In recent times we have seen the increasing effort of various nationalist groups to establish their presence in the western districts of Thessaloniki. Various groups of fascists are trying to forcibly steer occupations that have taken place in recent months in various schools towards a clearly nationalist course. Occupations by schoolchildren who raise as their main issues the educational devaluation, the privatisation of education, the total lack of protection and prevention measures with regard to the spread of mockery, the shabby structural facilities and more. Issues, which we understand touch on the class priority of the state in terms of learning as most of these schools are EPALs (Evosmos, Stavroupoli), without making any distinctions as to which nationality students can or rather cannot claim their right to free learning. Something which, it seems, cannot be accepted by the advocates of nationalist rhetoric whose priority is to have schools composed entirely of Greek students, thus disregarding the devaluation and impoverishment that people of our class are subjected to by the state even at such a young age.
Of course, the direction of these people’s priorities does not surprise us at all. Fascist groups have always been, whether they are organisations such as Golden Dawn or more disorganised paraphernalia such as in recent events the Eneth, selling an anti-government and sometimes anti-populist fairy tale in order to convince the masses that they will make a difference, that they will bring about change. What change can we talk about when the interests of these groups go hand in hand with the interests of the state and the bosses. What solution have they given or even proposed for unemployment, flexible working hours, starvation wages and pensions, precariousness and poverty in general? What change can we talk about when, over time, where the state is unable to intervene, fascism takes action with its long arm. With countless attacks in recent years, always on the weakest or different, with knives, guns, sticks and fists on immigrants and even children, with violence against schoolchildren who reacted to the nationalist occupations, with Molotov cocktails on the balconies of foreign families, with attacks on movement structures, thus taking the role that the state does not want to take the responsibility to take. What change can we talk about when these attacks are accompanied by the complete tolerance of the police.
One of these groups that have been active in Thessaloniki in recent years is the Holy Company, an organisation with a deeply Christian and nationalist analysis in its discourse. The Holy Company was at the forefront of the riots in Oraiokastro in 2016 when refugee children wanted to go to the local school. In 2017 it spearheaded blockades and riots protesting the ”anti-Christian” performance ”The Devil’s Hour”. He was found at the nationalist rallies for Macedonia that resulted in the burning of the Libertatia squat and the attack on EKX School on 21/01/18. Created Macedonian Pride a nationalist fiesta in a desperate attempt to keep the Macedonian issue alive in an anniversary format. Organized the marches for the death of the fascist Katsifa, as well as participated in nationalist protests first against lockdown and then against vaccines. Finally, it tried to capitalize on the events by calling for a nationalist march in the neighborhood. Based on these highlights of the holy company’s activities, we can easily understand that this group over time tries to follow the news in order to gather and organize as many people as possible. Continue reading “Thessaloniki, Greece: Responsibility claim for incendiary attacks against nationalists”