Throwing yogurt is a traditional way for Greeks to show dissatisfaction with their leaders. Given the rising levels of anger that ordinary people feel with the government in Athens, I predict dairy producers will have a field day during the annual Greek Independence day (25th March) parades this year as public officials make a rare public appearance.
Jokes aside, this year's parade in Athens is going to be policed by 13,000 police officers and security service personnel who will be doing random bag searches to prevent the government from being pelted with yogurt, eggs or tomatoes. In addition 3000 riot police will be on standby in case of trouble. The authorities are seeking to avoid a repeat of the PR debacle on 28th October when demonstrators temporarily closed down the military parade in Thessaloniki and forced the president to flee. Less than two weeks after that event the Greek prime minister, Giorgos Papandreou resigned leading to the formation of a new coalition government led by unelected banker, Lukas Papademos.
Prime minister Lukas Papademos last night warned his fellow Greeks that failure to reach agreement on the latest austerity measures in parliament today would bring disaster to the indebted nation. Such dramatic talk in perhaps hardly surprising in the country that gave the world the word, apocalypse and reflects the fear those in power feel about the possibility that the legislation will not pass, or even worse will produce a wave of protest so intense that it will stall its implementation.
For the last three days there have been a series of strikes and marches against the latest cuts and job losses, but they are just a warm up for the big event which will take place later today at 5pm Athens times when people will start to gather for a series of nationwide rallies.
For over two years Greek voters have been told that austerity will save the country and yet all people have seen is a huge drop in living standards as the economy has collapsed and prices have soared. Caught between these two pincers many have despaired that will be able to survive financially as bills pill up and incomes from pensions and wages keep on falling.
The situation has not been helped by a political system that is widely despised as being both inept and deeply corrupt. This has been reflected not only in the falling poll figures for those parties in power but also the seemingly endless clashes between riot police and protesters that occur whenever government members are spotted in public.
Those who call upon Greeks to make more sacrifices are exactly those most unwilling to give up the priviledges they have accrued whilst in power, a fact that few outside parliament have failed to notice.
The reality is that Greece has ceased to be a sovereign nation in anything but name, it's economic policy, spending decision and hence the vast majority of decision usually made in the name of the nation state are being dictated by the country's creditors who have demanded a heavy tribute in return for their intervention.
The fiscal policies being imposed have slashed GDP, pushed up unemployment and all but destroyed any real chance of the economy recovering for the forseeable future. In such a situation using talk of bankruptcy to scare people into supporting yet more of the same is simply not going to succeed as so many have, to all intents and purposes already been bankrupted.
What is left for the government and its supporters in the the media, (which to a large extent is controlled by domestic oligarchs heavily invested in the banking sector) are a series of crude threats warning of massive shortages in food and other basic goods should the country renege on its debt agreements.
Tonight in Athens's Syntagma Square we will see if the riot police can contain the groundswell of popular anger now building up. It will be a scene repeated in towns and cities across the country as people gather once more to say no to a future which holds nothing but poverty and decline for the next decade.
Employees at the Greek company TRASTIC are currently on strike in order to get pay back owed from June 2011.
On Saturday volunteers asked shoppers in the Botsari neighbourhood of Thessaloniki to contribute food and other household necessities.
ΚΑΝΕΝΑΣ ΜΟΝΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΣΤΗΝ ΚΡΙΣΗ
ΑΛΛΗΛΕΓΓΥΗ ΣΤΟΥΣ ΑΠΕΡΓΟΥΣ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΕΝΙΤ (TRASTIC)
Εδώ και τέσσερις μήνες οι εργαζόμενοι στην εταιρεία TRASTIC (πρώην ΕΛΛΕΝΙΤ) βρίσκονται σε απεργία διαρκείας, διεκδικώντας την πληρωμή των δεδουλευμένων τους. Οι απεργοί είναι απλήρωτοι από τον Ιούνιο και μέχρι στιγμής η εργοδοσία έχει χρησιμοποιήσει κάθε μέσο, συμπεριλαμβανομένης και της αστυνομικής συνδρομής για να σταματήσει τον αγώνα τους. Τους τελευταίους μήνες και μέρα με τη μέρα όλο και πιο συχνά κινητοποιήσεις σαν και αυτήν των εργαζομένων της ΕΛΛΕΝΙΤ είναι πια καθημερινότητα. Εστίες αντίστασης ξεσπάνε σε όλους τους εργασιακούς χώρους, από τα ΜΜΕ και της εστίαση μέχρι τα μεγάλα εμπορικά κέντρα και τις βιομηχανίες, με πρωτοπόρους τους ηρωικούς απεργούς της Χαλυβουργικής. Η σιωπή των ΜΜΕ, οι εκβιασμοί και οι απειλές των εργοδοσιών δεν φαίνεται πια να μπορούν πια να σταματήσουν τον αγώνα των εργαζόμενων που παλεύουν για την επιβίωση"
The Greek prime minsiter's decisionto hold both a vote of confidence in parliament and a national referendum on lastest austerity measures has taken the world's money markets by storm.
Even within Giorgos Papndreou's own PASOK party the decision has been met with mixed reactions. Whilst cabinet ministers have said they fully support the PM in this, backbenchers are rebelling with some saying they will vote against their own party if a referndum goes ahead, even calling for a government of "national salvation".
Opposition parties have been thrown into confusion by the referendum as well, The main opposition party, New Democracy has come out against it and is calling for elections. many smaller parties on the left are also against it, believing it a PR tactic to divert the public's attention from more important issues.
On the other hand the Greek public have thrown up their hands as far as the current political system is concerned. The nationwide protests and disruption of last Friday's national day parades made that clear to politicians who were booed and in some cases physically attacked by disgruntled voters.
The fact that polls show ever decreasing support for the two main political parties (figures for smaller parties have remained more or less static) shows that whatever the countries leaders may announce they are not in the position to say they speak for anything other than a small minority of the electorate. In such a situation the massive cuts in wages and public services and the prospect of a decades worth of painful austerity continue to have very little public support. Quite the opposite, Greeks across the political spectrum feel betrayed by their leaders and are in mood to go along with more of their follies.
The next crunch point will probably be Friday's vote of confidence which is likely to see the fall of Papandreou's as rebel PASOK MPs vote against their own party. The problem still remains who or what will take their place as no other party has a popular mandate to take over the reins of power and how do politicians campaign for re-election when voters would just as soon lynch them as give them their support?
On the other hand the annual 17th November anniversay of the fall of the Regime of the Colonels is just round the corner and this year a generation of Greeks raised on stories of heroic opposition to a hated regime will once again take to the streets across the country.
In Athens , Thessaloniki and many other towns and cities acros Greece hundreds of thouands took part in anti - government demonstrations aimed at over turning the latest round of austerity measures which promise to finish off what is left of the economy.
Greek prime minister, Giorgos Papandreou is visiting the country's second largest in the run up to his annual address to the nation which traditionally marks the opening not only of the international expo but the new political season.
With coffers empty and yet more austerity measures soon to be imposed Papandreou's popularity is at an all time low as groups as diverse as dentists and taxi drivers, cleaners and surgeons are taking part in anti-government protests.
The city centre resembles less a trade fair than a city under seige with thousands of quasi-military riot police on stand by around strategic public buildings and the Makedonia Palace hotel where the prime minister and much of the cabinet will be staying for the weekend.
The real show of strength will be tomorrow when thousands of demonstrators have vowed to shut down the centre and do everything in theirpower to prevent the beleagured leader from giving his key note speech to the nation.
This was just one of the hundreds of acts of police violence commited by Greek riot squads during the 29th June, the vast majority of attacks were directed at peaceful protesters who'd gathered in Syntagma Square, central Athens to show their disagreement with the latest round of Government austerity measures which has brought the country to its knees economically.
Occasionally, things happen that takes time to process or require distance to filter them through memory till they start to take on the contours of anything that can be explained in a meaningful way.
It has been over two weeks since I went to Athens to take part in the anti-government rally on the 29th June. Tagging along with a group of 400 "indignant" as the Greek protesters call themselves I found myself waiting at midnight outside the White Tower in the centre of Greece's second largest city, Thessaloniki with a bunch of people who resembled less a group of serious demonstrators than over aged participants in a school trip. The joking and jostling for position, who sits next to whom, brought back memories of similiar journeys as a kid.
Arriving in Athens the next morning we wasted no time and no sooner had we clambered off the coaches than a banner was unfurled and people took to the road to march and shout out chants, announcing to all who cared to listen that the northern contingent was in town and looking to join their big city counterparts in Syntagma Square. The Square which faces the houses of parliament has, for much of modern Greek history been the focal point of clashes between disgruntled citizens and their rulers.
As soon as we entered the square than many of us were overwhelmed with tears, though this was less to do with any emotion than the residue of tear gas that had been used the previous day and which still coated much of the area. Luckily for us, one of the leaders knew exactly where we could equip ourselves with gas masks and goggles that later would prove so vital for anyone who wanted to stay in Syntagma.
In the crowd that was massed in front of the parliament the atmosphere was a strange mix of carnival and demo, on the one hand people were in a upbeat mood with some present dancing to music played by drummers yet the underlying feeling of tension and anger was apparent to anyone familiar with Greeks and Greek culture.
Another interesting point was the "ideological" composition of the rally, which seemed to embrace a wide, if not contradictory range of political opinions. In the centre where trouble would later start were the "patriots" as I termed them, who were convinced that the entire Greek debt crisis was the result of American born prime minister, Giorgos Papandreou's collusion with the Jewish banking nexus, with a measure of masonic conspiracy theory thrown in for good measure.
On the other hand every shade of left wing opinion including the anarchists also had their own blocks. In the middle, a mass of others who identified with none of the available political choices but were convinced that the austerity law being debated was a disaster for the country and wanted send a message to those inside parliament.
The real panic began at 1.30pm when news that the austerity vote had passed became known, leading to a group of about 100-200 next to the barriers outside parliament to rush the police. The charge was quickly stopped when riot police units started firing tear gas and the demonstrators quickly retreated. Taking this as a cue a group of about 50-100 youths started pelting police lines from nearby the Grand Bretagne hotel and and the police intervened effectively the violence would have probably been over within a few minutes.
However, riot police units then took the attack as an excuse to lauch a concerted assault on the rally from five different directions, using thousands of tear gas cannisters, flash grenades and other weapons. The result was a generalised onslaught on anyone still remaining in Syntagma who were all perceived by the police as rioters, even though the vast majority were protesting peacefully and had nowhere to flee to.
Assualts by the police continued inside Syntagma and throughout much of the centre of Athens for the rest of the day, with hundreds being hospitalised with breathing problems or the result of beatings by the police who in many situations acted more like football hooligans than the agents of law and order.
How to describe the horror of seeing a pack of 10 officers kick and beat a man in front of my eyes, or the anger generated when a protesters who talked back to a policeman was repeatedly punched in the face by a another cop. It was scenes like these that infuriated many present and created a much wider circle of people, many older men and women willing to throw stones and other objects at the police.
I repeatedly saw demonstators plead with riot squad units to stop attacks and who intervened to calm down fellow protesters but often their attempts to play peacemaker were thwarted by the police themselves who lashed out at anyone who approached them or grabbed people, seemingly at random.Each time this happend yet another wave of anger rippled through those nearby.
This pattern of violence and over reaction repeated itself through the day and lead me to the conclusion that the violence of the police was not simply a lack of self control but part of a plan by the authorities to empty the square and put down the Indignant movement at all costs. I doubt if anyone in government uttered those words but I'm pretty sure that the police leadership was left with no illusion about what their political masters wanted done about the situation.
Another infuriating aspect of the day's events was the foreign coverage of the rally which seemed to misunderstand the gravity of the situation, For most of the foreign press crews the story as yet another clash between Greek "anarchists" and the police so ignoring the wider implications of a massive police surpression of a mainly peaceful protest movement.
I'm not sure if this was simply journalistic laziness or the result an agenda that much of the mainstream media often bring to news stories.I remember arguing with some smug US TV anchorman next to me who was waffling on about how futile the protests were as if it was a tired theatrical show that has outstayed its welcome rather than the desperate fight by ordinary Greeks for a viable future. This unwillingness or inability to look beyond the dramatic images to get to a deeper truth has marked much ofthe reporting from Syntagma and the Greek crisis in general.
Later as the day wore on my nerves and stamina dwindled the constant threat of attack by the police or injury by flying objects from both sides plus the experience of being tear gassed took its toll and even the adenaline jolt of being in a highly charged conflict wasn't enough to keep me going . So I went to a cafe to send off pictures and comment to Demotix. yet even there the atmosphere was heavy with tear gas and I ended up sitting at a table in a mall wearing a mask while tapping out my story.
Towards midnight I carefully made my way back to Syntagma Square which now resembled a war zone with fires burning and the much of the surrounding area looking as if it had been used for target practice to get to the subway station to meet up with the other protesters from Thessaloniki who were going back by coach from Monestiraki.Even inside the station the regular thud of flash grenades going off near the entrance gave the impression that we were in an air raid.
Even though I have seen lots of upheaval in Greeece, including the violent uprising in December 2008 the level of violence I witnessed in Syntagma was of a new order of magnitude and it seemed that it was ushering in a violently different relationship between the Greek government and the people they are supposed to represent.
A leaflet for the "I won't pay" campaign lies on the pavement outside parlaiment in Athens, next to a used tear gas grenade, a particularly vile weapon that once lit fliesoff in all directions leaving a trail of disabling gas.
I saw several of these used by riot police last Wednesday by riot police and was always relieved when this hunk of metal which travels in the air at 50-60 kph managed not to hit anyone.
I thought the juxtaposition of the leaflet and the grenade encapsulates so much of what happened later that day. In essence a peaceful protest movement was drowned in a wave of violence and tear gas by a government terrified that it would develop even further and threaten their pwer.
Using a violent actions of a few demonstrators the police launched a sustained and savage attack on all sections of the rally leaving in its wake over 500 injured and the centre of Athens looking like a war zone, an especially damaging image for a country as dependent on tourism as Greece is. In contrast to most riot situations when the police use about 100 tear gas cannisters police sources admitted that 2860 cannisters were used on Wednesday alone.
The sense of outraged felt by those witnessing the casual brutality of the Greek police was paliable and goaded many , normally law abiding citizens to pick up whatever came to hand and fight back.
With the Indignant movement shattered, or at least geatly weakened, a false feeling of calm has decended upon Greece as people no longer take part in mass demonstrations. This is partly due to the time of year (Summer is traditionally a slow period politically) and partly a sence of futility as people have been unable to stop the austerity measures. But do not count on such emotions lasting indefinitely, with the coming Autumn the Greek government is likely to be faced by a large number of political challenges both from within and without parliament.
Already rage against the ruling PASOK party and politicians in general has lead to a series of over 90 attacks on MPs, a number which is set to rise as they return to disgruntled constituencies for the summer recess.
When I got back from Athens the first thing I did was take a shower to wash away the stench of tear gas, Maalox and fear that had hung around me since the morning. Although I have seen my fair share of violent clashes here in Greece, including the uprising in December 2008, nothing had prepared me for the sheer level of savagery shown by the Athens riot police. More than once I saw them act like wild animals, pouncing upon anyone foolish enough to stop to plead or remonstrate with them
Time and time again the police sent vollies of tear gas into packed crowds and it's only by a miracle that no one got crushed under foot as thousands of people ran panic striken from the gas and flash grenades. Nor did this stop throughout the day, from the moment the trouble started at 1pm till after midnight Syntagma Square smelt and sounded like a war zone with an almost continous series of loud explosions and renewed tear gas attacks on the Los Indignados encampment.
Even as far away away as Monesteriki (a neighbourhood about 1km from parliament) rampaging motocycle officers created havoc as they attacked peaceful protesters in cafes and tavernas and gunned their bikes along narrow streets packed with tourists drinking coffee outside.
At no point did the level of police response correspond with the threat they were facing, instead of calmly dealing with a small group of stone throwing trouble makers they launched an all out attack on five fronts against demonstrators which succeeded in provoking a furious reaction from a much larger section of the rally who had outraged by the scenes of uncontrolled police violence they were witnessing.
If such violence had been restricted to an handful of officer or units then perhaps you could talk about rogue officers acting unlawfully, but the scale and the duration of the operation left no doubt that police were under direct ordrs to do everything in their power to break up the demonstration and make sure those taking part would not regroup. In that way the country's political leadership and ultimately, prime minister Giorgos Papandreou took the decision to surpress the anti-government protests in manner more befitting the brutal regimes of Egypt and Tunisia than any EU member.
This is a decision that may buy the ruling PASOK administration some time as people reel in shock from the violence but in the long term has severely damaged, perhaps irreparably the credibility of Greek parliamentary democracy and probably will be the final nail in the coffin of PASOK as a viable political force in future elections.
In a country where folk memories of previous state violence run deep, sometimes going back generations the events of the 28th and 29th June are not likely to remain fade any time soon..
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.
Just arrived in Athens and now along with 400 other protesters from Thessaloniki we're in Syntagma Square which looks a lot like a warzone, with used ordinance on the ground and broken windows throughout the area. There is a very strong police presence with who knows how many riot police platoons in the vacinity. Also the place absolutely stinks of tear gas, enough to bring tears to almost all those who marched into the square, hate to think what those who got te full dose of chemical warfare yesterday went through. One reliable soiurce on Twitter spoke of 270 people badly affectd by gas. The first thing I'm going to do when the stores open is buy a gas mask, no way Maalox on its own can deal with so much tear gas.
I'll also try to keep updates coming either here or via Twitter.
I've taken the plunge and signed up to join a group of Aganaktismenoi (Indiganant) who are off to take part in the anti-government rallies outside parliament in Syntagma Square, Athens.
I thought long and hard about the decision for a number of reasons, not least being could I afford to go. Also another thought weighing heavily on my mind was the possibility that the protests turning violent if the latest auterity law passes and becomes law.
Despite all those reservations I decided that I had to go for a number of reasons. First of all, I want to stand shoulder to shoulder with those who oppose these outrageous measures which threaten my and family's future for the forseeable future.
Another, equally compelling reason is the chance to see history being written, to take part and record events that I believe will be considered pivotal in the future. Since if thse kind of measues can be foisted on the Greeks you can be sure that the next targets will be Portugal, Ireland and later other EU states rolling back decades of hard won social progress.
The coach leaves at 10pm tomorrow from the White Tower and if I don't see you there hope we get the chance to meet up and chat in Athens.
