The International Intifada of Greece (update)

The spin the mainstream media is putting on this major story is of a similar nature, as was (is) the case in France's burning barricades: disenfranchised youths, no work, bored to shreds, here the concrete suburbs angle removed and the added chutzpah of complaints about "the quality of education"! Since when has any student ever protested against the dumbing-down of education?

What no one mentions is that the Karamanlis Government wants to put an end to the anomaly of university campuses being legalized free houses from criminal prosecution - a leftover from a spade of hyper corrections that took place under previous Socialist Governments in a reaction to the military regime's political persecution of Leftist students.

Still, all the positive spin and excusing the inexcusable makes one wonder if the old media aren't simply the third partner in the Unholy Alliance. Entire swatches of people have simply given up on them: their monopoly on the news is over! What to think of grown-up television journalists tenderly referring to 18 to 28 year old hooligans as 'angry boys'. Are they gullible, in the tank, or just plain idiots - or do they take the public for idiots?

Telegraph.co.uk: "Greek protests spread to European cities" - Hat Tip: Nora Sánchez

Anger over the fatal shooting of a Greek teenager by a policeman has spread across Europe with disturbances in a string of cities. (...) From Madrid to Moscow, Greeks living abroad, left-wing activists and other sympathisers took part in demonstrations in solidarity with the six days of rioting which has hit Greece.(...)

- In Copenhagen, police detained 63 people who threw bottles and paint bombs at riot police late on Wednesday.

- In Madrid, nine people were arrested when around 200 people chanting "police killers" targeted a police station, shops and banks.

- In Barcelona a Greek woman and another unidentified foreigner were arrested during a similar demonstration.

- In France, arsonists torched two cars outside the Greek consulate in Bordeaux, scrawling slogans in support of Greece's worst riots since the country was ruled by a military junta in the early 1970s. Graffiti sprayed opposite the consulate read "Support for the fires in Greece", "Insurrection Everywhere" and "The Coming Insurrection" – the latter the name of a book which the French government alleges has inspired a network of "ultra-left" anarchist groups.

- In Turkey, about a dozen left-wing protesters daubed red paint over the front of the Greek consulate in Istanbul. Protesters threw petrol bombs at Greece's embassies in Moscow and Rome. (...) >>>

Understand that in the light of an interview yesterday in the Polish Times with the author of the previous article on Politeia ("Riots in Greece: What Is Not Reported") - Greek intelligence analyst Ioannis Michaletos, and you'll get another picture of reality. Here's just one excerpt from the English translation:

International Analyst Network: "Interview on the Greek riots"

Could you analyze important aspects of present street battles in Athens?

The street battles are the worst Athens has ever experienced, although it is a city with rather frequent clashes with the police. Important characteristics include the rapid mobilization of the rioters. For example they were out in the streets destroying property in just 20-25 minutes after the death of the young person was announced. It happened in 21.03, it was first announced in a website around 21:30 and the riots were already in full swing at 22:00. I have served in the Navy but I don't think armed forces are that quick in mobilizing their personnel!

Over the coming days, the rioters that numbered between 1,500-2,000 people (30% of those immigrants-mostly Muslim), were able to move from one part of the city to another in a quick way using a variety of methods, such as public transportation in small groups, motorcycles or even riding taxis alone and gathering in a specific "meeting place".

Lastly, they used extensively the internet, mobile phones and instant messaging services to alert against police and gather information of what the media were transmitting. In a few words, they were trained in a fashion that distincts them from the usual "Athenian rioters". They seemed to have international experience and plenty of hideouts within the city centre. (...)

The last two days the police took more action against them and they disappeared. This is a typical urban guerrilla way of fighting; avoid confrontation and strike when least expected, always in a very fast mode. There was looting involved but it was not done by the rioters but by other elements that exploited the situation. Therefore the rioters were not seeking immediate financial gains, nor did they want to make a political pronouncement. Their aim was to inspire fear. (...)

(...) a web of relations has been developed between Greek radicals and foreign ones. In that sense a provocation or the involvement of foreign intelligence apparatus it is not improbable judging by the recent European history. (...) >>>

Read it all!

Update: This article in the Wall Street Journal ("Greece is Burning") is repeating some of the worst of popular conspiracy theories around. It paints a picture of an almost a failed state! It's simply ludicrous. The press seems to be part of the troika that is bent on bringing down a democratically elected government. Updating throughout ...

The article is factually incorrect (we know to postmodernists reality is pliable, but hey - have facts become totally irrelevant in journalism?): the riots started only minutes after the death of the teenager, while this article speaks of "mostly peaceful mass demonstrations" which is exactly what didn't happen. Basically its an article with half truths and half lies without explaining one basic thing: why the riots started in the first place ... and who are the rioters?!

Update:

To put all these complaints in perspective, a poll on Greece-Salonika Blogspot on the question which are Greece's most urgent problems, reads as follows: inflation 47%, Macedonia 17%, unemployment 9%, drug abuse 2%, education 13%, Cyprus 3%, other 4%.

Nourishing Obscurity get kudos for indepth historical research in documents attached to: "[greece] gateway to powerful forces".

- Filed on Articles in "Terrorism in Greece" -