University Cops

Thessaloniki, Greece: Responsibility claim for a raid on a riot squad of MAT

Posted on 2022/10/17 by darknights

…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.

Continue reading “Thessaloniki, Greece: Responsibility claim for a raid on a riot squad of MAT” →

Athens, Greece: Responsibility claim for an incendiary attack on a MAT riot police truck in Kaisariani by ‘Incendiary Committee’

Posted on 2022/10/15 - 2022/10/15 by darknights

On Thursday 6 October 2022 we carried out an incendiary attack with Molotov cocktails on a passing MAT (riot police) convoy in Kaisariani. In his panic to escape, the cop driving it drove into bystander cars on the road.

We live in the era of constant and generalized war. Every declaration of war is accompanied by a corresponding invocation of the Crisis. Financial, fiscal, health, energy, food, climate… This spectacular ritual of the state apparatus is the prologue to every old and modern war manual: every war operation presupposes the imposition of discipline and rallying at the rear through the spread of fear towards the enemies of the day. A state of permanent emergency to which we tend to become addicted.

In a collapsing world, the Dominion holds on to its monopoly of producing mass insecurity by tooth and nail. If the dangers and threats invoked by those above are increasing in numbers, the orders and commands directed downwards show a clear geometric progression. This is the balance of the violent restructuring of our life, the new social contract of modern totalitarianism. Or in the words of Petsas1 “adaptation or death”. Social experience can translate these words without equivocation. Memorandum or bankruptcy. Mass incarceration or collapse of the ΕΣΥ (National Health Service). Graveyard silence or beatings and fines. Compulsory vaccinations or redundancies. Preventative power cuts or general black outs. And the list may soon stretch to the light bulb switch or supermarket receipt.

The realm of fear and insecurity is the baptism font of the new form of the State and its Violence. The modern capitalist world breeds only police. Police of thought and attitudes, police of norms and culture, police overt and covert, police with shields and automatic weapons, police of crowd management and police of surgical operations, police in the suburbs and in the city centres, police who demand identity cards, passports and health certificates, police who beat, charge and execute, police who sometimes resemble an ideological army and sometimes a fascist battalion. Police of every kind, in every place, in every spot on the map, with multiple jurisdictions and no barriers. Continue reading “Athens, Greece: Responsibility claim for an incendiary attack on a MAT riot police truck in Kaisariani by ‘Incendiary Committee’” →

Athens, Greece: Attack upon the offices of University Research Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (EPISY) for their involvement in assisting the investigation of cops and the army (National Technical Univeristy of Athens)

Posted on 2022/07/06 - 2022/07/06 by darknights

In recent times, we have seen the campus of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki turned into a release field for the murderous mania of the cops. Similar incidents of violence will become a daily occurrence in whichever campuses the university police are installed, which in order to get a foothold in the sanctuary will come accompanied by all the forces of the Greek police. This wave of repressive violence is intended to crush any possible resistance to the educational restructuring that has already been passed, namely the exclusion of the social base from higher education, disciplinary measures and the expulsion of students, cameras and controlled entry to schools, the alignment of curricula and research with the interests of capital.

In the wake of this restructuring we see more and more collaborations between Greek universities and military and police services, for whose needs research projects are carried out in the laboratories of the schools. These research projects, which concern border surveillance and the monitoring and suppression of militants, are funded by the EU and NATO to the tune of millions of euros.

In conclusion, within the framework of the European Defense Industrial Development Program, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of Patras in cooperation with the Hellenic Air Force and the Ministry of National Defense conducted the research project <<Project Lottus>> for the design of a drone for the protection of land and sea borders. As a continuation of this project, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the Democritus University of Thrace and the University of Thessalias in cooperation with the Hellenic Aircraft Industry will carry out the industrial production of such a drone, which will be made available to Frontex and the coast guard, among others, the agencies responsible for thousands of murders and expulsions of migrants in the middle of the Aegean Sea. Similar research projects have been undertaken by the NTUA, under the EU-funded Horizon 2020 programme. From Jason and Poseidon to Andromeda and Ingenius, the NTUA has been involved time and again with the logistical upgrade of the border guard and the army. Another project that the NTUA has undertaken is Prevision, which promises to be a state-of-the-art tool in the hands of state security. The aim of the programme is to monitor and map individuals with deviant/radical attitudes and views. The coordinator of all these programmes, on behalf of the NTUA, is the EPISY, i.e. the research arm of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. Continue reading “Athens, Greece: Attack upon the offices of University Research Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (EPISY) for their involvement in assisting the investigation of cops and the army (National Technical Univeristy of Athens)” →

Athens, Greece: Responsibility claim for the incendiary attack in Pefkis-Lykovrisi – To burn the beast of gentrification to the ground by Thousands of Suns of the Night

Posted on 2022/05/27 - 2022/05/27 by darknights

On 27/04 we placed incendiary devices in the offices of the Nea Dimokratia (New Democracy) Pefkis-Lykovrisi, burning them completely outside and a large part inside, essentially closing the office.

We hold this party accountable for a series of actions that form the backbone of the Greek state’s agenda.

Redevelopment-Regeneration-Repatriation-Suppression

From the beginning of its term of office, ND as a government has shown its intentions on the issue of the city. The Athenian centre is constantly being shaped as a luxury showcase for global and European tourism. This process started and accelerated already in the years of the covid-19 boom when hundreds of thousands of euros were given for the construction of the Grand Walk (pet gentrification project of Athens mayor Kostas Bakoyannis). Public space is increasingly occupied by goods and consumers. Universities and spaces that once seemed to be meeting points for movements and collective processes are now being cleared, controlled and mapped with cameras and cops (ΟΠΠΙ, university cops). The state’s attempt to turn the Gini polytechnic into a monument in a move of gentrification is also characteristic. At the same time, student movements are subjected to extreme repression, with typical examples being the pressure in other universities such as the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, as well as the case of the 14 students who are being persecuted under the umbrella of manipulating DNA files. In continuation of the pressure on the anarchist movement with reference to meeting places is the continuous repression of the occupations in the centre of Athens and Thessaloniki.

Of course, along with all the above comes the redevelopment of squares, parks and hills. The criminal collaboration of the state with capital leads to the appearance of construction sites and dust in the squares, security barriers, blocking of work sites, extra security with security and cops and as expected: displacement of the poor, the marginalized, migrant women. Even the few places that the poor, the people from below, the people of our class had to catch their breath, are being forcibly taken away from them. This plan is being carried out all over the centre, from Galatsi and Pagrati to the most migrant neighbourhoods, Kypseli Square, Protomaya Square and soon Exarcheia Square. Continue reading “Athens, Greece: Responsibility claim for the incendiary attack in Pefkis-Lykovrisi – To burn the beast of gentrification to the ground by Thousands of Suns of the Night” →

Athens, Greece: Responsibility claim – Arson of a National Technical University vehicle

Posted on 2022/05/27 - 2022/05/27 by darknights

ANNOUNCEMENT – CALL FOR A CAMPAIGN OF ACTION AGAINST THE UNIVERSITY POLICE

WHY WE BURNED THE OFFICIAL CAR USED BY THE RECTOR ANDREAS BOUDOUVIS FOR HIS INTERNAL MOVEMENTS WITHIN THE UNIVERSITY PREMISES

On May 12, the Council of State effectively upheld the law on the University Police since, as stated in its decision, neither academic freedom nor the autonomy of Higher Education Institutions is violated. The Council of State’s decision argues, inter alia, that there are important reasons of security and public order according to which it is deemed necessary to have the universities guarded by the police. Is the Council of State competent to admonish and defend values such as freedom and morality? Would the Council of State do well to resolve its internal issues first and foremost and leave aside the public security issues at a time when its former Vice-President and President of the Third Department, Panagiotis Efstratiou, is involved in a case of cocaine use and trafficking among minors? We do not expect anything different from the Council of State, the Supreme Court and their courts, which are rife with corruption and scandals, which wash away businessmen, politicians, big business and other scoundrels without a trace of shame at the same time as society is sinking into poverty and misery. The most recent and striking example, moreover, concerns the – beyond all provocation – cover-up of the rapists of Georgia Bika, where the scum of the well-known multinational rushed to cover up in the most blatant way the rape of the militant Georgia. Words are superfluous. An instrument of cynical execution of governmental dictates, the judiciary is humiliated in the courtrooms, the corrupt system rules them undisturbed and the fairy tales about separation of powers just make the big picture even more provocative.Surely the answer for the University Police Corps will not be given by the Council of State. The best and most targeted answer will be given by the student movement itself, the world of struggle, the anarchist and radical space, the parts of the militant left and the part of the progressive space that must finally put a brake on arbitrariness and authoritarianism. We are convinced that a mosaic of actions will unfold in the coming period, from symbolic actions to more dynamic actions that will cancel this bill in practice and why not put on the table the issue of self-organization and subversion not only within the universities but also in the whole society as a whole. Let all the schools be closed with occupations, let students and teachers with basic self-respect abstain from classes, let mass demonstrations take place all over Greece, let all the cops who will staff the new body be targeted. Continue reading “Athens, Greece: Responsibility claim – Arson of a National Technical University vehicle” →