Greek cops injure people, break into social centre

Greek cops attacked a social centre for immigrants' rights at Tsamadou 13 street in Exarcheia, Athens, a self-organisation social centre at Zaimi street, and people's homes around the Exarcheia district.

Many people were attacked in their homes and the social centres, with the cops beating them up or breaking glasses on their arms and heads. Medical help to them was refused, and many people were arrested by the cops.

News break out quickly on the Athens Indymedia website, and the cops (who do watch Indymedia regularly) knew that comrades would quickly gather at the Police HQ Building in Alexandras street, were arrested people usually are taken at for interrogation. To avoid the incoming comrades, the cops decided to take the arrested people to the Petrou Ralli police station further south in the city, away from the comrades who were gathering outside the Police HQ Building in solidarity.

The cops also attacked private homes in Exarcheia district, beating up and injuring people living there. One of the injured was Ioanna Manousaka, who decided to give an interview to the Eleftherotypia daily newspaper. She says she participated peacefully in the march and went back to her home to have a rest, but after a few minutes she suddenly heard cops breaking her door. She went there to have a look and the cops went inside and started beating her up, injuring her severely on the head. They destroyed the lock on her door and broke it into pieces. After beating her up and injuring her severely inside her own home, the cops left without arresting her since an official record of arrest would reveal their behaviour to the media. They probably expected the victim to keep silent out of fear, but unfortunately for them she had the guts to go and report them to the media.

Later, the cops went to some coffee houses in Exarcheia and broke their glass windows, shouting against the people inside.

Historically the courts of Greece don't prosecute members of the police force, even those who have killed common pedestrians. On 6 December 2008 a Greek cop, Epaminondas Korkoneas, with a colleague, killed a 15-year old youth named Alexandros Grigoropoulos in Exarcheia. They were taken to jail and these days they are being tried at a courtroom. However, there are already rumours that they might be freed in the near future. Witnesses already refuse going to the court, saying the courts are corrupted and the outcome of the trial is pre-determined, and they are afraid of their safety since they report that they are being followed every day by undercover police who spy on them.

That was a day in 'democratic' and 'free' Greece. In the meantime, the government (which calls itself 'socialist') just voted for new laws lowering the minimum labour wage and cutting wages, salaries, and pensions, while increasing taxes. All that in the name of 'necessary' and 'nation-saving' IMF and EU loans, when the common people demand higher taxes for the rich or even the replacement of representative democracy and capitalism with workers' self-management and self-organised communes catering to people's needs rather than to the profits of multinational corporations.