Greece: The Muse of Rebellion Sings in Heraklion

greece / turkey / cyprus | community struggles | news report Sunday December 14, 2008 10:45 by epoliticus

On the Greek island of Crete, the people of the capital city of Heraklion were an audience for the song of Muse of Rebellion. The course of events took a hard leftward turn in the latter part of this week. Students occupied all the local universities. The students' unions occupied the prefecture and hosted a free concert in the central square. Pupils boycotted school. More than 2,000 marched through the city center.

On the Greek island of Crete, the people of the capital city of Heraklion were an audience for the song of Muse of Rebellion.

The course of events took a hard leftward turn in the latter part of this week. Students occupied all the local universities. The students' unions occupied the prefecture and hosted a free concert in the central square. Pupils boycotted school. More than 2,000 marched through the city center.

In plain view of the cops, pupils donned scarfs and hoods, broke the pavement, and attacked the cops with stones. Stone and fire is a weapon of the weak harks the Muse of Rebellion. The cops retreated. A police van and a government vehicle were overturned in front of the prefecture building. Many migrant workers, hooligans, Roma, and poor folk from Heraklion's neighborhoods joined the rebellion. Most banks in the city center were burnt. Cops attacked with rubber bullets and one demonstrator was injured.

Earlier in the week (7 December 2008), organizations of the left had called for a demonstration at the central square, with more than 600 demonstrators, mainly pupils and anarchists. During the march, more than ten banks were smashed, while police followed. Towards the conclusion of the march, a large bloc decided to clash with the cops, constructing barricades on the central square, and attacked a police station with stones and molotovs.

Cops used excessive tear gas, but the people spread into smaller groups and attacked the police in the streets; clashes lasted for hours. Neither arrests nor injuries were reported. Ultras of the local football team (OFI), and "ordinary" people participated. Many demonstrators marched to the more popular neighborhoods of Kaminia and Therissos, where dozens of banks were smashed, while residents cheered and informed the demonstrators of movements of the police. Overnight, undercover cops were observed throughout the city.

A day earlier (6 December 2008), a few hundreds had gathered in the central square, and during the march attacked a police station, the tourist police, and the Courthouse. Memories of the murder of a young motorist, Iraklis Maragkakis, outside Heraklion five years ago are fresh: when he didn't stop at a police roadblock, cops shot him in the head, leading to attacks against the police headquarters, and prosecutions of local anarchists the next day.

Eleven have been arrested and charged with misdemeanors. In some cases passersby demand that the cops release those arrested. Fascists and cops in plain clothes wander in the streets.

The Israeli newspaper Ha'retz reported that troops were deployed to restore 'law and order' on the streets of Chios and Rhodes.

The Muse of Reaction sings.

Alas, the voice of Muse of Rebellion is strong.

SOURCES:
Direct Actions News from Greece, Ha'retz