Report on Marmaras anti-EU anarchist action
Shortbread | 20.06.2003 17:19 | World
Ok. It starts to be a bit more hectic around here. I am talking from my own perspective of course. I can't talk much about other groups than anarchists because I am not around them.
But anyway, here's what I saw.
So yesterday, anarchists gathered at the university before taking the streets in solidarity with immigrants and against borders and nations. Funny enough, anarchists behaved very well. We marched through immigrant and working class areas but they couldn't help a good spraypainting on banks and other institutions. We came face to face with the commies. They turned left, we went staight. All nice and all.
We came back to the university and went to bed early to be ready for the trip to Marmaras, a small village nearby the place where the EU Summit was taking place.
When we finally arrived, we placed ourselves in the front as aggreed with other organisations. It took a good while before started and man it's nay fun to wait in the midday sun!Until the people in white passed in front of us...but that went ok.
We marched through the country for a while, not too many cops about. At the end of the road, we knew there will be a brigde leading to the Summit place. really near to it. When we reach that point, we saw a good number of police lines on the bridge and just before it. Others were on our right side a bit down hill and many were hidding on our left side, up hill, the bridge being further on our right.In front of us, up hill as well, were many cops. Few of us threw some stones, some of us tried to stop them...and then it rained CS gas all over. We were surrounded by the police. Some of us managed to run to the road on the left side and the other had to retreat a bit and start the fight. I would like to mentioned that the police also threw stones many in revenge for so many years of stone throwing from our side.
I was at the left front of the march so the only thing I could do was to run to the road on the left. I was not going to stay longer in CS gas with no gas mask nor was I going to retreat for the police would have catch me.
A good number of us did the same. What happened to the others I only heard about it when we came back to the university.
Then started chaos. We ran for a bit and most of us never had a taste of CS gas. It's pretty nasty. It hurts you eyes, your lungs, your throat, your nose and also burns your skin like well like a very bad sunburn. Luckly, I don't panic in those situations. Having no gas mask, I just hold my breath as much as I could, running through exploding cans of gas (yeah they explode as well or the gas can be spray from gas guns) which can be painful if it does so on any part of your body. I'm a lucky one.
The locals were helping us giving water and stuff. Greeks don't like the police nor the State, something you would understand after so many years of dictatorship and a crap social democracy.
We tried to reform into a "block" but there was not much to do. hand to hand confrontation was impossible. What happened to chilvalry I'm asking you?! No, those cops were not gentlemen. Fair enough. And since we could enter into any other form of confrontation. Bits by bits we had to move toward the stalinists who ran away.
As far as I know, the others were far more numerous and after retreating a bit, they started making barricades. The cops were tough on them: CS gas from guns, throwing stones to anarchists (I still can't believe it!! I know there are no copyright on it but still!)Many were injured. Some passed out (that CS gas is a tough shit). I don't know how many were arrested but not many. There was a fight. We lost. But tomorrow is another day! Thessaloniki will be in pure chaos.
Few words on CS gas: nasty nasty bad stuff but not unbearable if you can go away for at least 15 minutes. It sticks on your skin, on your clothes, on everything and pure water makes it worse. I supposed it is activated by water/fluids.
There are 2 countries using it: Greece, as we have experienced today and Israel, unsurprisingly. Now, CS gas has been used recently in Northern Ireland as well when the PSNI we trying to kick out some loyalists from some local. It doesn't matter against who they used it because it means they can use it against whoever they want.
The university area is ok for now. We still have the buildings and the IMC. So far so good.
The others from ireland are resting. You might hear from them later on.
No matter how it goes tomorrow, there will be no remorse on our side.
But anyway, here's what I saw.
So yesterday, anarchists gathered at the university before taking the streets in solidarity with immigrants and against borders and nations. Funny enough, anarchists behaved very well. We marched through immigrant and working class areas but they couldn't help a good spraypainting on banks and other institutions. We came face to face with the commies. They turned left, we went staight. All nice and all.
We came back to the university and went to bed early to be ready for the trip to Marmaras, a small village nearby the place where the EU Summit was taking place.
When we finally arrived, we placed ourselves in the front as aggreed with other organisations. It took a good while before started and man it's nay fun to wait in the midday sun!Until the people in white passed in front of us...but that went ok.
We marched through the country for a while, not too many cops about. At the end of the road, we knew there will be a brigde leading to the Summit place. really near to it. When we reach that point, we saw a good number of police lines on the bridge and just before it. Others were on our right side a bit down hill and many were hidding on our left side, up hill, the bridge being further on our right.In front of us, up hill as well, were many cops. Few of us threw some stones, some of us tried to stop them...and then it rained CS gas all over. We were surrounded by the police. Some of us managed to run to the road on the left side and the other had to retreat a bit and start the fight. I would like to mentioned that the police also threw stones many in revenge for so many years of stone throwing from our side.
I was at the left front of the march so the only thing I could do was to run to the road on the left. I was not going to stay longer in CS gas with no gas mask nor was I going to retreat for the police would have catch me.
A good number of us did the same. What happened to the others I only heard about it when we came back to the university.
Then started chaos. We ran for a bit and most of us never had a taste of CS gas. It's pretty nasty. It hurts you eyes, your lungs, your throat, your nose and also burns your skin like well like a very bad sunburn. Luckly, I don't panic in those situations. Having no gas mask, I just hold my breath as much as I could, running through exploding cans of gas (yeah they explode as well or the gas can be spray from gas guns) which can be painful if it does so on any part of your body. I'm a lucky one.
The locals were helping us giving water and stuff. Greeks don't like the police nor the State, something you would understand after so many years of dictatorship and a crap social democracy.
We tried to reform into a "block" but there was not much to do. hand to hand confrontation was impossible. What happened to chilvalry I'm asking you?! No, those cops were not gentlemen. Fair enough. And since we could enter into any other form of confrontation. Bits by bits we had to move toward the stalinists who ran away.
As far as I know, the others were far more numerous and after retreating a bit, they started making barricades. The cops were tough on them: CS gas from guns, throwing stones to anarchists (I still can't believe it!! I know there are no copyright on it but still!)Many were injured. Some passed out (that CS gas is a tough shit). I don't know how many were arrested but not many. There was a fight. We lost. But tomorrow is another day! Thessaloniki will be in pure chaos.
Few words on CS gas: nasty nasty bad stuff but not unbearable if you can go away for at least 15 minutes. It sticks on your skin, on your clothes, on everything and pure water makes it worse. I supposed it is activated by water/fluids.
There are 2 countries using it: Greece, as we have experienced today and Israel, unsurprisingly. Now, CS gas has been used recently in Northern Ireland as well when the PSNI we trying to kick out some loyalists from some local. It doesn't matter against who they used it because it means they can use it against whoever they want.
The university area is ok for now. We still have the buildings and the IMC. So far so good.
The others from ireland are resting. You might hear from them later on.
No matter how it goes tomorrow, there will be no remorse on our side.
Shortbread
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
Rough day...
20.06.2003 17:37
Ben
direct action at the summit
20.06.2003 18:10
about 8.30 the march having assembled did not move until after 1pm.the anti-authoritarians moved forward through some winding country lanes from the beachfront but
were not followed by the trots etc behind.I with some others were trying to bridge the gap but it was huge and i suspected that the police would try and position themselves in the road to trap those at the front.In fact they stayed down the side lanes and soon the
bloc returned with huge amounts of tear gas being fired.meanwhile i could hear the trots chanting loudly but soon found out that they were not even near and had not in fact moved from the beachfront;such heroism!Then we had the surreal seen of the riot police
moving along the beach firing waves of teargas at demonstrators whilst some people were swimming in the sea as if it was a normal sunny day out at the seaside!
teargassed
direct action at the summit
20.06.2003 18:13
about 8.30 the march having assembled did not move until after 1pm.the anti-authoritarians moved forward through some winding country lanes from the beachfront but
were not followed by the trots etc behind.I with some others were trying to bridge the gap but it was huge and i suspected that the police would try and position themselves in the road to trap those at the front.In fact they stayed down the side lanes and soon the
bloc returned with huge amounts of tear gas being fired.meanwhile i could hear the trots chanting loudly but soon found out that they were not even near and had not in fact moved from the beachfront;such heroism!Then we had the surreal seen of the riot police
moving along the beach firing waves of teargas at demonstrators whilst some people were swimming in the sea as if it was a normal sunny day out at the seaside!
teargassed