Author: Επιτροπή Αλληλεγγύης

Sorry, this entry is only available in Ελληνικά.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Ελληνικά.

Now, it is more evident than ever that the Greek state is willing to put everything at risk to salvage whatever is left of its democratic facade. In attempting to do so, one of its ways is to suppress anything that stands in the way of its persistent and ever-increasing fascist attitudes by e.g. the harsh suppression of protests, the criminalization of strikes and the forced evacuation of occupied buildings and social spaces.

The huge leap in the state’s said effort however was the case of Skouries, where it triggered the application of the theory of the two extremes. The state equates the violence and brutality of Golden Dawn (murders of immigrants, attacks to social spaces etc) with the local societies’ struggle for freedom and dignity.

On one end, we have a hierarchy-based fascist group acting as the official para-state, working in close co-operation with the army and the police and financed by organized crime economic activities; on the other, we have the local society struggling to defend its natural wealth against a company that has been robbing society of its capacity for social reproduction.

For the first time, people participating in social struggles face prosecution for setting up a criminal organization; i.e. those who defend nature, their freedom and their dignity are terrorists. If we examine the background of events in Skouries though, we will see that the company and the police protecting it are the ones to mimic the ways of a criminal organization. One and a half year ago, in March 2012, 400 company employees hiked up the mountain, burned to the ground the guarding post creating by the residents and caused one of them to end up in the hospital in a coma.

Ever since, suppression has been fierce in every protest, beating up protesters, injuring them by throwing tear gas straight at people’s faces and by the police invading the village in huge numbers, suffocating the village with tear gas and breaking down doors at the break of dawn to arrest people.

In the name of growth and exit from the crisis, the Greek state is protecting a company, smashing any trace of dignity and fostering a climate of ongoing terrorism. Essentially, en entire local society has been characterized a den of illegality by the state, culminating in a 3500 page-long case-file of 20 CDs containing phone conversations that targets 29 individuals, accusing them for setting up a criminal organization.

We did protest, we do protest and we will continue to protest against an extraction that will ruin our lives and cause irreparable damage to the environment.

Armed with solidarity as our only weapon, we stand by the residents of Northeastern Halkidiki in their fair struggle.

The dens of illegality are the agencies of authority, not the resisting sections of society.

No to the pillage of nature

Struggle for land and freedom

[Naomi Klein, journalist and writer from Canada]

In Skouries, Chalkidiki, it is not “two extremes” that are in conflict, as the Greek government would have it, it is two opposing worldviews. On one side there are forces that fight for the unfettered pursuit of profits and growth, sacrificing democracy, destabilizing life on earth and jeopardizing the future of all of our children. On the other side there are everyday people fighting for their right to live in harmony with their environment and to decide collectively on the issues that affect everyone.

The peaceful but determined resistance of the residents of Chalkidiki is not criminal — on the contrary, it is heroic, representing humanity’s best chance of avoiding catastrophe. The real vandals are not the ones in the streets; they are the ones sending bulldozers and clear-cutters into that magnificent forest.

On November 9th, along with thousands of people around the world, I urge the Greek government to stop the unjust prosecutions of anti-mining activists, and to abandon the flawed and disastrous logic that holds that the only solution to the economic crisis is to sacrifice the environment.

[Oscar Olivera, political fighter in the movement “Water Warriors”, against the privatization of water in Cochabamba, Bolivia]

From Cochabamba, Bolivia to Chalkidiki, in our beloved Greece.

To the men and women, to the youth, the children, the elderly, the simple hard-working people living near Skouries, in Chalkidiki.

To all those who for hundreds of years have been living in peace, fraternity, equality, as core values to move towards everyday joy and hope as well as a permanent harmonious relationship with Pachamama, Mother Earth.

To all of you, who are like us, here in Cochabamba, Bolivia, we are telling you that you are not alone, we are together, because the struggle for life, for the soil, for our happiness, for our dreams is the struggle of all people, against capital, against multinationals, against the governments that sell off our land, against the arrogance of the powerful, against the plunder of the commons…

Overcoming fear, through mutual trust, to the terror we respond with struggle, to the lies we respond with dignity, to death we respond with …life.

So move ahead our brothers and sisters from Chalkidiki!… because your fight is also our fight.

Oscar Olivera Foronda

Water Warriors, Cochabamba – Bolivia,

On a sunny afternoon in the South side of the world, on a beautiful day in November 2013.

[Peter Bohmer, Professor of Political Economy at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington]

We support the just struggle of the courageous people of Halkidiki and Greece against gold mining in that region. It is part of an effort against destructive mining that is growing and becoming global in scope. We strongly request the end of all repression against those involved in this struggle for democracy and environmental justice in Halkidiki, Thessaloniki and Greece. The ongoing organizing and efforts by the Greek people and social movements against austerity and financial and transnational capital and for economic justice are truly inspiring. We in Olympia, Washington, U.S.A. will be there in spirit in Thessaloniki on November 9, 2013 for the rally of protest, struggle and solidarity.

[Niki Ashton, Greek-Canadian congresswoman]

I was recently in Northern Greece where I had the chance to see up close what the people are struggling for. They are struggling for their land, for their water, for air and for our future. Their struggle is just. With solidarity from Canada,

Niki Ashton

Ελεύθεροι αφέθηκαν μετά από τέσσερις μήνες προφυλάκισης, οι άλλοι δύο κάτοικοι της Ιερισσού που βρίσκονταν προφυλακισμένοι στις φυλακές Διαβατών. Οι Γιάννης Σταθώρης και Δημήτρης Ιωάννου είχαν προφυλακιστεί τον περασμένο Ιούλιο κατηγορούμενοι για την εμπρηστική επίθεση στο εργοτάξιο της εταιρείας «Ελληνικός Χρυσός», στις Σκουριές.

Την απόφαση για την αποφυλάκισή τους πήρε η ανακρίτρια Χαλκιδικής, μετά από αίτηση των συνηγόρων τους και θετική γνωμοδότηση από πλευράς εισαγγελίας. Η απόφαση ανακρίτριας και εισαγγελίας ήταν ομόφωνη. Στους δύο κατοίκους της Ιερισσού τέθηκαν περιοριστικοί όροι εξόδου από την χώρα, εμφάνισης στο αστυνομικό τμήμα και χρηματική εγγύηση 8.000 και 1.500 ευρώ.

Υπενθυμίζεται ότι είχε προηγηθεί (στις 14 Οκτωβρίου), η αποφυλάκιση των δύο πρώτων από τους συνολικά τέσσερις κατοίκους της Χαλκιδικής που βρίσκονταν προφυλακισμένοι στις φυλακές Διαβατών.