Thursday, June 30, 2011

Greek parliament swathed in tear gas. Athens

Greek riot police getting ready to attack Los Indignados encampment, Syntagma Square, Athens

I was in Syntagma Square yesterday and it was like being in hell. I have never witnessed so much violence from the police in all the demos and protests I've covered in Greece. I saw riot police officers beat a man who'd fallen to the ground, acting for all the world like a wolf pack falling upon its prey. Pure, unadulterated savagery.

What I saw yesterday in Athens was a corrupt regime drown legitimate dissent in a sea of tear gas and violence.

The only bright spot was the extreme bravery of ordinary Greeks who defied the brutality of the police to protest and were capable of the most amazing acts of kindness to strangers even in the worst situations.

For more pictures on Flickr click here. For Demotix story and photos click here and here,

1 comment:

Matthew A said...

I used one of these photos on my blog Honey for the Bears and quoted your report. Hope you don't mind. You're doing a valuable job reporting from the scene. Take care.