Its been almost one year since various people from different political backgrounds were arrested on suspicion of being members of the so-called 17 November 'terrorist' group. This group like its European counterparts apparently grew out of the student movement against the fall of the junta, but most people believe was just a CIA front created to discredit the opposition to US backed military rule.
For almost 27years not a single person was ever captured or arrested and then suddenly just as the Greek governemnt of PASOK was about to vote the new 'Anti-Terrorist Acts' various people were arrested, including a relative of one Trotskys co-workers (Secretary Giotopoulos) in the ILO in the 1930's.
For more than two months government propaganda rallied against the left and its terrorist leanings. The Greek Communist party as usual kept stubbornly quiet even when constitutional rights were being overturned, like the right to a jury, the right to counsel, the right to decent prison conditions etc. Instead those arrested on bogus charges were placed in isolation cells in specially constructed units in parts of an older prison. Their trial by media dictated they were condemned as terrorists prior to any proof other than fingerprints and hidden caches of weapons found as always by the police and its anti-terrorist branch.
The main accused a man named Xiros on whom all the allegations are based and on whom all other were arrested and convicted has recently stated that all his statements under police custody occurred under duress and that they should be retracted as unreliable. He speaks about threats with loaded weapons, threats of deportation to the USA, forced drugs and other such types of police torture.
The problem now is that the 'court' is in a quandary. For the accused to be imprisoned this would have to based on Xiros retracted confession. So far only one of the accused has fully accepted the charges, a man named Koufontinas whom many assert worked for the Greek security services.
Whatever the outcome of the trial, which is held behind closed doors the attempt at destroying basic civil rights has consistently met resistance by organised marches to the prison without the support of a single political party. Many people already believe this is a court case made in the USA with the aim at firghtening the population into not attacking American foreign policy.
For almost 27years not a single person was ever captured or arrested and then suddenly just as the Greek governemnt of PASOK was about to vote the new 'Anti-Terrorist Acts' various people were arrested, including a relative of one Trotskys co-workers (Secretary Giotopoulos) in the ILO in the 1930's.
For more than two months government propaganda rallied against the left and its terrorist leanings. The Greek Communist party as usual kept stubbornly quiet even when constitutional rights were being overturned, like the right to a jury, the right to counsel, the right to decent prison conditions etc. Instead those arrested on bogus charges were placed in isolation cells in specially constructed units in parts of an older prison. Their trial by media dictated they were condemned as terrorists prior to any proof other than fingerprints and hidden caches of weapons found as always by the police and its anti-terrorist branch.
The main accused a man named Xiros on whom all the allegations are based and on whom all other were arrested and convicted has recently stated that all his statements under police custody occurred under duress and that they should be retracted as unreliable. He speaks about threats with loaded weapons, threats of deportation to the USA, forced drugs and other such types of police torture.
The problem now is that the 'court' is in a quandary. For the accused to be imprisoned this would have to based on Xiros retracted confession. So far only one of the accused has fully accepted the charges, a man named Koufontinas whom many assert worked for the Greek security services.
Whatever the outcome of the trial, which is held behind closed doors the attempt at destroying basic civil rights has consistently met resistance by organised marches to the prison without the support of a single political party. Many people already believe this is a court case made in the USA with the aim at firghtening the population into not attacking American foreign policy.
Comments
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peace be with us
31.07.2003 13:13
why is it that none of us can apparently see that our minds our the most powerful weapon we have available,,,,and collectively we can singlehandedly bring down evry fascist state and and every fascist government in this planet.....
All we need do is get rid of thier methods of mind control or ignore thier methods of mind control i.e television....
For example the first reason why you think this world is and ugly fascist controlled empire is because they have conned you into unwittingly believing it so by way of subliminal mind control ....television......
Unfortunately for the most die-hard protestors and extremists among you mind control is multi layered and when you are going to protests and fighting with and confronting the police/authorities/govts etc you are doing exactly what the "fascists" want you to do in order to justify thier "authority" or "use of authority" by fulfilling personality of the angry antio society protestor as decreed byt long range subliminal mind programming....
Its all in your head and that's the only singular place where "the world" exists or indeed your programmed perception of it.....
so step out of the cunning illuminati mind programming game
Embrace love
and when yopu embrace love
then you have discovered limitless power
we can change now just by thinking "the fascist state" when we cease to believe in it
the more we believe in it then the more we are giving "the fascist state" power
we need to stop beleeiving that they "control us" and start un-beleiving
hey can't you see how they are tricking you into feeding their power??
by subliminally controlling what you believe and your woprld viewq via the media then thay can also force you into "protests" thereby justifying "the police state"
so nopw you can all just drop it all and free your selfs.....
bollockschops
Why do they think that?
31.07.2003 13:31
Paul Edwards
Passok
31.07.2003 15:57
Sqoo
futher notes...
31.07.2003 18:41
"To think we had 17,000 police and anti-terrorist officers on his trail, as well as Scotland Yard, the FBI and Interpol, and there he was for all of us to behold on that beach," a flabbergasted official said.
The fact that the Greek Anarchist movement, who are in the best posistion to judge the revolutionary merits of the N17 movement are choosing to support certain of the arrested and see that there is a connection between N17 and other anti-state struggles in Greece, is enough for many anarchists to extend conditional support and solidarity, until we are given good reason not to. Although many anarchists and anti-capitalists may not agree with many aspects of the political ideology expressed by N17, we believe it is nevertheless important that information be obtainable to those with an interest in the subject, without the predictable scared knee-jerk yelps of 'provocateur!' and 'collaborator!'
The Liberals and Leftists won't support them , but the Greek anarchist movement has a reputation for being resolutely anti-leftist, and around 30% of the Greek population consider N17 worthy of solidarity. N17 spent the last 27 years undetected and underground wasting pigs of all parties, platforms and instituitions, in what can only be regarded as potent actions against state control.
All told, N17 is known to have assassinated 23 servents of the state and to have wounded another 70 throughout the course of their 27-year struggle. Over the years, N17 has also been responsible for roughly 35 property-related actions, mostly bombings and missle attacks, on Greek tax offices, multinational corporations, and recently EU targets.
We must ask why there has been such a high level of censorship in the US & European media, the disproportionately high level of coverage of fundamentalsit rebels such as the Taliban and Al-Qaeda- whose political beliefs and anaylsis are more likely to spawn patriotism rather than focused rebellion against capitalism among America and Europes dispossessed- Is proof enough that N17 has posed a threat to the structure of global empire.
For more info on N17 and other struggles in Greece, check out:
www.ekathierini.com
@narchi