacuation operations, the settlement was ‘mysteriously’ set on fire, and torched to the ground. The settlement is believed to have been housing more than 2,000 Afghans and has been repeatedly targeted by fascists receiving the solidarity of a wide spectrum of progressive social forces in the city of Patras. The Red Cross has condemned the evacuation and torching of the settlement as ‘terrorist’. The Communist Party (KKE) has condemned the attack as barbaric and the Coalition of Radical Left as ‘beastial’ and ‘criminal’. The evacuated immigrants are held in concentration centers of zero hygienic facilities, host to continuing greek police torture and brutality.

[clandestinenglish note: minors from the camp are said to be transferred to Konitsa, Epirus, at a center for unaccompanied minors.   At this center young Afghans had been hunger striking for better condiutions – see  Afghan adolescents hunger-strike for better conditions at Konitsa, Epirus care center.]

The nazification of the Greek state which is endorsing parastate groups to ‘clean and patrol’ areas comes in a climate of acute social antagonistic upheaval. Besides the continuing resistance locals of Grammaticos villages who rose against the construction of an open refuse dump in their area, erecting barricades and clashing with the police, last week saw a series of dynamic antifascist antiracist protest marches against State-nazi attacks against immigrants. At the same time, on the early hours of Saturday the house of the ex-Minister of Public Order (active during the December Uprising and Alexis Grigoropoulos assassination by the police) and ex-chief of the Greek Army, General Hinophotis, was bombed with a strong explosive device after prior warning call to the press. A few hours later earlier yet another armed attack against riot police forces occurred near the HQ of PASOK with no victims On the early morning Sunday, following the surge of State-fascist attacks the HQ camp of the riot police (MAT) in Athens came under attack by protesters which piled the riot policemen with stones leading to a half hour battle.

19 Pakistani detainees in Glyfada police station go on hunger strike

translation from athens indymedia article with tvxs.gr info

19 Pakistani refugees detained in Glyfada, Athens police station have gone on hunger strike since 4 days.

They go against the common decision of  the Pakistan embassy in Athens and the Greek Ministry of Public Order to expell them.  They say their lives are at risk in Pakistan.

One of the hunger strikers, Mohammed Abbas, says that the Police beat him vehemently for refusing to sign his deportation documents.

Sweep operation in Tripolis, Peloponnese

Meanwhile, “sweep operations” are now a diffuse practice of the police even in smaller cities.  According to athens indymedia article there are 30 immigrants detained in the Tripolis, Peloponnese police stations.

Big Brother state

New Police State Regulations are introduced.   A new law has been proposed in the Parliament  introducing  DNA “banks”, the collection, that is, of DNA indices from even minor traffic offences, and the use of public space surveillance cameras data not only for the regulation of traffic, as was ostenslibly the reason for planting them in the first place, but for the prevention of crime.

info from this athens indymedia article.

Clashes and arrests around the Aghios Panteleimonas neighborhood in Athens…

riot police protecting hrysi avgi

sources: athens indymedia article; indy.gr article.

clandestinenglish

Yesterday afternoon anarchists and people in solidarity unlocked the playground at Aghios Panteleimonas, which had been sealed so that not to be used by the children of immigrant residents. The site was unlocked and people went inside to reclaim the playground in a neighborhood terrified by the interventions of fascists and extreme right residents. Texts were leafleted and discussions were held with the residents of the area.

[The Golden Dawn is primarily responsible for the mobilisation of extreme-right wing elements in the neighborhood of Aghios Panteleimonas, forming lightly armed “self-defense” groups purging immigrants from the area’s central square and attacking houses, burning down shops and community places of worship (mosques are illegal in Athens), smashing up public events, and targeting even the church of the parish, the largest in the country, which fell victim to fascist arson attack for providing support and supper for immigrants – see this post about it]

A group of fascists, chanting the Greek national hymn, along with their resident collaborators attacked the comrades verbally while the latter were leaving the place. The group of thugs attempted to approach the solidarity gathering but were repulsed, to find then refuge behind the riot police squad which suffocated the site with gases. A parent with his child remained in the area, resisted the right-wing thugs and refused to leave. The police arrested him ostensibly to ” protect him from the fascists” and led him to the Aghios Panteleimon police station .

The comrades left the place in an organized manner, taking it to the street for a solidarity march. About 150 meters from the Aghios Panteleimonas square in a narrow street leading to Patision Avenue a second riot police squad attacked the march. There were clashes with the riot squad and and the rest police forces which tried to encircle the lines of protestors. The latter entered then the ASOEE university building on Patision Aveue and the collisions ended.

Five protestors (apart from the parent) were arrested and were today to be brought to the Public Attorney- this will happen on Friday. Yesterday night people in solidarity were gathered outside the Police Headquarters in Athens were the arrestees were detained, and protested against the police provisionally refusing to allow them to see a lawyer.  The riot police assaulted those gathered in solidarity in front of the Athens courts today as well.

What follows is a view published in Uk indymedia.

Apartheid in the centre of Athens !!

It is unacceptable what is happening in St. Panteleimon play ground in the Centre of Athens. Not only is the most racist and xenophobic mood developed to the residents who often outraged by the degradation of their region, attack immigrants while they themselves are victims of neo-fascists organizations like Hrysi Avgi in fish cloudy water, but the fact that the official state acts against the law. The members of Hrysi Avgi with some local residents LOCKED a play ground for Children in the area , because the majority of the children there are immigrants !! During an attempt by anti racist organisations to reopen the Playground that was iligally locked, the police came to protect and help in fact the Neo NAZI organisation Hrysi Avgi..

Homepage: http://garizo.blogspot.com/2009/06/apartheid-in-centre-of-athens.html

So many reasons for anger to explode… Battles in Athens during march against police racism

Text by the user taxikipali at lib.com org (here is the original post).  Photos: Athens indymedia post (there are more there).

clandestinenglish

Battles in Athens during march against police racism, many protesters injured

Extended clashes broke our in Athens on Friday 22/5, during the second protest march in two days against police racism, after a cop tore the Koran and brutalised Muslims during anti-immigrant sweeping operations. During the clashes many protesters were injured arrested and hospitalised.

A second protest march against police racism took to the streets of Athens on Friday 22/5/08 in response to the incident of anti-muslim brutality two nights before during a police sweeping-operation against immigrants in the center of Athens. During what appears to be a typically offensive search of muslim immigrants at a local cafe, a policeman tore a Koran in pieces and stepped onthreatening the immigrants in compromising racist language. The incident led to a protest march on Thursdaywith limited clashes between police and demonstrators.

During the Friday protest march immigrants and solidarity protesters of the left gathered in Omonoia square and clashed with the police outside the Greek parliament. The protesters piled the riot police with marbles, shoes and other projectiles, receiving tear gas and blast flash grenades in response.The march then proceeded towards the coveted Athens area of Agios Panteleimonas where the anti-muslim incident had occurred.

On the way, protesters smashed banks, expensive shops and government vehicles, before being massively attacked by strong riot police forces. During the battle that ensued scores of protesters were seriously injured, many being hospitalised, while 40 were arrested and remain in custody. One Syrian protester is said to be arrested during the protest march for allegedly throwing a molotov cocktail against the local police department.

The riots that have once again reduced much of the capital’s center into a battle zone come at a time of increasing tension across the country, accentuated by both the political impasse after the surprise dissolution of the Parliament earlier this month, and the continuing pressure of urban guerrilla groups which once again demonstrated their resolve this week by bombing the offices of the Siemens affiliated corporation that has provided the greek police  with its new phone tapping and electronic surveillance system meant to frame the social antagonistic movement after the December uprising. The attack which injured none due to a previous warning call was claimed by the left-wing urban guerrilla group “Popular Will”, who also claimed responsibility for the bombing of the State Land Management headquarters last March. The greek branch of Siemens is involved in one of the biggest economic scandals of the collapsing  government, with its head on the run, and its deputy-head held in custody.

Here is a tvxs.gr video.

Police and Neo-Nazi scum collaborate once more in Athens…

 

athens indymedia photos

… once more, against immigrants, refugees and anti-racists.  

Neo-nazis and junta-nostalgic ultra-nationalist scum were to do a demo in Athens down-town yesterday, bargaining on the cultivated by mass media sentiment of economic insecurity, to promote their anti-immigration absurdities. The gathering spot for this demo was at Omonoia square and about 100 braindeads were there. The gist of the days’ events is that the Police has an excellent cooperation with the para-statal neo-Nazis (of Golden Dawn) and uses them to help keep up the anti-migrant terror. 

At the same time, in surrounding streets and squares, antiracist organizations of all shades called for counter-demos. Most of the anarchists gathered at Kaniggos square but they were attacked by riot police and repulsed towards Exarcheia and the Polytechnic. There were conflicts and barricades for some time there. From Kotzia square migrant, student and leftist associations moved towards Stadiou avenue to prevent the neo-nazis from taking it to this central avenue. At the same time, other antiracist organizations of the left gathered in front of the Court of Appeals building .

The neo-nazis when obstructed from doing the demo started beating randomly immigrants with iron bars in Menandrou street. The police all the time looked but not intervened. Their collaboration got even tighter when the neo-nazis moved towards their headquarters, which is located near the Court of Appeals building at Socratous Street. Under the protection of the riot police, from their hq’s roof and then from the street, the neo-nazis attacked the building where immigrants find refuge with stones and flash and sound grenades. The neo-nazis were all wearing helmets, this at a time when in Greece the state attempts to illegalise hoods in protests.  They tried to invade the building but the immigrants defended it with stones. Four protestors and many immigrants were injured.  A girl was  arrested.  

All these, in the background of tragicomic but intense efforts by the Ministry of Public order to promote and further solidify Security State regulations across various spheres of the Greek society – for instance, it wants to plant 1.100 new surveillance cameras in Athens.

See photos and videos of the collaboration between police and neo-nazis here.  One more video is available here – if you dont understand Greek skip the first half.

info from

• Athens Indymedia article
• tvxs article  
• and indy.gr article