…And life became the biggest lie
There is no police brutality
There are only bloodthirsty protesters in a brutal fury
with the breakneck speed of desperation
the com-mat-asfalites1, the chemical tear gas, the shields.
the helmets, the incubating cages
the snake eggs of the fascist crawling society….
George Tsingos and the Black Circles
Watching the domestic news of the last few months, one will see that despite the social reactions that have developed, the isolation and suppression of the antagonistic movement as well as the imposition of unprecedented social control measures remains a key objective of the Greek state. The gentrification of Exarcheia includes the construction of a metro station in the square, the redevelopment-privatisation of the Strefi Hill and the blocking of access to the Polytechnic and aims to uproot the revolutionary tradition of the area. Similarly, the installation of MAT platoons and all kinds of cops inside the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki aims to sterilize the university premises from any voice of opposition to the bosses. But beyond hitting the movements, the hiring of thousands of new cops, the millions given to equip the police and their constant presence in the public arena on every occasion set the tone of the new social contract. And all this at a time when society is being impoverished anew, with precision pushing those from below to the limits of survival. In a nutshell as Petsas arrogantly informed us adaptation (to capitalist and state dictates) or death.
The effort by the current government to restructure the education system and especially the universities begins the very next day after its election with the abolition of the university asylum. Their pretext was to crack down on lawlessness and instil a sense of security. This was followed by the passing of Law 4777 in the midst of quarantine to avoid major social reactions. The response to those that were manifested was a display of fierceness and brutality. Just a few examples:
- the pulling of a gun by a cop at the ΑΣΣΟΕ (Athens School of Economics)
- the two evacuations of the occupied rectorate of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in the space of one month in 2021
- the evacuation of the steki at the Biologcko
- the hundreds of injuries, beatings and arrests in the last two years in student mobilizations
- the firing of asphyxiant inside the ΣΘΕ (School of Sciences) in broad daylight with hundreds of students and workers trapped inside the building and suffocating
- the hitting and severely injuring of a student with a flashbang grenade fired at point-blank range
- the murderous attack on the crowd attending Thanasis Papakostantinou’s concert during the 3rd Libertarian Festival of Occupied Spaces and Collectives, which almost resulted in people being trampled.
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