The Olympics of Repression
destroy olympics | 16.06.2004 17:27 | Repression | Social Struggles | London
As the August Athens Olympics are drawing closer- and with London looking to be the host city for 2012- some information needs to finally come out about the full scale repression and exploitation that is the Olympic Games.
‘There is no doubt that we are entering a police-state situation and we will have to learn to live with this. (…) If necessary, even the stadiums will be guarded by the army’ Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, 26/11/03
Under the, now horribly familiar, War on Terror doctrine the perfect excuse to those in power has been provided to unleash a war without end against the exploited of the world and all those who fight to destroy the Mega-machine. The Olympics at this current moment- the Olympics against Terror as they were nearly named- is another part of the strategy of repression and elimination of revolt.
So this is a sample of what s being planned and what’s been happening in Athens in preparation for the Olympics in the last few months:
-1500 new CCTV cameras have gone up in Athens city centre and street microphones that pick up passer-bys conversations have been installed
-Secret service officials from 7 countries (including USA, UK, Israel and Russia) have formed a security operations committee that has been meeting once a week with the Greek Minister of Public Order to collect intelligence on potential troublemakers and to advise him on operations. Part of these operations, which have cost up to now 1 billion euro, will also include the stationing of 50000! armed police and NATO troops in and around the Olympic cities. Recently it was also announced that athletes’ and officials’ personal security guards are also going to be armed, even when outside the Olympic complexes (welcome to the Far West…) and even though under the Greek Constitution it is illegal for foreigners to bear arms.
-For one month during the Olympics all protest and strikes are banned. In addition all demonstrations up to now whether against the Olympics, the war, GM or whatever else have been dealt with ‘zero tolerance’. In other words, hundreds of tear-gas- throwing, batton-charging Robo-cops has been the order of the day, even with the most peaceful demos. Further, Athens has become a police-state, with cops on every corner harassing citizens. According to official reports in the last 6 days police has stopped and searched 1.666 people, 180 of which have been arrested for unknown reasons.
-From the start of July hundreds of drug-addicts, homeless, street-beggars and illegal immigrants that move around the centre of Athens, trying to survive, are being forced out. Whoever is caught will be moved to the new ‘Olympic Prison’, ex-US base, that s just been build near by and which will remain functioning after the Olympics as well
At the same time over a hundred workers have died building the Olympic infrastructure, as the big bosses prefer to pocket the money rather then spend it on safety measures. Hardly any compensation has been paid to the families of the victims. Further workers have been forced to work 14 and over hours per day, 7 days a week with no payment for overtime and measly wages.
And all this in order for Greece to go bankrupt! According to today’s Guardian :
‘It could take Greece over a decade to pay back a 36bn (£24bn) deficit created in part by the ballooning costs of hosting the Olympic games in August, a top government official said yesterday. Mounting disillusionment over the economic repercussions of hosting the games deepened after the Greek government said borrowing requirements had overshot budget targets by at least 6bn this year.’
So this is their Olympic ideals: repression, exploitation, domination, human sacrifice…
And, this is their Olympic Games: ‘a front-window of capitalism and domination itself. An advertisement of the world of class slavery and of the subsequent police and military means to impose it. A global range gala, sealing on one more level the cooperation of the local bosses with multinational corporations, international political staffs and agencies of repression.’ (quote from communiqué by Athens anarchists/anti-authoritarians)
DESTROY THE OLYMPIC GAMES
DESTROY THE BOSSES NEW WORLD ORDER
Under the, now horribly familiar, War on Terror doctrine the perfect excuse to those in power has been provided to unleash a war without end against the exploited of the world and all those who fight to destroy the Mega-machine. The Olympics at this current moment- the Olympics against Terror as they were nearly named- is another part of the strategy of repression and elimination of revolt.
So this is a sample of what s being planned and what’s been happening in Athens in preparation for the Olympics in the last few months:
-1500 new CCTV cameras have gone up in Athens city centre and street microphones that pick up passer-bys conversations have been installed
-Secret service officials from 7 countries (including USA, UK, Israel and Russia) have formed a security operations committee that has been meeting once a week with the Greek Minister of Public Order to collect intelligence on potential troublemakers and to advise him on operations. Part of these operations, which have cost up to now 1 billion euro, will also include the stationing of 50000! armed police and NATO troops in and around the Olympic cities. Recently it was also announced that athletes’ and officials’ personal security guards are also going to be armed, even when outside the Olympic complexes (welcome to the Far West…) and even though under the Greek Constitution it is illegal for foreigners to bear arms.
-For one month during the Olympics all protest and strikes are banned. In addition all demonstrations up to now whether against the Olympics, the war, GM or whatever else have been dealt with ‘zero tolerance’. In other words, hundreds of tear-gas- throwing, batton-charging Robo-cops has been the order of the day, even with the most peaceful demos. Further, Athens has become a police-state, with cops on every corner harassing citizens. According to official reports in the last 6 days police has stopped and searched 1.666 people, 180 of which have been arrested for unknown reasons.
-From the start of July hundreds of drug-addicts, homeless, street-beggars and illegal immigrants that move around the centre of Athens, trying to survive, are being forced out. Whoever is caught will be moved to the new ‘Olympic Prison’, ex-US base, that s just been build near by and which will remain functioning after the Olympics as well
At the same time over a hundred workers have died building the Olympic infrastructure, as the big bosses prefer to pocket the money rather then spend it on safety measures. Hardly any compensation has been paid to the families of the victims. Further workers have been forced to work 14 and over hours per day, 7 days a week with no payment for overtime and measly wages.
And all this in order for Greece to go bankrupt! According to today’s Guardian :
‘It could take Greece over a decade to pay back a 36bn (£24bn) deficit created in part by the ballooning costs of hosting the Olympic games in August, a top government official said yesterday. Mounting disillusionment over the economic repercussions of hosting the games deepened after the Greek government said borrowing requirements had overshot budget targets by at least 6bn this year.’
So this is their Olympic ideals: repression, exploitation, domination, human sacrifice…
And, this is their Olympic Games: ‘a front-window of capitalism and domination itself. An advertisement of the world of class slavery and of the subsequent police and military means to impose it. A global range gala, sealing on one more level the cooperation of the local bosses with multinational corporations, international political staffs and agencies of repression.’ (quote from communiqué by Athens anarchists/anti-authoritarians)
DESTROY THE OLYMPIC GAMES
DESTROY THE BOSSES NEW WORLD ORDER
destroy olympics