Thessaloniki (Greece): Eviction of Biologica squat & Call for solidarity week, 10-17 January 2022

The state, cops and university lackies decided on 31 December 2021 to realize an eviction that has already been announced the previous months. After unofficial threats for an upcoming eviction of the Biologica squat during the previous years, in September a project agreement was signed and assigned to a contractor, with the aim of “remodeling” and “utilizing” the spaces on the ground floor of the Biology building where the squat used to be. In the plans, of course, they included the squatted area with the intention of demolishing the surrounding walls and turning it into a secretariat room and a waiting room. In New Year’s Eve as in the long gone 1992 – at that time they built the door of the squat – the university campus is surrounded by police forces while underground cops are moving towards the area of the squat. They invaded our liberated ground and after conducting a thorough search, while destroying anything that was in the squat, they took pictures of their “grand” findings and they gave the space to the workers to finish off the first stage of their plan, the demolition of the walls. After their intervention all of the ground floor appeared to be vandalized. We never doubted the pure hate of the state, cops and university lackies towards liberated spaces.

Thessaloniki’s assembly of the Solidarity Fund for Imprisoned, Persecuted Revolutionaries found a home between these walls in 2016. During all these years the squat has been the starting point of struggles and solidarity actions for imprisoned and persecuted companions, both from the structure of the Solidarity Fund and from other groups and individuals with a central idea to resist the state and capitalist barbarism and stench and defend the prisoners of this war. Political and cultural events, book presentations and self-organized bookstores, screenings, collective kitchens and workshops, local and panhellenic assemblies, bars and concerts for the financial support of political prisoners or to cover court expenses … A few words cannot describe the political bonds, trust and companionship that developed within these walls that we found demolished. This demolition cannot destroy them, as they are our way of life and memories which are reflected in our every thought and action.

The act of eviction itself works for us as a reminder of a war that we never actually forgot was raging. Targeting comrades, persecutions, arrests and tortures, repression in all the ways possible and whatever cost as well as control with upgraded means are some parts of the rotten society in which we live, yet we have consciously chosen to continue to resist and fight side by side. Squats are the starting points of this war and as it seems they do whatever they can to leave us without structures to prepare our counterattack.

State, rectors and academics, cops and other pieces of trash that state their relief after the eviction of squats, praise the success of the law-abiding state and the successful protection of the blessed trinity of law, order and security have apparently failed to mention the above correlations with the attack on the social base, which at the level of higher education was done through the abolition of asylum, and recently through the passage of the new anti-education bill (n.4777), sealing the depoliticization and demise of the university and the devaluation of student and non-student lives.

As long as we keep on fighting, we are not defeated… we create lawless reference points, relationships build on trust and solidarity structures. We have long chose a side in this war.

PS1. Papaioannou you have no reason to thank the government and sleep peacefully.
PS2. Solidarity means attack.

WE DEFEND OUR SQUATS
WE CLAIM OUR LIVES
BIOLOGICA AND THOUSAND MORE SQUATS
AGAINST A WORLD OF ORGANIZED RECEPTION
FOR SOLIDARITY, SELF-ORGANIZATION AND ANARCHY

Solidarity Fund for Imprisoned and Persecuted Revolutionaries